Collage

n. A piece of art made by sticking various different materials, aka PHENOMENA Magazine
Department
books
Touched by Venom: Book One of The Dragon Temple Saga
Touched by Venom is certainly not the first fantasy novel to deal with a headstrong outcast girl and her fascination with dragons, but it is definitely the first in which bestiality is not only a positive, but provides spiritual enlightenment. First of a planned trilogy, this remarkable debut novel prologues with its young heroine witnessing some highborn thugs violently murdering her father and crippling her mother. Nine-year-old Zarq, her father, beautiful older sister, and mother, Kavarria, are members of the pottery clan who live, as do similar serfs, on the estate of a dragonlord. Kavarria, despite belonging to the hated Djimbi race, is valued for her artistry, healing, and helpful spells. She has hopes that her sexually enticing eldest, Waivia, will capture a lusty young noblepis attention and move far up the societal scale. Itpis about the only way a female can better herself in the male-dominated feudal society. All plans go array, however, and Waivia becomes, instead, a lowly sex slave. Kavarria goes to extraordinary lengths to save her, but her heroics result in the violent events of the prologue. Zarq and her insane mother seek refuge first in the macabre Zone of the Dead then in a convent of castrated holy women who care for old bull dragons. Even after death, Kavarria remains a devastating presence in Zarqpis life and in an effort to escape maternal haunting, she turns to the comfort of the highly addictive venom of the dragons. Zarqpis story continues with many grim but fascinating twists as Zarq moves toward her seemingly impossible destiny as a dragonmaster. By the bookpis end, future triumph can be dimly envisioned and it is clear that Janine Cross is a significant new voice in fantasy. Donpit be misled by the totally inappropriate cover of a curvaceous brunette; this isnpit run-of-mill girl-meets-dragon fantasy. (CFQ Vol. 37, Issue #8) xwidget_76_Touched By Venom
John Doe · Jan. 17, 2023, 6:48 a.m.
java
How does one display progress of a file copy operation in Java. without using Swing e.g. in a Web app?
Here is how to copy a file in java and monitor progress on the commandline: package com.bad.blood.test; import java.io.*; import org.springframework.util.ResourceUtils; public class FileCopyProgress { public static void main(String[] args) throws FileNotFoundException { System.out.println("copying file"); File filein = ResourceUtils.getFile("classpath:static/images/5941188.png"); File fileout = new File("src/main/resources/static/images/5941188_copy.png"); FileInputStream fin = null; FileOutputStream fout = null; long length = filein.length(); long counter = 0; int r = 0; byte[] b = new byte[1024]; try { fin = new FileInputStream(filein); fout = new FileOutputStream(fileout); while( (r = fin.read(b)) != -1) { counter += r; System.out.println( 1.0 * counter / length ); fout.write(b, 0, r); } } catch(Exception e){ System.out.println("foo"); } } } Result: copying file 0.0012724448586517551 0.0025448897173035103 0.0038173345759552656 0.0050897794346070205 0.006362224293258776 ... 0.9950518794656725 0.9963243243243243 0.9975967691829761 0.9988692140416279 1.0 ref. https://www.baeldung.com/java-copy-file https://stackoverflow.com/questions/44399422/read-file-from-resources-folder-in-spring-boot https://stackoverflow.com/questions/11182114/how-does-one-display-progress-of-a-file-copy-operation-in-java-without-using-sw
John Doe · Jan. 16, 2023, 9:01 p.m.
java
Encoding URL query parameters in Java
Q: How does one encode query parameters to go on a url in Java? A: java.net.URLEncoder.encode(String s, String encoding) can help too. It follows the HTML form encoding application/x-www-form-urlencoded. URLEncoder.encode(query, "UTF-8"); On the other hand, Percent-encoding (also known as URL encoding) encodes space with %20. Colon is a reserved character, so : will still remain a colon, after encoding. ref. https://stackoverflow.com/questions/5330104/encoding-url-query-parameters-in-java
John Doe · Jan. 16, 2023, 8:34 p.m.
