Short Story – Delicate Negotiations
This week, my story started with the opening line. I mean, it always starts with the opening line. In this case, though, it was the entire genesis of the idea. I just started with a President in the oval office needing to go to do something important.
From there, I just thought about what might make for a very unusual day in the life of the President of the United States. And then I asked myself what it would be like if it wasn’t that unusual at all.
The end result is a slightly silly story about what happens when two different worlds intersect.
As always, I’d love to hear any feedback you might have. Thanks for reading!
Shit that Pissed me Off – 3/25
Microsoft Hired a Bunch of Models in Skimpy Schoolgirl Outfits for an Industry Party
Before I go on my traditional mini rant, let me begin by saying the head of Xbox games, who sponsored the party, and the head of Microsoft both came out saying, in effect, “holy shit was that a horrible decision and we feel like complete assholes and while we can’t actually say we are going to fire whoever put this party together, we are totally going to fire whoever put this party together.”
So I don’t want to pile too much abuse on a company that seems to recognize how stupid it was to host a women in gaming panel on the same day they hired some sexy Catholic schoolgirls to encourage gamer nerds to dance.
I will, however, heap abuse on whoever actually decided to hire the sexy Catholic schoolgirls.
Because what in the hell were they thinking? In a time when their industry is under heavy fire for not really giving a shit about women gamers, they decided it’d be a good time to blatantly not give a shit about women gamers.
I did a Google search for “woman gamer” and found this image. The internet is a strange and wonderful place.
They could have hired ripped dudes to dress up as Italian plumbers for a little gender balance and it still would have been a dumb PR move but probably wouldn’t have resulted in quite the uproar they are currently experiencing.
I realize the return on investment may have seemed lower given gaming is still very much a male dominated industry but when you are throwing thousands of dollars at a dance party for gamers, you may have already been making poor investment choices.
Maybe if it had been a Dance Dance Revolution party for gamers…
PS: After reading this article, I do think it’s important to address the dancers. They were doing a job for which they were hired. There is nothing wrong with that.
Short Story – The Race
This week, I started with the idea of writing about a race. I didn’t know what kind of race it was. I just used the concept of racing as the seed.
I’ve been doing some public readings as a part of the Not So Silent Planet series in the Twin Cities and because that is a speculative fiction series, my thoughts have gravitated towards that genre. So the race became one taking place in space.
Several of my recent stories have trended pretty dark. This one actually bucks that trend.
As always, read, comment, share. These stories may be at mostly an exercise for me but it’s still nice to hear what people think – good or bad.
Shit that Pissed me off – 3/18
Reporter Arrested at Trump Rally For…Doing his Job
This is the kind of thing that happens when your front-runner is a racist asshole*. Thing start to get out of hand.
Am I happy that counter protests turned violent at a Trump rally this week? No. I don’t know if anyone knows who threw the first punch but the point is that nonviolent protest should, ideally, remain nonviolent.
As soon as things get violent, it doesn’t matter who started it. People get hurt.
Note also some of the things that Trump supporters have shouted at this Reporter, who is Indian. Things like “Go Back to Iraq!”
It is possible that the statement was misinterpreted and he was being courted by a travel agent.
Trump is the kind of polarizing figure who tells people it is OK to judge people because their skin is the wrong color. He tells people it is OK to punch someone because they don’t like what Trump has to say.
And look – I know the Republican party is freaking out over the possibility of Trump being their flag bearer but they need to realize that they created this monster. The rhetoric of their party that includes people talking about “legitimate rape” and “religious freedom” is a rhetoric of intolerance that completely undermines any rhetoric about smaller government.
This guy is dangerous. And so are his followers.
Short Story – Black Magic Beans
This week’s story started with the phrase “there are worse things than being poor.”
Typically, I haven’t worked with established stories or characters but when I started thinking about this one, I gravitated to Jack and the Beanstalk. So I went with it.
Mind you, this story takes us into a much more dangerous world than one with giants and singing harps.
As always, these stories are all about exercising my writing muscle every week. Please read, comment, share, and let me know what should change.
Shit that Pissed me off – 3/11
Donald Trump Thinks Islam Hates Us
Trump is like an improvisational comedian who isn’t funny. Any time he says something outrageous, he gets called on it. Instead of clarifying his statement, he simply says “Yes, I totally meant that, AND…”
Then he says something even worse. It would be hilarious were it not for the thousands of people who hang on his every word and totally believe everything he says.
