Category: The World

Feel GOOD! The World Words

Please Allow Me to Introduce Piclets!

By Tom Merriman on

cropped-piclets-header11.png

Yes, I’m launching yet another blog. < – Six words!

This is another outlet for my creativity, this time for the digital doodles that I create that don’t seem to fit here or on Splodge and Splatter, but still need to be broadcast around the world.

The reason for this new blog is very simple. I recently had a very cost-effective job done (NOT the Bathroom, by the way, but ANOTHER job!), and, as I’d sent a Cosmic Order out to the Universe for it to be cost-effective, and received the order very quickly, I wanted to give something back.

I asked the Universe for a prompt as to what I could give back, and in a split second the word ‘Piclets’ appeared in my mind. I knew it was for sharing pictures (a PICture outLET if you like!) for free for those folk who just so happened to want one of my images, but before I started with the blog I did a quick internet search to see if the word ‘Piclet’ was already in use… obviously, I didn’t want to step on anybody’s toes.

Variations of the word came back, but nothing for Piclets itself (unless the search engine I used was doing its usual trick of giving me what it thought I was searching for, rather than what I actually was searching for!), so I went with it. I created a new blog in WordPress, and piclets.wordpress.com was available, so I went with that as well. It’s a free site, so there will be adverts but you don’t need to bother with them if you don’t want to.

Over time, and when I can (and looking at my recent blog-posting record I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you!), I will post a selection of my created images that I will just give out to the world completely for free, to be used for anything. Just right-click on the desired image(s) and save to your computer.

You may find the candles I gave will be placed over there as well, plus seasonal goodies… and Hallowe’en is coming up, so I may get my Hallowe’en thinking cap on sooner than planned. We shall see.

All of the images are created solely by me, out of random shapes and/or textures, but I feel in doing this I am, in a small way, giving something back to the world for free.

It may take off; it may not, we shall see. But for now, Piclets is LIVE!

This is a post for Six Word Saturday. Yes, I am aware that I’m posting it on Friday, but it is good to be early for once! Who knows when the next post will appear here… soon, I hope!

Have a great weekend.

By the way, the images on the new blog are very sparse and created (with the exception of the candle!) just for the launch of the blog. The next post over there will feature more lovingly crafted images – but  a start is a start! And – Oh! Click the image at the top to get to the new blog. Hehehe!

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Feel GOOD! Questions The World

Letters To The Universe… The Why Not? Edition

By Tom Merriman on

Dear The Long Easter Weekend,
Why not let us have some glorious Spring weather so we can enjoy you a little more?

Dear Blogland,
Why not have some fun this weekend and try to get in a couple of ridiculous jokes to your nearest and dearest, just for the sake of their reaction? You could use jokes such as:

What’s orange and sounds like a parrot? A carrot

What is brown and sticky? A stick

What’s red and smells like blue paint? Red paint

My friend recently got crushed by a pile of books, but he’s only got his shelf to blame

I thought I’d tell you a brilliant time-travel joke, but you didn’t like it

Dear Daft Driver,
Why not learn how to drive properly? Did you know that a second lane at a junction is for travelling straight ahead, and not, as you did, for turning left? You may have been indicating, but it is usually customary to indicate before you manoeuvre. And then, you did the very same thing at the next roundabout. At speed. Perhaps you just can’t drive? Mind you, a non-driver would probably drive better than you did.

Dear The Word Manoeuvre AND Spellchecker,
Why not work together and know this is the word I want to use? Yes the spelling catches me out every single time, but it is such an unusual and distinct word it should just be taken as granted this is the word I want. I can always change it if it isn’t… I have to change it anyway as it is always spelt wrongly!

Dear Ghost Galaxy NGC1052-DF2,
How wonderful that you appear to have no mysterious ‘dark matter’ and are only made up of ordinary matter. Now that you have been spotted by us Earthlings, why not surprise us even further and send us a cheery ‘Hello’! That will REALLY turn science on its head!

Dear Mrs Tufty,
How nice it was to see you swimming towards me on the Lake earlier today, with Tufty just behind. It’s jus a pity that a couple of boisterous geese decided to squabble and send you off-course. Next time we meet, why not come even closer so I can get some good close up photos of you, like I have of Tufty.

Dear Chilling Rain,
Why not join us on the good side and rain a little warmer? I’m not asking you not to rain – I know how important you are – but you should be feeling warmer now. Your current raindrops feel like sharp icy pin pricks, which aren’t very pleasurable after, oh, about ten.

Dear People,
Why not just have a day with no judgements, no criticisms, no complaints, no bitterness, no hatred and no evil thoughts? Sounds like a lot to ask, but it isn’t. Really.

