October's Business Article

Computer games: what’s next?

by Kevin Watson

Whatever you think of computer games, one thing is certain: they’re big business. The computer game industry is worth more than £18 billion and is growing rapidly. To maintain this expansion, however, the game makers are always looking for new ways to develop their product. Consider, for instance, the recent promotions of games linked to fitness and exercise. What, then, does the industry plan to give us in the future? And how does it intend to make games an even bigger part of our lives?

The Black Cat

by Edgar Allan Poe (edited by Lynne Hand)

FOR the most wild, yet most homely narrative which I am about to pen, I neither expect nor solicit belief. Mad indeed would I be to expect it, in a case where my very senses reject their own evidence. Yet, mad am I not - and very surely do I not dream. But tomorrow I die, and today I would unburden my soul. My immediate purpose is to place before the world, plainly, succinctly, and without comment, a series of mere household events. In their consequences, these events have terrified - have tortured - have destroyed me. Yet I will not attempt to expound them. To me, they have presented little but horror - to many they will seem less terrible than barroques. Hereafter, perhaps, some intellect may be found which will reduce my phantasm to the commonplace - some intellect more calm, more logical, and far less excitable than my own, which will perceive, in the circumstances I detail with awe, nothing more than an ordinary succession of very natural causes and effects.

So cute...

by  Patrick O’Connor

LIKE a cat that got the cream . . .

That neatly sums up the expression of a 64 year old granddad approaching his 40th wedding anniversary who has suddenly found himself a cult figure on British TV.

The E-mail Craze

by Heather Pears

Email has become the most popular way for people to communicate with each other; some say it’s even more popular than using the telephone, which might seem hard to believe until you take a look at some of the reasons why people prefer email to phone calls.

English is Always Changing

by Margaret Watson

I studied linguistics at university. The emphasis was on how language changed over the years from Beowulf to hip-hop.

We are decorating at the moment so old books have been moved and I have in front of me ‘Historical Slang’ - some 50,000 terms, many of them quite crude, that are no longer used by English speakers. Elsewhere I have ‘Hobson, Jobson’ a book of words used in British India – some of which are still in use both by Indians and Brits, but most of which are obscure to say the least.

Football Diary 

by Patrick O'Connor

THE legendary Spurs striker and former TV pundit Jimmy Greaves once said of football: “It’s a funny old game,”   and that has never been more evident than over the last couple of weeks.

October's English Joke of the Month

Here's a selection of Halloween jokes:-

October's English Film of the Month  

How to Lose Friends & Alienate People

A British writer, Sidney Young, struggles to fit in at a high-profile magazine in New York.  He is a disillusioned intellectual who both adores and despises the world of celebrity, fame and glamour. His alternative magazine, Post Modern Review, pokes fun at the media obsessed stars and bucks trends, and so when Young is offered a job at the diametrically opposed conservative New York based Sharps magazine its something of a shock.  It seems Sharps editor Clayton Harding is amused by Young's disruption of a post-BAFTA party with a pig posing as Babe. Thus begins Sidney's descent into success.  What makes the film interesting is it's based on British journalist, Toby Young's, 2001 memoir about his failed five-year attempt to make it in the U.S. as a contributing editor at Vanity Fair magazine.

More here

October's Travel Article

Photo  by Glen Bowman

Whitby's History - Stranger Than Fiction

By Alan Moore

St Hilda's Abbey, Whitby

Even as you bask in the sun on Whitby's sandy beaches, you cannot fail to be aware of the imposing and slightly sinister presence of the ruined Abbey, high on the East Cliff.

October's Advert of the Month

Shreddies - Knitted by Nanas

Click "Read More" for the transcript, but try watching the add first.

Watch it here:-

Shreddies

October's Blog of the month

The Long Stockings - I learnt about Pippi Longstockings on the forum this month.  The result of a Google search was I found this blog.  The blog is written by eight writers who discuss areas of interest to writers and readers of children's and teen literature and the blog is dedicated to Pippi.

October's photo of the month.

Every month I choose a photograph from one of my Flickr groups to appear here.  Hopefully something interesting and informative.

This month's seasonal photo is from 2-Dog-Farm.  It's called "I wonder what the difference between a prickle and a tickle is?"  It shows a cat (Tigerlily) scratching its chin. 

Unfortunately 2-Dog-Farm doesn't enlighten us as to what the difference is, but fear not.  I checked in the dictionary:-

October's English Book of the Month

The Historian

by Elizabeth Kostova

October's Site of the Month

King Poetry - This site was a real find for me.  It contains over 1000 poems by Australian poet Graeme King, with new ones added every week.  My personal favourites are the limericks (see this mont's silly poems and rhymes). 

October's quote of the month.

Every month I choose a quote from people far wiser than me to appear here.

October's Poem of the Month

The Spider and the Fly

by Mary Howitt

English Song Lyrics - October

The Pig Song

(Anonymous)

'Twas an evening in October, I'll confess I wasn't sober,
I was carting home a load with manly pride,
When my feet began to stutter and I fell into the gutter,
And a pig came up and lay down by my side.
Then I lay there in the gutter and my heart was all a-flutter,
Till a lady, passing by, did chance to say:
"You can tell a man that boozes by the company he chooses,"
At that, the pig got up and slowly walked away.

The English Magazine cartoon of the week

Another great cartoon, this time from Bird Breath. You'll have to come back every week, but it's worth it.