C.G.Ayling

Month: April 2013

  • Julia’s essay to her dad.

    My much loved youngest daughter Julia casually left a note on my desk last night.  She never told me what it was, and placed it on a pile of other papers without even saying she did.  Although I noticed it last night, it didn’t register and thus I only got around to reading it this morning.  It is so special I thought I’d share it with you.

    As any can see, Julia writes with a poetic cadence, so allow a proud father poetic liberty to transform her words into poetic form.

    ~

    thank you father

    to my father I owe many things,
    from this man I have gained roots and wing
    I can now stand on my own
    like the mighty oke I have follow shadowed.
    Thank you father for holding me high anoth to see the word
    but not to shadow me from it.
    With the roots I hold myself
    and with these wings I wrap myself and other
    to protect me from the flams of the hell of life
    and to myself I always sing:
    my father gave me roots and gave me wing,
    now I must learn to fly without leaving the ground.
    Show the world that I know how.

    ~

    The text below, is how it arrived with apparent errors intact.
    ~
    thank you father
    to my father I owe many things, from this man I have gained roots and wing I can now stand on my own like the mighty oke I have follow shadowed. Thank you father for holding me high anoth to see the word but not to shadow me from it. With the roots I hold myself and with these wings I wrap myself and other to protect me from the flams of the hell of life and to myself I always sing: my father gave me roots and gave me wing, now I must learn to fly without leaving the ground. Show the world that I know how.
    ~

    Due to the method the blog presents text minor formatting changes will occur, so to keep it true I’ll post a picture of the actual note below – exactly as I received it.

    A poetic essay, casually cast upon my table, without a word, and many a distracting deed...
    A poetic essay, casually cast upon my table, without a word, and many a distracting deed…

    {you can find more about my gem, Julia here.}

  • Little absences.

    My twitter followers may have noticed I’ve been gone for a couple of days. The reason is that I needed to clean up an infection on my website by a nasty little rascal called the “Pharma Hack”. What this misguided piece of malware does, is inject hidden information into pages and posts that contain links back to websites selling various drugs – thus the name “Pharma”.

    The information is hidden from website visitors and serves the nefarious purpose of “Search Engine Optimization”. In the past, search engines such as Google ranked websites higher the more sites that linked to them. Therefore, by embedding links into pages these cheaters are attempting to increase the ranking of disreputable websites. Reputable search engines are well aware of this “trick” and now either disregard hidden links, or penalize websites for including them or being linked by them.

    As I have no desire for people in desperate need of {how to put this delicately…} “hardening” drugs visiting my site, I don’t mind being penalized. You know the variety I mean, those alchemical marvels that transform certain body parts into hardened steel {if the transmutation lasts longer than four hours, call your doctor…}!

    And now, to the title of the post. I discovered my site had been “hacked” thanks only to the efforts of an amazing person that many on Twitter know as @TwitCleaner – a now defunct product written by a real life human being named Si Dawson. Si responded to a tweet I made offering him free copies of my works, as I’m financially unable to make cash donations {if you’re able to, please visit his website – there’s a “contribute” button over on the right}. In taking me up on my offer, Si visited [Reviewers] to get my email address – he noticed the infection, and took time to inform and assist me in identifying it. Thank you again Si, A.K.A @TwitCleaner – your actions helped me, and did a lot to restore my ever-dwindling faith in the goodness of individuals.

    Anyway, to cut a long story short, cleaning up the infection took a ton of time I really don’t have, and the only pot from which I could pull the time, was Twitter…

    {P.S. if you’re a book reviewer or blogger please visit the link above – I’d love to hear from you.}

  • Patriotism.

    Patriotism: a word of place in a placeless, single world. #thought

    Patriotism, and Duty.  Honorable sounding words, for dishonorable deeds.

    Time passes, and things change… well, most things change, while some remain the same. The words I’ve named above fall within the “unchanging” category, and while they bear honor’s guise, it is a shabby fit at best.

    Let’s consider them in sequence, but at first apart for that ancient phrase “United they stand, divided they fall” holds true.  Sweet it is, and fitting, to tear apart falsity wrapped as truth – especially using one of the very quotes so often used to justify one of man’s most immoral acts. Namely, war. {For those that care, and I hope you all do, that is a modified translation of another ancient lie, attributed to Horace, “Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori”.}

    The world remains the same size it was a millennium ago, yet distances have shrunk even as humanity has experienced a population explosion.  Technologically, mankind has advanced rapidly.  Intellectually, humankind remains stuck in a single spot.  Spiritually, humanity has lost ground – we’ve forgotten things we once knew, and grown convinced they don’t matter… when they do.

