#Famous Fictional Postal Workers

[fitzthoughtsblog]

7-11-17: The One Year Anniversary Post

7-11-17: The One Year Anniversary Post

Happy anniversary to the blog as I celebrate the first post made last July after completing yet another school assignment. Meanwhile the Indiana Pacers apparently believe that this Tom Crean product getting waxed by a junior high schooler will replace Paul George and lead the Pacers to the NBA World title. In other words business as usual with my favorite pro hoops team and my not-so-favorite…

[thecurrenttech]

Robots will take our jobs when we create new ones

If a worker completes a task in 18 days, how long will it take for three workers to complete the same task? How about robots? Robots will take our jobs? Not all robots are like the Death machines from Terminator, Optimus Prime, RoboCop, Sunny, Tars, Walle R 2D, Two C, Three PO. The list goes on and on. These are just what we are familiar with from the silver screen.

There are also robots such as Asimo Sophia, Curiosity, Robo and Wildcat, which operate in real life today. However, there is a difference between the famous robots in the movies and the robots which serve us today in real life. We owe the word robot to Czech writer Carl Chapac, who introduced the word when he wrote his play Rosalind’s Universal. Robots in some dictionaries define robot as a device that can perform various activities to complete a specific task. When we look around, we can see many robots that fit this definition, such as our dishwashers, vacuum cleaners, dryers and food processors.

Robots perform a myriad of tasks in our lives. Directly or indirectly, they are responsible for heavy and difficult tasks in many factories. In fact, many of the tasks in production and manufacturing are now carried out by these machines. In the coming years, the number of robots is expected to increase along with the amount of tasks they are used for. During the Industrial Revolution, uh production based on human and animal power was replaced with a production model based on machines.

In this era, machines were facilitating work, but were also produced and controlled by humans. Now this model is changing. A new system has arrived, one in which robots control every level of the chain of production and humans are excluded. Will robots take our jobs? Um, the question has already been answered.

When robots will take our jobs?

According to a study conducted in Oxford University, 35% of the jobs in Great Britain could be mechanized within 20 years. Foxconn um, the company which produces electronic devices like Apple’s iPhone, aims to replace 30% of its workers with machines in five years. This number is humbled when compared with other factories. Robots already surround us.

The presence of humans in production and manufacturing is decreasing every day. Replacing human workers with machines could increase unemployment. So what will happen? What will the unemployed do? Actually, the answer to this question could be rather simple.

After all, similar situations have happened throughout history. The replacement of horses with steam and later motorized vehicles greatly impacted the ecosystem of transportation, damaging the interests of those who earned a living from horsedrawn transportation. But in time, workers adapted by moving to different work fields. Work by research firm Gartner made similar predictions. In 2021, 8 million jobs are predicted to be lost to artificial intelligence, while at the same time two 3 million new jobs will be created.

So the answer to the question when will robots take our jobs? Is slowly appearing. Jobs in some fields Will Be Taken Over By Robots Sooner Than In Others. Robots Have Taken Over. The End Of Humanity Is At Hand.

We Are Familiar With This Fear, Which Is Often Expressed In Science Fiction. Don’t Worry. This Is Just Something That Happens In The Movies. Robots Are Not Eliminating Humans, but Some Jobs And Professions Will Lose Out To Changes In Technology. According To Stephen Hawking, Artificial Intelligence Will Affect Middle Class Professions The Most.

What Are Those Professions?

Autonomous Systems And Robots Have Already Invaded Fields Like Call Centers, Postal Services, Publishing, Travel Agencies, Insurance, Accounting, And Office Administration. Robots Are Also Doing More Of The Work In Multiple Fields, From Economics To Art, From The Defense Industry To Transportation. Although It Often Seems Like Robots Have Invaded Every Aspect Of Our Lives, There Are Areas Which They Are Not Well Suited. These Tend To Be Jobs That Require Empathy, Critical Thinking, And Strategy.

Humans Still Outperform Robots In Creative Fields, And In Some Fields That Require Complex Physical Skills. Robots Are Also Unlikely To Take Over Professions Which Require Imagination And Decision Making. Movie Directors, Writers, Psychologists, And Judges. There Are Many Areas In Our Lives In Which We Accept Robots With Open Arms. For Example, Robot Assisted Microsurgery Can Allow Surgeons To Perform More Delicate Procedures Requiring Precisely Calibrated Tools.

While Robots Will Force Some Of US Into Unemployment, They Will Also Help Create New Professions. According To Research, Fast Developing Robot Technology Will Create 21 New Fields In The Next Ten Years. Artificial, uh Intelligence Experts Will Be Some Of The First In Line For These New Professions.

What Professions Will Be Created?

Thanks To Robotics, They Are Likely To Include Many That Don’t Yet Exist. For Example, Genetic Profile Manager, Personal Memory Manager, Digital Tailor, AI, uh Assisted Health Technician. These Job Titles, Which Sounds So Futuristic Today, Might Be The Profession For You Tomorrow. Increasing Use Of Robots Is A Sign Of A New Era, Like Getting Off The Horse And Into The Car. Robots Will Take Some Of Our Jobs, But Developing Technologies Will Create New Ones For US. Humankind And Robots Will Go Hand In Hand Into The future.

source: https://thecurrenttech.info/robots-will-take-our-jobs/

[toezi]

Who’s Ready for Seconds

After 65 year,,, A picture prompt requested by @kyeinthesky 

*inserts freeze frame* 

Yup, that’s me. I bet you’re wondering how I got here. Well, we better start at the beginning.

My name is Joshua Hong. I was born a healthy baby boy at 8 pounds 6 ounces and 24 inches long. My twin brother, however, was not as lucky. He was born crippled from the neck down. He had a 15% chance of living with the condition his body was in. But my father, a glass half full type of guy, imagined that 15% as the next greatest accomplishment in the field of medicine.

He became an infamous neurosurgeon during his mid-20’s. He himself advanced medical practices 20 years ahead of its time. But he was fired by at least 16 distinguished hospitals and banned from teaching at seven out of the eight Ivy League universities. He moved himself and our pregnant mom out to a small country town in Korea where he ran a back-alley clinic, performing mostly operations on neighborhood pets. What I failed to mention is that he was… well, eccentric. Completely insane. He was obsessed with the idea of artificially creating life and the works of the fictional Dr. Frankenstein. He seriously studied Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein as if he was cramming for this huge, 75%-of-your-grade final exam. He spent countless hours of his spare time studying the concepts of tree grafting and exploring just how far he could take this process across the biological spectrum. His first step into the mammalian world was experimenting on rats. He had meddled with some reptiles before, attempting to splice lizard legs onto snakes, or embedding the mucous glands of frogs into mice, just because he got a kick out of the mice obsessively trying to clean their perpetually mucousy fur. But once he started on mammals, there was no stopping him. He was insistent on working his way all the way up the evolutionary chain. He eventually accomplished his dream of altering the anatomy of the most evolved, intellectual species.

