RATHER THAN TRAWL, JUST BOOKMARK THIS PAGE AND CHECK BACK EVERY SO OFTEN.

14 JAN 2024.
And just like that, Amazon have given SOME OF THE PEOPLE the green light. It was supposed to have been out on the 12th December, so it's just over a month late.
I've checked and it's now published here across all territories. Onward.

13 JAN 2024.
Thanks to everyone for the feedback. I appreciate all your support. More about the ongoing situation with the third prequel of RANDOM SKIES called SOME OF THE PEOPLE.
I was told there's a 'technical issue,' which sounds a little bit like a content problem.
This is not surprising when dealing with a politically correct juggernaut like Amazon, but I have left it with them.
Although the i3D library is free of hassle, and there are several other reputable digital distributors, Amazon is a go-to place for new print books. It's convenient, ubiquitous and I believe, was the original purpose of the site back in the last century.
I'm even tolerant of the shenanigans with the rather arbitrary 'rating system' and how the global ratings and reviews can go down as well as up (and even disappear altogether.)
I stopped using the given sales metric as a guide to marketing years ago, as it made no sense. I stick with the financials. My 'ratings' always decrement back to single figures after a while and, where other authors I have spoken to rant about the manipulation of reach and recommendation, I don't really care, as long as the information gets out there. From the look of the inbox, the people that matter are being served.
Let's see what happens next.

01 JAN 2024.
My radar seems to have been functioning correctly.
The third prequel of RANDOM SKIES called SOME OF THE PEOPLE should have been out before Christmas on Amazon.
There has, however, been an 'issue' at Amazon's end. Like a container ship stuck sideways in the Suez Canal, the book is going nowhere. They tell me that the issue is too 'complicated' to solve immediately, but they're 'on it.'
Rather than a straightforward ban, the electronic version was passed through the system after a couple of weeks and is available for download. However, the vast majority of RANDOM SKIES readers prefer the physical artefact and should hang on, pending judgement.
More on this as the situation develops.
Happy New Year, by the way.

30 OCT 2023.
Don't normally do this, but events are moving fast and I'm involved in a lot of things, so I'm resorting to trailers.
The third prequel of RANDOM SKIES called SOME OF THE PEOPLE is out pretty soon. The manuscript is currently doing the rounds of the fact-checkers interested parties and then we're off into the weeds with a rollicking episode that covers March to July 2020. There's going to be a lot to go at, given the events of those days. Hope you enjoy it.

14 OCT 2023.
Comment on Russell Brand? - Goose
The old bait and switch. Brand's early career (and whatever made him famous) was never on my radar, but apparently he was 'edgy' and 'controversial' to keep the publicity rolling. Whether he's done anything illegal I couldn't say, but the media will have cheerled his behaviour, saving scandal for a rainy day, and now Brand has left the reservation, it's time to wheel out the accusations. Just like they do with politicians who need to be reminded who's in charge.
Thanks for asking if I've got any skeletons in the closet that could be used to control my future behaviour. Short answer is no, but today's deep fakery negates the need for grainy old film footage or muffled audio recordings. They just fling mud and see if there are enough gullible people who want to believe it.
Personally, I'm not well known enough for the media to bother making shit up, but if parts of RANDOM SKIES ever get quoted or referred to in the mainstream, I will gladly settle for being called 'vile' and 'unhinged.' It would be a worthy campaign medal.

17 SEP 2023.
I predict a new communications bill to outlaw protocols other than TCP/IP - JFT
It's the sort of thing they would do - if they could. The problem is that a computer is an entire ecosystem (technosystem?) of its own and for as long as we can program on them, they are our servants, not the PTBs. There are multiple efforts to hobble personal computing devices and make them simply a modem to the cloud where you can access permitted services, but control nothing.
In RS, the GLiD is such a device, but let's be honest, the OS has more holes than a colander. I don't see it happening any time soon.

08 SEP 2023.
I'd like to see a discord. This needs discussion - RUBYBYBY
That's the gist of the message. There is a MINDS page for Random where comments and interaction can occur, but as we get closer to 2024, there's less reason to add recent news stories. But nothing to stop Q,A&C among the US3Rs.
Once there's more media about the series itself, there may be more to discuss and add, especially as this time is a watershed moment. 2024 is the big die-off, so (and here it goes onto the internet) I hope this is where the current timeline finally parts company with the RANDOM SKIES line and becomes the science fiction that it was supposed to be back in 1999. If it doesn't, the series will never get finished.

