TONY ON GLORYING CRIME

Including One Single Impression and Sunday Scribblings.
Have you had a go yet?

DI CASS NOVA

Glorying Crime

I find it interesting that the more people a person kills the greater the
folklore around him. It is as if there is a greater glory to be had in the
minds of the people. Jean Rostard said it perfectly: ‘Kill a man and you
are an assassin, kill millions of men and you are a conquerer, kill
everyone and you are a god.’ It looks like infamy places a strange
perversion upon us.

My Columnists

EDITORIAL

This post is in two parts – newspaper and
magazine. Read either or both. It is also
a debating platform, so do join in. Don’t
forget to call again.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Eye On the World – Choose an Essay

Inde-Politics & Socio-Capitalism

BRIT NEWS: MPs expenses scandal now
claims a dozen MPs, but they’ll stay on ’til next
election. Bi-elections too risky at the moment, then?

HEALTH NEWS: Research from Cambodia suggests world’s best
anti-malaria drug beginning to fail. Nature always catches up
with our meds.

BRIT NEWS: 50 Labour MPs ask for peerages to get out
of the Commons to the Lords. Do they know a
Tory landslide is coming next year?

Call back Mon for more NewsFlash

SCRIBBLING ON

You know it’s the write way

Romance Fiction Archive

DENOUEMENT

The last line …
So important, often sublime,
or maybe horrific, or answering a crime,
It could be the twist of the ultimate tale,
Get it right and you cannot fail,
But forget to do it, finish the scene …
….
Terrible!
See what I mean?

COVERT MISSION

Fiction: It was bad. Fighters appeared from everywhere and we had to
be ever alert. Danvers drove us on through the mountains, and it was
clear there was a covert objective we knew nothing about. I’d heard
of him before – a previous mission. His cavalier ways. The trap. He
lost all six of his men that day, and they say he carries the guilt
always. But it didn’t show. We moved deeper into the heartland and
soon we found ourselves facing a major redoubt. And it was Danvers
who took it out – single handedly – charging as if he was invulnerable
to the bullets. But he wasn’t. A burst ripped through his chest and he
fell. I held him as he died, and in those last seconds serenity
appeared on his face, which seemed to say: mission accomplished.

COVERT STORY

A twisted story, it surely is,
What’s the answer to this quiz?
A covert truth, it has to be,
If you knew it would be glee,
But if you realise before the end,
My tricky abilities you would offend,
So are you ready for the twisty truth?
It’s a poem not a story! Streuth …

© Anthony North, May 2009

SCRIBBLERS’ NEWS

Check out my Writers’ Tips posts

Keep up with the latest prompts and writing
news. Let me know of any new sites.

Weekend Wordsmith
New prompt word every Sat
Saturday Scribes
Have you tried this prompt yet?
Scribble Soup
Or how about this one?
Totally Optional Prompts
Write a song lyric
Three Word Wednesday
The words are: dreary, embrace & timid

TONY’S MUSE DIARY

Vertigo – that’s the film Him Outside watched yesterday. Am I getting
Alfred Hitchcock overload? Okay, the guy was good, but this is
becoming an obsession. Which is exactly what the film is about – and
a deep mystery, the heroine seemingly possessed by a dead person.
Of course, in this world it’s always more murky than that, and the plot
twists along nicely as the hero’s obsession with her increases. But
people just keep falling for him. I guess what Him Outside likes about
Hitchcock is that he grabs a storytelling concept and hammers out
every element of it, usually to everyone’s satisfaction.

CAMPAIGN TRAIL
Keep up on alternative news or join a campaign.
Together bloggers can make a difference.
The Anomalist
News & blog source on the unexplained
Guardian – Environment
A good source for eco-news & blogs

Call back Mon for more prompts
and campaigns

Follow me on Twitter

TONY ON TOLERANCE

Including Friday Flash 55, Totally Optional Prompts and Three Word Thursday.
Have you had a go yet?

POLLY TICKS

Tolerance

Why is tolerance so difficult to achieve? I suppose because some
things we shouldn’t be tolerant about – murder, theft, rape, etc.
But in addition, what we judge as acceptable behaviour depends very
much on our knowledge, which also provides moral values. Hence, it
is so easy for our knowledge to class as immoral something that
shouldn’t be. We should always be aware of this intolerance.

