Poetry Thursday 46 - Moon's a Balloon

 Some describe people who behave slightly differently as being ruled by the moon. 

History suggests we all are. 

Where do you fit? 

The Moon’s a Balloon

 

If we spent time looking at life

and what we’d done with it

then collected the good bits,

the poignant bits,

the romantic bits,

the happy bits,

collected them together in a gossamer envelope,

each one of us would make a moon.

 

A personal moon a permanent satellite,

waxing or waning,

representing youth and old age.

Blue for the emotional trials of life,

and Wolf for those times of strife.

visual signs of what is inside,

a moon describing life’s ride.

 

A personal moon visible to all,

but with its own explaining,

no cold moon, no beaver or hunter’s moon,

perhaps a strawberry moon for the final pudding.

©David L Atkinson June 2024 

God Bless 

Writing - Chaos Theory

 It is evident that the results of even small human behaviors are non-linear, and thus the results of even everyday, mundane behaviors are irregular. Chaos theory categorises humans as complex, adaptive, and open systems and therefore can explain how humans grow and change in a non-linear fashion. 

An interesting attempt to describe humans. The key words for me are complex and adaptive but you could also add bloodyminded and difficult. 

Human activity is the core of every book written and therefore human chaos theory is a device we can and do use to stretch the activity to almost unbelievable lengths in an effort to stretch the readers' imagination. 

Blurb

In this the 5th Steele novel Patrick tackles the person who has been surreptitiously dogging his footsteps over a number of his adventures. This is not without risk and the focus of his love, Naomi Kobayashi, disappears which seriously affects his ability to function as well as he can. We also find out more about the man himself. The adventure takes him to Eire, France, the USA before he returns to resolve the issue in the UK. Will Patrick finally rid himself of a deadly enemy? Can our hero rescue his love or is it already too late? Another Patrick Steele adventure filled with tension and action as well as the support provided by the team he has developed over the years.

As the blurb above describes the difficulties Steele is facing in this romp. It also provides greater insights into our hero's raisin d'etre. If you haven't read any of my novels this could be a good entry point. 

Analysing the above passage you begin to identify points where the complex nature of humans shines through. The main point being that you can't write a realistic character without complexity and should wallow in the opportunities it provides. 

God Bless 

Poetry Thursday 45 - Euros 2024

 Here we are again in the midst of a football competition with all the hype and expectation that goes alongside this type of event. I am fortunate enough to remember the 1966 World Cup in England, which we won. We're expected to repeat that feat once again this year which is nothing new. In fact, since 1966, there has been a biannual World Cup/Euros and I can't remember a time when success wasn't expected. 

Euros 2024

 On Germanic fields, the warriors tread,

with hopes and dreams, they charge ahead.

the whistle blows, the crowd roars loud,

each pass and shot, a journey proud.

 

The ball dances between the feet,

of players swift, with hearts that beat.

for glory's call, they chase and strive,

within their souls, the game's alive.

 

In unity, they stand as one,

from minute zero till ninety some.

through trials faced and battles won,

their will to win can't be undone.

 

So the tournament has begun,

best teams rise a trophy to be won.

But in this game of joy and pain,

the love for football shall remain.

©David L Atkinson June 2024 

God Bless 

Writing - Also a prophet

 Not only a clever scientist but a prophet as well. So history is being repeated - we need a Robin Hood.

Albert Einstein warned in 1949 the time would come when the rich would control the means of communication, making it impossible for ordinary people to make informed decisions.

This is a largely accurate summary of an article written by Einstein.

In the inaugural May 1949 edition of the magazine Monthly Review, Einstein argued that private capital “tends to become concentrated in few hands”, resulting in “an oligarchy of private capital the enormous power of which cannot be effectively checked even by a democratically organized political society”.

“Moreover, under existing conditions, private capitalists inevitably control, directly or indirectly, the main sources of information (press, radio, education).

“It is thus extremely difficult, and indeed in most cases quite impossible, for the individual citizen to come to objective conclusions and to make intelligent use of his political rights.”

The above facts bring up the validity of the first past the post electoral system or rather the alternative - proportional representation.

Proportional representation is an electoral system in which the distribution of seats corresponds closely with the proportion of the total votes cast for each party. For example, if a party gained 40% of the total votes, a perfectly proportional system would allow them to gain 40% of the seats. 

Our current system has created the short-termism we suffer from resulting in a short-sighted constantly changing set of policies that benefit one or another party rather than the populace of the country. It also means that once a candidate achieves enough votes to get elected all other additional votes are wasted. It also serves the attitude that causes some people not to vote because they believe their votes don't matter. 

