A Week to Relax

Being ill is an unfortunate but natural event that can’t be helped. However, during this particular circumstance, I realised I could have helped myself. I started pushing myself, working all day with hardly any breaks and even when I did take some time to relax, I didn’t leave the house, just stayed cramped up in my room. There were no side-effects to begin with and so I continued, thinking everything would be fine, but that’s not how it works. My body snapped and I paid the price. I fell ill once more; the fourth in in only a few months, something that has never happened to me. The first time could have been the result of anything, the second could have been just as random, but then the third got me questioning but I didn’t do nearly enough to correct it. The fourth time opened my eyes and now it’s about time I did something about it.

Instead of throwing myself straight back into my writing, I’m going to take a week off to relax and recalibrate my mind. Next Monday, there will be a new post and maybe some changes if I feel they are appropriate. If there are any, I will explain them in due course over the next few days.

I have made a few of these notices explaining my sudden disappearance, and frankly I am getting a little tired of being ill and not putting anything up. When I started this blog, I had envisioned not missing a single day, but just over a year into running it, I’ve taken more days off due to illness than anything else, and I want that to change.

It didn’t help that I wasn’t keeping to a regular sleep schedule, I wasn’t eating a good diet, I was worrying about things that simply weren’t there; it all added up and now I’m paying the price. I got pushed back harder than ever, and it’s about time I started learning from my mistakes.

I would like to thank every single one of you who has been interested in my blog. I’ve said this so many times before, but it blows my mind that someone out there takes some time out of their day to read what I’ve written, and for that I am extremely grateful. When I come back next Monday, it’ll be all systems go once more, except with a few subtle changes behind the scenes.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

TV Show of the Week: Doctor Who – Series 10 – Episode 1: The Pilot

It was clear from the beginning of the episode that Stephen’s intentions were to subtly reset the show. With a new companion, and with all the major storylines wrapped up last season, it’s the perfect opportunity for people who’s never seen the show to step into The Doctor’s world. Bill (Pearl Mackie) is essentially playing the role of both a new companion and the new people, by asking all the right questions. As for those who’re huge fans of the show or know the show enough that we don’t need things explained, we can enjoy the plenty of Easter Eggs placed strategically throughout, either relating to recent storylines, or the entire show’s history. The episode does include a lot, but does it handle it all well?

It was a challenge we saw coming from the couple of trailers that were released just before, and while Stephen Moffatt has certainly delivered a wide range of scripts. It’s going to take all day and all night to arrange all his scripts from best to worst, so I just basically took a bunch of scripts and chucked them into five categories. “Absolutely brilliant”, “entertaining but could have been better”, “questionable”, “why did you write that?” However, even then it’s going to be extremely difficult for me to put a few of his scripts into certain categories, because they contain pretty much everything. However, this episode was easy to place. It sits comfortably in “absolutely brilliant”, but on the other side of that category’s spectrum. I feel as if I’m making this a tad too complicated.

Let me try and justify my words. This doesn’t come close to Blink, Heaven’s Sent, The Girl in the Fireplace, The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances, to name a few. The episode sits nearer to The Eleventh Hour. That episode featured a complete shift within the show: new Doctor, new companions, new head-writer. Since The Eleventh Hour, we’ve seen Amy and Rory depart when Matt Smith was the Doctor, and Clara entering the TARDIS, where Matt regenerated into Peter, with Clara still his companion. Clara has since left and Bill has entered his world. Whilst it was such a change as the aforementioned episode, it does have that feel. Stephen Moffatt likes his long storylines. This time there’re no questions for fans of the show to be asking, there’s nothing for the new people to be confused by. We get a decent introduction, similar to The Eleventh Hour, in keeping with Peter’s Doctor, and keeping it separated from everything else to stop people from complaining about certain similarities.

It featured a new enemy, and an old enemy. It was a nice, relaxing episode that didn’t push too many plot threads in our faces. In fact, I don’t think we got any plot threads yet. Although, if you class the mysterious door underneath the university as a plot thread, by all means, but if it isn’t, it certainly is a question that does get people who haven’t seen the show before, or have taken breaks from the show for various reasons questioning and hopefully intrigued to keep watching.

The only real question I had about the episode I sort of already answered myself. The Doctor and Bill are being chased by the weird water-like substance, and the Doctor tests how far it’s willing to go by going to Sydney and to another planet, so many millions of years into the future, and then to where the Daleks are. You could say that the Doctor was testing Bill, to see if she was capable of being the Doctor’s companion, because of his high intensity lifestyle. For those who have followed the show, knows he made a promise not to take anyone with him again. He addresses that issue only after he took Bill all over the place, and then he was about to wipe her memory before being convinced not to. Why was the Doctor questioning his promise after he had given Bill the test? For those that are new to the show, that promise may not be properly explained, but that’s Stephen Moffatt, though.