My Columnists

EDITORIAL

This post is in two parts – newspaper and
magazine. Read either or both. It is also
a debating platform, so do join in. Don’t
forget to call again tomorrow.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Eye On the World – Choose an Essay

Inde-Politics & Socio-Capitalism

BRIT NEWS: Dept of Transport gathering
data on Heathrow runway critics while hushing
around in their jackslippers. Orwell does another turn.

HEALTH NEWS: Survey of surveys of tea says 3 cups a day lessens
risk of heart trouble and has possible anti-cancer effect. That makes
me immortal, then.

MAD BRITS: Health & Safety leaflet says wear earmuffs
when working with pigs as the noise can be
damaging. So loud it can make you
squeal, I guess.

Call back Sunday for more NewsFlash

PSI-WORLD

A small step into the dark

My Unexplained Sub-Domain

SONG OF THE DEAD

Wail of the Banshee, a frightening song,
Heard it!? Won’t be long,
Before you’re gone …
Sing another song

Wail of the loved, a sorrowful dirge,
Made it!? You’re on the verge,
With the dead you merge …
Sing another song

Wail of the frightened, a haunting tune,
Seen it!? It’s a full moon,
A ghostly croon ….
Sing another song

FLASH 55 – THE MESSAGE
Word meanings below

The medium picked up the pen, and let the spirit in. Amanuensis
was the plan. She was tyro, but soon scribbled away. By her, the
niddering stood, hoping to get an answer – why he felt so incomplete.
Suddenly the medium wrote the truth. Showed him what he had
written. At that, his ghost was gone.

Niddering – wretch
Amanuensis – person who writes what another dictates
Tyro – a beginner

VAMPIRE’S DILEMMA

So much pain, no respite,
To inflict, such delight;
But no more – it just isn’t right!

No matter how much I fight,
It’s no good, I cannot bite!
Must find a dentist who won’t take flight

© Anthony North, May 2009

SCRIBBLERS’ NEWS

Check out my Writers’ Tips posts

Keep up with the latest prompts and writing
news. Let me know of any new sites.

One Single Impression
The present prompt is: dropped
Heads or Tails
The prompt is: starting with ‘A’
Poefusion
You can usually find a poetry prompt here
Manic Monday
The word is: memorial
Poetry Train
Link any poem here

TONY’S MUSE DIARY

I recall when I first appeared in this mind. Him Outside had recently
come down with cfs and was searching for answers ‘cos the medics
couldn’t provide them. He picked up a book – Mankind In Amnesia by
Immanuel Velikovsky – and began reading. It was a book about
mankind repressing memories of catastrophe in the deep past. He’d
never read anything like this before, and even though the theory is
rubbish, it introduced him to all kinds of concepts – concepts that
have kept him going for over 25 years. And it introduced him to me,
‘cos up I popped into his mind and said hello. And there was a lot of
empty space in there, I can tell you.

CAMPAIGN TRAIL
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Together bloggers can make a difference.
Friends of the Earth
Campaigning for the environment
Liberty
Promoting human rights in the UK

Call back Sunday for more prompts
and campaigns

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TONY ON MONSTERS

Including Thursday Thirteen, ABC Wednesday, and Three Word Wednesday.
With Thursday Thirteen lines of poetry.

WEIRD OBS ORG

Monsters

There are two interesting things about the Loch Ness Monster and
Abominable Snowman. First, while they are definitely seen, there is
little evidence of them being physical. And second, they have cousins
in most wildernesses worldwide. This suggests they could be a
universally produced form of hallucination. But why?

They seem to represent two
periods of evolution.

First, the time when life broke the surface of the water and saw the
sky, and second, when the primate left the trees and walked among
predators. Both fearful times, such memories seem to stay in the
mind. So could we be witnessing evolutionary memories, perhaps
handed down through DNA, from our evolutionary past? Click here
for a deeper analysis.

My Columnists

EDITORIAL

This post is in two parts – newspaper and
magazine. Read either or both. It is also
a debating platform, so do join in. Don’t
forget to call again tomorrow.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

The ‘Y’ Files – Choose an Essay

Inde-Politics & Socio-Capitalism

BRIT NEWS: Tory leader promises drastic
redistribution of power. All this talk of constitutional
change is stupid. It’s just the MPs we need to change.

WORLD NEWS: North Korea carries out nuclear test, causing small
earthquake. If this is a bargaining chip, time to start bargaining,
folks, ‘cos war won’t work.

BRIT NEWS: BNP leader tells bishops to ‘grow up’ after
they said: don’t vote BNP. Well folks, don’t
vote BNP. And I’VE grown up.

