Rain On Me
Daily Prompt: Turn, Turn, Turn – For many of us, winter is blooming into spring, or fall hardening into winter. Which season do you most look forward to?
Well, this is a tricky one. Once upon a long ago, when I was but a wee lad, we had seasons. We had a fresh spring, a hot summer (in Cornwall that’s anything above 23 degrees), a blustery autumn and a cold crisp winter.
We now have a mish-mash of seasons throughout the year. Sure, it’s generally warmest around July/August and coldest around December/January, but if there’s one thing we can count on, it’s the rain. Okay, so the last couple of weeks have been quite pleasant with lots of sun, but two degrees in April isn’t my idea of “spring”, sun or no sun. And now it’s raining again so we’re back to “the new normal”.
What happened? Why did the seasons all roll into one? I don’t know. Something to do with jet streams or El Nino or whatnot I expect.
So here’s a breakdown of seasons, along with some badly written poetry!
Spring – cool to warm, raining
Ah, spring, when all the little buds appear on the trees, grass is green, new life appears and it’s raining. I’m not a huge fan of spring. It’s neither one thing nor the other.
New life awakens
The last frost dies
Gentle promise
Of new possibilities
The world glitters
With fresh morning dew
A new beginning.
Summer – warm, occasionally approaching “hot”, raining
I had a rubbish summer holiday last year. I didn’t go anywhere. I left my flat three times in two weeks. I’ve never seen rain like it. It rained so hard my car filled with water. I’m talking an actual puddle. I had to bail it out. Rubbish.
Burning sun assaults the road
Burning off the winter’s cold
Children laughing in the street
Tarmac melts beneath their feet
People smiling everywhere
No-one seems to have a care
Then it starts raining again and it all turns to shit.
Rubbish.
Autumn – getting cooler, windy, raining
This is the “Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness” according to Mr Keats. I have to say, this is the one season which reminds me of my childhood. Collecting leaves to bring into school to stick into my exercise book. Conker fights. The Harvest Festival. Could this be my favourite season? I don’t think so, just a season which reminds me of good times long since gone.
Trees a sea of red and gold
Gentle breeze caresses
Life slipping
Towards sleep.
Winter – cold, occasional snow, frost, raining (which subsequently freezes before raining again)
Winter’s not so bad, really. The only reason I don’t like snow is because I have to drive to work. I love the dark evenings where I can go home to a lovely warm home, close the curtains and snuggle up. And of course, winter has Christmas in it!
Flakes of perfect symmetry
Drifting, swirling
Nature’s dance.
Blanketed in white
The world sleeps
Awaiting a new day.
And there you have it. It rains a lot.
Which season do I most look forward to? I really don’t know. They all have something beautiful about them.
Now it’s time to enjoy the season of spring! Take walks, enjoy the daffodils and watch the trees burst to life. And maybe take some poetry lessons.
Everything in Moderation
Prompts for the Promptless by Rarasaur: True Cost is a term for the often-overlooked, comprehensive expense of something, including the time-related and emotional costs.
Worst case scenario…
So drink responsibly!
Drink Aware
Alcoholics Anonymous
Picture credits (Creative Commons licence):
“Vodka Sobieski” – Kamil Porembinski
“Drunk Havaneise” – “Barry from London”
“South Western Ambulance” – Graham Richardson
“Berlin Cemetery” – Maximilian Schönherr
My Childhood Friend
Daily Prompt: Prized Possession – Describe an item you were incredibly attached to as a child. What became of it?
As a child I had a wonderful friend. He was small, only a couple of inches high, made of wood and covered with soft brown hair. He would sit on my bedside table and I would stroke him before I went to sleep.
I called him, in my childlike way, “Cuddly Bear”.
He was an aged bear. He was my Mum’s childhood friend too. In time his fur began to grow thin and then one day a small chunk of his head fell off.
Hey, don’t laugh ;-).
I was so mad at him. I renamed him “Rough Cuddly Bear” and wouldn’t talk to him for ages. Eventually of course I forgave him.
