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The Terror of Living by Urban Waite – Book review

Posted on January 11, 2011
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Urban Waite is a relatively unknown 30 year old author from Seattle but one thing is certain – he won’t remain a secret for very much longer – “The Terror of Living” is an astonishingly taut thriller for a debut novelist and one of my tips for 2011. Check out my interview with Urban Waite here (no spoilers)

As I settled down to read the thriller, one factor became fairly evident to me, certainly within the initial twenty pages or so – the narrative is intense and powerful. Waite has an assured style of writing, a wordsmith of the highest order – I’d go so far to say that his prose is beautifully evoking, hypnotic and mesmerizing.

Already dubbed the literary thriller of 2011, “The Terror of Living” is without doubt about to set the literary world alight!

As I was nearing the end of the book I stopped to gather my thoughts and wondered when I’d last read a book where I liked each and every one of the characters – I don’t think that has ever happened to me before.

There are three distinct themes running throughout the book namely the good, the bad and the bad bordering on good! – A guy who, for all intents and purposes, wants to do the right thing but is caught up in the fight for everyday survival and finds himself on the wrong side of the law.

Noticing an abandoned car in a remote area north of Silver Lake, Deputy Bobby Drake makes a decision that will change countless lives over the course of a few days. He runs the plate but it comes back clean – yet his experience tells him something is going down.

Available to buy from Amazon (UK) & Amazon (US).…

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Schapelle Corby appeals for Clemency

Posted on July 30, 2010
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Schapelle Corby has appealed for clemency from the Indonesian President. This has led to a huge surge in interest online with people looking for the latest news on Australian Schapelle Corby who was arrested and convicted of drug smuggling in Bali. Facing 20 years in Kerobokan Prison for a crime she has refused to admit to, Corby is having a tough time of it in Indonesia.

16 months ago I wrote a short blog asking the question “Has Schapelle Corby been forgotten“. For the most part I think she has but maybe these fresh appeals will bring a positive outcome and keep her plight in the limelight.

On the 8th of October 2004, Schapelle Corby was apprehended by Indonesian customs officers on her arrival in Bali from Australia. Amongst her possessions was an unlocked boogie board and upon searching the officers claimed to find 9.3 lbs (or 4.2 kg) of cannabis. Corby to this day has claimed the drugs were not hers and she had no knowledge of the narcotics.

Her defence centred on the theory that she had become an unwitting drug courier for what was supposed to have been an interstate shipment of drugs between Brisbane and Sydney in Australia.

No More Tomorrows Book, the true story.

At the defence’s last address to the court, on 29 April 2005, Corby said to the three judges:

“I cannot admit to a crime I did not commit. And to the judges, my life at the moment is in your hands, but I would prefer if my life was in your hearts….And your Honour, I ask of you to show compassion, to find me innocent, to send me home. Saya tidak bersalah (I am not guilty)”

She was convicted and sentenced on May 27th 2005 and …

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Fresh campaigns for Schapelle Corby Clemency

Posted on July 7, 2010
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SOUTH-WEST Aboriginal identity Len Clarke has written to Prime Minister Julia Gillard urging her to make a fresh approach to Indonesia to send convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby home from the Balinese prison where she has been languishing for six years. Original Article by Ken Collins

He is also prepared to write to the Indonesian Government pleading for clemency.

Mr Clarke, who heads the Framlingham – based Kikkabush Aboriginal Community, wrote to former Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono after the Australian woman’s arrest in October 2004, believing she has been treated unfairly.

“I would have been one of the first Australian citizens to write to Indonesia on the Corby case,” Mr Clarke told The Standard yesterday.

“My letter then was referred to the Australian embassy and I was told she would be dealt with by Indonesian law.

“Now I believe it is time again for the community to join a campaign to press for her release from the Bali prison.

“Reports show she is not well and I have a gut feeling she could die within six months if nothing is done for her.

“I feel she has been hard done-by.

“Give her a fair go and bring her back home to Australia.”

Mr Clarke said many people in the Aboriginal community were concerned about Ms Corby and how she had been treated.

In his letter to Ms Gillard he said “we wish you to note our ongoing support for Ms Corby”.

When The Standard contacted the prime minster’s office yesterday it was told the matter was being handled by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

A spokesman for the department said the government would support any application for clemency, but “the decision on whether to grant clemency or not is for the President of Indonesia”.

“For the Government …

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Joe Nichols – An Old Friend Of Mine

Posted on January 23, 2010
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It’s been a while since Joe Nichols released a studio album (2007 with “Real Things”) but I have to admit it was well worth the wait if “An Old Friend Of Mine” is anything to go by.

