Not As Harmless As I Thought

"Mostly Harmless" by Douglas Adams (#5 in a trilogy in five parts that combines wit and intelligent writing) is the final installment and I think the longest one. This has been the most difficult book for me in the series. It is readable but I still have forty pages to go, and can't seem to read more than four pages at a time so it is going to slip into December no doubt.

I am not sure where I will go next but if you follow this blog and I can be bothered to share, then you will find out.

One of the good things about this blog is that it seems to continually unearth interesting pieces that I can then share on  Vocal. Does that make me lazy? Maybe.

Seven Days In seemed to be grinding back down and for the last two months has had three thousand visits each month.

If you want to buy a book of my poetry there is one on the link below.

The music is "Werewolves of London" by Warren Zevon because that is what is on the player at the moment

I recently discovered that my American Amazon Author page has a feed from this blog which you can see here. It only shows on the .com site but not on others. C'est La Vie.

Mike Singleton - Vocal Stories

I am not sure if you are aware of my writing on Vocal but these are a few of my stories if you would like to sample them:

1. Barter Books - An Amazing Bookshop In A Railway Station In Alnwick
2. The Plagiaristic Poetry Series - Poems Taken From Random-Themed Lines
3. Another Raven - A Take On Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven"
4. The Cleaner - An Autism-Focused Christmas Special
5. An Owl In A Towel - A Beautiful Book by Lesley and Cheryl
6. Three Reasons Why I Love Settle - Scaleber Force, The Hoffman Kiln and Castlebergh Crag
7. The Accidental Book - Helping a Great Vocal Friend Resulted In Me Publishing My First Book
8. Call Me Les - A Great Friend and An Amazing Writer

Cheap Velux Windows

 

"Mostly Harmless" by Douglas Adams (#5 in a trilogy in five parts that combines wit and intelligent writing) is the final installment and I think the longest one and still enjoyable though not really going anywhere but being continually self-referencing but still enjoyable for all that.

The title has nothing to do with the post, but I thought I would just try to confuse peope.

I am not sure where I will go next but if you follow this blog and I can be bothered to share, then you will find out.

One of the good things about this blog is that it seems to continually unearth interesting pieces that I can then share on  Vocal. Does that make me lazy? Maybe.

Seven Days In seemed to be grinding back down and for the last two months has had three thousand visits each month.

If you want to buy a book of my poetry there is one on the link below.

The music is "Planet of Sound" by The Pixies, cos well why not.

I recently discovered that my American Amazon Author page has a feed from this blog which you can see here. It only shows on the .com site but not on others. C'est La Vie.

Mike Singleton - Vocal Stories

I am not sure if you are aware of my writing on Vocal but these are a few of my stories if you would like to sample them:

1. Barter Books - An Amazing Bookshop In A Railway Station In Alnwick
2. The Plagiaristic Poetry Series - Poems Taken From Random-Themed Lines
3. Another Raven - A Take On Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven"
4. The Cleaner - An Autism-Focused Christmas Special
5. An Owl In A Towel - A Beautiful Book by Lesley and Cheryl
6. Three Reasons Why I Love Settle - Scaleber Force, The Hoffman Kiln and Castlebergh Crag
7. The Accidental Book - Helping a Great Vocal Friend Resulted In Me Publishing My First Book
8. Call Me Les - A Great Friend and An Amazing Writer

Mostly Harmless

"So Long And Thanks For All The Fish"  by Douglas Adams (#4 in a trilogy in five parts that combines wit and intelligent writing) is over and done with so now I am on with "Mostly Harmless". "So Long And Thanks For All The Fish"  in my opinion seemed to lose its way but is the shortest book in the series, and it is by Douglas Adams so it is still an enjoyable read, but I am now on the final straight.

Seven Days In seemed to be grinding back down and for the last two months has had three thousand visits each month.

If you want to buy a book of my poetry there is one on the link below.

The music is "Vicious" from "Transformer" by Lou Reed one of my favourite songs of his and sort of appropriate as this post is only "Mostly Harmless"

I recently discovered that my American Amazon Author page has a feed from this blog which you can see here. It only shows on the .com site but not on others. C'est La Vie.

