Darkness creeps along the torn and frayed strands of my mind.
From order to disorder, every shuffle of the deck reveals another horror.
In the light, no outward signs of turmoil while the demons assume my soul.
Standing on the precipice; freedom from this private hell is just one step away.
My trunk stretches into the salty water,
but this will not quench my thirst.
These stone monuments
carved by the mother of everything
will be all that remains of the
great herds that once roamed here.
As we go extinct, so does your kind, waiting for
our fossils to be discovered in the next great epoch.
“What’s in that bubble floating on the wind, Daddy?”
“It contains the entirety of a life within; everything it was, everything it is, and everything it will become.”
The tick of the clock only moves in one direction from our insignificant perspective but that is not proof of times linearity; spacetime just ‘IS’. Everything has already happened, no beginning, no end, no entrance or exit from the trajectory set upon us. Perhaps by God or chance, I won’t postulate on the how or why beyond accepting that everything is relative.
It seems pointless to fret, if the path our lives will follow has already been settled I’m certain none of us know the outcome and in that sense, the risks we take are real, the love and tears and laughter genuine, and the direction we choose to go remains ours to determine.
It is time for another of Rory’s Morning Dawdler (#RMD). Three times a week Rory, The Autistic Composter at Earthly Comforts posts several questions for the blogosphere to ponder. This set was posted yesterday but life and the ever expanding universe didn’t put me here to answer until this morning.
1. What is the weirdest fact you know?
Dark energy permeates the universe. Although science doesn’t know what this energy is the mathematics show it exists similar to dark matter.
No this is not some plot of the next Iron Man movie or the evil forces we see at work in our everyday lives. Dark energy exists in the space between matter in the universe and it could bring about the end of everything.
Dark energy is driving universe to expand at an accelerating rate. That expansion will eventually outstripping the gravitation forces holding everything together. When the “Big Rip” occurs gravity will not be able to hold matter together. All matter from black holes, to star and planets, to living creatures. The atoms we are made of will rip apart into their subatomic parts leaving only a universe of single disconnect particles. The mathematical modelss show the “Big Rip” happening in about 22 billion years.
Of course this is just one of three theories explaining the universe’s demise. The first of the other two theorizes that gravity wins the battle with dark energy and the universe collapses back in on inself creating what is know as the “Big Crunch”. All matter would be pulled back to a single dense point at the center of the universe. This one seem the most unlikely as the universe continues to expand at an accelerated rate. The other theory is based on the principles of thermodynamics in which entrophy will increase until it reaches maximum value. Essentially the universe will die in a “Big Freeze” where the gases of the universe disperse so thin that stars can’t form and time becomes but an endless void.
2. Which meal is your favorite: breakfast, lunch, or dinner?
Who am I kidding, I am partial to food at anytime but if I had to choose I’d say breakfast.
3. What do you enjoy most about your blog?
I enjoy the creative outlet it provides. I take pride in putting together a site that I hope people find visually pleasing and find fun to visit. I do wish I had more time but life does have its way of keeping us from the things we enjoy.
4. What are you passionate about outside of writing?
My family, my home and my vegetable garden.
Every week Fandango over at This, That and the Other posts a provocative question. This week’s question has a musical theme…
“What is your favourite music genre? Why is it your favourite? If you have more than one genre that you prefer, what are they?“
I listen to just about any genre of music.
My playlists are mostly filled with alternative sounds dating from the 80s to the present. They say someone’s musical path is determined by the beats they listen to from the onset of their teenage years and into their early twenties. For me, that was the sounds of the 80s although there was influence from older cousins and friends who were rooted in the classic rock sounds of the 70s. Depeche Mode, The Smiths, New Order, The Cure, U2 and early REM are some of the seminal bands of my generation that found a place on my turntable, along with other influences like Love and Rockets, Roxy Music, Brian Johnson era AC/DC, and the Madchester sounds of the Happy Mondays and The Stone Roses.
As I left college and embark on adult life SoundScan began to change the music scene. Where recorded sales of music were somewhat of a murky business the introduction of the point-of-sale inventory/sales system made it impossible for promoters and music labels to pay off retail outlets to fudge sales for whatever artists they were pushing. In the olden days, the music business could give Hollywood and possibly the mob a run for its money when it comes to being shady.
SoundScan levelled the playing field for Artists. Music sales that had been suppressed began to gain acceptance. Sales numbers could no longer be skewed as accurate barcodes and point-of-sale data collection took over the industry. Artists who were being ripped off now had data to prove it. Backwater sounds like Country and Western benefitted from the change. For years the industry had cannibalized sales from the genre to prop up other acts across other genres. Actual numbers showed that sales were stronger than anyone imagined and where there is money there is investment and marketing and new artists ready to cash in.
