Grumpy Man Flash Fiction Contest

Poets Gone Viral

2008-10-06T19:19:00.000-07:00

This issue features new poems by Nada Gordon, Evelyn Reilly, Julianna Mundim, Emmy Catedral, Enid Bagnold, Richard Siken, Stephen Ratcliffe, Michael Gottlieb, Jodie Childers, Norman J. Olson, Brent Hendricks, Sean Kilpatrick, Tom McCarthy, Stacy Doris, Michael Rerick, Corrinne Clegg Hales, Mark Decarteret, Hadewijch of Antwerp, Darren Wershler-Henry, Letitia Trent, Debra Di Blasi, Laura Elrick, Bruna Mori, Popahna Brandes, Robert Sheppard, Diana Magallan, Kristine Danielson, Ed Higgins, Drew Gardner, Kyle Kaufman, Matthew Thorburn, Tiel Aisha Ansari, Christopher Wells, Vanessa Place, Simon Pettet, Grace Vajda, John Bennett, Ian Patterson, Joseph Hutchison, John Cotter, Cheryl Lawson Walker, Scott Esposito, Jason Nelson, Daniel Kane, Kimo Armitage, Alan May, J.D. Nelson, Bob Hershon, Jennifer Karmin, Kim Rosenfield, Nathan Austin, Pearl Pirie, Rosmarie Waldrop, Tara Betts, Donald Revell, Jim Ryals, Danuta Kean, Jeff VanderMeer, Alfredo Bonanno, Irene Latham, Michael Hennesy, Dick Higgins, John Hanson, Billy Merrell, Sam Ladkin, Jeff Ward, Debra Jenks, K. Lorraine Graham, Kenji Okuhira, Sean MacInnes, Adam Seelig, Steve Halle, David Mus, Monique Wittig, Joyelle McSweeney, Daniel E. Levenson, Luke Daly, Henry Thoreau, John Palattella, Abby Trenaman, Kristen Taylor, Vassily Kamensky, David Jhave Johnston, Gene Tanta, Cate Marvin, Alison Roth, Shad Marsh, Asher Ghaffar, Henry Gould, Justin Theroux, Susan Grimm, Bernard Wilson, Ateet Tuli, Laura Moriarty, Mark McMorris, Cruickshank-Hagenbuckle, Jeffrey Cyphers Wright, William Shakespeare, Nick Trinen, Daphne Gottlieb, Magdalena Zurawski, A.K. Arkadin, Matthue Roth, Douglas J. Belcher, After Bitahatini, Neil Schmitz, Liz Henry, Tom Hansen, Craig Saper, Pris Campbell, Afua-Kafi Akua, Amish Trivedi, Chris Hutchinson, Cath Vidler, Sarah Weinman, A.E. Stallings, Robin Blaser, Roland Prevost, Mac Wellman, Steven Schroeder, Joy Garnett, Mark Lamoureux, Julie Clark, Bob Garlitz, Jeff Hamilton, Kara Dorris, Maureen Thorson, Irv Muchnick, Frank O'Hara, Robin Magowan, C. Allen Rearick, A. J. Patrick Liszkiewicz, Tony Leuzzi, Bhanu Kapil, Sage U`ilani Takehiro, Shellie Zacharia, Lorna Dee Cervantes, Camille Martin, Eliot Weinberger, David Nemeth, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Iris Smyles, Bertolt Brecht, David Forbes, Colin Herd, Sergio Bessa, Zach Wollard, Adam Ford, Claudia Keelan, Hank Sotto, Jamba Dunn, Ken Mikolowski, Jean-Jacques Poucel, Santiago B. Villafania, David Valentinovia, Robert Kaufman, Dominique Meens, Joe Elliot, August Stramm, Justin Katko! Sandra Korchenko, Carol Peters, Lilah Hegnauer, Brian Evenson, Wallace Stevens, Timothy Murphy, Joseph Bradshaw, Nick Courtright, Adam Chiles, James, Kane X. Faucher, David Abel, Ray Succre, Gabriel Gudding, Antonin Artaud, Mark Cunningham, Paul Fattaruso, William Saroyan, Aaron McCollough, Confucius/Ezra Pound, David Antin, Rob Mackenzie, Ryan Eckes, Christian Peet, Peter Riley, Litsa Spathi, Anna Ahkmatova, Mark