urlencode
java
Parse Alexa API XML Response
1. Send a request to the following Alexa API. https://data.alexa.com/data?cli=10&url=phenomena.com 2. The Alexa API will return the following XML response. The Alexa ranking is inside the POPULARITY element, the TEXT attribute. <!-- Need more Alexa data? Find our APIs here: https://aws.amazon.com/marketplace/seller-profile?id=4a9dbf38-88b1-4e87-a459-271154a77d2e --> <ALEXA VER="0.9" URL="phenomena.com/" HOME="0" AID="=" IDN="phenomena.com/"> <SD> <POPULARITY URL="phenomena.com/" TEXT="3713994" SOURCE="panel"/> <REACH RANK="3404850"/> <RANK DELTA="+652325"/> </SD> </ALEXA> 3. We use a DOM parser to directly select the POPULARITY element and print out the value of the TEXT attribute. package com.bad.blood.test; import org.w3c.dom.Document; import org.w3c.dom.Element; import org.w3c.dom.NodeList; import javax.xml.XMLConstants; import javax.xml.parsers.DocumentBuilder; import javax.xml.parsers.DocumentBuilderFactory; import java.io.InputStream; import java.net.URL; import java.net.URLConnection; public class ReadXmlAlexaApi { private static final String ALEXA_API = "http://data.alexa.com/data?cli=10&url="; private final DocumentBuilderFactory dbf = DocumentBuilderFactory.newInstance(); public static void main(String[] args) { ReadXmlAlexaApi obj = new ReadXmlAlexaApi(); int alexaRanking = obj.getAlexaRanking("phenomena.com"); System.out.println("Ranking: " + alexaRanking); } public int getAlexaRanking(String domain) { int result = 0; String url = ALEXA_API + domain; try { URLConnection conn = new URL(url).openConnection(); try (InputStream is = conn.getInputStream()) { // unknown XML better turn on this dbf.setFeature(XMLConstants.FEATURE_SECURE_PROCESSING, true); DocumentBuilder dBuilder = dbf.newDocumentBuilder(); Document doc = dBuilder.parse(is); Element element = doc.getDocumentElement(); // find this tag "POPULARITY" NodeList nodeList = element.getElementsByTagName("POPULARITY"); if (nodeList.getLength() > 0) { Element elementAttribute = (Element) nodeList.item(0); String ranking = elementAttribute.getAttribute("TEXT"); if (!"".equals(ranking)) { result = Integer.parseInt(ranking); } } } } catch (Exception e) { e.printStackTrace(); throw new IllegalArgumentException("Invalid request for domain : " + domain); } return result; } } The domain phenomena.com ranked 3713994. Ranking: 3713994 ref. https://mkyong.com/java/how-to-read-xml-file-in-java-dom-parser/
John Doe · Jan. 16, 2023, 8:24 p.m.
XML
java
A simple way to read an XML file in Java
1. XML File <book> <person> <first>Kiran</first> <last>Pai</last> <age>22</age> </person> <person> <first>Bill</first> <last>Gates</last> <age>46</age> </person> <person> <first>Steve</first> <last>Jobs</last> <age>40</age> </person> </book> 2. Program Listing import java.io.File; import org.w3c.dom.Document; import org.w3c.dom.*; import javax.xml.parsers.DocumentBuilderFactory; import javax.xml.parsers.DocumentBuilder; import org.xml.sax.SAXException; import org.xml.sax.SAXParseException; public class ReadAndPrintXMLFile{ public static void main (String argv []){ try { DocumentBuilderFactory docBuilderFactory = DocumentBuilderFactory.newInstance(); DocumentBuilder docBuilder = docBuilderFactory.newDocumentBuilder(); Document doc = docBuilder.parse (new File("book.xml")); // normalize text representation doc.getDocumentElement ().normalize (); System.out.println ("Root element of the doc is " + doc.getDocumentElement().getNodeName()); NodeList listOfPersons = doc.getElementsByTagName("person"); int totalPersons = listOfPersons.getLength(); System.out.println("Total no of people : " + totalPersons); for(int s=0; s<listOfPersons.getLength() ; s++){ Node firstPersonNode = listOfPersons.item(s); if(firstPersonNode.getNodeType() == Node.ELEMENT_NODE){ Element firstPersonElement = (Element)firstPersonNode; //------- NodeList firstNameList = firstPersonElement.getElementsByTagName("first"); Element firstNameElement = (Element)firstNameList.item(0); NodeList textFNList = firstNameElement.getChildNodes(); System.out.println("First Name : " + ((Node)textFNList.item(0)).getNodeValue().trim()); //------- NodeList lastNameList = firstPersonElement.getElementsByTagName("last"); Element lastNameElement = (Element)lastNameList.item(0); NodeList textLNList = lastNameElement.getChildNodes(); System.out.println("Last Name : " + ((Node)textLNList.item(0)).getNodeValue().trim()); //---- NodeList ageList = firstPersonElement.getElementsByTagName("age"); Element ageElement = (Element)ageList.item(0); NodeList textAgeList = ageElement.getChildNodes(); System.out.println("Age : " + ((Node)textAgeList.item(0)).getNodeValue().trim()); //------ }//end of if clause }//end of for loop with s var }catch (SAXParseException err) { System.out.println ("** Parsing error" + ", line " + err.getLineNumber () + ", uri " + err.getSystemId ()); System.out.println(" " + err.getMessage ()); }catch (SAXException e) { Exception x = e.getException (); ((x == null) ? e : x).printStackTrace (); }catch (Throwable t) { t.printStackTrace (); } //System.exit (0); }//end of main } 3. Program Output Root element of the doc is book Total no of people : 3 First Name : Kiran Last Name : Pai Age : 22 First Name : Bill Last Name : Gates Age : 46 First Name : Steve Last Name : Jobs Age : 40 https://www.developerfusion.com/code/2064/a-simple-way-to-read-an-xml-file-in-java/
