TIME FOR A BREAK

Over the last month I’ve felt the need to take a break from blogging and feel I must now do so. How long it will be, I don’t know. If people want to keep in touch, I’m still active on Facebook and Twitter and would love to see you. I’ve been blogging now for four years, with 1,100 posts, 27,000 comments and 660,000 hits and have thoroughly enjoyed it.
Any new visitors may still enjoy my Magazine Posts below and the hundreds of stories, essays and poems linked from my sub-domains on the strip above. To my faithful readers, I need more time to concentrate on my book writing, but believe me I have enjoyed the journey with you here on Beyond the Blog. Thank you, and in time honoured fashion, I leave, for now, with some flash fiction.

THE JESUS CODE

Fiction: He stood in the chamber. He’d cracked many codes; dug many
a site to get there. Now he held the Holy Grail. Was it the famed
chalice or the blood of Christ? He scraped out the dried blood of the
spear wound. It had been both. And the geneticists were ready for the
Second Coming.

A FATHER’S SON

Fiction: He’d come to terms with his father being a murderer. It had
taken time. So much abandonment as his father went on the run,
evading police. For many years he’d searched, trying to come to terms
with his loathing. But now, as he looked upon his father’s body, he put
down the gun and cried.

ONE MIDSUMMER

He would sit on midsummer nights and dream, three witches close by.
He had been told of his family’s past; of the blind uncle; of the
conspiracies and murders; of the loves and tragedies. He himself had
only been born as his parents were revived after their suicide attempt.
Young Will knew he had many a tale to tell.

3 GHOSTS + 1

He sat by the hearth listening to the chimes. The first ghost appeared
telling of so much affluence and goodwill lost. The second ghost told of
poverty, sickness and squalor. With the third he learnt of future
darkness, despair – destruction of his world. But still!! ‘Bah, humbug,’
said the banker. And now … the poltergeist comes …

NANO-NO

Horror: They went ahead, despite the warnings. Nano tech was to be
the new tech, and that was that. The lab did a good job in
development but never considered the probes could become lonely …
congregate … grasp consciousness. Soon all they needed were hosts.
Now they were banging on the doors. They really shouldn’t have built
the lab by a graveyard.

© Anthony North, 2010

SOLITUDE

Microfiction Monday, ABC Wednesday, more prompts below
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GURU TONY

Microfiction: As the deer’s head was
mounted on the wall he knew he didn’t
need to fear the horrors in life. Just
the horror writer.

SOLITUDE

Solitude is a strange place. It can be good or bad; desired or imposed.
If bad or imposed, it is a terrible place, yet if good or desired it is a
place where you can know yourself. Yet are you ever alone in solitude?
Clearly we are cut off from the frenzy of society, but alone with
yourself, you can be opened up to the vibes below what we
experience. If a bad place, this can release your demons, but if a good
place, you can be as one with everything. Desired solitude is anything
but lonely.

I’m now on Facebook

BRIT NEWS: The Coalition is about
to start officially measuring happiness in
Britain – this from a govt who no one voted for!
It may seem a good idea, but beware – as utilitarianism
showed, put 4 strangers in a boat with food for 3, happiness is
increased by throwing one overboard.

BRIT NEWS: Following Druidism gaining official status, a handbook
has been produced for the Metropolitan Police advising how
to respect the rights of other pagans. I think this is
good but some pagans are suspicious of this.
The way they’ve been treated,
I don’t blame them.

READ WITH MUMMY

The Magazine Post with a gentle hint of horror

One Single Impression
Friday Flash 55 – Writer’s Island
One Shot Wednesday

APPRENTICE

Boo!!!! … Look, why won’t you scream?
This isn’t some kind of silly dream,
You’re awake and I’m a ghost,
I’m not supposed to be scared the most!
Oh well … I guess it’s just a learning curve,
New to this game – I’ll find the nerve

FLASH 55 – FIRST NIGHT

Fiction: The boy sat atop the grave in the dark and was frightened. It
was a new experience but he knew he couldn’t see his mommy any
more. Suddenly an adult appeared, and another. They took his hand. It
was his first night as a ghost, but the others comforted. He’d find
peace in the afterlife.

PEERLESS

All alone, the killing done,
A Devil had been behind that gun,
Only souls exist there now,
The killer taking his final bow,
Peerless, yes, but not for long,
Driven mad by their vengeful song

© Anthony North, 2010

Try my Pictures of Life, a novel

REFERENDUM

Microfiction Monday, ABC Wednesday, more prompts below
Try my Paranormal Flash now!