His first test subjects just happened to be my brother and I.

We were five. Jacob, my brother, had been completely bedridden for 3 years. His muscles had atrophied so severely that he could only control his neck. He was like a withered stalk of celery imprisoned by the weight of his comforter. So that’s why my father only salvaged his head. After years of preparation he was finally successful in altering human anatomy in the most grotesque and unexplainable manner. He merged the vertebrae in Jacob’s neck with my spine. My back is like a merging lane with two cars trying to get in at once. Except one car is annoying.

“He should have just gone for a transplant.”

“ShUT UP JACOB.”

He’s always interrupting. At least whatever inner monologue I share with you is safe from him. He may be sharing my spine but he isn’t sharing my thoughts.

“I don’t care what mom says, I’m the better head!”

“Jacob, I swear to god nobody cares. You don’t even have any hands to do chores with;  why would you be the favorite?”

Oh yeah, I should mention: After the procedure was completed and our mother found out, she threw a fit. She demanded that our father undo the procedure, but he explained that if he removed Jacob’s head he wouldn’t be able to reattach it to his respective body. Which wouldn’t have been so bad. Our mom was outraged and kicked our dad out. We haven’t seen him since. Thank god he was a skilled surgeon though. Who knows what would have happened if there were any complications after he left.

Enough about our sappy backstory; you’re probably wondering about the above freezeframe. Well, it all started on saturday morning. I had just picked up my good ole bud Mingyu and had walked to the farmer’s market with him.

“He wanted to get a churro and he never even got one!!”

“Jacob, it’s been two months. Forget about it already!”

Anyways. I should mention that Mingyu doesn’t know about Jacob.

“You never introduced us.”

“Jacob, stop pouting.”

In fact, nobody knows about Jacob

“I’m a very lonely man.”

“Jacob, I’m ignoring you for the rest of this story. Probably for the rest of the week too.”

You’re probably wondering how nobody knows. Well, I walk around in public like the grim reaper. Out mother sewed us a large black cloak on our 18th birthday, after we begged to go outside for the first time. Out mother was always the most worried about us and how the public might react to a two-headed man. And every trip we took outside, there never failed to be one person shouting-

“Hey, Quasimoto! Did you forget the directions back to your tower?!”

Mingyu glared at the snickering teenagers and looked back at us with a look of concern. “They probably just read Hunchback of Notre Dame yesterday in their English class.” he scoffed with a click of his tongue.

“I don’t blame them.”

“Josh! What do you mean?” Mingyu asked, the pity in his eyes burning a hole through my face.

“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m weird. I’m a weirdo. I don’t fit in. Have you ever seen me without this stupid cloak on? That’s weird!”

Before Mingyu could even reply, a scream broke through the already loud marketplace. I immediately ran to a crowd that had gathered in the center and pushed my way towards the front. A large man was beating up a much smaller, long-haired man. It looked like he was in one of the classic owes-him-money scenarios. I was about to turn away but there was something about the fear in the long-haired man’s eyes as he cowered on the floor, protecting himself from the punches of the other, that really kicked in my “root for the underdog” instincts. So i just… rushed in there… I pushed the larger man off of the other, sending him flying a few feet. Maybe having two heads somehow makes me stronger? Now the smaller man was bruised and bleeding and he looked like he was fading in and out of consciousness. So I picked him up and tossed him over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

“He’s a thin man; but, boy, was he heavy.”

“Jacob, I’m the one with the arms…”

Anyways. Tossing him over my shoulder knocked the hood off Jacob’s head. So my urgency to leave the crowd tripled and I jolted out of there *cue the freezeframe*,  elbowing past anybody who was in my way. I was running so fast I couldn’t even hear the gasps, comments, and screams from the people who had caught a glimpse of Jacob. I’m sure news will spread fast in this town…

“It’s always been my dream to be famous.”

“This isn’t the type of attention you want, Jacob.”

I guess the man beat this guy into another dimension because he was out like a light as I carried him 4 miles up to our home on a hill. The house looked pretty abandoned. But hey, my mom never worried about cleaning up since she never welcomed visitors. She wanted the house to be mine and Jacob’s safe space. This guy will be the first person outside of our family to set foot on this property in fourteen years. The last person was a postal worker that our mom chased off with a broom. Let’s just say that we get our mail at the post office now and there is a federal restraining order issued against our mother.

I had dressed this dude in a pair our pajamas and laid him to sleep in our bed.

“Why the hell is he grinning like that in his sleep??”

“Jacob, shhhh. You’ll wake him- oh. Wow. You’re right that is terrifying.”

He looks kind of like an angel…

“Despite the creepy smile, he’s hot.”

“JaCOB!”

After a few hours he finally began to stir. We were sitting at our desk when we heard a faint, tired “Hello?”

His voice.... Was beautiful…

I spun the chair around so I could face- I mean, we…

Oh Shit.

What is he going to think when he finds out he was kidnapped by a two-headed man? Luckily he was fidgeting with the collar of the shirt i dressed him in, giving me enough time to throw a blanket over Jacob’s head and around my shoulder.

“Why the hell is this collar so stretched out?”

“Ahh… We-I-I have a big head I guess haha.” I chuckled, quite nervously.

God, what is he going to think of me?

He looked up at me, completely bewildered. He probably already think I’m some freak with just ONE head.

“Who are you anyways?” He asked, avoiding eye contact with the giant, wiggling lump underneath the blanket.

What’s worse? If he knows I have a second head or if he thinks I have a huge, living goiter?

“Uh. My name is Joshua.”

“Jeonghan.” He smiled back.

I wish I could drown myself in that smile all day.

“Hey, lovebirds! Are you gonna introduce me or not?”  Jacob raged and squirmed underneath the blanket.

“Oh, are you a ventriloquist?” Jeonghan asked.

Jacob finally wiggled the blanket off his head. “God, at least you’re cute.”

“Uh- I-uh It’s kinda warm in here do you need me to turn on the fan? I-I’m so sorry…I didn’t mean to keep you here. You probably want to leave. I underst-”

“You-you think I’m cute?”

WHAT.

Not only did Jeonghan seem… comfortable? But he was blushing at Jacob’s snarky commentary?

“You’re not… freaked out? By us?”

Even Jacob seemed to be taken aback. He… wasn’t screaming? He wasn’t terrified beyond belief. In fact, he stayed calm, never breaking eye contact with us. Or rather… never breaking eye contact with Jacob…

“You know, you’re pretty cute too…” Jeonghan looked at his squirming toes and blushed. “I don’t think I caught your name?”

“I-I’m Jacob..”

