Reader, I’m just finished watching “Fertility Shock” on RTE and I’ve an urgent message for everyone – we need more babies and fast.  The main reason is we need to think about our pensions.  Like I want the best of holidays in old age.

Despite the panicky tone, there didn’t seem much other reason to be bothered.  It wasn’t like say global warming or nuclear war.  In fact, it’s hard to be concerned at all.

The documentary was unashamedly biased.  Babies are something good.  No mention of sleepless nights, a ruined sex life, puke or poo.  Instead it wanted to force parents to take time off to look after them.  I think the program makers got very confused at some point.

At the end, it implores us to start a conversation but all I could think of is that we need to do the opposite.  That way, people might foolishly continue to have them..

On a side note I see Brexit is still in chaos.  I feel sorry for poor future history students who will have to study this mess.  It would be hilarious, if Ireland wasn’t so affected.

Trigger Warnings, a relatively new phenomenon are now ubiquitous, especially on television.  I can easily remember a time without warnings and you were never quite sure what to expect from a tv series or a film until you actually watched it.

The motive for their introduction was obstensibly to warn people about potentially viewing difficult material and came from the same philosophical underpinnings as “safe spaces” and “micro-aggressions” on American campuses.  For instance and by far the most cited example is if you are a rape victim, you are entitled to be warned about the content of a programme so that you’re not forced to relive the experience.

Many psychologists disagree and this is a matter of some debate.

However, it has nevertheless caught on and trigger warnings  have become mainstream.

That is perhaps because they also serve a further function, a marketing one.  For instance, if I was flicking through the different channels and I get a warning that the following programme contains violence, sex, gore and scenes of horror – I go “yippee” and eagerly await what is about to come.

But recently I’ve noticed that I might be getting falsely warned.  On netflix, specifically the latest episode of Star Trek always “warns” me about upcoming sex, violence and gore.  Quite frankly, we must have completely different ideas of “gore” and sometimes the sex is non existent, unless they are talking about the plants pollinating each other or something.

Even Narcos warns me “about real dead bodies” in every episode.  They all looked quite alive to me in the last one.

I am feeling somewhat “untriggerred”.  This is surely even more serious surely, than being triggered.

Can I lodge some sort of complaint?  Will they laugh or take me seriously?

But even worse, think of the children!

They’re Mammies see the Warnings and suddenly Star Trek is off limits.

Or even worse –

All those teenage boys who have found out the password to the Netflix and want to watch some sex.  It will all seem so easy until…

What is the world coming to and how I yearn for those simpler times.

So I just received my first bit of fan mail for my writing.  My novel “Not the Usual Suspect” in particular .  I’d gotten encouraging emails before, but this was an actual hand written letter, how quaint I know.  It was just the one letter but it’s great to know there’s people out there who enjoy your work.

It gives you that extra push to keep going.

Now I just need a stalker and I’ll be sorted!

“The Irish Ripper” is coming along nicely.  Given I haven’t written much since my last post but that’s not too long ago.  Getting to an interesting part now where I detail how he starts attacking couples.  It doesn’t end too well for them.

Quite enjoying The Walking Dead at the moment.  Maybe it’s getting a tad bit too happy/romantic at the moment but here’s hoping it all leads to a grizzly ending.

Looking forward to Ireland playing France at the weekend.  They are usually good matches and hopefully this will be no different.  Expecting an Irish victory.

Well no prizes for guessing what I was watching today readers.  Yes it was the next film in the Purge franchise albeit, a prequel “The first Purge”.  Sky Movies gave it quite a low rating, only 1.5 out of 5 but I liked it much better than that, maybe a 3 out of 5.

For those new to the “Purge” franchise, the concept is that once every year in a dystopian United States, you will not be criminally liable for any murder or other criminal activity you commit during a twelve hour period.  There are no police during this time.  The idea is that psychologically you get to act out during this period and so will be fine for the rest of the year.

On the plus side it reduces crime for the rest of the year and there is lower unemployment.  On the negative side it turns out to be more about social cleansing and getting rid of the poor/black/brown people.

The racial aspect is most obvious in the latest instalment and it is made abundantly clear that african americans are being targeted.  In fact there are no moral/good/likeable white people in this film, which is fine with me.

