M3 collection of words plus Thank You Taylor Swift
I just watched the movie explaining Folklore
10/10 I always feel inadequate as a writer compared to a Musician
So Taylor I promise never to shout out you again when you make a
mistake in the high dusting in my study, or when you sweep sweet
wrappers under the carpet. In the movie I realise you are a Country Girl,
bigger than I remember from your videos, all dolled up I found you
a bit intimidating, I do have a story to tell there, but I'll save it till you are
next at my house tidying up. Maybe this time you'll get rid of my bulge, no not my
fat belly, but the sweet wrappers under the carpet.
Stay Covid 19 free, and don't drop anything over the holidays, working as a
waitress in a diner to make a few extra bucks etc. I would have doubled your pay
for the high dusting if only you bothered to ask. So in future you'll earn let me see
2 times nothing, is twice as much isn't it? Go ask your manager, he'll explain.
Ten Years AgoJan 24, '12 3:18 PM
for everyone
Ten years ago this week my life changed forever, I
got a job at the CPNEC Birmingham England, it was also the week my dad died. I
saw my dad for the last time on the Tuesday, I told him about the new job, then
on the Saturday he died. He asked for an extra egg for breakfast, by the time
Maria returned he had died in his chair. Ten years have past, my daughter
playing the piano behind me is ten now, my other daughter is eight, she's
upstairs playing with her dolls' house. Working in an hotel was a new and novel
experience for me, very hard work but loads of fun. The whole world came
through the doors at CPNEC, it was a brand new hotel, I opened it as the say in
the jargin. My dad had literally survived a fatal heart attack, my brother did
CPR and saved him, 8 weeks previously our mum had died in her sleep, the same brother had
cradled her in his arms and tried CPR buy she was gone. 5 priests and 300
people came to her funeral, a barrister took the day off to attend and sing in
the choir. Then dad nearly joined her, but he did not, and that's how I found
my Shanghai wife, Padre Pio and Me on my site explains it all. I suppose I
should have felt older once my dad died but I did not, I'm still staying 20 in
my head, its the Birth Certificate thats 30 years older not me. Death Anniversaries shouldn't be times of
sadness quiet the reverse, our dad loved us so much, real love, not luvie love
all holding hands, just quiet deep deep love, not even spoken most of the time
but it was there just as gravity is. The hotel job was part of my life for
3years I excelled at it, the parent part of my life was much much more, and
funny too. Having a family late when you don't expect it really is a blessing,
enough to make you cry, to look up at the night skies and thank God. Ten years
have gone since my dad has gone, maybe in 10 more I'll join him, we all never
know the time and place of our parting, I do know one thing for certain, if I'm
half as good a parent as my parents were for me then I'll die happy with a
smile on my face.
1 Comment
Simon
and GarfunkelJan 24, '12 1:02 PM
for everyone
I was watching a documentary on Simon and Garfunkel,
the creative process was talked about, all the recording tricks of the trade
back then, 40years ago. Yes 40years ago, they know each other nearly 60years
now. I know somebody over 40years ago myself but I was amazed that S & G
had such a great collaboration even if it did break up. Music is such a great
thing, like breath from heaven, only Nature itself can beat Music for the effect it has on us. Nature with morning
skies and sunsets, rain and storms, moonlit nights and more. Amadeus showed us
how great Mozart was, it touched us and impressed us. Simon and Garfunkel do
the same, when you go back and listen again to their music you remember just
how great it is. BBC Radio2 did a series
about them maybe 20years ago, I think that was better than the tv show on BBC4,
but radio is better than TV. A final thought for all the music lovers out
there, it is only by listening to music that we realise that music is God's
breath, and it also reminds us of our own mortality.
0 Comments
Hello
WorldJan 20, '12 6:23 PM
for everyone
Hello World ©
By Michael Casey
Hello world, or should I say hello Word, I’ve
decided to get a new version of Word, mine was very old, so I googled and found
software4students.co.uk The deal with
this is that you get great software at ½ the price you’ll find it elsewhere.
How does it work? Easy these guys work with Microsoft to give you and me cheap
software. You must be a student or a parent/guardian of a student. You click on
the name and postcode of your child’s school and away you go. Less than 40quid
for Word 2010 Professional Plus, it’s a bargain. They sell other stuff too, I
quite liked the pen with a memory in, go to their site an see for yourself.
So I should write something super duper to go with
my new Word 2010, but all I can think of is tomato soup, its cold outside and I
need something nice, I’ve had too many hot drinks, I need something with
flavour in. Heinz tomato soup will be so nice, though really I should save it
for my girls when they come home from school in an hour. I’ve compromised and
had some warming crumpet instead. I mentioned crumpet and Sid James in the same
breath to a shop assistant in Aldi and guess what, he’d never heard of Sid
James, though he did pass me a packet of crumpet. You can tell when you are
getting old when nobody has heard of Sid James, Carry On Up the Kyber was an
absolute classic. The first time my Shanghai wife saw it she cried with
laughter.