John Doe · Jan. 16, 2023, 8:15 p.m.
XML
java
Get MD5 Base64 : MD5 Message Digest algorithm
package com.bad.blood.test; /* * $Header: /cvsroot/mvnforum/mvnforum/contrib/phpbb2mvnforum/src/org/mvnforum/util/MD5.java,v 1.6 2007/01/15 10:27:31 dungbtm Exp $ * $Author: dungbtm $ * $Revision: 1.6 $ * $Date: 2007/01/15 10:27:31 $ * * * Copyright (C) 2002-2007 by MyVietnam.net * * All copyright notices regarding mvnForum MUST remain * intact in the scripts and in the outputted HTML. * The "powered by" text/logo with a link back to * http://www.mvnForum.com and http://www.MyVietnam.net in * the footer of the pages MUST remain visible when the pages * are viewed on the internet or intranet. * * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify * it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by * the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or * any later version. * * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the * GNU General Public License for more details. * * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License * along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software * Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA * * Support can be obtained from support forums at: * http://www.mvnForum.com/mvnforum/index * * Correspondence and Marketing Questions can be sent to: * info at MyVietnam net * * @author: */ import java.io.UnsupportedEncodingException; import java.security.MessageDigest; import java.security.NoSuchAlgorithmException; import java.util.Base64; // The JavaReference.com Software License, Version 1.0 // Copyright (c) 2002-2005 JavaReference.com. All rights reserved. // // // Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without // modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions // are met: // // 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, // this list of conditions and the following disclaimer. // // 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, // this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation // and/or other materials provided with the distribution. // // 3. The end-user documentation included with the redistribution, if any, must // include the following acknowlegement: // // "This product includes software developed by the Javareference.com // (http://www.javareference.com/)." // // Alternately, this acknowlegement may appear in the software itself, if and // wherever such third-party acknowlegements normally appear. // // 4. The names "JavaReference" and "Javareference.com", must not be used to // endorse or promote products derived from this software without prior written // permission. For written permission, please contact webmaster@javareference.com. // // 5. Products derived from this software may not be called "Javareference" nor may // "Javareference" appear in their names without prior written permission of // Javareference.com. // // THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED ``AS IS'' AND ANY EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, // INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND // FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL // JAVAREFERENCE.COM OR ITS CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, // INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT // LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR // PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF // LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING // NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, // EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE. // // Software from this site consists of contributions made by various individuals // on behalf of Javareference.com. For more information on Javareference.com, // please see http://www.javareference.com /** * @author anandh */ public class MD5 { static char[] carr = { '0', '1', '2', '3', '4', '5', '6', '7', '8', '9', 'a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e', 'f' }; public static String getBase64FromHEX(String input) { byte barr[] = new byte[16]; int bcnt = 0; for (int i = 0; i < 32; i += 2) { char c1 = input.charAt(i); char c2 = input.charAt(i + 1); int i1 = intFromChar(c1); int i2 = intFromChar(c2); barr[bcnt] = 0; barr[bcnt] |= (byte) ((i1 & 0x0F) << 4); barr[bcnt] |= (byte) (i2 & 0x0F); bcnt++; } return new String(Base64.getEncoder().encode(barr)); } public