After all, it wasn’t his fault he was falling to bits. I hope I look as good at his age. I guess if part of my head falls off it’ll be fairly fatal.
Right now he’s in a wardrobe somewhere at my parents’ house, I think. I’m all grown up now and I don’t need furry little friends, and to prove it here’s a photo I just took of my bookcase.
Draliman’s bookcase. I’m hard as nails, me.
Oh. Er. Um. Who put those soft toys there? They’re not mine. Is that an Ally McBeal box set? Surely there’s been some mistake.
Um.
Update 28/04/2013 – I found him! There is a picture of him here.
Questions Answered
Wow. I’m so behind in my post reading. I just read Awardification written last week by one of my favourite bloggers, Goldfish. There was some talk of awards and whatnot but I saw my name in there somewhere and a list of questions to answer, posed by Goldfish herself.
There may be more award-related stuff to do but it’s all very confusing so I’m just going to answer the questions, and take the consequences! ‘Cos I’m a rebel.
Goldfish asks:
“The Foxglove Massive” by DraliDoodles(TM)
Do you remember what it was like to be short? I don’t mean adult short, but kid short, like 2 feet tall. (I don’t. That’s why I’m asking.)
I have one vivid memory of being little. We had foxgloves in our front garden and I remember that they towered above me. Years later, when I’d grown up, I saw more foxgloves and was surprised that they were shorter than I remembered. Very disappointing.
How tall are you?
I’m around 5 foot 8 inches tall. That’s right. Feet and inches. The UK is a confusing mixture of Imperial and metric measurements. Officially I’m 1.7 metres tall. We used to be all Imperial and then along came Europe with their directives and now we’re metric. Sort of. A pint of beer is still a pint. If asked my weight, I’d tell you 9 stone. Which is a massive lie, but I’d give it in stones and pounds rather than kilogrammes. Everything is officially metric apart from road-related stuff, which is miles and miles per hour, though all car speedometers also have km/hr on them in case we go driving in Europe. Damn you, Europe, and your modern ways.
What is your favorite genre of movies?
Tricky – that depends on my mood. Sci-fi, fantasy, action, comedy. Something like that.
Do you drive to work or take public transportation? How long does it take you?
I drive to work. It takes me around 8 minutes (5.4 miles). A little too far to walk. Cornwall is not great for public transport. Last time I checked, to get to work I would have to take a train into Truro and then find a bus. It would take around an hour to an hour and a half. And I’d either be really really early or slightly late.
What is your favorite moment of an average work day? For example, mine is getting home to see my dog.
I don’t play favourites. It starts. It ends. I guess maybe the end.
What was your favorite candy as a kid? Is it different now that you’re an adult?
Yorkie bars. Big chunky chocolate. I don’t eat those any more because I get addicted to chocolate and then I have to buy bigger trousers.
If you could pick one food item to eat as much as you want without any health consequences for the rest of your life, what would you pick?
Easy – pizza! Mmmmmm, Pizza.
“Talkin’ to Drali” by DraliDoodles(TM)
What actor or actress would play you in the story of your life?
I have absolutely no idea. Who could possibly be more qualified to play me than me? Okay, maybe Robert De Niro. He wouldn’t be right playing me, but he could keep saying “You talkin’ to me?” all the way through. That would be cool.
How far do you live from where you were born?
About 7 miles. I’ve lived and worked in Surrey (near London), Stuttgart (South Germany) and Cork (South coast of Ireland) but for various reasons I’ve returned to my roots!
I’m going to write a check to your favorite charity. To whom should I make it out?
Wow, that’s really generous of you, thanks! Please make your cheque payable to me and I’ll, um, make sure the money reaches its destination. No? Okay, Macmillan Cancer Support then.
Do you like your first name or do you wonder what the H your parents were thinking?
Hmm, “Alistair”. Tricky to spell is the problem here. Alistair, Alister, Alasdair, the list goes on. “Fred” would have been easier. However, “Ali” does lend itself to “Dr” on the front and “man” on the back – draliman! Yay, thanks parents!
