Pumped Up For Poomsae (Korean version)

(Google Translator was used to convert the English language file. I apologise for any errors.)

Poomsae에 펌핑

1994 년, 나는 태권도 타임즈 매거진, 블랙 벨트 및 기타 무술 잡지에 기사를 보냈습니다. 아무도 체포하지 않고 출판 조각에서는, 불행히도 전 태권도 Poomsae (양식) 경쟁에 대해 쓴 주요 토너먼트가 나타나지 않았던 이유를 궁금해. 물론, 그것이 있었고, 여전히, 주 대회 챔피언의 일부와 국가 행사지만 그 때문에가 아니라 또 다른 분열했습니다. 스파링은 물론, 연회실 행사 였지. 그때 무슨일 (세계 태권도 연맹) Poomsae 월드 챔피언십이 아니었어요. 가능한 것은, 미국에서 적어도 여기, 대부분은 태권도와 열린 무술 대회에서 poomsae 분열했다. 사실, 그건 아직도 그것이 얼마나 거의 없지만 채점 과정에서 적게 모셔가되므로 엄격히 태권도 행사에서 poomsae 이벤트가 더 나은 조직 및 공식화된다. 이것은 좋은 일이있다. 심지어 전체 선수권에서 poomsae 더 존경을 부여하고 경쟁을위한 자체 일 (들)이 자신의 기술을 홍보하게된다.

글에서, 난 거기에 세계 선수권 일종되어야하며, 아마도, poomsae 경쟁은 물론 올림픽 게임에 들어갈 것이라고 제안했다. 태권도가 이미 같은 시범 경기, 1988 년, 올림픽에 추가했다 (기억, 나는. 무슨일이 마침내 2006 년 첫 Poomsae 세계 선수권 대회 조사 했어요. 1990 년대 초반에 기사를 썼다), 그리고 본격적인 메달되었다 2000 년 스포츠. 그것은 이후 올림픽의 의지있었습니다. 계급을 수행하는 데 선수와 함께 두 라운드 - 최근 나에게 영감을 얻어 1994 년 동계 올림픽에서 흥미롭고 추문 가득한 여성 피겨 스케이팅 대회를 지켜봤을 때, 난 그 주요 poomsae 대회가 올림픽 피겨 스케이팅과 같은 형식을 따릅니다 수 썼습니다 첫 번째 필수 돌고 두 번째 창조적인 원형에 적합한 형식입니다. 두 번째 라운드에서는 각 선수는 앞서 ​​경쟁의 테마를 받게 될 것입니다 그리고 그들은 그 주제를 제시 양식을 준비해야 할 것입니다. 태권도는 결국 무술이며, 정의에 의해 예술은 창조적인 추구이다.

당신은 무슨일 세계 선수권 대회와 무슨일 인의 국가 총독기구 (NGBs)에서 운영하는 관련 태권도 행사를 포함하여 무슨일 인정한 전국 선수권 대회에서 경쟁 찾고 Taekwondoist면 오늘날, poomsae 짓을해야 공식화 방법이 승인 및 승인 채점 시스템. 나이와 순위 (벨트 컬러) 부문도있다. poomsae 경쟁의 현재 상태와 문제는 블랙 벨트 사업부와 동침하고는이 블로그 포스트에 대해 무엇입니다.