Call back tomorrow for more NewsFlash

THE PHILOSOPHY

To know is to empower

History of Man

S is for … SILENCE

Fast and furious, modern life,
Noisy, fevered, full of strife,
Cities humming with the buzz,
Give me peace! Clear the fuzz;
Countryside, so tranquil, peaceful,
Time to think, away from people,
Silence; nature’s precious steeple

LEARNING PROCESS

Fiction: I really wanted to embrace this, but it was so dreary and
she so timid. I’d been here before – many times – and as I kissed I
suppose the first flicker of an urge came. The sex was satisfactory.
At one point I suppose I became too rough and electric shocks
coursed through my body. Afterwards, I lay there a while, thinking –
hoping – which had to be a good thing. But eventually the
criminologist switched off the machine and I exited the VR corrective
chamber. It was a long process – learning how to feel, and not to kill.

WHAT’S PHILOSOPHY

What is it? Work it out,
Try to think, cast off doubt,
Decisions simply have to be made,
From the alternatives there displayed,
Once you’ve done it the mind will fizz,
And you’ll know exactly what philosophy is

© Anthony North, May 2009

SCRIBBLERS’ NEWS

Check out my Writers’ Tips posts

Keep up with the latest prompts and writing
news. Let me know of any new sites.

Three Word Thursday
The next words are: niddering, amanuensis & tyro
Tell a Tale
A month long comp running here
Acrostic Only
Have you tried an acrostic yet?
Friday Flash 55
A weekly Flash 55 to be done here
Meme Express
For daily memes

TONY’S MUSE DIARY

Him Outside is weary and blistered today. After lots of rain and a bad
cold, he’s finally managed to get some gardening done. Because of
cfs, he can usually only do about 20 minutes before requiring a rest,
and only one or two sessions a day. But over the last few days he’s
done up to four a day. Poor fellow, he’d like a nice garden, but has
moved around so often that he’d never had the inclination to create
one. At present he’s a trimmer rather than a horticulturalist. But at
least it looks like the wilderness nature intended.

CAMPAIGN TRAIL
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Together bloggers can make a difference.
World Wildlife Fund
Protecting animals around the globe
Unexplained Mysteries
News & features on the unexplained

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and campaigns

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TONY ON POOR DEVIL

Including Heads or Tails, American Sandwich, Naisaiku Challenge,
Acrostic Only and Poetry Train. Have you had a go yet?

GURU TONY

Poor Devil

I often think the Devil gets a bad press. Known as a trickster,
his job is to make things bad for you. Without him, everything
would be sweetness and light. But a question: what makes us
advance as people? Overcoming the problems in life – problems
that used to be laid at the Devil’s door. So maybe we’d not
advance without him.

My Columnists

EDITORIAL

This post is in two parts – newspaper and
magazine. Read either or both. It is also
a debating platform, so do join in. Don’t
forget to call again tomorrow.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Eye On the World – Choose an Essay

Inde-Politics & Socio-Capitalism

BRIT NEWS: Survey says two thirds do
not want EU rules placed on us. Is it time to
leave Europe? Cooperate, not assimilate.

BRIT NEWS: Archbishop of Canterbury warns humiliation of MPs
a threat to democracy. No. MPs who’ve lost touch are the threat.

BRIT NEWS: Smart electric meters to let you monitor
power usage will soon be mandatory, but
will add £50 to bill. Very smart – for
the provider.

Call back Wed for more NewsFlash

GREEN SCENE

Save the Planet – or you’ll be sorry!!

Green Scene Sub Domain

ATMOSFEAR

Atmosphere, a marvellous shroud,
Look after it – feel proud,
That you’ve done your bit for the world we love,
Not just nature, but that above,
‘Cos if we don’t we’ll shed a tear,
It’s the one thing we should at mos(t) fear

NO TELLY
American Sandwich

Sci Fi: He stared at the TV but it was useless as nothing would
come on. It was all gone, taken as the power went and the air
boiled and died. Mad ways done, he was alone – stared at the
screen – ‘til his skeleton fell.

NAY SAY YOU

Roll up, want to buy?
Lots of things to fry the air
BIG BIZ MARCHES ON
Lots of things to buy the air
Roll up, want to fry?

TONY’S HAIKU CHAIN

Hell is a big wind
Under spin, politics’ lies
Rant, no green action

Revolting pollution
Industry churns the air fast
‘Cos Big Biz farts

Atmosphere does whirl
Neglect of weather brings death
Ever hurry Cain

© Anthony North, May 2009

SCRIBBLERS’ NEWS

Check out my Writers’ Tips posts

Keep up with the latest prompts and writing
news. Let me know of any new sites.

