Good Dead People - Hallow's Eve

Story of the Day

Celebrating death is a little contrary to popular opinion and belief, but I can honestly say that most of the gut wrenching laughs, other than those chemically induced, have been at wakes or funerals. As you  prepare to scare today and remember those passed, or as you trick or treat with your bottomless wine glass, take a moment to put all of this into perspective. It would be horrible if you lived forever, what if you had to see your parents or Auntie Maude at age 160? Or everyone lived to be at least 90? Where would the fun be in that? I remember when my father died on All Saints Day, for those of you who knew him, the irony of all ironies...... but he had the last laugh, died quick and easy. As you are chomping your way through your candy corn tonight, think of all the good people you knew that have passed, think of all the things that made you laugh when you were around them and enjoy the experience if you can.  Remember when you cried, when you were scared or when you were comforted by the people that are no longer with us. There have been many good dead people in this world and there will be many more, this is what makes life urgent and exciting, drives us to do great things, provides us with enough fear to relish everyday. This is Hallow's Eve, go on, put on your skeleton costume and enjoy yourself, go scare the living daylights out yourself and have a good laugh, at all the people you used to know.


Song of the Day

Crazy C - Not A Joke

https://soundcloud.com/dawyte2packilluminati/not-a-joke-crazy-c-da-wyte

Link of the Day

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/10415154/Welcome-To-Night-Vale-What-you-need-to-know.html 

Special Mention

http://www.lonely-oak.com/

Hash Tags of the Day

#posterprintingraleigh #posterprintingdurham #posterprintingchapelhill #telepathicgraphics

One At A Time

 Growing pains can be painful, there is a reason the saying has made it into our mainstream language, everyone remembers the absolute agony and relentless irritation that could last for weeks if not months. Building an on line community presents it's own unique challenges, mostly because any potential audience has the attention span of a gazelle, is doing too many things at once and thinks that walking and texting is a worthwhile multi task. I think this where I mistook community building for likes and followers, where volume, would replace hard work. A fast and easy way to get an audience and spend my days making millions of dollars from my Google ads just because I thought I had something worthwhile to say. The reality is that I am an average writer, with a good idea perhaps every 15/20 days. I have a new found respect for the professionals who do this day in and day out, I tip my cap to you. I also have an a great admiration for the folks who have built a tremendous on line business and understand that because you can not see the person, it does not mean the person has any different kind of expectation, they want to be entertained and catered to. They want to feel special and engaged, but also to be able to turn you off in an instant. I may have to turn the clock back slightly and build an audience one at a time. I don't mind really, I am one of the few people I know that actually likes other human beings. Welcome aboard, let enjoy the journey together.

 Song of the Day

Gary Allen - Every Storm Teaser

 https://soundcloud.com/garyallan/sets/set-you-free

Special Mention 

Great Internet Radio

http://www.lonely-oak.com/


Links of the Day

Real People Power


 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-23518732

Hash Tags of the Day

#bookletsraleigh #bookletsdurham #bookletschapelhill #telepathicgraphics

Lobbying The Lobbyists

 Story of the Day

The essence of a good joke is always timing, so it is no surprise that as political groups jockey for position for the up and coming elections, there is complete outrage in the lobbyist's camps, that both the UK and US governments are attempting to pass bills intended to curb the influence of the lobbyists, that by all accounts skew the democratic process beyond recognition. I don't think anyone is still naive enough to believe in the purity of our elected representatives. Having said that, the idea is still a valid one, that freedom means you are free to lobby on whatever particular subject is close to your belief system. I would be more open to that scenario if the system itself was not stacked and backed more than a deck of  Las Vegas playing cards. The outcome appears to be predetermined by the amount of dollars or pounds that you throw at it. Checks and balances are only worthy of that name if the penalty for corruption is more than a slap on the wrist, just ask the executives in the banking industry who by all accounts bet the house, literally, and lost. The amount of executives sharing a cell with someone would probably take up your fingers and toes, and maybe perhaps a couple of pensions were forfeited. I think the lobbyists would be better served and gain some sympathy and respect by declaring their financial backers, sharing their lobbying power for more worthy causes, removing the business, religious and charity references and lobby because it's the right thing to do, as opposed to self serving, protectionist and corrupt nature of a juggernaut business. Alternatively, you could send your hard earned cash to me and I will lobby the lobbyists to level the playing fields. The question is, should I tell them where I got the money?