제가 계속하기 전에, 경우에 누구 내가 단지 불만에 찬 경쟁이고 흘리며 지나간 일은 후회 사람이, 나는 검은 벨트 오전 생각 해요. 내 NGB에서 여섯째 단 인증을 가지고, 미국 (USAT) 태권도, 나는 Kukkiwon의 태권도. 글로벌 본부 (저는 나중에 댄 인증에 대한 블로그 게시물을 작성됩니다)에서 다섯 번째 단 인증을 기다리고 있어요 . 나는 1989 년부터 블랙 벨트 있었 게다가 합기도, Shotokan 가라테, Koeikan 가라데와 유도를 공부했습니다. 저는 10 월 1985 년 내 태권도 훈련을 시작했고 나는 홍콩에서 중국 남부 체육 협회에서 Shotokan을 공부했다 같은 해 6 월 제 무술 훈련입니다. 나는 Maplewood, 뉴저지의 작은 dojang이라도 나만의을 가지고, 나는 Pompton 플레인, 뉴저지의 한 학교를 실행하는 데 사용됩니다. 나는 또한 2011과 뉴저지를위한 2012 최초의 석사 Poomsae 사업부 상태 챔피언이고 나는 2011 전국 선수권 대회에서 톱 10에 마쳤다. 또 코칭과 스포츠 행정에서 석사 학위를 소지하고 나는 USAT와 공인 부교수 감독이다. 나는 잘난척이 모두 나열하지 않습니다. 훨씬 더 인상적인 자격 증명을 가진 많은 태권도 블랙 벨트가 있습니다. 너, 독자, 나는 주변에 있었 정도로 제가 아래에 명시해야하지 제안과 요구를 만들기 위해 경험했다고 믿을 수 있도록이 모두 나열합니다.

자, 뒤로 검은 벨트 poomsae 부문의 문제점합니다. 첫째, 경쟁의 부족이 있습니다. 내가 생각하고 될 기대로 지난 2 년 동안, 블랙 벨트 (3 ^{회 마스터스} 1 ^{일 선배님들)에} 대한 다양한 poomsae 부문에서 참가자의 숫자는 크게 없습니다. 이유는 무엇입니까? 여기 제 추측입니다. 아마도, 그건 돈이에요. 등록 수수료는 그들이 행복했던 적은보다 크고 여행 경비 (항공료, 가스, 철도, 버스, 식품, 호텔) 명까지 추가할 수 있으며 하나 저렴하지 않을 수 있습니다. 이것은 제쳐두고, 내가 항목의 부족 홍보 부족 poomsae은 경쟁의 관점에서 자체 실체로 기생하는 일과 할 것 같아요, 아마도 올림픽을 빌려도 연단 장소에서 우승의 기회를 가질 수 없게 감각이 있습니다 링고. 여기 내가 이런 일이 생기 수 있다고 생각하는 방법은 다음과 같습니다 각 poomsae이 완료되는 방식에 대한 규칙을 거기에 codified되며 각 실수 가치가 공제의 특정 목록이있다하더라도, poomsae 경쟁은 어떤 수준에서, '판단'이벤트이며, 여전히 주관적인 것입니다. 심사 위원들은 교육을 통해가는 거죠 그들을 최신 상태로 유지하려면 회전하고 오류를 만드는 인해 피로하고 무슨 있습니다. 판사는하지만 인간이며, 그 결과로, 그들은 반환 챔피언 및 / 또는 알려진 경쟁사를 선호하는 경향이 있습니다. 이것은 태권도 특유되지 않습니다. 팀 스포츠 봐. 스포츠 팬으로서, 나는 그것이 홈팀이 선발대 그 별을보다 더 유리한 통화를 얻을 것이 거의 분명하다는 말을 할 수, 마이클 조던처럼 최고의 프로 바로 된 상대편 뛰어난 신인보다 통화 그들의 방법을 얻을 학교.

블랙 벨트 태권도 poomsae 경쟁의 현재 형식에서 부서는 나이별로 세분화되어 - 1 ^번째 시니어 (19-30), 2 ^차 노인 (31-40), 1 ^번째 석사 (41-50), 2 ^{차 마스터를} ( 51-60), 3 ^{차 마스터} (60 +). 팀 poomsae 행사지만,이 블로그는 개인적인 콘테스트에 주로 초점을위한 남성과 여성 서로 다른 연령 공포 '증세에 대해 별도의 그룹이있다, 제가 제시하는 아이디어가 팀의 이벤트에도 적용할 수 있지만.

