The Winnower article - "Abortion is an "Infinite Crime.""

It is some while since I last posted. Life has been busy.

I have just published an article that some of you might find interesting or important. It is entitled:

"Abortion is an "Infinite Crime": a Discussion of the Definition, Ethics and Implications."

It is published on the open access, post publication peer review journal site, The Winnower.

Please have a read and share it with others via Facebook, Blogs, Twitter, and the mass media if you have influence over them, too. Of all my academic writings, I think this is the most important. Once women understand the full implications of an abortion, fewer will choose that option. Thus, spreading the word about my article, will save the lives of unborn babies. I think that is worth doing. So, please raise awareness about my article. Thank you.

Please have a read of it here:

https://www.thewinnower.com/papers/4641-abortion-is-an-infinite-crime-a-discussion-of-the-definition-ethics-and-implications

Thank you, in advance, for any help you can give in raising awareness of my article.

Valentine Cawley.

Vikingdom opens in the United States, October 4th 2013

Vikingdom is a film by Yusry Abdul Halim, of KRU studios, in which I play a supporting role. It is not my place to review it, since I played the role of Warick the Wise and my words would not seem to be free of influence, therefore. However, I would like to point your way to two American reviews, that have appeared in the last two days.

The first is from Slant Magazine:

http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/vikingdom

The second is a syndicated review, which first appeared in the Village Voice, yesterday, but has now appeared in OC Weekly, and City Pages. No doubt it will spread further in the next few days.

http://www.citypages.com/2013-10-02/movies/vikingdom-review/

Both reviews are favourable, in general and give some insight into how the film fits into the context of prior works. What I found most interesting about these reviews is that Vikingdom is being received much more intelligently and open-mindedly in the United States, than in its homeland of Malaysia. It very much seems as if the Malaysian cinema going public is a bit narrow in its views of what it will accept whole-heartedly, from a Malaysian director. They seem to have certain conventional expectations which Vikingdom transgresses.

For those of you living in America, Vikingdom has a limited release on October 4^th 2013. In many theatres it is just for one night, it seems...so if you want to catch it in the cinema, October 4^th is the night to do it. For those of you in or near New York, Vikingdom is showing at the AMC theatre, 34^th Street, for one full week’s run. For others who are not near any of the cinemas in the listing to follow (which covers 21 cities across the USA), Vikingdom may be downloaded from iTunes, from October 4^th 2013, for enjoyment at home.

http://www.vikingdommovie.com/

To set the film in context for you: Malaysia has never made a film like Vikingdom, before. It is the first attempt at an internationalized, epic action adventure. It is also a big step forward on what has been achieved, at any time, by a Malaysian production company in the past. This production was a co-production with Epic Pictures of Hollywood. Notably, this is also the first time a Malaysian film has ever been shown in US cinemas, at all. So, it is a major achievement, in that sense.

If you get to see it, you may not recognize me easily. I play Warick the Wise, but I am heavily disguised. I have a bushy brown and grey beard, long grey hair, period costume, a bow and arrow, and look utterly unlike my modern self. Even my own wife didn’t recognize me, after I had changed into my Viking get-up one day, on set. So, if you want to be sure who I am playing...just follow the name of my character: Warick the Wise.

I do hope you get to see the film. Thanks.

For those of you living outside of the USA, distribution has been arranged in around 85 countries. Most of those appear to open on or around the 16th December, 2013. The openings so far confirmed are: Thailand, October 10th; Japan, December 15th; and Australia, Brazil, New Zealand, South Africa and Sweden December 16th. I will notify you of further release dates, once I become aware of them. Thank you.

As for the Malaysian release on September 12th...Vikingdom was no.2 at the box office, in its first weekend of release, which is a pretty good showing. It finished up its run in the top 20% or so of box office, for local films, which is respectable.

Written by Valentine Cawley

(If you would like to support my continued writing of this blog and my ongoing campaign to raise awareness about giftedness and all issues pertaining to it, please donate, by clicking on the gold button to the left of the page.

To read about my fundraising campaign, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-in-support-of-my.html and here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-first-donation.html

If you would like to read any of our scientific research papers, there are links to some of them, here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/02/research-papers-by-valentine-cawley-and.html

If you would like to see an online summary of my academic achievements to date, please go here: http://www.getcited.org/mbrz/11136175To learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 7 and Tiarnan, 5, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

There is a review of my blog, on the respected The Kindle Report here:http://thekindlereport.blogspot.com/2010/09/boy-who-knew-too-much-child-prodigy.html

Please have a read, if you would like a critic's view of this blog. Thanks.

