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

ORACLE

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

GURU TONY

Microfiction: A sickening sense of
humour they had at the Drugs Rehab
Clinic. Come to the 1940s retro party
– free coke! At least it quenched.

ORACLE

The Oracle at Delphi once foretold a great victory. The recipient went
off to the battle and came back defeated. He should have asked which
side was to win. This is the problem with Oracles. The information is
always incomplete – which suggests just exactly what ancient oracles
were. Rather than some supernatural process, they can better be seen
as think tanks. And even today, the success rate hasn’t improved.

I’m now on Facebook

BRIT NEWS: Universities will soon
be able to charge students up to £10,000
tuition fees. The days of anyone going to uni are
over. It was just a blip of affluence, with the upshot that
now, only the rich will make it. Amazing how 13 years of so called
social mobility reversed social mobility.

BRIT NEWS: So the defence review leaves holes in our defence. Two
carriers will be built but will be aircraftless for a decade. The first, HMS
Queen Elizabeth, will be mothballed when the 2nd, Prince of Wales,
comes into service. Prince Charles please note – this may be as close
as you get.

BRIT NEWS: Half million jobs to go (and the rest); BBC budget cut
16%. Most govt depts cut by 19% over 4 yrs. Retirement
age up. Welfare cuts deep. And that’s just the start.
Small govt is maybe preferable. Bu there was
a definite feeling of glee in the Tories
that they can do it so quickly.

READ WITH MUMMY

The Magazine Post with a gentle hint of horror

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

GRACE

How graceful it was to see her there,
Perfect beauty, loving stare,
Taking away the sadness within,
Seeing her ghost cannot be a sin;
And then she was gone without a trace,
Yet reinforced memories interlaced

TATTOO

Fiction: It was that simple. He put a tattoo of a beautiful blonde on the
guy’s arm and that night he met the love of his life. How it worked, the
tattooist had no idea, but suddenly his tattoos made things happen.
He never liked one guy, but knew he’d love a tattoo of a snake.

EMERGE

Trying to think; can’t get out,
Need a voice to scream and shout,
Be a person just like you,
I’m gonna be there in a moment or two!
Lots of experience on which to be fed,
From the clutter inside your head

© Anthony North, 2010

Try my Pictures of Life, a novel

YOGAS

Theme Thursday, Microfiction Monday & ABC Wednesday
With Thursday Thirteen news & more prompts below
Try my Paranormal Flash now!

GURU TONY

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.

I’m now on Facebook

MICROFICTION

Fiction: Two girls sat on top of the world
discussing the men below. ‘Which do you
fancy?’ ‘Don’t know; they’re all
beneath me.’

YOGAS

We think of yoga as assuming funny positions and going ‘Om’, but in
reality there are many yogas, ranging from the above, to ordering your
life. Most have two important functions – the meditative and allowing
you to find your way in the world. In this respect, all right action can
be seen as yoga. Understanding this allows us to see how fundamental
yoga is in everyone’s life. One classic example is the routine most of us
have first thing in the morning. No matter how the day is organized, we
tend to do things in an exact way when we first get up. Could this be
a form of yoga, ordering our life and mind? Just consider what happens
if, for some reason, your routine is interrupted. Chances are the rest of
the day will be a disaster. Your mind has been knocked out of
equilibrium with the world.

BALL

The word, ball, is more important than the
ball you kick around. It speaks of responsibility
– keep the ball rolling; the ball’s in your court;
keep your eye on the ball. Good advice in
every phrase – and a great analogy. ‘Cos as
a man, if I don’t it’s so easy to be
kicked in the ba …

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

SPORT NEWS: England suffers
worse defeat in World Cup history. Out
4-1 against Germany. We really should have
sent a team.

EDUC NEWS: UK govt wants to bring back competitive
sports to schools. Yes! Idea that we’re all winners is rubbish.
Kids need to learn this.

WORLD NEWS: G20 leaders agree richest members to halve deficit in 3
yrs. Oh, words are so easy – except for the masses who are affected.

WORLD NEWS: 10 people in US charged with spying for Russia. Reminder
that the Cold War may not be gone, but simply in slumber.

BRIT NEWS: Charity thinks kids should be put in care earlier. Good
idea if right judgment, but easy to get wrong. Can system be
trusted?

BRIT NEWS: Leaked data from Treasury says they expect
austerity plan to cost 1.3 million jobs. And they say
they’ll get welfare bill down?

