Category Archives: Views

When Obnoxious Knownothings Effluviate

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I tell ya ‘ s’all sqwoke Woke

Foreword: Sometimes it’s difficult to to deal with a serious topic which has some ridiculous undertones without flippancy, idioms and sarcasm turning up, along with a few barbed side-swipes at linked subjects.  

Well loud folk, you who left Dogpatch because it was too liberal and sophisticated for you I really have to throw you a slightly out of date can of Bud Light and a cd of K D Rock I was using as a frisbee. For your wealthier fellow travellers who made their bucks hogging the media who although agreeing with you would never be seen in such vulgar company as yourselves I am sending them exactly the same. Yes, you out there with your very large detached houses, fine wines, several cars and a good accountant, because for all your pretensions to ‘standards’ and frequenting locations where people of substances go, you are no better than the collection of loudmouths are the end of the bar on a Friday night. So Big thanks guys.

But, soft I hear you ask, Dear Reader. Why Roger, do you feel inclined to lavish such gifts upon these undeserving folk? Those who are currently trembling at putting the TV on in case they are traumatised by the sight of women playing with might and main at the Women’s Soccer World Cup, while being more manly about injuries than their male counterparts when they should be at home in kitchens and having babies?

Why simple, Dear Reader. Until these reactionary, insecure, narrow-minded, bigoted, ridiculous folk started howling like they’d placed their large or over-sensitive posteriors on thorns I did not have a clue about this word ‘Woke’. And since one is simply Nobody unless one keeps up with trends, new words and suchwhiches I have to thank this clutch of persons of limited perceptions for enlightening me. And is that not a sweet Irony? Ignorant folk enlightening. Ah Dear Reader you just have to adore The Law of Unintended Consequences 

Now by analysing the blatherings and ragings in columns, squeakings on YouTube, incomprehensible mouthings on TV channels and radio and also what are classified as reviews of films, programmes and books by lesser wannabes I have reached two conclusions.

The first one being that the original use of the word was by folk who wanted to appear hip, sharp and on the point about social issues, equality and progress. Why they didn’t use more eloquence and thus leave behind their detractors is a sad reflection on these times. Any lapse into anything more than a sound bite (or is that byte?) seems to lose traction for some folk. Like those with tragically short attention spans who start wailing ‘boomer’ the moment your point of view goes beyond one sentence. So going back to the original issue, apparently you had to be ‘Woke’.

Onto the second conclusion. Since the first conclusion revolved around discussing such topics as equality, social issues and progress (but not ‘Tolerance’- ah well can’t win ‘em all) , there would obviously be a reaction from those who wish for things not to progress, not be equal and have lesser folk not knowing their places. In these days of coded social media such folk could hide behind phrases as ‘Freedom of Choice’ (sub-text; I choose to be intolerant and bigoted) ‘Quotas’(sub-text: I was in line for that promotion not that more qualified and able woman) ‘Incel’ (sub-text ; I am a (bad word) inadequate whose social skills are so awful no girl would go near me).  Meanwhile it got so confusing with UK Left Wing Politics ‘Look. I am  not anti-Semitic. I just disagree with Israel’s policies (sub-text: And ‘we ‘all know every Jew supports Israel). Now though thankfully whenever someone loudly complains in a media something is ‘Woke’ then we know they are a Right-Wing, Reactionary, Intolerant Racist or Misogynist. Everything is so much simpler again. We know they don’t approve of LGBT rights. We know they only read selected parts of The Handmaiden. They don’t want ‘those’ people at the top in politics. And so forth. And therefore the title of this post.

Although, Dear Reader, as we know in this world, nothing is ever simple. Thusways unless someone is White, loudly heterosexual while being obnoxious we don’t know if they are a complete jerk by nature or whether it is the circumstances of their situation (Although in Clarence Thomas’ case it is easier).

Let us not forget we also have Cancel Culture. As this allows everyone of every race, creed, religion (or not), politics, sexual orientation, preferences for trees or hedges in their gardens, ownership of cats or dogs, whether to use adverbs or not in their stories etc to be as intolerant or offended as they like to anyone, even to some poor shlub who made a harmless comment on the colour of socks, we shall not discuss this here and now. Just beware of saying anything to anyone.

In the meantime, as a final remark. ‘Effluviate’ is to generate effluvium – foul smelling vapour or gas from waste products, but I guess you knew that already…

Gosh….I do hope I don’t get cancelled for being a Show-Off.

I wonder if I’ll get called ‘woke’?