static synchronized String getMD5_Base64(String input) { // please note that we dont use digest, because if we // cannot get digest, then the second time we have to call it // again, which will fail again MessageDigest digest = null; try { digest = MessageDigest.getInstance("MD5"); } catch (Exception ex) { ex.printStackTrace(); } if (digest == null) return input; // now everything is ok, go ahead try { digest.update(input.getBytes("UTF-8")); } catch (java.io.UnsupportedEncodingException ex) { ex.printStackTrace(); } byte[] rawData = digest.digest(); return new String(Base64.getEncoder().encode(rawData)); } private static int intFromChar(char c) { char clower = Character.toLowerCase(c); for (int i = 0; i < carr.length; i++) { if (clower == carr[i]) { return i; } } return 0; } public static void main(String[] args) { //String password = args[0]; String password = "phenomena"; MessageDigest digest = null; try { digest = MessageDigest.getInstance("MD5"); } catch (NoSuchAlgorithmException e) { e.printStackTrace(); } try { digest.update(password.getBytes("UTF-8")); } catch (UnsupportedEncodingException ex) { ex.printStackTrace(); } byte[] rawData = digest.digest(); StringBuffer printable = new StringBuffer(); for (int i = 0; i < rawData.length; i++) { printable.append(carr[((rawData[i] & 0xF0) >> 4)]); printable.append(carr[(rawData[i] & 0x0F)]); } String phpbbPassword = printable.toString(); System.out.println("PHPBB : " + phpbbPassword); System.out.println("MVNFORUM : " + getMD5_Base64(password)); System.out.println("PHPBB->MVNFORUM : " + getBase64FromHEX(phpbbPassword)); } } result: PHPBB : 93625b136e47b789af88d9c766b40064 MVNFORUM : k2JbE25Ht4mviNnHZrQAZA== PHPBB->MVNFORUM : k2JbE25Ht4mviNnHZrQAZA== ref. http://www.java2s.com/Tutorial/Java/0490__Security/GetMD5Base64.htm
John Doe · Jan. 16, 2023, 8:19 a.m.
MD5
java
Encoding / Decoding as Base64 in Java
package com.bad.blood.test; import java.security.InvalidKeyException; import java.security.Key; import java.util.Base64; import javax.crypto.BadPaddingException; import javax.crypto.Cipher; import javax.crypto.IllegalBlockSizeException; import javax.crypto.KeyGenerator; public class LocalEncrypter { private static String algorithm = "DESede"; private static Key key = null; private static Cipher cipher = null; private static void setUp() throws Exception { key = KeyGenerator.getInstance( algorithm ).generateKey(); cipher = Cipher.getInstance( algorithm ); } public static void main(String [] args) throws Exception { setUp(); byte [] encryptionBytes = null; String input = "phenomena"; System.out.println( "Entered: " + input ); encryptionBytes = encrypt( input ); String encodeString = new String(Base64.getEncoder().encode(encryptionBytes)); System.out.println( "Base64 Encode: " + encodeString ); System.out.println( "Recovered: " + decrypt( Base64.getDecoder().decode(encodeString) ) ); } private static byte [] encrypt(String input) throws InvalidKeyException, BadPaddingException, IllegalBlockSizeException { cipher.init( Cipher.ENCRYPT_MODE, key ); byte [] inputBytes = input.getBytes(); return cipher.doFinal(inputBytes); } private static String decrypt(byte [] encryptionBytes) throws InvalidKeyException, BadPaddingException, IllegalBlockSizeException { cipher.init( Cipher.DECRYPT_MODE, key ); byte [] recoveredBytes = cipher.doFinal( encryptionBytes ); String recovered = new String( recoveredBytes ); return recovered; } } result: Entered: phenomena Base64 Encode: lfE0CaaNbx1sGUJk6dwgjQ== Recovered: phenomena ref. https://stackoverflow.com/questions/13109588/encoding-as-base64-in-java   * Image to Base64 String Conversion package com.bad.blood.test; import java.io.File; import java.io.IOException; import java.util.Base64; import org.apache.commons.io.FileUtils; import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test; import static org.junit.Assert.assertTrue; public class FileToBase64StringConversionUnitTest { private String inputFilePath = "test_image.jpg"; private String outputFilePath = "test_image_copy.jpg"; @Test public void fileToBase64StringConversion() throws IOException { // load file from /src/test/resources ClassLoader classLoader = getClass().getClassLoader(); File inputFile = new File(classLoader .getResource(inputFilePath) .getFile()); byte[] fileContent = FileUtils.readFileToByteArray(inputFile); String encodedString = Base64 .getEncoder() .encodeToString(fileContent); // create output file File outputFile = new File(inputFile .getParentFile() .getAbsolutePath() + File.pathSeparator + outputFilePath); // decode the string and write to file byte[] decodedBytes = Base64 .getDecoder() .decode(encodedString); FileUtils.writeByteArrayToFile(outputFile, decodedBytes); assertTrue(FileUtils.contentEquals(inputFile, outputFile)); } } ref. https://www.baeldung.com/java-base64-image-string
John Doe · Jan. 16, 2023, 8:06 a.m.