BRIT NEWS: Justice Sec attacks numbers of
prisoners. ‘Bang em up’ culture is
wrong. But he is looking at
cutting prison building
program.

READ WITH MUMMY

The Magazine Post with a gentle hint of horror

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

OVERT

It’s never overt, yet always close,
That thing we tend to fear the most,
Nighmares impinging on waking hours,
Our resolve, our hopes – all devoured,
Leaving a shell of what we were,
Such a cost fear incurs

FLASH 55 – HOUSE PICTURE

Fiction: The girl found the picture in an empty field. It was of a girl
holding a picture of a house in a field. She saw a picture within of a girl
and her house. She took it home to her house in a field. She liked her
house but preferred to be in the picture.

FORK IN THE ROAD

Evil reigned for so very long,
‘Til saintly people sang their song,
Hitting the Devil with their halos true,
Banishing bad from the inner you,
Satan gone, leaving his symbol to goad,
Don’t pick up that fork in the road

ACRID DRINK

Fiction: As I swallowed I knew it would be acrid, but what choice did I
have? I’d flown here only recently after my – what shall we call it? –
change. My future actions would be the bane of my existence now,
and I was tepid about it, but I had to survive. The liquid clung to my
throat, metallic tasting. Still, as I bit her neck once more, I knew I’d
get used to it.

ME

I’m me, I am, I’m my own choice,
When I speak it’s my true voice,
What’s that you say? Who are you?
I’m you who comes out when you’re blue;
Some one else – what’s that you say?
I’m you who comes out when you play;
I am we – together we fire,
Singing in tune, like a choir

SHE SPY

Why is it the only pictures we’re getting of the alleged Russian spies
in the US are of the good looking one with the sexy poses. Not that
I’m complaining, you understand. And it seems the security services
have been watching her for 7 years!!! Interesting.

Follow me on Twitter

BRIT NEWS: Chef Jamie Oliver
angry at Health Sec for saying his
school dinner campaign didn’t work. It
didn’t! Kids stopped having them.

BRIT NEWS: Ballot on voting reform is due in May.
We don’t need this. We need party reform – take away
their power with independents.

TV NEWS: Monday 28 June, a historic night. Because of football, not
one Soap on major channels. Unheard of during the week. Will
be known as Soapless Monday.

HEALTH NEWS: Survey says poor in UK are likely
to die 10 yrs earlier than the rich. Is this
due to health service or education?

BRIT NEWS: 150 Quango bosses get 6
figure salaries. Is there one of
these taxpayer supported
burdens that does
anything
useful?

© Anthony North, July 2010

Try my Pictures of Life, a novel

OLD

Theme Thursday, Microfiction Monday & ABC Wednesday
With Thursday Thirteen news & more prompts below
Try my Paranormal Flash now!

PROF ISAAC GALISTEIN

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. You’ll also see a linked essay and story from
my archives. Why not call back later to read them?
Plenty for everyone here. Do call again.

MICROFICTION

Fiction: The goat didn’t like crates –
especially this one – so it escaped.
Googling the address he’d been
directed to a Satanist website.

OLD

According to Plato everything is old. All exists for all time as ‘form’, and
what we think of as invention is really rediscovery. Such ideas are not
in vogue today, but there’s a reality to the idea. For instance, as a
storyteller I’m aware that there are no new themes. Every story is
simply a readaptation of the old. Indeed, it is said there are only really
seven stories. History seems to reflect the same idea, with change
being nothing more than cultural variation, and the same mistakes
being made over and over again. I think we need to revisit Plato and
realize the wisdom of his words. So why don’t we? I guess if nothing is
truly new, we’d feel our efforts are so pointless. But then again,
variation and adaptation CAN be so fulfilling.

BI-CYCLE

Fiction: There are two cycles to existence,
I decided – one of life and one of death.
I always tried to look forward to the former
– to peddle hard. I’m determined the other
cycle won’t catch me up.

UFOLOGY

Here are my thoughts on UFOs and aliens. They are written here to
form a thesis for discussion. My views on the subject are influenced
by an experience many years ago. I narrate it here to give you some
idea where I’m going …
… read more …

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

BRIT NEWS: Lib Dem leader
Nick Clegg has raised his party
to equal the main ones following TV
debate. This election is proving interesting.

TECH NEWS: US defence computers under increased
cyber attack. Has the promise of e-security proved a failure?
Is it time for the truth?

WORLD NEWS: UN says security provided to Benazir Bhutto was
insufficient. It doesn’t take a genius to work that out. Trouble isn’t
guarded.