As for the Shanghai wife she is out buying up all
things nice for Chinese New Year which falls this weekend, 785 on Sky is
Phoenix the Chinese Entertainment channel if you take a peek there will be an
entertainment show, just like a Royal Variety Performance. So do take a look,
the singing will be fab, I remember watching it in 2000 in Shanghai. Believe it
or not but the comedy segments you’ll see are very funny, even without the
benefit of Chinese language skills. It’s the Year of the Dragon this year,
nothing to do with Mother-in-Laws either. So go out and get some prawn crackers
in, eat them as you watch 785 on Sky, and if you don’t laugh then I’m a
Chinaman.
1 Comment
Creative
Writing Group on Daily TelegraphJan 16, '12 9:23 AM
for everyone
I just noticed people were joining the Creative
Writing Group at this time of night, are we all night owls?
I used to listed to Radio4 in bed with my brother
40years ago and more. THe World Tonight
with Douglas Stuart reporting, following by The Book at Bedtime, I even
remember THe Ghost and Mrs Muir. It was thanks to 20years of religious
listening to Radio4 that I lost most of my Brummie accent, it also meant that
when I started to write I had heard a lot of writing previously.
Writing a story is having a baby, of course your
baby is beautiful, how dare anybody say
otherwise. However you have to be honest with yourself, you also have to tell
the whole world GO **&$&^ because you must always have faith in
yourself. I have faith in my play Shoplife, I have faith in The Butcher The
Baker and The Undertaker which on Leap Years Day 2012 will be 24years old. I
never bothered looking for a publisher and then finally I did, but thats
another story. From Leap Year to Leap Year the story of.... I can hear the
byline being typed.
It would kill my writing if somebody told me how to
type, I meant how to write, but writing is more than typing, its al about
ideas. You are a writer because you write, not because you type. Its a thought
process, its having ideas, not the physical action of typing. Here's my idea
from this evening at Mass. The Arch Bishop was having a Visitation at Saint
Mary's in Harborne, so I wondered what it must feel like. It is like having an
Ofsted but for a church, so as I left I asked the Arch Bishop as I shook his
hand "YOU must be like the Mother-in-Law", the Arch Bishop still
shaking my hand laughed and said that he was more like a cousin visiting.
Now that's what writing is all about, its about
ideas, sometimes they come when you
should be paying attention at Mass, but ideas always come, even if typing
doesn't.
0 Comments
Through
My Letter BoxJan 14, '12 11:20 AM
for everyone
Through My Letter Box ©
By Michael Casey
I don’t know about you but I’m sick and tired of
junk mail coming through my letter box. Where we live we have tons of fast food
outlets, maybe 15 all within a ten
minute walk of the house. A young man’s delight no doubt, not to mention 3
pubs, and it used to be 4 pubs.
Now if the
junk mail, or should I say leaflets were for local fast food places it wouldn’t
be so bad, but it’s for places you have to catch a bus to find them. Can I
borrow the Sat Nav love? I’m going to buy some chips and a pizza, its only 99p
at the Truly The Best Chip Emporium Ever. So clutching the leaflet I’ll set off
to find this chip heaven, walking not driving either, I cannot drive after all.
You cannot drive and eat chips at the same time after all, well legally you
cannot, but don’t get me started on all the illegal driving companion
activities, are they all just trying to kill me while I cross the road. When
you get there it’s so far away they have a different English accent, so you
point to the sign on the wall, it would have been better to go to MacDonalds.
So why do they put their rubbish leaflets through my door?
Recycle bins are ugly, we have 3 huge ones in our
back garden, no wonder we have so many burglaries, thieves just stand on them
to break into peoples’ houses. I suppose
after eating so much fast food, as advertised by all the leaflets coming
through all the letter boxes; the thieves only break in so that they can raise money to go to health farms. At the
health farms young girls wearing plastic gloves squeeze out all the spots
created by eating all the junk food as advertised by the junk food leaflets
coming through my letter box. I feel like a victim and have a complex, why me,
why me, why do I have to suffer from sick letter box syndrome, sob, it’s too
much for me.
I did think of getting a crocodile that was trained
to eat the fingers of junk mail deliverers, I wouldn’t need to feed it either
as finger food would be enough. But the children want a cat so I suppose we’ll
have to get a cat. But it will be an evil cat who will scratch any junk food
leaflet deliverer. Or perhaps I should
get some Chinese scientist friends to develop a sensor that pukes back any junk
leaflet all over the leaflet deliverers, and it would spay a scent of puke all
over the deliverer.
Now that’s what I’m tempted to do, but instead we
have an overweight recycle bin that’s covered in spots, thanks to all the junk
food leaflets inside it. If the Council did some market research perhaps they’d
be a byelaw stating “NO JUNK FOOD LEAFLETS” Global Warming would be sorted in
one fell swoop too.
0 Comments
TSPS.