You can get my blog on your Kindle, for easy reading, wherever you are, by going to: http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Knew-Too-Much/dp/B0042P5LEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1284603792&sr=8-1

Please let all your fellow Kindlers know about my blog availability - and if you know my blog well enough, please be so kind as to write a thoughtful review of what you like about it. Thanks.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at:http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/

Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/

Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is athttp://www.genghiscan.com/This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.) 

Vikingdom Teaser Trailer Released

As regular readers will know, I played a role in Vikingdom, the KRU studios epic action adventure film. Last night, at 9 pm, KRU released a one minute, seven second teaser trailer for Vikingdom. I am visible in it, to the eagle eyed (try the 22 second, in the right hand upper corner).

Here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkBbQm-W5SI

Vikingdom will be released, I expect, in the next few months. My role, Warick, is a significant one in that I am one of the questors, in the main quest, which occupies most of the film. I am, therefore, onscreen, for much of the time.

The funny thing is, I never would have expected to have been in an epic action adventure film. It was a good experience. The hero of the film, Eirick, was played by Dominic Purcell, of Prison Break fame.

Please let me know what you think of the trailer below. I hope you go on to see the film when it comes out. It certainly looks like it will be enjoyable to watch...and it will give you a chance to see some of my acting, in action, as it were.

Happy watching.

Posted by Valentine Cawley

(If you would like to support my continued writing of this blog and my ongoing campaign to raise awareness about giftedness and all issues pertaining to it, please donate, by clicking on the gold button to the left of the page.

To read about my fundraising campaign, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-in-support-of-my.html and here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-first-donation.html

If you would like to read any of our scientific research papers, there are links to some of them, here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/02/research-papers-by-valentine-cawley-and.html

If you would like to see an online summary of my academic achievements to date, please go here: http://www.getcited.org/mbrz/11136175To learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 7 and Tiarnan, 5, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

There is a review of my blog, on the respected The Kindle Report here:http://thekindlereport.blogspot.com/2010/09/boy-who-knew-too-much-child-prodigy.html

Please have a read, if you would like a critic's view of this blog. Thanks.

You can get my blog on your Kindle, for easy reading, wherever you are, by going to: http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Knew-Too-Much/dp/B0042P5LEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1284603792&sr=8-1

Please let all your fellow Kindlers know about my blog availability - and if you know my blog well enough, please be so kind as to write a thoughtful review of what you like about it. Thanks.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at:http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/

Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/

Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is athttp://www.genghiscan.com/This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.) 

Bacon Number and the size of Hollywood.

Hollywood is a very small place. I am not talking physically – although it isn’t very big in that sense, either – I am talking in terms of relationships.

Today, I went to the Oracle of Bacon, online, and typed in my name, out of curiosity, to see what connection it could find for me, with Kevin Bacon, the actor.

It said I have a Bacon Number of 2. That is I am only two degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon.

The relationship was that I appeared in Vikingdom as Warick, (not yet released) with Ron Smoorenburg (as Captain of Jomsberg 2), who appeared with Kevin Bacon in Elephant White (2011). This brought home to me just how small Hollywood is, in terms of human associations.

Only by appearing in a film with Kevin Bacon directly, could I improve upon this Bacon Number. Whether that will happen is anyone’s guess. Nevertheless, it does show how small the filmic world is.

To put this Bacon Number score of 2 into perspective, I looked up Dominic Purcell’s Bacon Number (he is the star of Vikingdom, playing the hero Eirick). It is also 2. The connection is that Dominic Purcell was in Scenes of the crime (2001) with Robert Wahlberg, who went on to appear in Mystic River (2003) with Kevin Bacon.

Now, that is not to say that I am as well established as Dominic Purcell – I am not, by a great margin – but in terms of connectivity to Kevin Bacon in this limited sense, we are just as well connected as each other.

On the other hand, Tom Cruise has a Bacon Number of 1, having appeared with him in A Few Good Men (1992).