Only the Good Friday
Write something optimistic
Sunday Scribblings
The prompt is: worry
Inspire Me Thursday
The theme is: warrior
Write Anything
Good source of tips & Fiction Friday
American Sandwich
A story in 3 sentences of 17 syllables

TONY’S MUSE DIARY

Him Outside got to watch another of his Alfred Hitchcock collection
over the weekend. This time, Shadow of a Doubt – a great
psychological thriller from the early 1940s. It tapped many of the
classic storytelling devices, revolving around a serial killer hiding out
with his sister’s family. Known as Uncle Charlie, it immediately gives
him a sense of the innocuous, and as his niece slowly realises what
he is, the tension is excellent. A classic invasion of evil into normality,
there’s a great alchemy as opposing polarities clash. Old Alfred
certainly knew how to make them.

CAMPAIGN TRAIL
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Together bloggers can make a difference.
Daily Grail
For alternative & unexplained news
Mind
Campaigning for better understanding of mental health

Call back Wed for more prompts
and campaigns

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TONY ON INFORMATION

Including One Single Impression, Manic Monday and Sunday Scribblings.
Have you had a go yet?

TECHIE WITHOUT A CLUE

Information

We live in an information age, where intelligence is measured in
terms of how much information you can handle. This is all very
well, but is this true knowledge? I don’t think so. Knowledge is
information plus wisdom, and wisdom is the ability to reason things
from the information. This seems to be a dying art, leaving us as
data-processors rather than philosophers.

My Columnists

EDITORIAL

This post is in two parts – newspaper and
magazine. Read either or both. It is also
a debating platform, so do join in. Don’t
forget to call again Monday.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

The ‘Y’ Files – Choose an Essay

Inde-Politics & Socio-Capitalism

BRIT NEWS: MPs are pushing Prime Minister
to introduce reforms to Parliament. I don’t think too
much is required. What is needed is honesty & service.

TECH NEWS: US govt warn GPS system could fail by 2010. Oh dear,
talk about putting all our eggs in one basket. Does anyone remember
how to read a map?

BRIT NEWS: 10% of population now on waiting lists for social
housing. We’ve got a major homeless problem looming
and nothing is being done!

Call back Monday for more NewsFlash

FUTURE ZONE

What’s ahead … and Beyond!!!

My Sci Fi Archive

DROPPED
(or beware of an intolerant future)

They dropped him from the faculty,
Wouldn’t listen to his plea,
No matter how illogical the act,
He was out – that’s a fact;
‘Twas his fault, having an original thought,
Should have kept quiet – he knew he ought,
The future’s intolerant, he knew that,
So they dropped him – from the roof -
Splat!

THE WORRIOR

Sci Fi: War seemed inevitable. And now that the ultimate weapon was
available, fear gripped them. They worried how they could possibly
defend themselves. No, there was no defence! They knew that. And
as the enemy mobilised, ready to strike, the decision was simple.
Surrender. Afterwards, the victors thanked their new weapon – the
worrior. What a spinmaster he was. He had created the ultimate
illusion and fired fear at the enemy.

MEMORIAL

Look out the window, my spaceman friend,
The memorial is there, don’t let it offend;
Here we are, safe and very secure,
Just as before, we were sure,
Mis-using our brains and technology,
No point, now, in apology;
But it’s there forever, telling of our dearth,
Stuck here in space, above a dead Earth

© Anthony North, May 2009

SCRIBBLERS’ NEWS

Check out my Writers’ Tips posts

Keep up with the latest prompts and writing
news. Let me know of any new sites.

Simply Snickers
A weekly prompt here
ReadWritePoem
A poem about changes. Post thu
Thursday Thirteen
List 13 things
ABC Wednesday
Next letter is: S
Blog Your Blessings
Write about a blessing

TONY’S MUSE DIARY

Him Outside often thinks back to when he nearly made it big as a
writer. It was the mid 90s and his work on the paranormal was doing
well in the enthusiasts’ mags. Then a break – a nod, and news of an
opening at a publishers. Success!! Two books on the paranormal
followed, a third in negotiation, and dozens of articles appearing in
newsstand mags! Then the publisher was bought out in the latest
round of big takeovers. List cancelled. Him Outside managed to move
quickly to another publisher, but before the book appeared, the
money men pulled out and publishing just stopped doing his type of
book. And that was it – about 500 rejections before the break, and
another 500 from then to the present day. Him Outside – the biggie
who nearly was.