문제는 각 부문 내에서 자리잡고 있습니다. 먼저 학위 블랙 벨트이 9 정도의 블랙 벨트 경쟁하게됩니다. 예를 들어 내 분열, 1 ^{일 마스터를} 사용하여 각 경쟁자는 (7 ^일 Taegeuk 8 조 (사전 블랙 벨트 poomsae)에서 Chonkwon로 알고 있습니다 단 에 관계없이 자신의 계급) poomsae. 이것은 계급 스펙트럼의 양쪽에서 어느정도 부정적인 뜻이 있다고. 첫 번째 단 경쟁자에게 그가 그 자신의 정규 수업 시간에 배운되지 않은 여섯 양식을 배우고있다. 한편, 일곱째 댄 경쟁자는 각 하나를 완성, 교육 수년 있었다. 시험에 벼락 공부를 갖는 유사, 첫번째 댄 단지 선수권을 입력 poomsae 경쟁 업체의 수를 줄이고, 경쟁하지 않기로 선택할 수 있습니다. 아니면, 정말 그들을 완벽하게받지 않고 모든 형태를 배우고 게임 시간에 제대로 실행됩니다. 계급 스펙트럼의 다른 쪽 끝을에서 약간 오래된 경쟁 업체는 시간과 시대의 맹위로부터 더 고생했을 수와 그의 스냅과 유연성의 일부를 잃었을 수도 있습니다. 예의, 존중, 성실, 규율, 불굴의 정신 - - 예를 들어 칠분의 일 댄을 표시하기위한 첫 단에 대한 그것은 태권도의 신조 내에 진정인가요? 난 그렇게 생각하지 않습니다.

"그 태권도는 스포츠가 아닌 무술이다."간단히 말하자면 그들이 틀렸다 - 현재의 형식과 두 번째 문제는 그것이 다른 스타일의 많은 무술 예술가에 의해 제공되는 라인에 신빙성을 추가합니다. 미안 해요. 많은 무술은 대회가 있고 그 대회들이 그 규칙에 의해 규정된 조건 하에서 스포츠 만들 규칙이 있습니다. 규칙은 서로를 죽이는에서 사용하는 것을 금지하고 우리가 서로를 줄 수 불면의 종류를 제한할 수 있습니다. 그러나 정당 방위 상황에서 거리에, 우리가 사용하는 거라 다른 기술의 호스트이며 우리 스스로를 보호하기 위해 친 거라고 대상으로하고 있습니다. 수업에서 우리는 팔꿈치와 무릎을 함께 훈련. 그들은 우리의 poomsae에 나타 아직 우리는 반지에서 그들을 사용하지 마십시오. 그래서, 그 더 없어들에게 태권도는 무술이 아니라고, 난 그것이 스포츠와 무술을 모두 말한다. 태권도는 동전 양면이있다.

현재 poomsae 형식으로 앞에서 언급한 때, 일곱째 댄을 배우는 첫번째 dans가 없습니다 그가 경쟁할 수 있도록 poomsae. 그는 기술을 할 수 있습니다하지만 진정으로 양식의 의미를 쥐고있다? 시간이 소요되는 - - 블랙 벨트 훈련의 세월을 통해 위조되고 문자의 태권도 poomsae은 형태와 의미, 기술의 발전 뒤에 원리를 이해를 기반으로 각 계급에 할당됩니다. 함으로써 처음 단 '마스터'높은 형태는 기본적으로 계급 제도를 부정하게 되는거야, 적어도 poomsae 측면에서. 이 사건이되는 이유는 다음 각 단은 특정 양식을 가지고해야하는가? 태권도 스포츠 태권도와 무술은 다른 것이지만 그들은 같은 뿌리에서 나왔습니다, 같은 나무의 두 가지. 각 계급의 poomsae의 의미를 부정하는 것은 반으로 나무와 하프 금형에서 절단하지, 둘다 자체 또는 다른 측면을 유지할을 반 수 나무 지경.

