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Archive for October, 2009

ORATORY

Posted by anthonynorth on October 27, 2009

ABC Wednesday & more prompts below
Try my Paranormal Flash now!

cults-1

GURU TONY

Oratory is the art of public speaking, but how powerful is it? We’re
used to politicians spouting spin, but maybe it has more a hold on us
than we believe. To understand, we must go back to its beginning, in
the prehistoric storyteller, telling his tales by the campfire. He spoke
of the tribe’s past exploits and place in the universe. In other words,
he offered meaning and a will to glory.

This formed into the
great myths.

However, we now know myths are subtle. Whilst validating a ruling
elite, they were also as one with the people’s ways and placed taboo
upon them. This proved an important means of control. People could
identify with the tales, and slowly people become the story. And in
being as one in the story, a consensus grows. Such an ability is still
with us today. From the Medieval Christian media which portrayed the
life of Christ through the year, to the modern Soap opera with its
daily dose of storytelling, a powerful elite subtly defines the behavior
by which we live. Indeed, so powerful could be its influence that I’d
argue our view of reality changes to reflect the story. So remember
when you hear politicians speak, or descend into your favourite
storytelling media, it is usually defining the story of us, through the
power of the elite.

Eye On the World
Essays on everything from science
to religion, politics to crime

newsflash

BRIT NEWS: So, British National
Party leader, Nick Griffin, gets his say
on BBC’s Question Time. And rightly so. His
party got a million votes, and despite their vile
ideas, freedom of speech must prevail. But the real
villains here are the main parties who’ve not only ignored,
but destroyed the entire culture of, the 20% British working class,
leaving this vile joke the only party that speaks for them.

WORLD NEWS: A re-run of the Afghan election farce is about to go
ahead in the hope that corruption and fraud can be avoided this time.
This is all very well, but is it right that western troops’ lives should be
put on the line to achieve it? When will the west learn, democracy
takes hundreds of years to achieve. It will not happen there.

BRIT NEWS: Bank of England governor says many banks should be
broken up. Totally agree. As with most organisations nowadays,
they’re too big, too distant from the consumer, and too
dictatorial in their approach. This is how we got in
this mess. Smaller and more would increase
true capitalism thru competition, and be
of a size where the consumer’s
thoughts matter. Remember,
Big Is Bad!!!

computer_desk

RATTLER’S TALE

A Voyage of the Imagination

One Single Impression
ReadWritePoem3 Word Thursday
Friday Flash 553 Word Wednesday

SHIFT IN TIME

I stand in this time and place,
Other things, though, want this space,
Atoms and particles and bugs galore,
Most go through but some can’t be ignored,
We’re only here for a blink of an eye,
If only a hint of them could be spied,
Like that truck hurtling down the line,
I just hope I can shift in time

THE LATE CLIENT

Fiction: Madame Gracie had been delayed getting to her séance room.
It had been a bad car accident outside and she hoped her client
wouldn’t be late also. While she waited, the ectoplasm seemed to be
forming easily. It was suffarcinate in nearly every facial orifice and
particularly spiscious. Perhaps it was the close proximity to death
today; so tristifical. And her initial contact with her spirit guide proved
difficult. Perhaps it was the archaic words she used. Eventually her
client appeared but seemed rather distant, as if not there at all. ‘Who
are you?’ he asked, frightened. Madame Gracie’s first thought was
that he had died, but as her spirit guide came through loud and clear,
she said, rather surprised: ‘Oh, I’M dead.’

suffarcinate – to stuff
spiscious – thick consistency
tristifical – causing to be gloomy

THE SPACE AGE FAIR

Roll up, roll up, the ultimate ride,
It’s quite an experience, I must confide,
A roundabout such as never seen,
Once you come out, you’ll be surprised where you’ve been;
Now don’t be put off by my big bug eyes,
Come ride the universe, get the prize,
Okay, when you’re back you may not feel whole,
We’ll implant a foetus and take your soul

FLASH 55 – PERFECT

Fiction: It was my virtual reality dream – to create the perfect woman.
I worked hard on the program and once complete the experience was
fulfilling in every way. At least, at first. But gradually disquiet crept
upon me. Where, her personality; the imperfections of humanity? How
can I love her when she makes me so insignificant?