His scripts are always written to make us think. He explains only what needs to be, and then leaves the rest to us. Yeah, there are a few plot holes that fans do wish weren’t there, but you could put across a counterargument and say that’s just the complexity of the show, the Doctor’s life in general. Whether or not you believe I’m scraping the bottom of the barrel, I’m just a fan of the show that likes to think, probably a bit too much, but I’m enjoying the show anyhow, and that’s all that matters, right? It also does help that it is Stephen’s last series before stepping down as head writer, and he did say he would’ve left at the end of last series. It was only that he felt he had just one more series in him that he stayed, and it wouldn’t have helped if he were to implant some seed to a massive storyline that would expand across multiple series, because that would leave Chris with too much to do from the very beginning.

Anyway, back to the episode. Overall, I did enjoy it. I enjoyed the casual introduction – or from my perspective, the reintroduction – of the characters, the companion, and the show in general. Doctor Who comes with a tonne of lore, the Doctor has lived an incredible life, so it’s always best to slow things down a bit, return to the start and, for one last hurrah, work your way back up again. Besides, we do have a lot to look forward to this season, including the multi-master storyline that was ever so slightly teased at the backend of the episode, during the previews section.

I know, I know, I’ve deviated again. I did thoroughly enjoy the episode and I standby where I say it stands in my self-made categories. I’m excited for what’s to come, although I do have mixed feelings for the emoji robots…

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

The Watch – Part 170:

I was too busy running as fast as I could to get a decent look at what was chasing me. They were getting closer and closer. I had to dive somewhere otherwise I would lose a chance. I’ve only got two left. I can’t afford to lose another one. The muscles in my legs were starting to give way. They simply aren’t fit enough to run long distances even when an enormous amount of adrenaline is pumping through them every second. I was out of breath and unable to carry in moments. I had to find somewhere to hide.

Abandoned building after abandoned building. I’m running passed perfect opportunities to hide but now that I’ve build up some momentum, I just can’t stop until I naturally come to a grinding halt from exhaustion. They were behind me. The metal sounding footsteps slamming against the ground, drowning out my own heavy steps.

There’s an opening, right in front of me. If I don’t stop, I should be able to get inside before they catch me. The doors were leaning to one side, leaving a small gap but my speed from my running should give me enough power necessary to burst my way through. Just what is following me if it hasn’t caught me yet? Surely, with something as powerful as it sounds, it would have caught up with me in seconds, long before now. What is it?

No time for figuring out. I’m nearing the doors. My legs are now running on fumes, but I force myself to keep going. I’ve never ran this hard, this fast in all my life. I’ve never used so much adrenaline before – it doesn’t help that I’m terrified as well. The doors are now right in front of me. The thing that is chasing me is so very close.

I prepare myself for impact. Launching my right shoulder forward, I close my eyes as I ready for the pain that is inevitably going to come from slamming it against the door at speed.

Wait! This is a hologram!

I open my eyes just as I passed through the door. The sudden surprise made me lose my balance and I went head-over heels, landing face first on the ground. My hands scrap along the ground, my elbows slam against the hard surface and so do my knee caps. I cry out in pain as I eventually come to a stop.

Of course, this is all a holographic city. None of this is real. I was caught up in the moment. Running at full speed from something behind you and feeling more scared than ever confuses your brain, tricks you into believing in things that aren’t real.

That thing behind me. It has stopped chasing me, because I’ve stopped running. I’m lying on the floor in pain, vulnerable to whatever is behind me. Even though that may be a hologram as well, if it touches me, I lose one chance. I try to move but my elbow and knees are hurting too much more to stand. I could crawl, but what would be the point in that if it’s only going to catch me anyway. I just have to give in and let it take me. Maybe after I’m down to my final chance I will be able to make some progress.

I want to see it. I want to see what is chasing me. With a grunt, I roll myself over. My eyes naturally snap shut, but I force them open. Whatever is chasing me, I allow you to take me this one time, but you will not win this war.

Nothing’s there. What?

The sound is gone. I don’t understand. For a moment, the sudden plot twist numbs my pain.

What game is this?

‘You are now down to your final chance,’ he said over the microphone, trying to sound all serious but failing miserably. ‘Use it wisely.’

I don’t understand. This is a holographic city, I get that now, but why isn’t anything chasing after me. I mean, I heard all the sounds as if something was.

Is that how this game works? Because it is a holographic city and therefore no physical touching can occur, it simulates something being there via accurate sounds. So accurate, in fact, they scared the living hell out of me, made me believe that something was there. An invisible enemy, if you will, made up of nothing but sound. If I weren’t on the ground in pain from having just experienced that, then I would have said that this was a genius way of simulating the real thing, but instead all I have to say is what a terrible thing it is.

The pain in my hands, elbows and knees starts flooding back and I lose all what I was thinking about. I have to get up and keep moving forwards toward the door. I slowly sit up, bend my knees upright, place my hands on the ground and, with every ounce of energy I have to numb the pain, I push myself up off the ground. My legs are shaking violently, threatening to give way any second. I look at my hands and saw that they were rather badly grazed. My elbows would hurt with the slightest of movements.