그래, 어떻게, 태권도 커뮤니티, 석사 및 NGBs는 이러한 문제를 해결합니까? 더 poomsae 경쟁 선수권 대회를 입력 데리고 태권도 스포츠 이내 태권도 무술의 무결성을 유지 댄 특정 블랙 벨트 poomsae 경쟁을 실행합니다. 아마도, 심지어 스파링, 단 특정 등 모든 이벤트를 실행합니다.

그것이 나이 고장 넷의 첫 번째 의무 poomsae ', 4 세트의 세트로 지금처럼 형식은 본질적으로 같은 것입니다'두번째 강제 poomsae. ' 차이는 각 세트의 poomsae 것입니다. 첫째 dans 두 번째로 첫 번째 집합과 Taeguek 7 Taegeuk 3-6 8뿐만 아니라 고려와 Keumgang을 얻을 수 있습니다. 고려가 첫 번째 단입니다 poomsae과 Keumgang 두 번째 단 양식이며, 하나는 최초의 댄은 두 번째 단되는 방향으로 자신의 길을 배우는 것이다. 여섯 번째 댄 부문 예를 들어, Taegeuk 8, 고려, Keum g 중앙 및 Taebaek (첫 세트)와 Pyongwon, Sipjin, Jitae 및 Chonkwon을 (두 번째 세트) 할 것이다. 기본적으로, 그것은 새로운 블랙 벨트가 그의 다음 순위를 적립 향해 배우는 양식 및 이전 일곱살 이라구요.

" 관심 누구?"이 형식은 전체 이벤트가 더 이상 만들 수 있지만 이런 말을하고 태권도 행사 참석 - 모든 종류의 이벤트를 - 그 일을 기념, 그것은 스포츠, 무술, 둘, 춤, 그림,이든 등 빅 이벤트가 또한 조금 더 우리가하던 것보다면 누가 관심 때문에 (가장 빈발 일년 가능성이 한번에) 자주 발생하지 않습니다. 결국, 우리는 더 이상 대회에 익숙해져 야해 여전히 더 원해. 제가 제안하는 형식 태권도는 무술과 무술 스포츠 모두는 것을 보강하는 데 도움이됩니다. 그것은 또한 더 많은 사람들이 입력받을 것이다. 승리 넷째 자리 먼저 제 ^1의 마스터스 부문 단지가 없었 겠죠. 1 ^일 석사 1 ^일 4 위를 먼저가있을 거라고 댄 부문 4 위 제 ^{1 마스터} 먼저 2 ^기 댄 사업부 등등.

지난해 내셔널에서 내 마감에 관해서는, 나는 11 참가자의 밖으로 열번째 왔어요. 그것은 10에 나는 경쟁있었습니다. 나는 나타나지 않았다. 하하! 하기도하지만, 이것은 몇 사람이 메이저 대회 중 일부를 입력하는 방법을 보여줍니다. 자격 을텐데 모두 입력했다면, 어쩌면 내가 낮은 곳에 완료 싶지만 더 많은 경쟁 상대와 태권도가 잘 표현됩니다. 자격을 모두가 이러한 주요 행사를 입력하고 각 특정 블랙 벨트 단에 대해 별도의 부서가있다면, 태권도는 더 더욱 표현할 수 있습니다. 그것은 더 나은 태권도 선수의 깎아지른 수가 증가 측면에서 표시됩니다하지만, 그것은 또한 더 나은 이러한 주요 행사에서 태권도의 품질로 표현됩니다. 더 많은 국가 챔피언으로 예를 들어, 국가 행사에서 경쟁하고 주 챔피언이 최소한 다음 해당 이벤트 또는 그 해, 국가 행사를 위해, 그들의 상태에서 최상의 것을 받아들이는 최고의 진정한 왕관 최선을 것입니다. 내가 무술 및 스포츠에 대한 좋은 생각이야 모든 변경을 수용하기 위해 NGB는 주 챔피언이와 국가 행사에 얻을 것이다을 보증하기 위해 자원을 찾는와의 상태 계열사 도와야만 해.

