G. Michael Vasey's Blog: The Wacky World of Dr. Vasey, page 107

First Independent Review by Alienora Taylor

‘The Last Observer’ by Dr G. Michael Vasey

Review by Alienora Taylor

Read at a gallop, this slim racehorse of a novel impressed me enormously with its speed and performance. I was unable to halt the literary ‘ride’ – and nor, in all honesty, did I wish to!

Dr Vasey plays with the conventional understanding of the word ‘observer’ to create a very different ‘tune’, one which contains within it the ability – inherent within most esoteric training – to affect reality through the medium of the imagination, of thought.

And, in Vasey’s intense fictional world, it is precisely this ability which is under attack by what could be defined as the Dark Side.

I do not wish to give the plot away because I think there is something to be said for delayed gratification – and the twists and turns of Vasey’s novel are a pleasure to be savoured!

I will, however, say this: his descriptions of the world of Ritual Magic, and particularly the rituals themselves, are brilliantly done – and eminently believable.

I love the way the Alison/Zeltan and Stanley/Edward strands interweave – and the twist at the end came as a shocking surprise.

I think it very clever the way Dr Vasey has stitched together the worlds of Quantum and of Magic to produce a colourful tapestry which allows us to ponder upon, and question, the nature of reality – and, indeed, our place, as collections of mutable atoms, within that.

I thoroughly recommend ‘The Last Observer’ – and shall be re-reading it myself before long!

The Last Observer’s First Chapter

It is short but it sets the scene…..

Chapter 1

A Dead Psychic

There was something remarkable about Michael Kent. His

crystal-clear and deep-set blue eyes, sunken into a pale and

haggard face, seemed to penetrate into the depths of your very

soul. He appeared to be capable of reaching inside of you so that

he could search through your entire contents without first having

had the courtesy to ask. Michael was a well-known psychic in

those parts. Locally famed, and at the same time loathed, for his

apparent ability to help the local constabulary solve unsolvable

crimes. Yet now he was an unsolvable crime himself.

Kent had been found dead just outside of his favorite pub, the

Rose and Crown. The back of his head caved in like a boiled egg,

and the contents of his larger-than-normal skull splattered about

the pavement. No one had seen how he had met this fate and the

local police remained stumped. Even in death, those eyes

glittered like opals as if taking in the entire world and reflecting

it back out again. His untimely death made the front page of the

local papers and had people whispering and gossiping for a few

days. Who had killed Michael Kent and why?

Edward sat reading the account of Michael’s death in an old

copy of that paper in a dimly lit and rather damp room of the

local library. Kent’s face stared out from the page and Edward felt

a strange sensation as if those eyes examined, and yes, even

judged him. For Edward, this strange and unsolved crime was

not an isolated incident but one of tens, or perhaps even

hundreds of similar murders that he had stumbled on almost by

accident. Psychics, it seemed, were dying in their droves and they

were dying strangely.

Edward leaned back in his creaky wooden chair and,

suddenly feeling as if his balance had been lost, he pushed

himself forward abruptly, attracting the disapproving looks of

his fellow library occupants. He went back over recent events

trying to convince himself that there surely couldn’t be anything

to this wave of psychic killings. However, something deep inside

told him there was.

For more information – visit Roundfire Books.

To pre-order your copy – visit Amazon (US) or Amazon (UK)

My Ever Increasing Waistline

I have never exactly been slim – well, not since I was in my teens anyway. I always carried a little weight but being tall, it wasn’t obvious. Then, about a year ago, the weight started slowly to creep on. I can’t say I changed my lifestyle much. I’m not sporty but I am reasonably active. Disaster though has finally struck. You see I quit smoking a few months ago and now I am overweight. My belly has an overhang for the first time in my life and I am thinking about shopping for a bra.

To be honest, I simply don’t get it. How could my reality have changed so negatively so fast? What did I do wrong?

I do like my food particularly sweet stuff that is true but I have cut back. I have started trying to be a bit more active as well but it seems to make no difference. Right now if I see food, my belly grows. It reminds me a bit of the joke about being on a sea food diet. I sea food and I eat it!

Even worse, in three weeks time we are flying to Florida for a two-week vacation. On the one hand, my new fatness probably won’t stick out like a sore thumb over there among the rest of the obese but on the other – the food! the portion sizes, the lazy inactivity! I am doomed, doomed I tell you.

