What’s a common misconception people have about happiness?
Who are these people we are talking about and if they have misconceptions ,why?
Do they live in a bubble, and cannot see the result of their actions on others or themselves.
Well in a cartoon, evil glance with a large shiny pin, I would burst it.
AI Generated Image
Namaste and Thank You for Reading🙏
Filed under Short Stories
I’m not talking that awful food marketing creation of four powdered soup sachets in an attractive cardboard box.
We all have come across the different varieties .In truth , Chicken Noodle tastes much like the Mushroom and the Minestrone is sort of vibrant red colour that hints not of tomato , but of monosodium glutamate. There are branded versions which make all sorts of claims, but lets face it the four minutes to make it is not “instant” and seems to take forever. There’s always a weird sludge left at the bottom of your cup or mug , because you didn’t follow the instructions properly, because the type was so small that you couldn’t read it.
So my “instant” skill would be to make a delicious, flavoursome soup from a combination of vegetables that would make a Michelin Star judge smile with delight. I wouldn’t need to do any shopping and the ingredients would magically appear, all the dishes would be done and the pots and pans would be at the ready. The cooking process would be instantaneous and it would be just there.
Sometimes hot , sometimes cold for a hot summers day. It would be a magic skill and one that would be much appreciated by soup lovers.
Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏
Filed under Short Stories
What is one way you have grown this year?
To grow or not to grow that is the question.I listen to You Tube Music quite a lot.I don’t have a subscription as it’s rare that I can listen to more than two songs in a row without interruption.So why not listen to the adverts?
So the advertiser’s are definitely persuading me to grow in all sorts of ways.It’s developed this year from buying the perfect toothbrush to organic vegetable boxes,an Australian Anthropologist who knows the “meaning of life”: to better training for my Horse(I don’t have one) and where to buy the Best Dog Food while performing a beautifully paced Tai Chi Walk.
All of these things might help me grow and be kinder to people,animals and the environment.I’m sure they all mean well and the presenters would like to earn money from my subscription.
However,needs must and to grow I really need to look after my own budget.I’m afraid that is my future and I’ve embraced it.
Am I mean or sensible, time will tell.There are no quick fixes,and I handle interruptions like a spider whose web has been hit by a juicy fly. (Filed away for later.)
Namaste and Thank You for Reading🙏
Filed under Short Stories
What is something you wish you could tell your 20-year-old self?
When I was twenty it seemed an age,
Life was there as I turned the page,
I’m at chapter 42 now and the plot still isn’t clear,
But the story’s not over so I’ve nothing to fear,
There’s much still to discover,
And many mysteries to uncover,
Perhaps the numbers on the page ,
Make some people want to rage
Stick to chapters there are less of them ,
And perhaps in summary that is the lesson.
Namaste and Thank You for Reading 🙏
Filed under Short Stories
Write your guide to setting healthy boundaries in relationships.
Bounding up to him like a slobbering Labrador,
Was it no wonder, he showed me the door?
I suppose it was enthusiasm rather than love,
That made him go when push came to shove,
Was it that I lacked decorum?
Or did he meet someone else on that online
forum,
I guess in truth I’ll never know ; relationships
really are a slog,
To be honest it’s a case of love me, love my dog.
Filed under Short Stories
Do you think humans will ever colonize Mars? What would life there actually look like?
I don’t think Man or his rib counterpart will ever colonise Mars in a Jeremy Clarkson sort of avaricial consumerist multi-story sort of way..
It will be much more subtle than that.A little cell or microbe will make Mars it’s perfect home.
The conditions will be perfect for it to survive and thrive.It may not be what we regard as “Life”,maybe more of an intermittently wet or dry sludge.
However it will take its’ place and maybe it will take very special humans to appreciate it’s intrinsic value and leave it be.
Filed under Short Stories
A meme spreads rapidly like a virus,knowing the qualities of those interested in pursuing this spread. Typically a hyper, detail surfer, who will be on to the next new thing before the digital clock on their phone moves onto the next minute. You might have already guessed “memes” are not my thing.
Richard Dawkins an evolutionary biologist coined the phrase in his book “The Selfish Gene” way back in 1976. He describes it as “a unit of cultural transmission”. Perhaps culture is a mite too fancy for the average meme. Which tries to reduce the human pscyche to it’s most basic building blocks.
Observational Comics must either love or hate them. The hyper comics need to be in with the “crowd” know the latest meme that is trending among the demographics they are trying to please. Yes, I can see it being a love or hate relationship, reducing a three minute , carefully thought out monologue into a cartoon or gif which says the same thing visually and very often for free.
Does this explain the demise of the fondess for observational comedy? Discuss in your own time, I haven’t finished my rant on memes.
The really trendy memes are more concise than my AI generated image, I cannot see the above generating lots of likes and re-blogs and shares.
No the real diamond memes are light-hearted and sum up an element of common culture which in it’s own time ( most likely the late ninteties) was ground breakingly popular.
Enter Rick Astley, his song “Never Gonna Give You Up” is the hook to arguably the most popular meme in the history of the Internet. The meme itself tricks users into watching the music video for the song. Clever eh? Harmless I suppose. Fun yes. And rightly so , for the generations who remember Rick, possibly even those who take an interest in Rick because they were introduced to him by the Meme, it introduces them to a wonderful musician and his music.
The dark side of Memes exists too, if you can be tricked into listening to Rick, what else can you be tricked into doing or believing. The problem is not being on trend and wanting to be. I’ve just googled “harmful memes” and it is a thing.
Bless google and bless AI it suggests the following to avoid harmful memes.
Is this meme making fun of someone’s looks , race or beliefs?
Does this make me feel angry or upset about a group of people?
Is this joke based on an unfair, sweeping rule?
The word “joke” is interesting, so memes are meant to be funny, Comics must hate them. In an audience maybe of up to five hundred people will many of them walk out of the theatre seriously damaged by what they have just heard? The audience can complain or give feedback.
Ramp that up to Internet access to the World of Social Media and I- pad parenting , is it possible that a meme can turn into a dangerous trope with no comeback whatsoever. I think so.
Which is why , the word meme is a word and “thing” I will always be wary of and I wish more people could see through it’s instant gratification.
Namaste and Thank You for Reading. 🙏
Filed under Short Stories
Siesta a tradition in rural Spain and other warm Mediterranean Countries, I mean why not. Does it matter if it’s cold outside , surely some warm soup and a sleep in the middle of the afternoon or indeed the morning would do us all good. We could stagger our work day so that there is no such thing as the five O’clock rush. It would be more natural and perhaps work sharing would become an attractive prospect.
Apply it to schools too, if AI is going to take over, then at least make everyone’s life enjoyable.
Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏
Filed under Short Stories
I wouldn’t have the heart to tell a tourist that they have made a mistake in their choice of itinerary when visiting my Country ( or any other for that matter). Surely it is up to them and after all they are on holiday.
All the other possible visitors well there are just too many comobulations to make this a serious prompt. Too many variables.
The businessman on a “presentation” tour who doesn’t understand that everyone is tired of listening to “pep” talks from senior executives who don’t know how anything works. To rock bands who expect people to pay £300 a head to see them play , even though they long ago gave their best and finally people who visit Parliament for the day to learn how “democracy ” works and if they are lucky get to see Black Rod banging on the door of some building which is long past it’s best and needs a multi million pound budget just to keep it from falling apart on a daily basis.
I could go on but I won’t…..
Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏
Filed under Short Stories
It’s got to be” Echo Beach” , because it’s about thinking about the beach.
Namaste and Thank You for Reading. 🙏
Filed under Short Stories
thenotsomightyom 