MostlyPaul

#vss365 Down a shady lane of elm & oak is a small brick house, strangled by Stinking Bob vine. Its two windows, on either side of a blood-red door, stare out with a glazed, stricken look of #terror. Trick-or-Treaters avoid the cottage because of the vine's repulsive, rotting-vegetable odor.

#vss365 Zorg emptied his body pouches of personal items into a Spaceport Security tray & waited to enter the pat-down scanner. Nanobots released by the scanner will turn Zorg's #Martian Green body into Earth Pink, Brown, or Yellow, so he can comfortably blend in with Earthers on his vacation.

Thank you

#vss365 As the sun sets, shadows lengthen & merge with dusk to give the #Unseen opportunity to roam. By daylight, the Unseen have loitered in corners & closets, & lounged behind or under furniture. The Unseen are the whispers heard when you are alone, the vague movement in your peripheral vision.

#vss365 The Shoppe of Spells has no fixed location, but randomly appears wedged like a book on a shelf between the city of Lincoln's limestone buildings. Alakazam, the shop owner, announces its locality by startling Hocus Pocus & Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo, who emit a foul #energy when suddenly alarmed.

#vss365 The teapot poured an endless stream of tea, much to Alice's enjoyment. And her cup and #saucer increased in size to accommodate the tea. Alice wondered if she was tripping, if someone had slipped her a pill or potion? But Hatter's parties are always a trip, a surreal repast of food & guests.

#vss365 A moonscooter sped over the ejecta of Tycho crater, kicking up dust that glittered in the Earthlight. The scooter's rider, an HAL-class #android, was traveling to TMA-1 Cafe on Tycho's rim. A menial droid with limited functions, his sole responsibility was to open the cafe's pod bay door.

#vss365 The #Beetles from Betelguese, a post-industrial metal band, played the caverns south of Rigel. They had a few minor hits: Ticket to Rigel, Hey Jupiter, Let It Betelguese, only becoming an intergalactic phenomenon when fronted by Ciggy Tarlung, who had a penchant for spiders.

Steve Currie, bassist for T. Rex born/grew up in Grimsby, my hometown.

Town also commemorated in a song by Bernie Taupin, Elton John's lyricist. Taupin lived nearby.

The Carpet Crawlers - Genesis, my all time favorite Genesis song. The music and lyrics soar (original 1974 recording). And, little did I know the songs refrain "you've gotta get in to get out" would play a big part in my life.

I Hear You Knocking -- Dave Edmunds

#vss365 The Wajapi cower in their huts, clutching protective amulets and charms, and garlic tightly. For their Mighty River births a horror, an unholy union of bat & #piranha. A night terror of fish & wing & teeth, a bestial, corrupting & invasive presence that feeds on human blood--Piranhacula.

#vss365 Before Autumn, Smee harvested privet hedgerows for the webs of the Labyrinth spider, which he said made the best #raincoats. And only a premier London pea-souper would do for the lining. Smee gathered pea-souper droplets on the coats of long-haired Highland cattle he herded through the fog.

Thank you.

#vss365 There was insufficient oomph on display among the molls vying for the position of arm-candy for a new generation of gangsters.

Widowmaker sipped his Moet Chandon while patting away a tear with a blood-stained Gucci silk handkerchief. "The girls these days, they just don't have #verve."

#vss365 Having journeyed the stars, a First One walked in a garden during the cool of the day. The ancient fires of his heart were exhausted. His soul was turning to #ash, and before it choked in the powdery residue of life spent, he kissed a mud-child living there, & said to her: "Become one of us"

#vss365 The Mods & Rockers rivalry was a #clash of aesthetics. Trendy Mods on scooters adorned with mirrors & lights listened to soul, jazz, & pop. Leather-clad rockers with slicked-back hair rode motorbikes & listened to American rock 'n' roll. The White establishment? It trembled with moral panic.

#vss365 I negotiated the streets of a rainy London day. The gray sky blended with the city's gray buildings, & along with the veil of rain, together they created a dull uniformity that robbed storefronts & landmarks of their vitality. I stumbled upon my #associates under their brollies by chance.

Jane of Arc

Is it time
To remember Joan
Rising spirit
Integrity as
Being in knowing.

Jane left us a message clear
Be aware, rise to your being,
Cherish Nature,
For she is our mother.
Wellspring of life
On our interstellar
Blue Green
Oasis.

Associate Jane with Joan
Rise now
🐝 ♥️
#vss365 #poetry

#vss365 Space Boy wore all the #adverts. Backlit with liquid crystals, his coat & pants displayed a stream of goods. Marlborough Man puffed his way over a padded shoulder jacket, & tapered trousers displayed Brooke Bond PG Tips chimps politely sipping tea. And his shoes were an Opal Fruit mosaic.

I'm Only Happy When It Rains - Garbage. What can I say, I'm English and find myself on a tropical island.

#vss365 Harried by a day of pressing issues, Mary rode the top deck of a bus, vacantly staring at the town passing by. Her emotions were as taut as an #elastic band pulled to its limit. She didn’t know if she was going to cry or hit the next jerk who told her to “smile, it can’t be that bad.”

#vss365 Anti-#pulpists exulted in making OJ without pulp. But the purists among them insisted the fruit itself be pulpless. Using selective breeding methods, the purists grew an orange without skin, pith, & vesicles. Only the fragrance remained. The (disrobed) Emperor Orange sold at premium prices.

#vss365 As I walked London’s parched canyons of glass & steel on barren streets of asphalt, I came across a hole in a wall, an entrance with a sandy floor & sentried by lush palm trees.

A man in a loose robe greeted me. “Welcome to Dakhla #Oasis. May I offer you a cup of hibiscus tea for relief?”

#vss365 Smudges in the air is how we appeared in The Age of Obscurity. The physical limits of our existence defined by our hard-edge bodies now appear in soft focus. That which held us together, electron resisting compression & molecular bonds, has failed. We're a #blur to ourselves & to each other.

#vss365 Jasmine watched a #conundrum crawl over the twisting, overlapping root system of a Banyan tree. Whether it was trying to enter or exit the tangle was a mystery to her. She puzzled over its intention but did not intervene because the conundrum did not appear distressed over its predicament.

#vss365 "Hello, you've reached Enterprise LiquiDate. Let Us Make Your Annoying Date A Condensate," a crew member said.

"How does this work?" the customer asked.

"We set our starship's transporter to liquification not #sublimation."

"A bucket & mop required?"

"Or Xtra absorbent kitchen rolls."

#vss365 A keyhole #escutcheon bore the dents of its former life. It was once part of a shield that protected its owner in battle from swords & arrows. Now it protects a door from a wayward key that missed the keyhole. And the chink of a metal key against the metal plate reminds it of its glory days.

#vss365 Mr Tibbs padded into Death's parlor. "I need an evaluation."

Death looked at Mr. Tibbs.

"#Scrutinize my essence," Tibbs said. "For I am to London with Dick Whittington."

"Risky in a time of plague?"

"I am his rat catcher."

"And you want to know how many of your nine lives remain."

‘What’s in the carrier?’

‘I’m with the wildlife center. I’m transporting this pair of turkey vultures to an aviary in Las Vegas.’

‘I’m sorry, sir, but this won’t pass #scrutiny from the flight crew. I can’t let you board.’

‘Why?’

‘We only allow one carrion.’

#vss365