I am about to start some new visualization techniques in which I am fit, active, tanned and have a manly figure. I’ll keep you posted.

Trying to Deny Reality

Apparently, in Russia, parliament just passed a bill making it illegal to tell children that gay people exist by 434-0. The bill goes much further than that of course in its defense of ‘traditional sexuality’. Russia, it seems to me is stepping ever closer to the totalitarian nonsense from which it all too recently escaped. In fact, I think its a more dangerous country now than it was before because it pretends to be a democracy.

It never ceases to amaze me how hard some countries, politicians or normal folks go to deny reality and restrict freedom. If there was one thing I could do to change the world it would be this – to teach people that its OK to have your religion, beliefs or views but to stop forcing them on others. This is where everything appears to go wrong when a person or a group believe that they have the truth and exclusively the truth and everyone else should be made to conform to their version of the truth.

Truth is elusive. In fact, I am not sure there is one version of the truth. We all see the world through the lenses of our bigotry and ignorance and it is not possible for us to see the truth. We are only capable of seeing our own warped version of it. As Jesus said “You see the speck in your brother’s eye, but pay no attention to the plank in your own eye. When you take the plank out of your own eye, then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” (Gospel of Thomas). Wasn’t he right!

Unfortunately, the world is full of people who think they are right and right exclusively whether they be the bible bashing Christians, fundamental Muslims or Vladimir Putin. This has apparently been the case for the last 2,000 years and has caused much unnecessary war, death, persecution and destruction.

Mr. Putin, people of Russia, I have nothing against you in fact, I encourage you to live by your belief systems and be true to your ‘truths’. But, if you really believe truth can be legislated then I feel sorry for you. If you really think a person’s sexuality can be dictated by law or that your children should be lied to about it, then I feel sorry for you and and the poor people who will suffer under such an approach (who will also be your friends, children, fathers, mothers, uncles, cousins, countrymen etc..

Myth Making

I am no conspiracy theorist. I think that what things seem to be are mostly how they are. In my experience, if something can be cocked up and, humans are involved, then it will be thoroughly cocked up. In other words, people that see deliberate acts of conspiracy are often really seeing cock ups with no intention or pattern behind them. That’s my view anyway.

People who follow conspiracy theories begin to create a reality in which everything is a conspiracy. They believe, they see and they make it so in their created world.

So it is with certain other topics. I no longer pay much attention to the news because, as I said yesterday, media is stupid, manipulated or both. Everyone has an agenda and the aim of that agenda is to keep you fixated on the outer world, to keep you afraid and seeking others to protect you from your fears (i.e. giving them permission to enslave you). You see this in the fact that the media peddles out horror stories. This is bad for you, that gives you cancer, the end of the world as we know it is nigh. Let’s cut to the chase – this is largely crap. This is what I call ‘myth making’. We cobble together some half truth, take it out of context and publish it. Even better if a celebrity endorses it too. But it is still myth.

Some of these myths become money making machines for those that propagate them. Look at the myth that human created CO2 is causing global warming. This topic makes a mint for those that propagate it and the ‘scientists’ who purport to research it. It has got to the point where if you try to point out its a myth, people shoot you down in flames and try to ruin your reputation as a scientist. It is more than peer pressure. There is no room for dissent here. The myth is helping people create their reality and they don’t want their reality changed. Vice President Al. Bore (not a typo) is to me a great example. He has become mega rich promoting his myth. He has a mass of swooning followers who won’t accept any other view and yet Bore flies all around in a jet spewing the very stuff he reckons is a threat to our existence on this planet. Mr. Bore is hypocrite but he doesn’t care because he has a nice fat bank balance.

I think to avoid falling into the myth makers trap we all need to look for the balance. We need to reconcile the opposite points of views and seek the balance point. If there is truth, that is where we will find it. The best way to do this is not just to research and think about things but to meditate on them and consult the inner self. That’s where you will find answers and the truth. If we all did this, then the power we grant the myth makers to rule over us would disseminate and reality would change. The myths would become apparent to everyone. Perhaps, we would then suddenly find true freedom too.

Yawn….

I think the media is finished. Either that or the majority of my fellow humans are stupid. I will go with the former while secretly suspecting the latter. The media really is a joke. They invent stories. They see stories where any normal thinking person would not. Let me explain.

