Tag Archives: novel

Beethoven’s 5th symphony – was he incapable of applying the brake?

I recently came across this in a novel I’m reading:-

“Although he was a very great musician, and a wizard composer of symphonies, Beethoven was quite often a dismal failure when it came to ending them. The Fifth was a perfect case in point.

I remembered that the end of the thing, the allegro, was one of those times when Beethoven just couldn’t seem to find the ‘off’ switch
.
Dum … dum … dum-dum-dum, it would go, and you would think it was over.

But no—-

Dum, dah, dum, dah, dum, dah, dum, dah, dum, dah, dum – DUM dum

You’d go to get up and stretch, sighing with satisfaction at the great work you’d listened to, and suddenly,

DAH dum. DAH dum. DAH dum. And so forth. DAH dum

It was a bit like a bit of flypaper stuck to your finger that you couldn’t shake off. The bl**dy thing clung to you like a limpet” (Alan Bradley)

I’ve had this comment made to me in the past by others and just wondered how many agree with the view expressed?

What do you think of this satirical post 9/11 novel I am writing?

Here is the first page of my novelette about a man getting involved with 9/11 conspiracy theories. Its a satirical piece, that pokes fun at the conspiracies, not the tragedy.

You know, now that I think about it, Conspiracy theorists are pretty crazy people to known. They really are what you would imagine one to be, I know, I’ve met a few. All of them have really extreme theories on just about anything – despite substantial evidence backing the truth. Some of these ideas are laughable, unintentional comedy.

For example, I was pretty friendly with this down to earth quiet guy in university. His dad was a stereotypical gruff and salty seaman. ‘Sailed the seven seas’, the full package. According to this veteran ed sailor, M15 blew up his fishing boat. His little boat sank many years ago whilst in port. Whilst harbor master put the incident down to the vessels rotting hull, he claimed he saw frogmen fleeing the scene up the estuary – and the remnants of limpet mines near the salvaged wrecks keel. All this , the sailor claimed, was because he fished out near naval training areas. This is what my friend was told as a child, and then several years later relayed it to me. The Government undertaking a costly action against one of its citizens, with the objective of destroying a small wooden barge is hysterical to us ‘normal’ people.

What do you think of this satirical post 9/11 novel I am writing?

Here is the first page of my novelette about a man getting involved with 9/11 conspiracy theories. Its a satirical piece, that pokes fun at the conspiracies, not the tragedy.

You know, now that I think about it, Conspiracy theorists are pretty crazy people to known. They really are what you would imagine one to be, I know, I’ve met a few. All of them have really extreme theories on just about anything – despite substantial evidence backing the truth. Some of these ideas are laughable, unintentional comedy.

For example, I was pretty friendly with this down to earth quiet guy in university. His dad was a stereotypical gruff and salty seaman. ‘Sailed the seven seas’, the full package. According to this veteran ed sailor, M15 blew up his fishing boat. His little boat sank many years ago whilst in port. Whilst harbor master put the incident down to the vessels rotting hull, he claimed he saw frogmen fleeing the scene up the estuary – and the remnants of limpet mines near the salvaged wrecks keel. All this , the sailor claimed, was because he fished out near naval training areas. This is what my friend was told as a child, and then several years later relayed it to me. The Government undertaking a costly action against one of its citizens, with the objective of destroying a small wooden barge is hysterical to us ‘normal’ people.