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

NATIONHOOD

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

POLLY TICKS

Microfiction: As the builder bricked her
in, she realised she really should have
paid the bill – especially as his name
was Poe.

NATIONHOOD

Nationhood is often frowned upon today. After all, nations make war,
don’t they? Yes, if we think only of nation in terms of politics. But a
nation is more than this. It is also about culture – and it is often here
where the person finds meaning in life. Perhaps we should remember
this, for there’s an adage that if you don’t love yourself, you can’t
love others. I think this is also true of one’s culture.

I’m now on Facebook

BRIT NEWS: Human Rights
Commission finds inequalities in
British society. Of course it does. A fully
equal society is not possible. Everything we do
disadvantages someone. This is why we developed
compromise; an attempt to find balance. The only way to
be fully equal is for no one to do anything.

BRIT NEWS: The Guardian claims Met Police want to make it harder
for public to take legal action against officers. As officers of the law
they should understand the law, its safeguards and dangers. This kind
of attitude in our senior police chiefs makes me shudder and worry
about my freedom.

BRIT NEWS: GCHQ warn that critical services such as the
power grid and emergency services face threat of
cyber attack. This has always worried me. Is
our dependence on computers a matter
of putting too many eggs in one
basket? Should the machine
stop, so do we.

FUTURE ZONE

What’s ahead … and Beyond!!!

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

CHAMPION

He’s the champion of humanity,
Survived disaster, all decree,
While stellar wars and chaos raged,
He conquered it, unfazed;
Now he has all he can receive,
Except …
New Adam needs an Eve

FLASH 55 – HYPER

Fiction: The drive worked! It really did!! It took me right out of the
universe – allowed me to travel anywhere, instantaneously, and then
back in again. We had been freed from spacetime. And, man, what a
buzz! It was just soooo incredible! Fantastic! EXHILERATING!!!! And I
was so incredibly high …. No wonder they call it hyperspace.

UNLEASH

Nowhere and everywhere, interlaced,
Non-dimensional, not even space;
‘Twas a singular event when it sang,
It became a huge Big Bang!
Which set in motion a future that thinks,
Hurriedly before Heat Death sinks

© Anthony North, 2010

Try my Pictures of Life, a novel

JACK THE RIPPER

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

POLLY TICKS

Microfiction: Be free and walk in white
man’s shoes, they were told. He carried
the shoes, not knowing, yet, whether
freedom is what they had.

JACK THE RIPPER

Jack the Ripper killed at least 5 prostitutes around Whitechapel,
London, in 1888. Or did he? Forensics of the time said he did. Letters
sent said he did. But the reality is, forensics was in its infancy, and no
one letter gives detail of more than one murder. And prostitutes were
being killed all the time. As I see it, we have 5 separate murders, some
of the killers sending letters to put the police off the scent as fear of a
monster began to grow. Jack the Ripper never existed – he was simply
a brilliant example of media hype.

I’m now on Facebook

WORLD NEWS: Think tank says
threat from Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan
is exaggerated. It wasn’t at first, but it is
now. Any administration always has a need to
sensationalise a demon more than it should be. It helps
to keep people frightened and needing control.

HEALTH NEWS: Ofsted advises 1000s of pupils in England are
wrongly labelled as special needs. I often worry about the rise of
‘conditions’ nowadays. I don’t deny their reality, but in defining them
do we create much of the problem?

WORLD NEWS: As the pope visits the UK, a reflection. We hear a
lot about paedophile priests, but let’s remember the vast
majority of priests have done good work. But does
this extend to the Vatican? Apart from
patronage of art, I cannot think
of one good thing it has
done in history.

FUTURE ZONE

What’s ahead … and Beyond!!!

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

JOIE DE VIVRE

To feel the warmth through gentle breeze,
Radiant sun, how much you please,
I smile at life, joyful, renewed,
Such moments – perfect – thoughts imbued;
Emotion chips make androids thrive,
Pity humans no longer feel so alive

FLASH 55 – MONSTER VOYAGE

Sci Fi: They’d wondered about awareness on such a long space
voyage. Were they conscious in any meaningful way as the alien ship
came alongside? Clearly they all died as the monsters came aboard –
violently – setting off the alarms and bringing them out of suspended
animation. A fearful dream, they were ready as the ship came
alongside …

FISHERMAN

Plastic bags and oily sludge,
Killed all the fish in the sea, as such,
But there was a myth that there was one,
Still in tune with Earth’s natural song,
He sat in the boat for ever more,
Rod of tears, sunken jaw

FISHER OF …

Catch another from its land,
Resplendant light lends a hand,
Fishing for everything there is,
In this glorious universal fizz,
Mix to form a peaceful stew,
Join the alien abduction queue

© Anthony North, September 2010

Try my Pictures of Life, a novel

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.