NIGHTMARE SCHEMES

Sit on a thought, incubate ideas,
Hatching an answer to our dreams and fears,
This is the way progress goes,
Listening to he who we think must know,
But rarely does he produce our dream,
So often we end with a nightmare scheme,
Maybe because he claims it is true,
Such vanity from him, not thinking of you

© Anthony North, October 2009

award 20

I got this award from my blogger friend, Linda. Many thanks to her.

Try my Pictures of Life, a novel

Posted in Current Affairs, Media, Poetry, Twist In the Tale | 117 Comments »

NEW IDEAS

Posted by anthonynorth on October 20, 2009

ABC Wednesday & more prompts below
Try my Paranormal Flash now!

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BLOGGER BARD

As my regular readers will know, of late I’ve been working on a new
book. This has meant trawling through 25 years of unpublished
essays. In doing so, I’ve realized there is much more to it than a
single book – I’ve planned a whole series, requiring much editing,
rewrites, publicity and chasing agents.

I’m sorry but this means
more change.

In order to find time for this – and to visit my blogger buddies who I’ve
neglected of late – I’m now having to cut out some prompts I do, and
cut down to one Magazine Post a week for the foreseeable future.
This will appear on a Tuesday. I assure you there will be no more cut
backs. This should give me the time I need. Also, whilst reacquainting
myself with my essays, I’ve decided to begin future posts with a kind
of ‘back to basics’ series of flash essays laying out my ideas in the
raw.

All my ideas begin with
a single philosophy.

I call this Patternology, or P-ology. We live in a specialized world
where knowledge has been split up into many unrelated disciplines.
Whilst this has advantages, I’m certain that much knowledge is
missed by not taking a holistic overview of knowledge. P-ology is a
discipline that looks for patterns in this overview. I see it as a
bedfellow to specialization which can never offer truth, but questions
just where we are. Everything I do stems from this idea.

Eye On the World
Essays on everything from science
to religion, politics to crime

newsflash

BRIT NEWS: New report says
begin formal education at 6. Please save
education from expert’s indecision. No wonder
education’s a mess.

BRIT NEWS: Brown to talk tough over public sector disquiet?
Labour always goes amid mass strikes. Why not go now? Save the
hassle.

GREEN NEWS: Is UK govt planning tax for nuke power plants? They’ll
come. Climate change beaten by global Nuke Pox? We must say no.

BRIT NEWS: Revenue to investigate 27 MPs over their tax
payments. Is the law finally catching up with
the lawmakers?

BRIT NEWS: Royal Mail hiring 30,000 temporary
staff to defeat striking workers. We can
expect severe disruption this week.

mummy

READ WITH MUMMY

The Magazine Post with a gentle hint of horror

One Single Impression
ReadWritePoem3 Word Thursday
Friday Flash 553 Word Wednesday

ELUSIVE

I’ve tried to get there many a time,
But often things just don’t chime,
Many roads I’ve been down, lost,
Who knows what is the cost,
I try to think of it in jest,
But I think my GPS is possessed

FLASH 55 – REALITY TV

Fiction: He was sat in front of the TV. He felt movement, opened his
eyes, lazily. It was just a little man but menacing, creeping forward,
dagger held high, ready to stab him. He shook himself – watched the
screen, where a man smiled wickedly as he held a dagger. He would
stay awake from now on.

