Category Archives: amusements

Monthly Quotes

This month’s selection of recently encountered quotes …


As someone who escaped the lurid treadmill of life in a circus family I have always had the most disagreeable fear that one day the exploding clown car would come back to haunt me.
[Sir John Major]


Anglo-Saxon words
Refuted by my scrabble app:
Cunt. Quim. (Frig’s OK.)

[@19syllables; https://twitter.com/19syllables/status/1176959628925636608]


Magnus nodded sagely. “The more you see of the world, Alva, the more you will find the line blurred between right and wrong. People move about, taking with them their beliefs, their customs, their language. They blend and meld with the places they settle until it is difficult to determine Viking from Anglo-Saxon, pagan from Christian. We are all growing and changing with every passing moment. And I am by your side. We will be changed by this together.”


[God] just seems very man-made to me. There are so many theories, and not everyone can be right. It’s human nature to need a religious crutch, and I don’t begrudge anyone that. I just don’t need one.
[Janeane Garofalo; Showbiz; 1995]


The one who follows the crowd will usually get no further than the crowd … The one who walks alone is likely to find herself in places no one has ever been.


Freddie experienced the sort of abysmal soul-sadness which afflicts one of Tolstoy’s Russian peasants when, after putting in a heavy day’s work strangling his father, beating his wife, and dropping the baby into the city’s reservoir, he turns to the cupboards, only to find the vodka bottle empty.
[PG Wodehouse; The Best of Wodehouse: An Anthology]


Don’t worry … we will be what we need for each other. We will become who we need to be to give each other light.
[Gesshin Claire Greenwood; https://medium.com/@clairegesshin/facing-the-end-of-everything-c3056f44e836]


Life is filled with suffering, but it is also filled with many wonders, like the blue sky, the sunshine, and the eyes of a baby … life is both dreadful and wonderful. To practice meditation is to be in touch with both aspects.
[Thich Nhat Hanh; Being Peace]


If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.
[Nikola Tesla]


Whether the weather be hot,
Or whether the weather be not,
We’ll weather the weather
Whatever the weather
Whether we like it or not!

[unknown]


The standard business model for corporations is to lie, confuse and deny anything that may threaten their profitability.
[Steven Magee]


Ninety percent of what’s wrong with you
could be cured with a hot bath,
says God through the manhole covers,
but we want magic, to win
the lottery we never bought a ticket for.
(Tenderly, the monks chant,
embrace the suffering.) The voice never
panders, offers no five-year plan,
no long-term solution, no edicts from a cloudy
white beard hooked over ears.
It is small and fond and local. Don’t look for
your initials in the geese honking
overhead or to see through the glass even
darkly. It says the most obvious shit,
ie. Put down that gun, you need a sandwich.

[Mary Kerr; VI. Wisdom: The Voice of God]


When small men begin to cast big shadows, it means that the sun is about to set.
[Lin Yutang]

100 Days of Haiku, Episode the Last

This is the final episode, covering the last couple of days, of my 100 Days of Haiku challenge. And not soon enough, they all say! Anyway here’s the final round-up.

Monday 7 October
Nudity and sex
need openness, not taboo.
Healthy benefits.

Tuesday 8 October
Silent summer night
and a fox trots up the street,
snack sensor a-twitch.

Bonus
Turkish delight, such
subtly flavoured sweetmeat.
Seraglio’s best.

Here’s the tally of progress by week:

Week Haiku
Written
1 16
2 28
3 33
4 26
5 26
6 27
7 28
8 24
Week Haiku
Written
9 28
10 18
11 26
12 22
13 27
14 23
15 13
Total 365



So what now? Well … First of all I might put together a “Best of …” my 100 Days Haiku. The 365 written contain a lot of dross, and a few good ones that haven’t made the cut here. I shall see if I find any point doing this and then if I get to do it. Secondly, I have another 100 Day challenge lined up; I may delay strating it until the start of next month. So watch this space.

Meanwhile I hope this series provided some amusement – in whatever way!

100 Days of Haiku, Episode 14

So here we are at the penultimate instalment of our 100 Days of Haiku challenge. The 100th day is Tuesday 8 October and I’ll post the final results in the middle of next week. Meanwhile here is this week’s offering.

Monday 30 September
Felines emitting
zonkons. No wonder I sleep
all the afternoon.

Tuesday 1 October
Autumn eastern sky;
only two stars, just visible.
Too much urban light.

Wednesday 2 October
Life is suffering
but filled with such wonders:
blue sky and lightning.

Thursday 3 October
Sink and ye shall find,
the tap it is a-dripping.
Plumber required.

Friday 4 October
2AM. She sleeps.
I enjoy a quiet wank.
Ah! So much better.

Saturday 5 October
Three eager felines
awaiting their bowls of cod.
No need to wash up.

Sunday 6 October
October tolls the knell
of distant summer days, and
winter soon to come.

Here’s the tally of progress by week:

Week Haiku
Written
1 16
2 28
3 33
4 26
5 26
6 27
7 28
8 24
Week Haiku
Written
9 28
10 18
11 26
12 22
13 27
14 23
15  
Total 352


Final instalment in a few days.

Counters

Each month this year we’re bringing you a post under the general title “Things that Count in [Number]” where [Number] will be the month. And naturally each month’s post will contain the [Number] of items (so just one for January, up to 12 for December).

For our purposes the definition of counting includes things which either come in groups of [Number] (eg. four suits in a pack of playing cards) or things which count in [Number] (eg. decimal coinage counting in tens).

Things which Count in Ten …

  1. Green bottles
  2. Anything metric
  3. Commandments
  4. Lords a-leaping
  5. Bowling pins
  6. Provinces of Canada
  7. Legs on a crab
  8. Countdown to launch
  9. Plagues of Egypt
  10. Grave precepts of Zen Buddhism

100 Days of Haiku, Episode 13

Now for the next instalment of our 100 Days of Haiku challenge.