The Secret Prayer SocietyJan 10, '12 8:53 AM
for everyone
TSPS. The Secret Prayer Society. Now what is a
secret prayer? Its when you see somebody in need of a prayer and your heart
jumps towards them, its like trying to catch a baby when they are about to
fall. Its instinctive, its natural, its normal, its the best in us leaping out
to help others. Its not based on Creed or any other thing, its me or you or all
of us, just jumping from the heart. Those we pray for may never know they are
being prayed for, its an act of love, I suppose just as our God loves us, its
like breathing, a natural thing. You can do a deal with a friend, you pray for
me and I'll pray for you. I did this as a child, I prayed for an old man with
Parkinsons and he prayed that I pass my exam for grammar school. I met another
prayer friend last night, so if good comes it will because of her prayer for
me. I'm praying for her too and it feels all right. So why can't we all give it
a try. It can be in secret, we can pray for anybody and everybody, for the
football team, for the baseball team whatever you like. Of course you can go to
church and pray, go to temple and pray, or just sit on the subway and pray for
the poor downcast man sitting opposite. He doesn't know you are praying for him
but God does know. They say the humblest prayers are the best, right now in my
own life I could say the only way is up. All of us all over the FACEBOOK world can impact each other via FB, but we
all have much much more power though prayer. So join The Secret Prayer Society
today.
1 Comment
What
IfDec 31, '11 8:15 AM
for everyone
What If (c)
By
Michael Casey
What if Today wasn't the 1st day of a New Year but
the last Day of Your Life.
Who would you hug, who would you kiss, who would you
miss.
Who would miss you, do you have a clue, and do you
know why?
Would your years of striving to be a good
writer/teacher/cop or whatever still mean so much to you .
Would you miss making love in a tent high up in the
mountains.
Would you miss a real good coffee and donut on 7th
and 4th.
Would you miss the sales where you always bought
nothing but shoes, shoes for work. But the fun you had with the girls was worth
it , because pals are fun.
Would you miss Midnight Mass and Silent Night
getting home exhausted and late and crying for your late mother.
Would you be too afraid that you'd not meet her
again in the afterlife, or would that be the only hope you'd cling too as you
watched the hands on clock sweep around faster and faster.
Would you rail at the world and want to get your gun
and shoot those bastards who'd ruined your life in the past , even if all they
ever did was steal your parking place, or would you be all sweetness and light,
dying peacefully without a fight.
What would be your parting words, would anybody
remember you, small kindnesses
remembered and rewarded.
Remember thou art dust and to dust thy will return
is the Ash Wednesday phrase
Is that how you want to be remembered?
Or he made me laugh, he made me cry but I was always
was happy when he was around , I'll miss him yes , but I've not lost him
because because a laugh lasts forever.
That is my hope, for the start of this New Year and
new day, and everyday because we all should live like today is our last because
one fact is certain one day it will be , so make 'em laugh , make 'em laugh,
make 'em laugh
Happy New Year from this Comedy Writer Michael Casey
0 Comments
Christmas
2011Dec 26, '11 5:43 PM
for everyone
Christmas 2011 ©
by Michael Casey
This Christmas 2011 was a great Christmas for our small but ever
growing daughters, their uncles and aunties
spoiled them, treasure reached new revels. The girls had decided to set
the family Christmas tree up in their bedroom, somehow the tree was taller than
ever, they found a longer aluminium pole to insert, it now looks as if a
giraffe has taken refuge underneath, so the tree was reaching for the sky.
Talking of Sky our Sky Plus box had a fault, half the space disappeared,
however a quick IM conversation explained
how to get the space back. Then we told the Sky Plus to record 8 things while
we headed off to my brother’s for Christmas dinner.
For a change we were on time for the family feast,
only my brother had managed to forgot to light the gas or was it electric, so
we waited 2 and a half hours for the turkey, the turkey must have been thinking
of tunnelling its way out, just like in
cartoons. Starvation descended upon the 10 of us, we had to have emergency
Terry’s Chocolate Orange, lest we fall over, or lest our sugar levels went too
low. Then finally the food was declared ready, ding ding, like wrestlers we
stormed to the dinner table as my brother shared out the turkey. Back in the old days when my
mother was alive we would feed 5 lodgers first and give them 4 pints each
before we could have our share. The same
love is there, I’m sure our parents look down and smile, the Casey family feast
is shared. The turkey did not stand a chance. By the time the sharing was done
I had finished as had my sister, so we gave up our seats so my brother and his
wife could sit and eat.
I mixed pink wine with orange juice, it was nice,
not very polite as far as the wine was concerned but I like the mix so that’s
the way I had it, a poor man’s BuxFizz. Cake and pudding were also served,
laughter and photos and love all mixed together. Dr Who followed, the nation’s
traditional Christmas fare. Dr Who was all about Mother Love, as it should be
on a Christmas Day, it all started with a Mother’s Love after all. Dr Who cried
with happiness for a finish, and that’s how it should be this and every
Christmas Day. So shed a few tears for those you love, this day and every day.
1 Comment
What
is Poetry?Dec 21, '11 4:37 PM
for everyone
I was thinking what is poetry, then I realised its
the sound of the home. My wife on the phone to her friends, two Chinese
speakers sound like chickens, qok qok qok quar, thats how Chinese make the
sound of clucking. Then there is the sound of the central heating gurrling away
and then the clunk as it switches ityself off. Laughter as my girls run up and
down the stairs, the rat at tat tat as I type on the keyboard, then the click
as I switch on the speakers and start up the music to keep me company as I type.