02 SEP 2023.
Impressed by the 'froth of cells' prediction in the news - Key53
Saw it. This refers to the trip round Heng's DNA tanks in Episode 6, when it transpires that they're trying to reinvent 'life' from the primordial soup upwards, because long-term evolution complicates things with parasites and viruses.
The recent news stories are at about the right place in the time-line, though this is only the version for public consumption. The really sick stuff is, no doubt, never talked about. Interestingly, the 'scientists' involved recently were of the opinion that they'd created 'life' through combining amino acids etc., but were not sure what it was or 'what it meant.' I'm sure they'll soon get over their introspection.

31 JUL 2023.
In case something is broken, or has been broken and since it's been fixed, you haven't checked... (are you with me?) all the RANDOM SKIES and both the JACK BARRETT books are up on the i3D publishing library.
If the internet vanished tomorrow, anyone with a functioning computer and a signal could still access the work.

30 JUL 2023.
Video? - HengPilled
Yes, I should never have mentioned it, should I? It sounds so limp to say that 'it's coming,' but it actually is. I keep finding ways to improve what we've done so far, and it goes back on to the factory floor for another go.
RANDOM SKIES is multimedia, same as all my stuff, and therefore it is destined to happen, sooner or later.

28 JUL 2023.
RS has changed my mind about a lot of things... - CA
Though a statement, not a question, and contained within a message of many thoughtful comments, this stood out in the inbox.
Reading things has always changed my mind about a lot of things, too. But perhaps it shouldn't. Although I have laughed at my own youthful naivety before reading some vital book or other, I don't think that any books are a final destination, but are merely stepping stones on the way to your own understanding.
I wouldn't like anyone to think that I am imposing my realities on them, or telling anyone else they are wrong, misguided or uninformed. It's all just data and is best used as part of a calory-controlled diet a springboard to further your own enquiry.
If mention of anything in my books has caused you to check up on something, to read a little deeper or investigate your own hunches, then my job is done. I'm delighted by thinking people who will not be brow-beaten by ideologies steeped in abuse, promoted by intimidation or enforced by violence.
If you should see the world with a more steely eye and strength in your soul, by at least considering some aspect of my own revelation, then I salute you.

26 JUL 2023.
Do you still think the world will go the way of QUORUM? - Unjabbed From The Punjab
This is the common retread of Po's previous comment about prediction. It's worth mentioning again as events get closer to the make or break point.
At the time of writing, there's nothing to unequivocally take the series into its 'parallel universe.' There's still time, though not much, but it's reliant on the two major imponderables.
Firstly, this coming winter is the inflection point for pandemics in the RANDOM SKIES world. Just as the new intake at Manchester University includes Clayton Heath, Kelvin Reid and Samantha Wilshire, the WHO announce a new 'variant of concern' of the coronavirus. What had been 'excess deaths' for the previous two years, would now become a mass die-off in 2024.
Why would they do it? Perhaps to occupy the population of the West in a regime of restricted movement, a crisis economy, and absolute acquiescence to the future horror that is planned.
Secondly, what is to be done about Ukraine? The US and its vassal NATO states have a decision to make. Do they accept that the attempt to destabilise and bring down Russia has, instead, had the unfortunate blowback of accelerating a massive split down the middle of the world? Over half the world's population want to lose the dollar as a common currency and build their own economic and geopolitical powerhouse without the hegemony of the USA and Europe. The BRICS+ nations have the resources (all of them, actually) and now they have the security agreements, the transport and energy structure, and as of the announcement to be made in August, a gold-backed trading currency. That really should be game over for the waning empire of the West.
But what if the USA (and NATO) do not accept it? What if they felt that for the last seventy years they have patiently been getting closer and closer to imposing a world government through the UN and the global banking system, and they are not prepared to stumble at the last hurdle?
Is there a faction within the US security state, so insane and megalomanic, that they would use the mother of all false flags to nuke a vital location and escalate beyond the point of no return? Well, they've miscalculated spectacularly up to this point, so it is entirely possible that they'll risk bringing down the whole tower of Babel as a final act of desperation.
That's where we stand now. Let's watch the unfolding events, and see if there is a peaceful transition of power from West to East... or a future 'where the surely unthinkable has already started to happen'

13 JUL 2023.
What are you reading right now? - SF
Always a good bookworm question, and I can put it alongside the often-asked 'where do you get this stuff from?' and 'hey, I looked that up on the internet, and there really is a...'
The answer, of course, is usually insane. Apart from reference for current projects, there are random finds that sheer curiosity can short-circuit to the top of the list, and the endless corners of history and philosophy that have remained untrodden until now.
Excuses made, these are what's actually on the pile: Louis XI by Paul Murray Kendall; D-Day: The Battle for Normandy by Anthony Beevor; To The Wood No More by Ernest Raymond; The Floating Prison by Gaston Leroux; The Manual of Modern Radio by J. Scott-Taggart.
No point in mentioning any more. Before I get through those, something will have happened to alter or amend the list. You know how it is.