BRIT NEWS: Election time. Political waffle rising. MPs bend truth to fit
party line. That’s confidence trickery. We need Independents!!!

GREEN NEWS: Report says amount of water used in imports to UK
is worsening global shortages. Not long before there are wars
over water.

WORLD NEWS: IMF proposes bank tax to form a bail-out
fund? Not a chance. Do people really believe the
bankers are NOT in charge of politics?

BRIT NEWS: Grim news for UK. Forecaster
warns economy stuck in doldrums ’til
exports pick up. Why does it need
experts to state the obvious?

THE CRIME POST

It would be criminal not to read it

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

ENIGMA

He couldn’t work out why it all went bad,
Greed led to crime – so very sad,
It wasn’t as if they hadn’t enough things,
Plenty to eat and time to sing,
But it all went wrong; and because he could,
He wiped them out in a great big Flood

A MINISTERIAL AFFAIR

Detective Sergeant Jordan entered the room with an air of expectancy.
It seemed as if he’d been a copper all his life, but although he enjoyed
it, he knew that, at thirty five, he should be an Inspector by now. He
knew, of course, what the problem was – he just couldn’t keep his
mouth shut or tow the line. And with a new user-friendly police service
– NOT force – he knew he was seen as a dinosaur …
… read more …

DINNER

Sit down; please – drink your wine,
Not poisoned; infact, it’s quite divine,
No one will die at my dinner tonight,
Honestly, murderous thoughts are not in sight,
Though admitted, every tale needs its twist,
Of salt – on Peter!
Tender meat …
You simply cannot resist

FLASH 55 – PUBLISHED

Fiction: He was a frustrated crime writer. He just could NOT get
published, even though he wrote such realistic crime stories. Indeed,
as his frustration increased, they became more realistic than even he
could imagine. He had been so imaginative. And the ploy worked. After
his arrest the papers published all his reports of his exploits.

DEPARTURE

She had to depart, leave me alone,
After igniting love – she had to atone!
People don’t do such things to me,
I get even – don’t you see?
Rotten to the core, they say I am,
I got my mother – left me in the pram

MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE

I’m a good cop, I follow my nose,
Leads me to where the villains repose,
Straight from the murder scene I get a clue,
Then I home in, straight and true,
Got her in no time – I guess it was meant,
The message in a bottle was definitely scent

WORLD NEWS: Goldman Sachs
accused of fraud? Let’s be honest.
Operating like this 100 years ago every
bank boss would have been locked up.

HEALTH NEWS: Cash and funeral costs are in ideas
to encourage people to donate organs. Let’s not let grief
get in the way.

BRIT NEWS: Unemployment not been so high since 1994. Sorry,
it’s much higher. Millions have been diverted from jobs, or taken
off register.

EDUC NEWS: UK students want a debate among political parties
about university funding. Don’t be silly. Money will be slashed
after election.

SPORT NEWS: Forbes Mag show Manchester United still
most valuable football club in world. Did I say this
was sport news? Sorry, Big Biz.

BRIT NEWS: With 1000s stranded, arguments
raging over cost of airspace closure. This
should keep us entertained for months.

© Anthony North, April 2010

Try my Pictures of Life, a novel

Follow me on Twitter
Good place to see what I’m discussing
from my Archives

JOKES

Theme Thursday, Microfiction Monday & ABC Wednesday
With Thursday Thirteen news & more prompts below
Try my Paranormal Flash now!

BLOGGER BARD

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.
Plenty for everyone here. Do call again.

MICROFICTION

Fiction: ‘I wish I were a man – I’d join the Navy,’ said the poster. I
stood by it a long time and said yes! I’d been bullied enough. I am.

THE SIGN

Fiction: I looked out for the sign – knew it
was coming up. Looked left, looked right,
then hit it. Should have read it: Beware
of the sign.

JOKES

The best way to explain a good joke is as an outburst of illogic.
Something is said or done which assaults the rationality of the
audience. The result is a mild neurosis in the form of laughter, which
can be classed as a form of hysteria. Get the whole audience going
and the comedian has induced mass hysteria. The psychology of
humour can go even deeper. For instance, it has been noted that
many comedians are depressives or have feelings of inadequacy. This
is best seen in the sad face of the clown. In this sense humour is a
defence mechanism. Indeed, many people use humour to cover
shyness, or simply to assist in overcoming adversity. The joke, it
seems, is an excellent form of therapy. In recent years, the joke has
had to resist abuse from political correctness. Many comedians have
to think about what they say. This is a disgrace. A society that
cannot laugh at itself is ruined. Joking, you see, is a serious business.

