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

INNOCENCE

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

PROF ISAAC GALISTEIN

Microfiction: Sisters should never have
children, they thought. No matter how
fashionable aunties are, nephews
always think of them as retro.

INNOCENCE

Don’t we hate what the west is doing to the planet. We’d all be green
if we could. The reality is WE could never be green enough. It is the
system that must be green – in other words, commerce and industry.
Big Biz will play at green, but is not committed to it. Does this make us
innocent? Sadly, no. Big Biz only succeeds because we buy into it. If
we really said ‘no,’ things would change very quickly.

I’m now on Facebook

BRIT NEWS: Some 6 million Brits
have been hit by tax errors. They used
to say that computerisation would make things
easier. It seems to me there are more errors nowadays
than ever before. Is total computerisation in admin a good idea?

SCI NEWS: Stephen Hawking has finally discounted God. Big Bang was
inevitable due to the law of gravity through spontaneous creation. But
is this theory replacing God, or becoming God?

MEDIA NEWS: So an insignificant Pastor has placed his Koran
burning on hold. I should think so. I’m all for free speech,
which includes telling him what a vile idiot he is. But
a question: why do we know about it?

THE CRIME POST

It would be criminal not to read it

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

PASSING BY

A woman’s scream in the night,
Two drunks shout and have a fight,
Another purse snatched by the lout,
Painted girls – sex they tout,
It goes on no matter how we try,
All because we just pass by

FLASH 55 – THE ROAD

Fiction: My partner and I had decided upon a couple of days of
freedom. Maybe we’d watched too many road movies, but off we went.
We drove; partied; did things we shouldn’t; vandalism; burglary. Then
back to work, hoping we’d get away with it. It was a stroke of luck we
were put on the case.

REDWOOD

Wolves and thieves made you enter with dread,
So much violence turned the green wood red,
They’d had enough by the time they advanced,
Time, it was, for society to be enhanced,
So they looked on the past with a terrible frown,
And they went and chopped all the red woods down

© Anthony North, September 2010

Try my Pictures of Life, a novel

HALO

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

BLOGGER BARD

Microfiction: Little boat, big churning ocean.
Friendly but misunderstood. The sea always
tries to see people off with a wave.

HALO

We all have a symbolic halo, defining ourselves by our personal morality.
Once upon a time, morality was more exact, with clearly defined
standards of behaviour. It’s a good thing this is no longer the case, as
much of that morality was imposed by the powerful. But is the free-
for-all we have now any better? Instead of dictat, maybe we need
generally agreed guidelines – not mandatory, but just enough to stop
that halo slipping and tripping you up.

I’m now on Facebook

EDUC NEWS: As university
places become rare in UK, they’re
beginning to look at GCSE results when 16
to see who are the committed ones. This is a bad
step. What next? Assessment & advice before they’re off the
potty? The machine society requires tailor made cogs, I suppose.

MEDIA NEWS: BBC boss says Murdoch’s Sky is becoming dominant
force in Brit TV but isn’t investing. Very true, which outs the
disease of modern media. It is supposed to be the
spotlight on culture, but in working for profit
alone, the lack of culture takes away
our investment for the future.

RATTLER’S TALE

A Voyage of the Imagination

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

THE PASSING

Pass right by, gone in a flash,
No time to repeat, no rehash,
Life is like that, often a bitch,
We’re stuck with results, no magic switch,
So when we think of things passing by,
Remember they have outcomes, often sly,
And prepare yourself well ahead,
For happy results, instead of dread

FLASH 55 – NO SEX PLEASE

Fiction: He was addicted to sex, but as he got older it became a
burden. ‘You’re putting too much stress on your heart,’ his doctor
advised. ‘If you don’t stop this addiction, you’ll kill yourself.’ Well, he
fought his addiction – he really did try – but in the end … I suppose it
was a kind of suicide.

BREAKTHROUGH

Smash the wall, talk it out,
Found a treasure, no more doubt,
Fight a war, sue for peace,
Hopes for all conflict to cease,
Breakthroughs, though, can often vex,
Sorting a problem leads to the next

BRIT NEWS: Overseas aid will target
projects that assist national security, says
govt. Well, that’s it then. Assistance will forever
have an agenda. The worth of a life becomes dependent
on whether a Brit life is at risk or not. If you don’t threaten us,
don’t expect any help.

