Return of the Boomerang

The only place online you can find opinions, stories, poetry and other things by me.

[beyondleftandright-blog]

Recently, in British politics, there has been a lot of arguments regarding reform of the House of Lords. The coalition government is in disarray. The Conservative Party do not wish to reform the House of Lords and see the amount of independent members of the House as good for politics. The Liberal...

[awwyeahhorrormovies]

OMG WORD!

[lemoncurryandsatan]

I LOVE the shining but i actually cant stand the mom. she was so annoying. the kid should have gotten away but Jack should have gotten thhke mom.

[returnoftheboomerang-blog]

I read on Cracked or Listverse, orsomething, that Kubric deliberately created a hostile environment for this actress. Every one working on the film treated her like crap and she hardly slept. A lot of the mental distress she shows is genuine. Fun fact: my phone attempted to auto-correct 'Kubric' to 'lubricant'

[returnoftheboomerang-blog]

Because sometimes, your only option is to draw john steinbeck at 5AM.

[returnoftheboomerang-blog]

Here's a draft of a story called 'The Robin.' Help me to improve it!

“The Robin”

I’ve been in this little studio apartment for about six years now. That’s about five and a half years longer than I originally had intended. By now, I thought I’d something a little bigger, a little nicer. Housing is too expensive in the city. It suits its purpose though, it’s somewhere to live and I haven’t died yet while I’ve been here. It works. I have a tiny little kitchenette that fits my needs. Beans on toast. Cheese on toast. Toast. It’s good for all of it. I have my own en suite bathroom too, but the less said about that, the better. I have a small television that I don’t really watch that often. I’m more in the habit of looking out of the window or smugly watching my bookshelf get gradually more plump and overfed. I probably do this more than I actually read. The most eye-catching thing in the room is my cello, which occupies a whole corner by itself.

I’m a musician. Or, at least I’m trying to be. I moved into the city with high hopes but work doesn’t come calling very often. My colleagues in that respect find things much easier than I do because they can go busking. There’s a million and two good spots for it about town, but it’s not very practical for me to shift such a large instrument around, especially when I can’t afford a car. I’ve tried it a couple of times. The size of the case makes it look more empty, so I get more sympathy change than most. Still, it’s just not worth carrying. Instead, I have a job at the local supermarket. I’m the guy who tells the self-service machines to shut up when they inevitably get confused. It’s alright.

There’s also my bed, where I spend most of my time, and a small table with two chairs that I don’t use, except for a place to put my keys. There’s only one window in here. I’ve found that the less windows you have, the more you appreciate them. The window is really is what makes this place feel a home to me. Through this window, I can watch real life in full swing. Businessmen on their travels; mothers taking their children reluctantly off to school. Occasionally, I’d see someone sprinting in vain for a bus that just left them behind, cursing the Gods for their misfortune; and sometimes a homeless man, as he tries to give away one of his meager possessions in return for the wad of change he clutches in his paw, bestowed upon him by some saintly commuter, who just wants to continue their day. These are just some of the recurring patterns that I’ve observed over time.

The window has a large, nasty crack that runs diagonally across it. It makes it look as though the outside world has a horrible scar across its face, like a painful reminder of an innocent mistake. Every scar has a story behind it, so here it is.

There was a cheerful little robin that used to visit me a few times every winter. He always cheered me up when he came - an antithesis to Poe’s raven. He would tap impatiently on the window with his beak, until I went over there and acknowledged him. Sometimes he would chirp away at me, like he was trying to tell me something important. Sometimes he would just sit silently and trade a long remorseful gaze with me, before flying away for a few weeks. He never stayed very long, but he always returned. It’s a shame that I could never open the window to get a little closer to him, but the window opened outwardly and I would have forced him off of the narrow ledge, on which he perched. I took loads of photographs of him on my old phone, it’s probably still around here somewhere.

Over time, the Robin’s eager pecking resulted in a small chip in the glass pane. The harsh winter rain must have got inside it and frozen, expanding itself and causing the chip to get bigger along with it. From this humble beginning, and from the sudden vibrations caused by  slamming the door behind me in anger or pain, after a newly broken heart or a bad day at work, the chip evolved itself into a deep and formidable crack. My only radiator happens to sit below my only window. The crack drinks up all the warmth that the puny heater gives, leaving very little for me. It gets freezing in here sometimes.

