Destroying One's Enemies

"Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?"

Abraham Lincoln

During the course of my life, among the most telling signs I've noticed that suggest I'm confronting a small or petty mind is when I see someone who exhibits jealousy or hostility in the face of ability. On the other hand, one of the most telling signs I perceive when dealing with someone who is gifted is the ability to recognize and appreciate talent in others...adversaries as well as friends. Over the years, this has led me to conclude that one of the signs of a great leader is the ability to turn adversaries into allies.

History shows that Abraham Lincoln was quite comfortable bringing his rivals into his administration: though the crisis of the Civil War may have made him think he had no real choice, a petty mind would have viewed them as political threats, to be kept at a distance.

Today...facing his own country in crisis...President-elect Obama seems to be exhibiting the same level of comfort in calling upon opponents for help. Though it's too early to tell if this is a real similarity, or simply posturing by someone who's studied and admired Lincoln, lets hope it shows a depth of character lacking in our leaders in the recent past.

In the end, though, only time will tell....


JEFFREY CAMINSKY, a veteran public prosecutor in Detroit, Michigan, specializes in the appellate practice of criminal law and writes on a wide range of topics. His books include the science fiction adventure novel The Star Dancers, the exciting second volume in the Guardians of Peace-tm series, The Sonnets of William Shakespeare, and the acclaimed Referee’s Survival Guide, a book on soccer officiating. All are published by New Alexandria Press, and are available on Amazon, as well as directly from the publisher.

An Introduction to Shakespeare's Sonnets

Perhaps the greatest writer who ever put words from pen to paper, William Shakespeare has been parsed and dissected and studied in ways that could pluck the joy out of anyone. But Shakespeare wrote to entertain the common people of Elizabethan England, as well as the cultured elite. And he had a matchless ability to touch the hearts of his audience—often making them laugh and cry at the same time.

Yet Shakespeare wrote not to hide his meaning under lofty phrases, but to share his wisdom with those around him, in ways that were playful as well as profound. We see in his plays as well as his poetry that he can reorder words and their conventional arrangements almost at will, achieving a matchless expression of ideas. In his sonnets, though some arrangements stem from needing a rhyme to fit the patter, the result is some of the loveliest verses known to English literature.

The sonnet was a popular form of poetry in Elizabethan times throughout Europe. Shakespeare’s choice of the English form of sonnet allowed him an almost limitless flexibility of expression. This chosen form let him resolve or continue his themes as the mood (or the dictates of iambic pentameter) struck him, and he often continued his thoughts through the quatrain division. Still, most modern editor use the sonnet form to guide their choice of modernized punctuation, reasoning that each quatrain usually marks the end of a completed thought.

Most commonly, sonnets reflected a wretched lover, agonizing over the conflicting emotions of lust and idealized love. Shakespeare’s sonnets often convey larger contradictions as well, showing a contrast between beauty and cold reality, hope and despair. The structured form required discipline and creativity, but from these conflicts Shakespeare the Sonneteer could explore his innermost self, in much the same way that the soliloquy of an actor would reveal the soul of a character on the stage. Yet Shakespeare the Artist was often hidden between the lines of his verses, and despite the temptation of modern scholars, we know too little about the man himself to drawn any firm conclusions from the lines of his poetry.

Despite the speculation of modern scholars, it is doubtful that the author intended them to form a unified narrative. Narrative was more suitable for his plays and narrative poems, and he probably regarded his sonnets simply as short poems. It is likely that he composed them simply as inspiration struck, or to pass the time between other projects and pursuits. If so, then imposing a theme or narrative thread on the entire collection is simply the product of our own imagination, and an attempt to find order in the chaos of existence. Since the author was als a successful businessman and playwright and businessman, it is unlikely that he would have conceived of the collection with any overarching theme when he was writing. And he probably wrote his sonnets when the mood struck him—or a patrons request moved him to write. Still, the vulnerability and range of emotions that the sonnets convey hints that many of them were also deeply personal, perhaps reflecting real events or personal relationships in his own life that are now lost to time. Many seem aimed at his own innermost soul, letting us catch tantalizing glimpses of the artist in his most private, most vulnerable moments.

Shakespeare’s sonnets are hardly his meatiest works, but in many ways they are his most accessible. Gaining an appreciating of these short, tender verses can only help the modern reader develop a richer understanding of Shakespeare the Artist—and provide a bridge to his meatier works, where he explores other, often darker, facets of human existence.

JEFFREY CAMINSKY, a veteran public prosecutor in Detroit, Michigan, specializes in the appellate practice of criminal law and writes on a wide range of topics. His books include the science fiction adventure novel The Star Dancers, the exciting second volume in the Guardians of Peace-tm series, The Sonnets of William Shakespeare, and the acclaimed Referee’s Survival Guide, a book on soccer officiating. All are published by New Alexandria Press, and are available on Amazon, as well as directly from the publisher.

Alana's Birthday

For a small child, a birthday is magic. Balloons and banners, cake and presents, all blur together in a whirlwind of color and attention.

A third birthday is perhaps the most special of all: a first birthday won’t be remembered; a second birthday won’t be understood.