나는 태권도 사랑 해요. 나는 poomsae 사랑 해요. 난 항상 내 선택한 무술의 다른 측면에 좋아했었어요. 하자 명예, 태권도와 양식, 그리고 한번 붙어 보자 명예 그들 올바른 방법 모두.

A Small World Getting Smaller

Our small world just keeps getting smaller.

I spent a few days on holiday at my wife’s friend’s cottage in Montauk, New York this past week. This was our second time here - the last was in 2010 - and we spent time on the beaches, where Jude played with the sand and outran the waves, visited the lighthouse and revisited some of the places we had some of our meals. Duryea’s, with its famous and delicious Lobster Roll, was once again on our list to stops.

When we came back to the cottage, after a quick hour at South Lake Beach on our first day, we met our neighbours in the cottage next to ours. Here’s where the world starts to shrink. There were two women and a man staying there. One of the women is the man’s mother. The other woman, I assume is his wife, although she wasn’t introduced to us as such. It turns out that the man is originally from South Orange and he went to Columbia High School, where I coach volleyball. He graduated from there in 1989, the same year as a couple of my friends and colleagues. Not only did he graduate with them, he’s very good friends with one of them. As my friend put it, after texting him about my running into his old friend, “I’ve partied with him many times.”

The world continued to get a little bit smaller on our penultimate day and may even result in new friendships. While on the beach - I think it was Kirk Beach, which Jude calls “the huge beach” - we set up camp next to two women who had another young boy with them. The boy was playing with his own bucket, shovel and molds. Jude had his and before long they were playing together. It also turns out that they’re both Power Rangers fans. At one point, Guada, Jude, the boy and his mother were standing side-by-side, holding hands and jumping over the waves. Before they left, I got the mom’s email address to send her copies of the pictures we’d taken and to arrange a time when Jude and the boy can get together and play. It turns out, according to the boy’s mother, that in their neighbourhood there aren’t many boys for her son to play with. The mom grew up on Long Island but now lives in Convent Station, New Jersey. That’s not too far from where we live and it’s also where my mother, when she lived in New Jersey, spent time at Saint Thomas More Church for various Opus Dei activities. Sometimes I’d drive her there, make a visit the The Blessed Sacrament then wait in the car until she was done.

It’s funny how things happen. Last winter, I posted how I’d reconnected with a former student, who has become a big help in marketing my book. His girlfriend is another author who I’d corresponded with a few years ago so my reunion with him became a kind of ‘six degrees of separation’ situation. I didn’t know they were together. I don’t think they were when she and I had exchanged emails. Well, these two episodes on our family vacation have turned into two others more six degrees situations.

What about you? Have any degrees of separations and/or reunions lately? Do share. I’m really starting to believe that coincidences don’t exist. What do you think? 

The Olympic Games

Well, The Olympic Games 2012 - London 2012 - are in full swing and I’m watching as much as I can. It’s putting a cramp in some of the other things I have to get done but, hey, The Olympics only comes around once every four years. With the winter and summer Olympics, the World Cup, the European Championships and the regular English football (soccer) season, it’s amazing that I get anything done at all.

But I digress. Back to The Olympics and my thoughts on this edition so far.

The Opening Ceremony. In a word, fantastic. Danny Boyle and company did a superb job showcasing how the United Kingdom has evolved, never mind the amazing and highly entertaining entrance of ‘the Queen.’ Depicting the country’s evolution from agrarian to industrialised practices, honouring the soldiers and seaman who’ve defended Great Britain as a land and worldwide fundamental freedoms, honouring their National Health Service and highlighting music throughout the ages, I was highly entertained and, even educated. I’m glad it was shown during primetime here in the United States so I could see it but, for me, huge global events such as this should always be shown live. It can always be rebroadcast - as it was – at a later time. There’s a certain excitement and uniqueness with trying to get to your TV on time and not wanting to miss a thing. At least, NBC didn’t try any of that ‘as live’ stuff it did a couple of Olympics back with some of the actual sports events.