I have to keep going. I will not give up. The sooner I get out of here, the sooner I can get rid of this pain, rescue my friends and go back home.

Would it be too much of a risk if I did get rid of the pain now? I think it would look suspicious if I were able to walk and run properly without any sign of being injured. I don’t want him to hurt my friends, but I don’t know how far I can continue being in this state. I’ve lost all bearings. I don’t know which way is the door. I have to do something. Maybe I could explain away my sudden pain tolerance by saying that I have a massive pain threshold. He’s believed every other excuse that I’ve thrown at him, so why not that one.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

Mum's Monday: The Vintage Teacup Club by Vanessa Greene

Where I live when you come out the library, which sits in the middle of the high street, I had the choice of 2 routes home. I picked the longest, but gentler hill. This route took me passed a charity shop and in the window was this book. I walked past and around the corner, thinking all the time what an intriguing title. I then turned around went back and bought it. I wasn’t disappointed once I had read it.

Three women are at a car boot sale in Sussex, Jenny, Maggie and Alison, they are all at the same stall at the same time; you could say fate has bought them all together. Just one small problem –  they all love the same vintage teacup set for different reasons. This book gets the 3 of them talking and socialising as women would naturally do and they come up with a plan.

Jenny wants to use it as part of her themed wedding, Maggie wants it for a work event she is organising and Alison is starting a career in selling crafted items and wants to make unique candles out of it. So they agree once the others have used it they pass it on, Alison having it last of course.  

Alison and the other two have collected quite a few tea sets all stored at Alison’s; well, I say “stored” but they are on display and not packed safely away. This is where the book becomes, ok, but still real, however, would you, with a family, risk having china cups on display even if in a studio. This book shows why you don’t. Alison’s teenage daughter throws a fit and tea sets get smashed. Yes, this does happen in real life and hind sight is a wonderful thing. We can learn from this book.

This is where this book now becomes a happier ending and the men in the women’s lives step up and realise the appeal of the club the women have formed. 

The women are frantically trying to find cups and sets to replace what was smashed but the men have beaten them to it looking and buying up sets around car boot sales in the area.

It is heart-warming to see the men get on as it isn’t always the case and especially as to how the 3 women met. This book shows us we can get on with anyone if we want to.

I would recommend this book it is a light-hearted read. 

Jerry’s Journal: Jerry’s First Easter

It’s Jerry’s first Easter with us, and we’ve spoiled him like we do every day, except this time with something extra special, a dog friendly chocolate Easter egg.

 

Jerry trying to figure out how to get past the foil. He couldn't quite do it, so I took the foil off and gave him the egg, which he demolished in a matter of minutes.

Thanks for reading
Antony Hudson
(TonyHadNouns)

The Watch – Part 169:

So far, there’s nothing. No one and no anything that can be considered out of the ordinary. I’m walking down the road, passed wrecked cars, overturned bins, pieces of shattered class, and huge chunks of rubble laid scattered about the ground. This was truly an apocalyptic sight for saw eyes. I was half expecting at least something to jump out at me the moment I enter the city, but instead all I’m hearing is silence, and that is terrifying in itself, if I’m honest. The thick tension in the air could be cut with a knife. My heart is beating fast, my breathing has naturally increased to help my body get the oxygen it needs to help me remain as calm as possible, a statement that cannot be any more contradictory.

I know where the key is; it’s sitting in the door’s keyhole. I also know where they door is as well; it’s straight ahead. Surely, the closer I get with each step I take the more danger I’ll be in; the possibility of something attacking me from any direction has to increase the closer I get to achieving victory. I just have to be prepared for when that will be, and not knowing when is the worst.

I feel as if there are so many eyes watching me, studying my every move, predicting and waiting where they believe I will go next. I’ve walked through the woods at night before when I was younger and that scared the heck out of me, and I believed that I would never feel the same way ever again. I am currently experiencing that feeling on a magnitude so strong that my brain is jumping at shadows, hearing the echoes of the ground crunching beneath my feet as if someone or something was behind me, I am struggling to keep myself from panicking. I know that if I do give in to panic, then everything will be lost. I would be standing stock still, unable to move. I have to keep going with the hope that I can get to the door without an incident, even though I know that will never happen.

I have never wanted the use of my watch more than now. How simple it would be if I did. I would be out of here in a matter of seconds, maybe even less. The thought of knowing that I’m getting closer and closer with each step that I take towards my friends is what is keeping me going, keeping the panic at bay for as long as possible, keeping my faith that I can make it, and as well as that thought, knowing that once this is all over and all three of us can go home and sit down on the sofa with all of this behind us is what is allowing me to…

I hear a noise. Was it another echo from my walking or something moving in the distance? I don’t want to stop and listen. I carry on walking, keeping my ears peeled as much as possibly, my eyes, too. I try and decrease the heaviness in my walking just in case it was me who created that noise.