But at a third birthday....

She can talk....

She can dance....

She can jump....

She can open her own presents without any help....

And she can read her new books and play with her own toys.

Alana was three yesterday.

For her, it was magic.

And it was magic for all the adults around her, too.

Fifty-seven and Counting

Another year older. But wiser? That's for other to decide.

Birthdays for kids are celebrations, events to commemorate their entry int the world and make them the center of the Universe for a time. Not my chance, it's also a day that gives adults the excuse to make a fuss and relive the joy of begin young.

Birthdays for grown-ups are usually just another day...though, if we're lucky, it's a day when people are nicer to us than usual, and we're excused from having to help.

New Year's is a time for remembering, as well as for looking ahead. But when you reach your fifties, it seems that birthdays are days for feeling old.

An Ocean on Mars?

Did Mars once have an ocean? Recent information from Mars provides support for this controversial idea, one that would move science fiction from bookshelves one step closer to reality.

Analyzing data from the Gamma Ray Spectrometer of NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter, an international team of scientists detected signs that suggest the presence of liquid oceans over much of the surface of our planetary neighbor. The spectrometer, which is capable of detecting elements buried more than a foot underground by tracing their gamma-ray emissions, picked up concentrations that have left intrigued scientists wondering whether they have finally found solid evidence of a liquid past on the now-dry planet.

In an article published in an special edition of Planetary and Space Science, the authors theorized that large bodies of water on Mars would leach out and concentrate elements like potassium, thorium, and iron along the ancient shorelines, as they often do here on Earth. So, taking data from the spectrometer, the scientists were able to compare the concentrations of these tell-tale elements with the topographical maps of the red planet, to see whether the patterns matched those we might find along a seashore. Their findings suggest the presence of two different oceans, perhaps covering a third of the planet and probably occurring at different times in Martian history. And their conclusions have spurred debate about the likelihood of finding traces of life on the cold and dusty planet.

Still, there is much work to be done, and not everyone is convinced. Due to the absence of tidal forces from a large moon, the shorelines on Mars look quite different than those on the Earth. And the source and fate of the water remains a mystery. Some speculate that volcanic eruptions heated the cold Martian air enough to usher in a warmer, wetter epoch for the planet; others remain as skeptical as ever.

The data adds information to fuel the debate, noted James M. Dohm, a planetary geologist from the University of Arizona who led the international team of scientists. But the debate would likely continue, he reflected—perhaps even after scientists are able walk the surface of the planet with instruments in hand.

Photo Credit: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURAP, J. Bell (Cornell UNiversity), and M. Wolff (Space Science Institute, Boulder).


JEFFREY CAMINSKY, a veteran public prosecutor in Detroit, Michigan, specializes in the appellate practice of criminal law and writes on a wide range of topics. His books include the science fiction adventure novel The Star Dancers, the exciting second volume in the Guardians of Peace-tm series, The Sonnets of William Shakespeare, and the acclaimed Referee’s Survival Guide, a book on soccer officiating. All are published by New Alexandria Press, and are available on Amazon, as well as directly from the publisher.

Should We Bail Out the Auto Industry?

I suspect that many people don't really appreciate the dire straits that an implosion in the auto industry would cause...at least, judging from the debate going on in Washington. But I think the biggest problem is that everyone is confused over (a) the scale of the problem, and (b) the constant juggling that's going on with federal money. I think the biggest worry is that funneling money to the car companies will only be sending good money after bad, unless there are major changes in the way GM & others do business, and right now the focus of the debate is (a) the size of the bailout, and (b) comparisons to all the OTHER bailouts afoot. Lost in the discussion seems to be how to restructure the care companies...and the magnitude of the fallout, if GM goes down. Perhaps we're a bit biased, being from Michigan (which would be at ground zero), but I don't get the sense the decision-makers realize just how many other industries and businesses would be affected.

I suspect that if the focus of the debate starts turning to a discussion of facilitating changes in the way the car companies do business in the future, rather than an argument about how much money they want, things might start moving in a more productive direction.

In addition...I suspect that the auto exec's and union officials should either (a) take a course in public relations, or (b) learn to keep their mouths shut. I don't think the people they're asking to rescue them need to hear much besides, "Of course, our management salaries will be slashed to the bone...and any bonuses are out of the question for the foreseeable future," and "Of course, the Union stands ready to do whatever it takes to make the industry competitive again." It sounds like they should all go back and read everything they can find about Iacocca's adventures 30 years ago as head of Chrysler during its darkest days: as I recall, the success of the venture depened upon (a) his personal willingness (well...the perception of his willingness) to share the privations that were coming; (b) his ability to convince others that the rough times ahead would lead to something better, if everyone pitched in and helped; and (c) a certain ruthlessness in execution. I don't see similar leadership today...in ANY of the industries with their hands out.

Speaking of the subject of Chrysler...I remember one W. Martin Makinen saying, about that time, that the biggest danger from the original Chrysler bailout might not be that it would fail, but that it would succeed. I sometimes wonder what would have happened if we'd let Chysler go belly up...and whether that would have just led to a deeper recession back in the late 70's, or whether it would have awakened Ford and GM (and the rest of Corporate America, as well), to the very real prospect of their own corporate mortality, if they didn't learn the lesson of the first oil shocks, and adjust.