I’m now on Facebook

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

Try my Pictures of Life, a novel
Follow me on Twitter

BOLSHY

Theme Thursday, Microfiction Monday & ABC Wednesday
With Thursday Thirteen items plus a couple more
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.

I’m now on Facebook

MICROFICTION

Fiction: She had dreamt of her child’s
future, her success, up among the stars.
But instead she got a celebrity.

BOLSHY

I’m fed up of hearing people say that all politicians in a Parliament
should work together. One reason people say this is they don’t get the
difference between a Parliament and a Government. A government runs
a country; a parliament decides law. Politicians in government should
work together, fair enough, but if all politicians in a parliament worked
together, there would never be such a thing as a debate. Hence, new
law wouldn’t have been tested and would be bad. Similarly, working
together would mean a continual form of government where nothing
ever changed and it would be totalitarian. I don’t want the politicians
to work together. I want them bolshy, angry; even at times extreme.
In that way a government is always challenged and our freedoms are
better preserved.

LIGHT

Light is comforting, reassuring. To see the
light is to have knowledge. In both instances
it defeats the dark – of ignorance and night.
Which is why it devastated storytelling. You
could always rely on a good old ghost story
to scare you before the electric light.

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

BRIT NEWS: New Army Chief
says forces shouldn’t prop up ailing
arms industry. Quite agree but relationship
has changed. Once industry provided for Army. Now
the other way round.

WORLD NEWS: Cameron warns Britain can no longer rely on ‘special
relationship’ with America. I think this is true. Whilst a bond will always
exist with the American people, recent administrations seem to think
they rule the world.

BRIT NEWS: Treasury and Ministry of Defence are in conflict over
Trident replacement. If we have to have one, shouldn’t it be
military choice? Far too expensive anyway. There are
cheaper alternatives.

BRIT NEWS: As French vote to ban burqa Brit
immigration minister says it would be un-
British to ban it here. Except for certain
security problems I totally agree, but
would he have said it if France
wasn’t banning it?

FUTURE ZONE

What’s ahead … and Beyond!!!

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

COCOON

Transformative period, makes you think,
Focus attention, never blink,
Soon it will burst upon reality,
May be good, or possible insanity,
This is how a universe grows,
As ideas burst and the thinker glows

FLASH 55 – AFTERPOWER

Sci fi: The old fossils had gone. Earth was recovering, reconnecting
with its consciousness, its afterlife. The living could be nothing without
it, used properly, as comfort instead of as power. They should have
realized when the first rig blew. They sucked deep into the planet spirit
and the afterlife spewed, enveloping the Earth, leaving it haunted.

TITLES

Man had colonised Sol’s dear orbs,
Air tight City Domes, all over daubed,
But who’d win the title for the best?
Which planet could really impress?
Mercuris would simply melt away, Venusians under a cloud they’d stay,
Martians, warlike? They turn to dust; Jupitans were all gas; no fuss,
Saturnine peacocks show off their rings, neptoos sink as they swim,
Plutans left out in the cold and sparse, Uranusans so much up their …
Well …
Earthers would win, you’d think, no doubt,
Shame they went and wiped themselves out

JUST ANOTHER NIGHT

Sci fi: The alien looked at the humans through her bug-like eyes. It was
a bright but cramped room, perfect for abduction, for experimentation,
for abuse. She’d done it before, herself – laid them on a similar table;
prodded. She held nothing but hatred for them. She should have known
one night they’d be waiting. And now the humans from the Alien
Abduction Self-Help Society prepared to insert the foetus …

THE LAST LETTER

The last letter seemed so ancient, yellow,
Scrawly script from talented fellow,
The finder wondered what it said,
Such words he had never been fed,
He wrote in bytes nowadays,
The last letter from another phase,
But at least he always got a reply,
Better than the last letter, denied

HEALTH NEWS: Flu jab could be
replaced by patch. As a commited
jabophobe, good idea. Replace them all.
As for blood tests, employ vampires to sneak
up on you while asleep.