A splash outside as a car drives by in the rain, the sound of barking as the
neighbours dog howls at the moon. Next door a child cries she does not want to
go to bed, she wants to stop up and wait for Santa just in case he's a few days
early. All this is the heartbeat of a home, even when its hard to think as my
wife is two feet away from me screaming
down the phone in Chinese. This is my heartbeat, I hope yours is just as
strong. Merry Christmas Everybody. Michael Casey www.michaelgcasey.multiply.com
2 Comments
EarphonesDec
19, '11 12:43 PM
for everyone
Earphones, what a lot of effort it takes to pick a
pair.
Do you over the ear or in the ear, do you want
plastic or metal, do you want soft rubber or memory foam. Its such a big
deal for something that'll only last six
month, tops.I had a nice pair and with inline volume control, but they died as
they all do. I had a hard plastic replacement to hand but I want a comfortable
one read for when these die on me. So I looked on Amazon and Argos, read the reviews.
Decided on what I wanted, a blue metal pair, then I read the reviews, 50/50 50
4star, 50 2star, so I decided, if in doubt believe the worst, so those were no
good. Then I saw a pair with what looked like steel wire as the lines, and
covered in plastic. Argos had them 1/3 off, then I checked with Amazon, the
same thing for more than 1/2 the price
of the ones on on offer. Which if you've been following the maths means 1/3 of
the original before offer in price. Or in simple language, not 15, not 10, not
even 5, but 3.90, to those of you who spend a lot on your headphones, I cannot
afford the really nice ones, why, because they just don't last and I don't have
the money anyway. So I give Amazon my vote and hope that when they arrive they
are not a pirated copy. And if you are wondering what I bought, "Kitsound
KS1 Noise Isolating Stereo Earphones. If I were brave I'd wear HEADphones in
the street and on the bus, but then I'd look a right Charlie, which is a very
old figure of speech. The headphones would last, but that's another story.
1 Comment
From
Short Wave Radio to Facebook ©Dec 17, '11 7:44 AM
for everyone
From Short Wave Radio to Facebook ©
By Michael Casey
me and the
wife 1999
30 years ago and more I inherited a Short Wave
Radio, now what is so special about a short wave radio? Well you can listen to
the world over the airwaves, all over the world, from Radio Nederland to
Australia to Hungary, Poland and of course radio Albania. I’ve always loved
radio and I still do, my love began when I was about 8 years old which means
I’ve been listening to radio for 45years now. I can’t believe I’m that old now,
I still think I’m 20, when I talk to my students I say “our age” then I have to
correct myself as I am 30years old than them, old enough to be their dad, one
actually calls me granddad, and when I do the school run the teachers there
think I’m the granddad.
So what’s so good about short wave, it’s the notion
that you can hear radio from all over the world, it’s actually bounced off the
atmosphere, so its kind of like science project. This is 30years ago and more,
when computers weren’t invented, the ones we all use I mean, PCs, I was in fact
a computer operator all those years ago and computers were as big as washing
machines and wardrobes, and people used magnetic tapes and punch cards. So
picture the scene, I’d spend my days off playing with this Tandy/ Radio Shack
SW radio with a nice speaker, logging the different stations and nations that I
could get. I even got a request on Radio Brazil and I managed to get Australia
on a hand held radio. To help with reception I had a round room antennae, 30
foot of copper wire in plastic covering, it was a nice hobby when you had days
off in the middle of the week.
Time moves on and I enjoyed my SW radio as well as
my 20 years of listening to Radio 4 on
the BBC, and now I tell my students to listen to the BBC. All of us have computers in our homes or
down the street at the local library, so the idea of SW is strange, nobody will
listen to SW. So nostalgia leaves a warm
glow in my heart, it would be nice to have a small SW radio again, the kids
stood on my last one years ago and it bust, I did see one in Aldi but I have
lots of radios and a computer so I’ll leave than nice radio in Aldi.
Email arrives and I am a great fan of email, I used
to email my friend on the 4th floor while I was on the 3rd, it was fun. Then I
met my wife and she was in Shanghai and I was here in Birmingham, our love was
kept alive by the blue Sky email machine, I still have it upstairs, an antique
in the future no doubt. Computers get better and better, I continue writing and
have a site of my own www.michaelgcasey.multiply.com then I’m married so we
have a proper simple computer so we can talk to Shanghai. Grandma visits,
twice, she can use the computer to talk to her friends back home. I send emails
galore probably thousands, trying to get noticed as a writer, its all in
Internet Story, its not how good you are, its getting somebody, and I think
it’ll be a lady, because ladies help and blokes don’t, getting somebody to read
your stuff and then you’re finally a writer.
Then Facebook arrives, so you leave a message for
their leader and a few of his pals, if they have a message facility then use it I think. Only they say you’re
naughty and don’t do that or you cann’t play. So I connect with loads of
writers and poets and a few think my stuff is nice and funny, so that’s great,
I still have to hope that one of them likes my stuff enough to look at Amazon Kindle and borrow or
even buy one of my 4 “masterpieces” or go to my site
www.michaelgcasey.multiply.com and read my 250blogs, and see just how fat am I,
and how on earth did I manage to get 3 beautiful girls in my life. For the answer to the last question its all
in Padre Pio and Me, the writing still goes on, 25years nearly. Technology has
changed so much, Short Wave to Facebook these are tools of communication,
reasons to be cheerful as Ian Drury would sing. So as Christmas is coming the
best communication is a kiss, kiss those you love, hold them in your arms, tell
them you love them, take them to bed and make love, now that is far better than
Facebook.
