new story up online - crossroads

My newest story, Crossroads, is up online at Sein und Werden here. The December issue is based around the theme of the Bauhaus, which was not not only the inspiration for a lot of the cooler things at ikea but also a major architectural/furniture movements that fuses form and function.

According to wikipedia it's:

a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933.

Thanks, wikipedia.

So check out how various short story writers have applied this theme to fiction ....

Keep checking this space - I have another short coming up within the month.

inappropriate suicide limerick #1

there once was a writer named Wallace

in grammar he always took solace

and like former betters

defending their letters

did find that a knot will still fall us

Still the time for a Russian bride

I wanted to link to this old post, because I think it is funny.

I recently went back to the website, and amazingly it is exactly the same as it was before. In fact, even though it is two years hence, Jerry H. still has the same message and same claims that he has been using the site for "four years."

If you have some extra time, check out the video at the bottom left of the homepage.

the most annoying thing is that, since I do Russian literature, the "Anastasia" ad is present at least 95% of the time somewhere in my google reader or my gmail.

[addition: I just had to add the "Anastasia" protocal for dating one of their Ladies:

1. Log In to Anastasia.
2. Go to the Lady’s profile with whom you want to meet with.
3. Select * Date Me on the Lady's profile.
4. To invite your Lady to meet with you, simply complete the Date a Lady Request Form. Your credit card is charged once you request a meeting. Please note you may request a meeting no less than 72 hours before you wish to meet with the Lady.
5. Your invitation will be sent to the Lady for confirmation. If your suggested day and time is convenient for the Lady, you will receive a confirmation.
6. If the proposed time is not convenient for the Lady, you will receive a letter suggesting a more convenient appointment.
7. You may either accept the newly suggested time or offer another.
8. As soon as you and the Lady agree on a suitable appointment, you will receive a confirmation. From that point you proceed to the meeting place at the appointed time.

]

[final addition: why are they always only wearing bras?]

Double glaze the windows
And drink tea by the fire
Bake oatmeal cookies at
Night, to reinforce the smell

Fold crisp newspapers on
Steel Gleaming tops,
Laugh as you keep the cold out
To close your eyes til dawn

Separation – kills – the bones
Of – what the bond – must make
In light of – breathing – even
Just not – when heat – removed

Pity - the broken
pigeon
He'll never heal -
again

Bones can - bend
and brains
Can stick -

Wash you out
to - sleep

On the reject side
of the tape
you hear the scratches
the malaise, rushing -
and the genuine
promise that there always
will be time

How to Meet the Irish in Moscow

In case you were ever wondering:




If you would like to add your voice to the chorus of outrage, please contact the Irish Embassy in Moscow.

Stories up Online --- as of 2021

:: here are the 13-and-counting stories I've placed online so far -- many others are slopping about slush piles::


[13] - > Cafe Two Times Bright

:: John was staring at the classic radiant Russian blonde ...

... [ published at pif magazine ] ...

[12] - > Something Anonymous

:: Liquor Store. 11:30 pm...

... [ published at the prague review ] ...


[11] - > Daniil Ivanovich Kharms

:: Daniil Ivanovich walked into a bar... a fantastic ironic extremist bar ...

... [ published at ironic fantastic #2 ] ...

[10] - > Open-Minded Gentleman

:: The West really must teach Russia more about multi-cultural inclusion. The narrator of this story will start today, in this very subway car...

... [ published at everyday fiction ] ...

[9] - > Tanya's Bare Legs

:: Vodka, cotton panties, and how to be a Muscovite...

... [ published at thieves jargon ] ...


[8] - > Crossroads

:: a surreal take on yard maintenance and bar etiquette, published in the Bauhaus-themed issue ...

... [ published at sein und werden ] ...


[7] - > If Distance Had its Charm.

:: Because if you want the long distance relationship to work, you have to just believe in the future...

... [ published at 42 Opus ] ...


[6] - > In disgrace with fortune and men's eyes

:: the best place to get coffee: clearly in your local suburban department store, one possibly dissolving through time ...

... [ published at sein und werden ] ...


[5] - > Sveta the Flower Dealer

:: Russia's most secret weapon lives in a pedestrian underpass ...

... [ published at underground voices ] ...


[4] - > Three Damsels in the Neon Bath

:: because what happens when you follows the girls from the cafe? ...

... [ published at southern cross review ] ...


[3] - > Wendy's, Honey

:: how a trip to the drive thru can lead you face to face with the Great Abyss ...

... [ published at thieves jargon ] ...


[2] - > Travel Photography

:: maybe they should be suspicious that he's always in the right place at the right time ...

... [ published at contrary ] ...


[1] - > Atomic Age: A Play in One Act

:: two loving parents go on a campus visit to their son's apartment, who is obviously making great strides in graduate school ...

... [ published at ygdrasil ] ...


[0] Previous publications appeared in the now-defunct [ hiss quarterly ] ... [ starfish poetry ] ...  [ aggregated press ] ...

Illusion of Control

I’ll tell you when to breathe –

And fill the space between –

I’ll tell you when you fail me most –

Under weight of apology –

Guts in the Basement

Guts in the basement

That’s alright

They’ll do you for today


What fists can’t carry

Revenge Ignites

Pass it – as a stone

"If Distance Had its Charm" - now online

My most recent short fiction publication, If Distance Had its Charm has just gone live up at 42 Opus.

... Because if you want the long distance relationship to work, you have to just believe in the future...

you are a dirty little french girl

the tired symbols won't wear out
because we call them something else
any day now
you'll cut your skin and just
expect to bleed

new color new year new direction new breath!

the reflection of all this

skin on skin the

sheen of soft angles

I see before me

is probably

a hallucination:

the giddy drive to always

find yourself in others