Barbie or Oppenheimer (The Films) . Choose!….. Why? (And keep out of IT Right-Wing Commentators)

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For those of you who would have other issues which concern you, you may have missed the social media phenomena that is the twin release of the above potentially ‘massive’ (wryly said) films- the publicity and media frenzy is such it has its own name Barbeneimer under which folk write about the two films, and then other folk write about the folk who are writing about the two films and so on. In such a frenetic atmosphere not only are the fans of the two genres (Live Action Fantasy and Serious Historical Biopic) getting involved but those with political or prejudicial axes to grind are weighing in. This is not usual; if you wanted to upset the misogynist or incel inadequates you only had to mention the 2016 all women Ghostbuster’s film; to watch folk air their racism under the shoddy attempt of artistic criticism check out some reviews of Black Panther.

In this instance the matter has reached a whole new level. If you are ‘serious’ about your right wing views you really should be furious about Barbie .I’m not too sure why but a few have dashed to their You Tube or Columns to screech ‘woke’ which these days is an acceptable way of saying ‘I am an intolerant bigot and hate progress-except when it benefits me’. When it comes to Oppenheimer there will be folk in the UK who will boycott the film in the same mindset as when they ranted about Midway(2019) (Go figure. I read the Facebook posts and they didn’t make sense to me. Simply…All America- Bad. Perilously close to racism.) Meanwhile some folk will feel the need to air their ‘serious’ credentials and only see the latter, shuddering at the thought of the former. Most folk will simply choose their preference because they like that kind of film and that is all there is to it, they I approve of. And there will be folk who will not care for either, and will tire of the whole Hoo-Haa, they, I also approve of.  Others like me will have done excited little dances (in my case in my head) at the thought of both. As actually going to a cinema is an uncomfortable experience for me (something to do with eyesight) there will be a wait for the DVDs (or streaming if not an over expensive rip-off).

Thus you may be wondering ‘Is he caught up in this Barbeneimer frenzy too’ ? And yes  to some degree. In so far as:

I liked a good historical drama and Oppenheimer was a complex character. In the aftermath of WWII he ended up being designated a security risk and not allowed near nuclear research, because he was expressing doubts about the use of using Nuclear Weapons. The plot line, based on the biography  ‘The American Prometheus’  seems to run close to historical fact and the ensemble cast playing historical characters (roughly 50) contains a goodly number of quality actors. The story line goes beyond WWII and into the murky Cold War era and its politics both at national level and at that lower level wherein folk scratch and bite for their place at the table. Being a serious ‘biopic’ and in particular one which deals with nuclear weaponry there is nothing happy. Also in similar vein to The Imitation Game, Official Gratitude will be in short supply and short of memory

Barbie on the other hand is another of my favourite types, in which a fictional character is brought to life and placed in a real world situation. This is nothing new. There are Cinderellas ‘a’plenty skipping around the 20th & 21st Century film & TV industry. The initially very clever and successful TV series  ‘Once Upon A Time’ tried to cram most fairy story characters into its seven year run. And in animation they run riot. Barbie herself has had a busy and popular time staring in children’s animation over many years. This film takes the whole Barbie-verse and appears to bring it on collision course with our real world even into an existentialist level, something which the original Lego movies and the Wreck-It Ralph two films managed wonderfully in animation. Barbie however goes Live Action and if you are of an SF/ Fantasy frame of mind with a credible plot as to how she gets into the real world.

I will have to stop there because it is not possible to conduct a credible critical appraisal of either film without seeing them first. What I can do however is express my enthusiasm at eventually seeing both. The former will be a very tough watch. but I have faith in the director and the cast; critics of course will not be consulted. The latter will be fun, again there is faith in the director, script and cast.

Also since so many intolerant and insecure male rightist commentators of small talent are against Barbie my enthusiasm is multiplied several times. UK’s very own Piers Morgan who seems to spend an inordinate amount of time looking for things to be offended by dislikes the film because of the lack of male characters and how unfair it is to Ken which since the principal character is a girl makes one wonder about his personal levels of self-image and insecurity. I assume he went to the cinema, thus never will grow old the image of Piers Morgan  middle aged (late) well-fleshed and slightly pompous figure sitting in a cinema surrounded by teenage girls who want to see their childhood heroine in action. It will stay with me while I eventually watch my dvd copy.

Returning to the more mature outlook (sorry Piers but someone has to present a positive image of the folk of ‘a certain age’ for the younger generations). It is therefore not just possible but also quite normal to consider two very diverse films to be on one’s ‘Must Watch’ list because we are complex make-ups of lies, dislikes, preferences and so-forths.  I understand there are quite a few folk in the uk who are trying to fit both into one day’s viewing. It’s going to be a long time to the end of the year when the dvds come out. And here’s me at 72 who should not be wishing bits of his remaining years away.