Today, I’m going to say that Barak Obama is a martian!
Does Islam hate us? No. But I guarantee you that the fact Trump has said exactly that and has stood behind the statement is all some of his supporters need to believe something that stupid.
Why, this week a man punched a protester being escorted out of a Trump rally and later said “the next time we see him, we may have to kill him.” He assumed that since the guy was black, he was also probably Muslim and, therefore, ISIS. Was this a by-product of Trump having said he’d like to punch a protestor in the face?
Maybe.
What is truly insane is the idea that people think Trump will make America great again. He’s already made America worse.
Short Story – Ducks in Space
A short story a week is my goal and that is the best explanation as to why I wrote what I’m posting today.
A few weeks ago, I was at an improv show and a suggestion was made (by my son) for the performers to act out a horror movie about ducks in space.
For whatever reason, I used “Ducks in Space” as the inspiration for this story. It is literally nothing like the improv sketch that inspired the title, which is probably for the best.
Instead, it is a story about what would most likely happen were ducks to pilot spacecraft.
Shit That Pissed me Off – 3/4
Cheryl Tiegs Thinks a Plus Sized Model is “Unhealthy”
I don’t know what is more bothersome, the fact Tiegs chose to say this at all or the fact she supported her claim by saying she heard it from Dr. Oz. You know – the same Dr. Oz who regularly supports miracle cures and herbal remedies that don’t work.
He seems like the definitive source to use when discussing a healthy weight. Or health in general.
Speaking as a diabetic, I am well aware that excess weight can be unhealthy. I understand that while fat shaming is a thing and needs to be avoided, there is also a need to talk about the fact that weighing too much can be unhealthy.
Not that I would suggest for a even moment that her weight comes anywhere close to qualifying as “too much.”
But the amount of weight Tiegs carries around (not very much) can also be unhealthy.
When a public figure starts talking about who weighs too much, it makes a difference. Especially to young women who are being told all sorts of things about what their body should look like.
Now I personally don’t have a problem with my doctor telling me I could stand to lose a few pounds because he knows my medical history and makes recommendations meant to improve my overall health. If Cheryl Tiegs showed up and started to talk to me about how much weight I needed to lose, I’d be less inclined to give a shit.
So please, Cheryl, shut up about what other women should weigh. Leave that kind of unsolicited medical advice to Dr. Oz.
Short Story – For All Time
Today’s short story was inspired by this news report of a mummified body discovered in a yacht adrift near the Philippines. I tried to think about what sort of events would lead up to such a discovery and wrote from there.
So this one is super dark. I had a good idea how it was going to end when I started writing.
A lot of my stories lately have been involved with meditations on immortality and the Faustian bargain that is likely to be part of anything that would allow someone to live an extraordinarily long life.
As with all of my writing, I tend to structure them in much the same way I would structure a script. In this case, I can really see this story turning into a radio play. The next step is probably to do that.
Please read, comment, share, or ignore! It’s your life – do what you will with it.
Shit that Pissed me Off – 2/26
John Kasich, the “Moderate” Republican, Just Defunded Planned Parenthood in Ohio
The bill he signed didn’t specifically defund Planned Parenthood. No. That would be too obvious.
It just said public funds will not go to any provider of health services that also provides abortions. Like – you know – Planned Parenthood.
Don’t worry, though! The funds that are no longer going to Planned Parenthood (and other abortion providers but mostly Planned Parenthood) will now go to other clinics that provide health services for women, HIV testing, and other services that Planned Parenthood was doing a great job providing.
Republicans like to say that they support women’s health (as John Oliver pointed out this week), but it really feels like it is “the health of women who choose not to terminate their pregnancy.”
You, young lady, are welcome to all the medical assistance you can afford! Because we aren’t going to pay for it. That’s socialism.
Because if you want to terminate a pregnancy for any reason, your health no longer seems to be a concern. The hate focused squarely on Planned Parenthood (but really it isn’t just Planned Parenthood guys) has everything to do with demonizing an organization that has the balls to perform a legal medical procedure without being ashamed about it.
So while Kasich tries to convince you that he’s a moderate, just remember that he hates Planned Parenthood (seriously – it’s not just Planned Parenthood) just as much as the next Republican Presidential candidate.
He also understands Planned Parenthood just as much as the next Republican Presidential candidate.
Grail Diary 