I don’t have it in front of me, but Jon Stewart, in the Daily Show’s America: The Book said something like this: “The Pilgrims came to America to be free to practice the most oppressive form of Christianity known to man.” The Puritans. Our Christian loving contemporaries should keep in mind that the Puritans were […]

“I have one of two choices — stay in the post office and go crazy … or stay out here and play at writer and starve. I have decided to starve.” –Charles Bukowski I stumbled upon stumble upon tonight. And in stumbling found a quote site. Here are some quotes for posterity. For me at […]

Michael Moore was recently on The Colbert Report (Video). He was on the show to talk about his recent row with CNN. Moore was ambushed by Wolf Blitzer on The Situation Room by a piece put together by Dr. Gupta highlighting “inaccuracies” in Moore’s new movie Sicko. Moore wanted to know what pharmaceutical company’s ad […]

My cousin Jill sent this to me the other day. I’m glad she did. It makes me laugh. I heard it once in a writing class and couldn’t find it. If I ever teach writing I’ll try not to hand out an assignment like this. So thanks Jill! A writing assignment: A professor tells his […]

Her face is gentle. Button nose above smiling lips. Ice blue eyes sparkling in the light. Brown hair pulled back into an effortless ponytail. White neck and teeth and cleavage. She looks as if she doesn’t have a care in the world. Men hope just to hear her laugh. The are blessed if they can […]

July 2007, Little Village. “There’s a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can’t take part, you can’t even passively take part, and you’ve got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and […]

I had to listen to a lot of shit while getting out of the army. The battalion re-enlistment NCO telling me the grim statistics. “Over 85% of the military police who get out are back in a year. It’s not nice out there.” “You know,” I said, “my recruiter told me I had to serve […]

Well, actually I am. For another few weeks. Topeka, to be exact. Home of the crazy Phelps clan. It’s purgatory. I’m moving to San Francisco in a few long weeks. I was getting my oil changed today. I sat in the lobby reading a magazine and a man came in wanting to buy tires. Michelin […]

A writing teacher brought in this list one day. It’s from the article “Lost in Translation: The Workshop” written by Jane Roper and appeared in the May/June 2004 issue of Poets and Writers. It’s a list of language used during a writing workshop. And what that language actually means. I found this hilarious. Enjoy! “I […]

An essay to accompany the thesis “Fratricide” I am not a religious man. Many many years ago, maybe. Not any more. So I think it’s strange I started all this off with a Biblical verse. But I was struck by its appropriateness. “Fratricide” is a story based on an actual event. The actual event ended […]