Just remember if you want to annoy a right-wing commentator or misogynist just send them a message in support of The Barbe film.

Keeping Up To Date With The News Here In The UK

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You may have heard that Boris Johnson (ex PM) is now an Ex MP. He’s resigned. Because his position is untenable:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-65860705

It’s all breakings and the BBC news readers and commentators are having trouble keeping straight faces. Meanwhile my own thoughts are

And also:

 

In the UK when a party decides a liability has to go, they are gone:

Wallop!

Out the door!!

For more fun and games on the subject check out the BBC news feeds.

Ethics? Be Warned. All of Us Will Be Tested.

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ITALY-FRANCE-WEATHER-FEATURE

Folk who write will at some stage cite ‘The Muse’. According to Ancient Greek literature there were nine of them, each with an allotted art, science or as we would recognise it, genre. In this case, for my defence I will cite that Melpomene the Muse of Tragedy has been, for some time, nagging at me to get this done.

The final push was made by listening to an audio book version of Prompt and Utter Destruction by J. Samuel Walker an historian whose subject matter is the nuclear age. Originally published in 1997, and revised in 2004 this is a work that would be in its inception 30 years old. In this the author manages to accomplish the near impossible of balancing the pros and cons of the US use of atomic weapons on Japan in 1945, while at the same time sewing compelling doubt as to whether the reasons given at the time were wholly valid. He also argues that a proposed invasion of Japan was not ‘a given’ as was D-Day, nor that the projected loss of American lives were actually a set in stone documentation, and finally that the Japanese view within government towards a peace accord was in existence. At this stage I would confess to having used the opposites as concrete evidence why the nuclear bombs were used. The author in his balanced arguments, with no railing or emotive language, no blanket condemning of the USA as the usual source of most evils lead me to believe that all which I judged to be hard fact was not ‘necessarily so’ (as the song goes). That said, having listened and respected the writer’s research and questions I was still left with the feeling of the subject of the Atom Bomb attacks ‘They were still going to happen’ . By then the whole dynamic of American, Soviet and Japanese interactions had reached a critical stage in which amongst the milieu of Human Interactions, Reactions, Anticipations, Suspicions and Motivations made the dropping of the Atom Bombs an inevitability. 

That assertion will strike some folk as outrageous, some others will believe I am ducking an awkward question on account of being locked into a belief. Both reactions are quite acceptable and understandable. My response would be to read or listen to this book, then put yourself in the position of Truman, those around him, those involved in the Manhattan project and those out in the front lines. The qualifier being don’t just drop yourself in there are you are at this moment, imagine you have been in that war-time atmosphere for a long while, you have been living it, every day and night it has been with you, sets backs, costs, pressures, pains. 

And that’s where we stop. For all of this has been an introduction to a thornier topic. Not one where we ask hypothetical questions of historical events which have happened and cannot be erased. Using this measuring stick let us look into the Present and the Future, which is where we dwell and where we have a say in the shaping of, being that say small or even large.   

I am guessing from the politically inclined blogs I subscribe to and the vast majority of replies to those blog posts that most folk involved are of liberal and what you would call tolerant outlooks. They don’t think wars are inevitable, they have a great dislike of privately owned firearms, they believe in the general freedom of adults to associate with other adults in whatever mutually respectful relationships there are, they have no problems with folk of any race, they accept a person’s right to religion, belief system or absence of belief systems, just so long as those do not promote hate or intolerance, they feel the same way about politics. They do have very strong views about those who promote intolerance, lack compassion, and who assume they have a mandate to impose their will on others while being hypocritical about their own ‘rights’. In short the folk ‘around here’ are what I would call ‘The Nice Guys’. Angry, frustrated, incandescent even, but ‘Nice’, because you want all folks, every where just to live unfettered by pressures of hate, intolerance and injustice. Right?

Just suppose then

There is some prominent hatemonger or conspiracy snake oil merchant in town. One who is supporting the very heavy political hitters you loath, this person is one of the rising stars in that movement, and just by some chance, you happen upon the sight of a shooter, obviously intent on targeting that person you hate. So what do you do? You have five seconds. No real time to reflect on the pros and the cons. You do raise an alarm? Try to stop them. Or do you steal away back into the shadows let ‘What will be will be,’ or whatever phrase you think suits your frame of mind. After all you are not actually pulling the trigger, you don’t know the shooter. The target is such a loathsome, you think dangerous person, implicated in such hateful stuff as to be at least complicit in violence. And does not ‘The Good Book’ say ‘Those who live by the sword shall die by the sword’ (or something like that). Do you let the bomb fall?

