Author Archives: thorsaurus
127 Extracted Words – The Tease
April 2024
I write short fiction, flash fiction, essays and novels. This month’s Tease is from an essay in progress.
The list scrolls down my Surface 4 like a nondescript cascade of 5th District primary candidates. Well, in actuality, this is a list of 5th District primary candidates.
Ann Marie Danimus
Carmela Conroy
Jonathan Bingle
Terri Cooper
Brian Dansel
John Guenther
Rene’ Holaday
Jacquelin Maycumber
Jody Spurgeon
Michael Baumgartner
Matthew Gilde
Quite frankly, there’s only one name on that list I know (unfortunately).
Baumgartner. Career politician.
It took all of two seconds for his candidacy to arise after CMR announced her retirement.
I can’t help but sense danger on this list. Democracy is on the ballot and I suspect a number of these individuals would rather it wasn’t. They want democracy to vanish. Autocracy is their jam.
71 Extracted Words – The Tease
March 2024
I write short fiction, flash fiction, essays and novels. This month’s Tease is from a short story in progress.
He approaches the cliffs with vigilant reticence, knowing they are both the harbinger and barrier to his task. Understanding the reward, he is enticed. Sensing the difficulty, he is reluctant.
One moment, he is sure what lays on the other side exceeds his tamped expectations, the next moment, he is awash in anxiety, a sleeper wave of reality slapping him to his knees.
Only by habit does he move forward.
75 Extracted Words – The Tease
February 2024
I write short fiction, flash fiction, essays and novels. This month’s Tease is from an essay in progress.
Chicken before egg. Egg before chicken. Most of us are familiar with the pollotarian koan, but now we must consider embryo or personhood coming first.
The Alabama Supreme Court seems to think they arrive simultaneously.
This raises a great deal more questions than it quells. One thing is certain though … in the time it takes to unwind this twisted knot of legal yarn, many couples struggling to conceive a child will have lost their opportunity.
Deep Creek in late winter
Normally still sleeping under a frozen carpet of snow, climate change brings a new dimension to this inland gorge.
105 Extracted Words – The Tease
January 2024
I write short fiction, flash fiction, essays and novels. This month’s Tease is from an essay in progress.
Change and the modern human – quite often, it’s a complicated relationship. We fear change, yet, it’s the only thing we can really depend on. Well, that and death, and when you think about it, death is just another form of change, perhaps the most traumatic, for an ego-driven self-aware being.
So then, the question becomes, do we really fear change, or are we simply challenged by the inevitable, unavoidable events that face us all?
Whether we employ denial, deflection, drink or some other form of escape, at some point, we will all face this ultimate challenge.
And that is one thing that will never change.
Around the World Without Leaving My Blog – 2023
My year in blogging – in color. 
The following is a cloud I created containing all the names of countries from which someone viewed my blog during the last year. Larger fonts represent nations with more numerous visits, smaller fonts represent those with less. Outside of the anticipated drop-ins from my own U.S.A, the bulk of visits originated, surprisingly, from Asia and the Pacific Rim. Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and India led the way. The greatest climbs came from the latter pair, both jumping from level five to level two. I extend a happy hello to our two newcomers (for this year, not all time) China and Nigeria.
Once again, I am humbled by the breadth of viewership on my tiny little slice of the internet.
As always, my thanks to every visitor, near and far.
Portugal
India Singapore
Trinidad and Tobago Romania
France Germany
China United Kingdom
United States
Australia Hong Kong
Denmark
Japan Nigeria Pakistan
77 Extracted Words – The Tease
December 2023
I write short fiction, flash fiction, essays and novels. This month’s Tease is from a short fiction piece in progress.
Something critical is changing, he thinks. The world’s spiritual axis is tilted ever more radically with each passing news cycle.
The star on the hill, the one that has appeared every Christmas since he was a boy, is no longer displayed. The small bluff is dark, except for the security lights topping the razor wire that surrounds the nunnery. The seasonal illumination has been replaced by “KEEP OUT” signs and depleted uranium crucifixes.
Eventually, all knees bend.
47 Extracted Words – The Tease
November 2023
I write short fiction, flash fiction, essays and novels. This month’s Tease is from a Christmas card in progress.
We send out some cards, less every year, it seems. Messaging, texts and tweets are the new modes of holiday remembrance for those we stay in touch with from afar.
In those cases, the picture is just as significant as the words.
And so, a picture …
Edited by Mjollnir 