There it goes again. It sounds as if something’s scraping along the ground, or as if something is scraping something across the ground, or if something is pushing or pulling something across the ground. I hear it for a third time. It defiantly sounds as if something is scraping across the ground. I really don’t want to investigate. That would be the worst idea in the world. The best thing to do is to keep walking forward. Slowly. Very slowly. The last thing I want to do is grab its attention by my heavy walking.

I hear it once more, allowing me to pinpoint where it’s coming from. My eyes snap towards the small, abandoned building just in front of me. Its doors had that look about them as if someone had kicked their way through. The scraping sound happens for a fifth time, now even closer. The tension was now so thick, I felt as if I was actually in my own horror film. I’ve never felt this scared. What am I doing standing in the middle of the open. Wait… Standing? When did I stop walking? I can’t stand still; I have to keep moving. Damn my curiosity. No, don’t blame my curiosity, blame my brains natural ability to shut down when too scared. I’m looking directly into the hallway where the scraping sound is coming from and, as expected, I see nothing but darkness. I had better get away from here as quickly as possible. I lift my extremely heavy foot up and prepare to walk forward. Should I run? No, walking is the best way to keep myself hidden. My foot is still hanging in the air. I’m struggling to bring it down as I’m worried its weight would also allow whatever is in there to see me.

I have to do something. I can’t stay here forever. Come on, think. Do something. The scraping sound happened once more, this time even louder than all the other times before it, and that was the final straw that broke the camel’s back. I wasn’t sure how far I had to go before I reached the door, but if I walk there, that could dump me into a whole lot of trouble, and so would running. Either way, I’m wouldn’t know what would be the best way of getting out of this situation. At least if I run then I would be getting away from here a lot quicker if I walked. Taking a deep breath to allow my body to accumulate as much oxygen as it could. Then, as fast as my scared legs would allow me, I ran away.

I ran in the direction of the door. I ran and I ran. But I didn’t get far.

As if on cue, they leaped out at me. It was as if they were waiting for me to run, expecting me to get scared. To them, this was just a game. And the worst thing about this was, above all else… This was, indeed, a game.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

Random Topic Generator: Doctor Who’s Multi-Master Story

I discovered this confirmation quite late. As Stephen Moffatt says, it’s hard to keep things secret when working on Doctor Who, with all the hype generated from fans and the constant peeping from the media, pretty much anything you want to keep secret does eventually get released at some point down the line via one way or another.

One morning, I checked to see if there were any updates, and when I found that John Simm was to return to Doctor Who as the Master in Series 10, I did have a small moment where I genuinely believed it to be a fake story. As I read on, and discovered it to be a real story, my inner nerd started to creep its way to the surface.

Missy and the Master together on screen, now that’s something I definitely want to see. John Simm’s portrayal of the Master was superb. He brought his own version to the character along with the Master’s natural maniacal personality, he instantly became a fan favourite. His last appearance as the Master was in the two-part special, The End of Time. We saw him save the Doctor from the Time Lords, forcing them back to their world. When Matt Smith took over the role as the Doctor, people were wondering when the Master would return, and if so, would John Simm be playing him. Then Peter Capaldi took the reins and we were introduced to this mysterious woman, who was revealed as the female incarnation of the Master, Missy.

Somehow, between The End of Time and the series 8 two-part story, the Master regenerated. It was definitely as surprise, to say the least. However, people were happy with Michelle Gomez’s portrayal. Missy was even more insane compared to the others, and has made multiple appearances across all three series of Capaldi’s run as the Doctor. Now, in series 10, Missy and the Master are to appear together in the very first multi-master storyline in the show’s history, and my inner nerd cannot wait any longer.

If I weren’t looking forward to series 10 then, I most certainly am now. Because of their complete unpredictable nature, it’s hard to predict just how their interaction between the two will be, but I do have faith that Stephen Moffatt will write an excellent script. If he can write a multi-part Doctor story for the 50^th anniversary, it’s hard to imagine him not being able to pull off this challenge.

If he intended or not, Stephen is certainly going to go out with a bang, much the same as Russell T. Davis did with series 4 when he brought all the companions back in the biggest Dalek storyline to date.

Stephen’s last official episode will be this year’s Christmas special, and it will also feature Peter Capaldi leaving the show as well. He will regenerate into someone new, who will take the reins alongside Chris Chibnall who will become the new head-writer of the show.

Series 9 was one of the strongest series so far. Heaven Sent is now considered to be one of, if not, the best episode in its history. I, along with so many other fans have spoken about series 9’s greatness. With having multiple two-part stories, it was easy to really pull you in as you could emphasis precisely what you wanted without having to worry about the time limit too much. I think if Stephen tries to make this series better than the last, it’s not going to work, but if he makes this a standalone series that does its own thing, then it’s going to work just fine, and with the introduction of a new companion, it shouldn’t be hard to make this series the beginning and end of an era.