Here’s another one…

By some chance you find yourself by a couple of degrees of separation in the company of folk whose general views you might share, but you are a bit leery of some of the language, maybe a bit too ‘rich’ for you. Some are talking about meeting violence with violence if necessary and so forth, hoping some figure on the Right gets shot. Someone might in a roundabout way even cite the IRA as an example of what might happen; in a way which suggests they would not mind. It wouldn’t take a security analyst to reckon some of these folk might step beyond just shouting off steam. Would you feel you should notify ‘someone’ or would you just back off, sever all links because you don’t want to get involved, that’s their outlook, not mine. Nothing to do with me. And stifle that mischievous ‘but good luck guys’ 

Turning to something more plausible…

Someone you think as offensive on the Right dies, maybe not in a dramatic way. Perhaps through an accident or ill-health. And  after all that time of witnessing their behaviour which offends you, in that instant you say or think – ‘Yeah. They had it coming. Boo-hoo. Like I cared’. There. That was easy wasn’t it? You didn’t do anything. You are not responsible. You are unsullied. You just spoke your mind, that’s all. Well, yes, you couldn’t help but feel just a little twitch of joy. But that was only natural. Because, after all- they had it coming. Well, yes, that’s fine. Isn’t it?. Let’s move on. And you wish to be spared the hysterical eulogies from their followers or the throw away commentaries from the pundits, etc, etc. 

Be honest dear reader. None of us are saints. None of us come close to ‘Pure of Heart’. We take our stance and we have our views. In the scheme of things we may, have not so much a moral high ground, but have the least worst options in one case which in this mess which is Humanity. We may be on the ‘good’ side, well in The Big Picture of The Welfare of Humanity. We may celebrate a cause. Currently you may be cheering on Ukraine’s stand against Russia. So ask yourself this very hard question. Do I accept the losses of tens of thousand of Russian soldiers as a necessity? You can grieve their deaths of course. You can wish they had not happened. But are you accepting them? And if not, then what do you say to Ukrainians, today?   

Some choices made are so obviously bad, so filled with a hateful or callous vibe they are repellent to most folk. Then there are the rest where the two, maybe three of four or more sides of the argument come into a jarring kaleidoscopic panorama, that if stared at for too long could tip you off of your allegorical feet. Reaction? What sort of Reaction? Constructive Reaction? When does that tip into Destructive Reaction? Then there is No Reaction? Just what does that mean? Apathy? Or quiet acquiescence, soft enough not to give you guilt by association, you hope. Or maybe paralysed by exasperation- that’s a common affliction, maybe the most understandable and acceptable for most folk, of course it may  not be the correct one; there is always the anguished  ‘But. What can I do?‘. Who can claim, tired from their ordinary days, they’ve not gone there? 

Once more this is not the place where I present you with a tidy Ethical Solution to fit all situations.  After all, this post is about Human Nature. Just when was that ever straight forward, neat, simple to package up in a snappy paragraph?

When faced with various levels and themes of Human Disputes, Transgressions and Conflicts, the individual rarely has the same measure of response based on one Ethical Stance, because in addition Emotions play a part and they will be a variable. Yours might be the correct one at the correct time, the unstable place where your previous views of Right and Wrong just do not seem to suit. Your choice. Your reaction. This is not History where you have the opportunity to sift the evidence of what had been and you have no responsibility in the participation. This is happening now, or will happen.

And here I conclude.

Sorry that I have no neat answers or a tidy ending. 

Oh, just one last thought hit me. 

Watch out for those Inevitabilities, they sneak up on you. 

On Tidying Up. Another Blog For Another Purpose.

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Actions and Consequences

I recently joined a Writing Challenge which has been a rewarding experience on many levels. One of the topics which cropped up in responses / replies was avoiding falling into the trap of being ‘Preachy’ and spoiling a narrative; the possibility of your political or social views getting in the way of the plot and character development.

With this in mind it occurred to me it may be constructive to keep, this my original blog for the subjects associated with Writing and Whimsies, with the occasional side-swipe at WP and WORD. In consequence since I cannot keep my political mouth still to set up a quite separate blog for those subjects.

So in spite of WP, not because of it I do believe a suitable one has been constructed. Its spareness intentional.

My hope is not for this new blog to be an arena for my preferential views alone. Over recent years I have taken an interest in International Relations theories in particular the ‘Realist’ school, therefore there should be something of a detached analysis of how things are the way they are and also how they might go. The underlining theme will be the using of Historical Lessons and Examples.

