WE’RE SOMETHING

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

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

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?

FUTURE ZONE

What’s ahead … and Beyond!!!

One Single Impression
Sunday Scribblings – 3 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

MATRIMONY

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

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

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?

THE CRIME POST

It would be criminal not to read it

Carry On Tuesday – Poetry Train
Heads or Tails – ReadWritePoem
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

COMPROMISE

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

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

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.

RATTLER’S TALE

A Voyage of the Imagination

One Single Impression
Sunday Scribblings – 3 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

LIFESTYLE

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

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

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.

READ WITH MUMMY

The Magazine Post with a gentle hint of horror

Carry On Tuesday – Heads or Tails
Poetry Train – ReadWritePoem
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

READING TRUTH

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

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

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.

GREEN SCENE

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

One Single Impression
Sunday Scribblings – 3 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

KNOWLEDGE

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

PROF ISAAC GALISTEIN

I worry about knowledge today – mainly because much of it isn’t
knowledge at all. Rather, we have become information junkies,
erroneously thinking that holding such information is knowledge. Yet
true knowledge is what you do with the information. Knowledge is the
outcome of thought. Knowledge is taking this information and
producing awareness and wisdom. Knowledge, today, is simply
data-processing, as if we’ve become an appendage of the computer
rather than the other way round. The machines seem to be winning.

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

WORLD NEWS: A busy time for
world leaders. UN meet and then G20.
Dictats fly – Iran, you naughty country; bankers,
we’ve some hard words for you (he,he, titter the bankers).
Rumours of Obama snubbing UK. But, hey, he eventually cuddled my
own idiot Prime Minister. Yes, folks, Soap Operas are alive and well.

HEALTH NEWS: A researcher has suggested the high rate of
Dementia in the UK could be because of the Second
World War. In effect, stress in youth can
trigger the reaction in later life. An
interesting idea – and one
that further research
should be carried
out on.

FUTURE ZONE

What’s ahead … and Beyond!!!

Poetry Train
Heads or Tails – ReadWritePoem
Three Word Wednesday

PHOTO PROOF

I await the photo of absolute proof,
A subject that always remains aloof,
Image of the future of all,
By going right back to that energy ball,
Before it became all that is,
Brought to life by nuclear fizz …
Oh, what knowledge it would invoke,
Was it God or a cosmic joke?

MELT DOWN TIME

Sci Fi: They knew the time tunnel had reached melt down when the
periods began to merge. Was that a real Viking up on stage doing
hard rock? Was that a real pole dancer pinching Caesar from
Cleopatra? And when the Soap writer became Elizabethan, they
knew they’d never look upon Shakespeare in the same way again.

FUTURE ME?

Finding hope, so hard to do,
Things change, I must imbue,
A better course than my image so bland,
We’re building a future – but hell or grand?
I see my reflection before my eyes,
It’s so very easy to criticize,
Is it future me, no better than the past,
Or the me that’s gone, angst amassed?

AMBITION
(Updated 30 Sep 09)

I look to the future, what do I see?
So easily it could be ugly;
Ambitious species we certainly are,
Through arts and tech we could go far,
Conquering the Cosmos for one and all,
Incredible ideas continually enthrall,
And propel us onwards all the time,
But if we’re not together, it’s not worth a dime

© Anthony North, September 2009

Try my Pictures of Life, a novel

SAD BOOKS

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

GURU TONY

What’s the saddest book I’ve read recently? Well, it won’t be a
personal disclosure book. I don’t read them. You see, very few people
go through life unscathed, and when so many write about the bad
things, we can all relate. The result is a victim culture, and this is
socially unhealthy for us all. No, the saddest book I’ve read recently
would undoubtedly be any one of the general world histories I have.
They are full of good intentioned ideas being turned into disastrous
movements. Rather like those disclosure books.

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

BRIT NEWS: So the rumours and
leaks gather pace. Massive hikes in taxes
and up to 30% cut in services. A national postal
strike looms with many others brewing. Are we about
to face another Winter of Discontent? Meanwhile, industry
mouthpiece the CBI say we’ll return to growth by end of year. So
it’ll all be over by Christmas. I remember that was said in 1914.