Mike Singleton - Vocal Stories

I am not sure if you are aware of my writing on Vocal but these are a few of my stories if you would like to sample them:

1. Barter Books - An Amazing Bookshop In A Railway Station In Alnwick
2. The Plagiaristic Poetry Series - Poems Taken From Random-Themed Lines
3. Another Raven - A Take On Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven"
4. The Cleaner - An Autism-Focused Christmas Special
5. An Owl In A Towel - A Beautiful Book by Lesley and Cheryl
6. Three Reasons Why I Love Settle - Scaleber Force, The Hoffman Kiln and Castlebergh Crag
7. The Accidental Book - Helping a Great Vocal Friend Resulted In Me Publishing My First Book
8. Call Me Les - A Great Friend and An Amazing Writer

The Total Perspective Vortex

 "The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy" by Douglas Adams (a trilogy in five parts that combines wit and intelligent writing) is finished and "The Restaurant At The End Of The Universe Commenced". I am a third if the way through and have rediscovered the Total Perspective Vortex which is the worst torture any sentient being can receive. Zaphod Beeblebrox is subjected to it and comes out as, well, Zaphod.

If you want to know what the TPV is then get yourself a copy of the book.

Seven Days In seemed to be grinding back down to ten visits yesterday and five today.

If you want to buy a book my dark poetry is on the link below.

The music is "Into The Void" by Black Sabbath, sort of appropriate.

I recently discovered that my American Amazon Author page has a feed from this blog which you can see here. It only shows on the .com site but not others. C'est La Vie.

Mike Singleton - Vocal Stories

I am not sure if you are aware of my writing on Vocal but these are a few of my stories if you would like to sample them:

1. Barter Books - An Amazing Bookshop In A Railway Station In Alnwick
2. The Plagiaristic Poetry Series - Poems Taken From Random-Themed Lines
3. Another Raven - A Take On Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven"
4. The Cleaner - An Autism-Focused Christmas Special
5. An Owl In A Towel - A Beautiful Book by Lesley and Cheryl
6. Three Reasons Why I Love Settle - Scaleber Force, The Hoffman Kiln and Castlebergh Crag
7. The Accidental Book - Helping a Great Vocal Friend Resulted In Me Publishing My First Book
8. Call Me Les - A Great Friend and An Amazing Writer

Earth v2

"The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy" by Douglas Adams (a trilogy in five parts that combines wit and intelligent writing) is a great read. Earth has been destroyed so the planet builders of Magrathea have been commissioned by the mice (man is only the third most intelligent species on Earth but when you see some politicians you wonder if man is even that high) to create a replacement, a version two.

I've almost finished this first of the five books in the trilogy.

Seven Days In seemed to be grinding back down to its pre-Christmas number of visits but then it hit eight thousand visits in a day, so I haven't a clue what is happening.

If you want to buy a book my dark poetry is on the link below.

The music is the appropriately titled "World Exploding Touch" by The Fat Lady Sings

I recently discovered that my American Amazon Author page has a feed from this blog which you can see here. It only shows on the .com site but not others. C'est La Vie.

Mike Singleton - Vocal Stories

I am not sure if you are aware of my writing on Vocal but these are a few of my stories if you would like to sample them:

1. Barter Books - An Amazing Bookshop In A Railway Station In Alnwick
2. The Plagiaristic Poetry Series - Poems Taken From Random-Themed Lines
3. Another Raven - A Take On Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven"
4. The Cleaner - An Autism-Focused Christmas Special
5. An Owl In A Towel - A Beautiful Book by Lesley and Cheryl
6. Three Reasons Why I Love Settle - Scaleber Force, The Hoffman Kiln and Castlebergh Crag
7. The Accidental Book - Helping a Great Vocal Friend Resulted In Me Publishing My First Book
8. Call Me Les - A Great Friend and An Amazing Writer

Just Do Art - - #AnimalAugust #17

Art takes many forms. I believe that for something to be art, it must have an effect , even if that effect is negative. One of the problems is that usually we expect art to be free . It's OK to be free at point of interaction as long as it is properly funded.

I always say that to produce art you just have to call it art. That may sound frivolous but you could call an empty coffee cp art if you present it in the right way.

Also with art once the artist has created the piece then when someone sees it then there is an audience.

Funding can be you paying for art , through taxes or through an entrance fee , but artists have to be able to live if they are to produce at.  I keep trying to do things but for some reason don't have the discipline to produce a finished product. I remember as a teenager joining a band on Tuesday for a gig on Saturday then writing and rehearsing and doing the gig , I really need to get that fire back, although it's best when you are doing it with someone else where you can bounce ideas.

