Mike James: The Monk’s Couch
. Frank The Balloon Man Honestly, he hated children. Hated their laughs and the miniature gaps of their smiles. Hated the clutching need of their fingers. He hated the parents. … Continue reading
Jose Padua: How Does It Feel to Be Loved and All the Other Questions I’ve Ever Wanted to Ask the Armed Cheerleaders of the Corporate State as an Act of Defiance
That night one year ago, after dinner, I was in the dining room talking to my wife Heather when our thirteen-year-old daughter Maggie came in to ask me for help … Continue reading
Ellen McGrath Smith: The ascendancy of the word “Douchebag”
can be attributed to Twitter and other social media. Compared to other obscene slurs predating the Internet, “douchebag” enjoys much more frequency and vehemence. It’s fun and satisfying for the … Continue reading
Gary Snyder: Smokey the Bear Sutra
. Once in the Jurassic about 150 million years ago, the Great Sun Buddha in this corner of the Infinite Void gave a discourse to all the assembled elements and … Continue reading
John Samuel Tieman: A Billboard Not Outside Ebbing, Missouri
A few years ago, my wife and I were driving in Franklin County, Missouri. I saw something off the road, and excitedly said to her, “Honey, look — look at … Continue reading
Audio: Hieronymous Bosch Butt Music
. A 600 year old butt song from Hell. Oklahoma Christian University student Amelia Hamrick has transcribed a piece of music hidden in Hieronymus Bosch’s 16th century painting The Garden … Continue reading
Video: Operatico Politico — Keep Your Ding Dong In Your Pants
. Some really good advice…in Carol format. SING ALONG! Keep your Ding Dong in your pants, And don’t say nasty phrases. To yourself, please keep your hands. We should not … Continue reading
Abby Zimet: Ho Ho Ho Milk-Breath — On Scowling Whining Little Freeloaders
If you haven’t been paying attention: Republicans have been so gung-ho about stripping health care from millions of people and giving tax cuts to a few monstrously rich people that … Continue reading
Richard St. John: Pluto 2
After the action of the International Astronomers Union 8/24/06 . Poor Pluto, icy stone, never so lovely as Venus or possessing Jupiter’s pull. Dragging along your equal moon, that old … Continue reading
Operatico Politico: Rock Opera vs. Trump – Queen Edition — “Alternative Rhapsody”
. Is this the real life? Did he just post that Tweet? Well, it’s been exactly one year since Donald Trump was ‘elected’. To mark the occasion, Operatico Politico’s … Continue reading
Operatico Politico: Rock Opera vs. Trump (Queen Edition)
. Well, it’s been exactly one year since Donald Trump was ‘elected’. To mark the occasion, Operatico Politico‘s new installment of satire is here! This time, we tackle an a capella version … Continue reading
Philip Terman: My Russian-Jewish Grandparents and The Birth Parents of Our Chinese Child Meet at a Café and Discuss My Child’s Future
Schmu-el and Malka and our child’s Chinese birth parents are sipping tea at a café somewhere between the Pale Settlement of Russia and central-rural China. They speak in signs and … Continue reading
Abby Zimet: A Lady of the Most Impeccable Taste
In this dark time of too-few heroes, we pay tribute to Juli Briskman, a working 50-year-old single mom to two teenagers in Virginia who was out biking and brooding on … Continue reading
Eduardo Galeano: A Visit to Heaven and Hell
Mapping Planet Earth Free By day, the sun guides them. By night, the stars. Paying no fare, they travel without passports and without forms for customs or immigration. Birds are … Continue reading