“Jacob!” Jeonghan’s face lit up. The glow of pure joy that he radiated was breathtaking.

I couldn’t take my eyes off of him.

He couldn’t take his eyes off of Jacob.

And that’s how my second head stole the first love of my life.

[cityelf]

Jowanna

Full Name: Jowanna Faeldar

Gender and Sexuality: sheeeeeeee’s bi!

Pronouns: she/her

Ethnicity/Species: she’s human. And adorable. And could probably murder you.

Birthplace and Birthdate: she’s from the same world as Litherik so I don’t really have answers for this exactly SORRY she was brought up a hunter and she and her three younger siblings all support each other (she’s the main breadwinner while they complete their education and do their best to figure out who they are).

Guilty Pleasures: she likes weaving and gardening. No guilt, just pleasure. Not that she ever has the time for it

Phobias: ...death.

What They Would Be Famous For: she’s already one of the most efficient and respected Weather Riders (...basically this world has wild and constantly changing and unpredictable and DANGEROUS weather, so the Riders travel in a constant loop from settlement to settlement warning of the weather coming their way as well as troubles on the road etc, and they also basically operate as urgent - or not so urgent if it’s a slow day - postal workers if necessary) but yeah she does also Accidentally Save The World

What They Would Get Arrested For: revenge.

OC You Ship Them With: Wolkje is her fiancée!

OC Most Likely To Murder Them: same answer as Litherik. Shit happens.

Favorite Movie/Book Genre: historical fiction.

Least Favorite Movie/Book Cliche: heterosexuality. Nah I’m kidding, sexuality isn’t marginalised in this world because I want us to have nice things in a fantasy setting for ONCE. She doesn’t like anything that glorifies the overly wealthy... or the monarchy, really.

Talents and/or Powers: she’s an incredible archer, even from horseback, and she’s just The Best Rider 

Why Someone Might Love Them: she’s the most loyal gal to ever have lived and would help you bury a body, no questions asked. She’ll always have your back.

Why Someone Might Hate Them: well not to name names but SOME people (Harker) might butt heads with her because she’s very stubborn and finds it hard to not get her way, and doesn’t take criticism too well. Harker doesn’t really hate her though. They just... don’t always get on.

How They Change: weirdly enough the world almost ending loosens her up a little bit. She starts to live a bit more.

Why You Love Them: HER FRECKLES and everything else. 

[speakenglish]

expressions from the Chanzy conversation group....... follow the link for more details http://www.englishcurrent.com/idioms/esl-idioms-intermediate-advanced/

ring a bell

A: Do you know April O’Neil?

B: Hmm. Maybe. That name rings a bell.

 on the one hand / on the other hand

On the one hand, Peter’s roommate is kind. On the  other hand, he’s quite messy.

have/keep an open mind

I tried to keep an open mind about Allan even though  I’d heard some bad things about him.

on the tip of your tongue

His name was on the tip of my tongue… but I couldn’t  remember it.

a hangover (noun) / hung-over (adj)

Tyler was too hung-over from last night’s party to go  to work.

~ish

Let’s meet around 4ish.

fed up

I’m fed up with my neighbour’s dog.

Big deal!

It takes you 15 minutes to walk to school? Big deal!

Give sb a hand

My dad gave me a hand with my homework.

let the cat out of the bag

It was going to be a surprise party, until Todd let  the cat out of the bag.

give it a shot

If you think you can make the team, then give it a  shot.

No way!

A: George, I’m pregnant.

B: No way!

 The more the merrier.

A: Can I invite my brother?

B: Sure. The more the merrier.

 give it your all

Even though I lost the race, I gave it my all.

first-hand

I saw the accident happen, first-hand.

a dead end

Let’s not take this path. It leads to a dead end.

time flies

Time flies when you’re having fun.

pull sb’s leg

“You have 6 brothers? You’re pulling my leg!”

have sth on your mind

When Dana has something on her mind, she likes to go  for a long walk by herself.

keep track

I use my watch to keep track of time.

from scratch

My aunt made the cake from scratch.

off the top of your head

He asked me to tell him a joke, but I couldn’t think  of one off the top of my head.

learn your lesson

The boy learned his lesson. He’ll never play with fire  again.

keep/bear in mind

The professor told his students to keep in mind that  they only have 50 minutes to complete the test.

speak your mind

Timmy was afraid to speak his mind in front of his  schoolmates.  

Just my luck!

It rained on my only day off. Just my luck!

There’s nothing to it.

Why don’t you make a simple website for your business?  There’s nothing to it.

get out of hand

 The house party got out of hand, so we had to call the  police.

cut a long story short

To cut a long story short, Lisa and I have had some  interesting experiences together.

a piece of cake

The test was a piece of cake. I finished it in 20  minutes.

go out of your way to do sth

 I went out of my way to help Jenny find an apartment,  and she didn’t even say thanks!

cross your mind

The thought never even crossed my mind.

road rage

I don’t like being in the car with Gary. He has difficulty  controlling his road rage.

go on about

The old man went on about his school days for nearly  an hour.

slip your mind

I was going to return the library books today after  work, but the thought slipped my mind.

have/throw a fit

The baby threw a fit when I took his toy away.

The ball is in your court

 The ball is in their court now. Let’s wait for their  decision.

make your day

Finding a fifty-dollar bill on the ground made my day.

a rip off / to rip sb off

 Six dollars for a cup of coffee?! What a rip off!

 get a kick out of sth

I get a kick out of reading science fiction novels.

catch sb’s eye

The bright advertisement caught my eye.

jump the gun

I jumped the gun and asked Gail to marry me.  

give sb a piece of your mind

The angry worker gave his boss a piece of his mind.

cross your fingers

Kate crossed her fingers and hoped it wouldn’t rain on  her wedding day.

cost (sb) an arm and a leg

The designer handbag cost her an arm and a leg.

be in hot water

Ken was in hot water about forgetting his wedding  anniversary.

an eye-opener

The film on global warming was a real eye-opener for  Tom.

let off steam

Ted plays squash when he needs to let off steam.

read between the lines

You can figure out the author’s opinion by reading  between the lines.

go all out

We went all out and booked a five-star hotel for our  trip.

out of line

Mark’s comment was out of line. He shouldn’t have said  that to a client.

be on sb’s back

My manager is on my back about being at work on time.

would not be seen/caught dead

I wouldn’t be seen dead wearing an ugly dress like  that.

have mixed feelings

Larry has mixed feelings about his new job.

draw a blank

When asked for her postal code, Amy drew a blank.

You name it.

A: Daddy, can I have anything on the menu?