 Song of the Day

Scott Buddy - Backseat Driver

https://soundcloud.com/scottbuddyuk/scott-buddy-backseat-driver

Link of the Day

Brazilian Surfer - The Highs and the Lows

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/10/29/brazilian-surfer-may-have-set-new-big-wave-record-in-portugal/

Hash Tags of the Day

#telepathicgraphics #bookletsdurham #bookletschapelhill #bookletsraleigh

Storm Coming - The Rebirth of Michael Fish

The Story of the Day

I don't usually pay to much attention to the weather forecast in London, but when Michael Fish tells me there is a big storm coming, I listen. For those of you who don't remember, Michael Fish is the most beloved weather man anywhere on the planet, except perhaps for the naked ones who give out the freezing temperatures in Siberia. His infamous don't worry about it comments in 1987, when Britain got slammed with the worst storm in living memory would have crushed lesser careers, like 300 year old oak trees uprooted and deposited on unsuspecting cars, then dumped on the scrap heap, never to be touched for years. He weathered that storm, no pun intended and he set about ensuring he would never be that wrong again. He has my admiration, one for being honest about his attitude, but also for the way he went about gathering better information. The tools are in place for warnings that by in large are pretty accurate now. I am writing this tonight because I don't know if we will have power tomorrow or if the internet will be up, I did fish out the flashlights, again no pun intended, just in case. Weather knows no favorites, after many years in the Carolinas, no more heroes are needed, those who will not move to safer ground, have found themselves swept out to sea. Those who played with the path of a tornado have found themselves spun around and deposited in the next county. It's only for one night so give Michael Fish the courtesy of paying attention and batten down the hatches. Oh by the way I might need a ride tomorrow if my car gets crushed.........

Song of the Day

Civil Twilight - Fire Escape

 https://soundcloud.com/civiltwilight/017-fire-escape-mp3

Link of the Day

Washington Post - The Death of Lou Reed

http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/lou-reed-leader-of-velvet-underground-and-iconic-punk-poet-dead-at-age-71/2013/10/27/2014928e-3f3b-11e3-b028-de922d7a3f47_story.html?Post+generic=%3Ftid%3Dsm_twitter_washingtonpost

Hash Tags of the Day

#digitalprintraleigh #directmailraleigh #posterprintingraleigh

Here's to Mississippi

 The Story Of The Day

Mr G. would have an opinion about just about anything, except this time what he thought didn't really matter. They rushed him to the emergency room, caught him just in time, did a quadruple bypass on him and made him as comfortable as possible. His wife was beside herself with worry, and true to himself Mr G. was talking about going back to work as soon as they took the tubes out of him. He was concerned he was not pulling his fair share and leaving someone else in a pickle. Mrs G finally put her foot down and said the possibility of that happening, anytime soon was about as far as they were away from Mississippi, roughly 1500 miles, so he needn't worry himself about that. You might not always agree with Mr G, he could be surly and old fashioned kind of opinionated, but you had to respect his work ethic and his kindness and concern for his fellow human beings. When family members were sick he would drive all night, to get there, to make sure there was someone there. He knew he didn't have the Florance Nightingale touch, but he wanted to be there. Whether he lives a long and happy retirement or he only has a short while, I want to acknowledge that it has been a pleasure to know him, flaws and all. He can drive you absolutely crazy and be your best friend all at the same time. I am sure his wife can attest to that! So here is to Mississippi, it has produced much controversy over the years, but today it can be real proud of one of it's own

The Song of the Day

The Redlight King - Times Are Hard

Don't know much about these guys, but great lyrics and makes me feel good

https://soundcloud.com/hollywoodrecords/redlight-king-times-are-hard

Link of the Day

Inkondapaper - I love this, not because it's about print, but this is what the impact of the technology is, two guys have an idea, here you go,