Of course, this measure of Hollywood connectivity is entirely arbitrary, since any other actor could have been chosen. There are in fact many more well connected actors than Kevin Bacon (I read recently that he was only the 444^th most connected actor in Hollywood). It is probable that the connectivity numbers would be smaller had a more well connected actor been chosen as the “target” than Kevin Bacon. Whatever the case, whomever is chosen to connect to, the result would be the same: Hollywood is a very small “place”.

Given how small it is, I feel fortunate to be a part of it, in my own way.

Posted by Valentine Cawley

(If you would like to support my continued writing of this blog and my ongoing campaign to raise awareness about giftedness and all issues pertaining to it, please donate, by clicking on the gold button to the left of the page.

To read about my fundraising campaign, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-in-support-of-my.html and here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-first-donation.html

If you would like to read any of our scientific research papers, there are links to some of them, here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/02/research-papers-by-valentine-cawley-and.html

If you would like to see an online summary of my academic achievements to date, please go here: http://www.getcited.org/mbrz/11136175To learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 7 and Tiarnan, 5, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

There is a review of my blog, on the respected The Kindle Report here:http://thekindlereport.blogspot.com/2010/09/boy-who-knew-too-much-child-prodigy.html

Please have a read, if you would like a critic's view of this blog. Thanks.

You can get my blog on your Kindle, for easy reading, wherever you are, by going to: http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Knew-Too-Much/dp/B0042P5LEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1284603792&sr=8-1

Please let all your fellow Kindlers know about my blog availability - and if you know my blog well enough, please be so kind as to write a thoughtful review of what you like about it. Thanks.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at:http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/

Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/

Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is athttp://www.genghiscan.com/This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.) 

ABC Malaysia, viral video: John Gomez.

Yesterday, I shot a "viral video" for ABC Malaysia, the publication circulation assessor. It was a very enjoyable experience. I played the ghost of a publisher, John Gomez. The production house, Reservoir Productions, commissioned a beautiful suit for me, for the shoot. It was just the right touch for the character.

It was a green screen shoot. This means that there was a green backdrop behind me, onto which will be inserted images, in post production, to place my performance in a context. I am very curious as to what the Director Ismail Jamaluddin will put there. It is going to be an interesting surprise!

For me, the most rewarding part of the shoot, apart from the chance to work with the character, until the performance was just what Ismail wanted, was the Director's response to my work. For the second time in a week, a Director has been extremely positive about my work and has spoken of working with me again in future. I am heartened by this. It allows me to understand that I am right to devote the time and energy to acting that I have, in my life, for it very much seems, now, that I have a promising future in this arena. All I have to do, at this time, is keep on working and experimenting. The path ahead looks to be an enjoyable one.

Thank you to Casting Director Richard Goh for putting my name forward for this role. Thanks also to advertising agency Creative Juice, for approving of Ismail Jamaluddin's choice of me for the role.

The ABC Malaysia viral video is expected to be released in August this year. My performance, as John Gomez, should be visible on the ABC Malaysia website. I will let you know when it is out and shall link to it, if I can.

Posted by Valentine Cawley


(If you would like to support my continued writing of this blog and my ongoing campaign to raise awareness about giftedness and all issues pertaining to it, please donate, by clicking on the gold button to the left of the page.

To read about my fundraising campaign, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-in-support-of-my.html and here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-first-donation.html

If you would like to read any of our scientific research papers, there are links to some of them, here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/02/research-papers-by-valentine-cawley-and.html

If you would like to see an online summary of my academic achievements to date, please go here: http://www.getcited.org/mbrz/11136175To learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 7 and Tiarnan, 5, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

There is a review of my blog, on the respected The Kindle Report here:http://thekindlereport.blogspot.com/2010/09/boy-who-knew-too-much-child-prodigy.html

Please have a read, if you would like a critic's view of this blog. Thanks.

You can get my blog on your Kindle, for easy reading, wherever you are, by going to: http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Knew-Too-Much/dp/B0042P5LEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1284603792&sr=8-1

Please let all your fellow Kindlers know about my blog availability - and if you know my blog well enough, please be so kind as to write a thoughtful review of what you like about it. Thanks.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at:http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/

Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/

Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is athttp://www.genghiscan.com/This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.) 

Vikingdom: the reviews which aren't.

Vikingdom is a film by KRU studios of Malaysia, starring Dominic Purcell in the lead role of Eirick, a Viking warrior on a quest to, basically, save the world from the tyranny of Thor (who appears to have gone somewhat mad).