BRIT NEWS: Culture Dept faces 50% cut. Inevitable this
one would be hit hard. After all, with so much rubbish around
today, it is just falling in line with culture.

WORLD NEWS: Media tycoon Conrad Black released on
bail pending case on a technicality. No better
proof that money buys law. I won’t say
justice, ‘cos they’re not the same.

© Anthony North, July 2010

Try my Pictures of Life, a novel

X FILES

Theme Thursday, Microfiction Monday & ABC Wednesday
With Thursday Thirteen news & more prompts below
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.

I’m now on Facebook

MICROFICTION

‘I’m so sorry,’ said the girl as the
mermaids gathered, ‘but this is my
Daddy’s canning ship.’

X-FILES

Most governments have them – reports of strange events ‘rational’
people would rather forget, dismissed as hallucination, fakery, etc.
Science ignores such events, certainly. But whether they are due to
‘real’ phenomena or not, there is something vital that government and
science forget. There is a need in so many of us for such mysteries.
They are part of our historical and psychological make-up. For the
establishment to ignore them is to discount a large part of what it is
to be human. Maybe they should move on a letter – to the ‘Y’ Files.

BLUE

Blue is such a negative colour. It can
be for sad, pornography, being cold.
Would make me see red if I wasn’t so
yellow. Oh dear, most colours appear
negative. We’re quite green about
this. If only there was a happy colour
I’d be in the pink.

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

EDUC NEWS: Over 700 groups
like idea of starting ‘free schools’ in
England, many made up of teachers. Is
this the new way for education?

BRIT NEWS: Cameron makes it clear the middleclass
will have to bear brunt of deficit cuts. Affluence swelled
their numbers, so quite right.

BRIT NEWS: 20% VAT, 2 yr public sector pay freeze, purge on
benefits – welcome to the austerity budget. Harsh but sensible.

BRIT NEWS: Deaths of Brit soldiers in Afghanistan reaches 300. A high
price to fight terrorism; a disgusting price for state building.

HEALTH NEWS: Health watchdog warns processed foods kill 1000s.
If so, don’t we have corporate manslaughter laws in the UK?

BRIT NEWS: Health Sec calls for NHS management costs to
be halved. All Britain awash with too much management.
Product of smug affluence.

WORLD NEWS: General who devised Afghan policy
sacked by Obama for his comments. Let’s
not let worries about image impede
getting job done.

FUTURE ZONE

What’s ahead … and Beyond!!!

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

ASTRO-ROADS

Galactic trade routes travel far,
Connecting planet, asteroid, star,
Juggernauts finally become the gods,
Powered by nuclear cooling rods,
Commerce doing what it’s always done,
Bringing us together after the gun

FLASH 55 – THE SOLUTION

Sci Fi: It was in the First Phase that it happened. Monsters reigned and
the Earthers were facing extinction. But the scientists came up with
the answer – or so they thought. They created the species specifically
for their violence, and soon the monsters were gone. But sadly, so,
too, were they. The Humans had an insatiable appetite.

IMAGINE

Large hadrons collide around the rods,
Forever in search of the meaning of gods;
What is this particle that created it all?
Mysterious enough to keep us enthralled;
Maybe it’s our capacity to think it out,
Imagination makes science, there can’t be doubt

FUTURES

Sci Fi: Danvers worked his way up the secretive Time Corporation quite
quickly. It was a career full of hassle, but he was determined to inject
his own ideas into the process. His family thought it a strange move as
he dreamt of wealth, yet his research position provided little. But even
they didn’t know that his work, alone, at night, had a hidden agenda.
He’d go back to the early 21st century, check the stock exchange,
then go back a week earlier and play the future’s market. Transferring
the amount to gold, he’d then return to his present time and deposit it,
his wealth increasing in kind. Yet it was inevitable he’d get greedy. Of
course, the markets blamed sub prime mortgages. After all, how could
they explain how so much credit seemed to disappear overnight? As for
Danvers, his greed got to him in another way. The initial idea for time
travel had just begun to form. Unfortunately, the economic climate
made it impossible for any company to take the project on, and the
idea was lost – leaving Danvers to never be born.