Dear Favourite Work Pens,
I love writing with you, I really do. The thing is, as I write such a lot you don’t seem to last very long without running out of ink. Please, why not think of people like me, and try to write a little (OK, quite a lot!) further before you have to go into the rubbish bin. In the meantime, I will be buying another pack of you soon.

And Finally, Dear Blogland,
Why not give yourself a hearty pat on the back for just being you? You’re doing a good job.

Thank you for reading,

P.S. Why not try something new and see what happens? I’m experimenting with 3D graphics at the moment, and have created this…

… well, I’ve been experimenting in PowerPoint for a while with some creations, but old Rustbucket here was created in my landscaping program. Rustbucket is a new character for one of my story serieseses and he will be making his true appearance later in the year. Trying something new always opens new opportunities, not necessarily in the way first thought. For now though, I shall wish you a fabulous weekend!

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Birds Feel GOOD! Nature The World

Letters To The Universe… The Ahhh Edition

By Tom Merriman on

Dear Cluddunt,
Such a lovely place to rest and relax, on the beach, by the sea, for up to ten or eleven hours a day – or longer if I so wished. I do need some sleep though, well, it’s a necessity with all this relaxing!

Dear The Word Om,
How relaxing are you? Even your definition, a mystic syllable, considered the most sacred mantra in Hinduism and Tibetan Buddhism. It appears at the beginning and end of most Sanskrit recitations, prayers, and texts, is relaxing! Ahhh! I mean, Om!

Dear Blogland,
Please don’t forget about my little celebration on Saturday – I’m about to post my 2,500th post here on Beyond the Sphere, and invite you to add a comment linking to anything in Blogland you feel would be of interest to others. Even though I’m sunning myself on a tropical island, I shall still be joining in the fun throughout the day and beyond. Anyone who comments will become one of the Twenty-five Hundred, to boot! 2,500 posts already??? Arrrggghhh!!!! How time flies!

Dear Joke Lovers,
How do pirates know that they are pirates? They think, therefore they arrrrrrgh! Think about it for a bit, and then the ‘ahhh’ moment will dawn.

Dear Cyclists,
Now, you know that you make me go ‘arrgh!’ when you cycle carelessly through a red traffic light, or on the footpath, or at night without your lights on, or at night on the footpath without your lights on whilst dressed all in black. Well, the other day, one of you made me go ‘arrgh’ again. This time, however, you were on the road, and not a traffic light was in sight. You even had your light on… but this was the problem. Why on Earth do you think using a strobe light would be a good idea? Not only did you blind me (and I was on the other side of the road as you rode towards me) you could cause problems with people who are sensitive to such lights. Please be more considerate in future!

Dear New Visitor To The Lake,
Very pleased to meet you, I hope you enjoyed your visit and will return soon. All visitors to the Lake have to have a photo or two taken, which is customary. I did this when I saw you, but the camera on the mobile phone isn’t as good at the moment as it should be. I know the photos do you no justice. I believe you to be a cormorant, but I’m sure I’ll be corrected if I’m wrong.

Dear Spring,
Nice to see you have Sprung! And our clocks move forwards one hour on Saturday night / Sunday morning, which is always another sign… but this met me the other day by the Lake: Blossom. Fabulous!

Dear Winter,
Yes, I can see you trying to hang on with all your might… but nope. Spring is here, and it is time for you to give way to it! Ah, that Feels Good!

Dear The Weekend,
Here you are once again! Always good! And this weekend I wonder how many of the Twenty-five Hundred we will see or get to know? Time will tell!

And Finally, Dear Imagination,
May you constantly fill us all with joy and ideas. May you constantly provide us with interpretation and humour. May you always shine through whatever darkness there is or may be… and please know that I for one appreciate you being around. Just wanted to say it, that’s all!

Thank you for reading,

P.S. I’m ending this post with a few photos of the new visitor to the Lake. I believe it to be a cormorant…

…now, I’m not saying I’m right, however, but I could be! Please advise if you know what it is (the speckly one with the purply-blue feet), so that I too may once again go ‘ahhh!’ Apologies for the rather blurry photos, and have an absolutely fabulous weekend!

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Feel GOOD! Nature The World Time

Letters To The Universe… The It’s Friday Again Edition

By Tom Merriman on

Dear Fridays,
You certainly call around very quickly, don’t you? If I wasn’t a hundred per cent sure, I would say you crop up more frequently than the other days of the week. Not that I’m complaining, mind! Fridays are the gateway to the weekend, which is always a bonus!

Dear The Word Friday,
I think it is wonderful that you are named after the Norse Goddess Frigg, who is associated with foreknowledge and wisdom. I certainly have the wisdom that the weekend will follow, and the knowledge that two fabulous and easy days are on their way. That always gives the old Feel Good vibe a boost!