CAMPAIGN TRAIL
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Campaign for human rights here
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and campaigns

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TONY ON COINCIDENCE

Including Friday Flash 55, Totally Optional Prompts and Three Word Thursday.
Have you had a go yet?

WEIRD OBS ORG

Coincidence

Coincidence is a marvellous thing, always popping up to keep us in
awe. But what causes it? One possibility is that it occurs when we
place our attention on a certain theme, and we simply notice like
themes. Another way to visualise it is as the universe being similar
to a search engine. Something happens and the universe obliges
by saying: what about this one?

My Columnists

EDITORIAL

This post is in two parts – newspaper and
magazine. Read either or both. It is also
a debating platform, so do join in. Don’t
forget to call again tomorrow.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Eye On the World – Choose an Essay

Inde-Politics & Socio-Capitalism

BRIT NEWS: Home Office admits CCTV does
nothing to curb crime. Of course they don’t. Are
we now going to get rid of them? Don’t hold your breath.

SCI NEWS: So we all have a cousin called Ida, the best fossil yet
found, & a distant, lemur-like primate from 47m yrs ago. Ah, ain’t
she cute?

MAD BRITS: Woman breastfeeding by pool told to stop. Broke
food & drink rules. Poor baby. Do they provide wet
nurse? At what cost a pint?

Call back Sunday for more NewsFlash

READ WITH MUMMY

The Magazine Post with a gentle hint of horror

Try my Horror Archive

COMBOPPOSITES

I’m a good person, I know I am,
Yet sometimes I get in a jam,
When evil raises its ugly head,
Strange thoughts – must fight – it cannot be fed!
Possessed of ideas, nightmares true,
Hopefully I’ll never come for you;
That monster inside we all have seen,
The flip side of the human being

FLASH 55 – FORENSIC DECISION
(Warning: This one’s a bit dark. A much nicer one below)

Fiction: As a pathologist, she was truly professional, but her
private life was a shambles. This is what happens when you
have two lovers; and she had two lovers because she couldn’t
make up her mind. Eventually driven insane, she decided upon
drastic action. Killing them both, she made up her perfect
partner from their bits.

FLASH 55 – CINDERELLA – THE TRUTH

Fiction: It was a lovely ball, but she inevitably lost her shoe. She
searched everywhere, anxiously, when she lost it, but it was nowhere
to be found. Distraught, she went home and cried. Eventually it was
found by a Prince. He searched for her, located her, knelt; raised her
foot; sniffed. Said: ‘I cannot marry you.’

NIGHTMARE POET

The nightmare poet is in your head,
You can’t resist what he said,
His names are many from Poe to King,
A macabre danse, they do their thing,
No matter that you put up a fight,
If you’ve read them, pleasant dreams …
And nite, nite

THEY FELL
(Word meanings below)

Fiction: Starship Hell came to a stop passing Earth. Caught off guard,
he fell and down he went, his senticous body landing with a jolt.
Injured, rubefacient treatment was required, which made him mad. As
a mind vampire, this was not good. Someone had to pay. Wandering
the planet, he found the class he felt at home with – full of
divagations, they were – and once his mind had worked on them, they
bent to his ways. It was inevitable the people would suffer. But he
was sure his own people on Planet Politico would be proud of him.

rubefacient – causing redness of skin, medicinal application
divagations – divagate is: to digress in speech
senticous – prickly, thorny

© Anthony North, May 2009

SCRIBBLERS’ NEWS

Check out my Writers’ Tips posts

Keep up with the latest prompts and writing
news. Let me know of any new sites.

Saturday Scribes
Have you tried this prompt yet?
Scribble Soup
Or how about this one?
Totally Optional Prompts
What happens when opposites combine? Write a poem
Three Word Wednesday
The words are: efficient, optimize & treacherous
Naisaiku Challenge
Have you taken the challenge yet?

TONY’S MUSE DIARY

Following the recent controversy over my sex, Him Outside, in
consultation with His Dearest, have decided I have to be a male.
Now, I’m adaptable – after all, I’m only a thought – so I’ll play along.
If they’re happy seeing me as a male, that’s alright by me. But of
course, he couldn’t leave it there, could he? Oh no, him Outside
decided that, if I’m to be personalised in this way, I have to have
a name. So, folks, meet me, and my new name, B. Well, that’s
me then – B Muse.