POLLY TICKS

Microfiction: The movie got it wrong.
We needed 7 to beat the bandits.
They sent one. Magnificent! Well, if
it’s worth doing, do it yourself.

REFERENDUM

I dislike referendums. The idea of giving everyone a vote on an issue is
a form of direct democracy. France tried a variation of it once,
resulting in the Terror and Napoleon. Further, the majority always get
its way, thus removing minority rights. The best, though still imperfect,
form of democracy is representative, where we elect Parliamentarians
to decide for us. However, every ‘rule’ has exceptions, such as
constitutional changes. These should be decided by referendum, and
to deny them is undemocratic. A case in point is the referendum in the
UK in the early 70s regarding joining a European Economic Community.
We voted yes, and since then it has extended to the political, with
large slices of sovereignty transferred to Europe without referendum.
In this sense, every UK government since the late 70s has been
undemocratic.

I’m now on Facebook

BRIT NEWS: So Britain signs defence
treaty with France, sharing nuclear research,
aircraft carriers, support and joint task force – or
should that be farce? An obvious cost cutting exercise,
just wait until support services are so intertwined that one can
veto any action by the other.

WORLD NEWS: Waterboarding is not torture and saved Brit lives,
says Bush. He says his job was to save lives. No, more
than that. It is to uphold standards of civilisation
and decency, too. He forgot that. No
wonder, after his Presidency,
the world was bushed.

FUTURE ZONE

What’s ahead … and Beyond!!!

One Single Impression
Friday Flash 55 – Writer’s Island
One Shot Wednesday

ECHOES

To feel the pains of my birth,
Every experience on planet Earth,
Experience old age whilst still young,
Remember things yet unsung;
It’s good to be trapped in my time,
Echoes of all just do not chime

FLASH 55 – KILL TIME

Fiction: They’d done it! They’d worked out how to send people back in
time. But no sooner had someone gone back than they reappeared
dead. Or rather, murdered – shot, knifed, strangled – you name it.
They suspected another organization, going back to kill them. They
never figured on a temporal ban – that time orchestrated their murder
itself.

QUANDARY

In a quandary – which route to take,
Starship captain must be a fake,
Negotiating star systems is maybe fun,
But galactic navigation is certainly no pun,
And now he’s lost, in a black hole he sinks,
His Universal Positioning System is on the blink

© Anthony North, 2010

Try my Pictures of Life, a novel

QUESTIONS

Microfiction Monday, ABC Wednesday, more prompts below
Try my Paranormal Flash now!

PROF ISAAC GALISTEIN

Microfiction: As she looks to the future,
the path of life seems so daunting. Yet
though the world stays the same, the
child grows to meet it.

QUESTIONS

Our knowledge is based upon the answers we get from our enquiries. At
least, this is what we think. Of course, what we class as knowledge is
dictated by those in charge of our knowledge structure, for who ever
controls our knowledge defines our society and the way we think. And
the best way to retain such control is to make sure they only ask the
questions they want – for it is the question itself which defines the
answer.

I’m now on Facebook

BRIT NEWS: According to a study
the internet now makes up 7% of the UK’s
income. The financial sector is 9%. When we think
of the fortune given to the banks, and the Recession that
followed, maybe we should realise they are not quite as important
as we’re made to believe.

HEALTH NEWS: Expert says alcohol is as dangerous as heroin. No. We
have more of a choice with alcohol, so abuse is more down to
the person than the substance. But this idea is following
a trend of the new bad. Alcohol use is tied to male
bonding, which expresses the local. This is
counter to globalisation, so has
to be bad.

THE CRIME POST

It would be criminal not to read it

One Single Impression
Friday Flash 55 – Writer’s Island
One Shot Wednesday

PAUSE

Darkest night, shadows rule,
No time, now, to act the fool,
See him coming, keep very still,
Silent pause before the kill,
Loot in hand, quite a pest,
Now you pounce! Another arrest

FLASH 55 – THE PC PC

Fiction: The politically correct police constable made great inroads into
fighting crime in town. It began with murder. Arresting the perpetrator,
he realized what a deep psychological effect it had had on him. So
disturbed, how could he be prosecuted? And what of other ‘crimes’?
Soon the town prison was empty, the town renamed an asylum.

ADVENTURE

This is the ballad of Gayle and Fred,
Everyone remembers them with dread,
A great adventure they went on one day,
Three shops robbed, two people to slay,
They really thought they could not fail,
But Fred’s now dead and Gayle’s in jail

© Anthony North, 2010

Try my Pictures of Life, a novel