It’s the digital age. Any number of movies about spies and spying have people followed via their cell phone, tracked by their email and so on. Everyone knows that spies and spying agencies (and the Government’s that pay for these services) collect information. Hollywood figured out how that might be done in the digital age too. So why is anyone surprised that Government collects data? Is it the sheer volume of the data? Surely, nothing has changed. There is more data created by people and therefore more data to collect. Spies and spying agencies are data collectors. That is what they do and have always done. Who knows if and when it might be useful but if its created by someone we should collect it seems to be the mindset. Is this invasion of privacy? Maybe but why do people kid themselves anything they do on the internet is or should be private? Same goes for phones. Now, if they placed a camera in my toilet or bedroom, I’d say my privacy had been invaded but tracking what calls I made – who cares!

The story here isn’t that they do this. If they didn’t it would be THE story of the century. It isn’t invasion of privacy either. The story here is misuse and abuse of the information that they collect. That’s the story…..

Just who do the media think they are kidding with their nonsense anyway? Everyday, I see what have to be made up stories about Hull City too. These stories are pointless, thoughtless and stupid. So why write them? And if stories like that are written about a Football club – what other crap are they writing everyday? Especially for those ‘sports writers’ in Britain, let me make just a few things quite clear if you hadn’t been able to discern them yourselves;

1. Steve Bruce has been on vacation until last weekend – sitting on a beach somewhere. He therefore was not interviewing with another Championship Football club nor was he chasing any players to sign;

2. Hull’s owners have said they will not make the same mistake twice and put the future of the club at risk with high salaries or transfer fees…. so why print stories having Hull buying 9m GBP players? Who believes that?

I could go on but I won’t bore you. The fact is the media is either stupid or it thinks we are…..

I no longer read newspapers nor watch news on TV. Its utter bullshit designed for mass consumption by the stupid and manipulated and the real news never gets reported anyway…..

So who am I more worried about? Governments collecting data about me or the media for not doing their job. Easy. The media for not doing their job.

Reality – Imagined for Free

Here is a poem from my forthcoming book – Astral Messages. It will be published in the Fall after The Last Observer….

Silence is an innaccurate word

Loud, it is full of strangeness

Listen, for there you find infinity

Otherworld’s sounds purred back to us

Sight is certainly not to see

Filled with images though it may be

In fact, there are multitudes

of otherworld’s paralleled stacked awaiting

Open your senses

Imagine and see

Open your inner eye

Imagine and be

Fantasy is fantastical you see

Truth fleeting hovers and flits there

Grasp it by the toe and we’ll agree

Reality is unlimited and imagined for free

One Night’s Dream (from Weird Tales: Otherworld Poetry)

It’s tempting to look out

Of the window sometimes

To see the light once again

The painted sill comes nearer

The potential thrill of the view

The glass is frosted

And outside it is cold

Reminds me of cities of old

The vision is blurred and

Indescribable

Yet real, real

The Sun is shining

Just a globe in the North

Still, it’s tempting to look

The sky looks good

In shades of pink and gold

Taking another sniff

Of my personal tube of glue

It rains and night moves on

Into something more eerie

The eyes of the night

Catch yours

And the Man in the Moon

Talks for a while

Of all he saw before you

But none since the last

Has yet learned the thrill

Of the planet gold

That chided you as a child

Or the blue elf

Mirror born but wait

Your stick of animal juice awaits you

And another night has passed.

And Finally….

Yes…… the sun is shining here in Prague. The rain starts again tomorrow though. So, I am going to keep it short so I can sit in that strange thing called sunlight for just a little while.

The Last Observer is selling already – very slowly but it has some pre-orders and this is great news….. Meanwhile, I am working on Astral Messages – a new book of poetry. Can’t stay still for a minute…..

Nice weekend folks!

Why is Life so Dirty?

Filth and dirt

A constant bloody mess

Pots and clothes pile up

Why is life so messy?

Dust and dog hairs

And even worse awaits us

A microbe infested sea

Why is life so dirty?

Grime and grease

Smelly, slimy rot

Puddles of stinky pee

Why is life so grimey?

Plastic gloves

and plastic bags

Mops and buckets too

Why is life so slimey?

We are dirt

A bag of shit and piss

bile, spittle and worse

And life is simply dirty!