CAMPAIGN TRAIL
Keep up on alternative news or join a campaign.
Together bloggers can make a difference.
Liberty
Promoting human rights in the UK
The Anomalist
News & blog source on the unexplained

Call back Sunday for more prompts
and campaigns

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TONY ON BIG BIZ ALLY

Including Thursday Thirteen, ABC Wednesday, Search Engine Stories
and Three Word Wednesday. With Thursday Thirteen lines of poetry.

POLLY TICKS

Big Biz Ally

I spend a lot of time writing about the horrors of Big Biz – the way
it has contempt for the consumer, is in league with government and
is increasingly totalitarian. But this does not mean the consumer is
off the hook. Big Biz thrives by offering us what we think we want.
Hence, the monster that allows the monster to thrive is none
other than ourselves.

My Columnists

EDITORIAL

This post is in two parts – newspaper and
magazine. Read either or both. It is also
a debating platform, so do join in. Don’t
forget to call again tomorrow.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

The ‘Y’ Files – Choose an Essay

Inde-Politics & Socio-Capitalism

BRIT NEWS: Celebrity Esther Rantzen may
stand against her MP as an Independent. Hope
this is true. We need Indes to rein in Party system.

BRIT NEWS: House of Commons Speaker has resigned for not
policing expenses properly – he deserves to go but he’s the first
one dumped in 300 yrs. It’s a farce, and the UK Parliament is a
disgrace. So much damage to democracy done here.

BRIT NEWS: Looks like soldiers’ families will be able
to sue under Human Rights Act in certain
cases. This is no way to run an army.

Call back tomorrow for more NewsFlash

THE CRIME POST

It would be criminal not to read it

True Crime – Crime Fiction

R is for … RETRIBUTION

Retribution, a terrible crime,
Be happy ‘cos they’re serving time;
You see, crime may be a personal thing,
But here, there’s a simple sting,
Punishment must remain detached,
For emotion in law, lynch mob hatched

THE SOLUTION

Fiction: The Boss looked at Malone. The other guys were surrounding
them, watching, and he felt nervous for the first time. It was all to do
with being efficient, he told himself. Malone listened as the Boss told
him about how he had been treacherous – that he knew. Malone saw
it as nothing more than a way to optimize his success, of course.
After all, what are rules in this game? Yet, he knew the implications
well enough. And as the Boss raised the revolver, end game was
approaching. It was a single shot and the body fell to the floor. Much
better, thought Malone, for him to go this way. Leads to a
smoother transition.

SMILE

Give a smile, you know you can,
Even if it isn’t part of your plan,
Feeling down? Get a grip,
Give a smile, an emotional trip;
Give a smile, it’s so sublime,
To not do so is … well
A crime

© Anthony North, May 2009

SCRIBBLERS’ NEWS

Check out my Writers’ Tips posts

Keep up with the latest prompts and writing
news. Let me know of any new sites.

Heads or Tails
The prompt is: brave
Poefusion
Always a good Friday prompt here
Manic Monday
The word is: shadow
Poetry Train
Link any poem here
Weekend Wordsmith
The word is: century

TONY’S MUSE DIARY

Due to cfs Him Outside is a bit of a TV junkie come night time
– too tired for much else. He watches a Soap or two, the odd
documentary, news and then usually settles down to a film. In
recent nights he’s watched three Kevin Costner films – Robin
Hood, A Perfect World and Message In a Bottle. Now, they were
all very good and well acted, but Him Outside always gets a
troubling feeling watching Costner. I guess the best way to
explain it is this is an actor who takes himself too seriously.

CAMPAIGN TRAIL
Keep up on alternative news or join a campaign.
Together bloggers can make a difference.
Unexplained Mysteries
News & features on the unexplained
Friends of the Earth
Campaigning for the environment

Call back tomorrow for more prompts
and campaigns

Follow me on Twitter

TONY ON PESSIMISTIC HEALTH

Including Heads or Tails, American Sandwich, Naisaiku Challenge, ReadWritePoem
and Poetry Train. Have you had a go yet?

DR ILLYA NESS

Pessimistic Health

The problem with modern medicine is it is so pessimistic. Diagnosed,
you have it. Yes, a cure may be available – or maybe not. But it is
such a definite statement. Alternatively, alternate medicine is more
optimistic. It usually offers a hope of improvement, often by treating
the whole body. Now, you can argue this is nonsense, but if it makes
you FEEL better, what’s wrong with that?

