First of all Chris, you know how much I like to chat in my comments.. 😂
It was like trying to read and interpret a new language, almost robotic, which I dislike intensely, I carried on.. then I got acclimatised to it pretty quickly and started to enjoy it, understanding ‘Beetle’ language!
Then just as I got properly into the swing of it, they started talking like a couple of my mates to each other!
Haha.. I loved it! And what a visual trip! Thank you Chris x
Cheers, Dotty! A well written piece of writing has a thousand stories hiding in the text, and a productive reader (as opposed to someone who wants the meaning pre-read for them by the author) will do the work and pull one out. It sounds like you did exactly that. Thank you for taking the time and giving it some effort, it's appreciated so much. Bless you.
Soul destroying to think such graphic scenarios still present themselves under logs all over the place to this very day. Bits of worm left scattered about the hate crime scene - birds tearing at the less abled -beak on beak face offs. Meanwhile our governments stand idol allowing young adults to freely view natures hatred of the oppressed..
As I said to Dotty, there are a thousand stories hiding in a text, and reading is productive, not just passive and consumptive. That's the one you found - or perhaps put there?
I know, I was a bit gutted when it all went through OK. Must try harder. The new (small) novel will be fine too. The 7 years magnum opus will probably light up the monitors in the Online Safety Act office like you've got to the kill screen on Frogger.
I'd like nothing more than to have a novel or a collection of short stories banned. Still the best marketing strategy available, but almost impossible to arrange on your own. You need some idiot somewhere to actually ban it, and I don't have the contacts for that sort of thing, sadly.
I'm not so good with that kind of thing. Out here, they eat tarantulas, giant snails, roaches, scorpions, all manner of things the Western palate isn't prepared for, psychologically, anyway. I ate a selection of such things once while pissed. The hangover was hideous, the thought of having all that in my gut, and the puke, well, the stuff of nightmares.
I used to make it my business to taste the local delicacies whilst off my face drunk in every nation I stopped at in the navy.
To be fair, many were really good, Poland, Latvia, France, Germany, USA, Denmark, even the Caribbean...... I'm POSITIVE I ate dog or cat in some of the West Indies, though.... tasted like over cooked wet dog, anyway.
Funny thing is, the only time I was ill was eating McDonald's.......
I've been travelling to S E Asia for, what, 25 years? Long stays too, and lived here for 7 years. Never had food poisoning, once. I do tend to leave the bugs alone, though, except for one drunk night in Thailand, and just the thought of them in my gut the next day brought them all back up.
Snails in France is another one which I find makes people cringe.... I LOVED them though! Tasted like the cockles and winkles at Southend.... with garlic.
I almost put 'How's your Bert's lumbago' in this one, but for some reason I bottled it. It's not a truly modern Dangerfield Masterpiece without at least a few song lyrics masquerading as dialogue. Resumed.
All good Chris, thanks. I've a fair few short stories to catch up on & I will. I always enjoy your written work. I catch up on your YT content too even though I'm not always around live. It's the inhumane drum machines that are giving me gyp at the moment 🤣🤣🤣
You’re welcome to come on and discuss, anytime. It’s not that I think one is better or worse than the other, it’s was just a fellow student saying machines don’t have the human element that got me.
I like to reply to comments, but this conversation between you and @MouseCat has nothing to do with me. I've given my input with the text; what happens to it is your thing.
That's probably the most relevant piece of writing I've read all week.
A true reflection of what life is like. Be it beetle or human, we're all just trying to exist in a dog-eat-dog world, where we fight for resources and necessities, and compete for the things that will make our lives better. Then talk to your mates and have a laugh about it, cause if you don't, you'd probably cry. All in the hope that we wake up the next day and get to do it again.
Good or bad, rain or shine, laughter or sadness; life is painfully beautiful.
And all the way through reading it I thought to myself - David Bellamy would've loved this - "wummaging around in the undergwoff"....
Hello Emma. Firstly, thank you for giving this story your time and thoughts, much appreciated as always. It’s such a treat as a writer to get such direct and detailed responses to my work. As I’ve said far too many times in the past, the words are mine but the meaning is yours and once I let my little birds loose, who knows what stories they’ll conjure for the people who read them. Your version of events is charming and innocent, and what knackered, mildly cantankerous, old git can’t love that? Thanks, again.
Somewhere out there is a beetle writing a short story about a human scoring some drugs. Then describing his stressful journey home guarding his prize and finally meeting up with his mate at the end for some smalltalk.
I love this. I really admire the courage it takes to publish pieces that demand something from the reader. Where most writers try to please, you make us pay attention. On the surface, it seems almost simple, but there’s a strange abundance beneath it. So many stories quietly layered in. Surprising, unsettling, and completely original.
I like the sound of this review. Thank you Gayle for your time and obvious consideration when reading this piece. As I replied to another comment, there's a thousand stories in every text, it just depends what particular one you choose to pull out of it. Thanks again, and nice one for leaving a comment.