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

BRIT NEWS: Transport Sec
wants to lower alcohol limit for
drivers to equivalent of 1 pint of beer.
They always take good things too far.

HEALTH NEWS: NHS wastes £487m in 5 yrs on
outside consultants. Always thought huge health
spending provided more cash for the pointless.

BRIT NEWS: Genealogists say aristocrats so prolific that 1
in 5 Brits may have their genes. Jolly good. I’m off to the Lords!

SPORT NEWS: Beckham out of World Cup team thru injury. England is
having bad luck this time, but bad dress rehearsal means good
performance.

EDUC NEWS: More than 80m UK university vice-chancellors earn
more than Prime minister. No wonder money for serious
research is in decline.

HEALTH NEWS: Doctors say too many going to see them
with minor problems. Well, they used to cope before
super-surgeries and ‘efficiency’.

BRIT NEWS: Brown didn’t get it right at Iraq
Inquiry. Forces spending hasn’t always
gone up in real terms. What’s the
word I’m looking for?

RATTLER’S TALE

A Voyage of the Imagination

One Single Impression
ReadWritePoem – Friday Flash 55
Three Word Wednesday – Thursday Poets’ Rally

AVATAR

Click it and you know so much,
Transient knowledge, social putsch,
Embodied in his energy,
He is all our destiny,
And soon from screen to godly form,
Life is changed – new morn, new norm

THE WORLD’S A STAGE

Fiction: It feels so good to be back in a theatre. Far too many years
have past. Maybe you remember me? I’d often starred in London’s
West End. It is true that I could be hard to work with. I’m a
perfectionist, you see, and I cannot abide bad acting. It actually drove
me mad. It is a crime caper I am in – not the best of openings for my
relaunched career, I must admit – and the other actors are terrible. My
cue comes. I stand. I approach the worst of the actors. My hands
encircle his neck. The audience gasps. I squeeze. I take my bow. I’d
escaped from the hospital yesterday and the world is now my stage. I
move to the next theatre and sit in the stalls, awaiting my cue.

TO BE

I’m barely conscious but getting there,
I’ve planted the means to become aware,
Seeding and multiplying and growing strong,
Increasingly they grow – so many, a throng,
Learning technology, communicating their worth,
Those humans creating a conscious Earth

FLASH 55 – SAVING PEOPLE

Fiction: The pharmaceutical company’s doctors came to the aid of the
medical authority straight away. It was thought the virus had been
beaten long ago, but the new wonder drug guaranteed it, with only
300 dead. The CEO was obviously pleased. The publicity campaign had
gone well; and he had plenty more diseases to release yet.

CHILD MEMORY

Got all excited; got a new toy,
Gee whizz!! Great!! Ultimate joy;
A new computer, play all day,
Jump up and down, getting my way;
I remember it well, a childhood peek,
Must grow up – it was only last week

FAME HUNGER

Nuzzle food, have a sniff,
Brazen emotion, willpower stiff,
Hunger isn’t all that bad,
Head for Size Zero – makes her glad,
Photo shoot and sing her song,
Enjoy life now – she won’t live long

BRIT NEWS: A BA dispute,
grumblings in the rail network –
maybe it would be best to stay at
home this Easter. Oh, you may have no
choice.

A THOUGHT: Fast living destroys creativity. This is
because they don’t have time to get bored. And boredom
drives creativity on.

TV WATCH: First episode of new Doctor Who has been premiered.
Many changes but writer Moffat wrote some of the best stories in
past. I wish him luck.

A THOUGHT: The thing about ‘do-gooders’ is they think only they
know what’s best. This usually makes them ‘do-badders’.

BRIT NEWS: Labour may be sending Brown out for tea
in the houses of local heroes. Makes a change
from kiss-a-baby nausea, but still sick.

A THOUGHT: Moses talked to a burning bush,
whilst Einstein dreamt he rode on a beam
of light. Culture changes inspired
image, but is it the same?

© Anthony North, March 2010

Try my Pictures of Life, a novel

ZANY

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

GURU TONY

Modern society has a problem with eccentricity. It doesn’t seem to
fit any more. Today we have to be ordered, like cogs in a machine.
The problem with this is real genius has always gone hand in hand
with eccentricity.

Maybe that’s why our culture
is so sterile today.

