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Wednesday, 8 March 2023

International Woman's Day

 

International Woman's Day

International Woman's Day
Woman
Quite Interesting
That's Amaaaaaaaazing
Random Joke





International Women's Day is celebrated on March 8 every year. It is a focal point in the movement for women's rights.
While the first observance of a Women's Day was held on February 28, 1909 in New York, March 8 was suggested by the 1910 International Socialist Woman's Conference to become an "International Woman's Day." After women gained suffrage in Soviet Russia in 1917, March 8 became a national holiday there, but has lost all political context through the time, becoming simply a day to honour the women and feminine beauty. The day was then predominantly celebrated by the socialist movement and communist countries until it was adopted in 1975 by the United Nations.



Woman
I’m not a size ten
Never been petite
Suffered throes of passion
Or lived with conceit
In height I’m bereft
No leggy lofty form
Not even 5 foot
The UK norm
My face is not symmetrical
No make-up would repair
No artists canvass
A painter would despair
But inside this frame
An esoteric fact
No yesterday woman
No submissive artefact
There beats a heart of a lion
Someone once said
But this strength lays within
My chest, my breast, my head
Society sees me simply
A frail and withered maid
But this country was built
On my slave trade.
So when you see me
Look beyond the shell
A soldier, a builder, a mother
The stories I could tell

The UN Women Report from 2015 showed that, despite women working longer hours than men when both paid and unpaid work is taken into consideration, women still earn an average of 24 percent less than men do worldwide. This wage gap is by far the worst in South Asia, where women earn 33 percent less than men.

This probably comes as no surprise, but women still spend more time on housework and childcare than men do. The UN reports that women spend one to three hours more on housework than men, two to 10 times the amount of time caring for children and the elderly, and one to four hours less per day on economic market activities. In fact, in the European Union, 25 percent of women say this is why they're not active in the labour force, whereas only three percent of men can say the same.

Only 22 of Earth's 197 countries can say they have women serving as heads of state.

As of 2014, there were 16 million women living with HIV, meaning 50 percent of all adults with HIV are women. It's not uncommon for women living with HIV to experience violence simply because of their HIV status. The UN reports that at least 14 countries force HIV positive women into involuntary abortions and sterilizations.
According to a 2010 longitudinal study performed in South Africa, intimate partner violence increases women and girls' chances of contracting HIV by 13.9 percent, and power inequity in relationships increases the risk by 11.9 percent.
Child marriage is more likely to kill girls in the developing world than war, AIDS, tuberculosis, or any other cause of death. In fact, complications from pregnancy and childbirth is the number one killer among girls ages 15 to 19 in the developing world.e the UN's Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women back in 1993, currently, 1 in 3 women worldwide are victims of physical or sexual violence — and it's usually at the hands of an intimate partner.
While the percentage of women married before the age of 18 has dropped in North Africa and the Middle East by about 50 percent in the last 30 years, globally speaking, one in four women alive today were child brides.

That's Amaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazing

China's Yao Defen, the world's tallest woman as verified by Guinness World Records, has died at the age of 40. Yao, who measured 233.3 cm (7 ft 7 in) when last documented, is reported to have passed away in the house she shared with her mother in a small village in China's central Anhui Province

Random Joke of the Day



My wife says she's going to leave me because of my poker addiction.
  I think she's bluffing.
Want to see what other guff I write pop over to my Authors page on Amazon. Just paste the below link in your browser.


https://www.amazon.co.uk/Neville-Raper/e/B0759Z1D25%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share

The Offer -

Have you got a kindle or e-book reader? Then as a gift from me you can now buy
my recent release, "Tales of the Unexpected" for the amazing low price of £1.99 (cheaper than a cup
of coffee) 




CHECK OUT THE 5 STAR REVIEWS -
B Silver
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great diverse short stories
28 October 2019
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase

Love this writer I bought his previous books and in my opinion this is the best so far. The stories are much more diverse than the others. For a book of short stories there are a lot there, great to pop in and read as and when you want to. Read mine on the train, I laughed out loud at one point making my fellow passengers jump out of their seats. Recommended read....

Here is a link to this book - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tales-Unexpected-Neville-Raper/dp/1687345600/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2P92XWFWDSVPV&keywords=neville+raper&qid=1643901973&sprefix=neville+raper%2Caps%2C81&sr=8-2

Subscribe - Like what you see ? want more content ? Hit the subscribe button.

e-mail - neville.raper@yahoo.co.uk

Wednesday, 22 February 2023

International Clean Your Computer Day

 In Today's Dirty Issue




International Clean Your Computer Day
Virus
Virus Facts
That's Amaaaaaazing
Random Joke




Clean Out Your Computer Day is a day to logically review, and delete old files and programs.