CLIFFHANGER TECH

Site click here … or …
Wear (where?) … write on above … to …
On … read it, badge …
The … wear (it) loud, just proud,
Code display it … image poem …
Your the (one to) get the …

SMELLY ONE

Fiction: To experience xenization. It was uncomfortable at first. He
was maleolent and his pigritude was almost debilitating. Hence, I
struggled to place one step in front of the other. It had been a single
thought that triggered it off – a flash of memory – and he was in me,
possessing me. I could feel my mind disappearing, but I fought to
keep my sanity. I could not go back to my teenage years.

maleolent – foul smelling
xenization – walk as a stranger
pigritude – laziness

A GHOST’S LOVE

Reckless heartache, jangle soul,
Harrowing dirge, cannot feel whole,
Caught in sorrow, purgatory’s home,
No escape, never atone;
I killed for her, that was my boast,
But then revenge made me a ghost,
Yet I crave those moments of bliss,
Don’t fret, my love, it’s just a kiss

© Anthony North, October 2009

Try my Pictures of Life, a novel

Posted in Current Affairs, Horror, Philosophy, Poetry | 118 Comments »

WE’RE SOMETHING

Posted by anthonynorth on October 15, 2009

Friday Flash 55 & more prompts below
Try my Paranormal Flash now!

beta-physicist1

PROF ISAAC GALISTEIN

Earth is an insignificant planet. Nothing special in the cosmos. Also,
mankind is nothing in universal terms. These simple facts should excite
us, ‘cos when you are nothing, it should be reason to be something.
This has fuelled advancement – bettering ourselves. Alternatively
being nothing can make you realize you’ll never be anything. This is
self-defeating and separates the men from the boys. When I look at
all the tech on the drawing board that could send us to the stars, and
the fact that we aren’t there, I ask: are we men or boys?

Eye On the World
Essays on everything from science
to religion, politics to crime

newsflash

CRIME NEWS: Some prison governors
in UK think prison terms under a yr should
be scrapped. They don’t work. Well make them work!

BRIT NEWS: Labour to raise £16bn to help pay off deficit by asset
stripping. Parties are bidding for office. When’s the granny going?

SCI NEWS: Pill use over 40 yrs has put women off masculine men,
say scientists. That doesn’t explain why masculine men are rare.

TECH NEWS: Brit govt digital task force wants all online
by 2012. Can a situation ever come when this
is achieved? Will coercion be used?

beta-robot

FUTURE ZONE

What’s ahead … and Beyond!!!

One Single Impression
Sunday Scribblings3 Word Thursday

TO CONQUER TIME

We had to do it, it was our way,
If something’s to be done, we can’t go astray,
Knowledge demands that everything chimes,
And we’d learnt, at last, how to conquer time,
Create, for all, an eternal now,
Taking the ultimate temporal bow,
With all that had been at once, so plain,
Now we live knowing the universe is pain

FLASH 55 – CLOUD FLOATER
(Quilly’s word meanings below)

Sci Fi: They couldn’t get over the beauty of it as they watched. He
was nubivagant, graceful, tenellous, as if with wings. He seemed
surrounded by light and they knew he would be utible. Soon his flight
ended. And as he arrived on the slab in the flying saucer, the alien
smiled and picked up the probe.

tenellous – tender
nubivagant – moving thru clouds
utible – useful

SPAM

Spam is here, then it’s there,
Spam should make us all beware,
Of evolution in the raw,
Spreading like nature’s tooth and claw,
Filling environments like a weed,
Runaway capitalism’s holy creed

© Anthony North, October 2009

Try my Pictures of Life, a novel

Posted in Current Affairs, Poetry, Science, Science Fiction | 101 Comments »

MATRIMONY

Posted by anthonynorth on October 12, 2009

ABC Wednesday & more prompts below
Try my Paranormal Flash now!

computer-lap-top1

BLOGGER BARD

What does marriage mean? Well, to many it means living together until
irreconcilable differences decree otherwise. Indeed, many don’t bother
getting married at all, happy in serial monogamy with commitment only
to a partner until decided otherwise.