0 Comments
Talking
to an Audience or I want to be an after dinner speakerDec 16, '11 12:40 PM
for everyone
Talking to an Audience ©
By
Michael Casey
The average speaker starts by saying “unaccustomed
as I am to Public Speaking” and then he rattles off his talk. I was sent on a presenting course back in
1998 this was a great course and after 2 days of training I had mastered the
basics.
The trainer placed a few objects on the table, a
pencil, a book, a pair of glasses and
several more random things. We had previously been shown how the expert
did it now it was our turn. We were given 15mins to prepare then one by one we
had to stand up and talk about the object we had chosen.
We all watched and then gave feedback, it was a
group thing, we were all on the same team, it was a family we were there to
help each other learn how to present. Talking for 5 mins can be scary when
you’ve never done it before, but with training anybody can do it.
We repeated this exercise with different objects, we
gave advice and encouragement to each other. Some were not as good as others,
for some standing up and talking in front of another group of people was like
being naked in front of people. Nobody was naked but it felt that way to the
shy talkers.
Having Irish blood in me made it easier for me. Then
we were all given the big challenge, the next day we had to stand up and talk
for 15mins, on a subject of our own choosing. I decided to talk about my trip
to Paris in the February just gone. So on the train from Oxford to Birmingham I
started making out some Qcards, notes to help me with me talk the next day. I
should explain I was working in Birmingham for ACNielsen but the head office
was in Oxford and that’s where the training was. Caroline had been very
generous and allowed me to go on the course just months before redundancy
beckoned. If I’m honest I hoped the course would help me with my comedy
writing.
The next day I was on a train my Qcards all ready, I
rehearsed and rehearsed, then I got to Oxford and ACNielsen HQ. I think I was last to talk, or should I say
perform. I told them that I had chosen hotel on the advice of JC, only JC had
forgotten to tell me it was in a red light area by Gare du Nord Paris.
Being a lad I had a Chinese an lots of wine, before
staggered all over Paris and down the Metro, at the Eiffel Tower my camera was
bust, I was using my schoolboy French trying to get the girl in the box office
under the Eiffel Tower to fix my camera. I decided a kebab was a good idea
after my night time look at Paris. That was a mistake, the Chinese and wine and
a kebab all mixed, and made me violently ill. My bathroom was like a wardrobe
that you climbed into for both the toilet and a shower. I was as sick as a pig.
In the morning I found a pharmacy. “Avez vous des asprin de bas prix” I asked.
In exchange I was given a box which said “asprin tamponee” I opened the box and
inside was a tube with extra strong mint sized asprins, asprins that fizzed. So
I had to find a drink and wash the asprins down, I must have looked like a
rabid dog.
I continued with my tale, my audience in fits of
laughter. I was nearing the end of my tale when I was stopped. “How many
minutes have you done?” asked the trainer. “15” I replied. In fact I had done
30mins. So I think I passed the test, I can present.
3 days later I was in the Czech Republic, my
penfriend was giving me a look at Pilsner her home town, the home of lager
itself. She had a class and would I, could I talk to them, she was an English
teacher you see. So there I was in front of 25 students, so I stood up and
presented off the cuff for 90minutes.
I think that proves I had a good teacher in Oxford.
My trip to Pilsner gave me an idea for a piece of writing, Czech Story, which
proved to be one of the best and funniest pieces of writing I have ever done.
Its good because its true. I suppose all art is best when it draws from life. Shall we leave it there for
tonight……………..
0 Comments
Writing
in my HeadDec 11, '11 2:55 PM
for everyone
Writing in My Head ©
By
Michael Casey
I started writing Tears for A Butcher and I’ve done
one chapter and a few pages of the 2nd chapter. I have all sorts of ideas for
this follow up to
The Butcher The Baker and The Undertaker but I’ve
got lots of material for the finale and one or 2 other chapters, but I’ve not
started on chapter 3 or chapter 4, I’m thinking it’ll be 12 chapters like the
1st book. Then I have a puzzle, should I write the book out of sequence and
then stitch it together or should I wait for sequential chapters to form and then
write it. There is the other problem though
problem is the wrong word to use, I don’t want to spend a year of my
life producing more stuff until I leave the launch pad with my other stuff. I
have 4 books on Amazon Kindle, very cheap and you can now borrow them via
Amazon too.
