tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post9102366124149752804..comments2024-03-24T11:17:10.498-07:00Comments on Unemployed Imagination.: 2 Minutes. Go!JD Maderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13058074115809620653noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-33406744476646225392016-10-29T07:45:39.630-07:002016-10-29T07:45:39.630-07:00This is intriguing, and I would read more! I rathe...This is intriguing, and I would read more! I rather like the name Rattigan, as well... thanks for sharing!Leland Dirkshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00813252580295128296noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-44952060661931520922016-10-28T18:47:23.751-07:002016-10-28T18:47:23.751-07:00Very nice, Mr. Morris. Very nice, Mr. Morris. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04072039240272422354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-1842525808123940912016-10-28T15:52:06.549-07:002016-10-28T15:52:06.549-07:00Here's hoping you stop in here to find the blo...Here's hoping you stop in here to find the blog broken and lots of entertaining things to read while you convalesce!Ann Catheyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15368130403339572810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-62935372175682770342016-10-28T15:50:58.843-07:002016-10-28T15:50:58.843-07:00"contents may be habit forming" - this o... "contents may be habit forming" - this one phrase sums it up for me. You've written this as if from experience.Ann Catheyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15368130403339572810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-89329279206471320032016-10-28T15:49:15.189-07:002016-10-28T15:49:15.189-07:00I can't pick just one bit of imagery to quote ...I can't pick just one bit of imagery to quote and compliment you on. It's all good, and quite evocative of how most people see the change from fall fun into winter's drab misery. Ann Catheyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15368130403339572810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-26118109362765240452016-10-28T15:45:10.720-07:002016-10-28T15:45:10.720-07:00What David said! Very well done.What David said! Very well done.Ann Catheyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15368130403339572810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-70377864376482548802016-10-28T15:43:32.359-07:002016-10-28T15:43:32.359-07:00I think you have touched on all of us who are writ...I think you have touched on all of us who are writers, especially any of us who have that one story that could be genius, but as with Rick Riordon and Percy Jackson, have been too embarrassed to share it without bring pushed over the edge.Ann Catheyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15368130403339572810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-23420940920162666042016-10-28T15:40:08.865-07:002016-10-28T15:40:08.865-07:00Excellent tension, mindless anger, and burning sha...Excellent tension, mindless anger, and burning shame. I could feel the emotions flux and flow as I read. And *snerk* using a wizened old Indiana Jones as a Gandi/Jesus figure was just the perfect touch!<br />Ann Catheyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15368130403339572810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-90254119732542364072016-10-28T15:37:03.319-07:002016-10-28T15:37:03.319-07:00For an upcoming project:
Commodore Duke paced bac...For an upcoming project:<br /><br />Commodore Duke paced back and forth along the far end of the meeting table. <br /><br />"Everything the Admirality has spent so much time and effort on, all the intelligence gathered over the last few years, is essentially useless to us now. In order to bring the Tiger to justice for his crimes against our sovereign sealanes, we would have to go to war with a kingdom that has treaties practically around the world! The man has been crowned in Eden, have you not grasped this fact? No matter what he has done in the past, how many ships he's sunk or prized, he is out of our reach, legally."<br /><br />"Legally?"<br /><br />"That's what I said, isn't it."<br /><br />"Then you mean-"<br /><br />"I mean nothing. I recommend that we leave him alone. He's off the waters, and has taken his crew into protected status with full pardons of the crown. That blasphemous bastard Kyle Eplay is tucked so tight under Tigris' wing it would take burning down the mews to get at him."<br /><br />"What of the ship herself? Is it possible to take her at sea?"<br /><br />"Possible, but to what end? She's so old, now, that taking her might be an exercise in futility. We would bring her home just to scrap her."<br /><br />"But she's been seen at sea-"<br /><br />"Yes. As a ship of the Eden Navy, you fool. She's not flying a pirates colors, nor is she listed as a privateer vessel anywhere by with Eden by our reckoning. Touch her and those treaties I mentioned come to life and will bring about our downfall. We can't fight the whole world!"<br /><br />The Commodore's pacing became more agitated as he spoke.<br /><br />"My Lord, if I may?"<br /><br />The Commodore waved a frustrated hand at the voice, not really payngn attention to who was speaking.<br /><br />"Might we consider putting this matter into the hands of someone without known governmental ties to our court?"<br /><br />Commodore Duke stopped pacing. He turned to look at the speaker. Rattigan was a new man int his room, but had shown remarkable insight when he chose to say anything.