Tursi, J.D. Schraffenberger, Greg Fuchs, Sean Casey, Orpingalik, Hassan Melehy, Rosemarie Waldrop, Phillip Lund, Adam Aitken, Michael Davidson, Andrea Rexilius, William Allegrezza, Raymond Queneau, Fred Wah, Marcia Arrieta, Elizabeth Cross, Jonathan Greene, Gregory Laynor, Preston Spurlock, Jane Sprague, Kevin Thurston, Stephen Berry, William Bronk, Claudia Rankine, Steve Dalachinsky, Ed Sanders, Sam Rasnake, Wes Smiderle, James Belflower, Simmons B. Buntin, Dolores Dorantes, Emilie Clark, Leslie Marmon Silko, Sarah O'Brien, Jack Tricarico, Gerard Van der Luen, Frances Richard, Charlie Bertsch, Bob Cobbing, Sabrina Calle, Steven Burt, Stephane Mallarme, Bob Marcacci, Edwin Torres, Lois Marie Harrod, Evgeny Maizel, Luc Simonic, Lawrence Durrell, Amanda Davidson, Pendergast, Gregory Orr, Lepson, Joseph Duemer, Eric Alterman, Erin M. Bertram, Leopold Sedar Senghor, Suzanne Buffam, Andy Nicholson, Edward Champion, Katy Acheson, Okey Ndibe, Jennifer Mulligan, Renee Zepeda, Alfred Kubin, Sawako Nakayasu, David Prater, Forrest Gander, Mike Gubser, Virginia Heatter, Leslie Winer, Ed Schenk, Doug Holder, Russell Ragsdale, Jose Manuel Velazquez, Dick Jones, Gerry Loose, Daniel J. Vaccaro, Rafael Alberti, Jeff Newberry, Igor Terentiev, Micah Robbins, Friedrich Holderlin, Arif Khan, Laurel Dodge, Ann White, Nicolas Guillen, John Lowther, Cathleen Miller, Josef Vachal, Chris Moran, Miyazawa Kenji, Robert Fitterman, Norman Mailer, Doris Shapiro, Talan Menmott, Alan Licht, John Godfrey, James Maughn, Anne Heide, Jasmine Dreame Wagner, Lina ramona Vitkauskas, Judith Goldman, Rich Murphy, Halvard Johnson, Ariel Dorfman, Ed Baker, Maryrose Larkin, Sheila E. Murphy, Rosanna Warren, Jean Cocteau, Clarence Major, Eleanor Stanford, Teresa Carmody, Kenward Elmslie, Rainer Maria Rilke, Ryan Walker, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Nava Fader, Rob Budde, Allison Cobb, Robert Roley, Alison Collins, Melissa Fondakowski, Nathan Whiting, Jess Rowan, Cid Corman, Bob Heman, Libby Rosof, Cassie Lewis, Scott Saner, Roberta Allen, Raymond Farr, Anne Pierson Wiese, kevin mcpherson eckhoff, Troy Lloyd, Lindsay Boldt, Andrea Baker, Meredith Quartermain, Richard Meier, Louise Mathias, Joseph Cooper, Lynn Strongin, Outlines, Suzanne Stein, Richard de Nooy, Sherry, Robert Chrysler, Ton van't Hof, Peter Cole, Michael Slosek, June Jordan, Andrew Zitka, Eve Babitz, G.C. Waldrep, Craig Santos Perez, James Sherry, Hugh, David R. Slavitt, Dino Campana, Stephen Berer, Alastair Johnston, Angela Jaeger, Javier Huerta, Jed Birmingham, David Harrison Horton, Alan Baker, Steve Clay, Kevin Coval, Tony Brown, Debesh Goswami, Michael Farrell, Abigail Child, Tanya Larkin, Ron Slate, Emmanuel Hocquard, Lauren Dixon, Jan Zwicky, Andrew Joron, Jessica Wickens, Arthur Sze, David Baptiste Chirot, Steven May, Rob Cook, Ankur Saha, Eric Unger, Chris Heilman, James Purdy, Derek Henderson, James Collins, L.J. Moore, Michael McClure, D.S. Marriott, Michael Heller, Robert Mittenthal, Eileen Tabios, Aki Salmela, Lou Rowan, Jerome Seaton, Lori Lubeski, Paul