B: Sure. You name it, you got it.

 know your stuff

Jim has been a mechanic for 20 years. He really knows  his stuff.

 left, right and centre

Businesses were closing in town left, right and  centre.

a change of heart

After seeing a mouse on the floor, I had a change of  heart about eating at the restaurant.

a long haul

 Peter told his boss that he wouldn’t quit. He’s in it  for the long haul.

be man enough

George was the only one man enough to admit he had  made a mistake.

be second to none

The apple pie at this restaurant is second to none.

know/learn the ropes

It took me a month to learn the ropes at my new job.

a breath of fresh air

The new employee, Gail, is a breath of fresh air in  the office.

get your act together

The coach told me that if I didn’t get my act  together, I’d be kicked off the team.

set your heart on sth

Eric has his heart set on participating in the  Olympics.

take sb/sth for granted

Keith took it for granted that his girlfriend would  always stay with him. Then, one day, she was gone.  

play it by ear

A: How long will you stay in Australia?

B: I’m not sure. I’m just going to play it by ear.

 put all your eggs in one basket

Greg invested his money in a few different areas. He  didn’t want to put all his eggs in one basket.

Birds of a feather (flock together)

A: It’s funny that all of Kate’s friends are  attractive.

B: So is she. I guess birds of a feather flock  together.

 have second thoughts

I’m starting to have second thoughts about my new  apartment.

pay the price for

Don’t touch my stuff. If you do, you’ll pay the price.  

a basket case

Darryl’s ex-wife is a total basket case.

on the dot

We arrived at 8 o’clock on the dot.

not have a clue

I don’t have a clue where Nunavut is.

have a shot at

Our team has a shot at winning the championship.

the word spread

It took only an hour for word to spread around the  office that John had been fired.  

safe and sound

I arrived home from my trip safe and sound.

be a pain (in the neck)

My brother is a real pain in the neck sometimes.

be in the same boat

The governments of Portugal and Greece are in the same  boat. They both need financial assistance.

be/feel at home

After two years, James felt at home in Prague.

be in sb’s good books

Ryan is not in his father’s good books right now  because he scratched his car.

get out of bed on the wrong side

I’d avoid talking with Bob today. He must’ve got out  of bed on the wrong side.

up-and-coming

Roger is an up-and-coming hockey player from Toronto.

get into gear

You’d better get into gear or you’ll be late.

out of the blue

One day, out of the blue, I received a letter from my  former schoolmate.

set the record straight

In a TV interview, the politician set the record  straight about his experiences in the military.

keep an eye on

The security guard kept an eye on the suspicious man.

a grey area

Because of a grey area in his job description, Peter  was not exactly sure what all of his responsibilities were.

get/let sb off the hook

Luckily for her, the policeman let Jane off the hook  for parking her car in a no-parking zone.

out of sight, out of mind.

Jim was happy when his ex-girlfriend moved out of his  apartment -- out of sight, out of mind.

give sb the cold shoulder

Ted gave his ex-girlfriend the cold shoulder when he  saw her at the party.

The ins and outs

It took Alan a year to learn all the ins and outs of  his job.

line of work

The fireman said that injuries were common in his line  of work.

make do

 I forgot to buy groceries so I had to make do with  what was left in the fridge.

get sth off your chest

 A: Keith, there’s something I need to get off my  chest.

B: What’s bothering you? Tell me.

know sth like the back of your hand

Takeshi knows the streets of Kyoto like the back of  his hand.

in the bag

After scoring their fourth goal, the victory was in  the bag.

be on the ball

Greg isn’t on the ball today. He keeps making silly  mistakes.

 off and on / on and off

 Tara and Mike have been seeing each other off and on  for a year now.

for the time being

I plan to move into my own apartment in September. For  the time being, I’m staying with friend Doug.

burn your bridges

Jack tried to be kind to his boss when he quit in job  because he didn’t want to burn his bridges.

get/be given the sack / sack (verb)

Alan got the sack for repeatedly coming into work  late.

on the back burner

The project was put on the back burner while the  company focused on a more immediate problem.

get cold feet

It’s normal to get cold feet before your wedding day.

hit rock bottom

After being fired and then kicked out of his apartment,  Jake really hit rock bottom.

talk shop

Everyone agreed not to talk shop at the staff party.

start/get the ball rolling

It’s time we start the ball rolling on the new  project.

get your foot in the door

Janice took a position as an administrative assistant  to get her foot in the door at the famous fashion company.

well-off / well-to-do

Lloyd comes from a well-to-do family. His friends  often ask to borrow money from him.

pull your weight

Lisa had to work extra hard because a few members of  the team weren’t pulling their weight.

a gut feeling

I have a gut feeling that something bad is going to  happen today.

if need be

If need be, we can take a taxi home.

in the middle of nowhere

Their car broke down in the middle of nowhere.

go with the flow

Jake didn’t want to go to another bar, but everyone  else did, so he went with the flow.

play your cards right

If Linda plays her cards right, she could be the  department manager by next year.

follow in sb’s footsteps

Bill chose to follow in his father’s footsteps and  become a dentist.

have your heart set on sth

 Alan has his heart set on participating in the 2020  Olympics.

You can say that again!

A: I met your boss today. He’s a real jerk.

B: You can say that again!

 I’m all ears

A: Doug, I’ve discovered the meaning of life.

B: Really? I’m all ears.

 small talk

After some small talk, the interview began.

put sth on hold

Greg had to put his weekend plans on hold and go into  the office on Saturday for a few hours.

 common ground

The two boys had some common ground: they both loved  football.

 politically (in)correct

Marcel told a politically incorrect joke at the  company party. No one laughed.

 have had it up to here

“I’ve had it up to here with this mess! Clean your  room now!”

 have your work cut out

If we want to finish this by Friday, then we’ve really  got our work cut out for us.

 get the picture

 A: The fight was horrible. One man kept punching the  other again and again and again--

B: OK. That’s enough. I get the picture.

see eye to eye

Mike and his father don’t see eye to eye on the issue  of abortion.

 call it a day

It’s already 6 pm. Let’s call it a day.

twist sb’s arm

I really had to twist my sister’s arm to get her to  pick me up from the airport.

 bring sth to light

The report brought some previously unknown facts to  light about the causes of cancer.

 be in the dark / keep sb in the dark

Most of the employees were kept in the dark about the  merger until the last minute.

go up in smoke

After breaking his leg, Darryl’s dream to play  professional hockey went up in smoke.

 go downhill

After his wife divorced him, Victor’s life really went  downhill.

 at your fingertips

With the World Wide Web, people have a vast amount of  information at their fingertips.

poke fun at

The kids poked fun at George because he was wearing  his t-shirt backwards.

 Easier said than done.

