In the remote Maine woods, time stops, for a while.
Yoznok
First contact, inspired by the pulp Sci-Fi magazines of the 1950’s. Don’t look a gift-Yoznok in the mouth.
Rubbernecking
In the Covid pandemic, #MeToo still prevailed. But is it also Him Too, or Them Two?
Thin Air
Sometimes the path is so narrow and convoluted that the only option is just to go on.
Eagle Dreams
Everybody wants to fly, and there are so many ways to do that.
Alexia
A familiar familial scene, where everyone has a touch of alexia. (MP3)
Expletive Pizza
Learning to be soldiers, all the boys and girls must also learn to be brave. (MP3)
Everybody Gets a Drum
The drums of war beat in unexpected dimensions of our lives. Some of us march to a different beat, but the message is the same, and it surrounds us all. (MP3)
Driving to Boise
It’s a long, high road across the Wasatch, and the long, high drive takes on a life of its own. (MP3)
Deaths in the Family
The departure of a soul is a great mystery. For some it is tragic, for others mainly confusing, but for the soul departing, it might be magnificent. (MP3)
Beatpiphany
Rolling through his brief beat road trip, one intrepid hipnik finally blows his mind. (MP3)
Barnaby Goes Home
Perhaps we can’t revisit the past, but we can try. And in so doing, perhaps the past can revisit us. (MP3)
At the Chigger Festival
Never underestimate the creativity and dedication of tiny minds. (MP3)
Archive Guy
Sometimes we just put too much pressure on ourselves. Sometimes the help just can’t take it any more. Sometimes we are the help. (MP3)
Another Threnody of Hope
We’re never certain how we feel about one another, but sometimes the answer is as simple as a piece of toast. (MP3)
Underground
We all have our roles to play, and once in a while a streak of kindness, or even nobility, shines through. (MP3)
The Myth of the Long Road
In this modern, secular world, mythic elements lie hidden beneath quotidian disguises, but are nonetheless real. (MP3)
The Meaning of Life
When things go wrong, we look everywhere for resolutions, but the resolution can go wrong, too. (MP3)
The Catastrophe
Karma is unfathomable, they say, but perhaps mischievous is a better word. An unembellished true story of Loki, Kokopelli, or Lila Shakti. (MP3)
The Knock
Do you ever wake up suddenly after hearing a loud sound and discover it was nothing? What if it wasn’t? (MP3)
The Red Nun
When you’re just a boy, your world is full of limits and constraints, but the mysteries and possibilities are unbounded. (MP3)
Monkeytype (Reductio Simiorum)
If enough monkeys on typewriters work long enough, they’ll eventually produce the complete works of Shakespeare. Or will they? (MP3)
Somnium
Don’t you hate it when a story ends with, “It was all a dream?” This story begins there. (MP3)
The Gates
Whatcha gonna do when St. Peter greets you? (MP3)
Rocky Mountain High
They said it was a diatribe. A filibuster against reason, to take refuge in a wall of words against the storm of impressions. Such nonsense, to think words protect against what has never been named! (MP3)
Montague
How much RAM is required to store a person? Once stored there, what will he do? And what will we do with him? (MP3)
Letter to the Editor
It’s hard to get a story published, so you have to seize upon every opportunity to get yourself heard. But that pesky acquisitions editor! (MP3)
Our Lady of the Ellington
We’re all travelers, and some of us never escape life’s long series of lodgings and hotels. But for others, the resolution of a life can take them all the way home. (MP3)
The Beginning
One inquisitive soul, lost in the skein of events and memories, tries to reason its way out to the surface. (MP3)
Winter Moon
In the end, it’s what you’ve done, and what you haven’t done, and none of the above. (MP3)
Möbius Trip
One thing leads to another, usually. But what if it doesn’t? Can the tale still unfold and carry us somewhere? (MP3)
Simultaneity
How does the thinking machinery work? If we observe its mechanism up close, what does it tell us about ourselves? (MP3)
Little Torments
It’s difficult to do what you’re told when they won’t tell you. (MP3)
The Mirror
Desperate times call for desperate measures, but the worst may be just around the corner. Or in your room. (MP3)
Signs
It can be hard to find one’s way in life, but with luck there will be signposts in the fog. (MP3)
Mr. Smith’s Strange Day
Mr. Smith, as usual, is just doing the best he can, like the rest of us, but it’s not always easy to keep it all straight. (MP3)
The Tiger
Logic and imagination don’t always work together, but sometimes you just have to give it a chance. (MP3)
The CD
Sometimes Daniel could get carried away listening to a great piece of music. But this Brahms CD was going much too far. (MP3)
Mistaken Identity
David Byrne once asked, “How do I work this thing?” Turns out that’s a very pertinent question, and for some more than just pertinent. (MP3)
No Brainer
The brain is a marvelous instrument. Where would we be without it? (MP3)
Tiny Sam
We take the simplest things for granted. But maybe it’s not that simple. (MP3)
The Journalist
When the psychology of a great psychologist comes into question, things can get dicey. (MP3)
Perfecter
As society evolves, everyone learns to accommodate. Unfortunately some folks just don’t have the required flexibility. (MP3)
The Manneporte
Where does art start? (MP3)
Sunday Morning
Everyone has his or her section of the Sunday Times, with a little slice of domestic bliss on the side. (MP3)
iProduct Review
The new blog journalism triumphs again with this brilliant unboxing of the latest, latest, latest i-Item of the year. (MP3)
Interview with the Zombie
Not the easiest guest to interview, but with a little heart and some empathy, it’s not all bad. (MP3)
Interview with the Muse
Where does a writer get his inspiration? From his muse, of course. But where does she get hers? (MP3)
Hoobner on the Post
Even a dog’s life has its ups and downs and exceptional dogs are no exception. (MP3)
Hole in the World
Revising someone else’s book can be trickier than it should be, especially with temporary brain damage and a recalcitrant author. (MP3)
Highlights of Henry
Henry’s smart phone is not his friend, but it does its best to add to the confusion. (MP3)
Half-Way There
Space junk isn’t always junk, and not all of it is orbiting the Earth. (MP3)
Glass Onion
Memories aren’t always pleasant, but some of the brightest ones make up for all the rest. (MP3)
Garbage
Watching the world go by outside the house may afford a surprising view of the tireless municipal workers who keep society moving. (MP3)
Writing in Restaurants
Here’s a micro-collection of nano-fiction that takes place in restaurants because, well, there’s a lot of drama in restaurants. If you’re reading this in 2020, restaurants used to be places people went — in groups! — to eat meals together. (MP3)
Fire Circle
The quest for knowledge is as old as humanity. But when the truth is revealed, who can fathom its diversity and depth? (MP3)
Am Not Am
It’s nice to be able to create yourself, but when you do, it’s a good idea to be careful how you handle the result. (MP3)