http://inkondapaper.com/

Hash Tags of the Day

#digitalprintraleigh #digtalprintdurham digitalprintchapelhill

The Day After A Really Good Day

I woke up refreshed after a peaceful night's sleep, neither children, nor animals, had disturbed during the night. The coffee was invigorating, the half and half, fresh and not pasteurized.  The traffic was light and I got to where I was going a little early. My business meetings went well and my customers were raving about how great our performance was over the last year and doubled their forecast for next year. I went to lunch at a new restaurant, the food was actually good and the service was great. I left a big tip because I was feeling giddy. I went back to the office and everyone was so excited about what we could accomplish together, IT had just laid a big fiber pipe so that we could get on to Facebook quicker and send our pictures of Johnny to our friends and family without any delay . None of the deliveries were damaged by UPS or Fedex from the day before. All of our customers paid on time, so we paid our vendors early and gave everyone an imaginary high five. Nobody called in sick or was on vacation, all our passwords worked first time, and we managed to get everything done with time to spare. On the way home I went to the gym, lifted an extra 20 pounds I was feeling so good. Headed on home where the children actually acknowledged my presence, lifted their heads from the Wii and strung a whole sentence together about how good their day was. The plumber had come by to fix the clogged drain, the stuff I ordered on line had showed up and was not damaged, I checked my email and still no complaints, several compliments came my way and that made me feel so good, after a day like that, what am I going to do today?

 #digitalprintdurham #posterprintingdurham #telepathicgraphics #digitalprintraleigh

Rubber Necking - I Had To Look

I am always fascinated by most people's utter surprise when cars going at 70mph, 2 feet apart, suddenly crash into each other or a pedestrian who gets clipped for being too nonchalant on a busy road. The reaction is usually a gasp if you happen to be a few cars away or sympathy if you pass while the ambulance is loading up the injured. The adrenaline starts pumping if you think you recognize the car or truck or person involved because it might be some one you know and your natural instinct is to get out and help. This happened a few days ago on a smaller scale where some one, jumped out of the way of a passing car, fell and broke their leg. A fairly large group of people gathered round and began discussing what should be done, fortunately the guy who broke his leg was conscious and could make his wishes known. What surprised me most was the varying advice that was given, who to call, how quickly some one took control of the situation and how some people could not look. The traffic began to gather, as gawkers began to stare out of their cars, as if they were in the slow motion part of the movie, slowing to maximize their view time in front of the unfortunate gentleman. In doing this, you might be surprised to know that this actually prolongs the arrival of the medics and increases the agony for the unfortunates. Also when you are laying on the ground, it is really not much fun to be surrounded by strangers, it gets a little claustrophobic apparently, I know you have to look, as do I, but please move along a little quicker, it will cut down on the agony.

#digitalprintingchapelhill #posterprintingchapelhill #signschapelhill

The Unpredictability of Consistency

The delivery of a product or service should at minimum be satisfying, if not joyous and exciting! The tendency these days to over re-act to imagined or perceived substandard service or products is almost obligatory, considering that most of it is a predetermined risk that has been assessed by a number crunching boffin from MIT, it's just a mathematical equation with no feelings. As technology has increased the precision and reliability of services and products, we often look stunned when they fail, especially in an airport or at an amusement park. The idea that someone is going to upset your perfect day with something unpredictable is almost inconceivable to at least a couple of generations. There are those who are wishing for something unpredictable because their lives are models of consistency but that is another story all together. In reality the quality and consistency of products and services delivered day in and day out, from heat and light, to gas or diesel, to cars, to major sporting events, to the food chain is almost stunning and truly a modern marvel. All we really need now is for someone at MIT to create an algorithm that will take the unpredictability and frustration out of the response to failure, yes we know you are good, yes we know we are a captive audience, but when it fails, can we program a computer chip, that can be inserted into CEO and customer service alike, that will make them pick up the phone in less than 17 minutes and actually address the failure like they care!

Go On, Pat Yourself On The Back

The moment of accomplishment and a sense of contentment can be hard to define. Sometimes it is a long and arduous journey and a thankless task, that only a few people really care about, hopefully you have met some great people along the way and reached a point where you can pat yourself on the back. I remember hearing that self praise is no praise, and I used to subscribe to that way of thinking but now I think that you should not be so hard on yourself and take a few moments and really appreciate the skills and relationships that you have. If you had a blank sheet of paper and mapped out a life plan for yourself, what would it look like? I think people generally start their day off quite optimistically and then, as it slowly degenerates,  you get disappointed in other human being's behavior, whether someone cut your off on the highway, line jumped the coffee line, or someone completely dropped you in it at work or at home. These would not show up in the life plan. I usually hate sports analogies but whoever said that ' Football is a simple game, only complicated by the presence of the opposition' got it just about right. I hope he pats himself on the back this morning! There is so much work to be done to allow everyone to pat themselves on the back, but I think a small step in the right direction is to acknowledge the good stuff, acknowledge the bad stuff and keep yourself excited enough to keep on trying to make a positive difference, even if no one else notices, some people are just too busy making themselves great, others are too busy just trying to survive, so take a moment, give yourself a pat on the back, you probably deserve it.