LIFE SWAP

Had enough of this life so cold,
How could I have been so bold,
To think that I could thrive in here,
A planet with little atmosphere,
Boring, boring – nothing to see,
Life swap in virtual reality

BRIT NEWS: Is UK on ‘road to ruin’
as Chancellor says? Wouldn’t say that,
but it’s certainly on road to economic change.

BRIT NEWS: Thinktank warns poor will suffer from ‘tough
but fair’ Budget. Of course they will. If rich taxed 100% it wouldn’t
be enough.

BRIT NEWS: Pension age to rise quicker than planned. This govt seems
to be hitting us with the nasty stuff early while we’re still reeling.

BRIT NEWS: Govt to ask public sector workers how to find savings.
Does anyone really believe this is more than publicity stunt?

BRIT NEWS: Poll shows Lib Dems ready to leave party in
protest at budget cuts. How long can this coalition
really stay in power?

BRIT NEWS: Researchers warn cutting welfare could
kill. Family used to support the needy but
that’s been degraded. We ARE a
welfare society.

© Anthony North, June 2010

Try my Pictures of Life, a novel
Follow me on Twitter

TOTALITARIANISM

Theme Thursday, Microfiction Monday & ABC Wednesday
With Thursday Thirteen news & more prompts below
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. 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.

I’m now on Facebook

MICROFICTION

Fiction: The magician promised new
green energy. But at what cost to
humans? There’s no such thing as a
free lunch – except to dragons.

TOTALITARIANISM

We like to think we live in a free world, but the dangers are more than
the jackboot. Sometimes lack of freedom can be subtle. Society, you
see, has two elements – the people and the system. The system
should be there to help the people, but all too often it can grow too
powerful and end up controlling the people, whether they realize it or
not. I guess it’s the natural course power will take in society. Society
seems to be hardwired towards totalitarianism.

WHITE

In the beginning there was white and
all was good but exactly the same, so
the universe said let there be all the
colours of the rainbow and there was
bad and joy and hate and love and …
I guess we need them all to see where
we’re going.

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

BRIT NEWS: Senior police warn
Home Sec’s plans are driven by dogma.
Oh dear. This from a force that imposed political
correctness commissars.

SPORT NEWS: Cut price tickets on sale for the World Cup
as audiences don’t reach what was hoped for. Never thought
Recession would hit this.

BRIT NEWS: Chancellor does blitz on central govt expenses & other
areas. That takes care of a tenth of the cuts to be made.

BRIT NEWS: Duchess of York apologises for trying to sell access to
Prince Andrew. Shame there was no guilt before trying to do it.

EDUC NEWS: Brit govt to allow best schools to have academy
status. Since Grammars scrapped they’ve been trying
to reappear. There’s a need.

HEALTH NEWS: Doc behind MMR controversy gets struck
off. This smells too much like revenge; or example
making? Don’t cross us, it says.

GREEN NEWS: Chemicals used to clean up Gulf
oil spill could be adding to eco-disaster.
We’re in a whole new world
after this.

FUTURE ZONE

What’s ahead … and Beyond!!!

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

ICARUS

The sun appeared in front of me,
Melting wings my destiny,
We’d progressed so much, reached so high,
Yet it all ends in weapons filling the sky,
And now I vapourise in nuclear heat,
Icarus warned us of the end we’d meet

FLASH 55 – ACTING STRAIGHT

Fiction: It was an intriguing enigma. Acting had become increasingly
mechanical for quite a while now, even though no one knew exactly
why. Until, that is, the Acne android factory was found deep below the
Hollywood Hills. Yet, even with the evidence, it was unclear when the
humans had stopped and the androids had taken over.

BLIND SIDE

Future scientists put on trial,
Caught in the act, no denial,
Took the Blind Side, got it wrong,
Specialisation shrouding Holism’s song;
In times past only killed a few,
But they had to act when the planet blew

THE NIMBLE ALIEN

Sci Fi: The locals said that the only people to get off the planet alive
had turned mad. Sentient beings just could not exist there. And
predictably, I was sent to investigate. Landing, I exited the ship and
immediately ran into a problem. The alien was stood there in front of
me. I tried to move round him but he was nimble. Indeed, everything
I did he seemed to do simultaneously, and he would not budge. Hence,
I turned round to get into the ship, but there he was, straight away.
Eventually I thought it through, turned round and walked backwards
into the ship. My theory was later proved. The air was full of
reflective crystals. It was distorted, but the alien I was fighting
was myself.