It’s a bit of
a puzzle, I have enough material to write fully formed chapters, but should I
do it this way or that? There are no rules, and if I got a few quid for my 4
“masterpieces” then I’d be encouraged
to strike the anvil, my dad was a blacksmith after all. What do other
writers do, I’ll put this on FaceBook and see if I get any replies. I love my
cast in my book, its exciting when I think of things they can do, I’ve decided
to marry a few off in
Tears For A Butcher, it will be funny and full of
pathos, but when will I have the time and push to do it, I never get writers
block, quite the reverse. I have compromised and used blogs as a method of
keeping the writing juices flowing, but I have reoccurring dreams of my cast,
not real dreams but the stories want to escape me and dance on paper. If I
could draw cartoons I’d be drawing them, there goes Mrs Murphy, here Big Sid,
there’s the undertaker, I do envy cartoonists. That’s all I have to say, apart
from this, coffee made with hot milk is so so nice. Goodnight everybody
Michael Casey
www.michaelgcasey.multiply.com
0 Comments
Face
Book DataminesDec 10, '11 6:51 AM
for everyone
As we all know FB datamines, so that they can give
you focussed adverts, then they'll make their 100,000,000,000 is that right,
100billion. I think 20billion will be tops as so far 3billion is what they have
achieved on ad revenue, but God Bless them if in the future they copy Bill
Gates and throw the money at Good Causes.
Me I'm trying to hit 100 "friends", mainly
poets/writers and magazines in the vain hope that I get discovered and make a
few bucks for my 401K, thats what you guys call Pension Pot, I hope I'm right.
Over here people cannot afford to save for their old age, over here is Birmingham
England. Style and Substance is very differerent between here and where you
guys are in USA. If Facebook is data mining me, its a pubblisher I'm after, its
folks to go to Amazon Kindle to buy or BORROW my comedy books, we say comic
meaning comedy but comic to you folks means Superman comics, and not comic as
in comedy/amusing stuff.
So I'm wondering how fast folks can reach 100, 1000,
or 5000 "friends", somebody can start a race and see how many friends
they can get in 24hours, Guiness Book of Records can be the timekeeper. More
free publicity for FB.
The obvious question is how good a
"friend" is, or how real a "friend" is, how long do these
"friendships" last. I have one real friend I've know since grammar
school, so that is 42years.
FB is fun and I have had some very nice comments
from a few people, but are the rest of
my FB friends just like folks in a crowed lift/elevator, or like people rushing
by in Times Square. www.michaelgcasey.multiply.com
Please hug a Friend for Christmas, a real big hug
and say you are the best, start with your mum and dad and your sisters and
brothers and then reach out, let in be the United Hugs States of America
0 Comments
Secret
PrayerDec 9, '11 5:40 PM
for everyone
Secret Prayer© by Michael Casey
Sometimes a prayer is a secret that we cannot reveal
to the intend recipient, they would not approve of being prayed for, they would
not want to receive a pray, they would lose face, they don't want to receive a
grace, yet prayer is a grace, from me to you, or rather I ask and you receive,
so why do the deceiving? We are just doing the healing, yes we'll carry on
praying and begging for healing, our eyes facing the ceiling. Sure we'll pray
for anybody, and we'll whisper their name, "Hail Mary full of Grace, Our Father
who art in Heaven" yes we'll pray this, we'll dust off those rosary beeds
and beg and pray for all we're worth, please please keep this lady on this
earth, don't let her die or her other child will be left all alone, no Lord
please I'm begging you now, yes MY prayers are worthless, but there must be
somebody who reads this whose prayers are golden, whose love is worthy. So
please please Lord pretend I'm somebody else praying and a begging you to save
this life, save this somebody else's wife, save this somebody else's mummy.
Please Lord this is all I can pray, let this lady live many many many a day
AMEN
1 Comment
Facing
FacebookNov 26, '11 2:28 PM
for everyone
Facing Facebook ©
By
Michael Casey
I wrote Internet Story a while back, years ago in
fact, it tells the tale of a writer trying to get noticed, to get published.
Now years later, the winds of Time have moved on, we are all older and fatter,
well I am anyway. Technology has moved on too, Facebook has arrived on the
scene, I didn’t think much of it, then I thought sideways, I could use it to
connect with writers and publishers. So that’s what I’ve been doing.
You have to be careful with Facebook though, the
weird and wonderful people of the world are out there ready to contradict and
spit at you, the electronic version of spitting that is. People who only have
one interest and will be very very very angry if you don’t agree with them; its
like having the Mafia and the Clu Clux Clan on tap, ready to bump you off. So
check somebody’s profile before you talk with them, people in America seem to
be much more angry compared to folks over here in England, thank God for the
Atlantic I say. Having said that you can connect with a multitude of people,
women’s writers are a big big thing in America, they are nice ladies, sadly I
cannot write in that style otherwise I would and perhaps have my writing
breakthrough. I can only write in my modern post Ealing Comedy style. You’ll
all need to go to www.michaelgcasey.multiply.com to see and judge my stuff, and
as I said previous in Internet Story it’ll cut your heart out when folks are so
negative, and in some cases it is out of sheer spite, I believe in saying “good
luck and God bless” to people but sadly that sentiment is dying out over here
and in the USA.
Erotic fiction is big too, but I always see the
funny side, if you read my comic novel
The Butcher The Baker and The Undertaker, you’ll see
that beds break and I use Metaphors because its funnier, I’m not writing the
Karma Sutra after all. I would have failed the practical exam anyway. So if you
want laugher with your sex then read The Butcher The Baker and The Undertaker,
1% comedy sex, 99% straight comedy at 500 pages and only 3quid on Amazon Kindle
a bargain. The hero finally gets his
girl, the girl from the dog pound, only he stinks like a tart and she thinks
he’s gay, but they do break a bed afterwards and have to glue it back together
with superglue.