SOCIAL NEWS: A psychologist has blamed lack of parental
authority for the growing spoilt generation of today’s
youth. I agree – to a point. But alongside this
must come State intrusion into family life,
leaving young parents confused as to
just what there role is. Families
seem to be stuck in a
vicious circle here.

THE CRIME POST

It would be criminal not to read it

One Single Impression
Sunday Scribblings – 3 Word Thursday
Friday Flash 55

FLASH 55 – THE FILMING

Fiction: He was in search of the perfect scene. The camera was
soon set up and rolling. The story progressed quickly, and as the
denouement approached he put his hands to her throat and
strangled her. Later, watching the film, he was dissatisfied –
again. The bodies were mounting up as he went talent
scouting once more.

COLOUR CRIME

Seeing red – violent crime,
Life to him ain’t worth a dime;
Seeing blue – vice is the thing,
Sex, debauchery, in a ring;
Seeing yellow – cowardly thief,
Show contempt; he’s way beneath;
Seeing black – cell door slammed,
Where they belong, we demand

RELUCTANT GROOM

Fiction: She was mariturient; he not so much. There were, of course,
reasons. He had tried to obstrigillate his fate, but once her father had
found out about the depth of their relationship he knew refusal would
result in an ossifragant outcome. So he married her. But he could not
help worrying about his other wife.

obstrigillate – oppose or resist
ossifragant – bone-breaking
mariturient – eager to marry

CHEESE
(Updated 25 Sep 09)

What a cheek, you’re a thief,
It’s no good smiling, showing your teeth,
You’re a disgrace to what you are,
Behave like this, you won’t go far,
Now listen, I’m a mouse, if you please,
You’re a cat, you eat me, not the cheese

© Anthony North, September 2009

Try my Pictures of Life, a novel

JUSTICE

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

POLLY TICKS

We’re beginning to lose touch about what Justice really means. I
say this because victims are becoming central to the outcome of
trials. Now, don’t get me wrong – I can feel for the victims.

But a trial isn’t victim
v accused.

It is STATE v accused. This is important. It keeps proceedings
formal and unemotional. Victim-centred trials do the opposite, and
by bringing out emotion, verdicts can so easily be swayed. The end
result is bad justice. I blame the rise of individuality over community
for this. We’ve begun to think it is the ‘person’ who deserves justice,
and not the good of all through community.

Paranormal Flash

Okay, as promised, my Paranormal Flash is now
complete. Click the link at top of post to access.
As well as a general narrative on the subject, I
also link to dozens of previous essays so you
can go deeper into the mysteries that seem to
baffle us.

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

MEDIA NEWS: Creation, a new
British film about Charles Darwin, has
failed to find a distributor in the US, according
to its producers. Bought in nearly every other country,
religious sensibilities seem to be behind the failure. Where is the
line between freedom of speech and faith, I wonder?

BRIT NEWS: A survey by The Guardian shows that top company
executive’s pay has risen 10% in the last year. It’s good
to see that their standards have not gone down
because of a mere thing like a Recession.
Sometimes I think Earth is really
two planets – ‘cos they’re
not living on mine.

RATTLER’S TALE

A Voyage of the Imagination

Carry On Tuesday
Heads or Tails – ReadWritePoem
Three Word Wednesday

THE BOOK

The greatest invention there’s ever been,
Wherever you go books are seen;
Whenever things change you can be sure,
It was fuelled by a book – nothing so pure;
Whenever you want to escape the world,
Pick up a book, let stories unfurl;
And whenever you want to express your thought,
Write a book and hope it’s bought

THE INSIDER

Fiction: I thought of those words by Albert Camus: ‘Don’t walk behind
me; I may not lead. Don’t walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just
walk beside me and be my friend.’ I often thought I walked alone.
Here was I, experiencing life, but outside. The existential nightmare
was my reality. Alone – absurd. Life was a surreal dance around my
body, but never touching – or so I thought. I had choices, you see;
and those choices were mine and mine alone. My friend – my only
friend – tried to make those choices come right for me. My aspirations
seemed to work through him. But I thought wrong – that surreal
dance did touch me. It touched me always, out of the blue, catching
me unawares – until I realized the choices of others were valid to my
life. So now I’m neither lion nor mouse, neither leading nor led, and
my friend – my inner being – walks beside me. I now know I am me
because of them. How can I be absurd?