base64 encode decode
books
The Tooth Fairy
xwidget_75_The Tooth Fairy Reviewed by Hank Wagner Seven-year-old Sam Southall awakens the night he loses his first tooth and encounters a strange visitor. He surprises the odd little creature, who, after recovering its composure, reveals itself as the Tooth Fairy of legend. Thus begins a relationship which endures until Sam leaves for college, a strange, touching, sometimes dangerous association that adds spice and terror to Sam's otherwise normal existence. The Tooth Fairy, whose appearance, demeanor and sex change constantly, accompanies Sam on his journey through adolescence, sharing his triumphs and tragedies, even ushering him into manhood with his first sexual experience. Along the way, the he/she/it protects Sam, but also exposes him to a variety of dangers; the mercurial creature is by turns adversarial and supportive, giving the novel a certain edginess. From the outset, Joyce stresses the uncertainty of life. One of the more horrifying events in the novel takes place well before the Tooth Fairy appears. In the book's opening scene, one of Sam's friends is attacked by a pike as he dangles his feet in a stream. The boy loses a toe, and is destined to walk with a limp for the rest of his life. The attack, frightening because of its suddenness and harshness, is a stunning reminder of how quickly lives can change. One minute you are safe, bullshitting with your friends, the next you are being hurried off to the emergency room. It also points out that no one is in control -- neither children nor their parents. Joyce's point is that the only sure thing in life is change--he expresses this sentiment perfectly, using Sam as a prism. Who better to portray the ambiguity of life than a teenager, whose perceptions change along with his body? Joyce uses his innate understanding of childhood to great advantage, creating a story that can be taken as a supernatural tale or as a psychological study of a troubled adolescent grappling with impending adulthood. Joyce returns to the theme of ambiguity again and again. Consider, for example, the Tooth Fairy's gender or lack thereof -- its form varies with Sam's age and mood. Besides its physical malleability, it also assumes a striking variety of roles, acting in turn as friend, foe, prophet, protector, lover, and conscience. While it often taunts and threatens him, it also helps him handle bullies, protects him from crazy adults, and initiates him into the wonders of sex. In short, it is whatever Sam needs it to be. There is also the question of whether the Tooth Fairy exists at all -- the book permits either interpretation. Interestingly, the Tooth Fairy appears to Sam soon after a traumatic event at school. One might say that it appeared in response to the event, perhaps as Sam's coping mechanism. Thereafter, its visits coincide with the turbulent events in Sam's life, suggesting that it may all be in his mind. Cunningly, Joyce has Sam visit a psychiatrist, to whom he confesses all about the Tooth Fairy. The psychiatrist, bent on fulfilling his own expectations, blithely ignores Sam, choosing instead to pepper him with inane questions about his sexual urges. Considering the differences between The Tooth Fairy and Requiem(the only other of Joyce's seven novels to find U. S. publication), it's hard to predict what the author, a three time winner of the British Fantasy Award, will do next. Based on prior experience, however, it promises to be strange and original. In the meantime, we can hope that all his previous work somehow finds its way to the US. I for one am looking forward to that day. -- Hank Wagner
John Doe · Jan. 16, 2023, 3:06 a.m.
