Crosstalk by Taz

The following series of articles were originally published in BarrysMag, our local music mag. Intended to give some food for thought, they are not directly about music but they are about life, and life is very much about getting in tune and hitting the right notes in the right place! When we fail to manage that, the resultant discordancy can be pretty painful. The articles are mainly as originally published but there may be occasional minor edits if found to be appropriate. After many years of service to the local pub and music community, BarrysMag folded after October 2017, when Barry and Maggie decided it was time to retire. Crosstalk articles after this time, including the rest of the Story Of Mankind, were published online only. I'd like to say a very big thank you to Barry and Maggie for the idea and opportunity to air some of our content in the magazine. A greatly appreciated publication!

Go To Latest Articles

Time For DNA Registration Of All UK Resident Males? June 2012
Could Have Been Prevented! The Big Deal? Truly Heartbreaking! So Many Instances.

Human Rights? When Is It Right? July 2012
Inhuman Behaviour. A Healthy Balance. Pale Imitation. Do Have A Choice!

Time For A New Political System? August 2012
Little Faith. Pretty Old. Don't Bother Voting. Do What They Like. The Unhappy Button. All The Way To Brussels.

Just A Cold War - But So Nearly A Nuclear Winter! September 2012
Control Freaks. Can't Be Trusted. Game Of Chess. The Legacy Of War. The Evil Empire. One Fine Day.

Religion vs Common Sense October 2012
Damage. Buried Beneath. Truth Should Be The Truth. Gets In The Way.

Capital Punishment - Should We? Or Shouldn't We? November 2012
Makes Perfect Sense. Somewhat Risky. Cosy Prison Comfort. Punishment Should Equal Crime. Ill-afford. Ill-deserved. Appropriate Justice.

The Simple Principles Of Beans And Greens December 2012
Very Simple! Green Space. Many Things. Slayed Green. Used To Be. The Fence. Used To Play. Idiotic Traffic Management. Unappetising Pulp.

The Press For Reform January 2013
Your Private Parts. Every Little Whiff. A Little Respect. Sad Failure. It's Simple! Being Nosey! Off Limits! No Boundaries.

Gay Marriage? Whose Business Is It Anyway? February 2013
A Disturbance In The Force. Like Dressing Up. Can They Really Teach? Twisted Bias. Using God As An Excuse. Whims & Fancies. Not Their Life!

The Crosstalk Project - Part 1 April 2013
A Mixed Bag. Something We Believed In. A Great Asset. A Good Investment? DIY IN The Extreme. Not The Idea!

Do You Wanna Be In My Gang, My Gang, My Gang? May 2013
A Lot To Answer For. Martin's Gang. Split Into Two. That Simple Concept. Conned And Conditioned. Every Aspect. A Very Good Time!

Drugs, Drugs, Drugs! Whose Choice? Who's Right? Who Knows? - Part 1 June 2013
What Do YOU Think? Want To Be Your Mum. Horrendous Problems. Like To Explore. Most Menacing! That Important!

Drugs, Drugs, Drugs! Whose Choice? Who's Right? Who Knows? - Part 2 July 2013
Not Important. Utter Mess! Fascist Dictator. Make It Far Worse! Positive Things. At More Risk. Little Sympathy. Not Responsible.

Drugs, Drugs, Drugs! Whose Choice? Who's Right? Who Knows? - Part 3 August 2013
Persecuted By Society. The Garden Path. Trap. A Reliable Place. Makes Problem Worse. The Truth. Under The Carpet.

War Is Hell! So Why Do We Do It? September 2013
Over The Top! No More war! Stupid Enough. Nobody Wins. Not Upset. Inappropriate. Taken. A Quiet Life. Just Mankind.

University vs Apprenticeship October 2013
Out The Window. Reasonable Balance. Even Better. Today's Opportunities. Less Reward! Mixed Feelings. Expensive lesson.

Slavery And Greed In The Modern Western World November 2013
Disguised. Living Organism. Life Princples. See The Bigger Picture. Greed Is A Disease!

The Wall - A Mark Of Respect For The Psychological Damage Of War December 2013
Everybody Loses. Church Will Not Sin. Kids Of The Day. Faulty In Design? Broken By Battle! No More To Give!

The Price Of Power? January 2014
Bribery & Corruption. Under The Hammer. Great Mart Hatcher. A Few Crumbs. Morally Questionable. Our Energy Company. Essential.

Give Us A Break Brake! February 2014
Beginning Of The End. Love Of Music. Not The Band. Punish The Innocent. Unnecessary Expense. In The Home. More Harm Than Good. What's Left Of It!

A Nightmare On Benefit Street! March 2014
Have It Both Ways. All Too Often. Simply Wrong. Bread & Dripping. Don't Add Up. Imbalanced Society. Greed. Take The P! Less Than Straight!