As such I found my taste expand through the 90s and artists like Garth Brooks, George Strait and Brooks & Dunn found their way into my 6-disc Pioneer CD player. I even donned cowboy boots and hats and headed out to the local bars to boot scoot and boogie. It wasn’t hard to go there considering the Grunge and Britpop sounds of the early and mid-90s, had run their course and the airways were filled with Top 40 shite from acts like the Spice Girls, Brittney Spears, Mariah Carey and the like. Most of that was an autotune assault on my good senses.
I have always enjoyed Jazz and the Blues and even R&B and early hip/hop. Even today I can listen to acts like Grandmaster Flash, Run DMC, The Beastie Boys and K-os. But Gangsta Rap is an assault on one’s ears. How in a society where we are so willing to cancel someone for an inappropriate comment or a differing opinion, we find it okay for racially charged, misogynistic and downright anti-social music to permeate our airwaves is mind-boggling. My oldest son would disagree with me as he spins the likes of Eminem, Snoop, Post Malone, Dre and other giants of the genre 24/7. I know “spin” is an antiquated term when it comes to music in the streaming era.
Today my alternative tastes have mellowed to a more folksy feel. Vance Joy, Of Monsters and Men, and Mumford and Sons fill my playlists but I still often find myself back at my musical roots. The stomping beats of Personal Jesus (Depeche Mode), the gyrating riff of How Soon Is Now? (The Smiths) or the dark overtones of Lullaby (The Cure) will always have a place in my soul.
Isn’t that the beauty of music though? There is something for everyone, a myriad of sounds to tickle the senses. Even my likes and dislikes are not absolute. Ihave dabbled in Big Bands, Rockabilly, Bluegrass, Industrial, Classical, Opera, Metal, Thrash, Punk, Disco, Trance, Ambient, and even thoughtfully written Hip/Hop. On the other side there are Alternative sounds that aren’t worth my ear. I guess the old adage of “good music is good music” rings true. Happy Listening!
Welcome to Four Line Fiction, a pix-to-prose challenge. Each Thursday, at 9:00am Eastern Time (Canada/United States) I will post an image I have captured myself, featured from another blog or plucked from one of the Interweb’s many royalty-free image sites. You as the writer are to use that image as a point of inspiration to craft a masterpiece of fiction in four lines.
The image for February 9th, 2023 is the black and white portrait of a woman in profile (looking left), taken from the shoulders up. The image has been digitally enhanced to create a bird’s nest-like pencil stroke effect.
Be creative and have fun. I look forward to reading the tales you spin. Don’t forget to show your fellow bloggers some love -❤️- take some time to read, like, and comment on their masterpieces.
Click here for full rules and guidelinesContent Warning: Contains violence and coarse language.
I was the reasonable one, Dave thought sitting in the lot. The one who ensured contracts were in order and deadlines were met. I quit the tennis club, cycling, stopped seeing friends, giving everything to the job and this company. Peter, my old boss knew I was the glue that held it together before he retired but the new punk was blind. Always with the chide remarks about my gray hair and bathroom breaks. Always nitpicking my work, complaining about how formal I wrote or whining to colleagues about me returning from lunch a couple minutes late. Of course, never to my face or ever once acknowledging that I arrived early and stayed late, other than to suggest that if I wasn’t such a dinosaur I wouldn’t need to be here.
Then there is Bob. How many times do I have to complain about his hygiene? The guy hadn’t seen the inside of a shower in months and the stains on the same pair of pants he’d worn for weeks could have passed as a god-damned biohazard. To compound the matter, Sally was compensating by wearing a bottle of perfume every fucking day and twat-boss was on her case, not the real problem! We all have to work in this shithole, but it was hard when the haze of rose-scented Bobshit was permeating your brain! Something had to change!
Sally observed Dave as he exits his car. It wasn’t like him to be late. He was talking to himself as he fretted, appearing agitated as he paced back and forth several times before opening the trunk. She continued to watch as he donned a heavy-looking vest she’d never seen before. He fumbled about in the trunk and with his belt for several minutes, but she couldn’t make out what he was doing.
His intention becoming clearer as he pulled the mask from atop his grey-fringed dome and headed towards the side door. Gasping, her hand instinctually shot to her mouth when she could make out what he was carrying. Realizing a reckoning of sorts was upon them she ducked into the washroom and locked the door. She was careful not to move or even breathe too loudly as she waited for the commotion outside the door to stop.
Lilith watched through the window as the woman rummaged through some old trinkets.
Charlton loved Inez. Plus, for a time she could bridle his deviant urges. Still, the demons slowly consumed him and they drifted apart.