23 JUN 2023.
Prediction or prejudice? - Po
Thanks for your message, Po. It's not easy to distill a fundamental question from it, it's more of a commentary, but it does speak to my motivations around RANDOM SKIES. I've chosen 'prediction or prejudice' from it because I can answer that.
Back in the 80s I wrote some stand alone science-fiction because I was influenced by fifties and sixties stuff as a kid. At the time of Quorum in 1999, I thought it was another one-off. It was only later that other things joined up with it, and it was pointed out to me that, as the years rolled by, nothing was challenging the basic premis of RANDOM SKIES. It only became an expanded 'written for TV' format in the last decade, and now we've been through the first pandemic, I feel I ought to see it through.
Although the series has some uncomfortable hints to current events, I steer away from trying to predict anything and instead let themes develop around the ideas I want to share. My prejudices are not political, social or generational, although we all have unshakeable biases because we can only experience so much of life, and then force the rest into the categories that we've previously created. (Discuss.)
If I could generate a warning from history, it would be to not ignore the spiritual quest for truth. By which I mean, firmly defining an honest take on good and evil, not laziness and narcissim, or short-term gain over sustained long-term wealth.
That thing about 'men who build empires plant trees in whose shade they know they will never sit' is how we all got here. They decided on principles, however subject to future definition they may have been, and they went forward (into the valley of death.) Along the way they shared what they found and what they achieved because of it.
All I'm doing is sharing what I've found. If some of it has echoes in the future, and I hope to God that a hot world war in 2025 is not one of them, then I think my quest for some truths about human nature may be bringing results.

04 JUN 2023.
Spin-off comedy of the Norman Grifting business empire? - Lame Lenny
Do you know, for two very peripheral characters, Grifting and Parsi seem to srike a chord.
I'm not sure why, maybe it's some sort of grounding amidst all the arch villainry, which may sometimes seem difficult to land in reality. They've been mentioned more than once in the chat, along with Grifting's daughter's OnlyFans site, so the question needs addressing.
In short, no, I can't see a way forward for them, although their legacy of mediocrity, self-interest and petty criminality could well be a visible symbol of the ongoing collapse of social and cultural values as the prequel series goes forward.
But I never say never.

31 MAR 2023.
Surely 'the bank' never runs out of liquidity? - RN

Thanks for sending this, but more importantly thank you for being a regular reader who got hold of BINAR! and finished it so quickly. Your kind comments and insights into the episode are very welcome.
Yes, even the earliest rules of Monopoly allowed the bank to invent 'liquidity' on 'pieces of paper' until they have new liquidity, which I suppose amount to bonds.(Made all the more interesting by the current state of US banks and the building storm.)
The rules also state that the person appointed to administer the bank must keep their private funds separate from the bank, and that's a point I certainly could have made.
But, in Everett's example, when did kids care about the rules, and for that matter, when did the proto-central bankers of the Venetian persuasion ever consider that such self-regulation would necessitate inventing such a rule for European banks?
I think they were more interested in the king's creditworthiness (the taxpayers,) and the licence they could obtain to invent further commercial credit by royal charter.
It's a big subject. I edit these books down to form 'episodes' that keep it moving along, but I could have made Monopoly into a whole theme, rather than a passing reference. I think you'll be glad I didn't, or I'd have a major problem with density, and in places I think BINAR! is dense enough. However, the nod to its inclusion was to parallel the overall theme of ruthless people who take control through the aggressive acquisition of all assets.
Hence:
"Once the tipping point was reached, where there was an apparent agreement among the losing players to allow one person to become 'the bank,' then the end of the game was truly in sight. There was no way back for the other players. It was the culmination of the dominant one's crazy power trip..."
I wonder how many people there still are, today, who truly believe that banks, especially central banks, are entirely independent entities, which were magically 'there' since the inception of the game, and that those with vested interests respect the 'sovereignty' of their national ownership?