I can imagine that it’s only a matter of time until the glass gives up on itself and shatters. I can almost see its eventual collapse and downfall. A razor-sharp hailstorm of bitter little crystals on their way to ruin the morning of whoever might be as unlucky as to be passing below it.

The robin hasn’t been around this year. Maybe he died or got bored with me. If he comes back, I hope he arrives before the window departs or he’ll have nothing to tap on. Or perhaps he’ll be confident enough to fly right in so I can meet him properly. I always felt like a sort prisoner on visiting day whenever he was here, chatting away to beloved friend behind bulletproof glass. I don’t know why the robin chose me to be his friend, but I’m grateful that he did.

[returnoftheboomerang-blog]

Why Vetoes are a stupid idea (sometimes)

The word 'veto' is a Latin phrase that more or less means 'I forbit it.' It originated in the Roman senate as a a protective measure to insure total unanimity on a decision and to preserve the status quo. Vetoes were exercised in this kind of arena on behalf of what should be done for the good of the republic as a whole. The reasoning behind the veto is that things, as they are, are already pretty good, so it would be foolish to make it worse in anyway by trying to improve it. 

Today, in the United Nations, the 5 permanent member states (UK, France, USA, China and Russia) have the power to Veto any UN decision. The reason for this, however, is not for the good of the collective, but to protect the interests of these five nations. Why the interests of these particular countries is somehow more important, I'm not quite sure of. 

The UN was originally created to help prevent war. Chapter 7 of the United Nations charter exists to allow the UN Security council to "determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace or act of aggression" and to make a response, either by military means or by diplomacy.

War is happening right now in Syria. Kofi Annan recently resigned from his mission to promote peace by working with the Syrian government, who were uncooperative. Why did they think Assad would would just work with them so easily? Diplomacy clearly isn't working and military action is needed.

When I see what's happening in Syria, I feel anger and disgust. Not just at the Syrian government, but at our own governments for allowing it to happen. In a lot of ways (obviously not categorically) its worse than the holocaust, in my opinion, because the world decided to stand up and do something about it. Now we sit idly watch this bloodshed and are unable to act. Why? Because Russia and China say we're not allowed. That's kinda stupid. 

I'm not going to delve into their reasons for using the Veto, because that isn't what this post is about. Apparently, the west is appalled by Russia and China for turning their back on the Syrian People. I think we should be appalled at ourselves.

We recognize that their use of the veto in this case is irresponsible and plain wrong. The charter states that we are unable to do anything without total unanimity from the five countries I mentioned above. The charter is a piece of fucking paper. People are losing their lives for no reason.

We should take action in Syria regardless of Russia or China. Not because it's permissible by international law, but because it's the right thing to do. They fact that this will damage our relations with these two allied countries is immaterial. People are dying. 

Although it would damage our Russo-Chinese relationships, it will be of little consequence. It simply isn't worth going to war with us over. The most important of these two counties is China, because of their economic growth and build-up to superpower status. But, our economies are mutually dependent. 17% of china's international trade comes from the Eurozone and 13.6% from the united states. Retaliation, by military means(which will always be unlikely), or otherwise, is simply of no value to them.

So what's more important, international law or saving innocents from being slaughtered by their own government? 

Sources:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18914578

http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2006/september/tradoc_113366.pdf

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So this is tumblr?

I recently made friends with a guy who posts here religiously. He showed me his blog and it looked like fun, so I thought I’d try it. Everyone has stuff to say for themselves.

I’m not sure exactly what it’s all about yet, but my understanding of…

[eva-420]

because doing things you dislike makes you edgy

</sarcasm>

[returnoftheboomerang-blog]

Very good point, but I think you've confused 'this looks like fun' with 'I dislike this.' Not to worry, could happen to anyone.  

[returnoftheboomerang-blog]

Ah yes.

So this is tumblr? 

I recently made friends with a guy who posts here religiously. He showed me his blog and it looked like fun, so I thought I'd try it. Everyone has stuff to say for themselves.

I'm not sure exactly what it's all about yet, but my understanding of it is as follows:

1) Someone posts a famous quote by a famous author (normally Orwell) that we've all heard and read fifty times before.

2) Someone then quotes the person who quoted the quote, in the act of quoting said quote.

3) Someone quotes the quoter of the quoter of the original quote, ad infinitum.

So yeah, lot's of fun. Can't wait. 

If I have the time, which hopefully I will, I'll be giving my two cents about politics, literature and any other pretentious bullshit that seems to get the followers round here.

Nice to meet you.