My mother is not Hunter S. Thompson. If you’d thought that, you would be labouring under a misapprehension or you’d be simply confusing her with my sister. My sister has been struggling with her inflammatory condition for so many years that she can take drugs like a pro. She’s like the late master of Gonzo […]
Continue ReadingApologies in advance. I hate boring people with my ongoing problems but I honestly find these blog posts useful. First, they’re a way for me to vent a little. Second, they provide a good record for what’s been happening. Many a time I’ve come back to look at a blog I had written to remember […]
Continue ReadingA hypochondriac looking after a hypochondriac is a toxic mix. I spent more time that I should this week Googling “my knees feel nauseous”. Those weren’t my knees, I should add, but my mother’s knees and Google didn’t have an answer. My mother had a complaint that medical science had never before discussed. That was […]
Continue ReadingLong day which began sometime around the dawn chorus as I finished my piece on last night’s debate. You can read it over here. I grabbed a few hours sleep but it’s been one of those difficult days, largely on account of yesterday being better. Today was one of those days when we tried to […]
Continue ReadingI forgot to blog yesterday and nearly did the same today. Pretty exhausted at the moment and I want to stay awake tonight to catch the last debate. I’ve also had a long week and yesterday was especially busy with phone calls. Yes, I do find it strange to write that line. I never get […]
Continue ReadingI managed to get my US news back on my Amazon Alexa. I bought one of these tiny pocket routers/hubs, plugged it in, uploaded a small zip file which I downloaded via my VPN, which contained al the OpenVPN details for the account I use. Minutes later, I’d connected my Alexa to it and was […]
Continue ReadingIt’s World Mental Health Day, which I don’t normally mark because I’m never sure who decides which days are which. Seems like a marketing gimmick to me… However, I thought I’d write a bit about about my own mental health after the last few weeks. It might help me today. I feel I need to […]
Continue ReadingAutumn. And just like that it went cold overnight. Yesterday was a big nippy but this morning it’s cold. Four degrees as I slipped out of bed and wondered if I’d done the wise thing. I expect this week to be particularly busy. Tuesday is the presidential debate and I aim/hope to be awake for […]
Continue ReadingOne of these days I will have a normal day, when I get around to writing long (hopefully) eloquant pieces. That just won’t be today because I have jobs to do. Not the awful jobs of the last few days but a quite decent job. Specsavers are coming to give my Mum an eye test, […]
Continue ReadingForgive the silence. I know I try to blog every day but it’s been a long few days and I didn’t get time to write today. Lots of jobs to do and, though my mum is much improved, I’m utterly knackered. I aim to get back to normal tomorrow.
Continue ReadingWas up until a stupid hour watching the Democratic convention. I’m not sure why except it never feels right catching it on Youtube the next day, where there’s too much temptation to fast forward a bit, which always turns into fast forwarding so much you effectively didn’t watch any of it… Perhaps that’s why I […]
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This afternoon, I deleted my Twitter account. I got up today thinking I’d re-engage with the world. I now see my mistake… I suppose I did it because I’m in a bit of a transition. I’m clearing my decks, deciding what (if anything) I’ll do next. At the bottom of this post is a project […]
Continue ReadingFriday and already under attack from QAnon cultists annoyed by my piece yesterday where I’d called QAnon a cult. I knew I should have just called it a “nutty cabal”… I should have seen this coming. Commenting on American politics from a distance, I sometimes forget that there are a lot of people seriously invested […]
Continue ReadingMaybe my defences are a bit low today because I’ve been writing about QAnon but I’m in no mood to read any more conspiracy nonsense… And believe me: I paused a long time back there when writing the word “nonsense”. Those eight letters aren’t up to the task. I want to write “flaming pile of […]
Continue ReadingWhy Dunciad.com?
It’s a cool domain name and it was available. Yes, I know. Available. Crazy, isn’t it?
Really?
Yes. It also helps that it’s also my favourite satire written by Alexander Pope, one of the most metrically pure English poets who also knew his way around a crude insult or two. If you’ve not read it, you should give it a try.
So this is satire, right?
Can’t deny it. There will be some. But it’s also an experiment in writing and drawing, giving work away for free in order to see how many people are willing to support a writer doing his thing. It’s the weird stuff that I wouldn’t get published elsewhere in this word of diminishing demands and cookie-cutter tastes.
