Skip to main content

Ah, Humanity! To Gertrude Stein!

Taste: a thick warmth and end-of-harvest spice reminiscent of oranges: scotch
Touch: a heavy drunk pulling you down into a leather armchair, let us talk now of safaris, "To Hemmingway!"; on introduction he takes my hand holding it for seconds and seconds, he is holding it chamois soft and it is growing, electrically, warmer. What will happen next? An Argentine Tango? I pull away, and wonder later.
Smell: perfumed fragrance, three floral, chemical layers thicker than the average department store, the duty-free store
Sight the nun in white with a bright pink habit flowing down her back; t-shirts: "Metaphors be with you.", "My Marxist Feminist Dialetic Brings All the Boys to the Yard".
Sound: conversation in an atrium, an indoor fountain burbles; space ray gun warbles, an airport vehicle backing up
Extra: on his deathbed the World War II veteran is asked to remember, "What it is like to kill someone? What does it do to your humanity?" These are questions we need answers to, knowledge we, and our leaders, should share. But the veteran, in hospital, is too tired to respond. He does not wish to answer. He cannot be there on the battlefield anymore. How long has it been? But he tells his nephew one final thing: The men dying, they cried, "Wasser! Wasser!", the word for water. He remembers.; My name is Ele' Chim.; in a dream a loose tooth; the foggy daze of evening airport arrivals distance expands time, it seems we left so long ago

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Thoughts on "Depression Hates a Moving Target": What I Mean by Relatable

Relatable — I used this word in my reviews of Depression Hates a Moving Target   by Nita Sweeney on Goodreads and Amazon . It's a nice word, but overused of late. So, it feels lazy. What do I mean? I connected with this book. It made me reflect more on my own first marathon experience. It made me want to put on my running shoes and head out the door again. In fact, I did. Now, typically, my mental health doesn't hinder my ability to do the stuff I want to do and my body flies under the radar. Still, I also felt goofy stepping out in my running gear a lot of the time. I didn't see myself as a "runner" or an athlete. And, I had no idea if I could run 13 miles let alone 26.2 when I started. More to the point, could I stay moving for the 4+ hours straight it would take to complete the marathon? To do the training mileage, I knew I'd have to run through streets and trails on my own and that made me nervous, too. Waves of grief wash us to strange shores. Whe...

What is Solarpunk? Good question, great answers from our community

What is solarpunk? My fellow Glass and Gardens: Solarpunk Summers authors Commando Jugendstil and Tales from The EV Studio put together this video for the Turin International Book Fair . It features editors and authors from the solarpunk community sharing their thoughts. Together we're imagining optimistic futures based on renewable energy. My soundbite was: "Solarpunk futures are — green spaces with clean water that are pedestrian, collective, feminist, creative communities. And they include non-human animals. " Mary "solarpunk" Shelley cat did a great job (at 6:15) helping from her rather ridiculous cat tree which she absolutely loves. And what better time to wear this solar-colored "Veganism is Feminism" tee from The Herbivore Clothing Company . Seriously. I'm holding a stack of solarpunk books: Glass and Gardens: Solarpunk Summers  edited by Sarena Ulibarri which includes my story "Watch Out, Red Crusher!".  Wings of R...

Springy story review: "State Change" by Ken Liu

Why it springs to mind:  You'll never look at an ice cube the same way again. Where read: In the 2014 Hugo award-winning Lightspeed Magazine , August. Length: 5,194 words Summary: A woman has an ice cube for a soul. Memorable: How the story invites us to think about the shape of our soul, how it (or our perception of it) influences us and how it changes. What ordinary every day object would your soul be? A silver spoon, a beech stick? A great party conversation starter, this. Quote:  “All life is an experiment." Notable:  The protagonist Rina is an avid reader (always a good choice). Pairs well with: T.S. Elliot, Edna St. Vincent Millay Origin:  The story was written in 24 hours based on a writing prompt. (See Author Spotlight: Ken Liu ) About the author: Ken Liu’s debut novel, The Grace of Kings , the first in a fantasy series The Dandelion Dynasty, is due out from Saga Press ( a new Simon & Schuster imprint ) in 2015.