Of course the site will be experimental and which direction it will go is something not to be predicted. Hopefully many subjects in a very broad arena will be covered. There will not be an aim to be inflammatory or suggest ‘this’ is the correct way. However it would be disingenuous to say these posts might not disturb, maybe challenge some conventional perceptions, on occasions sound bleak and others peculiarly optimistic, in a sardonic way.

The initial post will cover the first use of Nuclear Weaponry upon Japan. A subject redolent with opinions and beliefs. One which in its demonstration of Humanity’s ability to kill many, swiftly, caused a social shock wave which still resonates down the decades making it almost an article of faith that you cannot not have an opinion. I will not intend to justify, I will not intend to dismiss those who are still angered by its use. The intention will be to use this event as an illustration of one of Humanity’s Marches to a fearful outcome, mostly because of the near inevitability caused by a herding surround of circumstances.

The reader will be left to reach their own judgement.

A link:

A Question of Inevitability?

Motivations, Inspirations, Imaginations…And Characters. A Journey Care Less and Content

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Strolling

Foreword

You know how it goes. You have this idea for a topic, and you start off. Then some allied aspect else occurs to you, which begs to be added on, which in turn leads you off down an interesting lane and somehow the original topic is behind you, round a bend somewhere and you are there, scratching you’re head wondering ‘So?… How did I get here?’

The intention was to write about World Building and how the one which formed out of my work was a place I liked to revisit, just to be there. Then the theme became something else. Here was another writer wandering through This, That and The Other. For no other reason than ‘Just Because’….

The books which are part of the post are not mentioned because there is no intention to publicise them. You’ll find enough information in earlier posts. The subjects of this post are creativity, inspiration and motivations. Anyway back to that start…

The Beginning

Sometime ago I promised myself ‘Tone down on the politics. Concentrate on the writing. Be at one with your creativity,’………………..

The next day……

Back on the soapbox or picking fights on Facebook. Will I ever learn?

Learn what? To desensitise myself against thing which get under my skin? Remove some part of me?

Well, maybe not picking on an easy FB target and ridiculing them. Maybe ‘They had it coming. Taste of their own medicine. See how they like it,’ Are not worthy and mature reasons, perhaps those sentiments border on excuses. Weighing down someone’s ‘one liner’ with three paragraphs of International Relations Theory and History? Maybe that’s showing off a bit. Overkill much?

I tell myself my political and social comments should be addressed to Word Press where generally the standard of debate is higher.

The fact, though, the political part of me, is one reason why I write fiction as I do; the challenge being to try and tone down the preachiness. A character sounding off on some political issue in the middle of an action episode sounds ‘odd’. A lesser character taking up half a chapter on observations on an injustice just spoils the narrative and detracts from the plot.

Yet there is nothing wrong with placing your opinions or views in a narrative, the characters will let you know if they think you’ve been too wordy. Those lesser characters’ two or three lines of conversation will suit just as well.

On reflection my views were one of the driving forces and at the same time a bit of a challenge to fit in neatly. I loathe the latent misogyny trying to slither back into our cultures. Thus was more than happy with Three Strong Women characters appearing. Prejudices on the grounds of race, religion, adult consensual choices tend to be a red flag, so those who embrace any or all of these prejudices would truly hate my trilogy. Sometimes a mischievous part of me nurtured on Facebook would snigger while whispering ‘If anyone hates this part. Good…they got it coming,’.

Another motivation and this is not criticism just personal taste, I did not wish to read anymore grimdark or ‘gritty’. The real world had enough of that for me. Happy endings and good folk running rings around bad folk was my intention.

In addition is a little fantasy of the whole trilogy being on a public forum where I would wait for the inevitable feeble whinge that is it is all ‘woke’, whose users are such easy targets…. (Ah but there I go again. Looking for confrontation)

Yet as I go treading into more dangerous and delicate yet related ground; it has been an observation that there is more than one way to receive criticism or even ire for portrayals of characters outside of your own social, ethnic, political, belief system grouping. This observation, and the word is stressed comes from reading commentary from those whose group is portrayed, in a sympathetic or positive light and yet is perceived by the commentator as not being the correct portrayal. My own conclusion is in this fraught world where colonialism, in the European sense has died out and the old Cold War alignments disintegrated and social norms are altering it is for many people or peoples essential their group are portrayed accurately and in a balanced, mature context. Of course my get out clause being; ‘These books take place in a Fantasy World. Not this one,’, though human natures being what they are it is unlikely this response would be seen as satisfactory. Never mind… ‘You can’t win them all,’ . And anyway folks this is a world of my characters and they led me through allowing me to explore (or was that witness?) all manner of the possibilities.