#digitalprintingchapelhill #bannerprintingchapelhill #directmailchapelhill #telepathicgraphics

Rising Ships

The thought of putting your ideas in to action can be daunting, whether it be a business, one of the arts or a sport that you think you might be good at. The need for a connection and a sense that someone else actually appreciates what you are trying to do can be very inspiring. There are those who criticize those who try, those who always think they can do it better, and then there are the actual doers, who have spent a little bit of time thinking, practicing and putting their time, effort and money into what they want to do. Then there are the really gifted and talented people, with little effort appear to be able to do pretty much anything they want to do. I love talented people, they have an air about them that breeds confidence, makes you want to get out there and try your best. It always makes me laugh when I hear some folks say ' that if I had, what they had, I would do this ' or 'it's such a waste, why did they get the gift?' I am a very firm believer in Rising Ships, and am one of the few people I know, that wants to be competitive, but also wants to see my opponents do well, or one of my competitors succeed, sometimes. Our gains do not always need to be at the expense of someone else, or from those who make an effort to help the world go round. For the complainers and the naysayers, make a special effort today, to pull one of them over to the other side and get them to a more happy place. It is Friday after all...................

#digitalprintraleigh #telepathicgraphics #bannersdurham

The Obstacle

Sometimes life conspires against you, or there seems to be a lot of reasons you can't get something done, some practical, some mental. Some are to do with relying on other people, those are the ones who always get blamed, regardless or not if they were even slightly culpable. Always the fault of someone else as the saying goes, but as I get older, I am more willing to admit, either I am not really sure how to accomplish what I need to do, or I am procrastinating to the point that I am trying to get someone else to do it. If I am really honest about it, sometimes I just don't feel like it and I don't look beyond that for explanations. It is a shock the first time that happens and the surprise that follows, is somewhat concerning. Where did the need go and the drive that was always there, like my favorite pair of running shoes, ready, willing and able? Now that I have recognized this recurring phenomenon I have given it a name, I call it The Obstacle, and when I meet The Obstacle, I make jokes with it until I can inspire myself to accomplish, for that sense far out weighs the alternative which just feels really kind of average. And as time ticks by, I know I still want the wow factor, because as I look back, I say to myself, did you really just do that?

The Alternative to the Alternative

It strikes me, how often folks strive to get somewhere in their life and then when they get there, they don't want to be there! or know what to do with it.  I always admire ambition, tempered with a little dose of reality of course. One of the things I have discovered over the years, is sometimes people just enjoy the struggle of the journey and that is good enough. Other folks always have to be going somewhere and the idea of standing still is petrifying to the point of paralysis, imagine that. Other folks just want to do something crazy once, just to get it out of their system and other folks just want to be crazy all the time. Those folks are headed for an early grave apparently. Other folks plan their lives out and their happiness is measured by their success and failure against that imaginary yardstick or is that meter stick now? Others just wing it completely and are happy whatever the result, that's just life they say. I caught the middle of song the other day, one line I remembered , ' I have plenty of time to endure your silence when I am dead, but right now I am going to live' Brilliant! Inspired! Is it possible to appreciate what you have, where you are in life, or is it just a journey of varying speeds, where there is no place to stop, only to rest for brief periods. What's the alternative to the alternative, or as my old auntie used to say ' You can stop when you are dead, son, but right now, have a rest, put your feet up and have a cup of tea '

#digitalprintdurham #bannersraleigh #postersdurham #telepathicgraphics #printchapelhill #directmailraleigh