Korean Flag Debacle. This is The Olympics, one of the largest and most important events in the world. It’s as much a humanitarian and peacekeeping endeavour as it is a multi-sport athletic contest. Years go into planning each Olympics as do millions (perhaps, billions) of dollars, pounds, euros, whatever. For the South Korean flag to be displayed during the playing of the North Korean anthem at the start of a football match is highly unacceptable. I tell my students, when giving them a test, that when they’re finished they need to check their answers to make sure they’re what they want them to be. When they’ve done that, they should check them again and, after that, check them again. Again, this is The Olympics. It’s in the details that things are remembered, enjoyed and frowned upon.

Anticipating thrills and spills. As with every sports event, there will be thrills and spills. One of the most anticipated contests this year is the Ryan Lochte vs Michael Phelps showdown in the swimming pool. Well, the thrills and spills started on day one with Phelps barely making it to the final of the 400m IM (Individual Medley) and his subsequent fourth place finish in the medal race. Lochte won it. So, right now, it’s Ryan 1 Michael 0. Also, in the pool, China has taken two golds and set new world records in the process. Sun Yang won the 400m men’s freestyle and teenager Ye Shiwen won the women’s 400m IM. Let’s not forget the archery world record set by the South Koreans early on day one, Japan’s surprise 1-0 win over Spain in men’s football, that there are more women participating in these games than there are men and, last, but definitely not least, about Oscar Pistorius, the South African sprinter who is also a double amputee, who uses those blade-like artificial legs that have garnered him the nickname ‘Blade Runner’ and ‘the fastest man on no legs.’ I can’t wait to see him run.

I love The Olympic Games. Since 1984 (when I watched my first opening ceremony on TV) to 1988 (when Taekwondo was added) to 1996 (when I went to Atlanta as a spectator and, in January of the same year, when I tried out for a spot on the USA Men’s Handball Team for the 2000 Olympics) to now I’ve been a believer in the Olympics movement – to compete openly and fairly against others from all over the world; to do one’s best and to better that best, whether a medal is at stake or not; to challenge and to overcome; to extol the power of the human spirit.  It’s about the individual winning over him or her self and if that victory results in having a medal draped over the athlete’s neck, well, that’s just a bonus.

I have to say I’m not a big fan of country medal counts. There isn’t a prize for the country with the most medals, after all. Keeping country counts promotes separation and an elitist “I’m better than you attitude.” The Olympics, as I studied in university and as its founder Baron Pierre Coubertin envisioned it to be, are a celebration of individual achievement. It’s a celebration of individual humanity; that, regardless of their skill and ability differences, the athletes, at the end of the day, are just people like everyone else. That’s also what the Greeks did in the very first Olympics. That very first Olympics also wasn’t a country versus country event. It’s always been about the individual and his or her challenges and how they’re overcome.

If you’re an Olympics fan, like me, I hope they’re enjoyable for you and that the athletes you’re rooting for do well. If you’re new to them, I hope you get something out of them. Watch a sport you wouldn’t normally watch. Learn something about the ethnic culture of one of those athletes and expose your children, as I am, to this summer global classroom.

Enjoy The Games!

Book Review: Running The Rift by Naomi Benaron

 

Book Review: Running The Rift by Naomi Benaron

Naomi Benaron, winner of the Bellwether Prize for fiction, wrote a book that needed to be written. The war in Rwanda in the 1990s and the resulting genocide was well documented in nightly news coverage, in shows like 60 Minutes, and in an award nominated movie, Hotel Rwanda. The cynical side of me, however, can’t help from feeling that much of what was shown on the news and even presented in the film, starring Don Cheadle, may have been spun in such a way to make us - viewers living in the western world - feel, perhaps, that the efforts of aid groups, the United Nations and various governments was good enough. I’m not an activist nor am I a political scientist and I haven’t spoken to any kind of expert on Rwanda before writing this review but Ms. Benaron’s novel offers a feeling that it was written by someone in the know; like she had seen the atrocities firsthand or lived with Rwandans who had survived them. Running The Rift is as much an historical account of the events of that time and place as it is literary entertainment. I’ll admit that I didn’t follow the news shows’ report for report and I didn’t read every newspaper article that dealt with Rwanda so, in many ways, Running The Rift became my introduction to Rwandan political and civil war history.

