Sleep Stalking

~ MKW Publishing ~ 4 Comments

A follow up piece to Dreamy, or Terrifying?, speculating on things that might occur while sleeping. Subconscious, possibly supernatural things that seem a bit out of our realm. But maybe that’s because they are out of our realm, and perhaps when we sleep or are in a certain state, we too wander from what we normally consider ‘here’.

A couple of films first of how this thought manifested, the first one has been thought of by me a number of times, and quite possibly countless others over the years. As the concept was a new and shocking one at the time, and of course as I have mentioned before, psychological genius in the horror genre to make you afraid of something you have to do every night. Sleep.

Nightmare on Elm Street – if you don’t know it, look it up and you’ll understand. But for those who do know it, may or may not have been impacted by it, but some certainly were. In my mind rightly so, as the idea that something evil was waiting for you to fall asleep so they could stalk you wasn’t a comfortable one.

Flatliners – although this is about after death and coming back to life, something follows them back. And it is in dreamy or altered states they experience that creepy entity that is now ‘attached’ to them.

Ouija boards – it is said that they open a portal to that other side, but you can’t then see what you summon. And it is said they too can ‘attach’ to people, potentially causing disturbances and curses and even latch on generationally to a whole family. Maybe not entirely sleep related, but if that is a thing, maybe when you are unconscious, you are vulnerable to it.

Succubus and Incubus – both sleep demons and are the male and female counterparts for seducing people in their sleep. Sounds quite stalky to me. But it shows that there have been ideas of something latching onto you in your subconscious state for quite some time. The first mentions they say of them goes back to ancient Mesopotamia circa 2400 BC.

Reincarnation – in some religious faiths, they don’t believe in reincarnation, so if a child talks of a past life and experiences, some believe it’s demonic possession. That demons have accessed the child’s subconscious and are feeding them thoughts.

There is also the subject of night terrors that could be part of this, that it isn’t just sleep paralysis and they aren’t just made-up thoughts or hallucinations. Like I said, it could be that we are extremely vulnerable when we sleep, and not just because of things in the waking world…

(c) K Wicks

Orange Gummy Sweets – recipe

~ MKW Publishing ~ 2 Comments

To make some of your own awesome jelly sweets…

80g orange juice (no bits)

2 tbsp honey

2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp orange extract

9g gelatine powder

Heat the juice, sugar,  extract and honey. Mix the gelatin powder in a small separate bowl with some cold water (about 30ml). Once the sugar is dissolved, take off the heat and stir in the congealed gelatine until fully dissolved.

Use a dropper to transfer liquid into moulds, and then put in the fridge to set for an hour or two. Then enjoy.

You can use apple or strawberry juice, or whatever juice you might like, although some tropical ones don’t work with gelatin apparently.

(c) MKW Publishing

Trucks and Tractors

~ MKW Publishing ~ 2 Comments

It is said you should thank farmers three times a day, or however many times a day you eat. And if you grow your own, then I guess you thank yourself and nature. But in reality, most people rely on farmers for the staple crops of ingredients that go into most food. So, although there are other manufacturers and industries that deal with the raw materials and turn them into something else, it all starts at the farms and in the fields.

Second to them should be the truckers, who then assist to transport all those goods around. And there are many other branches to the overall transport and cargo industry, but they represent the to your door or shop aspect of it.

Farmers represent food and truckers represent transport for this. And I have already written about farmers getting a hard time in Farmer vs Pharma, and a couple of articles about food in You Are What You Eat and If You Control The Food. But many people are aware of just how much our systems are under attack. Meddling beyond the realms of reason into people’s lives, trying to force change of diet, habitat, systems, finances, emotions and thoughts towards things. All in one go. You will eat bugs, you will stay in your 15-minute zone, you shall not travel, you will comply. And all that other rather totalitarian nonsense they keep spouting. As if repeating it makes it sound any better, or that people will ‘friendly up to it’ if they hear it enough.