Following the Followers

It always strikes me, how odd it is, that the disproportionate number of followers to those that are being followed on social media networks. I have yet to discover those with more interesting content, and the reason that they are being followed. Granted some folks and companies make a more valiant effort to make their blogs and twitter feeds relevant and interesting, but not to the proportions that are being seen on a wide scale. As I looked at this a little more closely, I decided to take social media out of the equation for a second and look at the behavior of those around me and I discovered that social media actually reflects people's behavior in their jobs, social clubs and standing in the community. There are followers and those who are being followed, not necessarily leaders but just people who are willing to take the time to be a little more aware of other people's needs and who in general have a better feel for other people as well as figuring out, the often complicated business of paperwork, required to run a multitude of organizations. I have also discovered that most folks require a very structured and fairly organized world in which they can function. I beginning to believe that the reason social media is thriving is because it is really good at documenting and saving markers in time. Much better than my old auntie Janet, who died with many secrets, but at least preserved an enormous amount of family heritage. I will spend more time following the followers for it seems to make them happy without them ever having to become leaders or be more interesting.

#digitalprintraleigh #bannerschapelhill #postersdurham

The Guy on the Bicycle - A Bad Start to the Day

Impatience can be a life changer in many ways, whether the stress hurts you or your actions do harm to someone else. The weather had just changed, from nice fall like conditions to very cold and rainy, the cyclist lay immobile in the middle of a mini roundabout, just been hit by an impatient Volvo trying to make eight feet seem like twelve feet. Several people had stopped and were trying to make the guy more comfortable, on the cold, hard asphalt while everyone waited for the ambulance. One day car drivers will understand that cyclists and pedestrians have the right of way, and the consequences of ignoring that fact will have a severe impact on several lives. The ambulance took about twenty minutes to arrive and the other drivers coming from three different directions, had to navigate the situation, finally someone had the common sense to park their car perpendicular to the scene to stop the guy on the bike from getting his head run over. There was approximately two hundred cars backed up on multiple roads, and you could feel the impatience rising to a crescendo, until, they finally saw the guy on the bicycle, laying helpless in the road, freezing cold and looking hurt pretty bad. One of the onlooker's standing on the corner asked me if someone had made the emergency call and I confirmed it had been taken care of, he stared at the guy who was no longer on his bicycle, wrapped in a couple of jackets, on the ground, and said ' that's a bad start to the day, right there ' He flipped his collar up, against the cold, and went on with his day.

#digitalprintraleigh #bannersdurham #telepathicgraphics

Spooky Mormon Hell Dream

Glad to see the theater in London is alive and well, for a Thursday night it was pretty packed, with  very eclectic theater goers. We went to see The Book of Mormon, and obviously there is no God, because we are all alive and well this morning, or could there be and he just has a tremendous sense of humor and we are selling him short? I have to say the quality of the actors was first class, the singing just inspiring and the pace of the play just right. So to set the seen, I want you to think back to the last time you did something you knew was completely wrong and how uneasy your sleep was. In the Book of Mormon, in the Spooky Mormon Hell Dream, the main character tells a really bad lie and disobeys the Elders of the church, he then has a nightmare that plays out for a few minutes, the cast of characters that show up are Johnny Cochran, Jeffery Dahmer, Hitler, and some Roman Warrior, along with Lucifer and some pretty scary little red devils with forks. Brilliant and funny as you could imagine, completely in bad taste but somehow, as had happened many times before, in the evening, the edge of decency was steamrollered by the laughter of the audience. The question is who would show up in your dream the next time you step out of line? Or would this dream be enough to keep you straight for a while?

#digitalprintraleigh #telepathicgraphics.com #bannersdurham

A Round Of Applause

Every time a young person celebrates a birthday, it reminds me of how lucky they are. With relative peace in the world, save for the odd terrorist and a country marauding as the world's policeman, in perspective, we are the peace generation, bound by technology and with that, the opportunities are unprecedented. The advances in food technology, personal engineering and health are making life almost pleasant. Almost 5 billion people are with gadgets of some sort and enjoy the fruits of their labor in some way shape or form. Let's not take Mother Earth for granted, because she has a habit of giveth and then very quickly taketh away either through wind, shaking or storm. Life expectancy has increased dramatically in many parts of the world , so I think Mother Earth deserves a round of applause, for providing an outstanding array of culinary delights, spectacular shelter and some of the best alcohol ever known to man. The new body parts, medicines and skin treatments can make you feel good way beyond your years, you might look a little funny, but hey, you can't have everything. The ability to visit the far corners of the earth have also enhanced our understanding of the privilege we now assume. I think we now have the ability to engage in some long term projects, as once did some of the great artists, constructors, writers and visionaries. The biggest difference this time, is the person with the idea will probably get to see their idea come to fruition, see the project finished. Could you imagine building some of the world's great wonders and never seeing the finished product............ Fortunes are waiting for you out there, go enjoy them and live long.

