FRUSTRATIONS

Theme Thursday, Microfiction Monday & ABC Wednesday
With Thursday Thirteen and Magpie Tales
Try my Paranormal Flash now!

POLLY TICKS

Welcome to my weekly magazine post. Watch
it grow thru the week. You can opt to read the essay,
current affairs, themed mini mag with fiction & poetry, or just
read the lot. Here’s hoping you enjoy your visit. Plenty
for everyone here so do call again next week.

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MAGPIE TALES

Fiction: The house seemed so lonely in
its secluded place amongst the trees.
It seemed detached from reality. Empty.
Silent. A nowhere home. And so large
for a soul owner …

MICROFICTION

Fiction: As the skeleton crept he wished
he’d never found the Book of Life. He
rushed to finish Ch 1 before the basics
stopped him dead.

FRUSTRATIONS

Life can be so frustrating. In a way, it has to be. If we never had
frustrations we’d never have the urge to change things and if things
stayed as they are, we’d really be stagnating. So frustration is an
essential to life. Sadly, though, marketers know this and adding to your
frustrations increases your need to buy. Consider the media infatuation
with celebrities. A great marketing tool, they show you what you can
aspire to, leaving you frustrated that you don’t have their lifestyle. It’s
an old ploy. Medieval Christendom had its own celebrities – the saints –
showing you what it meant to be a good Christian, urging you to aspire
to their standards. The saint and celebrity may be a world apart in
terms of culture, but they’re an identical marketing ploy. Frustrating,
isn’t it?

EQUAL

How can any of us be equal to anyone
else? Yes, we share many similarities,
but also many differences, so equality
is a con. Even in math 2+2=4 is only a
mind game. The universe doesn’t do
numbers. The word ‘equal’ just doesn’t
add up.

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

BRIT NEWS: Big cuts to come
at Ministry of Defence. With an Army
of just 100,000, we have 85,000 civil servants
to support them. What a ridiculous amount. But don’t
cut the frontline. Words about taking a ‘capability holiday’ are
worrying.

MEDIA NEWS: Ofcom reports Brits spend half their waking hours using
media & communications. I think this is a double-edged sword. On the
one hand we are flooded with so much info it becomes blurred; on the
other, we now live in two communities, the local and global. This has
to increase toleration of others.

GREEN NEWS: Scientists warn we may have to produce artificial
meat in vats soon if we are to feed everyone. Is this true,
or could we feed the world by becoming more
natural in our eating and
farming habits?

FUTURE ZONE

What’s ahead … and Beyond!!!

One Single Impression
Sunday Scribblings – Friday Flash 55
Three Word Wednesday – Writer’s Island
One Shot Wednesday

EMPTY

Gone back in time, all alone,
Nothing here throughout the zone,
Empty space, forces none,
Where has all reality gone?
Then a voice said: ‘Let there be light’,
Such a bang!!!! – delight

FLASH 55 – ROBOT LAW

Fiction: They thought the program had malfunctioned. The robot had
been built specifically as a servant, there to cater for every whim. But
every time it was told to fetch something, it said: ‘Get it yourself.’
Eventually Azimov’s laws of robotics were blamed: do no harm to
humans. And impeding a human from exercising was harmful.

TIME TRAVEL

I can go wherever I desire,
Past or future, light the fire,
Sit and think, imagination honed,
No bars to any time zone,
Come with me as I tell a tale,
Storytellers get under any veil

TIMEKEEPERS

Fiction: They just wouldn’t come back, and that was the problem. It
was worst for the time travel section of the Medieval studies
department. Checking the history books gave a possible answer. It
began, they suspected, with the halo of light that took time to
dissipate after transport. This attracted followers who soon knelt in
prayer, and as soon as they were venerated, they would abstain from
coming back. Maybe they shouldn’t have called it the Study and
Analysis IN Time project.

DANGEROUS

Black holes suck, meteor storms crash,
Watch that radiation don’t give a rash!
There’s danger throughout the universe,
When we get out there we’d better rehearse;
But remember how often we’ve caused a fuss,
Don’t let the biggest danger be us

BRIT NEWS: Top doctors call for
legalisation of drugs. Instinctively I’m
against this, but also realise nothing induces
organised crime more than a ban. If it was legalised, would
money saved go into proper help for addicts?

BRIT NEWS: After 100 days of UK Coalition Govt there is still
strong support for spending cuts. I guess we’re resigned
to harsh medicine – though this may change when
details are announced – if wavering Lib
Dems haven’t brought it all
down by then.

© Anthony North, August 2010

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