Discovery In the Dark

Wake up in the middle of the night Need to go to the bathroom So up I get, one step, and then Squish Oh god what have I stepped in? Hop hobble to the bathroom, light on And see what’s what Wash my foot in disgust Back to the bedroom, light on Survey the furball…

Better than you think – the films of Val Lewton

We’ve all heard of the so-called B movie, the low budget films, churned out at speed by studios, usually with pretty terrible plots and casts. Often that is quite true. Sometimes, however, these second-class films can produce something impressive, such as a selection of movies produced in the forties for RKO studios by Val Lewton.…

Entropy

Nothing lasts forever All that lives must die All that is must cease It all ends in entropy, so the scientists say Order to chaos, structure to wreckage This endless obliteration Is the breaking apart of all that exists At the end of all things There will be nothing at all No order, no chaos…

The Stone that the Builders Rejected

Scattered stones in an old quarry All the good stuff has been taken Hacked out, hauled away Leaving the scraps, the offcuts The good-for-nothing leftovers Not fit for purpose Yet the builders’ rejects Are lifted up and dusted off Shaped and polished and made ready To become cornerstones of new creations A new builder sees…

Compass

Ever used a compass Finding your way by the trembling point of a tiny needle That you can barely see Or you could be lost Wandering aimlessly in the wilderness No food, no water, no hope Life doesn’t come with a map Leaving you in the desert without guidance (Why isn’t there a map?) You…

Favourite Science Fiction Films

There are a lot of debates about the definition of science fiction. There are many different opinions on good and bad movies, and a million ‘best of’ list articles on the internet. I won’t presume to call this a list of best films. This will be a list of science fiction films I have seen…

Ladder to the Sky

It started as a dream The ladder made real Climbing so high Ascending to the sky The ladder from earth To the throne of God Angels wait to take your hand And help you make the journey step by step Earth is in darkness War and strife and suffering But still the ladder waits as…

Problems of a Ghost Writer

The ghosts of writers past haunt me They speak in my mind They flow through my fingers Shakespeare wrote a new sonnet last night Though he objected to the keyboard And demanded pen and paper I don’t think they really understand I can’t go out and say Well, I was speaking to Steinbeck the other…

Silver: The Metal of Magical Protection

In reading and watching a great many fantasy-based stories, something that often comes up is the usefulness of silver as a protection and a weapon against dark forces and evil creatures. I started to wonder why: why silver? What made that so magical in the eyes of ancient peoples? I decided to see what the…