BRIT NEWS: Blair’s memoirs are out. Boozed too much; loved his
loo; wants us to SO understand why he went to war;
doesn’t apologise – for New Labour, or Gordon
Brown … read all about Dr FrankenBlair
and his Monster!!!

© Anthony North, September 2010

Try my Pictures of Life, a novel

GREED

Theme Thursday, Microfiction Monday & ABC Wednesday
With Thursday Thirteen & Magpie Tales
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

MAGPIE TALES

Fiction: Someone had definitely taken a
bite of my apple and I was determined to
find out who. Looking around, I couldn’t
see which man was missing, but one lady
definitely was. ‘Where’s Eve?’ I asked.

MICROFICTION

Fiction: ‘Do the fools who write road signs
have any idea of distance?’ asked the crow
as he flew by, depositing his contempt
on another one.

Here’s my son Richard’s latest Webshow

GREED

Greed is such an ugly thing, yet at the heart of modern capitalism is the
idea that success requires greed. This is not how it should have been.
Capitalism was conceived in more religious times, where it had a
natural counter balance with the idea of thrift. Abandon the opposite
in any society and it will inevitably go wrong – except, of course, Big
Biz doesn’t want balance to exist. Only through glorying greed can
they have consumers greedy enough to fuel the greed of the few at
the top of the Big Biz ladder. As I’ve said before, welcome to Serfdom.

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

BRIT NEWS: National Health
Service spent £300m on outside
consultants last year. Add the £65 billion
debt still hanging over us for new hospitals and its
obvious the last govt forgot a simple rule. It is prudent
to spend only what you need and save for a rainy day.

TRADE NEWS: eBay has doubled its traders as more and
more businesses open up through eCommerce. Let
it continue and let these small firms grow.
They, and green tech, are our best
hope of ridding the world of the
scourge of Big Biz. I’m fed
up of being a serf.

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
One Shot Wednesday

CHOICES

What nightmare shall I have tonight?
Will it haunt, or a vampire’s bite,
Plenty of gore, or supernatural delight,
Maybe magicians in a psychic fight …
What nightmare? There’s such a wealth;
Poe, I think, as I approach the shelf

FLASH 55 – BLOGGED

Fiction: After the blogger has gone it lies in cyberspace. The
abandoned blog is not pretty, the decay of spam degrading its
comments, the sense of what was hanging, hauntingly on the edge
of the net. Yet still it draws the search engine, possessing the
seeker, forever intertwined with the afterblog. Life after
death lives on.

IF ONLY

If Only had come all would have changed,
So much of life rearranged,
If Only had happened it would be glee,
I’d be master of my destiny,
If Only, the ghost of what could have been,
So much that I could have seen

PIXEL POWER

Fiction: Cameras confirmed ghosts – many a photo brought them to the
surface – but he’d never realized technology could be a form of
exorcism, too. ‘Light is dark and dark is light,’ he had been told. ‘They
appear on the negative and break into life through developing. So if
you could trap them in the darkness, they cannot manifest.’ So he
caught them with his digital camera, by passing the negative. How
many ghosts are in yours?

FAITH

He went with Faith into the pit of Hell,
Fire scorching, sulphuric smell,
Demons challenged, he tried to fight,
Faith dissolving, out of sight,
Conquering fear, Faith came back,
He knew she’d give him all he lacked

HEALTH NEWS: Insufficient exposure
to sunshine could add to many illnesses,
including MS and arthritis, says vitamin D study.
This is the kind of science I like. It agrees with common
sense. Does modern lifestyle & fear of skin cancer cause as much
harm as good?

BRIT NEWS: Prime Minister Cameron is a Dad again. He said he
wanted a Cornish middle name and they chose Endellion.
I’d have thought Pastie would be nice. But are we
really bothered? He’s a politician. Now I know
they have personality (?), but should
they be treated as celebrities?

© Anthony North, August 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
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ERRORS

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. Here’s hoping you enjoy your visit. Plenty
for everyone here so do call again next week.