Vikingdom should, by all accounts, be an enjoyable film. Indeed, I played a role in it, as Warick, a Viking Warrior who volunteers to join Eirick’s quest. Warick is a man who has not made his name, in life and sees the quest as a means to do so. How that turns out, I will let you find out, by watching it. My character accompanies Eirick throughout the entire quest, to the end of the film, so it is quite a good supporting role, in terms of “screen time”.

What I witnessed on the filming of Vikingdom leads me to believe that it should turn out to be a pretty good film, by Malaysian standards. I cannot say how polished the final product will be, by international standards, however, because I have not seen the final cut – in fact, I have not even seen a rough cut. The thing is: no-one has seen these things, to date. Not even the director, Yusry Abdul Halim (a.k.a. Yusry Kru), will have seen it, because the film is not yet finished – there is much post-production work still to do, including music, and CGI and, perhaps, some editing work.

Given that Vikingdom has not been seen by anyone, I found it very curious indeed, to stumble on a site on the Internet, a bit like IMDB, but not IMDB, that had a listing for Vikingdom, there. Guess what? There were 25 votes/reviews of Vikingdom on this site. That is right, 25 people, who could not have seen the film, have voted on its merits. I was a bit stunned by that. What was even more telling is that all these reviews/votes were bad ones. Yet, what I had seen in the making of it, did not justify such low votes at all. It was immediately very clear what was happening: enemies of KRU Studios were voting down the film even before it had been released, or any footage had been shown. People who had issues with KRU Studios were taking it out on Vikingdom by attempting to spoil its filmic reputation even before it had been completed, never mind released.

A lot of people put a lot of work into Vikingdom. It does seem unfair that some people who have fallen out with KRU Studios (and there are certainly such people around, for I know of several) should attempt to smear the efforts of those who have worked hard to make Vikingdom the best film they can make.

Then again, the film review site should not allow reviews or votes on a film, before that film has been released. Such votes are meaningless since they cannot be genuine responses to a film that no-one, not even the director, has seen in its final state.

I hope you go to see Vikingdom when it comes out. The film is expected to be released internationally. It is a Viking saga based on an ancient poem, the Necklace of the Brisings, I believe. It stars Dominic Purcell (Prison Break), Natassia Malthe (Bloodrayne), Craig Fairbrass (Eastenders), Conan Stevens (The Hobbit, Game of Thrones, Spartacus), Jon Foo (Tekken) and many others, including someone called Valentine Cawley, in a decent supporting role.

From what I have seen of the film, during its making, this 3D film promises to be entertaining...so go along and take your kids! As for reviews...it was fun to make, so it should be fun to watch. When you do get a chance to see it, let me know your thoughts on it, below. Thanks. It should be out sometime in 2013...when it has actually been finished!

Posted by Valentine Cawley

(If you would like to support my continued writing of this blog and my ongoing campaign to raise awareness about giftedness and all issues pertaining to it, please donate, by clicking on the gold button to the left of the page.

To read about my fundraising campaign, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-in-support-of-my.html and here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-first-donation.html

If you would like to read any of our scientific research papers, there are links to some of them, here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/02/research-papers-by-valentine-cawley-and.html

If you would like to see an online summary of my academic achievements to date, please go here: http://www.getcited.org/mbrz/11136175To learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 7 and Tiarnan, 5, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

There is a review of my blog, on the respected The Kindle Report here:http://thekindlereport.blogspot.com/2010/09/boy-who-knew-too-much-child-prodigy.html

Please have a read, if you would like a critic's view of this blog. Thanks.

You can get my blog on your Kindle, for easy reading, wherever you are, by going to: http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Knew-Too-Much/dp/B0042P5LEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1284603792&sr=8-1

Please let all your fellow Kindlers know about my blog availability - and if you know my blog well enough, please be so kind as to write a thoughtful review of what you like about it. Thanks.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at:http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/

Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/

Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is athttp://www.genghiscan.com/This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.) 

A Haunting House.

I have spent the past few days shooting a film. For me, the most memorable – and odd – part of the experience was spending Sunday, through to Monday at 11 am, shooting in an abandoned house far from Kuala Lumpur.

