Author: Araminta

I’ve now developed a headache so I thought I would share!

The case against the notion of historical objectivity is like the case against international law, or international morality; that it does not exist.
Sir Isaiah Berlin

Berlin was a philosopher and a political theorist.

I have a very vague recollection of some of his ideas, but from memory, the most interesting one was his dismissal of the idea that there was only one sort of right answer, or universally “correct” system of ethics.  He was not talking about the physical world we inhabit, which can to some extent be defined by science or mathematics, but rather the inter-reaction of human beings which cannot be determined, or categorised using the same “rules”.

His work was naturally influenced by events at the time; the fight against Communism and Fascism, but one does wonder what he would have made of the present battle of ideologies.

It would also be interesting to see how future historians view these present conflicts, and which ethical values will they use to do so, but I doubt any of us will be around to find out.

Literary?

Dear Boadicea,

Despite not being a “literary” person, you did an excellent job at very short notice.

But what makes a “literary” person?

I certainly do not think I could be described as such. I did write a play at the age of nine but I feel that possibly I peaked rather early.

I know I am deemed to be a “creative writer”, as regards MyT, but I really did not feel anything other than an imposter.  Now that is not to say I didn’t enjoy being part of this group; I most certainly did. I started to write poetry, albeit very bad poetry,  but I enjoyed it and people were kind and provided constructive criticism and encouragement. It was quite an eye opener that I could turn my hand to anything more creative than a shopping list. I am most grateful that I felt I could even attempt this. Continue reading “Literary?”

Brave Monty Mouse: Midsummer Hell

One summer night when all was calm,
The nest of mice slept safe from harm.
Little snores and soft faint sighs,
Then Monty woke and rubbed his eyes.

He pricked his ears and listened hard.
Something strange; the silence marred,
By haunting notes from somewhere near;
His sleep disturbed, a touch of fear. Continue reading “Brave Monty Mouse: Midsummer Hell”

Midsummer Madness: A short story

It had been a lovely weekend. For once the weather was perfect and the children had amused themselves for hours, splashing in the shallow bay and exploring the rock pools at low tide.

Such a pity they had to leave and start the long drive home. Thinking ahead, and checking her watch, she pulled off the motorway and parked her four wheel drive at a convenience store. It was not the most salubrious of areas but she needed some milk, bread and eggs. The children would be hungry and tired and require feeding before bedtime.

Continue reading “Midsummer Madness: A short story”

Assortment of flowering things

Just a few examples of various flowering things which have survived my complete lack of gardening skills and manage to at least sit still for the camera!

Now I realise that Pink any things are Christina’s pet hate, but I am actually growing quite fond of these roses and although I hacked them inexpertly at I am convinced, exactly the wrong time of the year, they have valiantly managed to produce copious, wonderfully scented flowers. So they shall remain for a while. Continue reading “Assortment of flowering things”

Short Story: Global Warming- a lesson.

Global Warming; a lesson.

So, Bea decided, it was actually happening!

What to do?

Now Bea, not a scientist or a particularly sharp cookie, had made up her mind. She was not entirely convinced, but given an element of doubt, she decided to err on the side of caution.

Continue reading “Short Story: Global Warming- a lesson.”

Twits- sorry tweets

The working name was just “Status” for a while. It actually didn’t have a name. We were trying to name it, and mobile was a big aspect of the product early on … We liked the SMS aspect, and how you could update from anywhere and receive from anywhere.

We wanted to capture that in the name—we wanted to capture that feeling: the physical sensation that you’re buzzing your friend’s pocket. It’s like buzzing all over the world. So we did a bunch of name-storming, and we came up with the word “twitch,” because the phone kind of vibrates when it moves. But “twitch” is not a good product name because it doesn’t bring up the right imagery. So we looked in the dictionary for words around it, and we came across the word “twitter,” and it was just perfect. The definition was “a short burst of inconsequential information,” and “chirps from birds.” And that’s exactly what the product was.

Jack Dorsey

140 characters; well let’s see:

Continue reading “Twits- sorry tweets”