I’m now on Facebook

MICROFICTION

Fiction: His armour no longer shone. The
Knight had creaked to a halt long ago.
He blamed the Greens. Banning oil had
sure stopped war.

ERRORS

What kind of world would it be if no one ever made a mistake? Well, it
would certainly be boring as no one would do anything. Errors are a
fact of life, and a good thing, too. Of course, once an error is made, it
is how we react to it that counts. The secret is to learn from it, and
make sure it is never repeated again. Don’t worry, we won’t run out of
things we can do wrong – there is an infinite variety. But it is a fact of
life that wise people usually begin as idiots.

BRUSH

Handy word, brush. Sweeps away the
rubbish; makes you look smart. Yet it
can also add to the rubbish and make
you a mess as you brush with life.

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

WORLD NEWS: US Iraq withdrawal
on schedule but 50,000 troops staying
for stability. Iraq is a fake country made by
Britain mixing Kurd, Sunni & Shi’ite areas. It’s only
ever been held together by tyranny. Those troops will
have to stay for ever.

GREEN NEWS: A 100 sq mile ice sheet has broken off a glacier
in Greenland. Just thought I’d mention it. The main media seems to
have forgotten about global warming. Does anyone in authority
remember it?

BRIT NEWS: House prices falling again. Researchers warn
jobs market will stall later in year as public sector
sheds workers. We’re far from out of it yet.
People forget the Depression lasted
10 yrs, and only ended with
world war.

THE CRIME POST

It would be criminal not to read it

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

PENSIVE

It happened! I know it shouldn’t have done,
Future police stamp it out with a gun,
Latest tech sniffs it out,
Always knows what you’re about,
So they raided me and I was caught,
All I did was have a thought

FLASH 55 – COPYCAT

Fiction: Finch complained bitterly. It wasn’t right for Jackson to murder
in the same way as him. Sarah and Jenn sympathised – after all, they
had both perfected their own form of murder, and successfully too.
They’d feel cheated by a copycat. After much deliberation Davies
made a decision and kicked Jackson out of the writing group.

INCEPTION

Beginning to learn how to case the joint,
Beginning my talents and getting the point,
Beginning to sense how to work people out,
Beginning not to get caught, no doubt,
Beginning to suss how to talk the talk,
Beginning to not hold Mom’s hand when I walk

VIEW

He always had the wrong view on life,
Had to be involved in so much strife,
I’m told his view has completely changed,
Bleak landscape and brickwork was arranged,
Hangs around now all the while,
Review in 10 years, don’t send a file

NATURAL LAW

He had to kill – he shouldn’t have been there,
But the victim was, and now he stared,
Deathly grimace seemed to watch his work,
Opened safe – guilt lurked;
Final phase, time to get out,
He was just a thief, not a murderous lout!
Raving mind, filled with dread,
Stumble on victim – crash!!! – he’s dead

BIZ NEWS: Our economic woes
seem to be good for some. As UK banks
begin to make profits again, mergers are creating
new super companies. If you think Big Biz was bad before,
just wait for the new empires to arise. Do you feel like a serf yet?

HEALTH NEWS: New antibiotic resistant superbug has now entered UK
hospitals. Will these new strains ever end? I doubt it – not until we
slow down on antibiotic use for general illness and in food. I often think
we’re pushing the evolution of these bugs ourselves.

SCI NEWS: Archaeologists find scrapped bones suggesting our
ancestors used sharp stone blades to butcher 3.4 million
years ago. Scientists are shocked, but maybe the
real shock is how science becomes too
absolute in their ideas without
enough evidence to
back them up.

© Anthony North, August 2010

Try my Pictures of Life, a novel

DANGER

Theme Thursday, Microfiction Monday & ABC Wednesday
With Thursday Thirteen items and a couple more
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. Here’s hoping you enjoy your visit. Plenty
for everyone here so do call again next week.

I’m now on Facebook

MICROFICTION

‘Hi Big A,’ said Ye Old York as he visited his
son. I don’t know, he thought, how
adolescents grow.

