Goats! Sex! and…… Builders!
An unusual blog title borrowed from a blogosphere pal Alienora Taylor. She is a pretty amazing writer and an avid (possibly addicted) blogger. She writes about her life with a brutal frankness and a bawdy sense of humor that can and does have you literally ROFLing…. (Roll on floor laughing for anyone who doesn’t know). How this lady isn’t a household name as a writer is beyond me as she has a golden pen and a viciously twisted and maliciously funny way of seeing things……So what about the Goats and Sex and those Builders? Well, for just a couple more days, you can download her hilarious novel Long Leggety Beasties for FREE! Go on, download the bugger. You will laugh until you cry and find out what the Goats, Sex
Read More »The New Religion
Who was it that said ‘if you lie often enough people will believe you?’ Apparently, John Kerry and Prince Charles subscribe to this tenet. Both have resorted to calling ‘climate change deniers’ a whole lot of very nasty names recently. Shame on them for continuing to propagate this nonsense and even more shame of them for denying freedom of speech or a differing opinion. Nether are fit to hold the office that they hold. For Charles he has an excuse as he was born into the role, Kerry, well, he is a politician aka a scumbag. I don’t think either of them have a single qualification that enables them to have an opinion on the matter. Neither have any expertise on the topic. They simply both seem to worship at
Read More »An Excerpt from The Last Observer
Edward looked into Stan’s face. There was expectancy about the look he gave Stan. “I am sure that you have many questions Stanley but take your time. I have as long as we need.” Somehow, Stan didn’t like this feeling that he had around Edward sometimes. It was a feeling that Edward was entirely in control and knew exactly how Stanley felt. “Well,” he began, “I have been doing some research along the lines that you had suggested.” He paused to think. “And, I have reviewed the files that you left with me as well.” Stanley could feel Edwards gaze. “What do you mean by the term observer?” he asked. “Well, an observer is someone who has the power to create reality,” replied Edward. “But, everyone creates their own reality
Read More »Learning to Ski After Age 50
Learning to ski later in life is an experience. Just getting the ski boots on is an almighty struggle and by the time those boots are on, I am exhausted. Then off you tromp as best you can with immoveable ankles and carting what seems to be two tons of skis over the shoulder. All around others from the age of three all the way to pension age move with effortless ease while you feel like an elephant on ice. Next, you carefully put on the skis. A balancing act in of itself as the damn things slip and slide making you look like something out of a cartoon whose legs are whirling frantically but there is no forward progress. Now, with huge attachments to your legs making it nigh
Read More »The Topless Skier
I think politicians are the scum of the earth. I have made this statement before and I will say it again. They are usually hypocrites, liars, cheats and eminently buyable. They use politics to polarize opinion, cause disruptions and sometimes war. Politicians work endlessly and tirelessly to find ways to be divisive. By being divisive, they gain a following and cynically they hope that the issues they divide us on are popular enough to give them a majority. I think the best strategy is to ignore them and certainly never to vote. The topless skier from The Lebanon emphasizes my point today. Here we have a country polarized by religion (another crock of polarizing crap) and politics with seemingly endless violence (just as the politicians and religious zealots like it).
Read More »The Anatomy of a Bad Review
If you take a look over on Amazon.com at the reviews for The Last Observer, you will discover a couple of 1-star reviews there. I’m not sure if these two people know each other but they sound remarkably similar. There is nothing wrong with bad reviews. We don’t all like the same things and constructive bad reviews are useful in growing as a writer or whatever it is we do. In fact, go to any book on Amazon with several reviews and you will find a range of reviews from bad to great. I was just reading Anthony Peake discussing a bad review he got for one of his books too. Sometimes, people are not just critical but personal and its then that I feel things cross the line to
Read More »Trial by Social Media
There used to be a time when family matters were kept private. Perhaps that wasn’t a healthy attitude – sweeping things under the carpet and keeping it within the family but there were and still are appropriate channels via which people can get assistance and make complaints. Of course, there has always been gossip and gossip newspaper and magazines but by and large, people chose whether they wished to consume this type of frivolous nonsense by actually buying the magazine. Mainstream media, wary of legal action or a slap on the wrist from regulators, also (usually) maintained some element of restraint. Like many things, social media and the internet has changed all of that. Today, we see various ways in which accusations may be made, sides taken and people’s reputations
Read More »People….
You have to wonder sometimes exactly how people think. We own (well the bank does actually but that’s by the by) an apartment in Brno. We will be moving back there in a couple of months. It’s the ground floor flat in a four story building meaning that we have three neighbors above us. Various services are shared between the tenants and accounted for at the end of each year such as common power, water and a cleaning. Really, the building is a microcosm of the world I should think. It’s like a bloody soap opera as well. The people who live at the top of our nice building seem to believe that the common funds are there to pay for their improvements. In the hallway outside of our front
Read More »London and the Brits – Observations
I had a quick trip to London this week and I have decided that London is almost unrecognizable to me these days. So much development work and a real shift in eating habits over the last 20-years means that I really am lost there. I started my career as a Geologist with BP and after moving down from Aberdeen and a spell at the BP Research Center, I was moved to Britannic House – the tower block on the edge of the City of London. Being in the City, I retraced my steps from the Bank tube station as I would have walked to work some 20+ years ago and not only did I recognize very little but I couldn’t find Britannic House at all! I came home thinking it
Read More »All at Sea
See, I have this dream We are all at sea Wet, cold bloody misery Massive waves throw us From side-to-side It’s simply a hellish ride But when the Sun shines We can dry out on the deck Singing what the heck Cos it’s a fine old day Sailing through our allotted time Seeking meaning or sign What a wonderful ride Following a golden sunbeam Tumbling through life’s dream If you enjoy my poems you may like to purchase one of my three books of poetry?
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