Venezuela – Page 2 – Hector A. Ruiz

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My other books…

On July 12, 2020

I have spent the last days organizing files from my old backups. Really old backups.

Not surprisingly I ran into all of my other books and drafts I have written in my life. I didn’t count how many I had in total because I was fast-clicking and sorting them very quickly, but I estimate there are probably fifteen of them. I opened a few of them, read a few pages and two things struck me: 1) I have drafts that dated over twenty five years ago, and still you can tell by their writing, that they came from me. I’m not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing, but my writing style has definitely been consistent in time. 2) Despite having great and interesting ideas in most of them, I left them unfinished because I ran into a writer’s block (is that’s what it’s called?), and I never came back to them again.

Maybe I should quit being a baby and start working on them again. Maybe I can finish all of them. But I have to publish this one first!

Half of the year Book Update

By hectoraliruiz

On July 1, 2020

In Book

I haven’t posted anything about my book in the past months… mostly due to me having to adapt to working from home, my workload that thankfully I must
say has been huge and I’m happy that’s the way it is, and of course the new set of priorities that come with this new way of life. Of course, that doesn’t mean that I haven’t been working on my baby.

As I stated in my previous update about my book, I’m taking this time to go over the finished manuscript, revise it once again, making sure I’m happy with
everything, and also conducting research on all the topics I covered, as well as the analytical approach I discuss throughout all its chapters. Part of this research includes having finished reading a book called “Once Upon a Revolution” about the series of protests that took place in Egypt to remove Hosni Mubarak as president, and the subsequent transition that led to Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s election as current president. I bought this book because I thought it would be similar to mine, but found out it lacked the social analysis that I focus on in Venezuela’s case. The initial stage of the events that took place in Egypt are quite similar to those that happened in Venezuela, however about a third into the book, the parallelisms began to diverge from each other.

It was an interesting read altogether, but sadly I must say that I couldn’t draw too much of it to use into my book. Still, my congratulations to the author. Hopefully one day he’ll be able to get his hands on my book and tell me what he thinks about it.

Book publishing on Hold due to Covid-19

By hectoraliruiz

On April 14, 2020

In Book

Well, the title of the post says pretty much what I want to say.

After seeing so many events, projects and plans being put on hold due to the Covid-19 crisis, I believe it is fair to announce that the goal of publishing my book has been put on hold as well. I would like to clarify that by no means I can compare myself to the sizes of those events that have been cancelled or suspended. It’s just that I believe that it’s going to be difficult to promote, market and gain the attention of anyone in a time when it is clear that the priorities right now have to be focused on controlling this global pandemic and
preventing it from becoming a major global crisis.

I will use this time to revise the manuscript, conduct research and updates, and dedicate myself to brainstorm any ideas on the pending matter that I have, which is the book’s cover.

Stay tuned.

Star Wars: The Indoctrinating Cult

By hectoraliruiz

On February 21, 2020

In General

This last weekend, I re-watched Star Wars (the original 1977 film) for the 4395th time, and what a wonderful movie it is. Is it a masterpiece comparable to Godfather, Citizen Kane or One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s nest in terms of script, acting, and directing? No, and not by a long shot. But it’s an extremely competent movie that has been able to stand the test of time thanks to the fantasy world it created and its memorable characters. After watching it, I was so in awe that I decided to watch the entire original trilogy and came up with the same conclusion. Then, I decided to re-watch the prequel trilogy, you know… to give them sort of like a second chance, and oh my…

I remember that back in 1997 when word was out that George Lucas was doing a prequel trilogy, the first thought that came up in my mind was: “This sounds like a great idea… financially speaking. Now from an artistic point of view… I’m
not quite sure.” I never wasted any money watching Episode I or II on theaters, because I pretty much realized that by me spending any money on them would be complying and condoning the production of these terrible movies, a logic that was confirmed after I would eventually see them. I’ve never really cared for George Lucas as a filmmaker and I never really understood the need of playing with the Star Wars universe other than to milk the franchise for everything that is worth it and more, and of course, dividing the Star Wars fan base even further. You see, before the prequels, there were two types of people: 1) people who liked Star Wars, and 2) people who didn’t care about Star Wars. Now there are four types of people: 1) people who like the original Star Wars and dislike the prequels, 2) people who still don’t care about Star Wars, 3) people who don’t care about Star Wars but still go see it in theaters because they didn’t have anything else to do or because their sons made them go see it, and… 4) people who blindly follow Star Wars and believe everything produced about Star Wars is the best thing ever since the invention of the printed press.
What caused this? Sadly, mediocrity.

People who criticize the prequels (and now the sequel trilogy) argue that money destroyed the magic of Star Wars, because of the millions of Dollars these movies make. Their logic is that Star Wars went from being a product that came out from a group of rogue rebels in the 70s who were against the system, to becoming this new product from those same people who became part of the system. I disagree with this logic, because there are several
examples of blockbusters that have made millions, while still being great movies, including the original Star Wars. A poor choice for the director’s seat, a sloppy script and terrible casting and acting performances are to blame for
Star Wars falling from grace in terms of quality, not of revenue. An extremely efficient marketing plan that realized loyalty plus consumerism equals hundreds of millions in profits are to point for Star Wars’ unbelievable success at the box office. Why? Because as long as people keep paying money for movie tickets and toys, this movies will keep on going. It’s simple math: Star Wars’ success comes from the regular movie goers + the faithful cult-loving Star Wars hardcore fans. Simply add the numbers of people who go see Black Panther with the number people who are loyal to Star Wars. Financially, it’s a no-brainer recipe for success.

