(A Neosurrealist Revising a Will from His Death Bed)

While this neo-surrealist, and formalist, short story dates back to 1986, it was World Storytelling Day 2016 that led me to read it out loud. 

It's definitely a cliche, but this is based on a true story.

The concept of "reunion" can generate a very specific type of anxiety. For me, it has always been an underlying sense of wanting to be there and wanting to be invisible at the same time. That paradox has inspired essays, some short fiction, and this poem. 

For this perspective on how modern horror movies have squeezed out traditional thrillers, I've called the selection a 6-pack while sneaking in a few extras within the anthology film entry. The essay was written in 1999 and shared on an Inappropriate Conversations podcast in 2012. 

Solomon's Song Of Songs

As I've noted in the (old, but) most recent Inappropriate Conversations podcasts, work-life balance and other issues have led to a pause in postings. Work-life balance has shifted again, recently. I can't say yet whether or when this will lead to new episodes of Inappropriate Conversations or Walk The Earth, but I do now that content will be starting to flow again. 

It's a sinking feeling to realize your actions would be the same if you were trying to undermine your values, that just doing what you've always done fits a narrative you would reject if given a chance. Sometimes the matter can be as small as "has my show pod-faded without me realizing?". Sometimes it's a matter of life and death where thoughtless actions line up with death, even unintentionally. Slight differences in choices or behavior can change things for the better. Failing to take such action, whether bold or benign, should lead us to a crucial question: how would I have behaved differently if I'd intended to do such harm?

The politics of abortion has long been a game of state legislatures passing laws they know are unconstitutional. It's a bit like asking a question over and over again when you already know the answer. The situation has now devolved into something worse, an abuse of concepts like "standing" and "damages" in civil litigation. And the current U.S. Supreme Court seems to be aiding and abetting Texas in what could be called, at best, a foolish mistake.

One reason to share this early episode of Inappropriate Conversations is the way the Different Drummer segment relates part of a story I've revisited in multiple ways -- my testimony, so to speak. I intend to "TalkBack" to other episodes in upcoming months that tell the story more directly. Another reason is the topic itself: types and forms of knowledge. Along those lines, new introductory material looks at opposition to vaccination from a perspective that, frankly, presumes hypocrisy. Many of the same people who were enthusiastic about following the ex-president quickly through Operation Warp Speed are the ones who seem more interested in undermining the new administrative branch than saving their own lives. It's almost as if this is more about who is president than about the positive impact of vaccination during a pandemic.