Author: KokkieH

On Ageing (not Maya Angelou’s poem)

Woe is me. I am finished, done for, kaput, klaar! It seems like only a month ago that I was celebrating life and revelling in my youthful vigour, even as I watched my Beloved descend into the vale of years, but alas, no more. Time has finally caught up with me, has sunk its claws into my flesh and will not let go, as today I join my Dearest at the ripe old age of thirty-two.

Even as I sit writing this I can feel the strength being sapped from my limbs and my senses growing dull. My faculties are slipping and my…what’s the word…mer…men…mem…memory is no longer what it used to be. I’ve already discovered one grey hair and I just want to nap all the time.

Continue reading “On Ageing (not Maya Angelou’s poem)” →

KokkieH Reviews The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter

What if the Earth wasn’t the only one? What if there were millions more Earths beyond ours, formed every time in that history went one way or the other while moving along the trousers of time? What if ours was the only one where homo sapiens developed, leaving the others empty, unspoilt and there for the taking? What if all you needed to do to reach one was step to the side?

Parallel universes are nothing new to Science Fiction, but the idea is given a wonderful new spin in The Long Earth, a collaboration between Sir Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter.

(Please note: there are some minor spoilers to follow, but I won’t reveal any major plot points.)

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On Paraskevidekatriaphobia

I’ll say it again: Paraskevidekatriaphobia (Sheesh! I’m glad I don’t have to say that out loud.) If you woke up this morning in a cold sweat of terror that cannot be rationally explained, you could be suffering from this. Don’t worry, it’s not a fatal condition, though it could make your day very stressful and make you a target of ridicule and practical jokes should it come out you have it. Paraskevidekatriaphobia is the irrational fear of Friday the thirteenth.

Theories abound as to the origins of this particular superstition. Some go so far back as to say that the day that Eve ate the apple in the Garden of Eden was a Friday. We’ll never know that for sure, but we do know that Jesus was crucified on a Friday. Friday is also the sixth day of the week. With seven being the perfect number, six symbolises less than perfection (and use six three times in a row and you get the biblical symbol for evil personified). According to Genesis, the sixth day is also the day God created man, which certainly makes it an unlucky day, at least for the rest of the earth… Continue reading “On Paraskevidekatriaphobia” →

On good guys and bad guys

Stories can’t exist without characters, right? Well, at least most of them need characters. Our first stories feature characters that include dogs, caterpillars, cars, power tools with faces, and purple dinosaurs, to name a few. As we grow our stories become more complex and we get introduced to bad guys, usually trolls or wicked witches. At some point, if you’re paying attention in high school lit, you will further learn that the main character (usually the good guy) is called the protagonist, and his nemesis (usually the bad guy) is called the antagonist.

You also learn that characters can either be flat (or one-dimensional) or round (or three-dimensional). Continue reading “On good guys and bad guys” →

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On the fear of success

Today I’d like to share with you one of my favourite quotes:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us.
– Marianne Williamson

I like this quote because it points to an important facet of the human experience: While failing sucks and none of us want to experience it, succeeding is just downright terrifying. I wonder how many of the people who never take any risks isn’t from a fear of failure, but a fear of success. Continue reading “On the fear of success” →