Among my favourite books, those that have meant a lot to me since my childhood, are the Chronicles of Narnia, by C. S. Lewis. I joined Audible so that I could buy the audiobook versions. I was very surprised, pleasantly so, that British actors ( mainly ) were reading these favourites. I was absolutely ecstatic to find that Patrick Stewart was reading The Last Battle, the seventh and final in the series, and one of my favourite three. Now, unfortunately, this was the most disappointing book I have listened to. Not just in this series, but of any audiobook. It feels as though he us JUST reading, and not feeling the stories as the others did. Kenneth Branagh did a brilliant job with the Magician’s Nephew, Michael York did well with The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Alex Jennings was pretty good with the Horse and His boy. Lynn Redgrave was very good with Prince Caspian, Derek Jacobi was okay with The Voyage of The Dawn Treader. Jeremy Northam was fantastic with the Silver Chair. I was so looking forward to
hearing one of my favourite actors in Patrick Stewart ( being an insanely nerdy Trek fan ), that it felt like a bit of my childhood had been made just that little bit destroyed by an apparent lack of interest in the material. Now I could be wrong and I hope I am, but I wish Patrick Stewart just hadn’t bothered.

Here’s an excerpt:

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We had forty minutes to write a story, the only condition was that it had to be about a journey. This is what I came up with. This is the original draft and I had to retrieve it from an old programmable typewriter. There is much wrong with it and it has many inconsistencies. I’ve tweaked it over the last seventeen years, but I prefer this original, error ridden version

THOUGHT PROCESS: DIARY OF THE MIND
By Liam. P. O’Connell

February 17th 1943

The bright yellow stars that have been so plentiful in the street have all gone. We are the only ones left. Papa says we must go away, so that we don’t disappear too. I will be sad to leave my home, it is all I have known, especially in the last months. I think it will be good to go, I haven’t been able to play with my friends for ages. Their parents won’t let them. They say I am unclean.

I don’t understand.

February 21st 1943

Papa woke us up early this morning, while it was still dark. He said that we had to leave now and that we could only take a set of clothes that we could wear, no toys.
Before we went, there was a noise outside, and then a banging on the door.
Some strange looking men in grey, who had these funny shaped metal sticks burst in. They started shouting at Mama and Papa and they were pushing them. Papa started to shout as well, at the grey men, in their language. I could not understand. One of the grey men, who was wearing a different hat to the others, stepped close to Papa. He had a smaller metal stick to the others. He pointed it at Papa, and there was a noise, like a crack, and this red spot appeared on Papas forehead. Mama started screaming and she got a red spot too.
The grey men took us outside and put us in a truck. Older sister was crying and said that we were going on a holiday, and Mama and Papa would follow us soon.

I don’t understand.

February 26th 1943

There are a lot of people in this carriage of the train we have been on for days now. Too many people older sister says. She says we are going east. I don’t know what east means. Everybody smells, even me.

I don’t understand

February 27th 1943

The train just stopped. The doors slam open. The lights are too bright. It is night. There are more grey men and men in funny striped uniforms and hats. They yell at us. Sister says they want us to get of the train. About 11 people just lay on the floor and don’t move. Sister says not to look. There are lots and lots of people. Grey men and striped men and even men in black, and people like us.
There is a grey man pushing people in different directions. Men in one direction, women in another, children and old people and sick in another. I don’t see sister anymore. She went with the women.

I don’t understand.

February 28th 1943

We were supposed to have our shower last night, but an old lady, like Grandmother, told me that the striped men said they were full and we had to wait. We are going to our shower now. I am glad. I am embarrassed, because there were no toilets in the train and I messed myself. Grey men and striped men have us all in a line, walking. There is a band just out in front of the showers. This is fun ! Now in we go.
We take of our clothes because the grandmother lady says we must. She said to put them in a neat pile so the striped men can give them back to us later. She said the striped men said this. There are too many people in this shower room. Someone is screaming. Now more people are screaming.

I don’t understand.

The End

So, there you have it. A very short story I wrote in my early twenties. It probably will be considered deathly dull by most, it certainly has a pretentious title, but it is what it is. Please be kind.

I don’t have, and never have had, a lot of friends. Partly due to my childhhood and the way I was raised, partly due to the fact that I’m happy enough in my own company. When the self doubt and depression becomes to much, I’ve never really had the outlet to vent, to ask for help. That has changed with the advent of iPods, iPhones, and social networking, especially Twitter. The majority of podcasts I listen to are from, or are affiliated with, the Simply Syndicated Network. I’ve gained what I regard as genuine friendships with many of the people associated with the network.