Most of us add programs and files to our computer with reckless abandon. After all, computers have huge storage capacity.  Many of these files and programs are forgotten over time. Overtime they clog memory and cause confusion during retrieval and use of other files. And, some may slow down your computer.

Somewhere along the way, a (most likely) computer geek or service person, created this day as an opportunity for us to remember to cleanup and delete old and unused files.



Virus

My laptop got a virus
I was surprised that it could
I tried to give paracetamol
But it did it no good


I poured in chicken soup
It works with my cold
But it just started fizzing
And the keyboard developed mold


I stuck in the bath
All soapy nice and hot
But it did not seem to like that
Oh, it certainly did not.


And now its sound asleep
It doesn't want to stir
I think I've killed the hard drive
As it no longer makes a whir


I'll have to get some software
to inoculate it better
And make sure it stays dry
and never gets wetter.


I hope I haven't killed
my little robot mate
It the virus I didn't like
and those hackers that I hate!


About 70% of people, who prepare and disseminate computer viruses, are part of an organized crime syndicate. That means that their motives may be a lot more sinister that you could ever imagine.

About 40% of all households contain at least one computer, which is infected with a virus. That means that many of us are literally walking on ice. What is really frightening is the fact that many who are affected do not even know that their systems are infected.

About 90% of all emails are infected with some type of malware. The people that send and receive it are often unaware of what is going on until it is too late.

The “MyDoom” computer virus was the most costly malware ever made. It is estimated that it caused losses of up to $38.5 billion. That is a lot more than many third world countries make in a full year.
First human infected with a computer virus On 27 May 2010, Mark Gasson (UK) from the University of Reading,UK, announced that he had implanted an RFID(radio frequency identification)chip into his hand, which he then infected with a computer virus.



I grew up in a rough area. When I was a kid people used to cover me in Chocolate and cream and put a Cherry on top of my head.

Life was tough in the Gateau
Want to see what other guff I write pop over to my Authors page on Amazon. Just paste the below link in your browser.


https://www.amazon.co.uk/Neville-Raper/e/B0759Z1D25%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share

The Offer -

Have you got a kindle or e-book reader? Then as a gift from me you can now buy
my recent release, "Tales of the Unexpected" for the amazing low price of £1.99 (cheaper than a cup
of coffee) 




CHECK OUT THE 5 STAR REVIEWS -
B Silver
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great diverse short stories
28 October 2019
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase

Love this writer I bought his previous books and in my opinion this is the best so far. The stories are much more diverse than the others. For a book of short stories there are a lot there, great to pop in and read as and when you want to. Read mine on the train, I laughed out loud at one point making my fellow passengers jump out of their seats. Recommended read....

Here is a link to this book - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tales-Unexpected-Neville-Raper/dp/1687345600/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2P92XWFWDSVPV&keywords=neville+raper&qid=1643901973&sprefix=neville+raper%2Caps%2C81&sr=8-2

Subscribe - Like what you see ? want more content ? Hit the subscribe button.

e-mail - neville.raper@yahoo.co.uk


Friday, 10 February 2023

Free Radio Play

 In Today's Tiny Issue


Small Things
How small are we
That's Amaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazing
Random Joke
Word (to your Mother)
Free audio play.



I write about big things.
But, it’s time to talk of the small,
of little pleasures of smaller joys.

A lick from the dog
Clean sheet smell
Chinese chicken curry
Melodious church bell

Sun through the curtains
A really good sneeze
Elvis on the radio
Quite a strong cheese

My spex with no spots
A pair of odd socks
Bacon and eggs
Soft ticking of clocks

Smell of cut grass
Old Captain Kirk
A free parking space
A weekend off work

A freezing cold pint
I nice new haircut
Batman and Robin
Nice clean smut

The laugh of a child
A fresh coffee pot
A blackbird’s singsong
A nose clear of snot


How Small are We ?

Our sun is one of at least 100 BILLION stars, just in the Milky Way. Scientists calculate that there are at least 100 billion galaxies in the observable universe, each one brimming with stars. There are more stars than grains of sand on all of Earth’s beaches combined. 

The Milky Way is a huge city of stars, so big that even at the speed of light (which is fast!), it would take 100,000 years to travel across it.