Characters eh?

One advantage, or salutary warning is once you let your characters in on the act and they start to influence you, the pace of writing picks up until the creative or speculative processes reach a velocity which leaves all caution behind. In a very paradoxical, maybe cussed mood, the lack of sales encouraged me and them onwards. We reached the ‘What The Heck’ Stage, followed by ‘C’mon Rog’. We just have to go this way, you know parts of the back story have been building to this. Remember the sub-text kiddo,’. This of course led to other directions for taking the main narratives too.

Maybe the final result would seem to some a vainglorious mash-up of genres, sub-genres and styles. And there would be no argument from me. In my defence this is what happens when the driving forces within you set the imagination in movement and in turn you feel confident enough to let the narrative take control.

Should the whole work come to public attention and there is consequential criticism of the plot line, characters and result, let it be so.

For I had far too much fun putting the whole together to regret. (apart from those stupid persistent typos and a few instances of getting the names wrong- sometimes you can be too indie).

And now I am learning restraint and economy on a monthly Blog Battle*, which is as much fun being very instructive, while keeping my interaction of Face Book to a minimum.

*

BlogBattle

Read. Inspire. #BlogBattle

A Mature and Reasoned Commentary

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For two days I was working on a carefully crafted post…. Then Word Press deleted the whole thing, without any recourse to getting it back.

Portrait Angry older man screaming on white background

I said. 

Then feeling a more eloquent and balanced statement was needed added:

sturm_drang3

This morning I am a measure calmer and able to sum up my outlook in a mature and philosophical frame of mind.

big-raspberry

Moral: When drafting a long post always use Word (or similar) then Copy & Paste onto WP

As Legions Before Us. We Will Be Tested

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Child victim of War

Foreword: Two previous attempts at this post binned; five days of rehearsing paragraphs in my head before they made it to the page, and I still don’t know if  it is even close to the original intention. The drive would not let me rest though. Bear with me. Encapsulating these aspects of The Human Condition were never destined to be easy.

Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, then Libya, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, Northern Mozambique, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Niger (to name but seven of the approximately twenty plus conflicts in Africa), Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, (blink and you might miss those two) and now a war in Ukraine which is coming into its eighth year when shorn of the curtain of a fight for independence by minorities was elevated to one which cannot be avoided. These are the sometime headline ones; not the ones packaged into small items on the brutally repressive regimes and the bloody conflicts between communities or criminal gangs.

Ukraine. If we are starkly honest with ourselves, and this is a time to be so, this one takes hold of us by the heart and mind, because those folk and their towns look so very similar to our own. And in the next sentences I walk a literary minefield. Do we notice more because of the colour of their skins. Yes? For the simple reason that familiarity brings a greater degree of emotion. Deep inside lurks the feeling with a myriad of deeper causes ‘That could be me. Us,’  You can’t stop it. No more than someone native to any of the nations above would bitterly think ‘Welcome to our world. You, of The First World,’ Human nature: You might be blessed enough to have the gift of Thinking Before Speaking; dare anyone here claim they have the gift of Perception Before Feeling? You will have to accept, I don’t believe you. No person has that sort of Objectivity. The Invasion of Ukraine, an industrial powered, visceral, savage, unavoidable, twenty-four seven media reminder what has been going on non-stop somewhere, sometime, somehow. For some folk who follow the world news, maybe the last straw. If anyone out there and has been weeping, threshing, howling, shutting down their TV or laptop save for rom-coms, sports feeds, domestic themed shows, or wildlife documentaries….I for one don’t blame you. Just come back to us some time.

And of course there are those issues on your doorstep. Pandemic, voter suppression, job security, rising prices, civil rights, domestic and civic violence, environmental concerns; those for examples. We agonise and rage over what is happening in Ukraine, but we worry about doorstep issues. We even might taste fear over one or more of them, dread them starting to link up, like a series of small forest fires merging into one vast wall of speeding immolation.

A short while back, I wrote about the importance of Hope. A plea to not to give way to despair. In all honesty an easier work to write. This is about the application of Hope. … Firstly we can all Hope, and we can all believe we will sustain the intention in a good way. Until our own Reality comes in; the inescapable truth of a War in The First World. Not just in the fierce imposition of the media, or the stream of consciousness interchanges between others. It comes creeping up on us. Sometimes swirling about us when we planned on going to sleep, or maybe dragging us out of a restless half-place, or maybe hovering there while we go about our daily chores, worse intruding upon our leisure time asking ‘Should you be….’  