DANGER

There seems to be an unwritten law of the universe that the dangerous
is beautiful. From a fiery volcano to the stereotypical sultry brunette,
the law holds true. It is deep within our culture and psychology. But
why is this so? Is it that we love to court danger, and thus romanticize
it into its spectacular imagery? Or is it fundamental to our creativity? I
think it is. History outs the evidence – the most dangerous, most
violent nations in history were also the ones who gave us the most
beauty in the arts.

PALM

Palm trees are usually associated with
hot places. I live in Britain, where palm
trees are rare. Though we do have
lovely summers. It’s normally a
beautiful day.

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

BRIT NEWS: Ex-deputy Prime
Minister John Prescott tells Iraq
Inquiry that much of the intelligence
for war was tittle-tattle. Quite true. I suspect
most intelligence is tittle-tattle, and relies on intelligent
leaders to interpret it. And here lies the problem.

HEALTH NEWS: People won’t be forced to retire at 65 in UK. Soon
we’ll no doubt be expected to work to 70. Health evangelists
constantly bombard us with spoil sport advice. Many becoming media
hypochondriacs. Are we becoming slaves to our health?

BRIT NEWS: Survey shows one in 5 have sought counselling,
showing shift in attitudes towards therapy. Does it really?
Or does it show decline in family & friends, and their
ability to listen and help. Celebrity influence
excepted, of course.

RATTLER’S TALE

A Voyage of the Imagination

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

BEGINNING?

We need a beginning and then an end,
No, said the mystic, why do you offend?
The natural cycles go round and round,
Stopping and starting can only confound,
Get into the flow you western clown,
No end no beginning’s where peace is found

KISS, EVERYONE?

Fiction: They had argued. She’d run out. He’d followed. Caught her.
Spun her round. They gazed into each others eyes and kissed.
Immediately the CCTV cameras turned; people took out their mobile
phones. Pointed. Selection was quick. Thousands clicked on – went:
‘awww’. The media tycoons felt proud. Studio Earth was thriving …
Another scene … and another … and ….

SPELLBOUND

Their’s are there, they’re,
Can you see it, are you aware?
Don’t be astounded, I simply care,
Startling, even though I want to rebel,
Taboos and standards I want to fell,
But in the end it’s got to be sound,
We make no sense if not spell bound

HALF WAY

Just begun, long way to go,
Keep going, stamina I’ll show,
Half way, It’s got to be,
Do you get it, do you agree?
Nearly finished, feel divine,
That’s it! The last line

JOKEY TALK

I need some leverage in this argument,
Break their stance, make it spent,
Crack a joke – it always works,
Ridicule a remedy for so many quirks,
You see, the best debater is not necessarily right,
He just understands that words have might

WORLD NEWS: Another disaster
– this time floods in Pakistan. They
happen more often than wars, yet we can
spend trillions on men and equipment ready for
the battle, but hardly a penny on a dedicated world
organisation to react to disaster. What a disaster the human
race is at times.

HEALTH NEWS: FSA says meat from offspring of cloned cow has
entered UK food chain. Let’s not be diverted from real issue by saying
it’s bad for us. There’s unlikey to be danger in eating it. The danger is
in the depleting gene pool if it becomes the norm. Diversity is how
we and nature thrive.

WORLD NEWS: Many US billionaires to pledge half their money to
charity. Very nice of them. Though it reminds me of the mass
British philanthropy at the start of the Industrial Revolution.
Created loads of benevolent institutions to get the
poor accustomed to the big one – the factory.

© Anthony North, August 2010

Try my Pictures of Life, a novel

CONSENSUS

Theme Thursday, Microfiction Monday & ABC Wednesday
With Thursday Thirteen items & a couple more
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: The house was derelict.
Defenceless. ‘We always win in the end,’
said Eco 1. Ecosystems 2 to infinity
crept forward …

My son, Richard, has begun a regular
monthly show. Just over 8 mins long,
it’s funny. Take a look.
Arts Web Show

CONSENSUS

I gave up a search for truth long ago when I realized the only truth is
there isn’t one – which led me to search for why people think there is.
And what I noticed is that throughout history a constant flow of ideas
have been put forward. Most fade into obscurity, but the occasional
ones catch on. And when they do, a consensus arises. And before
long, all knowledge – indeed, all thinking – is placed within the confines
of the consensus. Even language bends to its restraints. If we realized
the process, maybe we’d learn to have more toleration for a consensus
that conflicts with ours. In this direction peace may lie.