Although, I do have to admit, with Nardole becoming a full-time companion, when I first discovered that piece of news, I was a little worried the series wouldn’t do that well. Nardole was first introduced in the 2014 Christmas special, The Husbands of River Song, and was essentially the comic relief character. He appeared once again in the 2015 Christmas Special, The Return of Dr. Mysterio, and was once again the comic relief character, but I did enjoy is appearance, however, as a full-time companion throughout the entire series, I just hope he doesn’t become boring and predictable. I’m not saying series 10 is going to be bad, but I do hope Stephen doesn’t mess it up. However, with the multi-master storyline coming up soon, I don’t think I’m going to be worried about Nardole ruining anything.

Despite my worries, I will have to contradict myself and say that it is pointless trying to express an opinion before watching the series, because you’re either going to generate too much hype for yourself and it doesn’t live up to your expectations, or think it’s not going to do that well and miss a truly great series. The first episode starts this Saturday 15^th April 2017. If I am unable to catch it when it goes out live, I most certainly am going to watch it on catch-up.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

1,000 Words: The Vault

A couple of weeks ago, my family took a trip up London for the day, and for lunch we went to the Hard Rock Café. The walls were filled with vintage memorabilia. Across the road, accompanying the café is the Hard Rock Café Shop, where you can purchase a wide variety of items. There is a downstairs, but it was roped off. Obviously only certain people are allowed to go down there, and when I went to the Café, I discovered that anyone with a VIP Pass that you can get free from having dinner at the café, you can venture down into the Vault to explore its displays.

I took plenty of photos and over the next few weeks, I will be uploading one picture of memorabilia. This week is B.B. King’s guitar.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

Film of the Week: Swiss Army Man

Swiss Army Man is hard to put into a certain category. It’s an adventure, comedy, and a drama, but it also stands far from that as well. It has that fourth element that’s hard to establish properly.

Fart jokes are normally seen as the last resort. Picture this scenario: It’s late at night, the screenwriter(s) have had a long day completing the script, and the deadline is fast approaching. They need only a couple more lines before they can call it a day. They’re tired, so they resort to an easy solution: Fart jokes. Mostly seen as juvenile and possible unprofessional; almost wasting an opportunity, especially when the rest of the film has elements of cleverness. Fart jokes can be seen as the moment that breaks the film. Swiss Army Man takes that and runs with it.

When Hank (Paul Dano) had given up being stranded on a small desert island, he spots a washed up body, (Daniel Radcliffe). Upon investigating, he discovers that whoever it is, he is dead. This is where the weirdness starts, and only but increases. Hank develops an attachment to the body. He starts talking to it as if he was alive, and tries to make the body talks, and after deciphering a few noises, assigns a name, Manny, to the body. After which, the body starts talking by itself. Throughout the film, Hank and Manny goes on an adventure to return to civilisation, during which Hank discovers that Hank has many special powers that helps him.

Their situation can be classed as Hank having hallucinations. Because he’s been separated from human contact for several years, the moment he sees another human, albeit dead, he automatically creates a personality, and starts seeing the body as a living person. It’s a surprisingly deep storyline woven between a strange outer shell. It does include a lot of juvenile moments, which takes the comedic value away, but it is a good adventure. And the soundtrack is beautiful throughout. The music is powerful and does draw me in, but then it immediately returns to the avid immaturity and knocks me back a couple of steps, but then the music starts up again and draws me back in again. That process rotates a few times throughout.

It was a heart-warming moment when he does eventually return to civilisation. This is where realisation starts kicking in. The body was never alive; it was all in Hank’s head. Then it turns that on its head and Manny is seen by the public as we and Hank has seen him throughout. If it had stuck to where I believed it would go, it would have been a powerful ending to that powerful, secret identity hidden within, but it just wasn’t the case. I saw the adventure, I saw the drama, but because of the sporadic nature between the two, there just wasn’t enough room in my head for the comedy. I was too busy trying to find a comfortable place to find it amusing.

Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe's performances were excellent. They did need two people who could carry an entire film between them, and they did pick the right two people. Paul's portrayal of someone who just wants to get home, and is struggling to fully understand what's happening in front of him, and Daniel's learning-the-basics-performance does fill the time enough that you're not craving for more than the two of them. 

However, having said that, it was difficult to know where I stood and how I felt when watching it, and because of that, I can really only say I have strong mixed feelings. Every time it started going in one direction, it jumped backwards, leaving those moments incomplete. Even the hidden meaning within was left hanging when Manny went blasting off back into the ocean. It just left me more confused than anything else. Only the soundtrack was the straightest thing about the whole film.

Normally, it’s easy to watch the film and difficult to write the article about it, but this is the other way round. It was hard to watch the film, but easy to write the article. I knew exactly how I felt about it, but the feelings were far too many at any one time, incomplete, and then borderline meaningless at the end. It’s not something I probably will be watching again any time soon, and it’s not something I probably would be recommending, either. I would say that you would find this entertaining only if you’re curious, but nothing else. You won’t be leaving with anything special, unfortunately.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

The Watch – Part 168:

Find the key. It’s as simple as that. What can go wrong? The answer to that question is that I could very easily be taken out by any one of the many enemies that are apparently roaming about the place. From the looks of this abandoned city, the key could literally be anywhere, and I mean anywhere: In a drawer in some office somewhere, in a bin, under some weeds, the list goes on and on and I can’t keep standing here thinking about what to do. At least I now have some ideas that I can take action with.