So, of course, with that being the projected future the meddlers are trying for, those who grow the food and those that transport it would be in the line of fire. And that’s why I always thought, if those two groups start protesting, that’s a really big alarm being sounded for everyone. That corporations have outgrown governments publicly, and they want to decide the next phase of society over the heads of the politicians. As with previously, they want to change the will of the people to fit the products they want us to buy, rather than sell what the people want. My article Consumerism goes into that concept a little more. But this time round, it appears the politicians have served their purpose of appearing incompetent, so the people can be pushed towards ‘a new way’. The levels of sinister corruption are off the charts, and to be honest, they always were, but now it’s out there for everyone to see. If you are paying attention and can comprehend such a large and unfolding plot.

But with so many areas of life under attack, I can understand why many can’t keep up. Or don’t have the mental energy or capacity to fight such an extended battle against the constant barrage. Its psychological warfare on top of the very real and physical changes they are trying to implement. Keeping people distracted and busy with entertainment and worry while they just plough ahead. As a steamroller might, just plodding along, expecting you to move out of the way and then casually crush you if you don’t. No care or concern, just a faceless machine flattening life and society. That’s why they don’t ask anymore, or pretend to do things democratically, they don’t have to, clearly. But where does that leave us? The ones on the ground who are caught up in the changeover and know that it can’t be as it was. Well, I can’t help thinking again about that rogue element…

“They can never really quite factor in all the variables.

Despite the determined consistencies, there will always be the ‘rogue element’ that persists in disrupting the perceived outcome.

Be the rogue element, not a determined consistency.”

(c) K Wicks

Buttermilk Pancakes Recipe

~ MKW Publishing ~ 2 Comments

I found a use for the buttermilk that is left after I make butter, pancakes seemed to be a good choice to try. I have also used it for making southern fried chicken, but prefer a different method, so needed another use for it.

145g plain flour

100 ml buttermilk

60 ml full fat milk

1 tsp bicarb of soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp caster sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp natural banana flavouring (optional)

In a bowl, mix the flour, bicarb, baking powder and sugar.

In a jug whisk the egg, milk and vanilla extract (as well the banana flavouring).

Slowly add the milk mix to the flour mix whisking as you go until it is smooth. Leave for at least 10 minutes before using, I put mine in the fridge for half an hour first.

Put a frying pan on high heat, lightly rub on butter leaving no excess. Once hot (at least two minutes), spoon the mix into blobs leaving enough room so they don’t touch. Leave for 2 minutes and turn over, then after another minute or so they will be done.

Serve with maple syrup and raspberries – or with whatever your preferred topping is.

(c) K Wicks

Monkey Puzzle

~ MKW Publishing ~ 2 Comments

Not the tree, although they really are quite impressive as trees go. This is a wondering of that old argument of where did we come from, or how we came to be as we are. From monkey to man. The oddest idea I was given years ago that has kept rumbling on over the decades, was that we humans are the missing link. That ‘aliens’ tinkered with apes and monkeys and created ‘humans’. It seemed quite out there, not gonna lie, and even though it came from my own parent, I took it with a pinch of salt, yet filed it for later thought. And that later thought came about a couple of weeks ago watching a vid about mythologies and ancient texts, leading onto other things that tie in and spring to mind.

Vanara – “in Hinduism they are known as forest-dwelling monkey people. In the epic the Ramayana, the Vanaras help Rama defeat Ravana. They are generally depicted as humanoid apes, or human-like beings.”

The word monkey as well, I wondered if it represents something else that has been lost to time. Man-key, the missing piece of that evolutionary puzzle we are part of. But not in the way Darwin put forward, more in the alien way as mentioned above.

Monkey (TV Series) – a well-loved and epic series of gods, mythology and magic. The main character Monkey making me think of the Vanara.

Flying monkeys – Wizard of Oz. The terrifying army of winged monkey helpers that the wicked witch had. They were adequately human to be extra creepy, and animal enough to make them seem separated from us.

Planet of the Apes – the classic crossover here, representing completely ‘humanised’ apes, and us humans taking the role of animals.

Makes me wonder if splicing, hybrids, or other creations have come before. Or are they an eery premonition of things to come. Because there are an array of them depicted throughout ancient stories and tales. Centaur, minotaur, gorgon, chimera, vanara, ant people, shape shifters and so on. All sorts of things that only seem to find a place in fictional stories these days. Yet there is something about them, something so very tangible that I can’t help but wonder, what if…

(c) K Wicks