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About me - Budge Burgess

Hello, I'm Budge Burgess, former Probation Officer, now a full-time writer.

I'm developing a website which explains how to change your life - you need to understand the process, you don't need expensive therapy or coaching. My objective is to transform work

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Creative Writing > Novel Excerpts Novel excerpts: Science fiction: 4 of 165
Like Fleas on a Dog's Back - Chapter 1I buried my mother in the garden. She'd tended it for so many years the earth was easy to work. Too easy. The task should've been a penance, as exhausting as the latrine I dug beside the potting shed. Instead, it proved no more challenging than watching a gardening programme on the telly,... More..
Arts & Humanities > Horror, Mystery & Suspense Book reviews: On Writing, by Stephen King: 1 of 17
Stephen King has sold somewhere in the region of four hundred million books, which should equip him to offer some salient advice to would-be writers. "On Writing" is a considered and considerate, not to mention compassionate, digest of such advice.Completed in hospital while King recovered from a near fatal accident - he was ... More..
Hobbies & Games > Video Games (Other) Does violence in video games contribute to real life violence?: 13 of 218
Does the playing of violent video games contribute to real life violence? The unequivocal answer has to be 'probably no'. There is evidence that violent video games can arouse feelings of anger and desensitise gamers to real life violence, that they can increase the violent behaviour of those already habitually violent, but i... More..
Creative Writing > Novel Excerpts Novel excerpts: The rebel: 2 of 29
The pillow talk was coming back to haunt him. She'd been interested, had wanted to get to know him, and he'd spun her line after line. He fancied seeing her again, fancied repeating this performance a few more times. So he'd sold her a tale of his adventures, had painted an exciting picture of himself.Excepting, of cour... More..
Computers & Technology > Computers & Technology (Other) The components of a robot: 1 of 8
The popular image of the robot is probably that of the science fiction android - human-like, super intelligent, highly skilled, and perhaps agonising over its desire to experience emotion.In reality, no existing robot comes close. They're all shapes, all sizes, perform a vast range of functions, have limited intelligence, no ... More..
Arts & Humanities > Awareness & Reality Creative inspiration: Where do our ideas come from?: 6 of 47
Imagine, if you will, the sound of one mind thinking. Are the sounds made up of words or pictures? Do you detect lyricism or cacophony? Can you smell rose blossom or burning rubber?Is the thinker piecing together a string of logical thoughts, assembling a jigsaw, or laying courses of bricks on a wall?Or is s/he randomly searc... More..
Computers & Technology > Computers & Technology (Other) How science fiction has influenced the development of new forms of robots: 1 of 7
The history of robots is not merely an example of life imitating art, it is a tale of technology imitating life. Science fiction brought us the robot, introduced us to the morality of robotics and the question of mechanical consciousness, and has consistently explored the potential applications, and potential dangers, of robo... More..
Other If you could have a one-hour interview with any human being past or present, who would it be?: 33 of 228
Picking a figure from history and speculating on what a one hour interview with him or her might reveal is an old parlour game and the stuff of journalism courses. It's a question, of course, fraught with pitfalls. Should, for instance, you believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the son of god, you couldn't legitimately include h... More..
Creative Writing > Essays Essays: Why I write: 57 of 254
Ghosts can't cross running water, they say, so I sit on the bridge at midnight and watch the rain pass like time. It's an old bridge, 14th century, so it's worn in places. So am I.I sit on the low point of the wall, at a low point in my life. As a child I peered over the wall at this point, gazing down to the waters below. My... More..
Entertainment > Movie Genres A look at robots in popular culture and film: 2 of 8
Popular culture ranges from purist entertainment to allegory and metaphor for philosophical and moral questions. The history of robots in the popular imagination illustrates this.Although there's no universally accepted definition of what constitutes a robot, they're popularly recognisable as artificial beings, capable of rat... More..