Skip to main content

Best of 2008: Burning Man, Hawaii, Con Amore

Taste: Pear vodka in the Kyoto Blossom martini; monosodium glutamate is a neurotransmitter; pineapple guava-a small sweet round pear; soft, subtle, woodsy spice, faintly sweet, evocative of squirrels, elves, dryads: cinnamon; grilled butter; mango liqueur; absinthe a distillation of: anise, curry and cinnamon; Carmelita
Touch: hot sliding beads of metal like a snake; tight, hamstrung muscles, after running eight miles and dancing all night; rolling relaxation, the rapid flow of the gyroscope, steady flow of the waves, and mirage-like memory of feeling the flow and tilt of the waves when on the land again like a light, lucid drunk; the lift and rise of the boat; my body alone floating in the sea; my husband's hand; a gentle face massage, light fingertips to forehead
Sight: a fey gothic boy; dimpled flesh twisting in yoga poses; sparks and flame; an athletic 25-year-old man somersaults naked every morning on the trampoline; a blue and white lit weeping tree adorned with paper wishes; lava, steam-billowing, bright orange light flowing into the ocean; hand-sized slim fish flying out of the water: one extends pale wings; the play of light, red maple leaves through a translucent veil, shadows on the window sheer, an autumn day framed by red velvet curtains; a steel pot full of soaked black beans shining purple like gemstones and ready to stew; red strands of saffron twisted and curled like DNA clustered inside thumbnail-sized clear vials like the cheap toys dispensed from in gumball machine
Sound: the onomatopoeia - sursurrus - a whispering or rustling sound; wind and waves and the shuh, shuh, shuh of the boat; mourning doves coo in all my favorite places; inside the digeridoo; drums, cheering, "I'm tripping balls."
Smell: cloves, Djarum cigarettes; his honeyed skin; saffron, cinnamon, cardamom, tumeric, roasted cashews and raisins, curry
Extra: Richard Brautigan's In Watermelon Sugar; Henri Rousseau's The Sleeping Gypsy; Ursula K. Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness and The Dispossessed; H.P. Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness: Carole Maso's Defiance; Don Charles' animal sculptures; Carol Guess' Tinderbox Lawn; sleeping on waves; romance, arms upheld in the shape of the moon; con amore - with love, devotion, zest; bliss on bliss

Comments

Post a Comment

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...
1 comment
Read more

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...
2 comments
Read more

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.
Post a Comment
Read more