"Voices of the 7 Billion" seeking writers!

Due to an exciting site relaunch, the website I had previously contributed articles to, namely Voices of the 7 Billion, are now looking for writers to contribute pieces from accross the cultural, political and geographical spectrums. More information can be found by clicking here. I have gone from having very little in my schedule to having a lot, so when things calm down, I'm going to return to them to write on linguistic issues frequently.

Worcestershire Poet Laureate competition

I can relax, for now. After a hard weekend writing poetry, I finally submitted my entries to the Worcestershire Literary Festival competition entitled a Bard for Worcestershire. First prize is appointment as Worcestershire Poet Laureate for 2012-13, with the final ten performing their works on 15 June, 2012 at Worcester Cathedral. I've enjoyed getting back into poetry recently, and think I might continue with writing poetry for the short term. I usually write prose, but I've got the poetry bug now!

Wish me luck, and hopefully I'll see you at the final!

SAVE! SAVE! SAVE! BACK UP! BACK UP! BACK UP!

SAVE! SAVE! SAVE!
BACK UP! BACK UP! BACK UP!

Allow me to reiterate the importance of saving frequently, and backing up regularly. A group writing project I had been working on has (long story short) lost all the data due to no fault of our own. Most of my own work is recoverable, because I back up frequently, but don't let it happen to you! Save regularly (I have a habit of hitting CTRL + S immediately after I press "."), and back-up on a couple of pen drives/on-line frequently.

Where should you save it, though? I currently use 2 flash drives, a portable hard disk and, at the recommendation of Vicky Wong, I'm going to check out Dropbox later. I am also going to check out Google Drive, as recommended by Pete Bevanand Arfur Daley. Apparently Dropbox starts off with 2GB free (able to be increased by 500MB each time I make a successful referral, up to a maximum of 16GB; beyong 16GB requires payment), and Google Drive lets you start off with 5GB free (but an increase on this is only available through payment).

If anyone else has any (free and reputable) tips, let me know.

Cryo-Hell

The final poem of the week is a piece called Cryo-Hell. It was published way back in issue 18 of M-Brane SF magazine. They don't normally accept poetry, but made a special exception for this. It's a real chiller....

CRYO-HELL

by

Damon Lord

Brave travellers, they called us:

A million colonists firmly abandoned to the cosmos,

Firmly bound for a fresh, clean world,

A new home.

No turning back. Say goodbye, wish us well,

Let us go. Forever.

Board the cryo-ship, take the pill,

Settle into the chilled capsule, go to sleep.

Still, still, still.

Revered automatons to whom we faithfully and wilfully entrust ourselves

Tend us, and decide when we have arrived.

Then we will rise to a new warm globe,

Like getting up next morning in spring.

Yet four centuries have been harshly stolen,

Stolen by Old Father Time himself.

Lonely generations back home

Born and turned to cold dust while we sweetly slumber on.

But I am awake.

Failed icy medicines locked inside my body murmur falsehoods, ineffective.

I am awake.

Chemical impotence rends me from the safe grip of Morpheus.

I am trapped in cryonic solitude, bathed in liquid nitrogen,

Held awake for over thirteen billion long shivering seconds.

I call for help,

Frozen and dead,

Conscious and alive,

Knowing there will be no release.

I weep, a solitary shriek of terror

Loud, endless, yet silent,

Deaf to the still ears of those around me,

A mournful cry.

Alone in this crowded, frigid, interstellar necropolis,

I do not dream.

I simply scream.

Ordinary People

And continuing with a dark theme to my writing, today's poem is a piece entitled "Ordinary People". Are people really Ordinary though?

Ordinary People

by Damon Lord

Ordinary People

Living Ordinary lives

Ordinary husbands

Beating Ordinary wives

And it's all so very Ordinary

On the Outside

Ordinary couple

Makes up and goes to bed

In the Ordinary morning

The husband is found dead

And it's all so very Ordinary

On the Outside

Ordinary murder

With an Ordinary knife

Ordinary stab wound

Took away the life

And it's all so very Ordinary

On the Outside

Ordinary prison

Ordinary cell

Ordinary inmates

Freedom from the Hell

And it's all so very Ordinary

On the Outside

Ordinary People

Living Ordinary lives

Ordinary husbands

Killed by Ordinary wives

Let's have an orgy

Continuing with a walk down, down, and yet further on down the darker avenues of my creative mind, we today encounter one of my more risqué poems. Getting a room of about 30 people chanting the refrain "let's have an orgy" in autumn 2011 has to be one of the highlights of my literary career thus far.

Let's have an orgy

by

Damon Lord

Lube up the dildos

Crack out the butt-plugs

Let's have an orgy

Chuck in the car keys

Pick out a partner

Let's have an orgy

Upstairs with Henry

Downstairs with Myrtle

Let's have an orgy

Tromboning with Terry

Strap-ons with Sandra

Let's have an orgy

Spit roast in the hallway

Gang-bang in the kitchen

Let's have an orgy

Anal sex! Oral sex!

Vaginal sex! Nasal sex!

Let's have an orgy

Felching and fisting

Teabagging and rimming

Let's have an orgy

Chlamydia from Clive

Herpes from Harriet

AIDS from Adrian...

Let's have no more orgies