RICHES

The day I made a million, wow!!
Poverty? Ha! Taken a bow;
Great big house and chauffeur driven car,
Holidays to lands afar,
Gourmet meals – never mind the harm,
Beautiful lady on my arm,
Nothing more I need to seek …
Oh well … maybe next week

VELOCIRAPTOR
(Updated 23 Sep 09)

No time to languish, velocity high,
Is that prey ahead of me, I spy?
I may be little but I rule this place,
Got to keep going or I’m eclipsed in the race …
Survival of the fittest is how it is,
Got to keep going, know our biz,
Extinction won’t ever stop this buzz,
‘Cos if you read it again, you’ll find it’s us

© Anthony North, September 2009

Try my Pictures of Life, a novel

MORE CHANGES

Friday Flash 55 and 3 Word Wednesday
More prompts below

BLOGGER BARD

I knew it would happen – it always does. In the last couple of days
I’ve got so much into my Paranormal Flash series that I’ve finished it.
Representing the latest statement of where I’m at in my research, I
read it and thought: here comes another book.

And that’s what I have
to do right now.

I’m devoting a lot more time to further research, in-depth writing and
chasing publishers. That means I’m going to have to cut some of the
time I spend blogging. Don’t panic! I’m not going anywhere. I’ll still be
visiting all my friends and doing most of the prompts, but I’ll be
cutting back on essays and current affairs, and, from next week
doing just two bumper posts on Monday and Thursday. I could never
stop blogging, and this should leave me the time I want for my new
project. As for Paranormal Flash, I’m going to give it a page of its
own, complete with links to deeper essays on each aspect of the
narrative. I hope to complete this, and link to it in my posts, from
next week also. I repeat, I’m not giving up blogging – no way! I could
never do that. Hope to see you Monday.

Eye On the World
The ‘Y’ Files

FAITH NEWS: More evidence
that we’re hard-wired to believe in
God. Researchers from Bristol University
say it offers a better chance of survival through
making us work in groups. I’ve often said prevalent non-
belief in a society can fragment that society, so this makes total
sense to me.

BRIT NEWS: A survey of teachers shows they’d rather teach
‘universal brotherhood’ than patriotism. There’s a new
age adage that to love others you must love
yourself. I think it works with a nation. If
you don’t find meaning in what you
are, you become nothing and
eventually treat all with
disdain. Those
teachers are
wrong.

READ WITH MUMMY

The Magazine Post with a gentle hint of horror

One Single Impression
Sunday Scribblings – 3 Word Thursday

THE FOG

It descends, restricting view,
Swirling outside and inside you,
People disjointed, partially there,
Shocks come so easily – beware!
How do you grasp reality from this putrid mess?
Start with your failings – admit it! Confess;
When the fog descends confusion reigns,
Your mind so easily wrapped in chains

WHO AM I?
(Quilly’s word meanings below)

Fiction: The nature spirit was acting destructively. There was no
quibbleism – he literally beat the bush to pulp. Why? Well, people had
ignored him too long and he was attention seeking – overflowing with
an obrumpent personality. Indeed, they couldn’t even get his name
right. Over the eons they had referred to him as a god, a demon, a
fairy, a vampire, a werewolf, ghost, discarnate entity and now they’d
even given him bug eyes and called him an alien! Such temeration!!
And he was not having it!!! It was as if HE didn’t know who he was
any more. And are they afraid of him nowadays? No. But as he
continued beating the bush, swirling around the air, deforesting the
forests and generally having a climactic time, he knew they’d soon
need him once more. THEN he’d teach them for ignoring his ways.

quibbleism – beating around the bush
obrumpent – breaking
temeration – temerity

FLASH 55 – POISON

Fiction: He was convinced his wife was
poisoning him. She didn’t even seem to
hide the fact. Why, he didn’t know. Maybe
an affair. But he decided not to eat at
home. Rather, he frequented the café up
the road. In the kitchen, chef prepared his
special meals. He was better at it than
his lover.