You will be tested. I cannot predict how, where or when. I can tell you those myriad of emotions you are feeling are part of rehearsal. Steady yourself for a journey into a Batman’s Gotham City grotesque warping of Doctor Suess’ ‘Oh The Places You’ll Go’. You could already be finding you are wishing one man dead, perhaps joyfully celebrating resistance and shrugging at the sight of dead Russian soldiers, bitterly seeing those in your country who are ‘soft’ on Russia as not just wrong or nuisances but traitors and possibly paid by Moscow. Be prepared to be feeling emotions beyond anger, to find callousness has become part of your prism. You will be drawn in. Conflict and War are most adept at justifying; the shock being you will believe, In This Case, it was right to embrace them. If you ever thought you were angry over something outside of your own personal life, now you are stepping up (or down-depends on your viewpoint) a piece. Beware how you tread; an emotional solution the Ukraine could became your template for problems at home. You might well feel fatigue at some stage, taking comfort when the news slips down the ratings…’Can’t be so bad anymore?’ Really?

Those words disturb you? Do you feel I have stepped too far into incitement, a tabloid rabble-rouser, safe in his age and home? Are you, instead nodding your head and invoking battle cries ‘If You Want Peace Prepare For War’, ‘Democracies Don’t Start Wars. We Finish Them,’ ‘Justifiable War. It’s In The Bible’ (it’s not actually -Augustine of Hippo might have been the first to write on the subject). Or are you shaking your head and thinking ‘What is he on about? I don’t understand where he is going with this?’. Perhaps you are there gnawing on your lips and saying ‘Well. Yes. But there has to be a better way. There must be. Surely we can’t keep on killing. Can we?’. There we are then. You, me, others; drawn into in a confused internal conflict where principals, ethics we are told about and the ever raw emotions collide, maybe merging in pairs or a trio only to fly apart like some of the more exquisite subatomic particles, or remain in constant antagonism. Whichever; they will plague us with a constant restlessness, even if that be only a far off rumbling of someone else’s storm.

You might cry ‘Tested? I did not sign up for this!’ Well sorry soldier, The Human World’s dynamics has the monopoly on this particular conscription, switch on some communication,  step, outside the door. Yep. You’re drafted. Even trying to be detached is some kind of statement. Your only other option is Hermitage while trying to avoid the Media finding out about you and placing you in today’s circus side-show.   

Regrettably there are no test-papers, no Yes/No/Maybe forms to fill in or on-line courses for you to tackle to see if you have passed as an In-Tune Human. (We don’t count social media for this circumstance, there are too many opportunities for pollution by those who wouldn’t even qualify for consideration to try the test; they come from Right, Left and up underneath). Thus you justifiably ask ‘You are telling me an awful lot of grim stuff. Is that all you are dealing in this time. Some Old Testament prophet re-enactments?’ 

Well, maybe. Or look at it this way. This is a journey. The weather is unsettled, make sure you carry an umbrella, a hat, and a shower proof jacket in a back-pack. Ones woven with judgement, perception and reflection. Unsettled weather. Best carry a bottle of cool reason ease the parched feeling brought on by the sudden heatwave of anger. Take opportunities to find yourself some shelter to get out of the extremes; wait for the breaks, indulge yourself in the respite. If you can grasp a short span of calm and understanding, a wish to be charitable or helpful in some positive and constructive way, thus you are coping, you are not destroying. ‘So far so good’; ‘I could have done worse’ ;’I’ll know better next time’  Maybe not the most positive of statements or evaluations, but, in testing times perpetual excellence leads to burn out, or worse Arrogance – the doorway to…..too many bad choices.

To conclude The Testing will not end in the foreseeable future. Your continued, dogged, sanguine efforts to help the victims and stand against oppression mixed with the realisation we are all fated to stumble at times, not living up to expectations; these will be part of the way upwards and outwards. Surviving and then washing away this latest deluge of the dross of Ignorance and Aggression.

Take care of yourselves folks. You are a precious resource.

I Wish I Had Not Been Inspired To Write This

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Since the mean-spirited, the fantasists, the intolerant and the selfish are not letting up this season it seemed like a reasonable idea to take a swipe at them…

These are a collection of thoughts which are available to be used as quotes, no copyright laws were invoked. As an alternative you may wish to shake your head sadly and say ‘Poor guy. How did he get that way?’; to this there is an easy answer….. I’ve been around for 70 years. …..

Anyway…..

Apparently only other people are gullible.