 Roughly 70% of the universe is made of dark energy. Dark matter makes up about 25%. The rest — everything on Earth, everything ever observed with all of our instruments, all normal matter adds up to less than 5% of the universe.

If the sun were as tall as a typical front door, Earth would be the size of a penny.

The sun accounts for almost all of the mass in our solar system. Leaving .2% for all the planets and everything else.

Edwin Hubble discovered that the Universe is expanding and that at one point in time (14 billion years ago) the universe was all collected in just one point of space.

 Four American spacecraft are headed out of our solar system to what scientists call interstellar space. Voyager 1 is the farthest out — more than 11 billion miles from our sun. It was the first manmade object to leave our solar system. Voyager 2, is speeding along at more than 39,000 mph, but will still take more than 296,000 years to pass Sirius, the brightest star in our night sky..


That's Amaaaaaaaazing ...

Smallest Hypothetical Object in the Universe: The smallest hypothetical objects in the universe is a thing which does not have any mass and dimensions. Its existence is also not proven yet. According to string theory, all universe is made up of tiny vibrating string-like structures which interact with each other and give rise to mass and energy.


Random Joke of the Day




My Dad always told me “Don’t be quick to find faults.” 
Great Dad, terrible geologist.


Word of the day: SCURRYFUNGE - to rush around cleaning before visitors arrive.

Want to see what other guff I write pop over to my Authors page on Amazon. Just paste the below link in your browser.


https://www.amazon.co.uk/Neville-Raper/e/B0759Z1D25%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share

The Offer -

Have you got a kindle or e-book reader? Then as a gift from me you can now buy
my recent release, "Tales of the Unexpected" for the amazing low price of £1.99 (cheaper than a cup
of coffee) 




CHECK OUT THE 5 STAR REVIEWS -
B Silver
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great diverse short stories
28 October 2019
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase

Love this writer I bought his previous books and in my opinion this is the best so far. The stories are much more diverse than the others. For a book of short stories there are a lot there, great to pop in and read as and when you want to. Read mine on the train, I laughed out loud at one point making my fellow passengers jump out of their seats. Recommended read....

Here is a link to this book - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tales-Unexpected-Neville-Raper/dp/1687345600/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2P92XWFWDSVPV&keywords=neville+raper&qid=1643901973&sprefix=neville+raper%2Caps%2C81&sr=8-2

Subscribe - Like what you see ? want more content ? Hit the subscribe button.

e-mail - neville.raper@yahoo.co.uk



FREEBIE -

A THYME FOR LOVE

























Sunday, 9 October 2022

Ekphrastic Poetry

 In Today's Issue






Ekphrastic Poetry
We Danced on the Sand
Trivial Top 10
That's Amaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazing
Random Joke of the Day
An Offer



Ekphrastic poetry explores art. Using a rhetorical device known as ekphrasis, the poet engages with a painting, drawing, sculpture, or other form of visual art. Poetry about music and dance might also be considered a type of ekphrastic writing.

The term ekphrastic (also spelled ecphrastic) originates from a Greek expression for description. The earliest ekphrastic poems were vivid accounts of real or imagined scenes. Through effusive use of details, writers in ancient Greece aspired to transform the visual into the verbal. Later poets moved beyond description to reflect on deeper meanings. Today, the word ekphrastic can refer to any literary response to a non-literary work.

Key Terms

Ekphrastic poetry: Poetry about a work of art
Actual ekphrasis: Writing about an artwork that exists
Notional ekphrasis: Writing about an imagined work of art

I was provided with the below picture and asked to come up with some writing to accompany it....


We Danced on the Sand


We sang as we danced and danced as we sang
Our help tried to shield us as best they could
With batwing brollies.
They tried but were no protection against that wind of change
How beautiful she was crimson dressed.

Our song carried and joined the gale force choir
It cycloned back as all things do.
But it had changed

We all danced now in red stained shoes
A staccato beat by musicians with a different flag
Their chords tight on white hot instruments.
I looked down and saw my shadow on rusted sand

She’s here with me again in that cardinal dress.
Her skin is so white and I can’t hear her song.
I look down and my shadow has gone

The shells are on the beach
The shells are on the beach

TOP 10 1st Wedding Dances 2021

10. Ed Sheeran and Beyonce – Perfect (Duet)

9. Ellie Goulding – How Long Will I Love You

8. Jason Mraz – I Won’t Give Up

7. Ray LaMontagne – You Are The Best Thing

6. Christina Perri – A Thousand Years

5. Elvis Presley – Can’t Help Falling in Love

4. John Legend – All of Me

3. Etta James – At Last

2. Ed Sheeran – Thinking Out Loud

1. Ed Sheeran – Perfect


That's Amaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazing

Kalamandalam Hemalatha has shown the world why she's known as “the dancing queen of Kerala.” On January 6, Guinness World Records confirmed that she had set a world record for the “longest dance marathon by an individual.” Beginning on September 20, she shook her hips and wiggled her neck for 123 hours and 15 minutes

Random Joke of the Day

Got some insect repellent spray, it says on the can that it may cause hallucinations. Personally I don't believe it but the flies swear it's true.