Told through the eyes of Jean Patrick Nkuba, a Tutsi tribesman who is a standout 800-meter runner and Olympics hopeful, Ms. Benaron’s novel deals with issues of identity, honoring one’s family and dealing and coming through tragedy. It is the issues of identity and family that first brought me to Running The Rift. My own novel, Back Kicks And Broken Promises, deals with both issues so, naturally, I was drawn to the comparisons between the two books. I’m also a track coach and runner so reading about Jean Patrick’s training and competing was sure to be something I’d be into. These cosmetic attractions, however, soon became less important as I read on. I learnt about the RPF, the Interahamwe, the influence of the RTLM radio, the Hutu and Tutsi tribes, and the political structure of Rwanda at the time.

In spite of the tragedies that surround the story of Running The Rift, Ms. Benaron does a superb job of keeping her story that of a young man making his mark in the world, negotiating love and trying to fulfill a dream of achieving something that would honour him, his family and his country. It is a coming of age story that forces its protagonist to grow up very quickly and Ms. Benaron does this deftly with prose that isn’t heavy-handed, settings that truly pull the reader in and, like I said before, the sensitivity of someone who really knows her story and the place she has put it in and the people she has chosen to tell it. As I progressed from one chapter to the next, I felt like I was being taken on a tour of Rwanda. As a runner, I could see myself running alongside Jean Patrick Nkuba. (Well, probably behind him because I’m nowhere near as fast he is.) In fact, outside of the dangers of the war, I could see myself hanging out and enjoying the Rwandan cuisine with Jean Patrick, his coach, his girlfriend and his teammates.

Running The Rift, a story that is moving, illuminating and told honestly, is a book that will appeal not only to individuals who have a connection to Rwanda or an interest in Africa. In one part of the book, Jean Patrick’s track coach hands him an identity card that states he is Hutu and not Tutsi. Being Hutu would give Jean Patrick privileges and safety. However, even though the card says he’s Hutu, everyone knows he’s really Tutsi. This part of the book reminded me of the Koreans during the Japanese occupation; Koreans who had to give up all aspects of their native Korean culture, including their names, in order to survive in their Japanese controlled homeland. I was also reminded of the Japanese-Americans during the 1940s, born in the United States and who had no affiliation with Japan, that were relocated to internment camps - Americans locking up Americans - after Japan bombed Pearl Harbour.

Americans locking up Americans and Rwandans killing off Rwandans simply because they’re different kinds of Americans and Rwandans - sadly, this really happened. Let’s not forget, too, of the Bosnian Genocide and the ethnic cleansing campaign of the also (ironically) early 1990s conducted by the Bosnia Serb Army.

Whatever you’re into and whatever you read or watch, as Ms. Benaron’s Jean Patrick Nkuba shows us in Running The Rift, it is the strength of our humanity and recognizing that we are more similar than we are different that keeps us waking up every morning and it’s the power of the human spirit that keeps us going when things are at their bleakest. Read Running The Rift for education and entertainment. It is a fantastic book and a quick read. As you read it, though, take Ms. Benaron’s book as a treatise on and reminder of the dangers and the wrongfulness of bigotry, genocide, racism, sexism and every other inhumane thing that we, as human beings, do to one another everyday.