BROWN

Brown is a difficult colour to write about.
We often think of soil as brown, which
gives it its importance. Brown represents
the foundation for the growth of food,
essential to the neverending cycles of
life, enriched when brown returns to the
earth … I warned you it was a difficult
colour to write about.

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

WORLD NEWS: Many European
banks fail health check, but UK banks
seem okay. This all comes down to the Euro,
I’m sure. To not have control of your own economy
in a crisis is insanity. The Euro was the product of the
stupidity of affluence.

CRIME NEWS: Brit prisons minister thinks rehabilitation should
involve meeting the victim. This worrying aspect is wrong. Crime
may be committed against the person, but the criminal faces the
State. I feel for victims, but emotion should be kept out of law.

WORLD NEWS: The leaking of 1000s of Pentagon documents
outs hypocrisy amongst the media as details of civilian
Afghan deaths are known. What do we expect? It
is war. It’s inevitable. Don’t blame the soldiers.
Blame the politicians who correctly went to
close down the terrorists, and ended
up trying to build empires.

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
One Shot Wednesday

CONNOISSEUR

Looking forward to the midnight feast,
With Dracula and Frankinstein and several deceased,
Plenty of red stuff there to drink,
Fleshy meat for our teeth to sink,
True connoisseurs are so very few,
Want to come!!!? Be the wine and stew?

FLASH 55 – HOUSEBREAKERS

Fiction: The house was crumbling fast. No one lived there any more. It
was a harrowing sight – a death. After all, the last resident had lost his
will to exist. And as he was one with the house, maybe it was his
death the house was suffering. For without the living the ghost must
surely fade.

FEARFUL JOURNEY

Travelling fast through the forest of fear,
I can feel my worst nightmares edging near,
Expectantly I wait for them to jump right out,
Any second now, I have no doubt,
Yet soon I was free – I’d gone right through,
Which is when the unexpected came out; said ‘Boo!’

SUCKERS

Fiction: It always happens in the dark. From the moment she was
awoken she was trapped in the mesmeric bond between the two. The
eyes stared into her very soul, and soon the jaws opened, clamped
shut! The drinking began, sucking ravenously. She felt the feebleness
as she began to be drained. She began to predict what course of
action she could take. And eventually, sated, she removed her baby
from her breast.

I’D LIKE TO THANK

I’d like to thank you sincerely,
For all that you have given to me,
Success couldn’t happen without you,
I trust and love you true,
Your wit, your wisdom, your everything,
Is the root of all that makes me zing,
This pact puts so much in my grasp,
Do my horns show in this looking glass?

CRIME NEWS: Brit police officer let
off by CPS over death of Ian Tomlinson
at G20 protest is to face disciplinary hearing.
When is the same going to happen to the police
tacticians. It is an offence in Britain to obstruct a law
abiding person. The police need to remember who they work for.

WORLD NEWS: US Senate hearing on Lockerbie postponed as key
Brits refuse to attend. Let’s not have any indignation here. The only
Americans entitled to be angry are relatives of those who died. The
US Senate needs to realise the UK is not a vassal but a dear
friend who is getting angry.

BRIT NEWS: David Cameron is going round the world upsetting
a lot of countries and aligning with others. India and Turkey
seem to be ‘in’. I’m sure that in gratitude they’ll sign
lots of business contracts. Then again, Britain
was wrong to shun such countries in
favour of the EU in the first place.

© Anthony North, August 2010

Try my Pictures of Life, a novel

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

ATHEISM

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. Here’s hoping you enjoy your visit. Plenty
for everyone here so do call again next week.

I’m now on Facebook

MICROFICTION

Edible wild flowers in cups and lobster
monster cream cakes were painted into
Picasso’s tea party. But who ate who?

ATHEISM

Atheism traditionally means a non-belief in gods, yet its growth in line
with science suggests another primary meaning. Science says we are
alone in a chaotic world, an individual against cold chaos. This is very
similar to the ideal of atheism, an individual with no concept higher.
Yet doesn’t the simple fact that the two concepts grew in unison
suggest this may not be the case? Maybe we are as one with culture,
a concept most definitely above the individual.