Now, far be it from me to
condemn any lifestyle.

To me, people are free to live how they want. But this always needs
to be done in full knowledge. And commitment to another person is
only part of what being married means. Marriage was also intended as
a commitment by a couple to their society in order to receive
privileged status. The modern idea of marriage is another example of
the throwing away of the social forces that used to keep us all
together.

Eye On the World
Essays on everything from science to
religion, politics to crime

newsflash

BRIT NEWS: Ex-Army Chief Gen
Dannatt joins the Tories. Good. You
need senior military in govt to know how to
do best for forces.

BRIT NEWS: Royal Mail loses Amazon contract as strike
threat looms. If this trend continues, will strikes guarantee loss
of jobs?

BRIT NEWS: Cameron vows to pull down Labour’s big govt. Deserves
to be next Prime Minister for this alone. But then he
must deliver.

WORLD NEWS: Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize.
Why? What has he done? A great
symbol, yes, but is this all
you need to be to
win it?

policeman-uk

THE CRIME POST

It would be criminal not to read it

Carry On TuesdayPoetry Train
Heads or TailsReadWritePoem
Three Word Wednesday

THE CAUSE

It’s not my fault, there is a cause,
I may have robbed but take a pause,
Society hasn’t been good to me,
Things always go wrong, don’t you see?

No I don’t, you miserable cad,
When I think of the troubles I’ve had,
But they didn’t turn me towards crime,
There’s no cause for crossing the line

I KILLED IT

Fiction: It was Victor Hugo who wrote: ‘Life is a flower of which love is
the honey.’ Ha! Not in my world. It was so obviously fictitious. At first
I liked her – gave her so much happiness. But it was not long before I
used her, tormented her, became contemptuous of her – her ways,
her ideosyncracies, her very existence. And that’s why I did what I
did. That’s why I killed her. Yet it was soon so obvious I had been
wrong. The last four chapters without her were terrible. And they
didn’t even buy the film rights.

THE SPAMINATOR

Vowelised chelations, capricious progeny,
Vehement reprobates, irresistible infamy,
Cosmoramic investment, insolent language,
Exploded on my blog, exulting their baggage …
A literary thrasher I’ll use ’til they croak,
Freedom from spam I will invoke,
No more, then, will they steal my blog,
Eradicated, expunged, no more comments they’ll hog

IT’S INDECENT

It’s indecent, it is! They told me so,
Got to look, but they’re moving so slow,
Why do they frustrate people like this?
They don’t understand – we simply can’t miss …
At last I’m here, do you want to see?
Ohhh my! It was worth the fee,
In decent shape, I’m telling you,
Frustrated yet? Well join the queue

© Anthony North, October 2009

Try my Pictures of Life, a novel

Posted in Crime Stories, Current Affairs, Poetry, Society | 81 Comments »

COMPROMISE

Posted by anthonynorth on October 8, 2009

Friday Flash 55 & more prompts below
Try my Paranormal Flash now!

cults-1

GURU TONY

People always want to stop you from doing what you want.
And then there are those incidents that hold you up. Life can
sometimes be a drag. But I guess this is because we’re
forgetting an important element of society. Wants must always
be balanced with duties to others, or society would descend
into chaos. We must remember the importance of such
compromise or our dreams will forever be shattered.

Eye On the World
Essays on everything from science to
religion, politics to crime

newsflash

BRIT NEWS: Soldier who lost
3 limbs in Afghanistan is taunted
in wheelchair by teenagers. Is this what
we sacrifice them for?

BRIT NEWS: London Mayor Boris Johnson had small
acting role in Soap Eastenders. Boris, very nice, but don’t
give up the day job.

HEALTH NEWS: The Lancet reports half of babies born in UK will live
to 100. No, long lived people today lived different lifestyle in youth.

BRIT NEWS: Airline union warns pilots are too tired to fly. Well, when
you use aircraft like buses, the standards inevitably decline.