Lately, I’ve had many problems, a lot of them marital, that have gotten me alarmingly down, and it is my friendships with “Synners” that has helped me through me some bad times. To those friends I say thankyou. Your frequent concern and friendship is valued beyond what words can say. You guys mean a lot to me. I don’t make the distinction between internet and ” real life ” friends. You are simply friends. There are to many of you to name individually, but a few need mentioning. @Ro_Karen, @bradvf, @CartBozman, @Trekkygeek, @emma_lou1983 & @CaptainMorgan30. These are Twitter handles, but that’s how I know them. These are by no means in any order of importance, nor are they the only ones I consider as my friends. They’re a sample. But again, to all of you, I say thank you for your friendship.

Everything has changed. It takes longer to get on planes. Government organisations have more power to interfere in our lives.

It’s the tenth anniversary. It’s a commemoration rather than a celebration. The world will mourn, along with America, not just the over three thousand lives lost on that day, but the loss of innocence.

Some people have said that because of the terror of that day we can no longer look at others and believe that, deep down, we are all the same.

I think it is precisely because of that day that we MUST see ourselves in others despite the differences.

Those that died on that day as well as those who have died in the service of their nations since, deserve to have their memories and lives honoured by those of us left behind. We can do this by not assisting in the promotion of hate, bigotry, prejudice and narrow-mindedness. By actively promoting harmony and unity. That’s going to take a very long time. But that is a battle worth fighting.

Lets not forget them.

Being a dad isn’t easy, it’s damn hard work. It’s not always fun, in fact it’s more often than not a grind. You go through every stage of your child’s life, dealing with what feels like an almost constant lack of gratitude, being fought almost every step of the way until you begin questioning your own worth, not just as a father, but as a person. On top of everything else that may be going wrong in your life, you begin to question why you even do it.

Then, on days like today, you begin to realise why. It’s not about the big things, never was. It’s being asked to tie a shoelace by your child because they can’t quite manage it. It’s having a small hand grip your finger while your child sleeps against your chest. It’s about being run to for a bandaid when they’ve fallen of their bike. It’s about tea parties with Shrek, Darth Vader and Barney. It’s watching Cars for what feels like the 976th time because it’s their favourite film. But most of all, it’s about working your butt of outside and turning around at the sound of your child’s voice telling you they love you because your the best dad in the world.

Happy Fathers Day.

Kai Winn was the right balance of pretended concern blended with barely concealed malice.

I always loved the fact that she had her own agenda and that she genuinely thought it was in the best interests of Bajor. My favourite aspect of her character was the fact that I always understood her motivations, and often agreed with them on some level, while nearly always wanting to eject her out of the nearest airlock. Also, the running verbal and mental battles she had with Kira were awesome. Of course, it helped immensely that the character was portrayed by a wonderful actress in Louise Fletcher.

There you go. Short and sweet.

Really, could there ever have been a question as to who my Favourite female lead character would be.

Captain Kathyrn Janeway, despite the opinion of a lot of ( in my mind ), very silly people, was the best female lead character of any series, not just science fiction, for a long time. It helped that she was portrayed by a brilliant actress. It still boggles my mind that Kate Mulgrew was not the first choice for the role. Genevieve Bujold was simply abysmal in the role.

So, if you’re going to invest in a show, if you believe in the hope of the future it promises could be possible, you need to believe in the character. Kathryn Janeway embodied everything Starfleet. She was a strong, authoritative leader who would not be swayed by the thoughts or opinions of others if she thought it would affect her ability to complete her mission, which was, of course to get Voyager home.
She would not be bullied.

She had that sense of curiosity and wonder that made even the hard times bearable. She did all this without pandering to the pathetic notion held in television circles that female characters cannot convincingly command in crisis. But, she did have the nurturing aspect to her character, that ability to empathise with and understand alien species and her crew that enabled both Maquis and Starfleet to, mostly, eventually, stick together and become a family. Picard, Sisko, Archer and most definitely Kirk, could not have done what she did. She also had a sense of humour. Admittedly they were just lines in a page, but when Kate Mulgrew uttered them, I believed it was Janeway.

Besides, how could I not love a woman, real or otherwise, who shares my opinion of a certain beverage.

So, there you go. Not the most in-depth or well reasoned argument, but that is my choice for my favourite female lead character.