Category: Art

  • Short Story Review – “Séance at the Dinner Party” by Tori Palmore

    (The flash piece “Séance at the Dinner Party” by Tori Palmore first appeared at Rejection Letters on November 27th, 2024.)

    Families can suck, and in literature, this is fertile ground for inspiration which has been plowed many times over, and will forever produce material that will be harvested for our consumption. As I get older, family dramas have become more fascinating to me, and Tori Palmore’s “Séance at the Dinner Party” is a absorbing stream of consciousness entry into the field.

    The narrator takes us through their thoughts/experience/emotions at this family gathering, I believe it is Thanksgiving. There is the subtext of death and the loss of a sibling, perhaps the narrator’s safety at these gatherings, and the repetitive “Brother is Dead” adds a staccato rhythm to the prose, keeping the piece unsettled. I appreciated Palmore’s use of short sentences to build tension and keep the emotions and reactions moving forward. The piece never feels like it can stop, that it will perpetually play over and over again, not only in the narrator’s life, but also in the mind, even when they leave this dinner party of family. How the narrator is uncomfortable with their family, how they don’t feel accepted, to the point of micro aggressions signaling that they are not fully accepted. Yet the narrator keeps their rage, even grief, in check. Though the narrator does escape this evening with their family, the ironic knowledge is that this event will repeat itself again.

    Palmore’s “Séance at the Dinner Party” is the type of flash fiction I look forward to reading. It is direct, clear, and puts me in a moment or emotional state that I can relate to, or learn from. And in the piece, Palmore also creates a moment that also feels as if it exists outside of time, which adds to the resonance of the story.

  • ODDS and ENDS: Goodbye Moustache, Super Bowl Prediction, and New Music

    (The best thing you’ve had has gone away…)

    On Monday, February 10th, at some time, I will shave off my moustache. It was a good run. The kid seemed to like it, and the wife didn’t mind. I even found myself twirling it as I contemplated things – like taking over the world. In the end, I think the moustache made me look older, and it defiantly made me look like my two uncle who also had moustaches. You know, as a balding man, it feels weird to not have whole lot of hair on my head, but have a very full amount of facial hair.

    I am picking the Kansas City Chiefs to win the Super Bowl. Not that I think they are the better team, but because I despise the Philadelphia Eagles. There! I said it, will say it again, and live by it!

    I’m really getting into the music of Khruangbin. I saw them on the Grammy’s and totally dig it.

  • Short Story Review: Two Micros by Jeffrey Hermann

    (The piece “Two Micros by Jeffrey Hermann” appeared at Okay Donkey on November 29th, 2024.)

    And these are two truly micro pieces that Jeffrey Hermann created, each under 250 words. The first is titled, “The Voice of God Gives Up the Act,” and the second is, “If it’s Not One Thing it’s a Million Things.” Both are efficient, idiosyncratic works that brought to me such an innocent and lovely feeling of joy in their simplicity. Yet each micro was inventive in its imagination and storytelling, and left me feeling better about life.

    “The Voice of God Gives Up the Act,” spoke to me about how at some point parents stop being authority figures, and become people, and in some cases small people. And also, how our children can become little deities in our lives, but they, like our parents, will inevitably transmogrify to their human form, too. I appreciated that these observations were not at the expense of the gods, but more like melancholic observations. Especially with the little drama of the small god spilling the smoothie, which provided this piece with a slight bit of drama, climax and a touching resolution.

    “If it’s Not One Thing it’s a Million Things,” struck me as more like poetry than prose, but it was prose. Maybe stream of consciousness prose? It was reminiscent of my mind wandering gently as I drift off the sleep. There is an ease to these words, and how the sentences flow together, and one point repeating a phrase, like your brain is stuck on a loop. It felt like this was the memory of a good day, not life altering, but a good day where the little things and are seen and acknowledged.

    Besides enjoying these two micros, I must admit that I was rather envious of Jeffrey Hermann’s talent and skill as a writer. In a very small package, he created two works that caused me to view my day differently, and change my mood. He made me wonder about the people I love, whom I give power over me, and how they will change over time. And all those moments we spend in our short little lives – those moments do mean something.  

  • The Feeling I’m Not Having (Unedited)

    I have been trying all day to come up with a blog, but nothing came to my mind.

    So, looks like I’m doing one of those “Can’t Come Up with Anything,” blogs. I don’t like these, and I seem to do them a couple times of the course of a year.

    It’s a cop out, I know, but here we are.

    I could blame the Alt Side Parking that I had to do this morning.

    Or all the grocery shopping.

    Or the hour I spent playing Axis & Allies on the iPad.

    Maybe the time I spent reading the news.

    Or the I hour I spent with my wife eating lunch and watching the “Mexican Week” episode of GBBS.

    I even found myself reading the Wiki page on Lady Jane Gray… And I’m not sure how I found my way there.

    But most importantly; I’m just not feeling it. Not feeling inspired to read anything, let alone write anything. I tried listening to al the Grammy nominated Best New Artists to see if something would catch me, you know, get something going. It was all good music, but nothing caught.

    So, here I am on the couch at 6:02pm writing about nothing, if only to check the box and say that I accomplished writing a posting a blog today.

    Even if it is a cop out.

  • ODDS and ENDS: Rock Stars in the 70’s, Cologne, and Mr Moustache

    (Won’t you believe it? It’s just my luck…)

    Okay, so if you were to ask me which decade had the better pop/rock music (60’s or 70’s,) I would clearly go with the 60’s. (My Beatles fandom should have given that away.) But what decade was it better to be in a rock band? Well, that has to be the 70’s. The main reason I will say that has to do with how male rock stars looked; which was awful. Sure, some people totally rocked denim suits and had the right hair, but on the whole, honestly, you could look anywhere from “awful” to a “normal guy,” and could be considered a star. You could be a little pudgy, or really hairy – no one cared. It was the “You Be You” decade of rock stars.

    I don’t ware cologne anymore. This isn’t some big choice or stand I am making when it comes to hygiene or scents. No, I have never bought myself cologne. I have had cologne, but that was due to the person I was dating, or wife, buying it for me. It’s just one of those things that never crosses my mind that I need to have. I mean, I think I take pretty good care of my self – again, I believe I have good hygiene. But smell good stuff… Yeah, never think about it. Not that I am opposed, just… you know… Not my thing.

    I am down to the final week of the moustache. Actually, the final nine days. I don’t mind it, but I also don’t think it looks right on me. It’s better than the beard, which I might not go back to for a very long time. I have noticed that people do react differently to me. My guess is that they think I am either a cop or a firefighter. But, more like a cop or firefighter that is compensating for something.