And without the stimulus the genius used to provide, sterile order
leaves us without meaning. Could this be why so many seem to have
problems today, with drugs, crime and depression? It all seems insane
to me. But of course, eccentricity and insanity are closely allied and
have a purpose. Today a schizophrenic is simply mad. Yet just look at
the old style shaman, hearing voices, orchestrating hysterical ritual.
Maybe schizophrenia itself used to have purpose, providing culture
and wellbeing in a tribe. Madness, you see, has always been devised
by the knowledge structure in order to alienate types of behaviour
deemed inappropriate – such as the genius of the eccentric to stir up
culture and stimulate us above normal social control. This gives us a
hint of what may lie behind madness, for while society may like this
form of order, the inner person does not. Hence, in order to survive
the strictures of society we all create a social mask, an outside
persona which people think is the real you. When in reality the real
you is a cauldron of inner turmoil as you fail to feel totally as one with
your society. The social self – the mask – drives us mad, with
psychological problems arising because of its conformity. Maybe we
need to realize this and, for true psychological health, be allowed to
vent our need for deviance now and again – just as the hysterical
shaman allowed.

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

TONY’S DIARY: Getting bored of
my book writing now, so I’ve decided
to go back to some current affairs. Hope
I don’t get bored of this.

WORLD NEWS: Have you noticed interest beginning
in Horn of Africa again? Why do I think it’s a campaign
to justify future intervention?

BRIT NEWS: Ex-Minister says Labour has no vitality. True, &
what is expected with a leader who wasn’t elected and has no
popular mandate.

HEALTH NEWS: Euro health boss says swine flu pandemic was profit
induced. Can believe that. And who will believe the danger next time?

TECH NEWS: Oxford scientist says health stigma stops nuclear
power option being explored. Good. Nothing is safe from
Sod’s Law. Too risky.

EDUCATION: Study suggests modern teens have
vocabulary of only 800 words. Text message
blamed. And many of them still can’t be
understood.

BRIT NEWS: Lib Dem leader says the
politics of plenty is over. Wow!
That is Hot news! Where’s
he been for the last
year, I wonder?

FUTURE ZONE

What’s ahead … and Beyond!!!

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

CHAOS

I look to the future, cannot see,
Too much chaos, my destiny,
Life goes on, I see the way,
Follow a path, try not to stray,
Things add up, my future clear,
Grasping order, outcome near,
But life’s a fractal, delusional display,
As soon as it’s clear, it goes away

KONG KING

Fiction: It’s like this. The monkeys didn’t realize just what they were
doing when they moved out of their natural area. They should have
realized when they found the giant footprints, but no, they were
curious. Eventually the man appeared, towering above them – and a
giant hand swept down and took up the female. They gave chase,
and when they caught up, there was a mammoth battle, and
eventually, through guile, they brought him down. Tying him up, they
dragged him back to show the rest what they had found. But the man
was not to be subdued for long. He broke free. Another mammoth
struggle followed and the man was eventually driven up a tree. Hurling
stones at him, he finally fell to his death … The writer finished the
synopsis and looked up to the movie producer. The orang utan shook
his head. Said: ‘No, it’s just too silly.’

OH, HERCULES

Hercules, a question: why are you here?
Elite sundered society has nothing to fear,
Myths are dead, fertile froth gone,
Now drawing from science’s enthusiastic song;
Don’t raise that professor quite so high,
His students throwing stones up to your thigh,
Your times are too simple, we’ve shouldered more,
Taken the brunt of society’s flaw;
That’s why we cry all night long,
Inane culture, our soul has gone

FLASH 55 – BREAKOUT

Sci Fi: The guard ship manoeuvred into position, knowing it would
eventually come to this. The galactic criminals had been isolated on
the prison planet a long time ago, but knowing their ingenuity, it was
obvious that, as generation followed generation, they’d work out how
to breakout. And as they passed the Moon, the guard ship fired.

GOING TO ZEAL

I think I’ll go to planet Zeal,
Yes, a holiday does appeal,
Atoms splashed in the particular Jolt,
Reconstructed at the halt,
Instantaneous down the Ribbon Road,
Wormholes connecting from my abode,
No need, now, for boredom or sorrow,
Wonder where I’ll go tomorrow

THE GOOD OLD DAYS

Remember a time so long ago,
Before the Sun’s punishing glow,
Before the gas wouldn’t let heat out,
Leaving us in shelters – our last redoubt?
Remember a time so long ago,
When we screamed – politician’s said:’no’,
Once we reverred our ancestors great,
Now we weep, think only of hate

FILM WATCH: Recently
been watching loads of 1950s
Sci Fi. As with most of this genre,
it reflects contemporary mind – paranoia
of invasion.