CRIME NEWS: Brit police report burglaries up. This is inevitable.
We are not more moral. Crime increases as economic
wealth declines.

BRIT NEWS: Tories prepare for govt at their
conference. An honest message of
cutbacks & pain. Their gamble
may well work.

computer_desk

RATTLER’S TALE

A Voyage of the Imagination

One Single Impression
Sunday Scribblings3 Word Thursday

FLASH 55 – BLOB WORLD

Fiction: The pain hit him as he opened his eyes. What he had done
last night he could not remember. But soon he was to worry about
the world itself. Focusing, he finally stared out the window, only to
see macabre blobs where once the world had been. He froze.
Rubbed his eyes … Opened the curtains.

TALISMAN

Tali held the amulet close,
It protected her the most,
As she traversed this terrible place,
Frightened and with haste;
But as long as it was there,
She knew another would beware,
Arm around her, HE never ran
He was Tali’s man

SWEETIE
(Quilly’s word meanings below)

Fiction: The tragematopolist did not want to misqueme him. He’d
noticed the vacivity in the boy’s eyes when he had first entered the
sweet shop, as if there was something wrong with him. And when he’d
asked for a sweet, the confectioner could only say no. After all, he
must not give sweets to strange children.

misqueme – offend
tragematopolist – confectioner
vacivity – containing nothing

BUMP IN THE NIGHT

It’s coming close – I cannot see,
All is dark, eerily,
Hazards forming before my eyes,
Using night to disguise,
Shock! It comes – hints of Poe,
Ouch!
I’ve stubbed my toe

© Anthony North, October 2009

Try my Pictures of Life, a novel

Posted in Current Affairs, Poetry, Society, Twist In the Tale | 92 Comments »

LIFESTYLE

Posted by anthonynorth on October 4, 2009

ABC Wednesday & more prompts below
Try my Paranormal Flash now!

houses-of-parliament3

POLLY TICKS

What can we say about modern lifestyle? Well, we always have plenty
to worry about – but there’s plenty of therapies, especially shopping.
And then there’s an infatuation with diet – or lack of it – oh, those
lovely, expensive diet plans and fast food. Everything is so fast, with
lots to do – after all, we can’t have you doing nothing when you can
earn and spend and earn and spend and … And don’t forget the
continual fads and fashions that come along – we can’t hold on to
‘last year’s’ can we? It seems to me the lifestyle we’re sold is a
marketing ploy. We are receptors of capitalism and miss out living.

Eye On the World
Essays on everything from science to
religion, politics to crime

newsflash

GREEN NEWS: Personal Carbon
Allowance proposed. Don’t reach your
quota, sell credits; exceed, you have to buy.
Won’t this just raise anger?

BRIT NEWS: The Sun moves to the Tories. Labour came
in when they supported them – and go? Why do we allow people
like Murdoch to rule us?

SCI NEWS: Was T-Rex wiped out by a sore throat? A parasite that still
attacks birds has been blamed. Not all that roaring, then.

CELEB NEWS: Stephen Fry’s 6 stone weight loss thru diet. Why is it
that when they do this they always look ill? Doesn’t seem
right to me.

TECH NEWS: Internet has now become UK’s biggest
advertising medium. This means net will become
all, with all our eggs in one basket. Madness.

EURO NEWS: Ireland says yes to Lisbon
Treaty. Clear case of a previous no
meaning yes. A Euro-President
is coming terrifyingly close.

mummy

READ WITH MUMMY

The Magazine Post with a gentle hint of horror

Carry On TuesdayHeads or Tails
Poetry TrainReadWritePoem
Three Word Wednesday

BUILD A FEAR

Build a fear, make them scream,
Imagination can form any dream,
Tickle their nerves, wide eyed stare,
You’ve got yourself into their worst nightmare,
Now YOU produce all they see,
They’ve ceded, forever, their destiny

WHERE? WHO? WHEN?