So I’ll post
this new piece on Facebook and see it encourages people to buy my book, I need
to explain to the American readers that comic means comic not comic. Or in
plainer English, comic means funny, its not a comic like Superman, it’s a comic
book ie. Comedy book. So I’ll post this and see If my sales on Amazon Kindle go
through the roof, I have of course broke a few beds myself, but that’s
because I weigh 112kilos , 17.5 stones
or in American parlance 245 pounds. I have also been inside 242 bedrooms, and
that’s only because I used to work in a hotel, CPNEC, you’re minds are so
dirty! Enjoy my books.
1 Comment
DisguisesNov
22, '11 3:28 PM
for everyone
Disguises, we all hide this and hide that from each
other and from ourselves. We smile when we really want to say, oh no its that
boring so in so. We go around to nans when really we wish she was dead and we
wouldn't have to waste our time with all this visiting. If we knew she was rich
and was planning to leave it all to use we wouldn't complain so much. If nan
heard our bitching she'd leave all her shares and equities to the local cats
home. We lie to people to save face, we put a 10 year old photo of ourselves on
Facebook. Before we were fat, before we needed a face lift. We are just so
vain, vain enough to enter Politics, but which side would we be on, does it
matter? When we go to bed are we still acting? Or are all barriers down? Are we
sleeping with the enemy? Or is it love? With love there should be no barriers,
no marrying for love or for status. For Richer For Poorer, and no disguises
included
p.s. photo is me and the wife when we first met, I
sent her back to Shanghai to tell her parents all my bad points, no lies
allowed
1 Comment
WHY
ARE WRITERS SO PRECIOUS?Nov 19, '11 11:23 AM
for everyone
Why are writers and poets so precious?(c) By Michael
Casey
Why are writers and poets so precious?
Are words more important than people.
Do we love our words more than our selves
Our words are our children
But we hate children
We hate people
We just love words
Words are our mistress
Words are our lovers
Words are our whores
We prefer the page
We prefer the pen in our hand
We prefer the soft touch of the keyboard
A woman in our bed is not good enough
A man in our arms does not satisfy us.
No we want words
We want to make love to a dictionary
p.s. I've just burnt my dictionary I'm going to bed with
a woman!
0 Comments
DT
had a piece about Padre Pio , here's my own experienceNov 16, '11 3:18 PM
for everyone
Web site www.michaelgcasey.multiply.com
Padre Pio and Me ©
By
Michael Casey
It’s a
contradiction in terms immediately , how can I copyright a Saint . A brand new saint at that . I first
heard of him through some Religious reading I did . I feel embarrassed to admit
it , but I am a practising Catholic , its not fashionable to have any Faith but
its mine so I admit it . Immediately the prejudice begins , but if I WERE A Jew
or a Muslim , it would be the same . I do feel that my catholic tastes have
given me a broader outlook on life , as has my
eclectic tastes and rubbing shoulders with a wide variety of people .
But I want to talk about Padre Pio . I had a crisis
and was reading about him at the time , so I said my prayers to him and the way
forward was revealed . Though Padre Pio always says go Higher , he is just a stepping
stone on the way to a better place . What is so hard to understand about Padre
Pio is how he suffered . He had the
slings and arrows of outrageous fortune . Condemned by his own superiors , made
to be quiet for a decade and so forth . Science Fiction teaches or rather
amuses us about Time Travel , but with Padre Pio it really happened , he wanted
to share in Christ’s agony so he thought , what if he too could have and suffer
the wounds on that day of Crucifiction . So it came to pass that he suffered
for 50years . He had the indignity of medical examinations and of being thought
just to be a mental patient , but his work and life proved his holiness .
So it’s nearly 1990 and I hear about him and read a
few books , its hard to understand the value of suffering in this age of quick
fix pain killers and the lets have a fix , whatever the fix might be , sex,
drugs and rock and roll or whatever . Its like suddenly studying again after
years of lying fallow , the learning curve is enormous . So too is it with
Padre Pio , the idea behind his life is enormous , but so too is the capacity
for love and help .
My favourite story is how Padre Pio explains that
The Wedding Feast at Cena happened because Jesus could not refuse his mother .
Very Italian , or Irish or Spanish and so on , but could any of us refuse our
mothers?
So I thought more about what Padre Pio said , and
his motto of Pray Hope Don’t Worry became my own . Carpe Diem is another good
motto but perhaps this can be used by any Hedonist , or other kind of selfish
person .Padre Pio reminds us to pray and that pray is not wasted , its perfume
that is never wasted is a phrase I like . My mother always used to say that if
you couldn’t sleep you should say the Rosary , and she was right . Though in todays
world an hour on the Internet or with MTV might do the trick .
So why the devotion to Padre Pio , I’ll cut to the
chase.
My mother died suddenly but peacefully in her sleep
, my brother tried CPR , but she was gone . Imagine the anguish amongst her 6
children and her husband of nearly 50 years . All except me , my mother had
said no tears when she go ,so I never cried , I was the odd one out .I know how
prayerful she was , so I had no need of tears .