It is a horror film cliché, that a house is somehow “haunted” – well this house was haunting, for anyone who stepped within it. It had been abandoned since 1998, according to the last revealed page of a calendar on the wall. It was heaped with dust and decaying junk. Books and papers had rotted away, to become powdery ghosts of themselves. It has a strange smell, that was not quite comforting – a musty malodour on entry that one couldn’t quite define. Even more perturbingly, it had seemingly been squatted in, in the past fourteen years, since one room had a mattress free bed, heaped with clothes, that seemed rather newer than the house – and, in an unnerving detail, a baby’s nappies. Who on Earth would try to look after a baby in such surroundings? It should be noted, further, that the electricity had been put back on for the filming. So, whoever had been squatting there, had done so in a house without electricity. It couldn’t have been much fun, living in a rotting shell, in the dark, at night. As for us, filming, it was spooky enough, even with a whole film crew present, throughout.

In a darkly humorous gesture, nature provided an augmentation to the general spookiness. At several points throughout the night, a very loud dull thump was heard, as of a human body falling from a great height. It turned out to be from some kind of fruit tree outside, with very large fruits about twelve to fifteen inches long. God knows what it was, but it certainly added an element of surprise to the ill lit night.

For me, acting is often about experiencing the unusual. It has placed me in very unusual circumstances which have given me memories I could never have expected to have. This last weekend is prime among them.

It was a long night. By the time I got home, after the shoot, I had been awake for over 32 hours. Yet, it had been worth it. The director, Ignas Versinskas came up to me at one point in the night and remarked: “You have really created a character...I can feel it.” That was a cheering compliment and one that lightened the burden of the hours. Thank you Ignas.

So, despite the hours and the consequent tiredness, despite the darkness and general spookiness, I had succeeded in creating an interesting character, on screen – and no-one watching would have a clue about how long I had been awake or what hour it was during filming! I actually rather like the character: a detective who has seen it all and come to terms with the worst of life, but still managing to care, when people come to harm.

I look forward to further filming experiences, though I doubt that any will ever be as haunting as this one. I will write of some of them, in future.

Posted by Valentine Cawley

(If you would like to support my continued writing of this blog and my ongoing campaign to raise awareness about giftedness and all issues pertaining to it, please donate, by clicking on the gold button to the left of the page.

To read about my fundraising campaign, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-in-support-of-my.html and here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-first-donation.html

If you would like to read any of our scientific research papers, there are links to some of them, here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/02/research-papers-by-valentine-cawley-and.html

If you would like to see an online summary of my academic achievements to date, please go here: http://www.getcited.org/mbrz/11136175To learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 7 and Tiarnan, 5, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

There is a review of my blog, on the respected The Kindle Report here:http://thekindlereport.blogspot.com/2010/09/boy-who-knew-too-much-child-prodigy.html

Please have a read, if you would like a critic's view of this blog. Thanks.

You can get my blog on your Kindle, for easy reading, wherever you are, by going to: http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Knew-Too-Much/dp/B0042P5LEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1284603792&sr=8-1

Please let all your fellow Kindlers know about my blog availability - and if you know my blog well enough, please be so kind as to write a thoughtful review of what you like about it. Thanks.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at:http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/

Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/

Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is athttp://www.genghiscan.com/This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.) 

Quotations of Valentine Cawley.

At various times and places, my words have been quoted, by other people. Sometimes, it is in a newspaper, sometimes in a forum, or elsewhere on the internet. It was a surprise to me, when people began to quote me,(the first time I ever noticed was the quote on examinations, below, in a forum). Then, however, I understood that something I had written or said, had made an impression on people, and so they wished to relay that quote to others.

Sometimes, I know I have been quoted because a searcher arrives on my blog, with an exact quote from me as their search term. In such cases, I assume that I have been quoted by a student writing an essay, or some other such context. Sometimes these quotes are surprisingly long - several lines - which can only be from reading it elsewhere, perhaps lifted and placed in an essay.

The quotation incidents that I have seen, have credited my words to me. However, the ones involving searchers off the net with quotes in their search are most probably uncredited quotes, since they never use my name in the quote search.

So, I have mixed feelings about the quoting. The credited ones are OK and I am happy to see that - but the uncredited ones are, basically, plagiarism. Luckily, the internet is my friend in this respect, since any Professor who checks one of my lifted quotes on the net, will find the original source material - and the true author.

I have listed below some of the quotes that I have come across replicated elsewhere, of my own work. I will add to this list as I note others. If you see any quotes, elsewhere, please let me know in the comment section below, since I am interested tracking the usage of quotations of my writing. It is interesting to see when and where they are used.