Thanks for the the questions!
Too much time
I’ve been shamed. I’ve been guiltified. One of my fellow bloggers has asked why there are so few posts waiting in her reader. Where has everyone gone?
I’m one of the non-posting culprits. Okay, I’m notorious for having a post-spurt and then going ominously quiet, which is what has just happened. So this is basically a post to tell you all where I’ve been the last couple of weeks.
Nowhere! That’s where I’ve been. In fact I’ve haven’t even been at work since Tuesday, and therein lies the problem (well, part of it anyway). Too much time on my hands.
Strangely, the more time I have, the less I seem to do. I decide not to do anything “right now” because I’ve got so much time, I can easily do it later. And then I don’t.
I’m great if I’ve hardly got any time at all. I can bang stuff out just like that. It’s not just writing posts either. If, say, the bathroom floor needs a clean and I have twenty minutes free, I’ll rush right in there and do it. If, however, I have a couple of hours free I’ll do it “later”.
Of course, when it comes to posting, there’s the whole “inspiration” thing as well. Sometimes I’ll get all inspired by the Daily Prompt, sometimes I just think that I have nothing to say on the subject. I probably could if I tried but I don’t take the time to think. I’m either working, or watching TV or reading. I rarely sit down and just think. I’ve found a couple of old photos and I’m hoping to get some poetry inspiration from them, though poetry’s not really my thing. Let’s see how that goes.
How about you? Do you see loads of free time and get loads done, or are you better when time is short?
Journey’s End
Creative Writing Challenge: 2 AM Photo – It’s 2AM and your phone has just buzzed you awake, filling the room in white-blue LED light. You have a message. It’s a photo. No words, no explanation. Just a photo. Tell us all about it. And what happens next.
My phone buzzes me awake and I open the message, eyes blurred with sleep.
The message contains a scan of a very old photograph, its colours faded by time, its edges fraying with age.
I recognise it at once, know when it had been taken. I’m standing between two men, our arms around each other, smiles on our faces. On my left Darian, my best friend. Tall, muscular, gang tattoos etched up his arms. On my right, his brother Cody. Younger but just as tough.
In the middle, me. Short and stocky, seventeen years old, the red bandanna around my head marking me as an initiate. A gang wannabe.
It was taken two days before my life changed forever. Two days before Cody called me That Name. I could take a lot, but not That Name.
My mood could change in an instant. Loving friend to murderous beast.
I don’t remember anything between hearing Cody call me That Name to pulling my blade from between his ribs. My face must have mirrored the shock I saw in his as he fell back and sank slowly to the ground. I stared at his blood dripping from my blade. And I ran. I ran as fast and as hard as I could. And I never stopped running.
Until now.
Darian was my best friend but I knew he would have to come after me. Darian lived by The Code. An eye for an eye. I knew it would give him no pleasure to end me, but I knew he had no choice. The Code was The Code.
Forty years have passed since that day, the day the photograph was taken. I walk out of the tiny cabin where I’ve made my life these past three years and stare out over the lake. It’s placid and calm today but sometimes the storms come over the mountains and it turns instantly into a raging animal.
Its mood can change in a instant. Loving friend to murderous beast. The irony of my chosen refuge is not lost on me.
Darian sent the photograph knowing I would realise its significance. He’s giving me time to get my affairs in order before he comes to end me. But I don’t have anything I need to do. No business to pass on, no-one to tell. I think I’ll just sit here, looking out over the lake and wait for him. I hear he’s a big-shot now. He has people to take care of insignificant matters like me, but I know he’ll come himself. I know because he’s my best friend. I know because he sent me the photograph.
I hope he gives me tonight. I’d like to see the sun rise over the lake again.
Letting it Happen
Today I shall attempt the impossible! Two prompts, one post! To quote BBC’s Red Dwarf (from the episode “Holoship”):
RIMMER: I shall undertake both tasks simultaneously if it’s all the same to you.
PLATINI: Mr. Rimmer, that is impossible.