<br /><br />"Speak plainly, Rattigan."<br /><br />"Why, the Church put the man on that throne, did it not? Why can't it remove him as well?"<br />Ann Catheyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15368130403339572810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-81323271572182352312016-10-28T15:34:19.827-07:002016-10-28T15:34:19.827-07:00Thanks! It's inspired by my long term project ...Thanks! It's inspired by my long term project which should see its first book published by the end of the year, Origami Moon, a story of the Japanese American prison camps of World War IILeland Dirkshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00813252580295128296noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-50559163120869328942016-10-28T15:20:33.790-07:002016-10-28T15:20:33.790-07:00Leland, very powerful, poignant and so close to th...Leland, very powerful, poignant and so close to the knee-jerk response of some reactionaries. I particularly like the "...barriers, meant to protect, became weapons. The signs' messages changed from words to bruises." If only more would speak up as the old man did. It's a great piece. <br /> Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04072039240272422354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-1782262751920818042016-10-28T14:18:05.214-07:002016-10-28T14:18:05.214-07:00Love the stunning imagery in this. An old story, p...Love the stunning imagery in this. An old story, perhaps, but told in such a raw and evocative way. "...the hot Santa Ana winds blow like demon breath, Pacific bound..." Incredible. Thank you for sharing. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04072039240272422354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-58350665676921266162016-10-28T14:08:45.368-07:002016-10-28T14:08:45.368-07:00Thank you, David. The whole idea formed from the i...Thank you, David. The whole idea formed from the idea of that balance and the failure of the subject to maintain it. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04072039240272422354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-25722157088390889092016-10-28T13:53:48.071-07:002016-10-28T13:53:48.071-07:00"Dialed back dreams" may be my favorite ..."Dialed back dreams" may be my favorite phrase in this... but it's all so visceral... and nice choice on the song! Patsy Cline is always appropriate!Leland Dirkshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00813252580295128296noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-70787509969131207602016-10-28T13:50:59.947-07:002016-10-28T13:50:59.947-07:00LOL, Dan brings out the best in both of us....LOL, Dan brings out the best in both of us....Leland Dirkshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00813252580295128296noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-16797995989247414312016-10-28T13:50:09.788-07:002016-10-28T13:50:09.788-07:00thanks thanks Leland Dirkshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00813252580295128296noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-64910970455445613432016-10-28T13:44:57.959-07:002016-10-28T13:44:57.959-07:00The television cameras were in place. The minarets...The television cameras were in place. The minarets of the mosque were silhouetted by the setting sun. The protestors and the ones who sought to pray were separated by a line of police barriers and too few police.<br /><br />The signs were crude in both their lettering and their messages. "America is Christian." "Death to Muslims." "Lock them up." The latest terrorist attack had everyone on edge. The smell of adrenalin and testosterone was heavy in the air. Like fire touching gasoline, an explosion was inevitable. The barriers, meant to protect, became weapons. The signs' messages changed from words to bruises.<br /><br />And in the midst of it all, an old man, frail and short, walked to the flash point with dignity and purpose. <br /><br />"Enough!" he shouted in a voice larger than his body. "Enough," almost a whisper the second time, a whisper heard by both sides. "I spent my boyhood in a prison, because I looked like an enemy. These people," he gestured to the Muslims, "these people may look like the enemy to you, but they are not." He paused. "The enemy is within you. A hatred for what is different. A love for easy answers."<br /><br />Still the crowd was silent.<br /><br />"If you feel the need to hurt, even to kill, then take me. But leave them be. They come to pray." The old man bent down to pick something up. When his hat was again visible, he held a stone in his hand; he held it high. "Which of you will be the first to cast a stone at me?"<br /><br />The signs were lowered. The doors to the mosque were reopened. The television cameras were turned off. And a little old man in a fedora whispered to himself, "Never again."