Dear The Beast From The East,
A little bird tells me you are planning on a quick return this weekend, bringing more winds and snow. Well, let me be a little bird to you, and tell you that Spring is now here, and you had best not go spoiling things. Some trees are now blossoming, and some flowers flowering and we wouldn’t want you affecting them now, would we?

Dear Road Resurfacers,
Please let’s not have a repeat of last Friday’s pandemonium on the roads, when you decided to close a major road, in both directions, during rush hour traffic. You caused gridlock. Perhaps starting an hour later may be more beneficial?

Dear The World,
Is it too much to ask that you sort yourself out this weekend? I really should have addressed this to the people of the world, rather than the world itself, as I know that the world will be more than capable of ‘sorting things out’ should push come to shove.

Dear The Weekend,
So good to hear you approaching once again. You certainly have a different vibe to the other days of the week (obviously not counting Friday!), but could you do something about Monday? That always seems a tad drab and a bit of a let down after the weekend. Thank you.

Dear Artistic Urges,
I may have time to be creative at some point over the weekend. I say ‘may’ as I may also be otherwise engaged doing nothing and relaxing – just as weekends were intended!

Dear Daft Drivers,
Please chill out a little and make the roads slightly more pleasurable for other road users. Especially if we have road closures and the Beast from the East to contend with, your choice driving skills aren’t really needed.

Dear Friday,
Have I mentioned that I’m pleased you’re here again? Yes indeed, Thank Goodness It’s Friday!

And Finally, Dear Blogland,
Once again I wish you all the very best for Friday and into the weekend! Feel Good, have fun and enjoy!

Thank you for reading,

P.S. I thought I’d end this week’s Letters post with a photo of things as they soon will be…

… well, Bluebells may be a few weeks off yet, but they will soon be here. And, I’m sure, that they may already be in flower in some places. Foreknowledge is a good thing at times – are you listening, Beast from the East?

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Confusion Feel GOOD! The World Words

Letters To The Universe… The Easy Reading Edition

By Tom Merriman on

Dear Letters To The Universe,
I do hope that this edition will be easy reading, after the last mind-blowing one, and the one full of earworms the week before. Well, here goes… let’s see!

Dear Blogland,
The official date, should I post daily between now and then, for my 2,500th post is 27th March 2018. Therefore, I shall be throwing the blog party on the Saturday before, which is Saturday 24th March 2018. I hope to see as many of you as possible there throughout the day.

Dear The Word Concinnity,
You are a new word to me, and I think I actually like you. You mean ‘The skilful and harmonious arrangement or fitting together of the different parts of something’ or ‘Studied elegance of literary or artistic style’ (from the Oxford Dictionary). I hope to see concinnity in the blog party towards the end of March, and I would also like to see more concinnity throughout my blog posts both before and after then. Whether the latter appears here remains to be seen, but I will bear it in mind!

Dear Siberian Blast,
Yes, you have us firmly in your grip right now. Could I ask that you don’t hold on for too long, as Spring is just around the corner and we wouldn’t want it to be late!

Dear Spring,
Please, please, do not be put off by that chilling Siberian Blast that has decided to invade our green and pleasant land… please step forth and push those icy forces back! Spring, we need you!

Dear Synchronicity,
You seem to have been in hiding for a few weeks… will you be making a spectacular reappearance soon? Hopefully in time for Spring – or even my 2,500th blog post celebrations?

Dear Drivers,
You appear to be getting worse again. Please pay more attention to what you are doing, and most of all BE LESS IMPATIENT when on the roads. All road users have to get somewhere. Just saying.

Dear Pébéo Mixed Media Paint Set,
I am looking forward to using you, to see what effects you create when I dab a few drops of you here and there, once I start actually painting again. The thing is, with the Siberian Blast that is causing chaos and confusion at the moment, I can’t really open any windows. As you know, you need to be used in a well ventilated area, so I wouldn’t want to risk using you in a confined space, in case I find myself hovering around the ceiling. You do look fun to use, however!

Dear Ducks On The Lake,
I do hope that you aren’t freezing your flippers off in that icy icy water. I’m finding it rather nippy and I’m fully wrapped up, yet you all waddle around in your bare feet.

And Finally, Dear Cheerfulness,
Sprinkle a bit of your magic dust on us all, will you? And a couple of extra large sprinkles on those who may need it a little more! Let’s boost that Feel Good Factor once again around the world!

Thank you for reading,

P.S. I thought I’d end this edition with a tweaked photo of the Moon from earlier in the week…

… well, it was taken on my mobile phone, and I was a little dithered taking it, hence it being a little fuzzy. I think the warm orange colour somehow makes it appear even cooler. A most strange effect, I must say!

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