“Exclusive Offer!” (You need not apply.)

I'm not the first to think of this. It took another writer alerted me to the undercurrents in that one familiar word: "Exclusive." We see it everywhere. It's a hype-word. An advertising headline-grabber. A catchy jingle in three syllables. Heck: everyone wants to feel exclusive. "Exclusive Apartments!" "Exclusive Views!" "Exclusive Dining!" "Exclusive Seating!" "Exclusive Offer!" …

The Road-rule written by Entitlement-Mindset

Motorway on-ramps. 'Merges'. We all know them. Bloody-dangerous things! If you're a driver, and unless you've been living in the backblocks far from cities and interstates, you'll know them all too well! They're the launch-ramp you have to take in order to get from 'domestic speed' to 'hyper-speed' while dodging speeding asteroids and comets, some …

コヒ, Coffee, Ko-fi!

ACTUALLY - I'LL BE SPENDING IT ON PROOFREADERS! Hi. Greetings to all my new followers. My apologies for being too quiet, recently. I'm hoping to up the pace soon as my mental health improves. A little piece of the Weaponizing of Words. Meanwhile there are two things you can do: Backtrack and read something at …

“I have a Fear of Success”

"Oh come on!" I hear you instantly shout, "no-one does that! Everyone wants success, but it's FEAR OF FAILURE that blocks the way." Uh-huh, yup: that's the common ... fallacy? ...Pop-psych myth? ...Reality? Everyone want to believe in the most obvious villain. But some of us are born fearless. Some arrive already riddled with anxiety. …

The Seeking of Atonement:

Hi! So you've just found out I've recently died and you're here to finally read my blog. Huzzah: readers at last! The curse has now been lifted and suddenly I'm popular again. Please enjoy the journey. I didn't. CONTENT / TRIGGER WARNING: today's blog is about the various sexual assaults I committed pre-puberty, and my …

A Few Quick Pointers:

Hi. Welcome to the blog I wrote with uncanny timing just a few HOURS/ DAYS/ MONTHS/ YEARS/ DECADES* before my untimely death. [ * SELECT ALL THAT APPLY ] The blog wherein I instruct you all in how to undertake the details of my lavish State Funeral. First off, I know you'll be in shock …

“We Have Not Come Here to Grieve …”

Thanks to Interflora for the image There are two expressions I do not want to hear at my funeral, or any other, ever again! Here is the first: “We are not here to grieve; we are here to celebrate a life.” I first heard it said by a smarmy God-botherer at a funeral in Christchurch …

Writers Experience Pain. We’re not Gods.

I'm close to death. Oh don't panic - there's no shock diagnosis; no big drama. Everyone's close to death. The news is full of stories of people who wake up to another beautiful day, get the kids off to school then head out to [INSERT COMMON ACTIVITY; ESPECIALLY A FUN ONE] ... and die. These …

The Perils of Original Spark

I've become enchanted by something called "The Voice / Kids". It's about talent, mostly, and it's about showbiz, definitely, but most of all it is about ratings. Sure: everything on TV is about ratings. It's a jungle out there and good ideas don't survive alone. They need a fancy vehicle with bells and whistles. They …

Lone Genius Makes Epic Discovery:

Yeah - so that's my click-bait headline done. Now for the article in which a certain highly observant individual discovers the secret of a tragically mis-designed automotive engine ... and is ignored. What follows is the magazine article I wrote some 10 years ago - which has been widely rejected (or just straight-out ignored). Here …