Apologies for the title for this blog post. I know it sounds egoistic but actually it is just a title for the search engines, to make this post easy to find. Were it unnecessary to flag it for search engines, I would have chosen something much more modest and discrete to label it. I hope you can understand.

"Being a graduate doesn't mean you are smart, it means that someone else is stupid enough to give you a degree." October 31 2008

“Whenever a teacher takes a stand against plagiarism, the entire school should stand behind him or her.” I wrote this in two newspapers in Malaysia, on the subject of plagiarism, recently.

"Education" might as well be spelt "e-r-a-d-i-c-a-t-i-o-n", where creativity is concerned."

“The role of a family, is to make a world that has never been and never will be again, to sustain people who have never been and never will be again. A family is a pocket universe, and no less important than the universe itself, for being smaller.”

“An examination is all about testing you on someone else's thoughts. Many children become expert on other people's thoughts - but have none of their own. In some way, focusing too much on what other people have thought and written in books seems to inhibit the development of the ability to have your own.”

“Jade Goody is worthy because she is known, but she is not known because she is worthy.” (March 12, 2009) This remark made it to a leading Danish daily newspaper, which translated it into Danish, for its readers and referred to me as "The commentator, Valentine Cawley said...". Their journalist had been reading my blog, in research for his article.

“Giftedness is not a measure of wealth - it is a measure of mind - and great minds may emerge in the most unpromising of circumstances.” (August 7, 2007)

“I have thought of a good quote about modesty, but I think I will keep it to myself.” Quoted in an interview with Time Out magazine, in London, in November 1994.

“A good gentleman never reveals his tailor.” Quoted in The Observer newspaper, UK, November 1994, in reply to a journalist asking who had made Valentine’s 18th century clothes. (This may have been: "A true gentleman never reveals his tailor" - it is a long time now since I first said it.)

At the time of writing, I do not know whether the tendency to quote me will remain sporadic - as it now is - or whether it will gather momentum. I suppose that all depends on whether a subset of people find the remarks of interest enough to let others know about them.

Regarding the "good gentleman" quote above. That was plagiarized by an advertising director in London by the name of Edmundo Arigita. His girlfriend expressed surprise, when she overheard me reflecting on the fact that my quote had been published in the newspaper. She said to her boyfriend, Edmundo: "So THAT is where that came from." Clearly, he had been using the remark - and since he makes adverts for a living, I do wonder whether he stole it for one of them. He tried to shrug it off by saying: "Lots of people say that." Err...no. They didn't say it before I did...which is why the journalist felt it worthy of quoting me, in the Observer newspaper.

So, sometimes, the quoting is unattributed - as in, theft.

If you come across any quotes of my writing, or spoken word, attributed or unattributed, please let me know.

Thanks.

IMDb: Internet Movie Database.

IMDb is the Internet Movie Database. It is the world's greatest cache of film and tv information. If the information you seek is related to film or tv, it is likely to be on IMDb.

Two or three months ago, I accidentally stumbled on the fact that someone had started an IMDb page, for my son, Ainan Celeste Cawley. This was because of an appearance of his, on tv, in the UK. It was probably the production company that started a page for him. Now, every actor who has ever worked in television or film, in a serious way, has an IMDb listing. IMDb has become the way that the public and the industry alike find out more about an actor, a writer, a director, a producer, a lighting man etc. Although, the industry tends to subscribe for extra information, by getting IMDbPro.

Perhaps I should have expected Ainan Celeste Cawley to have an IMDb listing...but I didn't. It never occurred to me. It wasn't long before I had one too...and my wife, Syahidah Osman Cawley.

Now, some of you may know that I have been an actor, in my time. I have worked in theatre, tv and film. So, looking at my IMDb listing, all shiny, new and with few credits, I thought to fill it up with the many eligible credits (at least 15) that would fit the rules of inclusion. These rules are simple: if many people have seen it or could see it, if they wanted to, then it is possible it might be included. This means, basically, that the film or tv show has been broadcast nationally in at least one country, or it has been subject to widespread cinema release. Minimally, it is possible to get a short film listed if it has been shown at various prestigious film festivals, though it is probably harder to do so, than for the other categories. What these rules mean, however, is that quite a lot of an actor's work cannot ever be included. No theatre is accepted, for instance - and many films that actors do, end up never getting wide enough distribution to be counted as eligible. So, discounting the categories that cannot be included, I have about 15 more credits that should be listed. There, however, the problem begins.