    We’re all primitive people, easily manipulated, easily distracted from truth, and voracious in our appetites.  What do you suspect happens when such greedy primitive beings as we, intellectually incapable of overcoming our tribal instincts to gain more than our needs, acquire terrible technologies?

    War… on an even greater scale than before.

    Justification and motivation for war is accomplished using deceitful words held high, as truths.  Everyone wants to be a patriot, don’t they – yet do we even know what a patriot is?  The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a patriot as “a person who loves, supports, and defends his or her country and its interests with devotion.”  What powerful, eloquent, inspiring words – for an archaic, defunct set of primitive, tribal beliefs.

    Like marriage, perhaps it’s past time we redefined this word in terms more suitable for today.  Isn’t a patriot, in essence, someone who loves their country?

    If we love our country {whatever country that may be}, there is no explicit need for us to “support” it – our love guarantees implicit support.  Only when our country engages in something dishonorable is explicit support demanded – at which time all that truly love their country {AKA “patriots”} should actively strive to set their country back on the honorable path.

    Further, what need is there for “defends” in the definition of patriotism?  Last I considered this, there is no need for defense if there is no attack.  {Unless you’re foolish enough to embrace the idiotic concept of “pre-emptive self-defense”}  Are misguided patriots not the ones dishonorable leaders would use in their attacks?

    Is aggression the ultimate aspiration of patriots, as that word is currently defined?  It seems so, and neither is aggression an honorable activity.

    Duty… I’ll leave you to think on the circumstances in which duty is invoked, and possibly tackle that topic on another day.

  • Time, to write a wrong.

    Time past righting a wrong, and this my writing of this wrong, in poetic form.

    Marriage Equality.
    Religion’s Organized Refrain.
    You must believe as we, or heathen will you be.
    Don’t confuse the faithful with your lies
    don’t dare to make them open, their dogma shuttered eyes.
    Marriage is a word most meaningful,
    that has but one design,
    its only purpose is fruitful copulation
    with other gendered, of your kind.
    How dare the unbelievers, take our holy word
    and twist, and turn it into something so absurd
    as love between two people,
    without bias for gender,
    Without honor for… our holy word.
    Love, for one of your own gender?
    Absurd!
    For anyone who dares use reason from their own brain
    You must show contempt,
    and haughty disdain.
    ~
    Reason’s Refrain.
    You proclaim your god is mighty, loving, and true,
    then by your deeds prove, his holy words mean nothing, to you.
    Twist the words written, that they might suit just you.
    Who are you to claim protection of the words you hold holy
    when by your efforts, you twist it into something so absurd
    as “love may only exist between those of opposite gender”.
    To thinkers, this obscenity, you dare to tender.
    Only when it suits you, do you quote your holy words.
    Often when it suits you, from context do you rip them,
    and with that deed, remove any true meaning.
    Picking and choosing, without gleaning
    any truth they might once have held.
    Guidance did they offer, words, like shalt… not must.
    Meanings long since forgotten, corrupted by man’s lust.
    Divinity is life, and life, divinity.
    Within our single life, we strive for love.
    We don’t know where we’ll find it,
    spiritually, not body bound, flowing from without.
    Or within the arms, of a mortal lover, maybe not devout.
    True love knows no season,
    true love doesn’t bow before dogmatic reason.
    It clasps you by the heart,
    and when it goes unrequited, it tears your afflicted soul apart.
    You claim you love your brothers, and yet you segregate
    you may not love another, whose gender yours does match.
    If the only purpose of marriage is procreation,
    then sinners are we all, without exemption.
    Marriage is a commitment, an everlasting bond.
    Marriage is not defined, by rigid little laws
    or rigid little people, without true, just, and fair cause.
    Does not marriage within in it hold love?
    Another simple, holy word…
    Love is not subject to reason,
    Love does not flinch before distrust,
    Love does not fail before mis-reason,
    nor bow before the discrimination,
    of this misguided nation
    The only thing, before which love kneels, is the claimer of your heart,
    who love has brought together, let no one tear apart
    ~
    Logic’s Refrain
    No law that is not equal, should be tendered, as true.
    No exceptions should we make
    that  within our laws entomb, foul discrimination.
    As anyone can see, this must be folly
    this, cannot be…
    divinity.
    Any decent person must demand…
    Marriage Equality.
    ~

     {I make no apologies for my changed views on Marriage. If you’re interested in the motivations of a contrary man, you may read my tale of enlightenment here, and here.}