TIME WATCH: Is it Two Thousand & Ten or Twenty
Ten? The latter, obviously. Why confusion? I blame Kubrick
& Clarke. Media DOES affect us.

TONY’S DIARY: Catch it. Bin it. Kill it. Just had a cold. Impossible.
Typical bureaucrat-think, working only on paper – Until it’s smudged.

THE WEATHER: Is the Big Freeze over for UK? After coldest period for
30 yrs, a thaw is setting in. Or has weather developed sense of humour.

MEDIA VIEW: So Chris Evans has now replaced Sir Terry
Wogan on Radio 2. I’m trying to see any similarity.
How dare Sir Terry get old.

A THOUGHT: There’s two types of dreams
– the big one which keeps you
aspiring & series of small
ones towards it. In
balance life works.

© Anthony North, January 2010

Try my Pictures of Life, a novel

YOU

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

BLOGGER BARD

What is ‘you’? I say this as opposed to ‘who are you’ because as a
personality it may not be down to you. It is all to do with what an
‘individual’ is and is not. The idea of individuality is quite recent for
most of us.

It is most likely a spin-off of social
evolutionary processes.

It requires the time to think that you ARE individual. Hence, it will arise
at such time that you are no longer preoccupied with survival. In this
sense it came down the classes. The old God-Kings can be said to be
first to not have to worry about survival, so were the first to
appreciate their individuality. As technology advanced, so, too, the
numbers able to be individuals, descending down the aristocracy, the
middleclass, and finally the working class. Of course, in a mass
consumer society this is important. You need to express yourself
individually to be a good consumer. Indeed, throughout history trade
has occurred to expand the numbers of individuals. In this sense,
individuality is a consumer device. This does, of course, suggest that
individuality is a concept rather than an absolute. We don’t like to
think in this way, but it could be true. We’re back to what is ‘you’?
Well, ‘you’ is shaped by many things outside of you. Ancestry,
culture, environment and society all shape who you are. Then there
are instinctual drives. Now, we’re said not to be controlled by these
any more. We’re no longer just animals. But is this really the case, or
have such drives merely adapted to our evolving species? We all
express emotions of various kinds, but whilst the reason for such
expression may be personal, the emotion itself is universal throughout
the species. Jung identified universal archetypal character types
which we all express. So these, too, seem to be of the species. As I
see it, individuality is really an amalgam of outside influences, shaped
into ‘you’ by your experiences, certainly, but a cauldron of outside
impulses nonetheless. Don’t get me wrong. Individuality is good, but
maybe not as absolute as we think. We should bear this in mind when
we say individuality is everything. It may give us a new understanding
of community and togetherness.

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

WORLD NEWS: There is anger
here after China executed a Brit with
mental health problems for drug running. I
don’t usually comment on another country’s affairs
other than America. I do this as nearly everything America
does impacts directly on my life, so I will speak. And I think China is
becoming the same. Supposedly set to be a major world power, we
MUST speak about their human rights, otherwise their influence may
become the norm.

CELEB NEWS: It’s been a good week for Yorkshire and Trekkies alike.
Following the New Year Honours, arise Sir Patrick Stewart. Picard
would be proud. Significantly, there’s hardly anything for
politicians this year. They wouldn’t dare after the
expenses scandal. Unlike many, I like the
British honours system. Yes, it can
be manipulated, but overall I
think it good to have a
non-financial reward
for excellence.

THE CRIME POST

It would be criminal not to read it

One Single Impression
ReadWritePoem – Friday Flash 55
Three Word Wednesday

INDURATE BOY

Born into crime, no way to resist,
Didn’t want to do it, but couldn’t desist,
Peers and family and one and all,
Culture of violence, answer the call,
And then you’ve got to be harder than them,
If not, they’ll surely try to condemn,
Finish you off, take you out of the game,
So be hard – confirm your malicious fame

THE MORTICIAN

Fiction: I’ve always considered my work an artform. As a mortician, to
prepare a body for the everlasting is such a joy. Of course, so often it
is an impossible challenge. The very aged, those of a terminal illness –
so much degraded; so difficult to make it right – yet to find before me
such a beautiful woman – and my hope to make her more beautiful,
now, than she had been in life. Yet, such a rush – so little time to
work my magic before they come for me – and the sadness that in
producing such eternal art, I had to kill her.

