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!
To sleep perchance to dream
Daily Prompt: Nightmares – Describe the last nightmare you remember having. What do you think it meant?
Wow, I’ve totally ripped off Shakespeare for my title! Here’s the “Day-Late-draliman” offering on the subject.
I tend to dream a lot. Well, I think we all do or we’d go crazy (according to a Star Trek Next Generation episode I saw recently), but don’t always remember them. I usually wake up three or four times during the night and often remember dreaming something.
My dreams (when negative) are usually more “disconcerting” rather than actual nightmares. The last nightmare I remember was a little while ago now. All I can remember is carefully sawing someone up into pieces. It was quite graphic and totally freaked me out.
What does this nightmare say about me? Obviously, I’m a total psycho. Surely completely sane people shouldn’t be having dreams like this.
When I was little I used to be able to control my dreams. I knew I was dreaming and I could make things happen. I would go find someone I knew and try to persuade them that I was actually dreaming, then to prove it I’d wake myself up right in front of them. I’m not quite sure what the point of that was.
I can’t do it any more. Think of the fun I could have now I’m all grown up! Occasionally in a dream I get the sense that it’s not real and I can “reset” certain things I don’t like, but that’s the best I can manage now.
I’ve heard that the details of dreams are held in a part of our memory that’s very short-term and our brains are clever enough to know not to stick them on the “hard disk” for long term use, and that’s why we can’t remember the details for long.
So, bearing that in mind, how come I can remember a nightmare I had months ago about slicing someone into pieces, but the moment I have a dream about (insert name of sexy celebrity here) and a tub of whipped cream, the details instantly elude me?
That’s life, I guess.
Ode to an Xbox
Daily Prompt: Cupid’s Arrow – “It’s Valentine’s Day, so write an ode to someone or something you love. Bonus points for poetry!”
OK, here goes.
Sitting there all white and shiny,
Powerful but still quite tiny.
Playing games or check the web,
Watch a film while still in bed!
Kicking ass on Halo 3,
Xbox, you’re so good to me!
Xbox, yes, you are the one,
Thank you. Thanks for all the fun.
Oh man, I really need to get a life. Seriously. Now.
Help?
Free Health Care For All
Daily Prompt: Is access to medical care something that governments should provide, or is it better left to the private sector? Are there drawbacks to your choice?
Well, once again I cherry pick a Daily Post prompt and deliver a day late. Maybe that can be my “thing” – late on the daily prompt. I’ve always wanted a “thing”.
But enough of that. A serious question has been posed, a serious answer is demanded.
As far as I’m concerned, the primary function of government is to look after the safety, security and well-being of its citizens. If it’s not offering free/subsidised health care to everyone, universally and without bias, is it really fulfilling this function?
South West England NHS ambulance – free from A to B! (Picture Wiki Commons licence, Graham Richardson)
Here in the UK the government provides free health care for all. I love living in a country where I can have an accident, a heart attack, a knee replacement or whatever and know that the only thing I have to worry about is getting better. No bills, no debt.
The downside? There is one, of course. The NHS (National Health Service) is paid for by taxes and/or National Insurance contributions (I’m not exactly sure what money goes where). That means the NHS has a budget. Some new drugs aren’t available on the NHS because they’re too expensive and they haven’t been proven to add significant quality of life/extend life. Waiting times for non-essential operations (for example hip replacements) can be measured in months. The hospitals in each area are run by “NHS Trusts” – some medications might be available in some areas and not others.
Then we have the private sector. If you have the money, you can join a health insurance scheme. You can have your operations and so on in private hospitals, or private wings in NHS hospitals. If you don’t have private health insurance (most don’t) you can wait for the NHS (free) or pay for the procedure. If you want an expensive medicine, you can pay for it (if you can afford it). If not, you’ll get the cheaper version. If you want your non-essential operation tomorrow instead of in two months time and you have the money, you can pay for it to be done privately.
As ever, if you have the money you have a choice, but for the rest of us at least we’ll get it for free if we’re willing to wait.
So we have both government-provided healthcare and private healthcare. There’s competition in the private sector which helps keep prices in check, and the government healthcare is free. The best of both worlds!
Magical Mystery Tour
I’m well known around these parts for my ability to get lost at the drop of a hat. So when I decided that it was high time I took my Dad’s old CRT computer monitor to the local waste recycling centre (a ten minute drive), things didn’t go exactly as planned.
If you’ll indulge me, I’ve decided to explain my journey(s) in the style of “Woodland Walks in a National Park”.
Cornwall’s “Happy Trails” Wilderness Adventures
Welcome to Cornwall’s Happy Trails Wilderness AdventuresTM!
The Red Trail
A short trail for the beginner. Strike out towards your destination, but be sure to ignore all road signs and turn right early, because you know better. You will find yourself on a tiny winding road which leads to a tiny village. As the road gets smaller, realise that you’ve gone the wrong way – find someone’s driveway and use it to hang a cheeky U-turn. There’s no-one else here but village dwellers who all know each other – try to look as if you belong, and keep your windows wound up and your doors locked.
The Green Trail
Not for the faint-hearted, ensure you have plenty of petrol before setting out. Turn right when you see the sign post to your destination. When you reach the next town you need to turn left at the cross-roads, but unbeknownst to you there are two cross-roads. Turn left at the first, because there’s a little red van in front of you which looks like it’s going to the tip. Follow him slavishly down a small winding road, but don’t follow when he unexpectedly turns left – this is his house. Continue on and make some random turns in a futile attempt to circle back round to the tip. Continue on for several miles until you realise you’re almost in Truro. Since you’re here, why not visit our beautiful cathedral, our museum, or enjoy a Cornish Cream Tea in one of our picturesque coffee shops? Make your way back to the main road and continue back to where you started.
The Blue Trail
Continue as you did on the Green Trail, this time make a left at the second cross-roads (it’s clearly signposted) and continue to the tip. It’s not hard. Be sure to stop at the burger van at the industrial estate 50 yards from your destination to ask the way. Try not to show your embarrassment. On your way back, why not completely miss the huge, clearly signposted left turn back home and continue on? This will add a good 2 miles of tiny winding roads to your Cornwall’s Happy Trails Wilderness AdventuresTM experience.
Maybe I should use a sat-nav?
Eat up
Yesterday’s Daily Prompt:
Shipwrecked! Read the story of Richard Parker and Tom Dudley. Is what Dudley did defensible? What would you have done?
I know, it’s yesterday’s Daily Prompt again. In my defence, by the time it arrives in my feed it’s already lunchtime here in the UK.
Ahem.
So, the basic story is that these four guys are stuck in a lifeboat with no food or water. One of them (Mr. Parker) is ill, probably from drinking sea water. One of the others decides he’d make a good meal, so the next day he cuts his throat and the three survivors chow down.
Would I have done the same thing?
Would I run back into a burning building to save the child screaming out the window? In my dreams I would. In my thoughts I would. In reality? I hope I would, though I doubt it.
Would I rush into the road and shove someone out of the way, knowing the car would hit me instead? Again, in my dreams I would. In my thoughts I would. In reality, would I bollocks.
Anyone for another slice of Mr Parker? (Photo courtesy of Michael C. Berch, Wikimedia Commons licence.)
The truth is that none of us know what we’d do unless we were unlucky enough to actually be in that situation. We know what we hope we’d do. What we’d actually do in a sudden emergency or if real desperation set in – we can’t predict that while sitting on a comfy sofa in front of the TV.
So, to summarise, in case there’s any confusion, I would like to state categorically and for the record that there is no way that I would EVER kill and eat someone just to save my own life.
Unless I would.
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