Mark A. Rayner's Blog: Mark A. Rayner's Goodreads Blog, page 63

Plato was a riot!

Now I don’t feel badly for having the same reaction to The Apology of Socrates! Alltop likes Sophocles for the phat beats.

The 70s called

I remember talking to my Grandfather on the phone in 1974. He was in Canada, and I was in the UK. There was an echo that made it very difficult to hear his voice; I think he struggled even more … Continue reading →

They say talent skips a generation

Vlastic Tesla was the illegitimate son of Nikola Tesla, inventor of the alternating current system, the induction motor, lightning rods, electro-mechanical oscillators, the Tesla coil, the Bifilar coil, robotics and the electronic logic gate, wireless technology, radio astronomy, the teleforce … Continue reading →

Pirate Therapy – download for free!

My new(ish) collection of short stories, flash fictions and odd bitlets of absurdism is available for free on Kindle from June 21 to June 23. Seriously, it’s free – just click on the link or the cover to get to … Continue reading →

A Life of Adventure

He was born Jars Peeblefrench, son of Bjorn and Nellie Peeblefrench, of the Stavenger Peeblefrenches — a family of well-established merchants in the toenail clipping district. Jars was tired of being Norwegian, and he left his family for a life … Continue reading →

An explosion of taste

The pastry chef, Seaman First Class Henry Bunders, had been given specific orders: “make a cake that is like a nuclear explosion.” He’d been able to recreate the effect of the mushroom cloud using some stiff cardboard, fondant, and liberal … Continue reading →

Ask General Kang: What is the right amount of blogging?

Frankly, none. But never bite the hand that feeds you I say, particularly when it feeds you ripe fruit and vegemite sandwiches. This rule applies doubly for evil galactic overlords between gigs. (And yes, the first continent to be occupied … Continue reading →

The Beard Wars, an Oral History

“Captain Chiggerson, can you hear me? Captain?” “I can hear you! I’m blind not deaf.” “Sorry Captain, but you didn’t seem to be responding,” the historian asked. He was a young man, and was frankly shocked by the Captain’s long … Continue reading →

Is it worth it?

Sometimes writing seems like a lonely, pointless, and possibly self-destructive activity. I mean, I COULD be doing other things with my time. Then you get a review like this, and it all seems worthwhile: LOL! So many times I found … Continue reading →

The Disney Gang

They called themselves the Disney Gang, despite the fact that two-fifths of their members were clearly aficionados of the Popeye milieu. In fact, Chester “Popeye” Doyle was their leader; he did a crack impression of the pugnacious cartoon sailor, and … Continue reading →