Monday 23 September
Product of the cow
set between slices of bread.
Steak sandwich heaven.

Tuesday 24 September
Lazing along day.
No hurry, no rush, no stress.
Yet all is complete.

Wednesday 25 September
Gaze on a blank screen;
myriads of unborn words
at my fingertips.

Thursday 26 September
Pretty hairy pubes
wafting aroma aloft:
enticement to fuck.

Friday 27 September
Out of their depth the
bullies bully more, louder.
Government crisis.

Saturday 28 September
A painted lady:
pretty summer butterfly
or a pretty tart?

Sunday 29 September
Meaty piggy ribs:
marinade, oven barbecue.
Much yummy, Mummy.

Here’s the tally of progress by week:

Week Haiku
Written
1 16
2 28
3 33
4 26
5 26
6 27
7 28
8 24
Week Haiku
Written
9 28
10 18
11 26
12 22
13 27
14  
15  
Total 302


Next instalment, next Sunday.

100 Days of Haiku, Episode 12

We’re nearing the end of my 100 Days of Haiku challenge; just over two weeks to go. I need to get out more to stimulate the inspiration; however I continue to write more than one haiku most days although many are not at all good. Anyway here’s this week’s selection.

Monday 16 September
September Sunday,
warm sunny garden weather.
Neighbours arguing.

Tuesday 17 September
Venerable bears think
haiku writing very odd.
Maybe we all do?

Wednesday 18 September
Hidden in the trees
corvids argue all morning.
Continual din.

Thursday 19 September
Locks looking shaggy.
Long overdue, today we
for the barber’s chop.

Friday 20 September
Feeding together:
jackdaw and rook, corvids both,
across the stubble field.

Saturday 21 September
Blood test and flu jab;
chance meet friend: she’s lost her son.
Life is such sadness.

Sunday 22 September
Boy cat sleeps hard in
dappled sun through chilli plants.
Study as greenhouse.

Here’s the tally of progress by week:

Week Haiku
Written
1 16
2 28
3 33
4 26
5 26
6 27
7 28
8 24
Week Haiku
Written
9 28
10 18
11 26
12 22
13  
14  
15  
Total 302


Next instalment, next Sunday.

Passing Thought on Our Time

Just this passing thought on our time (with apologies to the Oldham Tinkers).

At Parliament it used to good,
To see them think of country’s good,
But now the game has changed, tha’ll see,
They can’t talk truthful on TV.

Boris Johnson is a cunt,
Boris Johnson is a cunt,
Eee, aye, addie,
Boris Johnson is a cunt.

100 Days of Haiku, Episode 11

Here’s this week’s update on my 100 Days of Haiku challenge. Struggling for inspiration again some days this week, partly due to this f***ing cold which won’t go away.

Monday 9 September
Tandem, bike and trike,
penny-farthing, bone-shaker:
velocipedes all.

Tuesday 10 September
Absent mindedly
daily haiku forgotten.
Recovering now.

Wednesday 11 September
Sorting cutlery:
steel forks, and silver fish knives,
cake slice and crumb tray.

Thursday 12 September
Peach, grey, silver-gilt;
pale azure blue up beyond.
September sunset.

Friday 13 September
Doubt, lies and bullshit,
uncertainty, confusion.
All have gone cuckoo.

Saturday 14 September
Azure, semé of
cloudlets argent, a chief or.
Flyer’s escutcheon.

Sunday 15 September
Black and white Rosie
cat’s getting rather podgy;
much like the humans.

Here’s the tally of progress by week:

Week Haiku
Written
1 16
2 28
3 33
4 26
5 26
6 27
7 28
8 24
Week Haiku
Written
9 28
10 18
11 26
12  
13  
14  
15  


Next instalment, next Sunday.

100 Days of Haiku, Episode 10

Here’s this week’s update on my 100 Days of Haiku challenge. It’s been quite a challenge again this week.

Monday 2 September
Moist misty mornings
with wind-blown wafts of wood smoke.
Autumn’s ambiance.

Tuesday 3 September
Today will be tough,
I’m struggling to get going.
Alarm clock strikes back.

Wednesday 4 September
Sanshin and sitar,
bagpipe and digeridoo:
music makers all.

Thursday 5 September
Cough, cough, bugger off,
stop me coughing up my lungs.
Intercostal hurts.

Friday 6 September
Brain and body strike
for better working conditions
without cold abuse.

Saturday 7 September
The Apparition,
head tucked under her arm,
walks abroad for ever.

Sunday 8 September
Tree vital for life:
climate change regulator,
balancing carbon.

Here’s the tally of progress by week:

Week Haiku
Written
1 16
2 28
3 33
4 26
5 26
6 27
7 28
8 24
Week Haiku
Written
9 28
10 18
11  
12  
13  
14  
15  


Next instalment, next Sunday.

Counters

Each month this year we’re bringing you a post under the general title “Things that Count in [Number]” where [Number] will be the month. And naturally each month’s post will contain the [Number] of items (so just one for January, up to 12 for December).

For our purposes the definition of counting includes things which either come in groups of [Number] (eg. four suits in a pack of playing cards) or things which count in [Number] (eg. decimal coinage counting in tens).

Things which Count in Nine …

  1. Ladies dancing
  2. Cats’ lives
  3. Worlds in Norse mythology
  4. Members of the Fellowship of the Ring
  5. Innings in a baseball game
  6. Muses in Greek mythology
  7. Circles of Hell
  8. Lights on a Hanukkah Menorah
  9. Orders of Angels in Christian mythology