May 2012 – Starwatcher

So it’s May. The last month of spring. The last month before summer finally arrives and my world begins an inexorable slide into an unpleasant, Stygian heat. The rains of the last month have been a delightful salve to my soul. I like rain. It keeps me cool, it makes me feel clean, it reminds me of a better time. A time when it meant I wouldn’t be dragged outside to play football. May is one of those month’s which fills me with a slight and intangible dread, I’ve always felt that there’s something distinctly suspicious and untrustworthy about it. I’ve chosen not to take a cue for this month’s theme from the month itself, all that would lead to would be thinly veiled phallic symbolism. I’m not sure anyone would enjoy that. So once again I’ve delved into the depths of the Pictonaut image folder in search of something suitably inspiring.

This month’s image is called “Starwatcher” and is the work of the late Jean Giraud, oft known by his pseudonym Mœbius. I’m ashamed to say that until his death in mid-March I hadn’t ever really heard of him. Even once his death hit the news I initially assumed he was the man responsible for the Möbius Strip. I’ve spent a fair while browsing through some of his work. The combination of the clean lines and bright colours really tickle the aesthetic glands of my brain lobes and the level of detail is just mind-boggling. I would hope that you all know the drill by now: look at the picture, look at it really hard, then go away and write a short story about a 1,000 words long. If you get your act together you could easily knock that out in an afternoon and I’m giving you a month. I’m so very generous.

So with the picture at our disposal let’s strap on a big pair of story-boots, sling a rucksack filled with words over our shoulders and go for a pleasant hike through the hills of imagination.

Retro Bagel – I fought the law…

The Rogue Verbumancer – You can meet some really interesting people waiting for a bus.

Nick Convery – Await instructions.

he original blog post responsible for spawning this rampant frivolity can be found here and the post where the entries were originally collated, here.