A: You should get a girlfriend who’s beautiful AND  kind.  B: Easier said than done.

 the bottom line

A: Doctor, what’s the bottom line?  B: If you don’t quit smoking, you’ll die within a year.

 call the shots

The boss told Janet to call the shots while he was  away.

know/learn sth by heart

Hank knows every Elvis song by heart.

get a move on

If we don’t get a move on, we’ll miss the bus.

miss the point

“You missed the point. The book was about the problems  of capitalism, not how to make money.”

 hold/stand your ground

Although their enemy outnumbered them, the soldiers  stood their ground.

 be child’s play

The tennis match was child’s play for Ben.

be only a matter of time

The scientist said it’s only a matter of time before a  big earthquake hits California.

 push your luck

A: Dad, can I have another ice cream cone?

B: Don’t push your luck, kid.

 raise (a few) eyebrows

Francine’s short skirt raised a few eyebrows.

a matter of opinion

The best restaurant in Europe is, of course, a matter  of opinion.

 be that as it may

A: Tyler is such a selfish guy.

B: Be that as it may, he’s your brother. You have to  love him.

 if/when push comes to shove

If push comes to shove, I’ll be here to support you.

against your better judgement

Against his better judgement, Jim let his friend drive  home drunk.

 add insult to injury

To add insult to injury, Greg’s wife left him for his  best friend.

 the last straw

When the boss told me to come in to work on Saturday,  that was the last straw.

 be up in the air

Jim’s vacation plans were still up in the air.

not have the faintest/foggiest idea

I don’t have the faintest idea where Wollongong is.

the icing on the cake

Paula enjoyed the concert, and getting to meet the  artist backstage after the show was the icing on the cake.

get/jump/leap on the bandwagon

 Janet doesn’t normally watch hockey but she jumped on  the bandwagon because her city’s team was in the playoffs.

the fine/small print

My father reads the fine print on every contract he  signs.

stuck/be in a rut

The singer was stuck in a rut. All of her recent songs  sounded the same.

 run-of-the-mill

Kate is a waitress at a run-of-the-mill bar and  restaurant in London.

 face the music

Tina knew that one day her parents would see her  tattoo and then she’d have to face the music.

 to keep sth/sb at bay

 Bodyguards kept the reporters at bay while the movie  stars entered the theatre.

be up in arms

People were up in arms [about/over] the government’s  plan to raise the retirement age.

bite your tongue

Jack bit his tongue while his manager criticized his  performance.

leave a lot to be desired

The design of our office building leaves a lot to be  desired.

off the beaten track

Mike and Mary had dinner a quiet restaurant off the  beaten track in Paris.

pick sb’s brains

Mike is a marketing genius. People often invite him to  lunch or dinner so they can pick his brains.

whet your appetite

The 30-second trailer was designed to whet people’s appetites.  

sour grapes

A: People with nice cars just want attention.

B: That sounds like sour grapes because you can’t  afford one.

 a blessing in disguise

Losing his job turned out to be a blessing in  disguise. Afterwards, Roger found his dream job.

give sb the benefit of the doubt

I told the teacher that it wasn’t me who broke the  window. Thankfully, he gave me the benefit of the doubt.

jog sb’s memory

Jeff said he couldn’t remember the song’s lyrics, but  hearing the first few words jogged his memory.

foot the bill

George agreed to foot the bill for dinner.

have it in for sb

A: Why are you hiding from your brother?  B: He has it in for me. He knows I lost his football.

be in the red

The company has been in the red since September.

get/catch wind of sth

Once the school principal caught wind of the problem,  she called a teachers’ meeting.

a rule of thumb

As a rule of thumb, I don’t eat food that smells bad.

be on the same wavelength

The group members were all on the same wavelength, so  they were able to finish their project quickly.

up to speed

After her holiday, it took Kate a few hours to get  back up to speed on the recent developments in her company.

play devil’s advocate

Although Jim is against the death penalty, he told his  friend he was for it just to play devil’s advocate.

bend/lean over backwards

Lisa bent over backwards to get her brother a job in  her company, so she was surprised to learn he quit today.

pass the buck

The politician passed the buck onto someone else  instead of accepting responsibility for the problem.

call sb’s bluff

When Mike heard his friend say she knew all of the  world’s capitals, he called her bluff and asked her to name the capital of  Mozambique.

have a chip on your shoulder

 Tim has had a chip on his shoulder about businesswomen  since he lost his job to a woman three years ago.

breathe down sb’s neck

Jim found it hard to focus on his work with his boss  breathing down his neck.

climb to the top of the career/corporate ladder

Having children can be an obstacle for women who want  to climb (to the top of) the corporate ladder.

red tape

 Mark’s visa application was held up for six months  because of red tape.

Give sb free rein

When his father died, Mark was given free rein to do  whatever he liked with the family business.

the be-all-and-end-all

 Getting into Harvard Law School became the  be-all-and-end-all of Tony’s existence.

blow sth out of proportion

The media blew the story out of proportion.

take the plunge

Jerry has finally decided to take the plunge. Tomorrow  he’ll start looking for a full-time office job.

in a bind

Susan is really in a bind. She has two essays due  tomorrow and she hasn't started either of them.

break the ice

At the start of the meeting, Mike tried to break the  ice by telling a joke.

bury the hatchet

Susan and Mike agreed that it was time to bury the  hatchet. They apologized and decided to be friends.

[wikimakemoney]

Internet fraud

A type of fraud or deception which makes use of the Internet to defraud victims

(Learn how and when to remove this template message) Play media Nina Kollars of the Naval War College explains an Internet fraud scheme that she stumbled upon while shopping on eBay.

Internet fraud is a type of fraud or deception which makes use of the Internet and could involve hiding of information or providing incorrect information for the purpose of tricking victims out of money, property, and inheritance.[1] Internet fraud is not considered a single, distinctive crime but covers a range of illegal and illicit actions that are committed in cyberspace.[1] It is, however, differentiated from theft since, in this case, the victim voluntarily and knowingly provides the information, money or property to the perpetrator.[2] It is also distinguished by the way it involves temporally and spatially separated offenders.[3]

According to the FBI’s 2017 Internet Crime Report, the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received about 300,000 complaints. Victims lost over $1.4 billion in online fraud in 2017.[4] According to a study conducted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and McAfee, cybercrime costs the global economy as much as $600 billion, which translates into 0.8% of total global GDP.[5] Online fraud appears in many forms. It ranges from email spam to online scams. Internet fraud can occur even if partly based on the use of Internet services and is mostly or completely based on the use of the Internet.

Contents

1 Counterfeit postal money orders

2 Example of online automotive fraud

3 Charity fraud

4 Internet ticket fraud

5 Gambling fraud

6 Online gift card fraud

7 Social media and fraud

8 See also

9 References

10 Sources

11 External links

Counterfeit postal money orders[edit]

According to the FBI, on April 26, 2005 Tom Zeller Jr. wrote an article in The New York Times[6] regarding a surge in the quantity and quality of the forging of U.S. postal money orders, and its use to commit online fraud.

