posts in English – Page 2

Nov 3, 2016Oct 22, 2018 M Best Of, English, My Pen

Maiden, Mother & Crone: Neil Gaiman’s Ocean

[Book review may contain spoilers] A few lifetimes ago I used to study and practice certain rites at the fringe of reality. Mostly, the focus would be on the history of arcane knowledge and beliefs throughout the various periods of mankind but, more often than not, I'd plunge into them myself. I have long since … Continue reading Maiden, Mother & Crone: Neil Gaiman’s Ocean

Oct 17, 2016Aug 24, 2018 M English, My Pen, My Pencil

Back to basics

My first real attempts at drawing only started a little after I turned 30. Just like with photography (and those teenage oh-so-deep-and-observant writing drafts), my absolute favourite theme has always been people. Even during the age of analogue film photography, when a film roll of 36 photos would last you a year, my friends would … Continue reading Back to basics

Sep 26, 2016Mar 26, 2018 M Best Of, English, My Pen

Isidora & Censorship

No one has the right to spend their life without being offended. Nobody has to read this book. Nobody has to pick it up. Nobody has to open it. And if you open it and read it, you don’t have to like it. And if you read it and you dislike it, you don’t have … Continue reading Isidora & Censorship

Sep 21, 2016Mar 26, 2018 M Best Of, English, My Pen

Brave Delusions

Being stuck at home with a broken foot is as good an excuse as any to catch up on some movie watching and I couldn't resist the recent Florence Foster Jenkins, with the acting genius that is Meryl Streep, about the socialite, erm, singer. Known worldwide for her terrible, dissonant singing, lady Florence was an enthusiast of … Continue reading Brave Delusions

Sep 14, 2016Mar 26, 2018 M Best Of, English, My Pen

Back to the 80s

[Disclaimer: the following post is spoiler free.] This is the age of nostalgia. I don't just say it because I'm no longer in my tweens and, like so many other thirty-somethings decades before me, think that the times and culture of my youth were a thousand times better than what they are now - that is … Continue reading Back to the 80s

Aug 31, 2016Dec 28, 2018 M English, Lady of the Sea, My Pen, Pen

‘Lady of the Sea’ – The Island

[For the previous chapters, check the Lady of the Sea's main page] It had an unusual shape, almost resembling a perfect circle - one that had been half-bitten off. When the tide was high, it looked like the letter C. When it was low, as it was now, it had a lovely, spacious beach. A … Continue reading ‘Lady of the Sea’ – The Island

Aug 24, 2016Oct 22, 2018 M Best Of, English, My Pen, Pen

The Other Martha

Woke up to a could-be-worse movie about her and Hemingway this morning - sadly, it is also the most common result when you run a search for the lady on YouTube. The great Martha Gellhorn is high on my list of Women I Want to be Like When I Grow Up. With a tremendous amount … Continue reading The Other Martha

Aug 23, 2016Dec 28, 2018 M English, Lady of the Sea, My Pen, Pen

‘Lady of the Sea’ – The Messenger

[For the previous chapters, check the Lady of the Sea's main page] All the ship's crew was up and gathered around the rear. They were chattering and pointing excitedly, as if they couldn't believe their eyes. Azov walked towards them, looking very annoyed. This was no attack, or else they would all be in their … Continue reading ‘Lady of the Sea’ – The Messenger

Jan 19, 2016Dec 28, 2018 M English, Lady of the Sea, My Pen, Pen

‘Lady of the Sea’ – The Cell

After having been dragged down to the Queen's dungeons, Peafowl was thrown into an empty cell by two brutes with no obvious respect for nobility. The place was dark and damp and the air smelled of something Peafowl couldn't quite name but that he was sure someone somewhere used as a potent fertilizer. "Here you … Continue reading ‘Lady of the Sea’ – The Cell

Feb 3, 2015Mar 22, 2019 M English, My Pen, Pen, Verse

Tony Cokayne: an introduction

Tony Cokayne lived up to his name. (It ran in the family He wasn't to blame.) Where there was demand, he’d supply Except for wise ass kids Wanting to get high On any shit they could buy. Tony Cokayne felt no shame. He wasn't one to hide (Only, maybe, from time to time When the … Continue reading Tony Cokayne: an introduction

Jan 22, 2015Dec 28, 2018 M English, Lady of the Sea, My Pen, Pen

‘Lady of the Sea’ – Prelude

Most of the pirates were unable to sleep that night. Some of them had heard this old tale before, when they were young boys, but only bits and pieces and never while sailing high at sea on a full moon night. How did the baby survive when she showed no signs of being alive and … Continue reading ‘Lady of the Sea’ – Prelude

Jan 21, 2015Mar 22, 2019 M English, My Pen, Pen, Verse

Cerulean

it was someone else's book (one still on the shelf) and all its shades of blue poured in at twelve there were waves along the sideway our underwater promenade a bit like Moses a bit like swimming all while asleep under the linen.