10 MAR 2023.
The twelfth episode of RANDOM SKIES is out. BINAR! is published here on Amazon.
Hope you like this one. By taking a romp through the mechanics of 'money' and other means of exchange in 2042, the new world order shows the first hairline cracks in their battle for the world. Turning point? Surprises and developments, certainly.
Plenty to consider in 2023 as we stand at the edge of introducing Central Bank Digital Currencies, Internet 2.0, and full biometric surveillance.

28 FEB 2023.
It doesn't take long for things to 'develop,' does it?
While it's true I don't have social media (and don't plan to), there's a video (possibly several) doing the rounds of the 1900 Club in recent session. I've been doing some late night slots as life in the ruins of Britain continue on their downward spiral. Obviously, it's members only as it was broadcast on i3D, and was never meant to hit the regular (i1) internet. I'll post a link if I can find it. Curio value, but I suppose it does link to the RANDOM SKIES prequel series (in a way.)

01 NOV 2022.
I'm late to the questions!
How long does it take to write a RANDOM SKIES book? - DP
It's all in the planning. Notes and ideas can come together over literally years, but when it's all been put onto a timetable of events, the writing takes a couple of months from start to finish. I know where it's going to go, and I'd really hate to get half way through and decide it was going wrong. So, the old saying about 'failing to prepare is preparing to fail' comes to mind.

Are you able to edit the reviews and ratings on the Amazon site? - Gruyff
Gruyff goes on to say that ratings, and sometimes reviews, disappear from the listing.
It's nothing to do with me. I think it's a 'feature' of Amazon. I initially thought that the reviews and ratings would be a good metric for publishing times and content, but I've noticed that, for whatever reason, ratings can go down as well as up! Other writers have complained, but I ignore it now, and rely on the website comments for feedback. Speaking of which...

Do you have social media? - PSH
I get asked this a few times, and the short answer is no. I know of Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (and a few that are too pointless to try and understand,) but I view submitted content as subject to the whims of the controlling government or corporation. I'm not sure what it would take to get me on there.
There is an account on Minds which is just a drop site for stories in the media that relate to RANDOM SKIES, which is quite secure, and you can make an account and comment, but that's it.
My 'never say never' angle, concerning our corporate overlords, is probably most related to video, but currently Youtube is out of the question. It'll be one or more of the (many) others.
Feel free to tell me what you want to know about, and I'll see where it leads.

27 AUG 2022.
The Georgia Guidestones? - RL
That was the entire question! All I can say for certain is that it wasn't me. Though, I would like to think that the holder of the RPG had read YEAR ZERO.
But, you know, book burning (or turning stone tablets to rubble) is not an answer in itself, because you can't kill an idea. I'm unreliably informed that Albert Bourla (Pfizer's chief advocate for injecting you and your family with his chemicals) has vowed to rebuild the stones. I think that clearly sets the message of the Guidestones in context, and justifies YEAR ZERO.

26 AUG 2022.
Where is the Random Skies series up to? How many are in Volume 1, and does that imply a Volume 2 with a similar amount of books? - CF
Over the years of producing media, I learned not to promise too far ahead. Not because I feared under-delivery, but because peoples' patience seemed to instantly collapse into required gratification.
What I will say for definite is that there is a Volume 2. Some people are already aware of this because two episodes of Volume 2 were written after QUORUM in the early 2000s and now await republication in the right place.
In terms of RANDOM SKIES Vol. 1, we've reached a point in the timeline where, after the initial shock attack of the 2020s that brought down the western economies, killed billions with horrific bioweapons and carved up the world between the leading banks and corporations, the beachhead of the New World Order (that was established in land-locked Switzerland(!) ), has started to pick apart its winnings. In doing so, the first major cracks in the global war against mankind start to develop.
Fans of history already know that certifiable lunatics who attempt to conquer the world always find out that it's a much bigger place than they realised. Perhaps our own technocratic madmen will wake up to a similar problem.
CF - Thank you for your comments. It's very flattering to be mentioned alongside great names of epic science-fiction, most of which I grew up reading. I'm not glib with praise. It puts pressure on me not to let the US3Rs of RANDOM SKIES down! There is plenty more to come.