Hardacre, Rus Bowden, John Wieners, Lauren Levin, Johanna Drucker, Velimir Khlebnikov, Terry Bisson, Martha Plimpton, Miklos Radnoti, Ken Kesey, Matvei Yankelevich, Seth Forrest, Maria Damon, David MacDuff, Kevin Doran, Rob Read, Kristen Gallagher, Rick Visser, Andrei Bely, Sara Crangle, Karl Klingbiel, Jackson Mac Low, Fox, Derik Badman, Paul Griffiths, Oliver Rohe, Mark L. Lilleleht, Michelle Bautista, Monica Schley, Aaron Levy, andrew nightingale, Douglas Messerli, Pattie McCarthy, David West, Jon McKenzie, James Weber, Carlos Rojas, Donatella Izzo, Francois Luong, Daniel Borzutzky, Umm Zaid, Tony D'Arpino, James Tierney, Tao Lin, Rochelle Owens, Amy Friedman, Natalie Zina Walschots, Kayin Wong, Emily Sher, Deborah R. Geis, Kristen Iskandrian, Brother Tom Murphy, Jeremy Gardner, Alcoholic Poet, Chris Mansel, Keith Tuma, Chris Mansell, Rob MacDonald, Yuan Mei, Stanislaw Witkiewicz, Joshua Schuster, Glenn Bach, Maureen Owen, Richard Wink, Guy Bennett, Eric Elshtain, Reza Shirazi, Tonya Foster, Karl Kempton, Allan Gurganus, Alizon Brunning, Christopher Davis, Richard Foreman, Francois Luong, Yvonne Werkman, rob mclennan, Mark McCarthy, Bill Marsh, Tom Devaney, John Most, Nick Moudry, Jennifer Reimer, Charles Baudelaire, Gabriel Pomerand, Crane Giamo, Vernon Frazer, Mike Basinski, Oliver de la Paz, Leon Damas, Mark Ducharme, Jim Leftwich, Eliot Katz, Pat Lawrence, Jeff Daily, Jefferson Navicky, Tom Savage, Legs McNeil, mIEKAL aND, Leevi Lehto, Allyson Clay, Cy Mathews, Dereck Clemons, Clayton Eshleman, Benjamin Parzybok, Kevin Isu, Laura Mullen, Angelo Suarez, Kate Greenstreet, Andrew Burke, Natalie Simpson, Susan Smith Nash, Peter Gizzi, Dana Goodyear, Terence Winch, Sandy McIntosh, Cris Mazza, James Thurber, Sarah O'ÄôBrien, Firoze Shakir, Elizabeth Castagna, D.J. Huppatz, David Koehn, Kyra Saari, Philip Jenks, Martin Corless-Smith, Jacques Leslie, Will Gallien, Mathew Timmons, Eric Lochridge, Buck Downs, Ian Hamilton Finlay, Leonard Michaels, Francis Raven, seflo, Nina Shope, Carson Cistulli, Jennifer Banks, Deborah Burnham, Steve Langan, Rosalva Garcia Coral, Betty Stork, Erica Van Horn, Anna Evans, Lizzie Skurnick, Skip Fox, Olde Quietude, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Jonathan Williams, Sarah Maclay, Pablo Neruda, Richard Tuttle, Fran Herndon, Cheryl Clark, Allen Itz, Derek White, Barry MacSweeney, Eben Eldridge, Sandra Ridley, Normie Salvador, Priscilla Long, Alan Gilbert, Dennis Tedlock, Steve Benson, Brian Whitener, Rene Char, Lawrence Ytzhak Braithwaite, Teresa Ballard, Barbara Henning, Mario Melendez, Jacques Demarcq, Harvey Bialy, Gary Norris, Kerry Shawn Keys, Dawn Pendergast, Aimee Parkison, Michael Cooper, Chris Killen, Les Webb, Roberta Fallon, John Fillwalk, Stephen McLaughlin, Elizabeth Robinson, Bob Heffernan, Zak Smith, Nicholas Lea, Tsering Wangmo Dhompa, Dan Beachy-Quick, Ross White, Stan Mir, Tim Atkins, Poppy Z. Brite, Dylan Hock, Kurt Vonnegut, Mez Breeze, Stephanie Heit, J. Mason, Colleen Lookingbill, John Hall, Michelle Morgan, Alexi Parshchikov, Clemente Padin, Lisa