Armed with more knowledge of geography, further information and further reflection I shall now pontificate upon the statistics which spoke of readership in various, and sundry, world cities. Faithful readers will be aware that the city with the most viewers was Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It still ranks number one: its readership has grown after I learned more about KL. Right now you are probably asking yourself: “Why and how did you become more knowledgable ,I became more knowledgeable by reading the Wikipedia’s KL entry. – learned there is a central KL and a greater KL. This from Wikipedia.
“Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 8.8 million people as of 2024. It is among the fastest growing metropolitan regions in Southeast Asia, both in population and economic development”
Taking this into consideration; when one figures in areas in greater KL the numbers grow. Taking this into consideration there are I have 550 readers in Klang Valley. Encircling Kuala Lumpur is Selangor, a state on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Therefore, very close to KL with its its viewers one can see that the area in of formidable strength (723 viewers) If you want to know why I was investigating KL you shall have to keep reading, until the conclusion of the blog; where the why will be revealed. . This is a storytelling technique, which I am mastering.
This led to further analysis, did not need Wikipedia because I lived in Vancouver for approximately two years. Vancouver is city that has spread as well. Coquitlam and Burnaby are part of the Vancouver sprawl. The total is 383 viewers when one adds the Coquitlam (now second at 188), and Burnaby (now eighth at 109) and Vancouver now eleventh with 86). ( 578 viewers in Greater Vancouver. This figure squeezes out Edmonton and Corte Madera.
Looking into views is a whole different matter, and not to be analyzed at the moment but Greater Vancouver is catching up with KL
All of this math has totally exhausted me. This is not useful information for neither you, nor I. Back to Shamir’s observation that WHY, not where , should be the determining factor. This is all I can come up with and will be my comeuppance my just punishment. Experiencing Vancouver for two long years, found it to be an expensive, and hence, a dehumanizing place to live;. Therefore I escaped. Perhaps I am read as escapist literature: somebody got out. She escaped. “Let’s read about her and live vicariously” is the rallying cry. Hahaha .
Escapist literature aims to transport readers to different worlds, characters, and situations, offering a break from their own concerns and problems. The term “escape” itself can be broken down into two meanings: “to leave” and “to avoid.” According to the Oxford English Dictionary, ‘escape’ is defined as “to break free from confinement or control; to get free from a place or situation; to flee. Very accidentally, while exploring the world of escapist literature found a story on lithub.comWhat Does It Mean to Write Escapist Literature? Caroline Carlson on Children’s Books and Escape Artistry. These are her concluding paragraphs. The crisis that she was facing was the pandemic.
“In this particular crisis, though, I found that I could write. Each morning, while my children slept, I sat down at my computer and worked on the most unapologetically escapist story I could think of—a story that eventually became my book Wicked Marigold. I began with the words once upon a time, because even the youngest readers know that those words hold the promise of happily ever after. The magical world I wrote about was full of scheming villains, calamitous curses, and imperfect princesses, but it was also a world in which villains could be defeated, curses could be reversed, and even an imperfect princess could discover the benefits of being perfectly herself.” “I crowded the pages with jokes: good ones, bad ones, I didn’t really care. Laughter felt precious, and if a line made me laugh, it stayed. I settled my characters around the kitchen table, gave them each a slice of peach pie, and nudged them toward joy. Each day, I’d write another page. Each day, I’d leave the world for an hour or so, gathering the strength I needed to return. Maybe that’s the secret magic of literary escapes—that writers find solace in them just as much as readers do. That a story can bring comfort both in the listening and in the telling. These days, I’m comforted not only by the escapist stories I tell but also by the down-to-earth possibility that those stories might someday reach readers who need them. When kids find Wicked Marigold at the bookstore or on a library shelf, I hope they’ll laugh. I hope they’ll escape for a while, if escape is what they need. And I hope that when the story is over, they’ll feel more prepared to meet reality’s gaze, unflinching.”
This ‘detour’ was enlightening. Perhaps that is what I do, a part of the blog, not all of the blog, which can also be very truthfully serious. Perhaps I should begin each blog with “once upon a time.” Hahaha, Although my writing is not fiction; truth is stranger than fiction, a topic often explored on this blog. Truths show the villains which are defeated, the occasional calamitous curses and this imperfect princess has discovered the benefits of being perfectly herself. Goodness knows I sometimes crowd these pages with jokes; good ones, bad ones. Often rely on my conversations with Shamir who has a fantastic sense of humor. I do know that writing this blog brings comfort in the telling – perhaps it is bringing comfort to the listening, the readers. I do hope my readers laugh, escaping for a while. Escaping is what we need in this horrifically troubled world. I love her concluding sentence: “I hope that when the story is over, they’ll feel more prepared to meet, reality’s faze, unflinching.”
