Friday comes around quickly when you’re having fun… Welcome to Microcosms 117, as we move effortlessly — if only! — into the first post of the second quarter of the year. *** Please read the instructions carefully – ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE NEW TO MICROCOSMS. *** As is customary at times like this, I’ve been looking back…
Category: Contest
Microcosms 116
Greetings, my flash fictioneering friends, and welcome to Microcosms 116. 30-MAR saw the birth in 1905 of England’s longest-serving hangman, Albert Pierrepoint. Some of his more famous ‘clients’ include: William Joyce — “Lord Haw Haw” (1946) Timothy Evans (1950) Derek Bentley (1953) John Christie (1953) Ruth Ellis — last woman to be hanged in the…
Microcosms 115
Hello again, flashionistas; welcome to Microcosms 115. PLEASE NOTE: As mentioned last week, New York has moved over to daylight-saving time (EDT) – clocks have gone forward one hour. This means that, here in the UK, the contest is due to open at 04:00 am today (FRIDAY), rather than the usual 05:00 am, and, consequently, closes…
Microcosms 114
Greetings, flashionistas! Welcome to Microcosms 114. PLEASE NOTE: New York has moved over to daylight-saving time (EDT) – clocks have gone forward one hour. This means that, here in the UK, the contest is due to open at 04:00 am today (FRIDAY), rather than the usual 05:00 am, and, consequently, closes an hour earlier at 04:00…
Microcosms 113
Welcome, flash fiction aficionados, to Microcosms 113. ================================================================================== ** READ ME! * READ ME! * READ ME! * READ ME! * READ ME! * READ ME! * READ ME! * READ ME! ** ================================================================================== Once again, a plea for your help to make the administrator’s workload that little bit easier… As most of you will know,…
Microcosms 112
Welcome, flash fictioneers, to Microcosms 112. Sincere apologies for the late posting today; the contest deadline will be put back to 02:00 am tomorrow SAT New York time (EST) ########## Before we get down to the details of this week’s contest, a plea for your help to make the administrator’s workload that little bit easier… As…
Microcosms 111
Greetings, my flash fictioneering friends, and welcome to Microcosms 111. In cricket, a score of 111 is sometimes known as “a Nelson” after Admiral Nelson who is erroneously said to have had “one eye, one arm, one leg” – he was never, however, careless enough to lose a leg! In binary notation, 111 represents the decimal…
Microcosms 110
Greetings, flashionistas, and welcome to Microcosms 110. In late December 2017, I stumbled across the word tsundoku, a Japanese term for the habit of buying books, then piling them up unread. Since I suffer from this affliction, I decided to do something about the backlog. My New Year’s resolution was to attempt to read 50…
Microcosms 109
Hello, flash-fictioneers, and welcome to Microcosms 109. I’m struggling for a theme again this week, so I’ve had to fall back on my usual source of inspiration. Today (09-FEB) is the anniversary of the birth or death of several famous writers: BIRTH 1737: Thomas Paine, English-American philosopher, author, and activist – “Common Sense” (1775-6) 1863: Anthony…
Microcosms 108
Hello, flashionistas, and welcome to Microcosms 108. Today (02-FEB) is Candlemas, the Christian festival of the presentation of Jesus at the Temple, where Simeon recognised the holy infant as the Christ Child. There was once weather lore that clear weather on Candlemas forebodes a prolonged winter. This was extended in the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if…