Conspiracy Theories are for folk who can’t cope with the concepts that Human Folly and Natural Planetary Activity are two of the biggest influences on Societies.  

It’s not Politics, it’s not Religion, it’s not Economics which are the problem. It’s People.

Two ways of avoiding responsibility, not caring about others and being selfish, would be either to going out to a pub and getting hammered, or embracing Libertarianism.

Simplifying a Tax System is process by which The Rich Keep it and the Poor pay for that.

The Market Economy is a great idea on paper. A Planned Centralised Economy is a great idea on paper. The trouble is The Paper doesn’t have a say in the running of either operation.

The Irregular Verb of Politics. I have firm, resolute beliefs. You have been misled. They have dangerous ideas.

Of course there will be a very special place in Hell for the very wicked. It’s next door to the larger room for the Apathetic.

Misogyny is the first resort of the male inadequate.

On encountering opinions described as ‘Breath of Fresh Air’ check which orifice they originated from.

The Enlightenment was fine but Intolerance, Greed and Cruelty are still around.

Who the heck would want to travel all that distance, using all those resources to reach this world? And why would they set up home in a chunk of American desert. OR if they are so clever in getting here how come they allowed themselves to be hijacked to a chunk of American Desert?

I might be impressed by Hunters if they went out barefooted, dressed in nothing but hide skins, armed only with pointed sticks or bows fashioned yesterday from branches and twine and were hungry. 

In this 14 (more of less) billion year old and maybe 60 billion light years in diameter Universe, can anyone take me to the vacant place and say ‘Look this is where Your God should be,’??…. Thought not.

Democracy is a process whereby you vote and hope you got it right. Then sometimes get to be disappointed. Then you vote again and hope a lot of people agree with you…

Elections are usually lost and the other folk benefit.

Not voting helps those you least want to be governing you.

There’s nothing wrong with being joyful and having a good time, just don’t try and shove it down my throat.

Denying Climate Change is assuming there are set of controls somewhere on the planet just like your central heating, air conditioning, lighting or plumbing.

Did Trump becoming a political item make you wonder if it was God’s way of saying ‘Yep. The Russian Orthodox Church were the ones who got the message right,’ ?

History is a wonderful teacher. It is also a remorseless shredder of romantically held views.

Intolerance, Bigotry and Ignorance are held in equal measure on The Right and The Left. The difference being, those on The Right tend to bawl out their views, whereas those on The Left tend to add a layer of self-righteousness.   

Whether Racism is a result of or will cause chronic inbreeding has yet to be clarified.

Claiming to know what your Rights are does not necessarily tie in with knowing what your Responsibilities are.

In the Western World one of the more unnecessary professions is that of the film critic whose affected opinions have done as much damage to the film industry as any censorship board.

Restless

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Sailing Ship

I must go back to a narrative again, to follow the Muse’s eternal cry

And all I ask is my laptop and an idea to guide me by

(Thank you John Masefield for Sea Fever)

You finish one project, it’s taken you quite a while, you’ve experienced all the varying emotions, you’ve fought through the ‘Why Am I Bothering’  fug, you’ve edited or negotiated editing, all typos etc have been sought out, a book cover was navigated you have striven with marketing  and finally the work is ‘Out There’ . Then you might think to yourself ‘ I deserve a rest,’

Of course you do

And yet to visit another nautical bit of plagiarism from a jolly yarn.

‘Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November* in my soul [a few more ‘whenevers’ have been omitted Melville being Melville ] …….. then, I account it high time to get to my paper and laptop as soon as I can’  

In short. Do writers ever rest? Did not one plot have away in its unused corners threads and motes which begged examination? Was there not a minor character whose shadow would dog your heels and whisper possibilities? On some journey, be it physical, of the imagination, or amongst the other tangles of human consciousness was there not a murmuring of creativity beginning to coalesce?  Or did something just come into a writer’s head, a modest literary version of The Big Bang?

Ever wonderous, and tortuous is Creativity, calling you on. Embrace the Restlessness, it requires you to fulfil.

Would we have these feelings any other way?   

*Actually those are qualities which make November my favourite month. It marks the finality of the Summer’s assault on my senses – I know, singular. Anyway it has set loose my own restlessness- two projects are beckoning. One SF which requires a dip in Quantum Physics and Mechanics and might take some time (Quantum and Time, now there’s a paradox in the making). The other, that’s a follow on from my previous work, a generation later, and I have not the faintest idea what the plot might be, but one of the Muses is insisting I get writing. Ah good ol’ stream of consciousness, what little nuggets might there be amongst all the silt which will come forth from the dredging.