Digitalprinting/Raleigh/Durham/ChapelHill/telepathicgraphics.com

A Song About A Boy Who Meets A Girl

Today is an exciting day, after many years of trying to pen a country farce song, I finally get to give it a shot. I remember hearing Kenny Rodgers, with his 400 hundred children and his crops in the field, thinking how did his poor wife, manage to have that many children? It wasn't until years later that I discovered it was only 4 hungry children, but by that time the damage had been done. I always find the difference between learning and understanding, a very humbling experience. It is amazing how much you absorb over the years, without ever really understanding it. The notion that we become passing experts on subjects that we hear a 30 second sound byte on and dismiss experts who have 20 years experience in the field, because we think for some reason that being a paid expert, is something less valuable than a layman's honest to goodness opinion. Or some blogger who is trying to take the Fox news model on to the web, with some kind of shock blog therapy, it just becomes a farce. So that is the thing I like about country music, it was sang by people who had an opinion, but always knew that life was more of a farce and did not take it so seriously, I mean once you have lived through a drought, a flood, a hurricane or a dust bowl, what else can someone do to you, real life always conspires against you, like a war in the middle of your youth, talk about drawing the short straw or what!

At the end of the day, when we all fade away
To the ashes and dust where we came [ from ]
There was one shot of whiskey and one string of pearls
It's just a song about a boy who meets a girl

Wish me luck!

Digital Printing/Raleigh/www.telepathicgraphics.com

The Irony of Excellence

Consistency is a comfort level that's makes you feel like the world is going to be okay, today. It's a constant struggle against human nature, the tendency to say that's good enough, or no one will notice, is the slippery slide towards average. I have always thought, what's the point of trying to build something,  whether it's a business, a club or an idea, and it just turns out to be mediocre....... It's just does not feel good. I am perfectly fine with failure, give it your best shot and if it does not work, dust yourself off and try again. Everyone loves someone who tries! Ironically not everyone loves someone who is successful, they always think they got to that place by doing something untoward. The idea that trust is not what you do when people are looking at you, but what you do when they are not. Many people have struggled and sacrificed whether for their children, other people's children, co-workers, parents, animals, sickly or troubled people and still they manage to be successful and humble. You never know if it was handed to someone or they fought hard for their beliefs, or gave an enormous amount back to the community and supported many ideas and livelihoods. These people set standards for us all to strive for and add civility to an otherwise chaotic life. Take a look around you, take a few minutes and look for the people who make a difference in your community and say thanks, I really appreciate the irony of excellence, because it's a thankless job.

Changelings and Agents of Change

As we face constant changes in the print industry, the music industry and a dozen or so more, the underlying public debate is who is going to pay for the changes and who is going to be paid. The amount of free content on the web is leading to an attitude that music, movies, photographs etc are becoming public domain and the creators of the content should be thankful enough that someone would graciously steal their hard work and put it to better use. The fairies would then come along, turn the children in to little Oliver Twist's and lo and behold you would be paid for your work. There are models out there that work, mainly through advertising, but then you have control issues with the corporations dictating the content like they did through the death of the TV empires. I mean how many more reality shows can you make? Virgin are having a big push right now to try to figure out the music business, but I think the problem lies in the control of content. When record companies owned the vinyl or CD at least there was a little quality control on the content, the struggle for recognition made you better I think, but the behavior of those companies, makes you livid, so how could you trust them to police the industry and come up with a fair solution? It would be a bit like the banks pushing for stricter regulations on themselves, knowing before hand they are just going to ignore the law and pay the fine. I think what it comes down to, is that people have to pay the creators of the content, respect whatever form of art they are providing, and be happy the content is available. You can be an agent of change, otherwise we will have to send the changelings after you, who knows what will happen then.