I started forward with extreme caution, making sure that I keep one eye on my surroundings just in case anything or anyone decides to pounce. I only have two more chances before it is game over, and that terrifies the heck out of me. I’ve never been this scared about what’s to come. The fact that I could be taken out any second, from behind, without warning, and without the use of my watch, I’ve never felt more vulnerable in my entire life. My heart is racing, my breathing is heavy, my mind is racing; I just cannot think properly.

That’s not what I promised myself. I promised to myself that I would never give up. I would always find a way out of any situation, no matter what. I am not going to break that promise, especially considering that Amy and Tom are at stake. I can get through this, and I will not let him get the better of me. I closed my eyes and let all my unwanted thoughts flush out of my system via a long deep breath and all the helpful thoughts flow naturally and easily.

Like I said before, for all he knows, I can be an expert at many skills. Just because I cannot physically use my watch, doesn’t mean I cannot communicate with it from within my head, because he doesn’t know that’s one of the watch’s awesome features. I can do anything with my watch, and I will do just that to make sure Amy and Tom are safely back home, resting, with all of this behind them.

With the knowledge that I can do anything pushing all the worry and fears I have from my mind, an idea developed. It was an incredible idea. I would never have thought of it if I were too busy worrying about what’s to come. The key can’t be a hologram like the city for it wouldn’t be able to unlock the door, so why don’t I just use the watch to scan the area to pinpoint the exact location of the key? That way, I won’t have to waste so much time searching for it when instead I can just go straight to it, then to the door, unlock it and escape this place. I will obviously have to make sure that the watch scans the area in secret so that he above doesn’t know.

I talked to Interface, explaining what I would like him to do and he did exactly that. A couple of minutes passed as Interface scanned every inch of the city before giving the information to where the key is located. I would never have thought of putting it there. Of all the places the key could have been within the entire city, it had to be there. Technically, it’s not even in the flipping city. It’s sitting within the lock of the door. I would have searched left, right and centre for that key without knowing that it was in the lock all this time. I mean, he does like misleading you like that, making you believe the key is somewhere in the city. Well, it is and it isn’t. I can’t help imagine there actually being an identical-looking key hidden somewhere within the city only to be a hologram. Can you imagine my reaction if I went to pick up the key only for my fingers to slip right through it? That would have been a confusing situation to say the least.

Now that I have found the key, all I need to do now is make my way through the city, from one end to the other. I have no idea what is the best route to take, what enemies I will encounter along the way, or what will happen in general. I doubt I would get away with just walking down the road that runs through the middle, I would have to do some zigzagging at some point or another so I don’t alert any enemies. Well, I just have to do what I do best: Make it up as I go along. That way of thinking may have landed me in this situation, but that way of thinking is going to get me out of it as well, I can be sure of that.

I am now ready to venture into the city and retrieve that key. I don’t care how many enemies will stand in my way, I will push them aside. Amy and Tom, just wait a little longer, I’m on my way.

He, the person behind the microphone and behind this elaborate testing facility, may be clever, he wouldn’t have thought up and created any of this, but he is blind as a bat when it comes to estimating people’s intelligence. When I get out of here, I will make a mental note to myself to never come back here for as long as I possibly can. This all started because of those meteorites. If it weren’t for them, then I wouldn’t have had to select the random button to go to any parallel universe. OK, there was probably a better way of dealing with that situation, but I would like to see anyone think of anything rational when four great big rocks are hurtling towards you, hell-bent on destroying everything.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

Mum's Monday: The Ghost at Brooklands Museum by Mark Richardson

Although this is a children’s book as an adult reading this as a ghost book and having visited the museum I enjoyed the story and reading about the places that are now familiar to me. If you are interested in the three topics, car racing, ghosts and time travel an adult would have no problem reading this book. A child between 6 and 10 may find this book exciting and some may relate to some of the issues Jake has been through, when he has moved house numerous times and starting a new school every so often, and the issue of making new friends, being the new pupil.

Brooklands is the first purpose built racing track, it opened in 1907 in Weybridge Surry. This book is based around the 500-mile race held at Brooklands back in the 1930s.

Jake Elmbridge has moved into a house that has been built on what was part of the Brooklands race circuit he can see some of the track from his bedroom window. This book is extensively researched and captures the area around what was the track and what is now the museum really well. When I visited recently I went to the supermarket that is mentioned in this book and it is so excellently written, it was like I was standing back there again.

There are ghost stories associated with Brooklands and this, although a clever fictional one, the cars in this book are part of the exhibit at the museum. Jake meets the ghost of Sir William Hugh-Laurel racing his car the Napier-Railton.