My Columnists

EDITORIAL

This post is in two parts – newspaper and
magazine. Read either or both. It is also
a debating platform, so do join in. Don’t
forget to call again tomorrow.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Eye On the World – Choose an Essay

Inde-Politics & Socio-Capitalism

BRIT NEWS: Next election could be won on
moral theme. Cheating MPs expected to be kicked
out by public. No way to run a govt. Shame on them.

TECH NEWS: New search engine can answer specific questions
without millions of options. Terrible! There’s rarely only one
answer. Bad for knowledge.

BRIT NEWS: Polls indicate slide towards UK Independence
Party. I’d never vote for them, but MPs have got to
realise many don’t want to be in Europe.

Call back Wed for more NewsFlash

RATTLER’S TALE

A Voyage of the Imagination

Twist In the Tale Archive

TO BE BRAVE

Terror, chilling, oh my word,
What is this feeling I’ve incurred?
How can I take this heavy load,
As we return to our abode?
Life is changed, but not so bad,
I’m brave, I can do it – I’m now a Dad

RHYMING THINGY
(A rhyming American Club Sandwich
Naisaiku Naisaiku)

So divine to rhyme
To get it right, hear the chime
HOW IS IT A CRIME?
To get it right, hear the chime
To rhyme so divine

It begins by being still so you can mill the words inside your head.
Let the muse offer a thrill, fantastic thoughts you are forever fed.
When it’s done you will instill instant reactions to what you have said.

Inspired they climb
Your thoughts and your words are prime
THE WORLD IS QUITE FINE
Your words and your thoughts no crime
So divine, fine rhyme

© Anthony North, May 2009

SCRIBBLERS’ NEWS

Check out my Writers’ Tips posts

Keep up with the latest prompts and writing
news. Let me know of any new sites.

Tell a Tale
A month long comp running here
Acrostic Only
Have you tried an acrostic yet?
Friday Flash 55
A weekly Flash 55 to be done here
Meme Express
For daily memes
One Single Impression
The prompt is: tolerance

TONY’S MUSE DIARY

Okay, Him Outside had a good laugh at my expense the other day.
The question was asked: as a muse, am I male or female? Now, the
original Muses, back in ancient Greece, WERE female, and it is true
that intuition and artiness are often thought of as feminine. But I do
feel male, so maybe the Greeks got it wrong. But the one thing I do
know for definite is I’m fed up of Him Outside calling me ‘it’!

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TONY ON CULT MEMBERS

Including One Single Impression, Manic Monday and Acrostic Only.
Have you had a go yet?

GURU TONY

Cult Members

Who joins a cult? The popular conception has it that members are of
low intelligence and down-and-outs. However, the evidence suggests
something else. Most members are young, intelligent and middleclass.
It seems that, if life doesn’t seem to satisfy, and you search hard for
truth, intelligence is no defence. Indeed, you’re more likely to grasp
any ‘truth’ that comforts.

My Columnists

EDITORIAL

This post is in two parts – newspaper and
magazine. Read either or both. It is also
a debating platform, so do join in. Don’t
forget to call again tomorrow.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

The ‘Y’ Files – Choose an Essay

Inde-Politics & Socio-Capitalism

BRIT NEWS: Public’s dislike of MPs hits all
time low as the expenses scandal goes on. Yes,
some will be noble, but smeared by a money grabbing rabble.

WORLD NEWS: So Obama is to go ahead with some military tribunals.
Is the polish beginning to wear off? Claims in opposition are often
changed in office.

SPACE NEWS: Hubble telescope is having a make-over.
How grand. just a shame it is its eyes looking
into the vastness of space and not ours.

Call back tomorrow for more NewsFlash

EYE ON THE WORLD

And telling it how it really is!

History of Man

TOLERANCE

I have my ways, I sing my own song,
I don’t have to listen if you tell me I’m wrong,
I don’t look at you and think you should conform,
There’s nothing more stupid than enforcing a norm,
So to you I say, live as you will,
Just be tolerant to others, it’s such a thrill

SHADOW

Fiction? And it came to pass that man saw the greed of kings and
democracy rose. Good men fought and good men debated and
usurped the kings and the people held sovereignty. But a shadow
formed. No one could see it, but it invaded the minds of good men,
and as they sat in their chamber, they were perverted, and
democracy began to fall. And the shadow ruled, and it was greed,
for all the people now thought they were kings.