Nichols has always been able to deliver an emotional song effortlessly and until I heard this song “I’ll Wait For You”, taken from his 2005 album III and written by Bill Anderson and Harley Allen, was my favourite song. Don’t get me wrong I love most of his songs but I’ll Wait For You had that something special and the two videos that accompanied the two versions were amazing.

Alcohol has played a huge part in his songs but few were aware of his addiction and problems with Alcohol but with the release of his new album Nichols is frank and honest about his problems. He has been sober for over a year and “An Old Friend of Mine” is his emotional storytelling account of his drinking.

It will inevitably strike a chord with people who are struggling with any form of addiction but for me, someone who is fortunate not to suffer from such an addiction, it delivers on all fronts. Emotional, honest and simple. The use of one camera doesn’t detract from the message the video brings and is key to this kind of song. Country songs are famed for a broken truck, a bitter divorce or the dog dying but this track steps up a gear and arguably provides support to those in need.

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Michael Jackson, murder or tragic drug abuse?

Posted on June 26, 2009
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As we all know by now, or if we don’t where have we all been hiding?, Michael Jackson the “King of Pop” has died aged 50. Fans around the globe have been saddened and shocked by his death and a huge number of celebrities have jumped on the bandwagon claiming to have been his best friend or those enemies have magically seen the good in him despite attacking his moral fibre for years.  “His Music will live on”

I’ve always loved his music and always will in all probability. I wasn’t a great fan of the man, he was a complex entertainer who in fairness carried a lot of baggage, some of his own making, others out of his control. Whoever or whatever the cause, he came across as a man/boy unsure of his own mind.

With each hour that passes, we the public and internet followers learn a little more about the circumstances surrounding his untimely death. Was it a “simple cardiac arrest” ?

Jackson in ambulance

Were prescription drugs involved?  If they were, was it a case of too many drugs over a sustained period of time or a morphine overdose by his physician?

The toxicology report is expected to come back within six weeks and given the sensational story and the family involved the coroner is unlikely to be pressured into making rash statements or cause of death.
As I write this short piece, Michael Jackson’s music occupies the top 15 best selling albums on Amazon! It is to be expected as fans and new fans clamour to hear his music. Thriller remains the best selling album of all time and it is unlikely to be beaten. When his comeback album (Invincible) “failed” despite selling 10 million albums he never released another album. His highly anticipated …

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Weeds – a credit crunching bargain !!!

Posted on March 17, 2009
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I can’t quite believe what I’m looking at! Amazon sent me and probably thousands more an email this morning showcasing their latest blu-ray offers and included in the mix are truly amazing bargains! Weeds season 1 and 2 priced at $12.99 each – Hurry!

When Weeds was launched a few seasons ago I didn’t know how to take it – the soundtrack put me off the programme and despite the top notch acting and comedy I couldn’t get it out of my head so I left the programme in limbo a third of the way into season one!

However on receiving the email this morning I am sorely tempted to give Weeds another go especially considering both season one and two are priced at just $12.99 each! That’s right, $12.99 for a full season of blu-ray goodness folks!

Season three is priced at a very respectable $17.99 and considering Amazon want over $80 for the boxset (season 1-3) it’s a bargain! If you are looking for a review on Season 1 then look no further …..!!

For those of you in the UK or worldwide the three seasons are multi regional – to check those and other titles please visit the following website

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Has Schapelle Corby been forgotten?

Posted on March 8, 2009
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Hello everyone, hope you are all well and enjoying a lovely Sunday. I did a search for the latest news on Schapelle this evening and rather worryingly came across and article from the coastconfidential website claiming that very few people in Bali knew of Schapelle’s plight and condition.

Given her status abroad in Australia and America you would have thought that she would be well remembered in Bali, but it appears that few locals have given her a thought in recent times. The conditions she currently lives in are deplorable and are not fit for a rat let alone a human being, something has to be done.

CC report that “There are requests to visit Schapelle and bring her a present or some comfort but it is virtually impossible.

“Unless you are family or apply beforehand and Schapelle wants to see you, it is not going to happen.”

If you read Schapelle’s book “No More Tomorrows” you will discover that she gets tired of people turning up to have a gawp at her just because they feel like killing half an hour or they just want to return home saying they’ve met Schapelle Corby. The obvious problem with this is that people with true and honest intentions could possibly lose out and not get chance to meet her.

Way back in 2005 the Sydney Morning Herald reported:-

HER cause has spun off enough souvenirs to rival a royal wedding and generated more polls than a federal election campaign. There are T-shirts, hats, bumper stickers and unconfirmed sightings at suburban barbecues of stubbie coolers bearing the same slogan: Free Schapelle.

