Greetings Mudpuddlees, I am posting today with news of a diversion from the norm for me. I have decided to document the world and my life in verse - well, technically, in Haiku. I have converted my twitter account to now be a dumping ground for my thoughts on life, the universe and nothing at all in a Haiku format. For those of you that do not know Haikus, it is a short form of poetry, with many ridiculous rules, but fortunately the modern English version of this Japanese artform is 3 lines of 5, 7 and 5 syllables respectively. For example;
The air that I breathe,
Though supporting endeavour,
Is thick with failure.
The twitterati amongst you will be able to follow me on @Haikusareus.
The reason for this diversion? I have been a lazy little Mudpuddler and have let the habit of writing slip over the past two or three months. Its not good enough! I am hoping this will keep me in the habit of forming my ideas and thoughts into words - which will, in turn, force out the classic idea I have had - the novel that encompasses a single moment in two people's lives, but darts back and forth filling in blanks you never even realised were there.... trust me on this, its a doozy.
Monday 29 August 2011
Thursday 11 August 2011
My life in people - one for each year since I was born (1971)
Giovanni Leone 71
Bobby Fischer 72
Ted Heath 73
Richard Nixon 74
Bill Gates 75
Jimmy Carter 76
Elizabeth 2nd 77
Anwar Sadat 78
Margaret Thatcher 79
Ronald Reagan 80
Bobby Sands 81
Leopoldo Galtieri 82
Michael Foot 83
Carl Lewis 84
Michail Gorbachev 85
John McCarthy 86
Rudolf Hess 87
George HW Bush 88
Salman Rushdie 89
Nelson Mandela 90
Tim Berners-Lee 91
John Major 92
Bill Clinton 93
Lorena Bobbitt 94
Nick Leeson 95
Boris Yeltsin 96
Tony Blair 97
Augusto Pinochet 98
Lance Armstrong 99
Steve Redgrave 00
George Bush 01
Ronaldo 02
Dr David Kelly 03
Kelly Holmes 04
Pope John Paul II 05
Kevin Pietersen 06
Gordon Brown 07
Chris Hoy 08
Michael Jackson 09
David Cameron 10
Muamar Ghadaffi 11
Bobby Fischer 72
Ted Heath 73
Richard Nixon 74
Bill Gates 75
Jimmy Carter 76
Elizabeth 2nd 77
Anwar Sadat 78
Margaret Thatcher 79
Ronald Reagan 80
Bobby Sands 81
Leopoldo Galtieri 82
Michael Foot 83
Carl Lewis 84
Michail Gorbachev 85
John McCarthy 86
Rudolf Hess 87
George HW Bush 88
Salman Rushdie 89
Nelson Mandela 90
Tim Berners-Lee 91
John Major 92
Bill Clinton 93
Lorena Bobbitt 94
Nick Leeson 95
Boris Yeltsin 96
Tony Blair 97
Augusto Pinochet 98
Lance Armstrong 99
Steve Redgrave 00
George Bush 01
Ronaldo 02
Dr David Kelly 03
Kelly Holmes 04
Pope John Paul II 05
Kevin Pietersen 06
Gordon Brown 07
Chris Hoy 08
Michael Jackson 09
David Cameron 10
Muamar Ghadaffi 11
Wednesday 3 August 2011
A letter to my 18 year old self
Dear Dave,
I guess right about now you're thinking about going to University, whereas for me it was 21 years ago. Don't worry, I'm not going to spoil the surprises in store for you, let's not go destroying the space-time continuum before you've even set out on your journey. To tell you the truth, I just felt like dropping you a line, to tell you to hang in there. It is all going somewhere, I promise. At least that's what it said in my letter.
Listen, you've got some fights ahead of you, mate, and you're gonna need to toughen up a bit. Not so soon that you can't go nuts for a few years, though. It's all good, just promise me you'll remember when it's time to put away childish things, OK? It's very hard to do this without giving the game away, but its important. There are times you are going to feel totally helpless - you're not. Whatever happens, however overwhelming it seems, you're bigger than it, Dave, you are so much bigger than it.
All those questions that are gnawing away in your head right now, you are going to find the answer to some very soon, and some of them are still questions I ask myself today. I'm just older, I'm not perfect, nor do I have all the answers! It's hard for me to find the words, there's a deep crevice between you and me, when you're there no words will come from the future, or the past, and it's the hardest things will be. Just remember one thing - 39 year old yous cannot write unless they make it out. You do make it out, I did make it out.
I won't tell you to do things differently. As funny as it may sound and despite everything that you will come across, I wouldn't have done a thing differently. Not one moment. Even the pain goes towards making me the man that is writing this letter to you. And like I said, your bigger than it all, you never make the wrong choice, you just make a choice.
What else can I tell you? Not much, but in the late nineties there's a reason it feels too good to be true. It is. Other than that, you already know the people you love, they are the people you'll always love, and you'll meet a few more along the way, I've never known us to pick a dud as a friend. You might tell them a bit more often, though, however clumsy you are with emotions. Ahhh, you'll do great, it's been good chatting to you.
Cheers Dave,
Dave
P.S. 'Do you fancy getting some chips?' - trust me on this ;)
I guess right about now you're thinking about going to University, whereas for me it was 21 years ago. Don't worry, I'm not going to spoil the surprises in store for you, let's not go destroying the space-time continuum before you've even set out on your journey. To tell you the truth, I just felt like dropping you a line, to tell you to hang in there. It is all going somewhere, I promise. At least that's what it said in my letter.
Listen, you've got some fights ahead of you, mate, and you're gonna need to toughen up a bit. Not so soon that you can't go nuts for a few years, though. It's all good, just promise me you'll remember when it's time to put away childish things, OK? It's very hard to do this without giving the game away, but its important. There are times you are going to feel totally helpless - you're not. Whatever happens, however overwhelming it seems, you're bigger than it, Dave, you are so much bigger than it.
All those questions that are gnawing away in your head right now, you are going to find the answer to some very soon, and some of them are still questions I ask myself today. I'm just older, I'm not perfect, nor do I have all the answers! It's hard for me to find the words, there's a deep crevice between you and me, when you're there no words will come from the future, or the past, and it's the hardest things will be. Just remember one thing - 39 year old yous cannot write unless they make it out. You do make it out, I did make it out.
I won't tell you to do things differently. As funny as it may sound and despite everything that you will come across, I wouldn't have done a thing differently. Not one moment. Even the pain goes towards making me the man that is writing this letter to you. And like I said, your bigger than it all, you never make the wrong choice, you just make a choice.
What else can I tell you? Not much, but in the late nineties there's a reason it feels too good to be true. It is. Other than that, you already know the people you love, they are the people you'll always love, and you'll meet a few more along the way, I've never known us to pick a dud as a friend. You might tell them a bit more often, though, however clumsy you are with emotions. Ahhh, you'll do great, it's been good chatting to you.
Cheers Dave,
Dave
P.S. 'Do you fancy getting some chips?' - trust me on this ;)
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