Jarnot, Lance & Andrea Olsen, Mark Wallace, Nancy Kuhl, Xu Smith, Jorge de Lima, Hillary Lyon, Clayton Couch, Gunnar Ekelof, Alex Caldiero, Clifford Burke, Karri Kokko, Brent Goodman, Daniel Clowes, Todd Suomela, Arlene Ang, David McDuff, Bill Sherman, Ezra Mark, Kathryn Pringle, Jem Cohen, Adam Tobin, Thomas Meyer, Clifford Duffy, Anne Waldman, Nancy Shaw, Pilar Olabarria, Chris Maher, Ezra Pound, David Hilmer Rex, Levari, Jerome Sala, Ryan Collins, Alexander Jorgensen, Shouva Chattopadhyay, Linda Susan Jackson, Jonathan Mayhew, Pejk Malinovski, Michael Parker, Claude Simon, Ian Keenan, Peter O'Brien, Jeannie Hoag, Marcel Janko, Beverly Jackson, Loren Webster, Daniel Knudsen, Michael P. Steven, Rose Kelleher, Mare Mikolum, Marcel Broodthaers, Reb Livingston, Steven Lohse, Faye Smailes, Thomas Kinsella, Peter Middleton, Kurt Schwitters, Lou Suarez, Jay Millar, Paul Holman, Michael Palmer, Larry Eigner, Jean-Michel Espitallier, Charles Bernstein, Bill Allegrezza, Tenney Nathanson, Jeff Crouch, Brian Spears, Peter Makin, Lynn Crosbie, Michael Carr, Robinson Jeffers, Fanny Howe, David Vincenti, Erica Wessmann, Lydia Davis, Craig Teicher, Jorge Luiz Antonio, Matt Christie, Jean-Patrice Courtois, Gregory Pardlo, Nathaniel Tarn, Simone Fattal, Orhan Pamuk, Ofelia Hunt, Louise Gluck, David Pavelich, Lanny Quarles, George Seferis, Louise Bogan, Susan Minot, Star Black, Ted Stimpfle, Michael Lally, Sean Whelan, Arlo Quint, Grace Molisa, Jasmine Dream Wagner, Armand Schwerner, Anselm Parlatore, Tom Orange, Frank Kuenstler, Robin Coste Lewis, MacLaren Ross, Nick, Katey Nicosia, Geraldine Connolly, Sharanya Manivannan, Maud Newton, Kerri French, Charles Shere, Stephen Burt, Tony Fitzpatrick, Mark Peters, A. R. Ammons, Jenny Davidson, Tom Hopkins, Laurie Price, Woody Haut, Jim Toweill, Anne Tardos, Ronald Johnson, Will Skinker, Linda Marie Walker, Dave Schiralli, Rachel Talentino, Christopher McVey, Jordan Davis, Chris Tonelli, Patrick Culliton, Michael Basinski, Christina Brown, Kathleen Rooney & Elisa Gabbert, Maria Benet, Regis Bonvicino, Richard Huelsenbeck, Julia Cohen, Jim Behrle, Stephanie Bolster, Timothy Liu, Donna Brook, Kristin Abraham, Marcus Bales, Patricia Wellingham Jones, Susie Timmons, Clayton A. Couch, Myung Mi Kim, John Litzenberg, Zoe Strauss, Jonathan Meakin, Janine Pommy Vega, John Matthew, Robert Sund, Janne Nummela, Robert Archambeau, Dodie Bellamy, Meghan Scott, Stephen Johnson, Brenda Schmidt, Lisa Flaherty, Martine Bellen, Ron Loewinsohn, Darryl Keola Cabacungan, Chris Ransick, Sean T. Hanratty, Tim Gaze, Kathleen Rooney, Tom Mandel, AnnMarie Eldon, Tom Peters, Billy Jones, Gilbert Adair, Jim ¬†Behrle, Peter Jay Shippy, Amanda Laughtland, Juliet Cook, Joshua Marie Wilkinson, Brian Smith, Aldo Palazzeschi, Richard Denner, Anthony Robinson, Chris Tysh, Christopher Stackhouse, Paul Muldoon, Stefania Iryne Marthakis, Ellen Orleans, Robin Reagler, Susan Maxwell, Delia Mellis, John Baker, Jack Boettcher, Lex Camena, Jeffery Bahr, Veronica Montes, Miriam Nichols, Phil Hall, Tyler Carter, Jessica Treat, Mairead