Tidy. Taking beetles. Can't fault them. Londoners too. Surreally satisfying. Reminded me though of being hammered last year at this campground where some man bunned tosser was selling insects as a groovy snack food. I was quietly taking the piss out of him for a bit and then bought an insect just to show no hard feelings. And because I was hammered. Just tasted of whatever sweet shit it'd been previously dipped in. Really regretted it the next day. Brain eating parasites or whatever. But anyway. Nice read. That was a quick one. Hit the spot. Merci.
Nice one, Clive. Thank you for your time and for leaving a comment. I replied to another comment saying much the same. I was absolutely pissed in Thailand once (well, several times) and had a buffet of scorpions, roaches, and all manner of grubs. The worst bit was the hangover, knowing what I had rattling around my intestines. And when I finally puked, nice it was not.
Ha, nice change in pace there when he meets his ole mate. The start felt like The Diary Of A Beetle/day in the life. Very good 👍 surprised me with that one!
Cheers, Magpie. I never know where I'm going with my shorts, even when they're autobiographical, because there are so many angles and perspectives to choose from. This one, not autobiographical (did that need saying), but I couldn't resist the change in 'pace' as you put it. I mean, we all swim and wither, but we have mates too. Thanks for your time, and for leaving a comment.
I know, I know, just messing. I do have a thought out position on it though & probably not the take you'll be expecting. So yeah hopefully sometime. Should be quite funny.
Good description. At least it ain't a dung beetle! How odd that I wrote something with an invertebrate theme the day after this, before I had read this.
Your comment about the Cambodian prison in the chat the other day was priceless. Tickled me for ages. Watch the documentary, not so priceless. A real horror story. You can see what it's done to the poor bloke. https://youtu.be/fDf4kONUiMM?si=1gehcK0pGmXdq5PS
First of all Chris, you know how much I like to chat in my comments.. 😂
It was like trying to read and interpret a new language, almost robotic, which I dislike intensely, I carried on.. then I got acclimatised to it pretty quickly and started to enjoy it, understanding ‘Beetle’ language!
Then just as I got properly into the swing of it, they started talking like a couple of my mates to each other!
Haha.. I loved it! And what a visual trip! Thank you Chris x
Cheers, Dotty! A well written piece of writing has a thousand stories hiding in the text, and a productive reader (as opposed to someone who wants the meaning pre-read for them by the author) will do the work and pull one out. It sounds like you did exactly that. Thank you for taking the time and giving it some effort, it's appreciated so much. Bless you.
Thought I was reading a BASIC programme.
There are only two lines of BASIC code you need to know:
10 PRINT "Dangerfield"
20 GOTO 10
And in 1982, that would be on every computer in WHSmith and Dixons in Dartford most Saturday mornings. As it should have.
100% agree, Dotty! You expressed my experience reading it better than I could!
Nice , it was was the estimated reading time of 3 minutes that pulled me in & it didn't disappoint.
Marketing man of the moment Harry Dry taught me that one. And it really works.
Ha, indeed.
Soul destroying to think such graphic scenarios still present themselves under logs all over the place to this very day. Bits of worm left scattered about the hate crime scene - birds tearing at the less abled -beak on beak face offs. Meanwhile our governments stand idol allowing young adults to freely view natures hatred of the oppressed..
Oh lord, mousecat, you went there. Thanks for your time - much appreciated.
Linguistic anthropomorphic liminal space, with an etic /emic juxtapositional flip …Chris🫡
As I said to Dotty, there are a thousand stories hiding in a text, and reading is productive, not just passive and consumptive. That's the one you found - or perhaps put there?
The Online Safety Act 2023 was designed to put a stop to this sort of thing. Boo! I demand more censorship.
I know, I was a bit gutted when it all went through OK. Must try harder. The new (small) novel will be fine too. The 7 years magnum opus will probably light up the monitors in the Online Safety Act office like you've got to the kill screen on Frogger.
Mien Kampf, The anarchists Cook Book, Lolita, a poster of Uncle and Sir Mosley AND these books by Chris Dangerfield...... Nick 'im!
I'd like nothing more than to have a novel or a collection of short stories banned. Still the best marketing strategy available, but almost impossible to arrange on your own. You need some idiot somewhere to actually ban it, and I don't have the contacts for that sort of thing, sadly.
I've only eaten worms a few times. Wouldn't recommend... not for a date, anyway.
I'm not so good with that kind of thing. Out here, they eat tarantulas, giant snails, roaches, scorpions, all manner of things the Western palate isn't prepared for, psychologically, anyway. I ate a selection of such things once while pissed. The hangover was hideous, the thought of having all that in my gut, and the puke, well, the stuff of nightmares.
I used to make it my business to taste the local delicacies whilst off my face drunk in every nation I stopped at in the navy.
To be fair, many were really good, Poland, Latvia, France, Germany, USA, Denmark, even the Caribbean...... I'm POSITIVE I ate dog or cat in some of the West Indies, though.... tasted like over cooked wet dog, anyway.
Funny thing is, the only time I was ill was eating McDonald's.......
I've been travelling to S E Asia for, what, 25 years? Long stays too, and lived here for 7 years. Never had food poisoning, once. I do tend to leave the bugs alone, though, except for one drunk night in Thailand, and just the thought of them in my gut the next day brought them all back up.