Changing The World? Never? Or Just A Little At A Time? April 2014
Fairytale Charade. You'll Never Change Things! Pushing People Apart. Peaceful Education. Closer To Home. Using God As An Excuse. Have We Seen Enough?

It's A Free Country! Or Is It? May 2014
Following Orders. Interfering. Led To Believe. Was It An Offence? Misery & Heartbreak. It's Not Your Life! Need To Wake Up! Wouldn't It Be Nice!

The Error In Terror! June 2014
War On Terror. Inevitable Backlash. Always Better. Still Guilty. Holy Land? Everybody Counts. Nothing To Be Proud Of. Manmade Phenomena. No †error.

All That Glitters! July 2014
Freedom To Roam. Fight It! Slip Through The Net. Ultimate Price. Slither Off. Trust The Vicar? Wrong Place. Segregated. Say Nothing. Exposed. Hell On Earth!

The Root Of All Problems - The Road To Hell? August 2014
Root Of All The Problems. Thrust Upon Us. Free To Choose. Our Weakness. How It Should Be. PE ace.
What We Can Do. Definable By Us. Being Able To Forgive. Rather Smile. Promise Of Something.

The Law - Getting It Right! (Is The Law Breaking The Law?) September 2014
Order And Decency. Joint Enterprise. More Of A Crime. Natural Course. Freewill Is Important. Fundamental Right. Gift At Birth.

Blinded By The Light! October 2014
Errors Of Judgement. Own Goal. Use God. Not Perfect. Down To Earth. Inaccurate. Moment Of Passion. The Real Magic. One True God? Flesh Of Illusion. All In The Mind.

The Real Enemy - Misplaced Emphasis - Avoiding The Iceberg - Part 1 November 2014
The Real Enemy. The Common Good. Without War! A Few More Squares. MAD. Help Themselves?

The Real Enemy - Misplaced Emphasis - Avoiding The Iceberg - Part 2 December 2014
Rock The Boat! It Matters Not! Take Over The Slice. Little Memory Stick. It Can Happen!

The Real Enemy - Misplaced Emphasis - Avoiding The Iceberg - Part 3 January 2015
Completely Exposed! That Fatal Night! They Were Warned! Many Lessons.

The Real Enemy - Misplaced Emphasis - Avoiding The Iceberg - Part 4 February 2015
As Cold As Ice! Whole World On Edge! Over The Horizon. Too Late To Turn!

The Creature - Part 1 March 2015
Mankind created the creature to serve him...

The Creature - Part 2 April 2015
but the creature turned the tables on mankind...

The Creature - Part 3 May 2015
becoming a ruthless and domineering monster...

Politicians Years Behind Grass Roots - Part 1 June 2015
Guilty! Cannabis Reclassified. Power Of The Flower. Many People Punished. Making A Hash Of It.

Politicians Years Behind Grass Roots - Part 2 July 2015
Cannabis, Cannabis, Cannabis. People Always Find A Way. The Rub. The Hot Pot-ato. Prohibition Does Not Work.

Politicians Years Behind Grass Roots - Part 3 August 2015
Knowing The Score. Know The Difference. Don't Know The Difference. Acknowledge The Difference. Forced To Backtrack.

Politicians Years Behind Grass Roots - Part 4 September 2015
As Nature Intended. Can b a sin. Let's Get It Right. Interfering Man.

Politicians Years Behind Grass Roots - Part 5 October 2015
Despotic Headmaster. Serious Offence! Rape Is Wrong. We Are Not Alone. A New Approach.

Politicians Years Behind Grass Roots - Part 6 November 2015
The Devil You Know. Innocent Victims. Proper Drug Discrimination. Achieving Change. Benefits For All Mankind.

The Crosstalk Project - Part 2 December 2015
A Bit Of Feedback. Bum Notes. Dragged Into It. Getting In Tune. Turn Up The Volume.

Let's Get On The Beat! January 2016
A Rare Event. Great For The Community. Slated For Being Honest. Let's Not Pretend.

The Wild West! February 2016
Very Ugly Creature. Collective Responsibility. Lives Will Be Wrecked. Wild West Mentality.

Our Criminal Justice System - It's Criminal - Part 1 March 2016
Misplaced Emphasis. What Is A Crime? Easy Pickings. Real Criminal Behaviour.

Our Criminal Justice System - It's Criminal - Part 2 April 2016
Soft As A Sponge. UK Crime Attractive? Two Ways / Two Fingers. Nature Knows Best.

Our Criminal Justice System - It's Criminal - Part 3 May 2016
Trust In Education. A Stitch In Crime. Punishment And Reward. All In The Training.

Our Criminal Justice System - It's Criminal - Part 4 June 2016
Rewarding Crime. Stroll In Prison. Whose Responsibility Is Crime?