RIMMER: Nevertheless, I shall attempt it.
Prompts for the Promptless by Rarasaur: “Wu wei, or non-doing, is a Taoist practice involving letting one’s action follow the simple and spontaneous course of nature rather than interfering with the harmonious working of universal law by imposing arbitrary and artificial forms. In other words, it is the action of non-action.”
Daily Prompt: Comfort Zone – “What are you more comfortable with — routine and planning, or laissez-faire spontaneity?”
A panda, whose name may or may not be Wu Wei. We’ll probably never know. (Picture JP Fischer, Wiki Creative Commons.)
So let’s just forget for a moment that “Wu Wei” is an excellent name for a panda. Let’s look at “spontaneity” first.
I’m about as spontaneous as a brick. Not one of those bricks which suddenly and without warning spontaneously decides to become part of a house. No, this brick just sits there letting life happen around it. It’s a Wu Wei brick, you might say.
Most of the time I’m a bit like the Wu Wei brick. I let things happen around me and just go with the flow. The world revolves around me and I sit happily in my little bubble.
Of course, I live in the real world. I work, I go shopping and so on. That part of my life is ruled by routine. Everything happens on a certain day at a certain time, even, to a certain extent, what I eat and when. That sounds really boring but it works for me. It keeps my anxiety level down. If I have to do something which breaks my routine, I try to forget about it until it’s time to actually do it. That way I don’t obsess about it.
“Safe in my Bubble”, part of the DraliDoodles(TM) collection
This sounds like I always have everything planned out. As far as my routine goes, that’s true. However, I never plan every detail of everything, because then it’s too easy for something to go wrong, and that would be “bad”. I’ve booked three days in North Wales in June, my first holiday for five years. I have a room booked and I have a route planned to get there, but once I’m there I’ll just let the mood take me. If I planned everything, I’d panic if something happened to change my plans.
So, to summarise I’m a semi-Wu Wei routine-driven partial-planner.
Wu Wei-hey!
For all you art fans out there, I’ve talked to the DraliDoodles team and they’ve given me some details! They tell me that “Safe in my Bubble” was rendered using a black ball-point ink-distribution unit on a canvas of dried compressed pulped wood. It was digitised using “a cheapo Canon scanner what we got off Amazon”.
Hello Spammers!
I’ve been feeling a bit guilty lately. I get all these comments which fall into my spam box and I haven’t replied to any of them!
After all, these “people” have taken all the trouble to write/buy/steal a spamming engine. The least I can do is reply to them. At the end of the day, they did manage to cleverly bypass the Akismet spam filter, and judging on the number which get caught and removed, that couldn’t have been easy.
So, inspired by fellow blogger Goldfish’s amazingly funny “Dear Goldfish” series, here’s my replies to my spammers.
Fuck off.
Hang on, that’s not it. I was going to reply personally. Here goes.
“Hey there! I just wanted to ask if you ever have any trouble with hackers?”
Yes. You. Bugger off.
“Thanks for any other excellent article. The place else could anybody get that type of info in such a perfect method of writing? I’ve a presentation next week, and I am at the search for such info.”
“Any other excellent article”? What’s wrong with this article? Good luck with your presentation, by the way. I do hope it doesn’t have to be given in English.
“Hello! Would you mind if I share your blog with my myspace group?”
Yes. Yes, I would mind.
“It contrary to popular belief was obviously a amusement site it. Look advanced to far added acceptable in your favor! In addition, how could we speak?”
I’m very much afraid that if we did speak, I wouldn’t understand a word you were saying, as your words seem to spray out in a fairly random order.
“You definitely have amazing article content. Thanks a lot for revealing your webpage.”
This was in response to my Daily Prompt post “Ode to an Xbox“. This was not an “article”, nor did it contain any “amazing content”. I wrote it for a laugh in less than 15 minutes while simultaneously watching Eastenders on the telly. But thanks for your kind words anyway.
I think that’s all for now. I look forward to reading and replying to more of your automated drivel in the future!