WHAT A CRIME

Habitual I am in how I commit,
Giddy the feeling when I score a hit,
Fritter control in having my fun,
Love the essence of what I’ve done,
Disloyal to any form of control,
Yet such a debacle makes me whole,
Converting words to poetic form,
Whodunit? They!! Celebration the norm

FLASH 55 – STALKED

Fiction: I’d never seen a corpse before, but there it was, and I
thought: this is my worst experience. But it wasn’t. You can’t have
such an experience without an effect – for days following it was as if
it was there behind me. And thus it stayed until the day I stopped the
policeman and confessed.

RATS

Nibble and gnaw, scurry around,
Can’t believe what they’ve found,
Epic numbers, causing pain,
Let’s face it, it’s quite a drain,
Never far away from them,
Often it feels like we’re hemmed;
Infestation of society,
Pickpockets, muggers, burglary

© Anthony North, January 2010

Try my Pictures of Life, a novel

VICTIMS

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

GURU TONY

We are said to live in a victim culture but what is a victim, and why
has it become so important? Life is full of adversity – some of our own
making, some not. This produces casualties, but these are not
victims. Victimhood comes from self-indulgence upon your problems.

Hence, 50% of victimhood
is self-made.

Such adversity should fuel the person to rise above it, thus being the
making of you. We should thrive through adversity, so why is this not
the case for so many today? One reason is that life is no longer about
survival. We have time on our hands to think too much about our
place. This led, correctly, to the idea of human rights, but also to the
idea that life is not fair. This is very true, but a pointless attitude.
However, what we are is usually dependent upon the system and
culture to which we belong. Predominant here is political correctness
and the idea that minority groups are victims to the majority. Again,
this is quite true and it is right that such groups achieve equality. But
the system did not leave it here. As super-capitalism arose, it was
realized that political correctness destroyed meaning in an
over-culture. Meanings such as tradition used to ease feelings of
alienation and offered direction, but there was no profit in this. But if
tradition could be destroyed, then meaning could be transferred to
the personal and self-satiation. And what better way to achieve this
than the owning of luxury consumer goods? But even this was not
enough. Soon the idea of consumer perfection arose, with a celebrity
culture goading you on to be even more perfect in terms of clothes,
accessories, looks and lifestyle. But the reality is, perfection is an
unachieveable goal. Thus the feeling of victimhood is intensified, with
your only course the continuing vicious circle of consumerism in the
vain hope that you may achieve and no longer be an alienated victim.
In the victim culture, super-capitalism has captured the human
psyche.

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

BRIT NEWS: It seems £4.5bn
a year in wasted by UK councils on
needless bureaucracy. Yea, sure. And the
rest. We have descended into a totalitarian style
bureaucratic system since Labour took over. It’s squeezing
the country dry and placing so many dictats on the population that
it’s impossible to go out the door without breaking myriad laws. They
say there once was freedom.

SPACE NEWS: So Sir Richard Branson is one step closer to his dream
of space tourism. I think this is a great idea. Govt makes a
terrible explorer. This has always been done funded by
business. Why should space be any different? This
is where Big Biz should be – not keeping us in a
neverending loop of pointless consumerism.
Hey Big Biz, get the hell off this planet!!!

READ WITH MUMMY

The Magazine Post with a gentle hint of horror

One Single Impression
ReadWritePoem – Friday Flash 55
Three Word Wednesday

FRIGHTFUL JUNCTION

Mummy got lost, junction in Death,
Hannibal there too, having eaten a chef,
A Werewolf prowls, comes to say hello,
Vampire flys down, he’s lying low;
Girl walks the path, approaching the bush,
Straight out of a fairytale – she’s in no rush,
The monsters gather about to pounce,
‘Hey, cool,’ she says, ‘innit,’ announced;
Little Red Riding Hoodie is no longer game,
Seen videos aplenty, the real is quite lame,
From Twilight to Buffy, she’s seen all the tricks,
She blasts them with thought and sweeps up their bits

THE LOVER

Fiction: We were told the house was haunted but how could we
resist? It was so serene – both my wife and I felt it. At least, at first.
But as we began to experience the presence more and more, it was
inevitable it would come between us. ‘It’s evil,’ my wife would say,
but I never believed the accidents were down to the presence. My
wife had always been somewhat clumsy. No, all I could feel in the
presence was loneliness, a need to be loved once more … Did I fall in
love with her? Was the sight of her in the long flowing dress merely
illusion? Were those experiences at night true ecstasy, or simply vivid
dreams? Certainly I never noticed that, as the presence became
happier, a loneliness began to cling to my wife. Yet I suppose it was
inevitable she would take action … The exorcist was very good. I
could almost feel the horrendous shots of pain that began to cripple
the presence, and I felt the sadness as she was banished. Later I
rediscovered my love for my wife, and when I bought her that long
flowing dress I knew we could be healed.