In the United States of America, the penalty for making or using counterfeit postal money orders is up to ten years in jail and/or a $25,000 fine.[7]

Example of online automotive fraud[edit]

A fraudster uses the web to advertise a nonexistent vehicle, typically a luxury or sports car, at well below its market value. The details of the vehicle, including photos and description, are typically lifted from sites such as Craigslist, AutoTrader.com, or Cars.com. An interested buyer emails the fraudster, who responds saying the car is still available but is located overseas; or that the seller is out of the country but the car is at a shipping company. The fraudster then instructs the victim to send a deposit or full payment via wire transfer to initiate the “shipping” process. To make the transaction appear more legitimate, the fraudster will ask the buyer to send money to a fake agent or other a third party that claims to provide purchase protection. The victims wire the funds but then do not receive the vehicle. In response, auto sales websites may post warnings to buyers which warn not to accept offers in which vehicles are shipped, where funds are paid using Western Union or wire transfer, etc.[8]

Charity fraud[edit]

Main article: Charity fraud

The scammer poses as a charitable organization soliciting donations to help the victims of a natural disaster, terrorist attack (such as the 9/11 attacks), regional conflict, or epidemic. Hurricane Katrina and the 2004 tsunami were popular targets of scammers perpetrating charity scams; other more timeless scam charities purport to be raising money for cancer, AIDS or Ebola virus research, children’s orphanages (the scammer pretends to work for the orphanage or a non-profit associated with it), or impersonates charities such as the Red Cross or United Way. The scammer asks for donations, often linking to online news articles to strengthen their story of a funds drive. The scammer’s victims are charitable people who believe they are helping a worthy cause and expect nothing in return. Once sent, the money is gone and the scammer often disappears, though many attempts to keep the scam going by asking for a series of payments. The victim may sometimes find themselves in legal trouble after deducting their supposed donations from their income taxes. United States tax law states that charitable donations are only deductible if made to a qualified non-profit organization.[9] The scammer may tell the victim their donation is deductible and provide all necessary proof of donation, but the information provided by the scammer is fictional, and if audited, the victim faces stiff penalties as a result of the fraud. Though these scams have some of the highest success rates especially following a major disaster and are employed by scammers all over the world, the average loss per victim is less than other fraud schemes. This is because, unlike scams involving a largely expected payoff, the victim is far less likely to borrow money to donate or donate more than they can spare.[10]

Internet ticket fraud[edit]

A variation of Internet marketing fraud offers tickets to sought-after events such as concerts, shows, and sports events. The tickets are fake or are never delivered. The proliferation of online ticket agencies and the existence of experienced and dishonest ticket resellers has fueled this kind of fraud. Many such scams are run by British ticket touts, though they may base their operations in other countries.[11]

A prime example was the global 2008 Beijing Olympic Games ticket fraud run by US-registered “Xclusive Leisure and Hospitality”, sold through a professionally designed website with the name “Beijing 2008 Ticketing”.[12] On 4 August it was reported that more than A$50 million worth of fake tickets had been sold through the website.[13] On 6 August it was reported that the person behind the scam, which was wholly based outside China, was a British ticket tout, Terance Shepherd.[14]

Gambling fraud[edit]

Main article: Online casino

Internet gambling has become a $15 million industry.[when?][citation needed] Every online casino needs an operation license to conduct their business, and the operators may lose their license or even face imprisonment if they do not follow the regulations. Online casinos have become an extremely lucrative as well as competitive industry, with operators introducing new promotions on a daily basis. Promotional activities include attractive bonuses, prize money, jackpots and other offers aimed at making patrons’ online casino experience as memorable as possible. Having a secure software like a 128-bit SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption is important.[15]

Online gift card fraud[edit]

As retailers and other businesses have growing concerns about what they can do about preventing the use of gift cards purchased with stolen credit card numbers, cybercriminals have more recently been focusing on taking advantage of fraudulent gift cards.[16] More specifically, malicious hackers have been trying to get their hands on information pertinent to gift cards that have been issued but not spent. Some of the methods for stealing gift card data include automated bots that launch brute force attacks on retailer systems which store them. First, hackers will steal gift card data, check the existing balance through a retailer’s online service, and then attempt to use those funds to purchase goods or to resell on a third party website. In cases where gift cards are resold, the attackers will take the remaining balance in cash, which can also be used as a method of money laundering. This harms the customer gift card experience, the retailer’s brand perception, and can cost the retailer thousands in revenue. Another way gift card fraud is committed is by stealing a person’s credit card information to purchase brand new gift cards.

Social media and fraud[edit]

People tend to disclose more personal information about themselves (e.g. birthday, e-mail, address, hometown and relationship status) in their social networking profiles (Hew 2011). This personally identifiable information could be used by fraudsters to steal users’ identities, and posting this information on social media makes it a lot easier for fraudsters to take control of it.

The problem of authenticity in online reviews is a long-standing and stubborn one. In one famous incident back in 2004, Amazon’s Canadian site accidentally revealed the true identities of thousands of its previously anonymous U.S. book reviewers. One insight the mistake revealed was that many authors were using fake names in order to give their own books favorable reviews.[17] Also, 72% say positive reviews lead them to trust a business more, while 88% say that in “the right circumstances”, they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.[17] While scammers are increasingly taking advantage of the power of social media to conduct criminal activity, astute risk managers and their insurance companies are also finding ways to leverage social media information as a tool to combat insurance fraud.[18] For example, an injured worker was out of work on a worker’s compensation claim but could not resist playing a contact sport on a local semi-professional sports team. Through social media and internet searches, investigators discovered that the worker was listed on the team roster and was playing very well.[18]

See also[edit]

Advance fee fraud

Business logic abuse

Carding (fraud)

Credit card fraud

Email fraud

Employment scams

FBI

Forex scam

Fraud

Hijacked journals

Mail and wire fraud

Online pharmacy

Pharming

Romance scam

Sick baby hoax

References[edit]

^ a b Warf, Barney (2018-05-16). The SAGE Encyclopedia of the Internet. SAGE. ISBN 9781526450432..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:”””””””‘””‘”}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url(“//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png”)no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url(“//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png”)no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url(“//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png”)no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url(“//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png”)no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}

^ Brenner, Susan W. (2009-01-16). Cyberthreats: The Emerging Fault Lines of the Nation State. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780190452568.

^ Fisher, Bonnie S.; Lab, Steven (2010). Encyclopedia of Victimology and Crime Prevention. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications. p. 493. ISBN 9781412960472.

^ “FBI 2017 Internet Crime Report” (PDF). FBI.gov. Federal Bureau of Investigation. May 7, 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2018.