I have incredible admiration for people who do thing solo. The inspiration for this post comes from my friend Hildy Harland who , despite the lockdown destroying all her scheduled work is still producing and sharing he art online.

#AnimalAugust will be "Journey of The Sorcerer" by The Eagles adopted as the theme for The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, and really all artists are sorcerers  because they create something where there was nothing , whether it be a paining , a dance , a song or a story.

Apologies if this has been an incoherent ramble , but we need to look out for our artists or else we will just have corporate  advertising.

Also if you don't like the art you see , do something yourself.... at the moment I'm just limited to this although there is the odd short story and poem in my many posts.

Author Author and No Coldplay - #ALifeInNumbers #42

Number 42. This is a really difficult one for me. I can think of a song called “42”, but it’s by Coldplay and I listened to it and it's Coldplay in limp chinned student mode. Having said that there are probably not all that many Coldplay songs I would countenance so really I don’t want to include it.

Because it’s 42 I want to include something related to The Hitch Hiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, because Douglas Adams told us that the answer to the Ultimate Question was 42 , that answer was of course 42, provide by the mega computer Deep Thought. The quest for the ultimate question… well read the books and you’ll find the answer.

A similar scenario occurs in another of my favourite books “Venus On The Half Shell” by Kilgore Trout.

Kilgore Trout is an author who is a figment of the imagination of the wonderful but sadly missed Kurt Vonnegut.

However this pseudonym was taken up by Philip Jose Farmer to write the book. All three authors are incredibly intelligent, have a healthy attitude to life and humanity, as well as a wicked sense of humour.

The premise is the search by the hero to find the answer to the ultimate question, “Why are we born to suffer and die?”. At the end of the book the hero gets to meet God and asks God the question. God’s reply: “Why Not?” One of my favourite las lines in a book.

Anyway I have decided, for number 42, to go with The Eagles “Journey of the Sorcerer”, because it is awesome and the theme to “The Hitch Hiker’s Guide To The Galaxy” which has as the answer to the ultimate question the number 42. And that is good enough for me.

Enjoy Halloween my Pagan and Wiccan friends.

Accentuate The Positive

My third post today , just to make sure that the last post wasnt the first thing that people see when they get to the blog. Yes it'll get buried in the other pile of posts but really I wanted to say something happy and positive and end (or start depending on which way you look at it) the week on a high note and feeling good.

Last week was full of lots of things happening and next week , workwise will be even fuller with people off looking after kids for half term. The thing is , as well as your own work you have to cover for other people , which makes you aware of what they do , and appreciate them knowing they will do the same for you . The other thing is that when you are so busy time just flies by at work , and that makes you appreciate being , home , being able to go out and spend time with friends.

We are at the advent of 4G communication with EE (get your 4G phone here) which can bring people closer together as well puting a wealth of knowledge within your grasp. I know this internet thing has a lot of frivolous stuff , but it is  a wonderful reference library and also a source of entertainent. You hold a phone in your havnd and it can act as a link to friends and love ones , a reference library and a source of entertainment. Star Trek or Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy here we come.

Well I  am looking forward to this week , lots of great opportunities , a big party on Saturday , a few train journeys , maybe get to see Skyfall and lots of other things.

Most people can find something good in their life and if you concentrate on those things life definitely improves. Fighting and war does no one any good and is just destructive. Build something , enjoy something , have fun , Life is good.

My Own Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy

Many years ago Douglas Adams wrote about a book. The book had on it's cover the words "Don't Panic"  and was updated by various researchers. Earth's entry read "Harmless" , shortly to be upgraded to "Mostly Harmless" by researcher Ford Prefect!

The book is what ts says containing useful information about where you are , a bit like the Lonely Planet Guides today . Crammed with useful information about everything and I realised that anyone who has a reasonably smart phone has their own Hitch Hikers Guide in their hand!!

H2G2 was the online incarnation of the book but obviously it was still about Earth as barring the odd trip to the moon , man is quite content to stay here . There is still plenty to do. Anyway you can see what by phone looks like now either side of this bit , one locked , one unlocked.



I can do all these things with it:

• Make and take phone calles 
• Send and receive texts
• Be involved in Conferences
• Take Pictures
• Look up information that others have stored
• Watch Videos
• Listen to radio shows and music
• Find out where I am
• Find out where I'm going
• Schedule my time
• Listen to music
• Record videos and music
• I can't teleport .... yet

So we all have our own guide , here in our hands.


How lucky are we?