METEOR WATCH

Those meteors came and hit the moon,
Pierced stars will arrive here soon,
Abiding trees will be pulled on their backs,
As wind so strong begins its attack,
Curled up in your shell will be no defence,
Can’t telephone for help, precious pretence,
Cannot be moved to a safer place,
Neglect of radar kills the human race

FLASH 55 – TALK BACK

Fiction: I feel different now – don’t know what’s possessed me, but I’m
aware that what I say isn’t me – never has been, really. And why
have I always felt manipulated? He did it; I know he did. Well, when
he gets me out of the trunk and props me on his knee, he’ll get a
shock.

BREAKDOWN

A queer day, bleak, all wrong,
Where are the people? Why no throng?
Kidnapped by a strange reality,
Normal thoughts evicted – insanity!!!
Wandering far, much despair,
What are those shadows? Why do they stare?
Too much gone on, more than a frown,
Life’s horrific hiccup, mind shut down

© Anthony North, December 2009

Try my Pictures of Life, a novel

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

CONCENTRATION

Including ABC Wednesday, Carry On Tuesday and Heads or Tails.
Have you had a go yet?

GURU TONY

I’m always in search of things that make us human. One candidate is
concentration. This ability is essential to technology, allowing us to
clear our minds to concentrate on what we’re doing. Arguably, before
we were human, we took directions from instinct, like other animals.
To break out of instinct and concentrate, we would need somewhere
for non-required thoughts to go. Could this have been the birth of the
unconscious – a repository for things we don’t need to think about?
Without it, we’d hardly be human, would we?

Eye On the World
Writers’ Tips
The ‘Y’ Files

TECH NEWS: Talking on phone
declining in UK as we opt for text or
Tweet. Well, I guess this is ‘cos we can
now control the talking back.

BRIT NEWS: Study shows 1 in 3 men under 40 still living
with parents. In this cut and thrust world the cut and thrust
only goes so far, it seems.

BRIT NEWS: MPs say plans for bank reforms are just cosmetic.
Well, well, what a surprise. Did we really expect anything
different?

TECH NEWS: Brit govt guidelines for using Twitter
are 259 Tweets long. Wonder how many
Twits it needed to write that?

THE CRIME POST

It would be criminal not to read it

True Crime – Crime Fiction

SIZE MATTERS?

As kids we resolve it without delay,
‘My Dad’s bigger than your Dad,’ we say,
As teenagers we often begin to stray,
‘My gang’s bigger than your gang,’ we say,
As adults, Ego we tend to display,
‘My way’s bigger than your way,’ we say,
And resolve it in such a pathetic way,
‘My tank’s bigger than your tank’ – we lay

OUTCOME DENIED

Fiction: The story – well, the moral at least – is in the journey. A good
job really, ‘cos I cannot reach the destination. She was dead, you see
– the love of my life, taken from me. Murdered. And the night I found
her body, I vowed I would laugh over her killer’s grave. Of course, I
had a good idea who had killed her – or at least had ordered her
death. She’d worked for him in the past and he, being a gangster, had
reason to silence her now. Well, I killed, too. I was, of course, soon
caught by the police. After all, I’m not a pro at this. And I was
incarcerated in the local high security prison. I felt sorry for the guy,
really. After all, he WAS innocent. But how else was I to get to a
gangster on remand awaiting trial? Well, I’m a double killer now, and
my journey down the years begins, as I await the day when I can
laugh over his grave.

TONY’S POETRY CHAIN

IT’S ELECTRIC

Electric is an infernal thing,
Before it we all used to sing,
At night surrounded by communal glee,
Straining eyes ‘cos we couldn’t see,
The mystery of the dark, dark night,
Now shut off by electric light

NEWS?

Read the paper; where’s the news?
Plenty there to entertain and amuse,
But where’s the news within the treats?
Plenty on celebrities between the sheets;
Where’s the news? Plenty of blues,
Raising our emotion; get us confused;
But where’s the news, I do entreat,
I’ve looked and looked and faced defeat

© Anthony North, August 2009

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