MANTRA …

Go left by the nova, just after black hole,
Get it wrong, it’ll swallow your soul,
This is the mantra every star pilot learns,
‘Cos from this part of space, no one returns;
Don’t go that way! You’ll get us all killed!!!
The fool! He’s done it! I feel quite chilled;
What is it!? It’s horrendous! It’s gonna go ZAP!!!
Anyone out there? Listen: It’s a huge man tra …

BRIT NEWS: Blair gets top venture
capital job. Fair enough, but was he ever
a socialist? If so, champagne socialism reaches
new heights.

WORLD NEWS: Tension steadily increasing between North
& South Korea. If it turns to real violence, has US enough troops
to reinforce?

EURO NEWS: Italy latest country to announce austerity measures. The
‘soft underbelly’ of Europe is causing real problems once more.

WORLD NEWS: Pentagon creates cyber squad to defend net from
militarisation. Inevitable. Beat the net and we lose control.

BRIT NEWS: Lib Dems want referendum on alternative
vote next May. That’s plenty of time for Tory
backbenchers to bury it.

CRIME NEWS: 40 Brit pensioners been fired
at or threatened with Tasers by police.
What happened to use only when
in serious danger?

© Anthony North, May 2010

Try my Pictures of Life, a novel

Follow me on Twitter

PROLETARIAT

Theme Thursday, Microfiction Monday & ABC Wednesday
With Thursday Thirteen news & more prompts below
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.

MICROFICTION

Fiction: Romans could be such dandies.
‘Love the shield,’ said one, jealously, to
the other. ‘Is it Prada?’

PROLETARIAT

The Proletariat is a lower social class. Marx saw them as being at the
bottom – those who owned nothing. His philosophy was based on
raising them into a classless society that owned everything. Of course,
Marx was naïve. He forgot that some will always gain, and cling to,
power. That’s why Capitalism beat Communism. But where’s the
Proletariat today? Modern capitalism wants everyone to own
something. But we forget some will always gain, and cling to, power.
That’s why Communism is now masquerading as Capitalism. We all own
everything as Marx wanted, but the power is still in the hands of the
few. And the mass who own a little are still, nonetheless, at the
bottom.

PINKS

They sat, thinking back, cigar smoke in
the air, affluence hidden behind well guarded
rooms, remembering the power, the minions.
For some, communism was so easily
watered down.

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

BRIT NEWS: Tory leader
cosies up to Lib Dems by suddenly
liking electoral reform. I think they really
think we don’t think they’re lying.

WORLD NEWS: UK Foreign Office apologises to Pope
after ‘document’ suggests he could launch Benedictine
condoms on visit. Ah, diplomacy.

BRIT NEWS: Recession did not cause a crimewave as crime hits
30 yr low. This bucks the trend. I wonder if it’s all in the reporting.

WORLD NEWS: G20 think global economy recovering faster than they
thought. Really? Greek economy about to collapse. Beware double dip.

BRIT NEWS: Defence think tank says reassessment of role needed. Oh
dear. Defence is simple. Prepare for everything. If you don’t, you fail.

BRIT NEWS: Institute of Fiscal Studies criticises parties for
not saying how deep cuts will have to be. We all
know they’re lying.

BRIT NEWS: Brown humiliated by brooding
‘bigoted woman’ remark on mic still
switched on. The real character
is outed. And it’s not nice.

FUTURE ZONE

What’s ahead … and Beyond!!!

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

WHO REIGNS?

They reign supreme on planet Earth’s soil,
So clever they don’t even toil,
They conquer the air and seas worldwide,
Surviving, thriving – don’t even confide;
We’re turned into puppets by these clever ones,
Agents of a higher intelligent song,
They’re marching on to bring life to the dead,
The chromosomes sending messages into our heads

FLASH 55 – THE GUN

Sci Fi: Father didn’t believe the boy when he told him he’d killed
someone with the gun. After all, the body had vapourised – and toy
ray guns simply didn’t work, did they? The toy alien grimaced. He had
survived the crash – been found by the boy. One day he’d free himself
from the sticky gum and escape.

