ASTRONAUTS

ABC Wednesday & more prompts below
With Thursday Thirteen items of news and views
Try my Paranormal Flash now!

PROF ISAAC GALISTEIN

The problem with space exploration to date is it isn’t really
exploration at all. We cling to the upper atmosphere or send
unmanned probes. Indeed, the only real effort – the Moon
landings – was a Cold War game of one-upmanship.

A primary reason for this is that
it is all government backed.

History shows governments make terrible explorers. Exploration is done
by business enterprise. Sadly our present business ethic is ignoring its
traditional function and grounding us in pointless consumerism. Maybe
it’s because of a lack of guts – after all, the next frontier of
exploration is a little scary – but they are ignoring the ultimate
element of humanity – our curiosity. Indeed, I’ve often called us Homo
Curious. Other than this, I think we need a new ethic – a new Big
Story – to truly continue our destiny of exploration to the planets and
stars. And the time is now right. For instance, one thing that is clear
is that no one country can afford true space exploration. To do it, we
would have to come together in cooperation as a species. We are
presently learning how to cooperate globally through action on the
environment, terrorism, etc. This needs to be nurtured, for it is the
way of existence to communicate with others of your kind – and our
planet is feeling lonely. Indeed, the central element of technological
advancement has been to increase our ability to communicate. Is our
past technology merely a number of stages towards cosmic
communication and exploration? To view ourselves and our history in
this way could provide the impulse we need to break into space,
which is, I’m sure, our primary destiny. Indeed, such enterprise and
cooperation could be the element we need to find peace within our
collective selves and break the cycle of conflict. And until we do this
we’re a pointless species stuck in Big Biz consumerism.

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

BRIT NEWS: One in 5 of
Brit infantry unfit for war. It’s
what happens when you send an army
to war without proper manpower or
equipment.

EDUCATION: Savings demanded by UK govt on
universities now rises to £2.5b. The days of phoney
degrees and high student numbers are over.

WORLD NEWS: Why does it take so long to get rescue & aid to
disasters like Haiti. We have permanent national services. Why not
global?

BRIT NEWS: Army Chief says we need a new way of fighting wars due
to present challenges. Yes, but we always need to be ready for any
type.

WORLD NEWS: Google to pull out of China? Too much blocking &
hacking there. Is China showing again it’s not ready for the
civilised world?

BRIT NEWS: Doctors, lawyers, etc, still too elitist, says
review. The poor not getting a career. Ultimate
failure of ‘poor helping’ Labour.

BRIT NEWS: Think tank says it will take
several years to recover from
Recession. I think longer -
is the system in a slow
but terminal decline?

READ WITH MUMMY

The Magazine Post with a gentle hint of horror

One Single Impression
ReadWritePoem – Friday Flash 55
Three Word Wednesday
Sunday Scribblings

GHOST OF SUNNY DAYS

I remember days of heat and light,
Yet long ago, now out of sight,
Presently in nature’s weathered corpse,
Climate angry, out of sorts,
Trees as skeletons of former self,
No leaves to turn, no budding wealth,
Landscape beautiful in white veiled death,
Wind bringing soul song, chant bereft,
Yet sun appears, lick’s nature’s wounds,
Says: hold on now, I’ll be back soon

THE DIAMOND

Fiction: I did it to test human gullibility. A curse, you see, is in the
mind. Only if you really believe will it work. I fooled them into thinking
it really was THE cursed diamond, and looked forward to all the
mistakes and accidents that were bound to occur. And you can
imagine my surprise when nothing happened. Curse it, I thought as I
retrieved the diamond. Mindst you, as I lie here in my hospital bed, I
was even more surprised by the appearance of the car that ran me
over when I left.

SILLY POEM IN STRANGE LANGUAGE

Omg said: will you follow me?
Lol so much I almost pee,
Start writing poem full of waffle,
Remembered second line – must not rofl;
Then revelation came in a tweet,
Feelings inside imho sweet,
Allows people to cope with what comes next,
They say it can be better than text

FLASH 55 – THE SURVIVOR

Fiction: It was a fight to the death. Afterwards I ran from the scene.
Yet, realizing my mistake, I returned and tried to explain my actions
but they simply ignored me. It was when I saw my opponent animated
that the shock set in. Then I realized – saw MY corpse on the floor. I
had lost.

FINAL DEAL

Sign up now to this online iDeal,
We promise no hassle – we know how you feel,
Just a simple measure is all we need,
Reasonable prices – we’re not into greed,
Beaten the competition, no matter how stiff,
When it’s done, it’s buried – get the drift?
And no, it doesn’t teeter as it’s lowered down,
A new way to put loved ones deep in the ground

YES YES

Oui, it spelt as the question’s asked,
Ja, it repeats, the spirits tasked,
To contact us at our will,
Or maybe its hysteria we fulfil;
Regardless which, it’s here to say,
The paranormal on display,
Bringing ghosts to our front room,
Fingers on planchette – watch it zoom

TONY’S DIARY: I’ve finally got
digital TV and not one of the extra
channels interest me. Is it a digital revolution
or Digital Devolution?

BRIT VIEW: A ‘virtue’ of Gordon Brown is his clear view
of what society is? This is why he’s a bad leader. Philosophers
become dictators.

WEATHER: So the thaw has come to the UK – at last. One thing I miss
is the beauty of a snowy, frosty morning. Those whites were amazing.

A THOUGHT: If you’re aiming for an ideal, you’ll be disappointed. Life
is about compromise. Once you understand that, it can be
great.

MOVIE WATCH: Watched Easy Rider. First time in
decades. It only really came alive with Jack
Nicholson. Seems to say freedom is
misery.

A THOUGHT: We should always remember
the past and learn from it. Problem
is, too many take the angst
along for the ride. Always
a mistake.

© Anthony North, January 2010

Try my Pictures of Life, a novel