Jake has moved house and is also starting a new school and when given homework to tell an exciting event that happened, Jake tells the class about his meeting with the ghost. This book is great at capturing that people ridicule any mention of ghosts, spirits or anything relating to the paranormal, but as we see at the end of this book people’s minds can be changed if you know the right ghost.

Sir William needs Jake’s help, although he won the 500 mile race he snatched victory in a photo finish. His opponent, Count Unterheim racing the Duesenberg is understandably angry gives up racing to trade in clocks. Two of these clocks are based on the timing clocks used during the race, which he swaps with the original, that once set will keep resetting the race until he wins. What this book doesn’t explain is what would have happened if he had won. Would he still have started the clock business to then build the time machine to then go back to win? This is a clever paradox that Unterheim was ultimately never going to win.

The museum is worth a visit and there is much more there now than just the racing aspect. As racing stopped during World War 2, it was turned into an aerodrome but you will spot the track; it is an immense iconic feature around the area. If you are lucky or unlucky depending on your way of thinking you may meet a spirit or two still reliving the fast lane.        

Jerry’s Journal: Loving His New Toy

When mum and dad took Jerry for a walk, he started trying to nibble anything he could, so my mum popped into the local coop and brought him a small rope toy, which he carried nearly all the way home until he got bored and dropped it without looking back, so mum was left carrying it the rest of the way.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

The Watch – Part 167:

Behind the third door was nothing but darkness. A light flow of air washed over my hair. Almost immediately, a series of lights turned on, two at a time until the entire room was lit up. Now, instead of there being nothing but darkness, there is a very large empty room with a very small door at the other end staring back at me. As much as I would like to simply walk across the room to get to that door, I knew instinctively there was much more to it than that. What’s going to happen, though, I have not a clue.

‘Welcome to my arena,’ his voice boomed over the loud speakers and echoed all around the room. Knowing that this is an arena isn’t a good sign for what’s to come.

‘Here, you will have to simply get the key. What could be harder than that? Well, I’ll tell you,’ he started to explain. I wasn’t sure whether he truly believed that his teasing was working or he was just doing to so annoy me. ‘The catch is this: As soon as I press the button, a random location will appear, and within that random location will be the key. But, as well as the key, a number of obstacles will be in the way. I won’t tell you what they will be just to add to the fun.

I can’t wait to get out of here so I don’t have to listen to him anymore.

‘If you are hit at any point during this battle, you will lose one chance. Remember, you only have two more changes left before it is game over for you, so ‘please’ be careful,’ he said straining the word please so far it became sarcastic.

That doesn’t sound fair. It’s going to be incredibly hard, borderline impossible to not get hit by any of the enemies, especially if I have not a clue as to who or what those enemies will be, but then again, it wouldn’t be him if he made it easy now, would it.

‘Oh, I hope you haven’t forgotten that you cannot use your watch,’ he said. ‘How simple it would be if you were able to give yourself superpowers. How easy would it be if you could just knock the enemies away with a flick of your fingers?’ he chuckled. It was at this point that I really questioned how he couldn’t figure out that I have been communicating with the watch. He is smart, I’ll give him that, otherwise he wouldn’t have thought or created this place, but he is incredibly gullible for he believed both of my excuses. How can someone be so smart yet so gullible at the same time? I would have thought that one would cancel out the other.

‘What would happen if I just busted my way through the door at the other end?’ I asked, wanting to know what I guessed would be the answer he would give.

‘You can try, but you won’t be able to break through. It’s made of a titanium, and a very thick slab of it as well, so you won’t stand a chance against it with your ordinary strength.’ OK, I wasn’t expecting that answer, but that will do. The door behind me slid shut to seal me in. As of now, there is no way out. I’m trapped in here for the time being. The only way to get out of here is to fight my way out, and that’s easier said than done.

I know I can simply talk to Interface from within my own head and give me the necessary powers or abilities to defeat whatever comes at me, but that would mean he would know that I used my watch. There is no way I would be able to talk my way out of that one, no matter how gullible he is.

But, maybe I can increase my skill level in certain areas. As far as he knows, he doesn’t know how skilful I actually am in certain areas. I could be a master swordsman, an expert at karate and judo, or very talented with hand-to-hand combat. He has shown me that he will accept pretty much any excuse that I give him. Maybe, if he questions it, I could say that I learnt the ways of – insert ability here – long before I became the owner of the watch. That might work?

‘From the moment that I press the button to activate the virtual reality system, anything could happen. Literally anything could happen. I constructed an algorithm that’s designed to generate a random terrain complete with random obstacles and enemies, all of which were of my choosing. Any combination of hundreds of all three categories could appear before you, so be prepared for that,’ he teased unhelpfully. He was enjoying himself a bit too much.

‘In three,’ he started the countdown. I would like to call Interface and have him increase my abilities in certain areas, but the problem is that I have absolutely no idea what areas I will need to increase.

