Max stepped out of the store into the evening mist. Half rain, half fog, all discomforting. The clerk hesitated at the door. She replayed the scene in her head searching for the moment of offense but found none. Why had he suddenly scowled, turned and walked out the door?
A limo pulled up and Max got in. On the floor, wrapped in bloody rags, was the man who sold his nephew the heroin. Carlson, the driver, turned to Max smiling the smile that Max so disliked but so depended upon. They left the city in search of some place dark.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Writing update
Last night I actually finally started rewriting my second novel, UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS. It needs tons-o-work but it doesn't suck, which is a good start.
Monday, March 26, 2012
100 Words - Man Enough
Noise and light. Power and glory. Wheel and road. Nightmare visions. Doom is coming for your daughters. Hide them in the basement, no the attic. Get your weapons. Stand your ground. Be the hero of your dreams. Protect the loved ones. Be worthy of their faith. None of your failures matter now. All or nothing. Sainthood or damnation. The razor's edge of fate. The book of life waits to be written. Will children sing your name? Will old women spit on your grave? Only failure can lift this burden from you. What is your comfort worth? Are you man enough?
Sunday, March 4, 2012
A Book Worth Reading
A MIND NOT WORTH CONTROLLING, by Joshua Price
OK, I need to say it, this is a stupid book, and I mean that in the best possible way. I don't think there's a humor writer who didn't write at least one story featuring a silly, incompetent but somehow successful crime fighter. My own attempts featured the oddly-named Captain Calypso who I say humbly never had the gusto or outrageousness of A MIND NOT WORTH CONTROLLING's hero Captain Rescue.
"Where are the bad guys?!" Captain Rescue bellowed. "I will kill them!"
To a fan of stupid heroes, as I am, this is poetry. The plot, the characters and especially the conclusion are audacious and ridiculous. For people unfamiliar with the stupid hero genre, forget it, you won't get it. Though the story may be short enough to survive the average reader's suspension of expectation of seriousness.
OK, I need to say it, this is a stupid book, and I mean that in the best possible way. I don't think there's a humor writer who didn't write at least one story featuring a silly, incompetent but somehow successful crime fighter. My own attempts featured the oddly-named Captain Calypso who I say humbly never had the gusto or outrageousness of A MIND NOT WORTH CONTROLLING's hero Captain Rescue.
"Where are the bad guys?!" Captain Rescue bellowed. "I will kill them!"
To a fan of stupid heroes, as I am, this is poetry. The plot, the characters and especially the conclusion are audacious and ridiculous. For people unfamiliar with the stupid hero genre, forget it, you won't get it. Though the story may be short enough to survive the average reader's suspension of expectation of seriousness.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Book Review: 101 Puzzle Quizes
This book is very frustrating. Not because the puzzles are too easy or too difficult, but because many of the puzzles have multiple correct answers and only the author's intended answer is accepted. This shows a lack of attention to detail, or at least a lack of imagination.
For example: Puzzle number 25 shows three unfolded shapes made up of attached triangles and asks which does not belong. There are four correct answers.
Shape A is the only one where the triangles laid flat form a larger triangle.
Shape A is also the only one where one triangle is completely surrounded by other triangles.
Shape B is the only parallelogram.
Shape C, when folded, does not form a solid object. (the "correct" answer)
This lack of a singular correct answer is a shame because the book contains a nice variety of difficulty and puzzle types.
For example: Puzzle number 25 shows three unfolded shapes made up of attached triangles and asks which does not belong. There are four correct answers.
Shape A is the only one where the triangles laid flat form a larger triangle.
Shape A is also the only one where one triangle is completely surrounded by other triangles.
Shape B is the only parallelogram.
Shape C, when folded, does not form a solid object. (the "correct" answer)
This lack of a singular correct answer is a shame because the book contains a nice variety of difficulty and puzzle types.
100 Words - Nuns and Lizards
Will I ever live up to the poetry of nuns and their dead lizards? Will Sears ever send me the back-ordered instruction manual for the lathe of my imagination? Did my fictional character really kill a woman in the real world in 1987? Will I always envy the mentally disfigured for their VIP status in the barroom of the doomed? The drunk I never became giving me the finger from behind iron bars. Charlie B. spits on my shoes and threatens to kill me but he is old and feeble and can not harm me. The fourth enemy wins again.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
100 words - Blood
I feel it slipping away, becoming aware too late. Past the point of correctability. The numbers fall. Double digits when triple are required. The brain slows. The lightness invades the shoulders. The neck bobs. The sweat comes. Oh God, I'm sweating. I know what's happening. I know how to fix it, but some morbid need stops me. First I have to see just how close I am to falling over the edge. How many points above coma am I? Has the bungee cord snapped? Can I climb back out of the hole my body has dug? The failure of blood.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