EVENT HORIZON

Black Hole looms, sucks me in,
All time is one, my good, my sin,
I’m pushed and pulled as I go right through,
All the while thinking of you,
At the other side I see the light,
A baby’s cry, a mother’s delight

MURDEROUS ESCAPE

Sci Fi: The scene was so vibrant; I should have known. But those old
habits – they … came back. And afterwards, the corpse on the ground,
and that old feeling of delight that spurred me on. The poor guy had no
chance of escape. Then I corrected myself – felt revulsion. I pricked
my ears back – listened for the hum. It was then I realized I’d never
escape either. I wasn’t in the virtual reality conditioner any more. I’d
been released.

STOWAWAY

Starship passes – feel like a jump,
Had enough of this big old junk,
Down I go, falling fast,
Now I’m a stowaway on this planet, vast;
I’ll have lots of fun, feel my worth,
‘Cos I’m the Devil on planet Earth

BRIT NEWS: Labour promises
no cuts to National Health Service.
Poll says Labour not trusted to protect it.
We really distrust them.

WORLD NEWS: IMF warns Greek financial crisis could
spread across Euro Zone. I always thought the Euro was
a very bad idea.

BRIT NEWS: Collective wealth of UK’s rickest has risen 30%. Amazing
how a Recession can help certain people, isn’t it?

CRIME NEWS: UK nursing union wants injection rooms for heroin users
to help cut crime. Drugs must be illegal or not. Too much dithering.

BRIT NEWS: Banks criticised by Regulator for poor way they
deal with complaints. Big Biz always has contempt
for little customer.

BRIT NEWS: Brits have £55bn debt, says survey.
Now, if it’s a debt, it isn’t there. How can
we ‘have’ something that isn’t there?

© Anthony North, May 2010

Try my Pictures of Life, a novel

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

LAW

Theme Thursday, Microfiction Monday & ABC Wednesday
With Thursday Thirteen news & more prompts below
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.
Plenty for everyone here. Do call again.

MICROFICTION

Fiction: She dreamt of riding on a rabbit from an early age. I’m
practicing, she’d say. When I grow up I WILL get it into the boiler.

THE BOX

It’s just a box. That’s all it is – a boring,
innocuous box. Yet our existence is so
intrinsically connected. I’m just a staple.

LAW

The law has become too complicated. Indeed, I’d argue it is now
impossible not to break the law in some way. Further, it is no longer
Common Law, in that we are not all equal under the law. Here is my
attempt at creating a simple law and constitution. Do take a look if
you’ve got time. There will be mistakes, and it may need hundreds of
supplementary elements to make it work. But if they could be written
with similar brevity, what a sensible world we could live in.

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

BRIT NEWS: Labour target
Shadow Chancellor as ‘immature
and shrill’. Okay, he’s a toff. Funny how
class is being used still as a weapon.

WORLD NEWS: Pope under increasing fire over Catholic
paedophile scandals. Is this going to do severe damage to
the Church? Is it political?

TV WATCH: After decades The Bill to be scrapped as viewers fall.
If ITV hadn’t messed with a good formula it would still be ok.
Murdered!

WORLD NEWS: After more bombs in Moscow Putin vows to destroy
terrorists – bloodbath will follow bloodbath. Has to be a better way.

SCI NEWS: Large Hadron Collider about to step up operations
in search of the God particle. I hope they’ve banned
sandwiches this time.

BRIT NEWS: A compulsory levy to pay for adult
social care in England being proposed. We
already have one. National Insurance.
Put it up.

GREEN NEWS: James Lovelock blames
inertia for lack of action on climate.
No, its a definite policy of Big
Biz to guarantee profit.

FUTURE ZONE

What’s ahead … and Beyond!!!

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

VICARIOUSLY ME

Watch me – handsome – never looked so good,
Striding through life with confidence, exactly as I should,
No more do I worry about every little thing,
From now on joy is all that I will bring,
For this is definitely, indubitably, vicariously me,
Blemishes all gone in virtual reality

THE RELIGIONIST

Sci Fi: Religion had been banned long ago – the Atheist Constitution
had seen to that. And with the Tick Tock Administration, even the
thought of deviance from the factual had been buried. Indeed, the
Tick Tock Men produced a most reliable society, with everything in its
place, and never a stray thought. So it was with amazement that
they viewed the sudden appearance of the Religionist. He was a most
scruffy, long haired man with mania in his eyes. People quickly
gathered around him to hear what he said, many ending up LATE! The
Tick Tock Men tried everything to prize them from him, but after a
while they began to notice the device he carried with him. Finally
taking it from him, they decided it was some kind of hypnosis
machine, but when they opened it, they found it to be empty –
which left only one shocking conclusion. Religion was still in their
hearts.