Eight bare weeks later my brother , the same brother
heard our dad fall out of bed , so he ran to his bedroom . My brother was
facing the exact same situation , he tried CPR , the ambulance was called , an
injection was given straight to the heart . On weekends there is a doctor in
the ambulance , so Luck , if that’s the word was with us . The next day 4 of my
brothers and sisters came around to tell me the news . When my sister had come
around 8 weeks previously I knew somebody was dead but I assumed it was my dad
, he’s die first we all thought . So now 8 weeks later it was his turn to die .
At the hospital dad was given 1 week to live , I
cried like a baby , worse than a baby , but I loved him , so I told he he
should go to our mother and not hang on if he didn’t want to . The next day I
was in my sister’s house crying , we picked hymns for his funeral .Yet my
father survived , 19 patients on a heart ward , 18 died my dad survived . Padre
Pio was beseiged by my prayers , I put Padre Pio’s photo under his pillow . Dad
lost his mind , he was in Dudley Rd for 3months , 12 weeks , more than half of
them all tubed up . His life hanging in the balance . At the same time
somewhere in Florida another man was at deaths door , he was a totally stranger
to me , I didn’t even know his name , I’d never met him , he was give 24hours
to live , a Chinese man from Shanghai
was at deaths door . The Chinaman survived .My dad’s memory was totally
wiped , he did not know who I was, I’m your son was greeted with , am I married
. I was the favourite son , he did not even know me . But still we prayed ,
it’s a feeling in your guts , just like when you are nearly killed as you cross
the road , its in your guts and in your heart , Jesus save my dad , Jesus save
my dad , Padre Pio help !!! This goes around your head like a merry go around
or a kaleidascope . Finally dad awoke . He said that he can remember hearing
the doctor say to wheel him down to the end of the ward , because he’d be dead
soon . At that moment my dad awoke, and the doctor dropped his cup of tea in shock . No not an
instanteous miracle , but as Dr Singh had said if he were 30years younger he’d
have a heart transplant because dad’s heart was rubbish .
Now , when I told my brother that dad was reading a
newspaper he was shocked . His memory had come back . He knew who we all were
.Every day for three months I walked the corridor at Dudley Rd , the longest
hospital corridor in Europe , 1 kilometre long . Finally he left the hospital ,
my sister had found a good home for him to live in , he was far too weak to
live in the family house .
For 3 years dad survived , like a Godfather with all
his children making constant visits . Finally I met my future wife . It was her
uncle who had miraclously survived at the same time as my father . It was her
uncle who encouraged us in our love . From Shanghai to Birmingham .These great
men , her uncle and my father never met , but I know Padre Pio must have helped both of them . Further prayer was
needed to bring me and my wife permanenetly together . A Chinese miracle
happened . Now we are wed , we have a 2year old and please God a healthy second
baby in the Autumn . The improbability of our meeting , plus the fact that both
men HAD to live for us to be married and have a family , this may be a
coincidence to some but I know a miracle when I see one. A miracle is something
that makes you feel humble , it makes you know that God has whispered your name
. When I look at my wife , I feel humble . Seeing our daughter laugh and play
also makes me humble as will our new baby.
Then you can look back and know that prayer is like
perfume that can never be wasted , your
life has led you to where you are now , yes at times sad and terrible , but be
humble in the sight of God means something , not just for me , but for all
Believers .
I once stood by the fridge and said to Padre Pio , I
give up , you take over , all I want is to be married , and perhaps have a
family , and do something useful with my life . That was just before my eyes
were opened to my wife . I used to say that I got 2 out of my 3 wishes .
Perhaps my current occupation is my 3rd wish , or a more outstanding miracle is
waiting in the wings , but as Padre Pio
said ,always ask for the big Grace .Perhaps
we have to be
humble enough to deserve it , because I believe it to be a fact that , truly
great people are humble because they know just how little they really know.
0 Comments
Degree
MadnessNov 15, '11 8:40 AM
for everyone
Degree madness
By michaelgcasey
There was a nice piece in today’s DT about degrees
and their value or lack of. £27,000 for
a degree is madness, and the piece did speak of “rubbish” degrees, I was told
by a friend that 40% was the pass grade for an engineering degree here in
Birmingham. This is madness pure and simple, I’m sure any real employer would
roll their eyes and reach for the
coffee. I have also met young people with a piece of paper and no common sense.
As for everybody demonstrating because it was their right to have a degree, I’d
say having a red jumper is more useful that some degrees, save £27,000 and open
a business instead.
My daughter took her 11plus 2 days ago, that I hope
will help her, but even if she were to fail, we still have 2 ex-grammar schools
where she could go. As for University, I am already telling her just to enjoy
her life and get 3 years hands on experience, or 4 years if you include the gap
year either before or after Uni. She can do what she likes, but always do her
best, just as my dad instructed us. Then she has something to offer an
employer, I’ve had a varied employment life these past 12years, but it has
taught me that being useful and flexible is better than a Micky Mouse degree
she might apply for. I tell her Paul McCartney’s daughter went to a comp but look
at Stella now. It’s the Person not the Paper that matters
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