Lyrics of Amazing Space

Amazing Grace is a powerful song, known to many, but not everyone agrees with its message. It’s impossible for atheists to accept the notion that belief in a god, any god, will result in salvation of any description. It’s nonsense. It’s wishful thinking. It’s simply not true. How can belief in something that does not exist offer any benefit? In some instances I suppose, it can, but that means stepping away from a rational world and into a delusional one. Given that, it doesn’t matter what god you believe in to provide that comfort, any god will do. As long as it offers the same reward, the same reassurance, your job is to pick one and people do.

But not everyone. For those who want to remain in the rational world, that choice means: Atheism. So what songs celebrate that choice? I can’t think of any. None with the splendour of the music of Amazing Grace. None that aren’t pop songs about love and hedonism. So what do you do when something doesn’t exist and you wish it did, you create it. To that end, I present atheistic lyrics for the music of Amazing Grace.

You can read about the history of the song here. There’s also an excellent movie by the same title that deals with the abolition of the slave trade in the UK in the 18^th century. Albert Finney plays John Newton. A must watch film.

I am interested in any comments you might have on these lyrics.

I am also interested in creating a choral version of the song. I would like to here the song sung.

Cover Art for Tilly, Personal Chef (A Romantic Comedy)

Chef Tilly’s Mexican Spice Mix

Tilly Auriel is a chef. She’s worked in various restaurants in the San Francisco area, catered weddings and divorces, and recently was hired as a personal chef for James and Kendra Edwards who were recently married in a lavish ceremony at Grace Cathedral. You can read about her comedic, romantic adventures in: Tilly, Personal Chef, a soon-to-be-released book. In the meantime, she is guest blogging on cooking. Today’s entry is about her Mexican spice mix.

If you like to make tacos or fajitas (chicken, beef), you can buy packets of spice mixes from the grocery store. They’ll give you that authentic flavour you find in restaurants, but they are expensive. A cheaper alternative is to buy the individual spices and make the mix yourself. This recipe gives you enough mix to last a few months and it’s easier to make this batch once then do it every time you cook.

Here are the key ingredients:

60 ml               Chilli powder

10 ml               Cumin, ground

20 ml               Garlic powder

20 ml               Onion powder

20 ml               Chilli flakes

Simply combine the ingredients in an jar and give the mix a good shack until it’s all blended.

I sprinkle a spoonful for each serving while cooking. Four servings, four spoonfuls. Adjust to your taste.

This is my basic spice mix, but there are ways to take it to a different level. If you want to add more heat, add in 10 ml of ground cayenne pepper. Careful though, it’s hot and can overpower the overall mix. Try only 5 ml and add more to your taste.

Other options include: Paprika(10 ml), Dried Oregano (10 ml), other dried peppers.

Note: I’m pretty sure 5 ml is 1 teaspoon and 15 ml is 1 tablespoon, but you might want to check.

Enjoy.

Things I’ve Never Done

I’ve done a few things most people never get a chance to do. Lived in Africa for one. Have written a few novels and screenplays. Wrote some songs you wouldn’t want me to perform. But for the most part, my life isn’t terribly distinguished. Life like most people except there’s a few things I’ve never experienced.

Never been married. Close? Not really. I’ve never even been on a date or had a date on Valentines Day. I think most people, where the day is recognized, have done that. I often wonder what it would be like.

Never had a birthday party with cake and friends. I remember the odd the birthday card from this aunt or that uncle. It doesn’t help when your birthday is the same day as a holiday.

I don’t know who my father is. That one-half of my genes, my DNA that is me. Don’t know and probably never will. I think most people know who there father is even if the relationship isn’t what they’d like.

There are a few other items I could list and describe, but I feel reluctant to do so. I thought there was more I could share but I am blank at the moment.

So are there things you’ve never done but it seems everyone around you has done them? Just curious.

Analysis of Amazon E-book Bestsellers (Week #2)

Each hour Amazon updates its bestsellers lists. I have taken a daily snapshot of the top 20 bestsellers in the e-book fiction list for the past week and analyzed the results. Click here for the current listing.

What can be learnt from these data?

1. 4 out of 5 of the titles are from traditional or brand-named authors. The trend continues. Further, comments I wrote last week about the list apply this week.

2. The prices for books by traditional authors is substantially higher than those of indie authors. See chart below for comparisons.