I often ‘steal’ my humor from Andy Borowitz, knowing that he tells good jokes, not bad ones. He NEVER lets me down. I suggest that if you are tired of me being the middle man than you subscribe to the Borowitz Reports. His humor is always topical and must appeal to my USA readers – the USA is second only to Malaysia in having the most number of viewers. (Sorry, that again – bore and entertain, bore and entertain yet another variation of hardship and benefit.) “WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Donald J. Trump’s threatened 200 percent tariff on alcohol from the European Union has caused Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to angrily resign, the Pentagon confirmed on Friday. Speaking to reporters, Hegseth said that he considered the tariffs on “Irish whiskey, French Sancerre, and the exquisite sherry of Portugal” to be “an act of war.”In an eleventh-hour bid to keep Hegseth on board, Eric Trump, the president of Trump Winery, offered Hegseth a free lifetime supply of the company’s products, but was immediately rebuffed.“I’ve had those Trump wines and they taste like ass,” Hegseth said. “Jesus, I’d rather be sober.”
I LOVE it, the tariffs are “an act of war” and when offered Trump wine that “tastes like ass” Hegseth says; “I’d rather sober.”
Back to my blog.
Once upon a time Shamir asked the following question.
He: So on your blog . How do you know what to write every day. Do you have a plan? Or stumble on things. What is your strategy?
Me: I do not know it just sort of happens. I do not know it just happens I do not know. There seems to be a trigger. Perhaps it is a song, or a phrase or sometimes something I read. It is not difficult it is really easy. It is. It is incredibly easy. It just comes to me. Weird Weird Weird.
He: I see. Do u have a day u don’t know what to write about? Like writer’s block?
Me: No I have this saying: I do not have writer’s block, I have writer’s diarrhea. If I do not write everyday I feel strange. Like I am missing something.
He: Wow amazing Means its part of you like brushing your teeth or drinking water. Second nature
Me: Yeah exactly. Once last year I did not write for a whole week. When I finally sent a blog; my blog master said: “I thought you were dead. My life was a real mess. Then I started to write again. I wonder now, if I did write during that mess, I would have gotten out of it and away from this man a lot quicker. My writing keeps me sane. Or the closest I come to sanity. Hahaha.
True to my word (this being the end of my blog) I shall now tell all. Why did I suddenly decide to read about Kuala Lumpur? (Oh by the way, I have started to use the real names of people who have given me permission.) Mohan was going to KL to visit his three daughters and asked me if I wanted to drive with him Of course, I said yes. But then he changed his mind, realizing the constraints of Ramadan would make everything too taxing and confining. The trip is being postponed to April. However, I was not informed until AFTER I had packed and brought down the suitcase. But it was for the best, If I was in KL you might not be reading this entertaining blog.
Hahaha
Received a last minute reward. Scrolling through lithub.com found an article with special meaning. Writing Biography Without an Archive: On Recovering a Past Believed to Be Lost. Wanda Kraft offered some tips to help those who are struggling to find primary sources. This has special meaning because Dave Dryburgh’s past seemed to be lost, I spent years trying to retrieve it. The biography remains uncompleted. Toying with the idea of stopping or restraining my blog writing and concentrating on finishing the blog. We shall see what happens.
Photographs. One I sent laughingly to Mohan and Shamir saying: In case your forgot my name. Hahaha .
Me: In case you did not remember my name. You seem to have forgotten it.
He: Lexis with an A in front.
Me: Yes the A also stands for Alert and Adventurous. A trait that at least one of us has. The shirt spells it out. “The current mood a little bit Alexis.”
Sent him a photo I had received earlier via WhatsApp.
Me: Oh genius can you sent me this in an email.
He: Yes I can.
And he did. It is a painting, drawn by his stepsister, of Mohan and Simba drawn from a photo. As you will see his stepsister is an incredibly talented artist. The painting was drawn from a photograph which is also included..
(Step-siblings are children born of two different families who have been joined by marriage. A male step-sibling is a stepbrother and a female is a stepsister. The step-siblings relationship is connected through law and is not a blood relation Step-siblings are sometimes abbreviated informally as stepsibs. In other words, same Dad, different Mom)
Also a couple more photos of Penang in the good old days taken on rest stops walking from the elevator to my apartment.