Inez plucked the ring from its tiny box and a black cloud filled the room. Lilith grinned, her beastly servant becoming visibly agitated at its presence. She was right, Inez held the key to his soul.
Welcome to Five Word Weekly. Each Monday, I will post five random words to Greg’s Blog at 5:00am Eastern Time (Canada/United States). Your task is to craft prose or poetry using any or all of the word prompts. How you participate is entirely up to you. Your work(s) can be a single piece, a series of stand-alone projects, or an epic serial. Let the words be the inspiration that takes you wherever your imagination leads.
Here are your prompt words for the week of February 6th, 2023:
improper | sodden | vital | slate | colonial
Be creative and have fun. I look forward to reading what each of you conjures up. Don’t forget to show your fellow bloggers some love -❤️- take some time to read, like, and comment on their responses.
Click here for full rules and guidelines
Do you ever just need a moment to yourself. Of course I found a way to make it backfire on me. I’ve been back in the office for a couple of months now but working in my own office in isolation. The workload isn’t much different from when I was at home so I’m not sure why I was needed back so desperately. That decision was out of my hands but we make do as necessary.
Anyway, last Sunday I left a couple of hours early and stopped for some food at a local restaurant to take in the Leafs/Capital (hockey) and Chiefs/Bengals (football) games, simultaneously. I sat in the corner alone with my mask on except when eating. The bill was surprisingly reasonable, certainly on par with some fast food joints I may have stopped at and eaten while driving and the quality was way better. The problem is I may have forgotten to mention it to my partner who believed I was still at work. Of course, me being oblivious left the receipt in my work pants. Needless to say, she found it and rightly so, I’ve been relegated to the doghouse. Nothing foul was afoot and it seemed so insignificant at the time, but it was still a breach of her trust.
Truth is I just needed a moment to myself. If I’d told her, I’d have had to pick her and the kid up and bring them along or I’d have been asked to bring home an expensive takeout order, not that the cost was a concern, I just didn’t want to be saddled with a chore and expectations. I just needed a moment, lost in the noise and in my thoughts. I was wrong not to tell her but a part of me thinks it’s time we’d have been apart anyway.
It was nice to have a little more normal week on the blog, here are some of the highlights…
Five Word Weekly Challenge
Lots of great responses this week…
Linger With Me is a beautifully romantic poem written by ladysighs.
The Monster in the Back Room is a cheeky monster tale written by Joanne the Geek.
Life’s Real Purpose and Adulthood is a harrowing tale of monotony, life’s grind and taxes by Chel Owens.
Dishes a tale of newly realized freedom by Paula at Light Motifs II
Gossip Girls is a poem about not liking gossip unless of course, it’s about someone else by Sadje at Keep It Alive.
Four Line Fiction Challenge
They said if you build it they will come. Not so much for the inaugural Four Line Fiction challenge but if I’m anything it’s not a quitter. Perseverance is said to be the trait of champions. I provided the only entry this week…
Out Of The Cold, was my contribution to this new weekly challenge. Hopefully its more than me next week.
The Nightbird | Written for Shay’s Word Garden.
My First Computer | Written for WordPress Daily Prompt
In Between | Written for Denise’s Six Sentence Stories.
Another Person’s Trash | Written for Carrot Ranch’s Story in 99 Words.
11. Revenge: The Bonding | The eleventh installment of the Revenge Series written for Sammi Scribbles Weekend Writing Prompt.
Here are some other great clicks this week…
Follow 9 | Liz H. at Valley of the Trolls | Another installment in the Follow series. Liz always has compelling serials to follow.
Inside the Tree | Bridgette Tales | A story that draws you in and won’t let go until the very end.
Hollow Man | Fandango at This, That and the Other| A poignant piece about chasing material success at the cost of everything else.
Her Crime Murder | Diana Coombes aka Writer Ravenclaw | A tale of murder and daring escape!
Homo sapiens | Hobbo | Someone mentioned the late great Hobbo this week and I went back and read a bunch of his work. It seemed appropriate to add one here. If you haven’t read Hobbo’s works I highly recommend you have a gander.
Just keep clickin! There was so much other great stuff out there this week but not enough time or room to fit it all in here.
One week until the Super Bowl for all you football fans. For me its just an excuse to eat chili and chicken wings! Chiefs and Eagles fans will be going crazy.
Look for another Five Word Weekly on Monday and the second installment of the newly minted Four Line Fiction on Thursday. Hopefully this weeks image gets the creative juices flowing. At some point during the week the next installment for the Revenge series will drop using the prompt word key.
Have a great week,
Greg's Blog 