^ “The Economic Impact of Cybercrime— No Slowing Down” (PDF). McAfee. 2018. Retrieved October 24, 2018.

^ Tom Zeller Jr (April 26, 2005). “A Common Currency for Online Fraud: Forgers of U.S. Postal Money Orders Grow”. New York Times.

^ “CyberCops.com – Counterfeit Postal Money Orders”. https://bit.ly/3eoUjXN. Retrieved 23 May 2017.

^ “craigslist – autos”. https://bit.ly/2Ka0Ac5. Retrieved 23 May 2017.

^ “Charitable Contributions: For use in preparing 2016 Returns” (PDF).

^ “Scam Watch – Nigerian Scams”. Scam Watch – Australian Government. 12 May 2016.

^ Jamie Doward (2008-03-09). “How boom in rogue ticket websites fleeces Britons”. The Observer. London. Retrieved 9 March 2008.

^ “USOC and IOC file lawsuit against fraudulent ticket seller”. Sports City. Retrieved 1 August 2008.

^ Jacquelin Magnay (4 August 2008). “Ticket swindle leaves trail of losers”. The Sydney Morning Herald.

^ Kelly Burke (6 August 2008). “British fraud ran Beijing ticket scam”. The Sydney Morning Herald.

^ “Casino scams – how to avoid black sheeps”. Retrieved 2017-10-09.

^ Francis, Ryan (2017-05-11). “What not to get Mom for Mother’s Day”. CSO from IDG. Retrieved 2017-11-28.

^ a b Kugler, Logan. “Keeping Online Reviews Honest.” Communications of the ACM, vol. 57, no. 11, Nov. 2014, pp. 20-23. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1145/2667111.

^ a b Wilson, Brian. “Using social media to fight fraud.” Risk Management, Mar. 2017, p. 10+. Academic OneFile, https://bit.ly/2Va6zUn. Accessed 27 Feb. 2018.

Sources[edit]

Legend, Therza. “CYBER FRAUD: How to be aware, to protect yourself and your business.” Podiatry Review, vol. 75, no. 1, 2018, p. 32+. Academic OneFile, https://bit.ly/3cmbDLq. Accessed 1 Mar. 2018.

Lin, Kan-Min. “Understanding Undergraduates’ Problems from Determinants of Facebook Continuance Intention.” Behaviour & Information Technology, vol. 35, no. 9, Sept. 2016, pp. 693–705. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/0144929X.2016.1177114.

External links[edit]

Internet fraud at Curlie

Anti-spam

Disposable email address

Distributed Checksum Clearinghouse

Email authentication

List poisoning

Naive Bayes spam filtering

Network Abuse Clearinghouse

SORBS

SpamCop

Spamhaus

Spamdexing

Blog spam

Cloaking

Doorway page

Forum spam

Google bomb

Keyword stuffing

Link farm

Referrer spam

Scraper site

Social spam

Spam blogs

Sping

URL redirection

Internet fraud

Advance-fee fraud

Lottery scam

Make Money Fast

Phishing

Vishing

source http://wikimakemoney.com/2020/04/15/internet-fraud/

[tanmath3-blog]

Christopher Motz is a new writer for me but man can he tell a story! He is awesome to talk to and is so very passionate about what he is doing with his writing. It has been awhile since I have met someone so excited. He has a great sense of humor and always makes me giggle. Christopher is very smart and is always up for a chat with a friend or fan. I have seen him help others and is always glad for a review or feedback on his books. He is beyond a doubt a good guy and someone to watch. If you don’t know him or haven’t read one of his books I suggest you change that! Please help me welcome Christopher Motz to Roadie Notes………

  1.How old were you when you first wrote your first story?

–I wrote my first story when I was about 8 years old. It was titled “The Battle of Crystantine” and it was pure fantasy: dragons, elves, your typical sort of tale. I showed it to my mother at the time, but I think I may have worried her with some of the gorier bits.

2. How many books have you written?

–I’ve published 3 so far: 2 novels and a novella. I’ve written several others that date back to my High School days, but they’re confined to a hidden cardboard box in the back of my attic. It’s strange, because when I looked at them not so long ago, I realized there were some great ideas in there.

3. Anything you won’t write about?

–I don’t believe in taboo. Any and every topic should be fair game in fiction writing. Some things I will stray away from, as they simply don’t interest me, and/or I’m self-admittedly ignorant on certain subjects. No religion, nothing politically motivated, and no monsters that sparkle!

4. Tell me about you. Age (if you don’t mind answering), married, kids, do you have another job etc…

–I’m 37 years old (I’m not sure how that fucking happened) and I’ve been married for 6 years. I met my wife in Junior High School in 1992 and we dated on and off for the next 6 years. After losing touch after graduation, a chance meeting in 2008 sparked that fire from so many years ago, and lo and behold, we’ve been together ever since. I have a 16-year-old step-daughter to remind me how uncool and disconnected I am.

–I’ve been concentrating purely on writing and getting my name out there. Before I worked from my computer I had a silly amount of awful jobs (factory work, postal worker, supervisor at my local Wal-Mart), but they were never enough. I wanted to do something creative. Between 1995 and 2014, I was a drummer for a number of local bands, playing hundreds of shows, writing material, etc. When I knew I wanted to write full-time, I put my drums away and haven’t played in 3 years. Who knows, maybe someday I’ll form a band with only horror authors!

5. What’s your favorite book you have written? –That’s a tough question! I like everything I’ve written, and I hate everything I’ve written. The curse of the artist! My first novel, ‘The Darkening’, holds a special place because it’s my first published work, warts and all. It stands as an introduction to my multiverse, my mythology, one that will be revisited in future works. I could say my newest novel, ‘Pine Lakes’, is my favorite, but that would be a cop-out. Certainly, I’ve seen my writing grow in this book, but I’ve been sitting with it for the last four months. I’m still too close to it to make that call!

6. Who or what inspired you to write?

–I was reading horror novels at an early age: Stephen King, Robert McCammon, Dean Koontz. Later on I delved into hard science fiction and extreme horror. Extreme horror blew the doors open for me: Edward Lee, Brian Keene, Kyle M. Scott…stories with substance, but with an elevated gore level! Even as a kid I was a storyteller, and so it seemed like a natural choice to put pen to paper and craft my own tales.

7. What do you like to do for fun?

–MUSIC! That’s the easy answer. Music has been my life since I was 10 years old and it never ceases to amaze me what a therapeutic effect a good song can have on me. I’m an avid concertgoer, constant reader, and late-night host of an occasional get-together where alcoholic beverages are the rule rather than the exception. So, what do I do for fun? I have fun, that’s my answer. Live it up with good friends and good music and leave tomorrow’s troubles for tomorrow.