‘Two.’ The tension was so thick in the air I could cut it with a blunt knife. My heart was beating a tattoo against my ribcage. Of all the times I didn’t know what to do, this was the most I’ve felt lost. I really have no clue, purely and simply because I don’t know what’s going to happen next.

‘One.’ I heard him slam down the button. This was it. The moment of truth. The first wave.

From out of nowhere, a city appeared. It looked as if it had been abandoned for many years. Cars without their doors, buildings without their windows, and the roads were torn to shreds as weeds forced their way out from underneath. Not a single sound was made the moment the holographic abandoned city had finished building itself. The entire place was quiet. Too quiet.

He said that there are some enemies, hidden about the place. I need to defeat them, I guess, if I want to find the key. And with no powers, this is not going to be fun, at all.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)

Random Topic Generator: The No Topic Paradox

This week’s events started as usual, but ended unexpectedly. So much has happened during this week, the time to find a suitable, topic to talk about, or a video to discuss or recommend just never presented itself, and thus, unfortunately, I do not have a topic for today’s article.

I am writing this quite late on Thursday night because I just wasn’t anywhere near my computer in the morning, before this article was meant to go up at midday, therefore, I just haven’t had the time to do any research into many current topics that are happening right now in the world.

Today’s article is about me having nothing in particular. It’s going to be nothing special, probably just a bunch of nonsense piled together into coherent sentences, that probably doesn’t really have any meaning to them anyway.

If I am brutally honest, it’s easier to talk about nothing than it is about something, but it’s still hard to make sense. I could literally write gibberish, but I am determined to make this article have a meaning, which is that it doesn’t really have a meaning.

You could say I’m wasting your time. You expected an article about something, either discussing a video, or a particular topic that I’ve found interesting, but instead you’ve found yourself reading this, absolutely nothing. I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve stopped reading up to this point, but if you are still wondering what else I have to say, you’re going to be disappointed. It’s not an April Fool’s Joke, this quite literally is an article about nothing, because I didn’t have the time to research anything, and it’s quite late at night on Thursday. Now I’m repeating my words. You would think that, with nothing really to say except nonsense, I wouldn’t have to repeat myself, but yet I just did.

I do apologise for this article. It’s nothing special. It’s just something to fill the gap. What was I going to do, keep this empty? Actually, that probably would have been a better option, considering the complete lack of sense I’m making right now.

I’m tired. It’s late. The title’s probably wrong. I should have called it something else. I could have used that title for something better than this. “No Topic”, “Completely Meaningless”, “Complete Waste of Your Time”, three titles that I could have used instead of the one above. Now, if I do ever write an article centred around the title’s topic, I can’t use it. I could change it, but the problem I’ll have then is, if I do change it, this entire paragraph won’t make any sense, not that it did anyway, so I don’t think it will make a difference. No, I’ll keep it as it is. At least it will make this paragraph make a little bit of sense; not much, but just a little bit, and that is all that matters, isn’t it?

I am committed, by the way. This article will have 1,000 words in. So far I’ve just past 500, so I’ve got another 500 to go. Well, less than now, because I used a few to tell you how many words I’ve used and how many I’ve got left. From the beginning of this sentence, the counter read 543 words, and the counter, at the end of this sentence, reads 565. Well, if I include the title as well. That may be cheating, but I don’t think this is the type of article where I need to care that much, and technically speaking, an article isn’t complete without a title, so it should be included in the official word count. But what if you have an article that doesn’t have a title? Well, there probably would be a reason behind it. You can’t simply have an article that doesn’t have a title, because no one would know what it would be about before reading it. Although, with it not having a title, it could create curiosity and draw people in, to see what the article is about anyway. It would be a unique and original idea, would it? Maybe.

On a positive note, I doubt anyone else has done something similar to this article before, because it would be utterly pointless. What would be the point of writing an article that no one would want to read, because it has no meaning to it? But, despite that, it is an original idea. It’s a unique article. Every article craves people to read it, but this does its best to turn people away. However, on the other hand, the meaningless nature of this article may actually draw people in, to see what else I’ve written. This may be entertaining, because it’s utterly meaningless.

So, if the latter is true, and people are reading this, because they want to know what’s next, and that they find it entertaining, that cancels out my statement about this article having no topic. If this articles do in fact have a topic, then the title is true to its word. I have created a paradox because, not having a topic, is in fact, a topic. I’m going to stop myself there; I’m tired, it’s late, I just want to go to bed. I don’t have the energy for a sudden realisation, I just want to pass the 1,000 word mark, get this post scheduled for today at 12:00, turn this computer off, get myself ready for bed, climb into my bed, make sure the covers are wrapped around me comfortably, make sure I’m in a comfortable position, close my eyes, and go to sleep. Knowing my luck, I’m going to suffer from one of those nights where I’ll do nothing but turn this way and that, close my eyes but never dropping off to sleep, but only just doing so about a couple of minutes before the alarm goes off, so I will have to get up and out of bed, feeling worse than when I entered…

That’s it, I’ve past 1,000 words, I’m off…