books
THE PRIME OF HIS LIFE Graham Joyce's Smoking Poppy
xwidget_74_Smoking Poppy Note to those who vote for the British Fantasy Award: I realize Graham Joyce has won your Best Novel award four times -- for INDIGO (2000), DARK SISTER (1992), REQUIEM (1994) and THE TOOTH FAIRY (1996) -- but you'd best just engrave another trophy to Mr. Joyce. If he deserved the four previous wins (he did), then there is no denying him a fifth for his latest (and so-far greatest novel), SMOKING POPPY. Note to anyone else involve in similar literary "contests" including non-genre awards: See above and please note this book is being published in calendar 2001 in the UK which qualifies it in many cases for this year's awards. Note to any film producer with a lick of sense (admittedly a fairly empty category): This one is hot. It's got it all. Roles any actor would die for. Jungles. Opium. A scantily clad babe in distress. A charismatic drug warlord. Look, don't worry about the fact it's intelligent, has depth, and is beautifully written. We'll dump all that stuff. Maybe add a few special effects. Are there volcanoes in...where the hell is this set...Thighland? No, nothing like Brokedown Palace. Think Traffic combined with Apocalypse Now (minus the war) and rescue/adventure! Whatever. I'm telling you, move on this one. Note to the perceptive reader: Don't even take the time to read this review. Just buy the bloody book and read it. It's one of the finest novels you'll ever grasp in your grimy paws. Danny Innes is the Brit equivalent of what Americans call a "regular joe." An electrician by trade, he's alienated from his adult children, recently separated from his wife, and a bit befuddled as to how it all came about. All he's ever done is his best to love and provide for them, but there he is, kicked in the teeth and alone. Then he's told his daughter, Charlie (Charlotte), has been arrested for drug trafficking in Thailand and is imprisoned in Chang Mai. Danny has to go. No matter how estranged they've become -- Charlie had gone off to university at Oxford and come back multiply pierced and with "the politics of an international terrorist" and he hasn't heard from her in two years -- it's his little girl and it is up to him to do what he can. Danny, like most men, is a "fixer." When confronted with a problem -- whether it is frayed wiring or a daughter facing life imprisonment or execution -- he wants to fix it. Danny, although not a recipient of higher education, is a voracious reader who uses books "the way some people do alcohol, to obliterate the noise of the outside world." (Although of late, our Dan's been knocking back quite a bit of whiskey and not a few ales.) He's the sort of autodidact who has accumulated vast amounts of the sort of knowledge that makes one wizard at trivia. Like most self-taught intellects, Danny's brain acquires information in what "educated" types would consider an odd fashion. He picks up books by Keats, Coleridge, Baudelaire, De Quincey, and Rimbaud from the library (along with a more technical guide to drugs) because someone's told him they were notable dope-fiends and he wants to find out more about the stuff. Of course, unhampered by the prejudices of "education," Danny also can make associations and gain insights his allegedly-learned brethren can not. Danny goes off to Thailand accompanied, somewhat to his distress, by his "best mate" Mick and religious zealot of a son, Phil. Mick Williams is a blustering bull of a man, but possessed of a lively intelligence and undauntable determination to help his friend--despite the fact that Danny has never considered Mick a friend. Phil is as repressed as Mick is unrestrained. Three years older than his sister and a laboratory technician, Phil has distanced himself from his father with a parsimonious nature and complete dedication to Christian fundamentalism. The incongruous trio hit Thailand and are confronted with a world more alien (and perhaps more survivable) than the bottom of the Marianas Trench. They are also dismayed to discover the young woman imprisoned in Chiang Mai is not Charlie. Despite the utter incompetence of the foppish local British Consul, they manage to question the imprisoned girl and her information gives them a possible location for Charlie -- a small village near the Myanmar border, a lawless area that requires a trek through near-impassable mountainous jungle terrain to reach. The journey through the jungle to the poppy fields and the borderland village where they find Charlie is one of many layers of discovery. Any reviewer is compelled to discern parallels between SMOKING POPPY and Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. The similarities are there: the relentless dread that overhangs all like the vines and trees of the jungle, the filtering of reality through the protagonist's point of view, the indictment of Western imperialism, the allegorical journey and eventual