8. Any traditions you do when you finish a book?

–Oddly enough, no. When I finish the manuscript I put it away for a week and get back to the real world. I don’t have a special bottle of aged bourbon or a symbolic cigarette; I close my laptop, order some pizza and binge watch Netflix!

9. Where do you write? Quite or music?

–My wife and I bought a house in 2015; a 120 year old Queen Anne Victorian with a rather large attic that seems to have been used as living space in the early 1900’s. When I first saw it, I knew this would be my office. I decorated with music posters, brought a stereo up here, and ran high-speed internet to make this a place I could spend hours at a time in front of a computer. The mini-fridge doesn’t hurt either. There’s always music on; even if it’s quiet music, I need something in the background to keep me company while I’m writing. Now and then, a song lyric will give me an idea. You can see in all my writing, music plays a part, even if just mentioned in passing.

10. Anything you would change about your writing?

–I think every writer wants to improve on his or her craft. I wish there was a magic button I could press to tighten up some of my grammar issues, but unfortunately it hasn’t been invented yet. The only way to get better at writing is to keep writing.

11. What is your dream? Famous writer?

–Well of course I want to be rich and famous, who doesn’t!? Honestly, I don’t need to reach the heights of Stephen King, but I’d be thrilled for people to read and enjoy my books. The dream is to do it full-time and have the ability to write as much as I want, when I want. I’m not a materialistic person; I don’t need a million dollars to be happy, but I certainly wouldn’t be returning any checks that come my way.

12. Where do you live?

–A small town in northeast Pennsylvania, USA. I was born here, grew up here, went to school here. My hometown is part of who I am, and my fictional town of Elmview is largely based on this.

13. Pets?

–I have a miniature Morkie – yes, that’s a real dog – that we named Oy, based on a character from Stephen King’s ‘Dark Tower’ series. It’s short and sweet, like him, and it rolls off the tongue easier than Freddie Mercury. Yes, I would have named him Freddie Mercury. Maybe someday…

14. What’s your favorite thing about writing?

–The escape, not only for the reader, but for myself. When writing, there are no boundaries. You tend to see yourself, your friends, and your family in your characters; you notice familiar locations and situations, combining them in any way you see fit to carry on your narrative. Watching your characters take on personalities of their own is simply fascinating to me. I may be the one writing the story, but they are the ones directing my hand. Seeing a tale start as a vague idea and slowly grow into a world is exciting beyond measure. There are so many stories yet to be told…

15. What is coming next for you?

–My latest novel ‘Pine Lakes’ will be available to the public on June 9th in digital and paperback! The second half of the year, I’ll be finishing my collaboration with horror author Andrew Lennon, a novel titled ‘The Pigeon.’ With a little luck I’ll see another of my short stories published in an upcoming anthology, and a new novella based on the mythology of my first novel. I’m calling this ‘an alternate Elmview tale’ as it continues the themes from that book, and even has some of the same characters. It will not be a sequel, but rather a sideways look into one of a million parallel realities that border our own. I’m pretty excited for that one, as it will begin broadening my mythology in bizarre and horrifying new ways!!

You can connect with Christopher Motz here:

Official Website: christopher-motz.com Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15998163.Christopher_Motz Twitter: @authorchrismotz Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorChristopherMotz/

    Some of Christopher Motz’s books:

Getting personal with Christoper Motz Christopher Motz is a new writer for me but man can he tell a story! He is awesome to talk to and is so very passionate about what he is doing with his writing.

[fanfictalkdotcom]

Weekly Writing Prompt: Hell

Your Weekly Writing Prompt is: Hell.

 Hell lends itself to a few different approaches. You can take a literal approach and write about Hell; the Devil, Demons, torment, eternal damnation. Or you can write a figurative sort of hell; stuck in a loveless marriage, a Utopia that’s really a dystopia, a job you hate, or simply ennui.

 There’s a great history of people writing about Hell, starting with Greek myth where Hades was the afterlife that everyone went to. Modern myth has it that all of Hades was a drab place where the spirits of the departed waited eternally, but Hades was actually divided into parts where a spirit would go based on their life. It was possible for a soul to be tormented forever in Tartarus, or a spirit could have been been sent to Elysium to toil no more. There were a couple of other places in Hades (The Blessed Isle, The Mourning Fields), but Hades sort of encompassed both Heaven and Hell (I realize this is a simplification of the Greek afterlife, if you are interested, seek out the source material and read about it; it’s very interesting to trace the myths).

Sheol is very similar to Hades in that all souls went there, regardless of their deeds in life. Later attitudes changed Sheol so that it started to resemble more of what Christians would come to call Heaven and Hell. Again, this is a simplification, because Sheol was sometime represented as an entity in its own right.

Hell as a place of eternal damnation and punishment grew out of these traditions, and if you look at the original languages of the Christian bible, the words used were usually Hades, Gehenna, or Tartarus.

Of course the most famous book about Hell is Inferno by Dante Alighieri, in which Dante is led through the circles of Hell by Virgil. It’s an allegory that depicts man’s path to salvation by rejecting sin. But it the punishments and the descriptions of the circles of Hell that tend to stay with us. We understand that the deeper you go into Hell, the more grievous the sins. Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle wrote a modern Inferno in which a science fiction author is led through Hell by Benito Mussolini, and while a bit dated today, it’s still a good read.

Sartre wrote about Hell in the play ‘No Exit,’ in which the main point is a metaphor that ‘L’enfer, c’est les autres,’ or ‘Hell is other people.’ This is a good starting point.

You may just want to write about an angel or a demon. Neil Gaiman is one of the creators of the TV show Lucifer based on a graphic novel he help develop about Lucifer, and while the TV show and the graphic novels are quite different, they present a Lucifer with real human issues that he (or it) try to work through.

The Sandman Slim books by Richard Kadrey are another example of writing about Satan both as a concept and as a personification. The main character goes to Hell after dying, comes back to Earth, becomes Satan and has many grisly adventures along the way (definitely rated M!).

Dystopias are a special type of hell. Often a Dystopia is presented as a Utopia to the inhabitants, but the protagonist usually knows that their life is bleak and empty. Sometimes they are written as metaphors like Brave New World, or 1984, and sometimes they are just rollicking adventures like The Hunger Games.

Also, it could just be a metaphorical hell. A postal worker who hates her job, but has to work it to pay for her children to eat. A spouse trapped financially in a marriage that they hate. A dog raised to fight. Take an unexpected path, write about a teenager’s car who doesn’t appreciate the abuse it takes daily, or anthropomorphize something else.

So make your own spin on it, metaphor, actual; take an alternate path, write about a denizen of Hell come to Earth. Write about a person who’s in a hell or in Hell, there’s a lot of meat on this bone.

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  If you do write something based on the prompt, link to it in a post. Or, post it on our multi-fandom/original fiction, fully-moderated and welcoming archive.