HYPOCRISY

Hypocrisy
Your latest form of democracy
People power consumed by the elite
Oligarchs on every street
Consumerism everyone’s right
Rip-off merchants without respite
Insane policy to keep us in fear
Security; the bogeyman’s near
You’re not alone in shedding a tear

© Anthony North, May 2009

SCRIBBLERS’ NEWS

Check out my Writers’ Tips posts

Keep up with the latest prompts and writing
news. Let me know of any new sites.

Only the Good Friday
Write something optimistic
Inspire Me Thursday
The theme is: petals
Three Word Thursday
The next words are: rubefacient, senticous, & divagations
Write Anything
Good source of tips & Fiction Friday
American Sandwich
A story in 3 sentences of 17 syllables

TONY’S MUSE DIARY

So another Eurovision Song Contest is over. Him Outside always
watches it. He’s been angry for several years. Political and regional
voting has ruled, rather than voting for the song; and since the Iraq
War the UK has been last, or damned near. But with changes in the
voting rules, and a little help from Andrew Lloyd Webber, who wrote
the song, the UK came 5th!!!! And regional voting is smashed by
Norway becoming the most popular winner ever. Look out for the
UK’s singer, Jade. She’s rather good.

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Campaigning for the environment
Daily Grail
For alternative & unexplained news

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TONY ON GOVT CONSPIRACY

Including Sunday Scribblings, Three Word Thursday and Inspire Me Thursday.
Have you had a go yet?

WEIRD OBS ORG

Govt Conspiracy

I don’t believe most conspiracy theories but they’re essential to
understanding how things work. The main bogeyman is government,
conspiring against us. But how true is this? Totally true. It is the
nature of government to crave more and more power. So why do
I disagree with conspiracy theories? Because it isn’t a conspiracy;
it’s the natural way of things.

My Columnists

EDITORIAL

This post is in two parts – newspaper and
magazine. Read either or both. It is also
a debating platform, so do join in. Don’t
forget to call again tomorrow.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Eye On the World – Choose an Essay

Inde-Politics & Socio-Capitalism

BRIT NEWS: The London Olympic Village is
to cost taxpayer another £500m as private firms
pull out. This was inevitable, but let’s be good sports.

TECH NEWS: Spending too much time on net changes how brain
thinks of food, causing obesity, says study. No, I blame all the
cookery blogs.

SICK NEWS: Back in 1984 UK comedian Tommy Cooper
collapsed and died on live TV. For some reason
this footage has now become popular
on You Tube. Sick!

Call back tomorrow for more NewsFlash

THE PHILOSOPHY

To know is to empower

History of Man

PETALIFE

Petals fall, petals bloom,
This is life, from joy to gloom,
Analogous to our own stay,
On this planet as we sway,
From one experience to the next,
So let’s stay rooted, not perplexed

THE OTHER ONE
(word meanings below)

Sci Fi: She had no idea why she preferred glabrous men. She hadn’t
felt like this for long, as her partner had enough hair, and he was
uxorious enough. But as the man quiddled towards her, opened the
cage and injected more serum, the feeling increased. Little did she
know that the fool at the research institute had begun the process
towards a real Planet of the Apes.

quiddled – dawdled
uxorious – submissive towards wife
glabrous – no body hair

DISCONNECTED
Updated 16 May

Where am I? I cannot think,
My world is going – I dare not blink,
Nothing left if I do,
It’s all lies, nothing true;
Disconnected from all I hold dear,
Insanity! Can you feel my fear?

© Anthony North, May 2009

SCRIBBLERS’ NEWS

Check out my Writers’ Tips posts

Keep up with the latest prompts and writing
news. Let me know of any new sites.

ReadWritePoem
Do a poem with links
Thursday Thirteen
List 13 things
ABC Wednesday
The letter is: Q
Blog Your Blessings
Write about a blessing

TONY’S MUSE DIARY

Him Outside is on a mission. His recent foray into the Holy Grail has
inspired an idea – it usually does – and he’s going to write his first
book for quite a while. Well, I say write, but he can’t do anything
normal, can he? No, he’s realised that a number of posts here actually
point to a new idea. So he’s making a book of blog posts with minor
rewrites to turn it into a book proper. I don’t think this has been done
before, so he might even interest a publisher. Gee! Look up! Was that
a flying pig!!!?

CAMPAIGN TRAIL
Keep up on alternative news or join a campaign.
Together bloggers can make a difference.
Bloggers Unite
Join in & blog on many campaigns
Amnesty International
Campaign for human rights here

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and campaigns

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