Drali’s Weekend by Dralifunk
Daily Prompt: B+ – Write about what you did last weekend as though you’re a music critic reviewing a new album.
Next up here on MusoViews, it’s the latest offering from up-and-coming crooners Dralifunk. Together with some inspired backing vocals from the Dralifunkettes, I’m sure you’ll agree with us that Drali’s Weekend is well worth a listen! Let’s take it track by track.
Track 1 – Goin’ Into Town sees a fairly gentle start to the album, a smooth 15 minute ride. No surprises here – just the thing when you’re on the road.
Track 2 – Haircut gives us an over-long intro as we find the establishment under-staffed, but ultimately results in a good, smooth result. An unbalanced offering with an intro lasting as long as the main part of the track.
Track 3 – Afternoon Nap slows things down with a nice hour and a half of virtual oblivion. Nothing much happening here but just the thing to relax to.
Track 4 – Pizza Baby really gets things moving with a hot and racy number, beautifully enhanced with a smattering of Tabasco. Careful with this one, it’s too hot for some!
Track 5 – Dinner with the Folks is a real delight. This one’s the money-spinner for the album, a tasty chicken delight, well-stuffed and with a side dish of leeks and bread crumbs. Smashing!
Track 6 – Final Curtain ends on another slow note as we wind gently down, though with a taste of anticipation as we contemplate the coming week.
Our verdict – quite an eclectic mish-mash of tracks, it’s nothing special but at the same time is quite relaxing. However, with a run time of 48 hours, make sure you’re sitting comfortably!
So many inventions, so little time
Daily Prompt: Undo – If you could un-invent something, what would it be? Discuss why, potential repercussions, or a possible alternative.
First, big news. This post will feature the début of critically acclaimed* artwork created by me – DraliDoodles!
*Not necessarily true
So many inventions, so little time! Where to start?
“Battlelines” copyright draliman, one of the DraliDoodles collection.
Let’s start big. Let’s un-invent War. War is rubbish. We don’t need War. Without War we would all get along on our little planet in perfect harmony.
Wait a minute. No we wouldn’t. People would still kill people. Then more people would kill more people. It would all escalate. I bet if I un-invented War someone would reinvent it within about 3 seconds and call it something else.
Okay, so there’s no point un-inventing War. So let’s make War more of a slapping match. Let’s un-invent Guns. It’s decided then, Guns are going.
“Earth Gone”, another addition to the DraliDoodles collection
Hmmm, people will still find other ways to kill each other. Like hitting each other over the head with rocks. I can’t un-invent rocks. We need them to build houses and whatnot. And without any rocks we’d all be floating around in space wondering where the planet went.
Not Guns then. Just delaying the inevitable. I’m starting to see a pattern here. It’s Humans, isn’t it.
Let’s un-invent Humans! The world would return to an idyllic verdant green and blue paradise.
Whoa there a minute! I’m not un-inventing Humans. Not wishing to appear self-centred or anything, but I’m a Human! I just bought the Batman trilogy on Blu-ray and I haven’t watched it yet. Anyway, if a Human un-invents Humans, then Humans would never have existed, therefore I would never have existed to un-invent Humans. This would cause a temporal causality something-or-other which would likely result in an explosion so big it would make the Big Bang look like an “anal gas expulsion” someone ignited at a drunken party because it “seemed like a good idea at the time”.
I’m thinking too big. Gotta think smaller. Boy, this is a tough one.
Pop Tarts!
“Pop tarts or Cornflakes”, part of the DraliDoodle range
That’s the thing. Nasty little packages gumming up the toasters of the world with their leaking innards, sitting there deceptively on the plate with their slightly warm exteriors ready to sear our taste buds off with their 350 degree Centigrade fillings, making us wish we’d taken the time to sit down and have a nice
bowl of Cornflakes instead.
Pop Tarts. Final answer.
Or nuclear missiles.
Prints of all DraliDoodles are now available for purchase! These are limited edition as my printer is running out of ink, so order yours today!
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