3. A core group of titles appear on the list each day. Certain titles shoot up into the list for a day or two then fall back down. More below.

4. While pre-release titles appear on the list, the sales for these titles do substantially better after the release date. (e.g., Zero Day by Baldacci). It appears that some people will pay now for a title that won’t be delivered for a few weeks, but most wait until the book is released. There may be a slight advantage in buying a pre-release title for the hardcover version, but for an e-book, where there’s no delay in delivery, where is the advantage?

5. The novel, Brave New World Revisited by Aldous Huxley, first published in 1958, normally sells for $5.79. When the price was reduced, for a day or so, to $1.99, it shot up to the top of the list. It’s not clear if the publisher or Amazon created the price reduction or if either promoted the price reduction with emails or online ads to generate awareness and hence the sales. The same can be said for Robert Ludlum's (TM) The Bourne Betrayal by Eric Van Lustbader, first published in 2007 (List $9.99) and Pearl of China: A Novel by Anchee Min (List $8.99). Note: all three are traditional authors.

6. Two Halloween-related titles also shot up the list with price reductions. The Vampire Shrink by Lynda Hilburn ($8.99 to 1.99) and Zombie, Ohio: A Tale of the Undead by Scott Kenemore ($9.99 to 1.99).

7. While it is not conclusive, it appears the reduction in the list price of these five titles had a substantial impact on their sales. A short-term price reduction (“on sale now”) needs to be accompanied with promotion otherwise few will be aware of the opportunity.

8. Chris Culver is an indie author with two e-book only titles listed on Amazon. Both titles have been on the bestseller list for many weeks. The Abbey has a list price of $0.99 and been out since April, 2011. Just Run has a list price of $3.99 and was released in October 2011. The current Amazon price is $2.99; previously it sold for $0.99. When the price increased to $2.99, it’s sales rankings fell from 14 to 20. It’s safe to conclude the price increase resulted in reduced unit sales. It’s not clear if the reduction resulted in reduced total revenue (price times sales) or in reduced royalties to the author.

9. Amazon publishes a list of all e-book bestsellers. During the last week, the top-20 list was primarily composed of 18 fiction titles and 2 non-fiction (at most 4 NF titles). In the print world, non-fiction titles outsell fiction. Will we see this reflected in e-book titles?

10. Of the fiction titles, the mystery and thrillers subcategory dominates the overall fiction list. While romance is a big category seller, it isn’t reflected in the top-20 list in the same way for at least one reason: there are far more romance titles to choose from.

10. John Grisham is the king of bestsellers. Should that be a surprise? I don’t think so.

The List of Amazon.com Fiction E-book Bestsellers
1	Brave New World Revisited	Aldous Huxley
2	Bring Me Home for Christmas (Virgin River Novels)	Robyn Carr
3	Can You Keep a Secret?	Sophie Kinsella
4	Catching Fire (The Second Book of the Hunger Games)	Suzanne Collins
5	Chasing Amanda	Melissa Foster
6	Crossing Oceans	Gina Holmes
7	Don't Say A Word	Barbara Freethy
8	Hotel Vendome: A Novel	Danielle Steel
9	Just Run	Chris Culver
10	Kill Alex Cross	James Patterson
11	Last Breath	Michael Prescott
12	Mockingjay (The Final Book of The Hunger Games)	Suzanne Collins
13	Pearl of China: A Novel	Anchee Min
14	Robert Ludlum's (TM) The Bourne Betrayal	Eric Van Lustbader
15	Shock Wave	John Sandford
16	The Abbey	Chris Culver
17	The Affair: A Reacher Novel (Jack Reacher Novels)	Lee Child
18	The Best of Me	Nicholas Sparks
19	The Christmas Wedding	James Patterson, Richard DiLallo
20	The Help	Kathryn Stockett
21	The Hunger Games	Suzanne Collins
22	The Litigators	John Grisham
23	The Mill River Recluse	Darcie Chan
24	The Next Always: Book One of the Inn BoonsBoro Trilogy	Nora Roberts
25	The Vampire Shrink	Lynda Hilburn
26	Unfinished Business	Nora Roberts
27	WIRED	Douglas E. Richards
28	Zero Day	David Baldacci
29	Zombie, Ohio: A Tale of the Undead	Scott Kenemore