Fiction: Where now? Is it in my nightmares or reality? Is there a
difference any more? I’m not so sure. They say like can oppose like,
but was it meant to be as terrifying as this? Is it so difficult for me to
be as one, rather than a fragmented mind of contradictory thought?
Who now?
The stalker does what he does – horrendously, omnipotently. He wraps
his hands round my throat; his urges round my mind. Can I stop him
with a thought, or do they not have effect upon this reality?
When now?
When will I breath my last? Will I welcome it? Will I yearn to be
free, finally released from this opposed likeness, my twin?

CONFUSION TIMES

I love the day, so full of light,
Often in contrary thoughts I wallow,
Doing things for my delight,
Under Moon, chilling, hollow,
Basking in Sun, enriching, pure,
Thoughts abound, often stark,
Of everything I am so sure
I fear the night, so empty, dark

THEY DID IT HERE
(Updated 7 Oct 09)

Fallow land, left unused,
No one ventures, no limit to abuse,
Such an atrocity was committed here,
If you visit you’ll sense the fear,
Hear the voices of those who’ve gone,
Vocal chills, ghostly song

© Anthony North, October 2009

Try my Pictures of Life, a novel

Posted in Current Affairs, Horror, Poetry, Society | 74 Comments »

READING TRUTH

Posted by anthonynorth on October 1, 2009

Booking Through Thursday & more prompts below
Try my Paranormal Flash now!

computer-lap-top1

BLOGGER BARD

Have I ever lied about the books I’ve read? Well, apparently two thirds
of Brits have. Is that all? I doubt if there are many who haven’t –
occasionally. It seems oneupmanship still reigns – even in the literary
pursuit where wisdom is supposed to reside. Minds’t you, I think there
is a bigger problem of untruth in this subject. Namely lying to yourself
about what you’re going to read. Have you got that pile called ‘one
day’? And I will – I promise you ‘War and Peace’ – I will …

Eye On the World
Essays on everything from science to
religion, politics to crime

newsflash

GREEN NEWS: UN tries to bully
big nations into further commitments.
Airline industry promise big emissions cuts by
– 2050. China pledges to cut emissions. US govt more
in tune with rest of world on green issues. Well, they all sound
good. So, is everything set for a real deal in Copenhagan in Dec? Well
you can guarantee they’ll agree to another meeting.

BRIT NEWS: Millions are seeing their retirement dreams in tatters,
expecting to have to work for up to 9 years after retirement
age. They believed the private pensions dream and
forgot dreams can become nightmares. In the
UK we have a State pension to which we
all pay. It was a contract between
governed and government.
Stop toadying to Big
Biz and honour it.

wood

GREEN SCENE

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

One Single Impression
Sunday Scribblings3 Word Thursday
Friday Flash 55

DESCENT

Living in caves, technology low,
So much we want to know;
Living in cities, technology high,
So much we want to deny;
Living in heat, technology melts,
So much we could have felt;
Living in caves, technology gone,
So much we love Earth’s song

FLASH 55 – GREEN SOLUTIONS

Fiction: There was quite a fracas as they arrested Mr Bigbiz. His
ambition had gone too far – it was a specious plan anyway. Suspicion
began as the number of Greens began to decline. ‘Where have they
gone?’ people asked. Well, now we know. Mr Bigbiz was behind it –
and the new biofuels plant has been shut.

FIRST KISS
(Updated 2 Oct 09)

First kiss, feeling shy,
Tentative approach, almost sly,
They can do it, they will prevail,
Oh dear; disaster! Saliva trail,
Try again, eyes tight shut,
Ouch!! … headbutt,
But if you can survive this early strife,
Chances are you’re in love for life

© Anthony North, October 2009

Try my Pictures of Life, a novel

Posted in Current Affairs, Environment, Poetry, Twist In the Tale, Writing | 80 Comments »

 
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