how ubik should have ended (the writer of instructions, labels and notes)

'we are served by organic ghosts...  who, speaking and writing, pass through this our new environment. watching, wise, physical ghosts from the full-life world... in particular. the writer of instructions, labels and notes...'

this is how ubik should have ended (at chapter 16 with joe chip in a des moines of the after-life). instead PKD must give us a final mcguffin of a chapter (chapter 17). 

in the instructions, labels, notes on the side of medicine boxes, in pre-recorded videos that seem to be live and can answer questions and with which one can carry on conversations, the messages from the other world  leak through.

in the novel everything is reverting to its earlier form. and out here too, capitalism is reverting out of its globalism and multiculturalism phase and back into tyranny and ethno-nationalism. fuck it all. 

horsemouth writes this tuesday evening. the ground is still too muddy to garden effectively. he slipped and fell while trying to tow something heavy. he's merely bruised (that and his ego). thereafter he gave up and sat and read in the sun (he read ubik sf masterworks edition) until he felt sleepy. 

in any event it is probably too early to be gardening. horsemouth knows very little about it. he did well with the runner beans last year (but apparently that's not too hard). we are in that period where it is still too cold (and too muddy) to make real progress. 

when his mum returned from town he took the sacks of corn and layers pellets over to the feed shed and deposited them in the bins. it is growing dark - in a bit he will wander over and lock up and  feed the chickens for the last time today. 

horsemouth has devoted some thought as to whether mike amesbury (the downpuncher) can survive as an MP

as you know horsemouth has an interest in the removal of badly-behaved MPs. 

well amesbury admitted the charge which makes it difficult to appeal. he might appeal the sentence (as unduly harsh - er. which it is)  and if he can get his sentence down under 10 weeks jailtime then it would not automatically trigger a recall petition but he might still be suspended by the parliamentary standards committee.

'a byelection would be triggered if amesbury resigns as MP. as amesbury’s sentence is less than a year, he is allowed to continue as an independent MP during any appeals he might make, but if those appeals are unsuccessful he would then be subject to a recall petition.'

he must appeal the sentence within 21 days of the date he was sentenced. if he appealed after 21 days he have to ask the crown court for permission to do so.

it is only fair to warn people that appeals can take a long time to be heard. and, of course, for the whole time this is going on amesbury is getting his parliamentary salary, his office costs, and his generous MPs pension is getting paid into. 

'the recall petition would be open for six weeks and 10% of voters in his constituency would need to sign it to remove amesbury as MP. if the threshold is met, it would trigger a byelection.'

if the threshold was not met he would be staying on. should it go to a by-election (or should he last out to the next general election) whether he can get re-elected as an independent (and continue his parliamentary career) seems very unlikely but he might be tempted to run just to split the labour vote out of sheer cussedness. (stranger things have been known).

it's a rainy and grey morning. tonight a meeting of the communal endeavour.