Artistically, the result is a considerable percentage of the population receiving constant political and social indoctrination from a universe that isn’t even close to our reality. Nowadays Star Wars has become an outlet to voice political problems, social injustices and dozens of topics that shouldn’t be part of a fantasy science fiction film. People are taught to repeat and follow, rather than being taught to think and create, period.

That’s is why I now refer to Star Wars as The Indoctrinating Cult.

Covid-19

By hectoraliruiz

On February 11, 2020

In General

I’ve been reading the recent news about this virus that is currently spreading fairly quickly across a few provinces in China, the Corona Virus 19. One of my co-workers has family in one of the cities that is under a lock down policy and from what he mentioned, the restrictions regarding travelling and even commuting in the city are pretty tight.

I’ve always talked with my friends who work in the healthcare industry about how humanity has gone to great lengths to evolve industries and technology, still has been lagging -if I may- in healthcare development. It kind of reminds me of how much money and resources were invested into the fraudulent company Theranos, and their useless technology. I wonder how much advancement could physicians and biologists make in their field, had that money absorbed by Theranos, been invested into true scientific research laboratories in order to develop vaccines and treatments for aggressive viruses such as this Covid-19 one.

Instead, what I’m wondering is what will happen to us living in the United States if a pandemic of similar proportions to the one currently spreading in China, would hit us, especially in such a highly-populated area as New York. Would be face similar lock downs and quarantine procedures as they do? Who knows.

Prepare for the worst and expect the best…

Chernobyl

By hectoraliruiz

On February 1, 2020

In General

I came across this wonderful series on a recent flight I took and since the seat’s TV screen is not quite the most comfortable way to watch audiovisual material, I decided to re-watch it at home to have a better appreciation of the series.

Without jumping in the political discussion of left vs. right, democrats vs. republicans, Team Jen vs. Team Angelina, this is a series that everyone should see in order to understand how poor leadership and how unqualified people in high positions can cause major disasters in society. This is something that has happened throughout the entire history of the human race and sadly I must say, that most likely it will keep happening for quite some time. I hope that one day, someone will finally realize the tremendous negative consequences that having a bad leader, a bad CEO, a bad General Manager, a bad Governor or a bad President, has to a company or a country. I really hope that playing politics as a professional skill one day finally ends, and connections and butt-kissing will finally come to an end, and that mediocre leaders managing capable smart employees realize they should step down and let somebody else who actually is qualified, run the business or the country.

I have been lucky that during my professional career I haven’t really ran into these type of corporate profiles. It has only happened twice when I was working in Venezuela. Fortunately, it has never happened to me in the US, Spain, Mexico, Czech Republic or Colombia, though I’m quite sure there
may be a lot of people who have had this issue. Anyway, what I always wondered when I saw those people was the fact that they really, truly believed they were good managers. I remember thinking: “Geez, this guy really thinks he’s good at what he does. How disconnected is he from reality?” Something similar must have gone through the minds of the workers at Chernobyl during the failed safety procedure test they were running that led to the explosion, and through the mind of Professor Legasov, when he met the Soviet Cabinet in Moscow. The series also shows the deep corruption of the communist system
in the USSR, as well as the unbelievable brainwash that took place in the soviet society.

There is a bit of fiction in the series as it’s pretty much the norm in most productions, but they don’t take anything away from the reality of the situation, the management of the crisis, and the factors that took place during the accident and in the days that followed.

Highly recommended.

Another quick update on my book…

By hectoraliruiz

On January 22, 2020

In Book

Seeing that I still don’t have a book cover yet, I’ve decided to look at the silver lining within this whole delayed book publishing situation, and I’ve decided to give the manuscript another proofread. Maybe I missed something, maybe there’s a better way to bring up a point… I think this is a golden opportunity to once again revise my material and make sure that I’m happy with the final product that soon you will be able to have in your hands.

The way I’ll go is that I’m going to conduct research on some of the topics I analyze throughout the book, in order to make sure the perspective of the author (that’s me) is as objective as possible. I want my book to be a very well-thought analysis where critical thinking is the main driver throughout each chapter. This means I have to look at each problem from different perspectives and develop it so that whoever reads it, may understand the point that is brought upon.

I will also update my research on countries that underwent revolutions similar to those that happened in Venezuela, in order to understand the before-and-after of their situations. After all, there is not a one-size-fits-all solution to the
question of fighting injustice… or is there?

Stay tuned!

A status on my book

By hectoraliruiz

On January 11, 2020

In Book

As I mentioned in my Happy New Year Post that one of my goals for 2020 is to publish my book, I wanted to provide an update on what’s the story with my book.

Currently the manuscript is pretty much finished, both in English and in Spanish. That’s the good news. The Spanish version is also finished and completely edited. That’s even better news. What I’m currently missing and what’s holding the publishing altogether is that I’m missing a cover. I found a designer last year and long story short, she didn’t deliver the product what I wanted. I know I’m very picky and sort of a perfectionist, but hey… since this is my first time publishing one of my books, I believe the least that I can do is do it the right way and the best as I can.

The positive is that I know exactly what I want as a cover. What’s holding me back is that I haven’t really found a designer whose work fascinates me to the point of engaging with him or her and work on my cover. As of today, I have seen thousands of portfolios and resources and I’m pretty close to making a decision, so hopefully this should get things going for my little baby.

Who knows… maybe in the upcoming months you may see my first cover reveal.

Stay tuned!