On the border between dream and nightmare It could swing either way Take charge, stand your ground Exert your will Wolves become puppies Demons turn to harmless sprites Close the door on the bad and the mad And open the way to a country Where everything shines
Spectacular Pageantry
In 1933 in Adelaide, South Australia, a local business owner created a Christmas pageant. It featured eight floats and four bands, and was watched by 200,000 people. Other than a short hiatus during World War 2, it has run every year since. 86 years later, 84 floats and bands have completed the pageant last Saturday,…
The Circumlocution Office
I need income support Sure, they say And I wait and I wait and Oh, haven’t we done that? We’ll get right on it And I wait and I wait and Oh, it got stuck in the computer All sorted now And I wait and I wait and Haven’t we done that yet? It’ll be…
Review “A Ghost Story”
“A Ghost Story” was released in 2017 and directed by David Lowery. It starred Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara. This is not a horror movie. A man and a woman live in a house. They have some disagreement about living there – the woman wants to move, while her husband is not all that keen.…
Home at last
I am a stranger in this place A traveller on a journey home I carry nothing. It wouldn’t do To be burdened with inconsequential things Baggage can be discarded Pride and all folly Are excess on this final flight A new beginning, and I feel a thrill of anticipation A lifelong promise soon to be…
Elf help – when you need a little love
In 1987 a small book was released by Abbey Press, called ‘Be-Good-to-yourself Therapy’. Written by Cherry Hartman and illustrated by R.W. Alley, this booklet included whimsical drawings of an elf with a candle in his hat going about his day, with thoughts and suggestions about being good to yourself. Over thirty years and multiple books…
Petrichor
Love and life evaporating Drying out in the blazing heat of pain Leaving the spirit parched, desiccated Praying for relief Praying for a break to this drought Then heaven opens Blessings fall, fresh showers Anoint a wilted heart Unfurling petals receive this rain And bask in its scent Petrichor for the soul
Review “Ink”
“Ink” is a fantasy film made in 2009. It’s an independent production made on a low budget, and it contains no familiar actors. It is surprisingly good. It involves supernatural figures who give people good dreams or nightmares. The givers of good dreams are called Storytellers, while the givers of nightmares are Incubi. A mysterious…
Lost in the brain fog
Thoughts like that noise Almost but not quite out of hearing range Got to remember … something? Try to grasp it even as it recedes Like trying to hold smoke Grabbing handfuls of nothing Left with the echoing silence Of confusion Doctors shrug their shoulders Tell you to write everything down As if life…
Review “The Demolished Man” by Alfred Bester
“The Demolished Man” was written in 1953, and has the distinction of being the first winner of the Hugo Award. Bester has written a very interesting idea, and while it has not always aged well, there is still much of interest. The story is an inverted detective story, in that we know the identity of…