Her surname (Corby, if by some small chance you missed it) has become almost superfluous, if not in the stifling courtrooms of Bali, then in the minds of the …

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Schapelle Corby’s Ganja Queen – revisit

Posted on March 1, 2009
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I watched Channel Nine’s “Schapelle Corby: Hidden Truth” a few weeks ago and although I thought Schapelle innocent before I watched the two part documentary, I was left with a few more questions than I had anticipated.  The documentary was my first insight into the allegations against Schapelle I had come across (other than the net) and it left me with a slight feeling of confusion as to who was telling the truth, who were the good guys and who I could trust?

With this in mind I decided to read (my first impressions) Schapelle’s book “No More Tomorrows” and I wasn’t prepared for such a marked difference between the TV programme and the book. The television documentary gave, in my opinion, a fair and balanced version of events, however, for me the book cleared things up and laid to rest a few questions I had lingering. This is only my opinion and I’m positive other readers/viewers will take a different view.

The Ganja Queen DVD is available to buy on DVD in America. (Not available in the UK) – please note this is listed as a 92 minute dvd.

With this in mind I decided to re-visit the two part documentary and hopefully see what I missed first time around. The programme, known in the United States as “The Ganja Queen” was well received abroad and certainly helped bring Schapelle’s plight to thousands of people unaware of the travesty of justice that had befallen the Queenslander.

I had two nagging doubts from my first viewing and they centred on the two “supporting” roles within the documentary; namely Mercedes Corby and Ron Bakir (inc Robin Tampoe). I had (and have) no doubt of the love within the family both from Mercedes, her mother and her father. However on just …

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Schapelle Corby – A Music Video

Posted on February 21, 2009
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I’ve never sat down and spent time putting stills to music but thought it was high time I practiced. Given that I was in the middle of reading Schapelle’s book and so enthusiastic about her innocence I thought why not Schapelle!

So with that in mind, I spent a few hours and came up with the following video. The stills set to Adele’s “Make you feel my love”, I thought the words rang true. Hope you enjoy it, it was great fun to collate and I hope to do another one in the future.

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Schapelle Corby – No More Tomorrows

Posted on February 20, 2009
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I was totally shocked to see that it had been well over a year since I last posted on my blog and thought it was about time I got my arse into gear and updated it with a post from 2009! Apologies to all my readers and I promise to write more often this year – even if most of it will be inane drivel!

On to my subject matter for this post! I have just finished reading Schapelle Corby’s International bestseller “No More Tomorrows” in which she talks about her state of mind, the court process, how things went from bad to worst and a frank and honest account of her time at the Kerobokan prison.

The book from start to finish is an emotional roller-coaster. It is a truly wonderful read, (can I say that I enjoyed it, is that wrong?) often frightening that this sort of thing could happen to an innocent traveller going off to Bali for a holiday. I’ve been to Bali and had a wonderful time but anyone reading this book or aware of the Corby case will surely have second thoughts about travelling.

Schapelle’s biggest crime as she admits in her book was her failure to lock her boogie board when checking in in Brisbane. I myself have no doubt of her innocence and I sincerely hope she does get justice and make it home sooner rather than later. It doesn’t look great at the moment after exhausting the appeal process – what a joke that was. But the Corby family live in hope.

The book, co written with Kathryn Bonella, took 10 months to write and is a tribute to the determination, courage and hope that Schapelle has despite the weak legal team, a lawyer who cried more often …

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Schapelle Stitched Up

Posted on May 13, 2007
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Controversial T-ShirtIt has been a while since I wrote my last (and only) entry to date on Schapelle’s plight in an Indonesian prison. I decided to take a look around the net and see what people were writing, what the latest news was and if anyone had anything interesting to report.

The biggest story to attract my attention was that of Indonesia -based Australian Nicholas Morley who has designed a controversial t-shirt attacking Schapelle Corby and the Bali economy. The t-shirt, depicted here in the image reads “Four kilo anti-hero” and retails for $79. Also printed on the shirt, in much smaller writing, are the words, “Schapelle Corby is guilty and has cost Bali millions of dollars in lost revenue”. Sarah Grant also writes a piece in the Sunday Telegraph.

A significant proportion of the profits from the sale of the shirt will go to the Jodie O’Shea Orphanage in Bali despite British-born Alison Chambers, who runs the orphanage, having never seen the garment. She also proclaims she was unaware that the shirt’s message clearly relates to Schapelle.

Schapelle in BaliThere’s no doubt that the orphanage does great things for young children and I guess it’s just a case of a line and has it been crossed in this case? I have to say I am a Corby supporter from afar – I’ve never met her or know much about her as a person – I guess I try to see the good in people and believe in her innocence.