JEFFREY CAMINSKY, a veteran public prosecutor in Detroit, Michigan, specializes in the appellate practice of criminal law and writes on a wide range of topics. His books include the science fiction adventure novel The Star Dancers, the exciting second volume in the Guardians of Peace-tm series, The Sonnets of William Shakespeare, and the acclaimed Referee’s Survival Guide, a book on soccer officiating. All are published by New Alexandria Press, and are available on Amazon, as well as directly from the publisher.

Booksigning at the Office

I had my first "real" booksigning today, at the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice. It was a "Pizza and Pop" gathering of friends and colleagues, to help me launch my latest endeavors.

I had all four of my books on hand, along with my father's collection of short stories, All Fathers Are Giants. Everything was very well received, and we made quite a few sales; in addition, many people who didn't have a checkbook handy will likely stop by in the coming days...or before the Christmas holidays.

It was very gratifying to have such a nice turnout. I was a bit nervous this morning, but everyone seemed very impressed, and thrilled to be part of it.

We did run out of pizza, though....



JEFFREY CAMINSKY, a veteran public prosecutor in Detroit, Michigan, specializes in the appellate practice of criminal law and writes on a wide range of topics. His books include the science fiction adventure novel The Star Dancers, the exciting second volume in the Guardians of Peace-tm series, The Sonnets of William Shakespeare, and the acclaimed The Referee’s Survival Guide, a book on soccer officiating. All are published by New Alexandria Press, and are available on Amazon, as well as directly from the publisher.

Feedback and the Four Stages of Writing: Madman, Architect, Carpenter, and Judge

Getting feedback is critical for any writer. Our minds may be full of ideas, but no matter how insightful we may be, unless we can reach the reader—and communicate what we are trying to say in a way that resonates in the mind of the audience—we are likely to disappoint not only our audience, but also ourselves. Sharing our work with a trusted friend or colleague can free us from the trap of editing our own work, and seeing what we wrote, rather than what we typed. It also lets us see how our words appear to those who are reading them, and can alert us to problems that, since we understand perfectly well what we meant, we may never notice.

Unfortunately, life is brimming with mixed blessings. And the drawback to getting feedback from others is that we may become so attuned to correcting small problems relating to composition that we forget the larger ones—those relating to the substance of what we are saying. If we become so focused on responding to feedback, we may very well lose track of our subject. If this happens, our writing may be engaging and flawless, but we will find ourselves without anything to say.

Perhaps the trick is to wait until you have a first draft more or less completed, before looking for feedback. In this way, we are already well into revisions, and ready to begin the task of smoothing out the flaws in what you have written. Of course, blindly doing it this way can lead to dead ends and unanticipated literary cul-de-sacs, since we cannot always see the flaws in our arguments or plot lines if they are not fully developed. And so the critical thing for any writer to remember is to avoid getting distracted by details while still in the creative stage.

Some years ago, a writing instructor at the University of Texas named Betty Flowers devised a helpful approach by distilling the various phases of writing into four main stages: madman, architect, carpenter, and judge. More recently, this approach has been adopted and advanced by Brian Garner, a fine writer in his own right and a leader of the "Plain English" movement in the legal profession. The Madman phase is when the writer is jotting down ideas furiously, trying to tie together all the madly firing neurons whose sparks are creating ideas—some good, some bad...and, we all hope, some brilliant. The Architect stage is when the writer is organizing these ideas into something resembling coherence. As the Carpenter, the writer is actually doing the writing...quickly, without pausing too much for polishing, since the critical part of this task is getting everything set down before it vanishes. And the Judge is the editor...who dispassionately chops and cuts and polishes the work—correcting the grammar, smoothing out the rough spots in the prose, and filling any holes that were left by the Carpenter. The most critical task of any writer is to keep the Judge at bay until the very end—for if he interferes with the work before it is ready, the entire project gets bogged down in details that do nothing but get in the way of writing.

Feedback is critical for any writer. But getting too much feedback before being done with the "rough carpentry work" is always a mistake.


JEFFREY CAMINSKY, a veteran public prosecutor in Detroit, Michigan, specializes in the appellate practice of criminal law and writes on a wide range of topics. His books include the science fiction adventure novel The Star Dancers, the exciting second volume in the Guardians of Peace-tm series, The Sonnets of William Shakespeare, and the acclaimed The Referee’s Survival Guide, a book on soccer officiating. All are published by New Alexandria Press, and are available on Amazon, as well as directly from the publisher.

Marketing

Today marks the start of our marketing campaign for this Fall's Books.

We've already made a few sales through Amazon and the distributors, but we haven't really been able to start a full push to see whether anyone wants to read my latest work...and since I don't have a full-time publicist, it all seems to be left to me.

My first book will be Wednesday, downtown at work. The press releases will start going out today, and we'll be starting to get things organized (or what will pass for organized) tomorrow.

All early reactions have been quite positive...so, here's hoping for the best!