From martin@srv0.ems.ed.ac.uk Thu Aug 22 15:05:07 2002 Return-Path: Delivered-To: zzzz@localhost.netnoteinc.com Received: from localhost (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by phobos.labs.netnoteinc.com (Postfix) with ESMTP id 7A0C347C68 for ; Thu, 22 Aug 2002 10:05:03 -0400 (EDT) Received: from phobos [127.0.0.1] by localhost with IMAP (fetchmail-5.9.0) for zzzz@localhost (single-drop); Thu, 22 Aug 2002 15:05:03 +0100 (IST) Received: from n34.grp.scd.yahoo.com (n34.grp.scd.yahoo.com [66.218.66.102]) by dogma.slashnull.org (8.11.6/8.11.6) with SMTP id g7ME1rZ09290 for ; Thu, 22 Aug 2002 15:01:54 +0100 X-Egroups-Return: sentto-2242572-52740-1030024915-zzzz=example.com@returns.groups.yahoo.com Received: from [66.218.67.194] by n34.grp.scd.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 22 Aug 2002 14:01:55 -0000 X-Sender: martin@srv0.ems.ed.ac.uk X-Apparently-To: zzzzteana@yahoogroups.com Received: (EGP: mail-8_1_0_1); 22 Aug 2002 14:01:55 -0000 Received: (qmail 59494 invoked from network); 22 Aug 2002 14:01:55 -0000 Received: from unknown (66.218.66.218) by m12.grp.scd.yahoo.com with QMQP; 22 Aug 2002 14:01:55 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO haymarket.ed.ac.uk) (129.215.128.53) by mta3.grp.scd.yahoo.com with SMTP; 22 Aug 2002 14:01:54 -0000 Received: from srv0.ems.ed.ac.uk (srv0.ems.ed.ac.uk [129.215.117.0]) by haymarket.ed.ac.uk (8.11.6/8.11.6) with ESMTP id g7ME1r313981 for ; Thu, 22 Aug 2002 15:01:53 +0100 (BST) Received: from EMS-SRV0/SpoolDir by srv0.ems.ed.ac.uk (Mercury 1.44); 22 Aug 02 15:01:52 +0000 Received: from SpoolDir by EMS-SRV0 (Mercury 1.44); 22 Aug 02 15:01:34 +0000 Organization: Management School To: zzzzteana@yahoogroups.com Message-Id: <3D64FCD2.20705.6447320@localhost> Priority: normal X-Mailer: Pegasus Mail for Windows (v4.01) Content-Description: Mail message body From: "Martin Adamson" MIME-Version: 1.0 Mailing-List: list zzzzteana@yahoogroups.com; contact forteana-owner@yahoogroups.com Delivered-To: mailing list zzzzteana@yahoogroups.com Precedence: bulk List-Unsubscribe: Date: Thu, 22 Aug 2002 15:01:33 +0100 Subject: [zzzzteana] Meaningful sentences Reply-To: zzzzteana@yahoogroups.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-MIME-Autoconverted: from quoted-printable to 8bit by dogma.slashnull.org id g7ME1rZ09290 The Scotsman Thu 22 Aug 2002 Meaningful sentences Tracey Lawson If you ever wanted to look like "one of the most dangerous inmates in prison history", as one judge described Charles Bronson, now’s your chance. Bronson - the serial hostage taker, not the movie star - has written a health and fitness guide in which he shares some of the secrets behind his legendary muscle power. Solitary Fitness - a title which bears testament to the fact that Bronson, 48, has spent 24 of his 28 prison years in solitary confinement - explains how he has turned himself into a lean, mean, fitness machine while living 23 hours a day in a space just 12 feet by eight feet, on a diet of scrubs grub and at virtually no cost. The book is aimed at those who want to get fabulously fit without spending a fortune on gym memberships, protein supplements or designer trainers, and starts with a fierce attack on some of the expensive myths churned out by the exercise industry. "I pick up a fitness mag, I start to laugh and I wipe my arse with it," is the opening paragraph penned by Bronson. "It’s a joke and a big con and they call me a criminal!" You can’t help feeling he has a point. This is not the first book that Bronson has written from behind bars, having already published Birdman Opens His Mind, which features drawings and poems created by Bronson while in prison. And he is not the first prisoner to discover creative expression while residing at Her Majesty’s pleasure. Jimmy Boyle, the Scots sculptor and novelist, discovered his artistic talents when he was sent to Barlinnie Prison’s famous special unit, which aimed to help inmates put their violent pasts behind them by teaching them how to express their emotions artistically. Boyle was sentenced to life for the murder of "Babs" Rooney in 1967. Once released, he moved to Edinburgh where he has become a respected artist. His first novel, Hero of the Underworld, was published in 1999 and his autobiography, A Sense of Freedom, was made into an award-winning film. Hugh Collins was jailed for life in 1977 for the murder of William Mooney in Glasgow, and in his first year in Barlinnie prison stabbed three prison officers, earning him an extra seven-year sentence. But, after being transferred to the same unit that Boyle attended, he learned to sculpt and developed an interest in art. He later published Autobiography of a Murderer, a frank account of Glasgow’s criminal culture in the 1960s, which received critical praise. And Lord Archer doesn’t seem to have had trouble continuing to write the books that have made him millions while in jail. He recently signed a three-book deal with Macmillan publishers worth a reported £10 million, and is no doubt scribbling away as we speak. So why is it that men like Collins, Bronson and Boyle, who can be so destructive towards society on the outside, can become so creative once stuck on the inside? Steve Richards, Bronson’s publisher, has published many books about criminal figures and believes the roots of this phenomenon are both pragmatic and profound. He says: "Prison is sometimes the first time some criminals will ever have known a stable environment, and this can be the first time they have the chance to focus on their creative skills. "It may also be the first time that they have really had the chance of an education, if their early years have been hard. It could be the first time anyone has offered them the chance to explore their creative talents." However, Richards believes the reasons are also deeper than that. He says: "Once they are behind bars, the cold light of day hits them, and they examine the very essence of who they are. "They ask themselves, am I a man who wants to be remembered for violence? Or am I a man who can contribute to society, who can be remembered for something good?" Bronson - who was born Michael Gordon Peterson, but changed his name to that of the Hollywood star of the Death Wish films - has, so far, been remembered mainly for things bad. He was originally jailed for seven years for armed robbery in 1974, and has had a series of sentences added to his original term over the years as a result of attacking people in prison. In 2000 he was jailed for life after being convicted of holding a teacher hostage for nearly two days during a jail siege. Standing five feet ten and a half inches tall and weighing 210lbs, he is renowned for his strength. He has bent metal cell doors with his bare hands and does up to 3,000 - yes, 3,000 - press-ups a day. As he puts it: "I can hit a man 20 times in four seconds, I can push 132 press ups in 60 seconds." But judging by our current obsession with health and exercise, Solitary Fitness might be the book which will see Bronson’s face sitting on every coffee table in the land. He might be the man to give us the dream body which so many so-called fitness gurus promise but fail to motivate us into. Because Bronson has learned to use words as powerfully as he can use his fists. "All this crap about high-protein drinks, pills, diets, it’s just a load of bollocks and a multi-million-pound racket," he writes, in what can only be described as a refreshingly honest style. "We can all be fat lazy bastards, it’s our choice, I’m sick of hearing and reading about excuses, if you stuff your face with shit you become shit, that’s logical to me." As motivational mantras go, that might be just the kick up the, er, backside we all needed. Solitary Fitness by Charles Bronson is published by Mirage Publishing and will be available in bookstores from October at £7.99 ------------------------ Yahoo! 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