Book Review: The Forever Girl by Rebecca Hamilton

Book Review: The Forever Girl by Rebecca Hamilton

With the abundance of paranormal plus supernatural plus ghosts plus goblins plus vampires plus romance plus shape-shifters plus witches (is there anything left?) that’s already out there on screen and in literature, it’s hard to create anything that deals with these elements that isn’t hackneyed and ‘been there, done that.’ Well, I’m happy to say that Rebecca Hamilton manages to pull it off. When I bought and downloaded (it’s only available as an ebook) The Forever Girl, I did so to support a fellow indie author and because I’d had some direct contact with Ms. Hamilton. We follow each other on Twitter (her handle is @InkMuse) and had a couple of direct message chats and, in a way, I guess I felt that I was helping out a new friend of sorts.

Actually, when I started reading Ms. Hamilton’s debut novel, I’d posted on Goodreads that The Forever Girl wasn’t really my cup of tea. Based on the cover art (a Goth dressed girl with her head tilted in a pining sort of way with an equally longing facial expression) and with a twenty-something female protagonist, I thought that I was heading down a path of whiny chick lit coated in fantasy. I think, too, at the time, I was overloaded with Twilight and Bella with the first part of the final movie having just come out and my wife reading and recounting the entire series of books for me. I’m sorry Twilight fans - and I haven’t been inspired to read the books - but Bella is not one of my favourite characters (although she has become more interesting since she was turned) and I’d spend time with Sophia Parsons over Bella any day.

The first in a series, The Forever Girl, jumps right into who Sophia is and getting us into the action but there are parts in the first third of the book that are a little redundant and dragged out with a decision she has to make regarding the new man in her life. However, beyond that, especially when the book’s title is given meaning, The Forever Girl really takes off. It becomes fast-paced with every page moving the story forward and setting up one nice subplot after another. With regard to the meaning of the book’s title - I’m obviously not going to give it away here so you’ll have to buy the book and read it yourself -  I do recall one other movie (or was it a book?) that has a similar element to it but I can’t remember its title so, really, for my money, Ms. Hamilton is presenting something new. The fact I can’t recall the other work’s title, it probably didn’t present it very well either. Ms. Hamilton also creates new names for her supernatural beings - Strigoi and Cruor, for instance - that remove us from the world of vampires and werewolves that have become part of our everyday cultural lexicon thus erasing any sense of ‘been there, done that’ the reader may bring to the book.

As I got deeper into the book, it dawned on me that my Goodreads comment was completely inaccurate. The Forever Girl is exactly my cup of tea. I’m a weekly watcher of HBO’s True Blood. I loved - not just because of the crush I had on Sarah Michelle Gellar - the Buffy, The Vampire Slayer television series and it’s spin-off Angel. Recently, I’ve discovered the ScyFy channel’s Lost Girl, which, just like The Forever Girl, presents interesting gender-bending relationships; although for 2012 they may not be so bending. The Forever Girl also opens its readers to the world of witches and Wiccans, something I was first exposed to culturally in the movie The Craft, when the Buffy character Willow delved into it, and when I dated a fellow martial arts student who practices Wicca. True Blood, last season, centered its conflicts around witchcraft as well but other than these examples, there aren’t that many mainstream pieces of literature dealing with Wicca. In this way, The Forever Girl not only entertains it also educates, albeit minimally and without being academic.

Writing today, speaking as a novelist myself, can be difficult when trying to create something new in fiction. There aren’t any new storylines to be had. Just think of all the stories of good versus evil that have to do with a young apprentice and an older mentor. Granted, some are hacks and not very well written but there are also the gems - Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings and the C. S. Lewis’ Narnia books to name a few. What makes the good ones worth the time and cost is that they offer a new twist to the story and that they balance well the elements they’ve taken from previous versions of similar stories. The Forever Girl has obvious similarities to Buffy, True Blood, Twilight, Angel and, even, Lost Girl. I’m sure that Ms. Hamilton was inspired by some of these other works but in no way intended to duplicate them. And she hasn’t. What she has done is create a new version of this world of demons and bloodsuckers with an identity-confused heroine. Written in first person POV, I couldn’t help from feeling that I was a part of Sophia’s entourage and I enjoyed getting to know her. I’m looking forward to getting to know more of her in the next book of the series.