HANKY

I’m a hanky; I’m feeling sad,
Too many tissues can be bad,
To a throw away society we drift a lot,
Is it funny? It snot!
Don’t be thick – think of my woes,
Don’t reject me ‘cos I get up your nose

HUNGRY
(Updated 18 Sep)

Hungry for people all the time,
Chop them up, make them slime,
Crawling in an insipid pit,
Watching, always – scored a hit,
Doesn’t matter whether man or dame,
It can get you – fame

© Anthony North, September 2009

INSPIRATION

ABC Wednesday & more prompts below
Have you had a go?

GURU TONY

Inspiration creates change, but how does it work? There’s an amazing
psychology at work in those who create something inspired. Often,
through adversity, illness or alienation, they feel frustrated. This
causes them to descend into their inner mind. And it is here that
inspiration births.

But what process is at work
in the inner mind?

We observe the world – often without realizing it – and our view of
it can form unconsciously. When we consciously seek this inner
knowledge to create something new, we actually connect with the
observed frustrations of our wider society. Hence, inspiration is a
two-way affair, our society being fundamental to the personal
process of creativity. However, from this point onwards, inspiration
becomes personal, with the inspired person’s frustrations the primary
factor. This creates novelty, and his success in inspiring others
thrusts society onwards. But coloured by his own feelings, the way
it is expressed is usually extreme. This guarantees frustration will
continue to rise in society, guaranteeing that other inspired people
will go through the process. Inspiration through frustration seems to
be the engine of social change. But not all inspired people gain
acceptance from their society. I guess the difference between a
genius or a crank is the degree of social acceptance they gain. At
least, that’s how I see it.

Eye On the World
The ‘Y’ Files

GREEN NEWS: UK may have to
cut emissions by 90% by 2050 to make
way for aviation growth. Bio-fuels for cars and
planes seem top of the agenda. Excuse me, if that is
successful, where are we going to grow our food? We should
be investing massively in a new generation of greener aircraft, not
messing around with their fuel supply.

BRIT NEWS: Last week Gordon Brown apologised to Alan Turing, the
brilliant codebreaker and AI whizz who killed himself in the early
50s having been ordered to be chemically castrated after
convinction for a homosexual act. It is right that we
speak about this deplorable wrong, but it was
not Brown’s govt who did it, so why is HE
apologising? Does such sentiment
belittle the tragedy?

GREEN SCENE

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

Carry On Tuesday
Heads or Tails – ReadWritePoem

THE WAY

We’re told be green, this is the way,
Save the planet without delay;
Yes, this must be done – no doubt!
But we’re not the only sinners about;
Something else is going on,
Which seems to me a bit of a con,
Surely Big Biz should be doing the most,
But they’re very quiet, while we all roast

THE HOT WAR

Fiction: The letter sat before him. He wished he’d left it unopened –
guessed what it would contain. And next to it, the executive order
he’d so recently signed. He was a captain of industry – a CEO who
had risen high, and that flair for getting things done had been
inherited by his daughter. There’d been opposition to the plant in the
jungle – it would damage the local environment; add to climate
change; it was carcinogenic. He sneered at the latest report, propped
against a coffee mug on his desk. Why couldn’t people understand
that advancement has collateral damage?!! His daughter had been
there, gotten involved – in the protests (damn her!) – she got things
done, see. Became a … He read the letter again, written quickly –
painfully – from her death bed. Then he filed it away – with the order
to send the unit in.

MODERN LIVING

Sleep all day, conform to none,
Extend scofflaw, remedy gone,
She’s too hip, the multitude shout,
Life’s not worth pittance if limelight’s out,
Just a husk lost in clover,
A sugar plum fairy, confection all over

© Anthony North, September 2009