A law exists in the UK and Australia that criminals cannot profit from their crime, surely there must be something written that a company or individual cannot profit from said criminal in a blatant form of jumping on the bandwagon?

It is quite clear that the Bali tourist industry has been severely …

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Marion Jones Cleared of Using Drugs

Posted on September 7, 2006
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Well very interesting news through today and boy am I happy with the results! Marion Jones, Ex-triple Olympic champion, has been cleared of doping allegations after her ‘B’ sample proved negative.

I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a second positive returning negative after a first positive result, certainly not in any high profile case I am aware of. I think this second test has certainly saved Marion Jones career as she only has a limited time left on track as a high class sprinter. Not only has this increased her career by a few years but it saves her having a black mark on what has otherwise been a blemish free athletics career.

Sure she has had her associations with her ex husband and Tim Montgomery, both who have lost out to drugs, but surely this now puts to rest any allegations that she had been using performance enhancing drugs? I hope so not just for her but for the sport in general that is going through a rough patch at the moment.

The American sprinter’s initial sample had tested positive for the banned blood-boosting drug erythropoietin (EPO) in June.

“I am absolutely ecstatic,” said the 30-year-old Jones, who had been facing a two-year ban from the sport had her ‘B’ sample tested positive.

“I am anxious to get back on the track,” she added in a statement.

“I have always maintained that I have never ever taken performance-enhancing drugs, and I am pleased that a scientific process has now demonstrated that fact.”

Jones, who won five medals at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, had never previously failed a doping test.

She had been under scrutiny by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) in connection with the Balco laboratory doping scandal but was never been charged with a doping offence. …

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Schapelle Corby Still Fighting

Posted on August 23, 2006
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I’ve been meaning to write something about Schapelle Corby for some time now, long before I started this blog a few weeks ago,born out of frustration for her predicament, unable to help in any way, it infuriated me to the nth degree.

Schapelle was born in Australia in 1977 and has recently turned 29 while serving a 20 year jail sentence for importing/smuggling 4.1Kg of cannabis to Bali in October 2004. She was sentenced in May 2005 and the sentencing was carried live by satellite to both Australia and New Zealand, the guilty verdict greeted in utter disbelief.

There was immediate condemnation of the result from fellow Australian citizens and once the news had reached the other side of the world in the UK, it was met with a similar feelings. Public and political outcry followed but despite letters from leading politicians and celebrities including Russell Crowe, the Bali Government were unmoved and the 20 years sentencing stood.

I strongly believe that Schapelle is innocent and is the victim of a drug smuggling operation gone wrong, as far as she was concerned that is. Popular opinions suggest that the drugs, found in her boogie board on arrival in Bali, were never meant to leave Australia and were bound for Sydney. The drugs were planted in her unlocked boogie board in Brisbane and upon arrival in Sydney Airport were supposed to be removed and collected by an unknown drug ring.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald Corby flew out of Sydney on the same day (8 October 2004) as a large shipment of cocaine was shipped out of the airport by a drug ring involving corrupt baggage handlers. During the week of 9 May 2005 in Australia several arrests occurred related to cocaine smuggling through Sydney airport. Her defence claimed that the …

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Marion Jones Tests Positive

Posted on August 19, 2006
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Another drugs scandal is set to rock Athletics with 30 year old sprint star Marion Jones testing positive for EPO in June. Jones was tested at the US Championships in Indianapolis and her test gave a positive reading for erythropoietin. Rumours are also circulating that there are a number of American athletes from the June Championships who have failed a drugs test in one way or another, if this does prove correct then the athletics world will be turned upside down.

Although the numerous “possible” positive drug results would hurt athletics in the short term, there is no doubt that the sport will bounce back stronger and hopefully cleaner than before. I still don’t understand why an athlete of any description would risk not only their career but health taking the banned substances. Ok, so monetary gain is a given, as is being known throughout the world if you are good but surely it’s not worth it, is it?

Ben Johnson was the first main positive drug test that I can remember (1988 testing positive for steroids) and I do know that it rocked the sporting world. He cheated his way to the top, sold his soul and the devil came to collect. Stripped of his title there was no going back for Johnson. I hope the same thing doesn’t happen to Marion Jones and she can clear her name but it’s looking doubtful and at 30, a ban of any length would mean the end of her career. Only Jones’s A sample has been tested, and if her B sample also tests positive for drugs, Jones would face a two-year suspension

The other thing that I can’t quite put my finger on is after all these years of people related to her testing positive for drugs, Jones has …

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