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October 31, 2008
“Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover”
Scouring my pre-iTunes music collection, looking for blank jewel cases, got me thinking about some old songs I haven’t listened to in a while. Which reminded me of this performance by Sophie B. Hawkins and Melissa Etheridge that I used to have on VHS. (Fortunately YouTube has it.)
Not only is this one of my favorite songs, but this particular clip is one of the most memorable performances I’ve ever seen because “Sophie B. Trouble” (as Etheridge calls her at the beginning of the clip) is so wild and raw. Even Melissa Etheridge looks a little uncomfortable under the white-hot intensity of Sophie’s full-on attention. Etheridge’s performance has the usual “rock-star” power, but it’s decidedly different than Sophie’s personal, singularly focused passion. Seriously, it’s like Hawkins hardly realizes there is an audience or a camera. Her attention is completely on Etheridge. It’s almost too intimate to watch.
Posted by Selena at 01:04 PM | Comments (0)
"Worlds Apart" by J.L. Gadberry
To close out our October issue, here is a modern-day fantasy.
"Worlds Apart"
by J.L. Gadberry
Sarah knows better than to talk to the "crazies" at the mall, and yet there is something almost familiar about the old man...
Posted by Selena at 08:58 AM | Comments (0)
October 27, 2008
"Melusine's Song" by Megan Arkenberg
Here is some new poetry to start off your week. Enjoy!
"Melusine's Song"
by Megan Arkenberg
When you left, my love, I wish you would have taken this mirror with you.
Posted by Selena at 08:50 AM | Comments (0)
October 24, 2008
"Good News from a Foreign Land" by Diane Gallant
Time for some fiction!
"Good News from a Foreign Land"
by Diane Gallant
A father with a heavy heart chooses to leave his home in pursuit of a miracle. But will he find what he is looking for, or only trickery?
You may remember Diane's previous story in MindFlights:
The Shaman's Brother
and two previous stories in DKA:
The Salamander
and
Pilgrims
Enjoy!
Posted by Selena at 12:42 AM | Comments (0)
October 23, 2008
First Rule of Flying
I happened on this at YouTube. It's one of my favorite Firefly/Serenity scenes. I even blogged about it once.
In this scene, Mal explains that the first rule of flying is love:
"You can learn all the math in the ‘verse, but you take a boat in the air that you don’t have love, she’ll shake you off just as sure as a turn in the worlds. Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down. Tells you she’s hurtin’ before she keens. Makes her home…"
Posted by Selena at 09:05 AM | Comments (0)
October 20, 2008
"Alabaster" by Lyn C. A. Gardner
Welcome to New Poetry Monday. Here is the special of the day:
"Alabaster"
by Lyn C. A. Gardner
In deep-space exile from their dying civilization, a wedded couple makes their final promise...
Posted by Selena at 08:33 AM | Comments (0)
October 17, 2008
"Gods of War" by R. Jean Mathieu
Here is some science fiction for your weekend reading. Enjoy!
"Gods of War"
by R. Jean Mathieu
When everything collapses, swept away in an angry red dust, what makes you hang on, cling to life?
Posted by Selena at 08:27 AM | Comments (0)
October 13, 2008
"The Minstrel Addresses Her Audience" by Megan A.
Time for some new poetry...
"The Minstrel Addresses Her Audience - Six Ways of Looking at a Hero"
by Megan Arkenberg
Would you be more surprised if I told you they were prince and princess...
Posted by Selena at 09:33 AM | Comments (0)
October 11, 2008
In a Cooking Mood
I am in a cooking mood. (It rarely happens, so I tend to run with it with it does.)
For dinner I've got Barbecued Cocktail Meatballs cooking in the crockpot. (I'll have them with some egg noodles. Yum.)
And for lunch, I finally got the nerve to try to make that Spanish Omelet recipe I've had for ages. (Which reminds me that I can never spell omelet correctly the first time. Uggh.)
I was going to make this turkey apple panini that I just found a recipe for. It reminded me of the delicious Edgar Allan Poe sandwich I used to get at the Footnotes café at Olsson's back home. (What?! Huh? Olsson's is closed now. I just learned that from their website. Bummer.) I was really looking forward to that sandwich, but I forgot to get green apples at the store. What a let-down! Ah well, another day for the panini then.
Huh. I wonder if my love of food has something to do with why it's so hard for me to lose weight. ;) Guess I better get on the treadmill and work some of it off.
Posted by Selena at 12:59 PM | Comments (0)
Quote of the Day from "If the Buddha Got Stuck"
Today's quote is from If the Buddha Got Stuck by Charlotte Kasl, Ph.D.
"The human mind likes a strange idea as little as the body like a strange protein and resists it with a similar energy."
- W. I. Beveridge, Scientist
It's a cool book so far.
Posted by Selena at 12:33 PM | Comments (0)
October 10, 2008
"Unplugged" by Kristal M. Johnson
This story took second place in the Writer's Digest Competition last year. Enjoy.
"Unplugged"
by Kristal M. Johnson
In a world that’s escaped into virtual reality, one young mother must learn to survive her colicky newborn, and spend more and more time unplugged in the process.
Posted by Selena at 09:31 AM | Comments (0)
October 06, 2008
"Tanka - Photon Sails" by Joshua Gage
Today's update is the poem that inspired October's cover art. Enjoy!
"Tanka - Photon Sails"
by Joshua Gage
out far enough to spread our photon sails...
Posted by Selena at 08:43 AM | Comments (0)
October 03, 2008
"The Pride of Knossos" by Andrew M. Seddon
This story is an alternate history about two well-known historical events.
"The Pride of Knossos"
by Andrew M. Seddon
The explosion of the isle of Thera in 1600 BC devastated the advanced Minoan civilzation. If it hadn't, might humanity have reached the moon by the time of Christ...?
Posted by Selena at 08:33 AM | Comments (0)
October 02, 2008
RRN: "Steering by Starlight"
Reading Right Now: "Steering by Starlight" by Martha Beck
Actually, I'm not so much "reading [it] right now" as I have just finished it and am going back through to re-read my favorite parts.
This book is so good that it made me want to read everything Martha Beck has ever written. Even before I started the book, I was a fan of Beck's from her columns in Oprah magazine. Now, I love her even more.
I knew the book was affecting me when I caught myself assessing the "shackles off or shackles on" feeling of various moments and situations. And again when I started recognizing the ravings of my inner lizard—that fearful, panicked part of my brain that is always alerting me to potential "lack and attack." (Otherwise known as the amygdala, the fear center of the brain.)
One of the most fascinating parts of the book, for me, was reading about "shaman sickness" (pages 154-159). I have to admit though that I was a little weirded out by how closely I fit the profile of a shaman (or potential shaman). Seriously, the only thing I'm missing is a miserable childhood. I read the list of characteristics usually shared by shamans, contrarians, and medicine people, and my inner lizard started screaming, "Oh, no, you don't! Don't be looking at me like that. I know you are NOT looking at me."
I like this book so much I'm going to have to update my Recommended Books page so I can add it.
Posted by Selena at 08:45 AM | Comments (0)
October 01, 2008
Two Stories Pub'd Today
Wow, it's a "red letter day!"
I have TWO stories that were published today:
"The Thoughts of Cats" in The Lorelei Signal
and
"To Be King" in Static Movement
Please stop by and check them out if you can. Thanks.
Posted by Selena at 06:19 PM | Comments (0)
"Origami Lilies" by Marge Simon
We are starting October with a new cover by one of our favorite artists. (Drop by next week for the poem that inspired this illustration.)
"Origami Lilies"
by Marge Simon
Posted by Selena at 08:26 AM | Comments (0)