The icon for this website, the white golf ball-like object floating in a blue void, is an image I edited in Photoshop. The photograph the image derives from depicts a very famous and very significant piece of Cold War-era technology – Telstar 1. Launched by NASA in 1962, the first Telstar satellite was responsible for … Continue reading Telstar and the Dawn of Globalisation
The Ethics of Writing under the Influence of Cognitive Enhancers
I must be very careful. (In a poetic sense, words are just as powerful as drugs). I neither want to condemn nor condone those that use mind-alerting substances, whatever their motive. My goal is not to pass judgement, but to investigate the relationship between drugs and creative endeavours. --- A lot of writers drink coffee. … Continue reading The Ethics of Writing under the Influence of Cognitive Enhancers
Why it’s Okay to Use ‘Literally’ Figuratively
‘I haven’t eaten anything all day,’ says Graham. ‘I’m literally starving.’ He shouldn’t have said it. ‘Actually,’ Nancy begins, head held high. ‘You’re figuratively starving’. Graham sighs. Here comes the lecture. ‘You ate this morning, Graham. You can’t literally be starving. I wish people would use literally and figuratively correctly. It isn’t very difficult! The … Continue reading Why it’s Okay to Use ‘Literally’ Figuratively
Keep a Journal
On this exact date, over three years ago, I arrived at university. I can still recall the overwhelming loneliness and self-doubt. I called my sister and told her it felt as if everyone I knew and cared about had suddenly died, and I was alone in the world. I decided that night to keep a … Continue reading Keep a Journal
I Think, Therefore I Am Not: What is True Reality?
[This article was revised on 18.09.2017 to correct several research errors] How do we know what is real? Simple. We look, we touch, and we taste, and so forth. We use our senses. We have more than five senses; new senses are discovered every day. There are literally hundreds, each working in coordination with another … Continue reading I Think, Therefore I Am Not: What is True Reality?
The Blonde – A Flash Fiction
At the end of my bed, the gorgeous blonde sat, watching me intently, her dark brown eyes gazing longingly into my mine. Her slender face suggested a restless yearning for intimacy, but she waited with due patience, waited for my command. The corner of my mouth rose to form a smile, and I beckoned her … Continue reading The Blonde – A Flash Fiction
How To Write When Depressed
Without downplaying it, I have depression. I was diagnosed at sixteen, and though I’m able to hide it most of the time, it has only got worse as the years have passed. Those who have this debilitating illness know that, sometimes, life is just too much, and even things you might otherwise enjoy provide no satisfaction. … Continue reading How To Write When Depressed