08 AUG 2022.
What is the Plexus? - A-SR
In its simplest form, it's an extensive database. It cross-references the disciplines (a fast and loose description, I know) that I have elbowed my way into, over the years. Namely, Art, Music, Literature and Film (hereinafter called Video.) Each one has sub-genres and grouped products, and the Plexus issues each 'part' a number. It means every sketch, clip, demo and note can be traced back to the 'part' it belongs to. Using steampunk imagery, think of a giant wall of old Post Office-style pigeon holes, but all linked together with a crude wiring system. It's how I find things.

06 AUG 2022.
THE NOTEBOOKS OF PHILIP STREET is published here on Amazon. Poor old Phil is losing the smile on his face. It seems that revelation is not always the sudden electric jolt of running over the mains cable of your electric hover mower. Sometimes it's the slow, but definite understanding that the second No Messin' Breakfast Burrito you had this morning was a terrible mistake. You, kind of, knew it at the time, but you did it anyway.

14 JUL 2022.
Can you reference the questions when you reply? - OM
Yes, that's reasonable. I'll do it in this format.

15 MAY 2022.
RKE - Yes, it's real! How about that? You didn't think I made this stuff up, did you?. A lot of it, yes, but that, no. And thank you for the kind words. It's great when ideas reach their destination.

11 MAY 2022.
ML - We all know about the bots and the spam on there. There are a lot of mosaics that confirm propaganda releases at specific political moments. It's a fast-moving platform where a few sentences pass so quickly that they are almost immediately forgotten. Ultimately, it seems no one who relies on the service actually cares beyond the moment. That's how shallow it is. So, no. This is my guaranteed blue-check spot.

20 APR 2022.
It's only logical that as 'Pandemic 1' winds down (in the public mind), the pressure is maintained from behind the scenes. Eyes have been on that Ukrainian border since 2014, and it is now the excuse for the dismantling of free market supply chains. Prepare for 'programmable money', a financial system not built on credit and tax, but on allowances that expire (probably monthly.) RANDOM SKIES #12 will be on the case.

06 FEB 2022.
Amazon tell me that RANDOM SKIES Vol 1 No.11: DEAD MAN'S SWITCH is now live here. It's a month late, but none the worse for it.

10 DEC 2021.
My continuing and profound thanks to, not only everyone who has supported my book series, but especially to those who send feedback through the publishing portal. I have a small backlog of questions that deserve a universal answer and will post here as soon as I can do it.
Most important question has been, what has happened to the Random Skies series? In short, Episode 11 is coming. Two things have distorted the publishing timeline.
First, it was in late 2018 that I realised that RANDOM SKIES needed to be republished in full. Why will become increasingly obvious. There were enough episodes written at the time to give it a good start, and although the overall series is now completely sketched out, we've caught up to individual episodes.
Secondly, a profound change in all our lives is now underway and time is short. At some point in the indeterminate future, I will get the 'midnight knock' and, like at the end of an academic examination, it will be time to stop writing and put your pens down. Until that time comes, there are a few pet projects that I would like to see completed for my own satisfaction.
Consequently, apart from the ongoing RANDOM SKIES series there will be some oddments and indulgencies appearing, a propos of nothing. I am, however, committed to RANDOM SKIES, its prequels and the media surrounding it. Check this page on your GLiD for upcoming release details.

22 AUG 2021.
When QUORUM was written in 1999, those who deigned to skim it, said 'oh, you're a conspiracy theorist.' In 2021, while the contents of that book are happening, I was asked about my (currently) best-selling book. When I told them about QUORUM, they said 'oh, you're a conspiracy theorist.' Mindsets.

01 AUG 2021.
Thanks to the Woodwork Crew for bumps and shares. In answer to the question: yes.

24 JUL 2021.
Finally, a product 'by popular demand.' The term popular being relative to the readership of RANDOM SKIES. THE END, is a prequel that introduces the main characters from the series. Note: I am tied to the fact that the character of 'Jack Boyce' was a part of QUORUM, written over twenty years ago. I can't go back in time and unwrite him.

15 MAY 2021.
Yes. No Facebook or whatever the others are called. They are out of personal control and insist that you submit to their ideological platform. If you're just sending Auntie Doris a picture of the cat then that's fine. The data implies a casual impermanence. This is my comment feed, and I'll stand by it as a record. I don't have a cat.

02 FEB 2021.
New site posted after years of taking one step forward and two back. Keeping it clean and minimal because no one has any idea just how much stuff is going to find its way on here. If I have anything else to say to the world that would otherwise get lost on Tw*tter or somesuch, it'll probably be here.