<br />Leland Dirkshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00813252580295128296noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-88931317214810797082016-10-28T13:41:15.551-07:002016-10-28T13:41:15.551-07:00Excellent character study! I love this: "...h...Excellent character study! I love this: "...he'd been afraid of falling, but in guarding himself so carefully, he'd kept himself from flying." I love the balance of your sentences.David Antrobushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08486219404600185419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-71683184463398023272016-10-28T13:38:37.693-07:002016-10-28T13:38:37.693-07:00Ha, brilliant! Perfectly timed in terms of how you...Ha, brilliant! Perfectly timed in terms of how you release each piece of information, how each moment of tension gets unexpectedly resolved.David Antrobushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08486219404600185419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-6460351258046347152016-10-28T13:36:40.739-07:002016-10-28T13:36:40.739-07:00Handled sensitively and in such an understated way...Handled sensitively and in such an understated way it has more resonance. Kudos for writing about this, Mark. David Antrobushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08486219404600185419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-19387643614698676592016-10-28T13:33:38.756-07:002016-10-28T13:33:38.756-07:00Unexpected! And heartbreaking.Unexpected! And heartbreaking.David Antrobushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08486219404600185419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-3241063162193340672016-10-28T13:32:08.165-07:002016-10-28T13:32:08.165-07:00Yeah, not easy finding new ways to describe fall a...Yeah, not easy finding new ways to describe fall and the seasons in general, but you nailed it!David Antrobushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08486219404600185419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-14415671483727419882016-10-28T13:31:02.464-07:002016-10-28T13:31:02.464-07:00Damn, brother, we did it again! Both referencing c...Damn, brother, we did it again! Both referencing country songs this time. This place is freaky! :)David Antrobushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08486219404600185419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-531324917738375572016-10-28T13:29:40.062-07:002016-10-28T13:29:40.062-07:00Turns out, this is a bit of a companion piece to l...Turns out, this is a bit of a companion piece to last week's. I also want to make something clear: few if any of my characters are me. I'd say the most devastating thing that could happen to a fiction writer is to be conflated with their freakazoid characters! Just wanted to get that out there, to be clear. :)David Antrobushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08486219404600185419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1128469884487763839.post-66473772364580036692016-10-28T13:27:49.676-07:002016-10-28T13:27:49.676-07:00"At the back of my mind I was always hoping I..."At the back of my mind I was always hoping I might just get by." — King Creosote<br /><br />Up close, the sidewalk looks like a moonscape. Smooth, cratered, starburst, ruined, and lovely. Ganymede, Callisto, Hyperion, Enceladus, the very names so dripping in glamour you could die from speaking them aloud. Hollywood Boulevard: not moons but stars; not wounds but scars.<br /><br />Girl, your own dreams were modest. You breathed in first, then checked your breath, measured the ebb and flow of the seasons, stayed grounded, tough, and mostly sweet as the cornstalks of your Nebraska roots. No risk of supernova flameout. A steady rise, or steady-ish. Extras, bit parts, supporting. Commercials, television, TV movies, even movies. Back and forth. You compromised at times but mostly kept your gaze below the horizon, and bright as that seems in this inferno of light, the heavens are more bright and more perilous.<br /><br />It's an old story.<br /><br />Dialed back dreams or not, the streets can take anyone they wish and utterly consume them.<br /><br />So what if you cut a few corners, blinked at times before the callous scrutiny of sporadic slimeballs, made darker shades of trade you once would have balked at? This is a place where inhibitions come to die. Whatever new tremor, Lord Xanax a fallback safeguard, in this great scheme your sins were nothing. You smoothed your skirt and carried on.<br /><br />If only I'd known. I didn't see the tragic detail in the grain as I watched from afar. Not all stalkers are dangerous—in my case, too shy, too gauche. I loved you for five whole years, yet you never knew I existed. Now it's too late and I was your only friend.<br /><br />He was a cold, bad shadow you didn't recognize. His hunger could never fill itself. He created a debt and when you couldn't pay it, as he knew you couldn't, he took his due with clear-eyed interest, made sure you looked in his eyes as you bled out on the ground, your thick pool of red spreading black in the neon night, blossoming at last into the tragic figure of your secret dreams, you pretty girl from a bathroom stall near Omaha, my lost and fallen moon star, my diffident, selfless love. <br /><br />And you can't hear this, not any more. Your eyes are glazed like silver screens on which ghost players enact their fraudulent dramas; they stare at moonscapes. Your beestung lips are split from your fall. Your emaciated fingers and ragged nails claw the point of a Hollywood star: Patsy Cline, 6160 Hollywood Boulevard. Nocturnal sirens howl all around, those raving wolves; the hot Santa Ana winds blow like demon breath, Pacific bound; a girl laughs, oblivious, like the chiming of ice in a cocktail glass.<br /><br />Dark melodic songs haunt the rooftops.<br /><br />I fall to pieces. I fall to pieces.<br /><br />I touch your cooling skin for the first time and walk away before anyone sees. That touch will prove indelible. Your barely noticed life was indelible to someone, and now I can't tell you.David Antrobushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08486219404600185419noreply@blogger.com