Jan 19, 2015Mar 1, 2018 M English, My Pen, Pen

Us & Them

It is always Us vs. Them. The Others are different so They must be feared. What was that? You don't fear Them? We'll take care of that for you. Repeat after us: Threat. Violence. Terror. Evil. Infidels. Degenerates. One more time. Repeat this everyday - it's for your own safety. And don't worry: we'll remind you. … Continue reading Us & Them

Jan 16, 2015Mar 1, 2018 M English, My Pen, Pen

An agnostic, a pagan and an Arab Hebrew student walk into a bar…

...not really. We only had lunch. The gathering was meant to be a quiet chat about the Kabbalah, which our Arab friend is studying and of which we know too little about. In light of recent events, however, the conversation naturally moved towards religious discrimination, double standards, media manipulation (on both ends) and downright bigotry. … Continue reading An agnostic, a pagan and an Arab Hebrew student walk into a bar…

Jan 6, 2015Mar 22, 2019 M English, My Pen, Pen, Verse

Down the spiral ladder

Down the spiral ladder Your pet demons’ visiting hour. (Can you truly hate them when you’re their mother?) Can’t you tame them When light shouts louder? You know better. Being born from the water and all The mysteries you claim to know. Just go under.

Jan 5, 2015Dec 28, 2018 M English, Lady of the Sea, My Pen, Pen

‘Lady of the Sea’ – The Throne Room

‘How very lovely to see you again, Lord Peafowl.’ ‘It is an honour, my Queen,’ Peafowl gave the best curtsy he could manage. ‘I am sorry to hear about your late father. He was one of my most loyal subjects.’ ‘Indeed, my Queen. I am afraid that immortality was not one of his many talents.’ … Continue reading ‘Lady of the Sea’ – The Throne Room

Dec 22, 2014Nov 20, 2025 M Best Of, English, My Pen, Pen

the Richey Edwards appreciation post

My very first memory of the Manic Street Preachers is the news of Richey’s disappearance. I was about 12 and just starting to get up to date with modern pop & rock after years of listening to nothing but oldies and my dad’s jazz records. There were the hourly updates by Carolyn Lilipaly with footage … Continue reading the Richey Edwards appreciation post

Dec 9, 2014Mar 1, 2018 M English, My Pen, Pen

my cruel December

To Eliot it was April - for me it's December. There was always something about this month that made me feel hopelessly nostalgic - even when I was too young to have anything to feel nostalgic about. (I blame romantic Christmas comedies. Maybe I even blame the Christmas season altogether, with its cosy fireplaces, merry … Continue reading my cruel December

Nov 30, 2014Dec 28, 2018 M English, Lady of the Sea, My Pen, Pen

‘Lady of the Sea’ – Pardel’s Tale (Part II)

It was a full moon that night. The entire house and the entire beach were silver white. She looked for the spot where she had seen the lady in her dream and stood there. ‘Ask the sea for help,’ she remembered. So the young wife stretched her arms out to the sea and, losing herself … Continue reading ‘Lady of the Sea’ – Pardel’s Tale (Part II)

Nov 29, 2014Mar 22, 2019 M English, My Pen, Pen, Verse

heartburn

I used to feed on the unseen - such a tempting, delusive thing - starving leaving my brain to digest not even mist but air I would just leave it there chewing chewing teeth gritting images brewing (they were everywhere) and I carried them faith full the invisible stories too heavy to bare when I … Continue reading heartburn

Oct 28, 2014Mar 22, 2019 M English, My Pen, Pen, Verse

intermittent

Simmer down the intermittent pen the intermittent everything this lack of discipline is too exhausting. You're such a star such a pretty light. Always on always off. Pulsing as if you one day just might expand into soaring flight. But no - not quite. Like a wave a daughter of the restless waters shallow - … Continue reading intermittent

Oct 10, 2014Mar 22, 2019 M English, My Pen, Pen, Verse

Sylvia’s tree

Only the branches seem to grow and multiply - like Sylvia's tree. I should not depend on the wind as guide - it changes all the time. But the speed with which I need to grow (do I?) may well be the death of me. Shallow roots grow faster but never hold.

Sep 22, 2014Mar 1, 2018 M English, My Pen, Pen

my unbelievable country

Once upon a time there was a poor country whose rulers turned to technology in order to try and fool everyone into thinking they were developed. The Ministry of Education created a new mathematical formula to place teachers in schools in fair order. It was a disaster. The Minister who implemented it - a mathematician … Continue reading my unbelievable country

Sep 17, 2014Mar 1, 2018 M English, My Pen

TV in the Internet age

Three years ago, my TV broke down and I decided not to replace it, depending only on a computer to watch what I wanted, whenever I wanted. Alas, I have recently been afflicted by tech-hater-gobblins, and am now without a PC (borrowing a friend's as I type this). To make up for it, I went … Continue reading TV in the Internet age

Sep 10, 2014Mar 22, 2019 M Best Of, English, My Pen, Pen, Verse

the miner

Watch your step as you tread through the depths. The surface is always safe - all lies rest above the ground. So go ahead out the cave all the way down. You may not even be afraid of the dark or damp dusty tunnels you'll need to cross to get to us. But make sure … Continue reading the miner