MENTOR(N)

Throughout the past we’ve got it wrong,
Now, far future, we’ve got the bomb,
To end it all in a flash,
Leaving, in spacetime, a great big gash;
Do you press the button, let gravity suck?
Or learn! Pick up that history book

FLASH 55 – THE PERFECT WOMAN

Sci Fi: ‘It was a stunning achievement. Plastic surgery had merged
with cybernetics,’ said the historian. ‘The result was the perfect
woman. Wherever she went she caused passion – which drove the
men mad.’ ‘Why was that?’ asked the listener. The historian felt
pained – he was old enough to remember. ‘As soon as you tried sex,
she’d melt.’

IDENTITY

The space cop knew just who he was,
Identity assured just because,
He’d deviated all around the place,
Interstellar robber, quite a disgrace,
Saturated crimes, never alone,
Caught!
Then he goes after another clone

CRIME NEWS: Following jury
tampering, 4 armed robbers found
guilty by Judge without a jury. I can see
why, but a slippery slope for justice.

GREEN NEWS: MP’s inquiry criticises UK’s Climate
Research Unit for withholding info but say the science
remains intact. Good to hear.

BRIT NEWS: Blair back to help Labour in election. Tory leader’s
comment about being nice to see him give a speech he’s not paid
for is good.

BRIT NEWS: Tory leader wants to rejunenate society by recruitng
5000 community organisers. Good idea, if it’s done properly. A big if.

HEALTH NEWS: Concerns raised that celebrities outing their
souls in public is raising levels of depression as it
becomes ‘trendy’.

BRIT NEWS: Rail strike stopped by judge over
irregularities in ballot. Good! This union
is political. I thought this stopped
in the 80s.

© 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

HISTORY

Theme Thursday, Booking Through Thursday & 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.
Plenty for everyone here. Do call again.

HATS

You’ve got to take your hat off to Tim Burton for his Alice in
Wonderland. He won’t be going cap in hand any time soon. And as
for the Mad Hatter … well he’s … (mad?) … But maybe not too
different. Think of the Victorian gent and his top hat. As with much
headwear it’s to do with status and identity – as is the crown of a
king. But you’ve got to worry about the need to have a big hat to
look bigger than the rest. And what can we say about wearing half
a ton of gold on the head. Makes the Mad Hatter rather sane,
don’t you think?

HISTORY

In human terms advancement is an illusion. History may show a steady
advance, but I suspect this is only culture deep. We simply make the
same mistakes, only in new cultural or technological clothes. This is
due to our historic changes being too extreme. It becomes so
because of frustration. An existent society causes general frustration
in a population, eventually causing an outbreak, through philosophy,
of a new idea. The philosophers behind this worked out their new idea
through being more frustrated than most, thus making the idea
extreme. The warriors then grasp the idea and add a further level of
fanaticism and the result is violent revolution or war. Such cultural
catalysts show the errors of the dialectical approach to understanding
history. This approach led to both communism and fascism and argues
two opposing societies will inevitably rise and clash, and out of their
clash, a new, more perfect society will evolve from their synthesis.
This is rubbish. The clash and synthesis may well occur, but the result
is never more perfect. We appear stuck in a continual rut of repeating
cycles. This is due to all ‘systems’ within a society having an urge to
power. Even the present democratic systems are become power crazy
– all systems do. But this is how history works and we survive –
changing the system now and again before it gets too powerful. We
used to do this through war. I wonder if we’ve advanced enough yet
to try another way. As to that way, history seems to show a law of
opposites in that conflicting systems and societies seem to rise in
fanaticism equal to the fanaticism of the other. Hence, maybe the
way to break the cycle is for one side to realize that a reduction of
fanaticism in theirs will inevitably lead to a reduction in the opposite.
I seem to recall some fellow speaking about turning the other cheek.
Maybe we’ve known the answer a long time.

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

BRIT NEWS: Tory leader say
it’s his patriotic duty to eject Labour.
I agree. No govt has done more to trash
everything that is British.