An Insomniac's Dream

If you lay awake at night and can't fall asleep, there is a sense of panic that ensues, especially if you have a big day in the morning. There is a train of thought that goes around saying you must sleep and get into a REM state to replenish and feel healthy. Insomnia can be seen as a medical condition that has some negative connotations that by tradition is seen as odd. Those who travel in to different time zones consistently often have difficulty re- adjusting to the clock. But that's just it, it's just a clock, that asks us to conform to the rise and fall of the sun. Civilizations have been built on the light and the darkness. Stories have been written about odd characters who prefer the night, to the day, probably written to scare children into sleeping or getting out of bed. For those of you who do sleep well, I would suggest a couple of 4am awakenings, there is no noise, so it may make you feel uncomfortable, no one is in the kitchen so you can make what you want, there are no screaming kids,  fighting over the TV, the internet runs faster because there is less traffic, the bathroom is empty, the air is fresher outside, there is no car or truck traffic or airplanes in the sky. The silence is peaceful. You may have to pinch yourself to see if you are dreaming or not, I would suggest to medical community, in jest of course, this is known as the Insomniac's Dream.

Single in the Womb, Single in the Tomb

Very rarely does a saying catch my eye on the web, that I have to look more closely, like a train wreck, or a really bad accident on the highway. You know it's going to be gory, but you just can't help yourself. Morbid fascination I think they call it. After seeing the headline, I began to look at the profile of the young lady who had posted this and you could see all the usual stuff that comes along with youth. Minor anti social behavior, along with some protest and rebellion against the imaginary authority that is crushing their dreams and making their lives miserable. If she thinks it bad now, just give it a few years! She will think the Russians, the Americans, Koreans and Israelis all got together to personally go out of their way to mess her life up, when the reality is, is that's just the way life goes sometimes. Any how back to the headline, as it turns out, she had just been dumped by her childhood sweetheart and crash landed somewhere off the coast of California and was swimming back to dry land. It struck me immediately, that she had the bitterness of someone in their 30's who had been scorned beyond retrievable, and I pity the poor sod who wrongs her next, he will probably end up on a Discovery ID show, [ The Nightmare Next Door, Blood Relatives, Scorned etc ]  with the low voice coming in and saying, ' what happened next could have been predicted had she been supervised while taking her medication '............ I think a little maturity and real life will probably fix most of that. My question really, was what if she was a twin or part of triplets, does that mean it's ok to have a relationship?

The Cloud

That big yellow orange ball, in the sky, has been missing for days, and a little nip of fall has begun to creep in to the morning walks. It's good to know that no matter what the weather, my data, seems to have no opinion what so ever on what is going on outside. I am making new discoveries, more so on rainy days, than ever before. My favorite thing about the cloud is that I can pretty much access it from any place, any device and at any time. I must admit I only use a small portion of what is available, but I would encourage anyone, no matter how technology challenged you are, to take a few hours a week for the next little bit and figure some of this stuff out. Your ability to have your say [ https://twitter.com/TelepathicSign ] , post your music [ https://soundcloud.com/bob-boyle-5/air-crash-detectives-throw ], write a short story [ http://telepathicgraphics.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/a-simple-life-complicated-by-other.html ] have a business profile [ https://www.facebook.com/telepathic.graphics ] or a multitude of other places you can go, get your ideas out there, interact with some dude in Siberia, or some lady in Australia and you might find that you have an opinion that is worth sharing with everyone else. Alternatively, just go down to your local coffee shop and have a chat.

The Joke

I remember reading the Unbearable Lightness of Being many years ago, by Milan Kundera, and thinking wow, that was a pretty intense experience. His ability to crystallize and capture the moment, the thought process and the meaning itself, is uncanny. As intense as that experience was, I was delighted to find another title by the same author that on it's face would be a little bit of an easier read, The Joke, as it turned out was even darker and more intense. An odd thing happens in those places where you find your mind scrambling to keep up with your thought process, your palms sweat, your stomach turns, almost like flying upside down, you can't quite get your bearings. One of the best parts of The Joke, is that amidst all of the chaos, there is an undeniable sense of humor that resonates through the situations he finds himself in. I have always kept that feeling with me and if things ever get tense or terse, I make myself laugh with a joke I have heard a hundred times before. At least you know it's funny, on the other hand if you have to explain The Joke, where would the fun be in that?