IMDb is very, very choosy. It doesn't take long to realize that getting a listing on IMDb is a BIG thing. I thought, rather naively, to try to upload a couple of my tv credits over two months ago. This process involves providing very detailed information about the film. They ask for full cast and crew details. They ask for technical issues like what camera was used (I hadn't a clue), or how long is it, what "aspect ratio" it was and so on. They enquire after the production dates (when it shot or would shoot) and who owns it. They query one on producers and production companies and the distribution arrangements. I think you get the picture: the questions are endless for each and every show you would like to list. So, here's what happens at IMDb: you input all the information you have to hand (which can take ages, given the menu system they use), then you wait. Almost invariably, a week or so later, they email me with a standard form letter that says: "We have been busy and haven't looked at your submission yet...but please provide more information to allow it to be considered." So, then, you scrabble around for some more information (in my case this involved writing to the production company a polite letter) and upload it. A week later, you get the same reply: "We have been busy and haven't looked at your submission yet...but please provide more information to allow it to be considered." There then ensues ANOTHER letter to the production company asking for even more information (with a slight begging tone, this time). The information is uploaded and the wait begins again. Guess what? A week later, they send an email saying: "We have been busy..."

For BOTH of the tv credits I tried to upload, this went on for two months. Finally, a few days ago, one of them was accepted. My role as Stanley Warren, in A War Diary (a tv series made in Singapore by Dreamforest Productions) was finally listed: yippee! For those who don't know much about Singaporean history, Stanley Warren was an artist interned in a prison camp, (Changi Prison) during World War II. He is famous because, despite the terrible conditions inside the camp, he managed to paint five murals on a religious theme, in St. Luke's Chapel, Changi Prison during his imprisonment. So, I was playing a real historical character, who really lived in Singapore, at one time (he died in 1992): it was an interesting role and a great responsibility. I even had to paint, on camera, one of the murals he made (a recreated version).

So, I have had one success in uploading IMDb credits. The other credit I have been trying is a tv show executive produced by a well known producer, in Singapore...but still I am having trouble getting a listing...they keep making that same request for more information. I kept on writing letters to the production company. Finally, the production company told me that they had given me ALL the information they had on the show. I told IMDb this and, guess what? They asked for more information. I have answered them, and am presently waiting for their decision.

Now, that I have tried to upload credits to IMDb, I have come to realize just how difficult it is to do so. I have come, therefore, to appreciate what it means when an actor actually HAS credits on IMDb. It means that their work has been screened, checked and verified (as IMDb does to all entries). It means that their work has received wide distribution and is of public interest. It means, basically, that the work is a solid achievement and, to my eyes, given the difficulty of securing a listing, worthy of respect.

I have fifteen credits waiting to be uploaded. It won't be easy. For each one, I will have to contact the production companies and secure the answers to scores of questions. If the companies don't help, I will never be able to upload the information. Even if they do, I will face months of "back and forth" and waiting for each one. Even then, there is no guarantee that I will ever be able to satisfy IMDb on a listing. It may all be fruitless.

Why do it, then? Well, the film and tv industry have come to value IMDb highly. It is where they go to find out about artists. If an artist's work is NOT listed on IMDb, it may as well not have been done - for it will not benefit the artist in any way, in terms of securing future work. Thus, an IMDb listing is, in fact, essential to the long-term future of any creative in any aspect of tv or film. That is why I think I should try to list my work, even though it is going to take a lot of work to do so.

My IMDb listing is just beginning. I write this post in celebration that I have managed to achieve my first acting credit on it. I have another fifteen credits to upload. Though there are two other credits on it, in other areas, already.

If you would like to look at my IMDb listing (which may get longer at any time after this post is written, since I will be trying to upload my work, over time) please go to: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3438598/

As I write, the listing is new and brief - however, by the time you read this it might have a dozen or a score of credits...so please do take a look.

My son, Ainan Celeste Cawley, also has an IMDb listing. His is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3305973/

My wife, Syahidah Osman Cawley, has a listing as well. Hers is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Thank you. I have found IMDb a very useful and fun resource...I hope you do, too. Happy reading.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to:http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication prohibited. Use Only with Permission. Thank you.)