The Offer -

Have you got a kindle or e-book reader? Then as a gift from me you can now buy
my recent release, "Tales of the Unexpected" for the amazing low price of £1.99 (cheaper than a cup
of coffee) 




CHECK OUT THE 5 STAR REVIEWS -
B Silver
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great diverse short stories
28 October 2019
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase

Love this writer I bought his previous books and in my opinion this is the best so far. The stories are much more diverse than the others. For a book of short stories there are a lot there, great to pop in and read as and when you want to. Read mine on the train, I laughed out loud at one point making my fellow passengers jump out of their seats. Recommended read....

Here is a link to this book - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tales-Unexpected-Neville-Raper/dp/1687345600/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2P92XWFWDSVPV&keywords=neville+raper&qid=1643901973&sprefix=neville+raper%2Caps%2C81&sr=8-2

Subscribe - Like what you see ? want more content ? Hit the subscribe button.

e-mail - neville.raper@yahoo.co.uk



Tuesday, 26 July 2022

My Child

 In Today's edition.



My Kid
Kids
That's Amaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazing
Random Joke
Buy a Book




My Kid


The levy broke
and waters ran
A portent of a new
lifespan

To a place lit
with sterile lights
of stainless steel
Chemical flights

Mop a brow
hold a hand
A soothing word
a useless man

A final quake
One cry is two
Orchestra of girls
One old one new

I hold the life
like mad parents did
and say hello
To my new kid.


KIDS


1. ‘Children’ is one of only three words in modern English which are plurals formed by adding the old suffix -en. The others are brethren and oxen.

2. Worldwide, the average woman gives birth to an estimated 6.89 children.

3. The highest fertility rate is in Niger, where women give birth to an average of 7.58 children. The lowest is Singapore at 0.8 per woman.

4. The average girl child reaches half her adult height at 18 months. For a boy it is 24 months.

5. According to research at Sheffield University in 2008: “Clowns are universally disliked by children”.

6. “Childhood: the period of life intermediate between the idiocy of infancy and the folly of youth.” (Ambrose Bierce, A Devil’s Dictionary)

7. Twelfth Night is the only Shakespeare play that does not contain the words ‘child’ or ‘children’.

8. According to research for National Teething Week 68 per cent of parents have left a public place because of a crying child.

9. According to a recent survey, ten per cent of UK children learn to use a touch screen by age two.

10. “Mankind owes to the child the best it has to give.” (UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child)



That's Amaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazing

Valentina Vassilyev and her husband Feodor Vassilyev are alleged to hold the record for the most children a couple has produced. She gave birth to a total of 69 children – sixteen pairs of twins, seven sets of triplets and four sets of quadruplets – between 1725 and 1765, a total of 27 births.


Random Joke of the Day



es, taking your children to the park can be exhausting. But when they have a great time, also very rewarding. It’s swings and roundabouts.


By the Book -

Have you got a kindle or e-book reader? Then as a gift from me you can now buy
my recent release, "Tales of the Unexpected" for the amazing low price of £1.99 (cheaper than a cup
of coffee) 




CHECK OUT THE 5 STAR REVIEWS -
B Silver
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great diverse short stories
28 October 2019
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase

Love this writer I bought his previous books and in my opinion this is the best so far. The stories are much more diverse than the others. For a book of short stories there are a lot there, great to pop in and read as and when you want to. Read mine on the train, I laughed out loud at one point making my fellow passengers jump out of their seats. Recommended read....

Here is a link to this book - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tales-Unexpected-Neville-Raper/dp/1687345600/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2P92XWFWDSVPV&keywords=neville+raper&qid=1643901973&sprefix=neville+raper%2Caps%2C81&sr=8-2

Subscribe - Like what you see ? want more content ? Hit the subscribe button.

e-mail - neville.raper@yahoo.co.uk