PARK

Park is such a crisp, abrupt word. Unusual
for the English language, it doesn’t fit. Think
of what it stands for – being still and inactive;
a place of tranquility. Quite krap really.

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

HEALTH NEWS: Local doctors
could be given responsibility for much
of Brit National Health Service. Good idea.
It will tailor service to where it’s needed.

BRIT NEWS: Deputy PM says coalition govt marks end
of tribal politics. I hope not. It would mean consensus politics.
This would be bad for debate and bad for laws.

BRIT NEWS: Lord Mandelson’s memoirs admit Labour feared defeat 6
months before it happened. So, they weren’t totally stupid. Wonder
how the Prince of Darkness will force himself on us now.

WORLD NEWS: BP ‘successfully installs’ new cap on leaking well. No
congratulations here. The whole oil industry is to be condemned for
never realising such a thing could happen.

BRIT NEWS: After fragile truce Church of England prepares for women
bishops. Will cause anger among world Anglicanism. Leadership of
national & world church needs to split.

WORLD NEWS: After 3rd attack on Brit troops by an Afghan soldier
they were training, people asking when will Afghan army be
ready for task. Easy. Never. When we leave there’ll be
another war.

BRIT NEWS: Following huge manhunt & stand-off in
which killer kills himself, Prime Minister criticises
Facebook for allowing ‘legend’ page to Like
him. It’s vile, but we have free speech
or we don’t.

THE CRIME POST

It would be criminal not to read it

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

ANGEL

Gabriel and Co, they fought crime,
First law and order from the Divine,
Always ready to zap the bad,
God fearing people were so glad,
Then the ultimate fiend did drop,
Lucifer – the very first bent cop

FLASH 55 – KIDNAP

Fiction: He soon realized his mistake in kidnapping her. The police were
soon on his trail – surrounded the building. It was then that all hell
broke loose. Surprised, he was soon blooded – handcuffed – in pain.
The police were tense, unsure what to do. ‘Let him go,’ they
demanded. ‘Not until I’ve made him suffer,’ she said.

REUNION

They all reacted to the reunion call,
LBDs, DJs – they had a ball,
Organisers happy; they did well,
Visiting all, feeling swell;
Partygoers left, happy, glad,
Reunited with homes, empty, sad

THE BAIT

Fiction: The Predator peered out of the shadows and saw Billy Goat.
Had no idea about baits – only saw victims. Hunter watched, every
nerve tingling; and as Predator was about to strike, he jumped. Later,
another mugger behind bars, DI Hunter said: ‘Nice one Bill.’ ‘Thanks,
guv,’ Said Detective Goat.

SOURCE

Crime had erupted on the housing estate,
Police were baffled, questioning with haste,
Usual suspects put on the spot,
Clear up rates were certainly shot,
The source had made the policeman a fool,
They should have looked in the infant school

BRIT NEWS: Researchers predict
ethnic minorities will make up 20%
of population by 2050. This is fine as
long as we dump political correctness and
accept minorities thrive best in an over-culture.

BRIT NEWS: Recession was officially the worst since the
Depression with 6 quarters of negative growth. And with the
cuts now ongoing, a double-dip is highly likely. Fasten the seat
belts, folks.

WORLD NEWS: Russian spy Anna Chapman had been thought to want to
settle in UK where she has citizenship. Not no more. Her Brit nationality
has been revoked. Well, she’ll have to become a ‘star’ elsewhere.

BRIT NEWS: Pro-market reforms in health service by giving power to
local doctors to buy services will open it up to privatisation.
There are good and bad points in this.

WORLD NEWS: Vatican decrees ordination of women priest
an ecclesiastical crime. This will be seen as clear snub
towards Church of England. Oh ladies! It’s Henry’s
wives all over again.

CRIME NEWS: British Crime Survey say police
records show 43% fall in crime since 1997.
Two reasons. Affluence causes a fall;
and many people too sceptical of
police to bother reporting it.

© Anthony North, July 2010

Try my Pictures of Life, a novel