Our Criminal Justice System - It's Criminal - Part 5 July 2016
Nurturing Scumbags. Scumbag Rights. No Comment.

Our Criminal Justice System - It's Criminal - Part 6 September 2016
Think The Law Is A Joke. Crime Causes Pain!

Our Criminal Justice System - It's Criminal - Part 7 October 2016
Educate With Truth. Greed Is A Crime. Out Of Balance.

Our Criminal Justice System - It's Criminal - Part 8 November 2016
Healthy Being. Simple Rules. Less Than Qualified!

Vested Interest In The House - Part 1 December 2016
Corruption Rules. The Classic Con. Treachery And Treason. Big Fat Wad. Personal Ambition.

Vested Interest In The House - Part 2 January 2017
A Lie And A Con. The Phew. Carry On Regardless. Not Rocket Science. A Quiet Life.

Vested Interest In The House - Part 3 February 2017
Essential Services. Non-Profit. Name Of The Game. A New Buzzword.

Vested Interest In The House - Part 4 March 2017
Fingers In Pies. War Costs. Scumbags Rule.

Vested Interest In The House - Part 5 April 2017
As Safe As Houses. Supply And Demand. All Time High = All Time Low! The Con Club Benefits!

Vested Interest In The House - Part 6 May 2017
Never Admit. Tussle Of The Worms. Greedy Fat Cats.

Vested Interest In The House - Part 7 June 2017
A Proper Democracy. Breath Of Fresh Air. At Our Expense. Basic Life Principle.

Vested Interest In The House - Part 8 July 2017
Game Of Monopoly. Crucial Considerations. Accountability. Plan ET. All Or None.

The Story Of Mankind - Part 1 August 2017
In The Beginning. Plan ET. Me SS. Natural Adaption.

The Story Of Mankind - Part 2 September 2017
Programming Life. I.C. Artificial Intelligence. C L ever.

The Story Of Mankind - Part 3 October 2017
Play It By Ear. In God's Image. Who Created God? A Simple Formula.

The Story Of Mankind - Part 4 November 2017
Planet Of The Apes. Planet Of The Men. Language And Communication. Controlling Mechanisms.

The Story Of Mankind - Part 5 December 2017
Why Do We Fight Wars? Programmable Devices. Blame God? A Relic From The Dark Age.

The Story Of Mankind - Part 6 January 2018
Leader Of The Gang. Demented Old Man. Eradicating Bugs. Heads Or T ails.

The Story Of Mankind - Part 7 February 2018
Sins Of Our Fathers. All On The Same Side! Tarred By Association. Time For Change!

The Story Of Mankind - Part 8 March 2018
Accident Or Design! Spiritual Being. Earth = Heart. Morally Stunted!

The Story Of Mankind - Part 9 April 2018
Survival Of The Ordinary. Bad Example! End anger. Deviants, Sub-Humans & Mal-Beings. Ants In The Nest.

The Story Of Mankind - Part 10 May 2018
Corrupt Idiots. The Ultimate K.O.rea. Chain Of Command. Profit From War.

The 'ONE' Question - Part 1 March 2022
How Can This Be? The Question Of One? Ripples. They Wouldn't Like It! The Animal Way. No Difference. No Better!

The 'ONE' Question - Part 2 April 2022
The Ordinary People. A Quiet Life. The Land That Time Forgot. Of The Highest Order. Shame! Live Together? The 'ONE' Question!

Man's Abortion? June 2022
Interfering Man! Miscarriage Of Justice! Blame God! Men!!! Machines. Life Technology. Mother's Body. Those Already Here.

The Spice Of Life, Or Death? - Part 1 January 2023
Conflict Of Opinion. A Bit Of Spice. Somewhat Subjective. Flaws. God's Law? Manmade Laws. A Bit Late! Persecution Issues.

The Spice Of Life, Or Death? - Part 2 February 2023
A Very Big Difference. Absolute Pain! Absolutely No Problem! Ramifications & Consequences. There's More. Nothing Nice About Spice! The Spice Of Death!

The Spice Of Life, Or Death? - Part 3 March 2023
Information Accuracy. Par For The Course? Life-Skills Education. The Hard Way! Is An Illness! Human Rights. Tackling Real Crime.

The Spice Of Life, Or Death? - Part 4 April 2023
Uncontrolled Substances. HIGHLY addictive! Learn That Lesson! Stop And Steal. ST ILL!

The Spice Of Life, Or Death? - Part 5 May 2023
Not To Be Sniffed At. STOP DOING IT! Impact? Cost Implication? Danger Attached.

The Spice Of Life, Or Death? - Part 6 June 2023
Help To Lead The Way! Not Your Right! Prejudice. Trade Off. Massive Problem. How God Intended. Persecution. Concluding Considerations. Aims.

Go To Earliest Articles