Snails in France is another one which I find makes people cringe.... I LOVED them though! Tasted like the cockles and winkles at Southend.... with garlic.
I can go a few escargot in garlic butter, but out here they’re the size of your fist.
Stop making me moist!
Ye tru.
Read. Enjoyed. Returned to bottle (mother's teat).
I almost put 'How's your Bert's lumbago' in this one, but for some reason I bottled it. It's not a truly modern Dangerfield Masterpiece without at least a few song lyrics masquerading as dialogue. Resumed.
Anyone that says "mustn't grumble, mustn't grumble" will go on to grumble. It's a sure as Coulters law.
Mustn't grumble. I hope you're well, Mr Mac.
All good Chris, thanks. I've a fair few short stories to catch up on & I will. I always enjoy your written work. I catch up on your YT content too even though I'm not always around live. It's the inhumane drum machines that are giving me gyp at the moment 🤣🤣🤣
You’re welcome to come on and discuss, anytime. It’s not that I think one is better or worse than the other, it’s was just a fellow student saying machines don’t have the human element that got me.
I’m looking at this from a language perspective.
It’s kinda like …. A tonal whiplash to make you feel discomfort and recognition at the same time maybe?
Yes.. I think that’s a lovely way to put it!
I like to reply to comments, but this conversation between you and @MouseCat has nothing to do with me. I've given my input with the text; what happens to it is your thing.
That's probably the most relevant piece of writing I've read all week.
A true reflection of what life is like. Be it beetle or human, we're all just trying to exist in a dog-eat-dog world, where we fight for resources and necessities, and compete for the things that will make our lives better. Then talk to your mates and have a laugh about it, cause if you don't, you'd probably cry. All in the hope that we wake up the next day and get to do it again.
Good or bad, rain or shine, laughter or sadness; life is painfully beautiful.
And all the way through reading it I thought to myself - David Bellamy would've loved this - "wummaging around in the undergwoff"....
Nice one DF! Another short, yet to disappoint.
Hello Emma. Firstly, thank you for giving this story your time and thoughts, much appreciated as always. It’s such a treat as a writer to get such direct and detailed responses to my work. As I’ve said far too many times in the past, the words are mine but the meaning is yours and once I let my little birds loose, who knows what stories they’ll conjure for the people who read them. Your version of events is charming and innocent, and what knackered, mildly cantankerous, old git can’t love that? Thanks, again.
Somewhere out there is a beetle writing a short story about a human scoring some drugs. Then describing his stressful journey home guarding his prize and finally meeting up with his mate at the end for some smalltalk.
The Universe is finely balanced.
The basic dialectics of existence. I like it. Thanks for giving it a read, mate - appreciated as always.
I love this. I really admire the courage it takes to publish pieces that demand something from the reader. Where most writers try to please, you make us pay attention. On the surface, it seems almost simple, but there’s a strange abundance beneath it. So many stories quietly layered in. Surprising, unsettling, and completely original.
I like the sound of this review. Thank you Gayle for your time and obvious consideration when reading this piece. As I replied to another comment, there's a thousand stories in every text, it just depends what particular one you choose to pull out of it. Thanks again, and nice one for leaving a comment.
Tidy. Taking beetles. Can't fault them. Londoners too. Surreally satisfying. Reminded me though of being hammered last year at this campground where some man bunned tosser was selling insects as a groovy snack food. I was quietly taking the piss out of him for a bit and then bought an insect just to show no hard feelings. And because I was hammered. Just tasted of whatever sweet shit it'd been previously dipped in. Really regretted it the next day. Brain eating parasites or whatever. But anyway. Nice read. That was a quick one. Hit the spot. Merci.
Nice one, Clive. Thank you for your time and for leaving a comment. I replied to another comment saying much the same. I was absolutely pissed in Thailand once (well, several times) and had a buffet of scorpions, roaches, and all manner of grubs. The worst bit was the hangover, knowing what I had rattling around my intestines. And when I finally puked, nice it was not.
Ha, nice change in pace there when he meets his ole mate. The start felt like The Diary Of A Beetle/day in the life. Very good 👍 surprised me with that one!
Cheers, Magpie. I never know where I'm going with my shorts, even when they're autobiographical, because there are so many angles and perspectives to choose from. This one, not autobiographical (did that need saying), but I couldn't resist the change in 'pace' as you put it. I mean, we all swim and wither, but we have mates too. Thanks for your time, and for leaving a comment.
I know, I know, just messing. I do have a thought out position on it though & probably not the take you'll be expecting. So yeah hopefully sometime. Should be quite funny.
Good description. At least it ain't a dung beetle! How odd that I wrote something with an invertebrate theme the day after this, before I had read this.
There are some truly beautiful beetles wandering around the undergrowth of the UK.
Only Paul and Ringo left. ☹️
Your comment about the Cambodian prison in the chat the other day was priceless. Tickled me for ages. Watch the documentary, not so priceless. A real horror story. You can see what it's done to the poor bloke. https://youtu.be/fDf4kONUiMM?si=1gehcK0pGmXdq5PS
Bradly Yellop! If I can hold back on Beetle/Beatle jokes, I expect you to do the same.
Someone has to!