125 Extracted Words – The Tease

September 2022

 

 

I write short fiction, flash fiction, essays and novels. This month’s Tease is from an essay in progress.

Humanity is out of balance.

Putin and Russia threaten to defend themselves by nuking their neighbors, even though the fallout would surely blow back on them. Politicians cry for the unleashing of fossil fuel energy to promote their short term political motives. Never mind that such actions only drive us ever quicker to the brink of a global climate apocalypse. Democracy is being threatened, not just in this country, but all over the globe.

The tightrope walker can cross spans hundreds of feet in the air, as long as they remain in balance. Yet, even the smallest obstacle becomes insurmountable, if they do not.

If we are to survive as a species and not destroy this planet in the process, we must regain our balance.

153 Extracted Words – The Tease

August 2022

 

 

I write short fiction, flash fiction, essays and novels. This month’s Tease is from an essay on writing in progress.

When approaching old work that is being exhumed for the purpose of filling the pages of an anthology, how is setting handled? In particular, the element of time within setting.

I recently encountered this difficulty when resurrecting a short story involving the Occupy movement from a decade ago. To change the setting to present day would have made no sense. Nor was the original intent of the piece historical.

I finally decided to keep the time in the piece the same, with the understanding that my audience would now have to recall the Occupy movement rather than simply recognize it as a current event.

Before this experience, I had never consciously considered time as having a dual purpose in writing, both as an element of setting and as an element of context. I hadn’t weighed the implication of the space between when a piece is written and when the narrative takes place.

Have you?

Banff or Banff Part IV

As summer winds down, so does our series on Banff. Just as it was hard to leave this place, it’s hard to leave this four-part picture fest. But we are not sad because we know we can come back any time. Enjoy.

Cheers!

Banff or Banff Part III

Part three of our Banff series features two of the more popular park destinations, Johnston Canyon and Lake Louise. Enjoy the spectacular sights as we did.

106 Extracted Words – The Tease

July 2022

 

 

I write short fiction, flash fiction, essays and novels. This month’s Tease is from a short story in progress.

He ran his wrinkled hand over the bound and tattered book cover. He had never started a revolution, or even joined one. But he was pretty sure that to start anything, you must first begin, and perhaps that was the most difficult task of all.

He opened the cover and was greeted instantly by the dusty musk of library scented pages. “To disable field cannon before capture, drive a spike into the vent, crack the spike off at the limit of it’s exposure and then drive the remaining portion below the surface with the use of a second spike.”

Interesting, if not useful, he thought.

Banff or Banff Part II

We continue with the second installment of our Banff pictorial. What a special place.

Photo Challenge #423

Mindlovesmisery photo challenge.

Different inhabitants, different skyline.

Photo credit, Thorsaurus.

Banff or Banff?

Whether you are speaking about the town or the national park (or both), there’s no denying the beauty of this place. This is the first of a four part pictorial from our recent visit. Enjoy.

123 Extracted Words – The Tease

June 2022

 

 

I write short fiction, flash fiction, essays and novels. This month’s Tease is from an essay/new feature in progress.

Gas goes up in price, new technologies go down in price. Outside a few blips, that has been the norm for most of the twenty-first century. Such inverse relationships beg for analysis, expression in graphs, numbers, and thus, the Tesla/Fuel ratio is born.

What is the T/F ratio? It is the lowest cost for a new Tesla (any model) divided by the latest national average for a gallon of gas. In other words, how many gallons of gas would be needed to trade straight across for a new Tesla.

In January, the TFR was 13,606.79. In May it had dropped to 10,217.72. Given that trend, it could be under 10,000 by the end of August. We can only wait and see.

Green is the Scene.

An unusually wet Spring has extended our Green season in the Inland Northwest.