How maddening to our friend the mollusk subjected every day to that most callous of clichés haunting a bi-valve’s life. Happy as… Each time the bitter oath was uttered, our friend the mollusk shrunk inward, as if he could escape the narrative of fate. If they only knew, he thought. No one should...
Your righteous race to accumulate Good Karma Requires making love And opposing hate This noble social justice quest cannot carve out exceptions To the covenant Between your values and yourself You cannot advocate for the homeless While cheerleading for the Wall Street Banks that put people out of homes You cannot advocate for Peace While...
Garden paradox: no February blossoms without climate change.
Why is this day unlike all the others? Wingless romantics pierce hearts, like Cupid, Who’d make love all year, if he had his druthers. Why is this day unlike all the others? We pair like doves, no need for another’s. Together we’re giddy, deliciously stupid. Why is this day unlike all the others? Wingless romantics,...
When confronted with the immensity of the ocean crashing against La Jolla cliffs craggy like Ireland and the island of Islay refrain from attempting to describe the waves and sky and gulls and wind and salty spray as a poet might using nouns as verbs “the sea lips the shore” “the pelicans wing the coastline”...
The Homeless Metaphor If we’re speaking practically, solving problems then yes, go ahead, you can identify and analyze all the reasons why 40,000 human beings are living on the streets of Los Angeles Mental illness Domestic violence Bad choices over and over Me? Mental illness, for sure I had the crazy idea I was going...
When the witch trials return to this fair land as they do periodically and without warning you’re going to pick me to be the catalytic converter the sparker of the fuse. When you need someone to be the first accuser you’re going to want me then. My name is Sarah. Just like the beggar witch...
Your appetites are aroused again and again. Your passions, your appetites are fed and aroused and fed again. Until you no longer distinguish punishment from pleasure. That is what the Queen wants! You’re taught to worship power. You’re an obedient slave. You understand power. You once had some. And now you serve. You’re a slave...
Nice lady says to me, I’m praying for you. Even though I’m thinking, “If you’re able to talk with God, ask him why he allowed this,” what I say is: I’m praying for you, too. I pray for you. For all of you. All of ya’ll. I pray for you, that you don’t end up...
Actually, no, I would not like to list my grievances as you say. My grievances. No I would not. Please don’t misunderstand. I’m glad the Sociology Department is sponsoring your outreach. Your reaching out. Talking to us. Thank you. Arigato. Yes. Yes. I speak 14 languages, including Tagalog, Malay, Vietnamese and a dialect of Martian....
Comb through Wikileaks carefully enough and you’ll stumble over United States Government documents that make you wonder, “Can this possibly be real?” You realize why the people who run our government want to keep their programs secret: when something is so outlandish that it makes the average citizen think “they’re making this up,” it’s probably easier to just not tell anyone.
Thank you, Edward Snowden! Thank you, Julian Assange!
Don’t worry, reader. You haven’t missed anything…
Writer, composer, record producer, artist, improviser, former television personality, unusually articulate stoner, and generally decent person.
George Saunders writes stories about regular people who aspire to be better. Better fathers, better husbands, better achievers. They almost never succeed. Their heartbreak, their delusions — this is the crux of Saunders’ work, and although his stories are laugh-out-loud funny, they’re never cruel. He writes about America — about us — with unwavering compassion....
Reefer Gladness (2010)
Writer, composer, record producer, artist, improviser, former television personality, unusually articulate stoner, and generally decent person.
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