The main hero is a leader of one of the drug gangs who decides to protect his community.  This I’m not so sure about, why does he bother when he’s peddling poison to the community the rest of the time?  Is it because they are white aggressors?

The purgers have their masks and the film does have its usual ghoulish quality so I’m definitely glad I saw it.

Still working away on “The Irish Ripper”.  14,000 words done.  Parts of it are hard to write and it’s hard to know if it’s just too violent.  Hopefully I’ll manage to strike the right balance.

To all my readers, remember my novels “Chronicles of Martan”, “Not the Usual Suspect” and “Paradigm” are all available on the Amazon website.

So it’s late now on a Saturday night and here I am writing to you my dear readers.  I’ve given this particular blog, the title “Narcos” cause that’s what been on my mind recently.  It’s a series on Netflix and I have to say it’s very good.

Watching it makes you think those in the Costra Nostra will go straight to heaven.  The violence and corruption is on a totally different scale altogether.

I do have to say that I think “Narcos Mexico”, which tells the story of the Sinaloa cartel is my favourite.  Perhaps because I was already familiar with the story of Pablo Escobar and the Medellin Cartel.

“The Walking Dead” on Fox is also back to its best.  Losing a few characters here and there seems to have done it the world of good along with the introduction of the latest enemy – The Whisperers.

“The Irish Ripper” is coming along slowly.  13,500 words done now.  Only a couple hundred done this week.  But I am writing a difficult part, what happens him psychologically to turn him into a vicious killer.

For the first time I’m thinking there could be sequels using the same fictional dectective.  Maybe a book of short stories, similar to the type of book that propelled Sherlock Homes into the public imagination.  Only time will tell but I have lots of ideas.

Sold two more electronic copies of “Not the Usual Suspect” recently.  It’s by far my best seller to date.  Perhaps I should try to advertise it or something.

Bye for now and remember – The Irish Ripper could be watching you..

Well my readers, I know you haven’t heard from me for a while so it’s time for another quick update.  “About time” that inner voice tells me on your behalf (I’m not insane, okay!).

Been quite busy  the last few days with stuff like watching Narcos (it’s so good!) but last night I started to write once more.  Actually, it was quite productive and I’m gamely trying to do it again nowveven though I can only keep one squinty eye open at this stage.

Just reached 12,000 words with my latest work.  It’s coming along very nicely and I expect it do better commercially than my previous ones ; there is already a lot of sex and violence.  Well that’s what I love to read about anyway.

Last night was spent reading and writing about the different types of serial killers and atheir abnornal psychological make-up.  I had a lovely sleep afterwards as you can imagine.  Actually they didn’t seem that bad to me.

Two book sales this week.  All I need to do is increase that a thousand times and I’ll be on track lol

On a side note I see an Isis bride wants to return to the UK to have her child.  The world is such a messed up place.  Like what is it with British people and the NHS?  They obviously go under very serious indoctrination from a very young age about this NHS that ultimately trumps radical Islam.  It is indeed a strange world.

Declan Rice has declared for England in the soccer.  Personally I think he should be able to return to Ireland if they won’t play him, cause they actually have good players..  It’s not like he joined Isis and that should be the new blurry red line now.

Till next time.

I had some work done to my house recently and the builders had to keep the front and back doors open, while they were bringing materials in and out.  This was done while I was at work so I was unperturbed.

This was all very good till I came home to reports that mice, at least two had taken advantage of this golden opportunity to enter my house.  Anybody who knows me well knows that the first thing I try to do when a “problem” of any kind arises is to delegate it.  That genuinely suits me fine, I always have more important things to do..

This time though the other person had a phobia and about mice.  Not only that but he pointed out that there was one there on the floor.  Fortunately readers, I was extremely brave and didn’t shriek or anything.  We opened the back door and I charged in my mighty wheelchair towards it.  It ran (just as well) in the hoped for direction and scurried out into the garden, probably doing just fine but I’d like to think it was ripped apart by one of the neighborly cats.

The battle was won but was the war?

The next day, a further mouse was reported on the kitchen counter behind a bag.  Summoning all my strength I slowly entered the kitchen and tried to peer behind the bag all the time thinking it was going to jump onto my face for some nefarious reason.