We need PR 

God Bless 

Poetry Thursday - 44 - I Never Had

 Growing up should be warm and fuzzy but you can't have everything you want. One of my father's mantras was 'I want never gets' and it was delivered gently enough but it isn't just for children, it should be a reminder for life. 

I Never Had

 

I never had a grandad,

both taken in the mines,

I only had one grandma,

and only for short times,

I never had a brother,

with whom I could argue and scrap,

I never had a sister,

to teach me the female map.

 

I never had an invisible friend,

with whom I could talk and play,

who would accompany me to bed at night

and keep dark monsters away,

who took me on adventures

but kept me safe from harm,

and when I was stressed or upset,

kept me cool and calm.

 

What I had was worth more than gold,

when young - saw to my every plead,

even when they themselves were old,

they nourished every spiritual need.

©David L Atkinson June 2024

God Bless 

Writing - Messages

 Throughout history, people who have written things down have often intended to convey messages to those who read their work. Sometimes, the message has to be concealed for the safety of the author; and sometimes, the message is subliminal to change the attitudes of the readers. In other instances, the message is political. 

Blurb 

The story is a speculative journey into a possible future that may lie ahead of us all. There is evidence that such a future may not be impossible. We have been warned that unless we increase the ability to produce electricity there could be power cuts in the next ten years. Our modern-day lives are permeated by the need for electricity and its production.
Although Cessation could be categorised as a dystopian story I find that rather a negative word and the purpose of writing the tale is to allow elements of hope in a seemingly desperate situation.
The story begins in 2023 a couple of years after the lights go out for the last time. Our group of survivors are thrown together on a farm in the low Pennines north of the M62 motorway and within striking distance of several northern towns which could prove useful for supplies. Initially, the group is small and lives on a farm called Serendipity but as time passes the size of the group waxes and wanes for a variety of reasons. 

This story of mine I published in 2013. At the time there were predictions that we in the UK were likely to suffer power cuts in the near future. Perhaps I should have set the date in 2084. Although, I had my reasons at the time. If memory serves me correctly the predicted date was 2025! 

I wrote the story, which was a departure from the Steele novels that I was writing at the time. The political furore at the time inspired me to produce the story and I remember feeling that it had to be written immediately. In one sense it was a message in its entirety. It allowed me to have a shot at the inefficiency of the government. I even included 'evidence' from various articles published at the time. 

The Author

God Bless 

Poetry Thursday 43 - 2 + 2 = 5

 Doublethink and doublespeak words that have become synonymous with politics 75 years after George Orwell coined them. 

2 + 2 = 5

 

Smile even though your heart is aching,

when everything is white but appears black,

stay calm with every risk your taking,

believe lies are truths when facts you lack.

 

When the left appears to be right,

murder in the name of a faith of peace,

arguing that black is white,

seen by big brother and the thought police.

 

Listening to lies we are told is truth,

being told to believe while not believing,

dressing classically but remaining uncouth,

accepting information plainly misleading.

 

2 + 2 was always 4 but now it seems its 5,

political speech the defence of the indefensible,

accepting less food so as to stay alive,

would a little honesty be so reprehensible?

©David L Atkinson June 2024

God Bless 

Writing - Your own words

 It seems that politicians tell lies, but in all fairness what the actually do is hide facts in a snowstorm of white noise to obscure their failures and their real plans. When we create a story, fiction, we can be like George Orwell and produce our own versions of the truth and even language. 

I was inspired to tackle this topic when I re-read 1984 and came across the explanation of double think. 

 The act of doublethink occurs in more subtle details throughout the novel. 

Doublethink is the act of holding, simultaneously, two opposite, individually exclusive ideas or opinions and believing in both simultaneously and absolutely. Doublethink requires using logic against logic or suspending disbelief in the contradiction.

This sounds rather like our politicians, all parties, attempting to cling on to or gain power in Westminster. The fact that the job is to run the country for the benefit of the citizens, not the billionaires, weapons manufacturers or shareholders; seems to be secondary these days. 

Three examples of doublethink used throughout 1984 include the slogans: War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength.

When we create our art we have the same freedom as Orwell did to produce the unique or fanciful. More recently than Orwell, J K Rowling introduced us to muggles, none magical folk, dementers and other mystical creatures. Phillip Pullman introduced us to the vagaries of dust. 

The only limits to what we produce is our own imaginations. 

God Bless