Monthly Archives: December 2016

Mind your Phrases!

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The producers of “Game of Thrones” threatened to sue a 13-year-old girl for using the phrase “winter is coming” in art work she had uploaded to the internet and shared on social media. The producers of “Game of Thrones” argue that the phrase is central to the series and they own the rights to it.
On the face of it this is a worrying development. Copyright is there to protect the intellectual property of creatives (authors, painters, poets etc). It plays a vital role in ensuring the creator of content gains the credit for their creations and any monies that may be generated. However the phrase “winter is coming” has been around long before “Game of Thrones” was ever thought of. As someone with no legal background I find it difficult to comprehend how a phrase which has been used for centuries can be construed as belonging to any one individual or entity. I once used the sentence “autumn has come in all her beauty”. Can I now argue that the phrase belongs to me? I have no intention of doing so. I could however (invoking the logic which seems to be being employed above) threaten to take legal action against anyone who utilises the phrase “autumn has come in all her beauty”, unless, of course someone else used it prior to me doing so!
As always I would be interested in my readers views. For the article please visit HERE

 

Posting A Letter

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Posting a letter yesterday,
On my way
To the pub,
I pondered on this red survivor of a vanishing age.

People flip the page
On devices unknown
In my youth.
Wrapped up in their phone
Do they ponder on the age-old truth
That all fades away, as the vehicles that wiz so fast
By this survivor from the past?

I remember a time when the postman brought more than junk mail.
Now when the email fails
We are all at sea,,
While the luddite in me
Yearns for letters and the feel
Of something real.

A useful list of internet radio stations

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A useful list of internet radio stations, many of which I was unfamiliar with until I came across them in:

The Telegraph

telegraph_outline-small

While I don’t have my own internet radio station, I do post recordings of many of my poems on Youtube. To visit my Youtube channel please go:

HERE

Kevin

Relaxing

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Yesterday (Saturday 10 December) I had been concentrating on my writing for a protracted period. I had gone into my living room in order to take a break from the creative process. My mind was, however still busily turning over ideas and I was not, in truth in a state of relaxation. Then, suddenly I heard a snorting noise and my guide dog, Trigger presented me with a rope toy he had received as a present from a colleague. I began tugging. Trigger, his tail waving madly pulled in the opposite direction and emited that playful growl which I know so well. My brain rested and I was conscious only of the pleasure both Trigger and I where deriving from the game. A sense of wellbeing flooded my body and I smiled as a consequence of the sheer joy of the deep connection between my dog and I.
My experience yesterday reminded me of a short poem I penned some months back, entitled “Dog and Ball”:

“My head full
Of dull
Thought.
Then the ball you caught
And waving your tail
Did derail
My introspection.
How can I suffer dejection
When I recollect your playful snort
And the ball you caught?”
(https://newauthoronline.com/2016/06/20/dog-and-ball/).

The Acid Bath Murders

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Yesterday evening I watched a chilling though fascinating programme about the acid bath murderer, John George Haigh. Born into a deeply religious family (his parents where Plymouth Brethren, a strict protestant sect), Haigh progressed from terms of imprisonment for fraud to murdering 6 people. The killings took place in order that Haigh could steal his victims money, much of which he spent on gambling.
Haigh’s last victim was his undoing. He shot and dissolved in acid a 69-year-old fellow hotel guest (Haigh had been staying at the Onslo Hotel in Kensington). However when the lady failed to return to the hotel her fellow guests became suspicious and following an investigation Haigh was arrested and confessed to murdering 9 people (although it is thought he did, in fact kill a total of 6 and his inflated claim stemmed from a wish to convince the trial jury that he was mad). He was convicted of murder and hanged by the famous executioner Albert Pierrepoint.
Haigh believed that the use of acid would remove all traces of his crime. In this he was wrong as the police found a foot and several gall stones in the sludge that constituted the remains of his victims.
A fascinating though horrific series of crimes, (http://murderpedia.org/male.H/h/haigh-john.htm).

There Was A Young Man Called Neil

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There was a young man called Neil
Who dated a girl in high heel.
When she stood on a wall,
She was 12 feet tall,
It made his senses reel!

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There was a young man called Neil
Who dated a girl named Lucille.
When she stood on a wall,
She was 12 feet tall,
It made his senses reel!