But it was gone and hasn’t been seen since.  But my nemesis does have good taste, it has managed to eat some of the cheese in the trap without it activating.  But someday, it will.

Now here I am in the house.  Just me and the mouse.  Who will live and who will die?  This is what it must have been like in the trenches in World War 1.

Hello readers, hope you all had a good week.  I’ve finally reached the 10,000 words for my latest project “The Irish Ripper”.  The story is building nicely.  Just have to keep chipping away, I reckon it will be about 70,000 words when it is completed.

It’s proving to be as dark as I thought it would be but I reckon it will be a work of art when it has been completed.

To give a bit of a teaser, it’s about a detective with an acquired disability who meets his nemises, a sadistic and masochistic serial killer,  there will be scenes of horror.

On a lighter note I watched the film “The Foreigner” during the week.  It stars Jackie Chan and Pierce Brosnan (available on netflix) and is about an Asian man who seeks revenge on an IRA unit.  I’d strongly recommend it.

If you are a Sinn Fein supporter though, you probably won’t like their cowed portrayal.

Till next time

Well readers I’m going to have to be honest – sometimes my filing system at home isn’t the best.  I have one spot for definitely important correspondence and another for probably/maybe read again sometime if I ever think of it.

Over the years my “maybe” pile had grown and grown to the point of taking over a part of counter in my kitchen.  This really didn’t bother me much but my PAs kept on insisting it was getting a tad unsightly and I should really decide if any of it was worth keeping.

Obviously readers, I generally have something better to do like singing silently to myself or trying to sleep in my wheelchair but yesterday I caved and said lets go do it in a truly perverse burst of enthusiasm.

Well as I had expected, it was mostly all well out of date and worthless..  Except it wasn’t.  I came across a 75 euro voucher for Tesco.  This was a great discovery.  It was like I was an ancient explorer who had found a new Pharoah tomb in Egypt.

There were so many questions.  People sometimes get me vodka but a Tesco voucher?

I don’t even go to Tesco.  Was this some sort of sick, cruel joke?

Maybe I had spent most of it already and had left it there for safe keeping like an intelligent squirrel?  My own kind of demented genius.

I put on my detective or let’s google hat.  Did such a thing really exist?

Turns out it did.  There was a number to ring but they wanted a PIN.  There was none.

Being a terrible detective I went for the easy solution and sent my PA off to see if it was valid.

It was and it was worth 75 euro.  I really must do more of this cleaning stuff.

After more rummaging I figured out it was from Bord Gais – did I tell everyone how they are my favourite electricity supplier, like ever??

So my pile  is now much smaller, it just wouldn’t feel right to have nothing there at all.

Well readers, it’s been about a week since my last post.  The writing is going well.  Now have 8,000 words done on my current project, but even better I’ve come up with what I think is a good ending that will tie everything in together.  Just a matter of getting down to it now.

I am finding it a joy to write though and if I cut down the vodka, hopefully I’ll finish it by the end of the year.

Sold another few books this week too which is always a plus.  I’m cognisant though that my marketing strategy has to vastly improve if I’m ever going to get anywhere.  Another small step in that direction will be setting up a facebook page for my writing.  Please like and share!

I may even run an advertising campaign at some point.  If only I had more time lol

I reckon everybody in Ireland is aware that we’re having a very mild winter and that at least some of the days almost feel like Spring.  Never before have I seen such little frost by this time of year.  I do see there is a apparently a threat of snow towards the end of the month but what an obvious sign of climate change, right?

Maybe, but Germany is having it’s coldest winter in 30 years.  The army has just been called in.  Similarly large parts of North America are experiencing bitter cold.  I do believe in climate change but maybe this time, we’re just being lucky.

Some newspapers are reporting that there may be basic life on a planet just 6 light years away although it would exist similarly to life that might exist in Europa relying on heat from the core of the planet.  I’ll get excited if they have spaceships or Stargates.

About to watch the finale to House of Cards.  In my opinion it misses Francis Underwood.  It is of course perfectly fine that there is a female president, (I hope to see a real one) but her feminist zeal feels manufactured from an otherwise devious, evil character.