Being from New Jersey, and of a certain age, it’s practically a moral imperative to like Bruce Springsteen. I imagine it’s similar with Prince in Minnesota or Reba McIntyre in Oklahoma or Pink Lady in Japan. (That sharp, blinding pain shooting behind your left eye is the Pink Lady memory rush I just laid on you.) I think in Springsteen’s case Read the rest of this entry »

Over on Flickr I belong to a group called The Common Threads Project. The project identified 78 universal human behaviors and traits which “bridge the divides of gender, race, creed, culture and class.” Group members are encouraged to post photographs illustrating these traits and tagging them as appropriate. It’s a nifty idea which embodies our commonalities in an effective and occasionally powerful way.

That being said I am not here to post photos, at least not under that oversized umbrella. This isn’t about photography. I’ll leave that to the Flickr group. Instead Read the rest of this entry »

carl’s father

Posted: January 19, 2012 in Fiction
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The bright sunshine filled the summer sky like a blessing. Carl wished he brought his Donald Duck sunglasses, but it was too late now. His father handed the tickets to a man in a blue-striped shirt. The man roughly ripped them in two and handed one half back to his father. “I’ll hold these for safekeeping,” he said evenly and took Carl’s hand in his.

They walked to an escalator, the tallest escalator Carl had even seen. As they began Read the rest of this entry »

First 2012 entry of quick and dirty movie reviews cleverly called “Shorts”. Each review is limited to one sentence not exceeding twenty words. For the complete list of movies reviewed to date please refer to the Shorts page. And away we go!

Dick (1999) – Overlooked and sublime comic gem about two teenage girls, Richard Nixon and Watergate. (3½) – 1/18/12

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) – Riveting, dark and Read the rest of this entry »

no title comes to mind

Posted: January 14, 2012 in Traskland
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Winter’s drought is here. Inspiration’s flood is suppressed behind water tight doors. My imagination is cracked and dry. I am a panting dog, a desert wanderer in search of an oasis. Everything has been stripped, locked down and sealed. Nothing gets in and therefore nothing comes out.

Like an escaped POW I make my way through no man’s land, explosions Read the rest of this entry »

Regardless of what form the higher power takes it does not guide or help us navigate our way through life. We exist in a gigantic cosmic crapshoot with no preconceived outcomes. The future is uncharted until it actually arrives. Fate does not exist, not in the way people describe it. Fate is an Read the rest of this entry »

hiya

Posted: January 9, 2012 in Traskland
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Red and I say, “Hiya!”

That is all.

The unseen are immersed in scurrilous activities. They are working hard on propagating their ongoing and ultimate conspiracy: the conspiracy which makes us think everything else is a conspiracy. But they can’t fool me. I know their game; I sense their charade. Their sleight of hand is Read the rest of this entry »

I'm looking at you

Meet Boomer. Boomer is a freak of nature, a furry ball of chromosome confusion. He missed a step on the evolutionary ladder or, if you prefer, Read the rest of this entry »