WORLD NEWS: France & Germany don’t like the many
Brits in Brit led EU diplomatic team. Doesn’t matter. Foreign
policy by committee a farce.

BRIT NEWS: Parties scoring points on who funds them. We know.
Rich tycoons. A ruse so they don’t have to tell of policies that won’t
work.

BRIT NEWS: Tory lead in polls crumbles. A looming election focuses the
voters’ minds, and they realise not one major party speaks for them.

MEDIA NEWS: Uproar at BBC plan to axe Radio 6 Music as it
profiles new talent. Demand main stations do this
function as they should!

BRIT NEWS: TV debates for main party leaders.
Does this mean roving campaigning will
lessen? If so they’ll lose touch
even more.

BRIT NEWS: Michael Foot, the politician,
has died at 96. Disliked his ideas.
Couldn’t fault his honesty.
Not many like him left.

FUTURE ZONE

What’s ahead … and Beyond!!!

One Single Impression
ReadWritePoem – Friday Flash 55
Heads or Tails – Three Word Wednesday
Sunday Scribblings – Thursday Poets’ Rally

MURMUR

Can you hear the sound? A murmur breaks,
Barely audible – through space it snakes,
Round planets and stars and into the dark,
Bringing light of knowledge; such a lark;
It’s the murmur of man in the space he belongs,
Satisfying curiosity, singing his song

DAY OF THE ALIEN

Sci Fi: The alien had been on Earth for only a short time when he
understood. At first, of course, he hadn’t. He looked on the primary
species – the Human – as a thug. How could he do all this to his
planet? he wondered. But then he thought of his own species’ dark
past – the myths of the First Ones who settled there, not
understanding the umbilical cord of planet to species. They had come
close to planetary destruction – until the planet had worked on their
genes, slowly but surely producing a species as one with it. Finally,
his ancestors had banished the First Ones, their destination lost to
history. And the alien turned to the Human. ‘Hello brother,’ he said.

CREATING MISCHIEF

All is beautiful when I think of you,
Watching the video does imbue,
Feelings of love of what I created,
Only to realise I was never sated,
So inevitably I had to wipe you all out,
A whole species following without any doubts,
Sometimes it’s hard being an omnipotent being,
Or a whizz kid playing in front of the screen

FLASH 55 – DESIRE

Sci Fi: I desire it so much. I’m trapped in a time loop, my conscious
knowledge ten seconds ahead of my actions. I desire it more than I’ve
ever desired anything before. Yet, the pain is crippling. But now,
knowing how unbearable the pain will be, I desire it so much – in the
time loop – for eternity.

THE PHOTOGRAPH

The telescope took it, cosmic past,
Showing eons ago, just after the blast,
Suns exploding, releasing life,
Initial stardust of my wife,
Showing destined thread from then to now,
As star and life we’re one, let’s bow

MODIFIED MAN

Bronze Age sword conquered all,
Iron split bronze, spectacular fall;
Cavalry charge, chevalier grace,
Tank wiped them out – increased pace;
Atom bomb, stark destiny,
Man is getting where he wants to be;
Forever wanting to modify,
Obedient to his will to try;
Now in space, invisibility veil,
Unbeatable gods! Morals fail

THAT BOOK

I’ll tell you a tale of years from now,
Everything changed – this is how,
A book appeared and totally enthralled,
Romance, it was – that was all,
But nothing could ever be the same,
An android that wrote; felt love and pain?

SCI NEWS: Dinosaurs WERE killed
by asteroid says panel of 41 experts.
Interesting how this confirmation comes
as warming being blamed.

SPORT NEWS: England soccer manager says recent
player scandals are ‘cos paid too much. It’s no longer sport
but a Big Biz media cult.

CRIME NEWS: Number of child criminals up 13% in UK under Labour.
Give kids more rights & they’ll have more grievances. It was inevitable.

BRIT NEWS: It seems prices of food and fuel are rising in Britain
as they come down in others. Greed of Big Biz is rampant
here now.

SCI NEWS: Stephen Hawking may leave UK as govt cuts
university money. It’s the pointless degrees should
go, allowing more for science.

BRIT NEWS: Brown has been to the Iraq Inquiry.
Right to go to war & troops properly funded.
Is he going into comedy when he’s
kicked out?

© Anthony North, March 2010

Try my Pictures of Life, a novel