rebirth. But this is no Conrad pastiche. Joyce does leave us with some mysteries, but there is none of the vagary of Conrad's oppressive but never-delineated horrors. Nor is this a solo personal expedition like the one Marlow takes. It's a family story about relationships and truth, love and the ability to learn and heal; the discovery of a spiritual world -- both a personal inner espial and one with literal unseen demons. And when Danny and his crew arrive at their "Inner Station"-equivalent, it is not a scene of savage horror: it is the start of the true journey. SMOKING POPPY is also an extraordinarily entertaining book. There is the element of exotic travelogue: the author has knowledgeably, lovingly, and accurately represented a culture few Westerners know anything of. Not that this is a glossy vacation-in-fascinating locale telling -- the sweat, the insects, the smells are all part of his rendering. Most of all, the people Joyce has created -- and they are amazing living, breathing creations you can scarcely consider fictional, people you will know forever -- are hilariously human. In their foibles and flaws, their blindness and even their revelations -- we see ourselves. There is the kind of recognition and reaction we all must have to survive: we must laugh even as we weep. Danny is closed, emotionally cut-off, and blind to everyone, everything around him. To be allowed to share in his enlightenment is like being granted your own redemption. There's more. Much more. There's never been any question that Graham Joyce is a gifted writer, but with SMOKING POPPY he attains a new level. He is in the prime of his writing-life and may well progress beyond it -- an awesome consideration. -- Paula Guran, originally appeared in Cemetery Dance #37
John Doe · Jan. 16, 2023, 3:02 a.m.
books
Partial Eclipse and Other Stories
xwidget_73_Partial Eclipse and Other Stories Praised and lauded for his original, vital, entrancing novels, Joyce is just as compelling in shorter works. Not that he writes many short stories. (Understandable. He does have to spend time on those novels.) What's more, the stories he writes are usually published in England, rather than the states. For many readers, this will be all new material. Although Joyce tends to concern himself with very human relationships this, by no means, limits his diversity of style or subject matter. He is, in fact, both unpredictable and versatile -- slipping off into SF or into the starving, frozen city of Leningrad under siege or to the dazzling sun of a small Greek island. Always intelligent, often profound, these are stories that make you think more deeply, and more sometimes more strangely than you have before. Graham Joyce weaves the sort of dreams that change the waking world.
John Doe · Jan. 16, 2023, 2:57 a.m.
insights
Take a look
1. FoxTrot Comics by Bill Amend FoxTrot Comics by Bill Amend Official home of the FoxTrot comic strip. New comics every Sunday. https://foxtrot.com/   2. Haunted Houses - Find Real Haunted Houses Haunted Houses - Find Real Haunted Houses, Explore Hauntings and Halloween Attractions Find real haunted houses, Halloween Attractions, Haunted Attractions. http://hauntedhouses.com/   3. 151 Illusions & Visual Phenomena Illusions & Visual Phenomena This huge collection of non-scary optical illusions and fascinating visual phenomena emphasizes interactive exploration, beauty, and scientific explanation. https://michaelbach.de/ot/
John Doe · Jan. 14, 2023, 6:15 a.m.
insights
What Is SEO?
SEO stands for ‘Search Engine Optimization’. It’s the practice of optimizing your web pages to make them reach a high position in the search results of Google and other search engines. In other words: People will be more likely to encounter your website when searching online.   Google’s search result page for the term ‘nightmare’   In the image above, we see the first few results when someone searches for the keyphrase ‘nightmare’. In this case, Youtube is the first result and this means that their page on Nightmare ranks #1 on this search term. The idea behind SEO is that when you optimize your page to become the best result, you can climb those rankings and become one of the first results that people see. Which will get you more clicks and traffic to your site!   https://yoast.com/tag/seo-basics/   SEO news: the latest news, resources, and guides [2023] Browse through hundreds of guides, resources, and articles related to SEO (search engine optimization). https://www.marketermilk.com/topic/seo   SEO Starter Guide: The Basics | Google Search Central  |  Documentation  |  Google Developers A knowledge of basic SEO can have a noticeable impact. Explore the Google SEO starter guide for an overview of search engine optimization essentials. https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/seo-starter-guide
John Doe · Jan. 14, 2023, 6:13 a.m.
SEO
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