Byrne, C.S. Carrier, C.L. Bledsoe, Barbara Maloutas, Peter Schjeldahl, Marc Andre Robinson, Morgan Lucas Schultdt, Sean Thomas Dougherty, Rebecca Hazelton, Ryan Bird, Ernst Meister, Edith Sodergran, Bronwen Tate, Joritz-Nakagawa, Sharon Mollerus, Talan Memmott, Robert Burns, Jim Dunn, Matthew Cheney, Edward Nudelman, Subhro Bandopadhyay, Tiff Dressen, Sandy Florian, Jesse Glass, Jennie Skerl, Phil Fried, Eric Gurney, Christof Scheele, Nicholas Rombes, Billy Collins, Eugenio Montale, Gautam Verma, Tyler Cobb, Kendra Malone, Tom Beckett, Vivian Vavassis, Jude MacDonald, Joanna Sondheim, Paul Naylor, Kazim Ali, Josh Corey, Patrick Donnelly and Stephen Miller, Ari Bania, Geoffrey G. O'Brien, Leonard Kress, Philippe Soupault, Steve Caratzas, Joseph Mains, William Yazbec, Standard Schaefer, Betsy Andrews, Carlo Carra, Marie Hopkins, Anna Maria Hong, Burt Kimmelman, Karen J. Weyant, Max Middle, Joan Retallack, Gil Ott, Dennis Cooper, David Matlin, Tino Gomez, B.J. Love, Helen White, John Crowley, Weldon Kees, Louis Zukofsky, David Trinidad, Andrew Peterson, Bill Seaman and Penny Florence, Heather O'Neill, Reginald Shepherd, Annie Guthrie, Ammiel Alcalay, Carton Tragedy, Alfred Corn, Barbara Smith, Jozef Imrich, Yagi Mikajo, Stephen Thomson, Mark Rudman, Jena Osman, Ernesto Priego, Ken Springtail, Sam Beckbessinger, Cecilia Vicuna, Behm-Steinberg, Kate Schapira, Deidre Elizabeth, Jean Lehrman, Seth Landman, Ana Bozicevic-Bowling, Jess Mynes, Will Yackulic, Caroline Wilkinson, Maria Sabina, eldon, Richard Lighthouse, Michael Smoler, Henry Hills, Mark Marino, Poton, Thomas O'Connell, David Henderson, Michael Cross, Maralyn Lois Polak, Joe Brennan, Alice Cary, Erica Kaufman, Lewis Warsh, Steve Evans, David Byrne, Frank Parker, Kaz Maslanka, Jenna Cardinale, Peter Straub, EK Smith, Megan Martin, Meghan Punschke, Sherry Chandler, E. Tracy Grinnell, Tom Muir, Jeff Davis, F. Daniel Rzicznek, Diana Magallon and Jeff Crouch, Kyle Schlesinger, Stuart Dybek, Marco Giovenale, Zach Savich, Tom Wegrzynowski, Arnie Hoffman, Rikki Ducornet, Dawn, Thomas Fink,, Christian Jensen, Andrew Philip, Dave Pollard, Miriam Burstein, Jessica Bozek, Patrick So, Joe Massey, Carmine Starnino, Evan Kennedy, Chris Vitiello, Nick Bruno, Amy Newman, Sharon Gilbert, Aaron Tieger, William Wordsworth, Eugenio Tisselli, julia doughty, Marko Niemi, Pierre Reverdy, Lytton Smith, Lee Gurga, Jed Shahar, Tim Hunt, Lee Upton, Mark Scroggins, Rachel Smith, Robert Wodzinski, Matthew Blake, Matina Stamatakis, Robert Waxman, Jack McGuane, Bethany Ides, Alfred Arteaga, Kat Meads, Sandra Gilbert, Carlo Parcelli, Jeff Calhoun, John Bryant, Jasper Bernes, Jeffrey Joe Nelson, Joan Houlihan, Lynn Behrendt, Jack Kerouac, Brenda Iijima, James Koller, Sun Yung Shin, Ixta Menchaca, John Barton, Piero Heliczer, Todd Colby, Awotunde Aworinde, Emma Barnes, Allison Whittenberg, Jenni Russell, Rowan Wilken, Daniela Olszewska, Layne Russell, George Oppen, Ben Yarmolinsky, Phil Cordelli, Andrew Kozma, Harry Wilkens, Jonathan Lethem, Richard Gorecki, Jilly Dybka, Kirthi Nath, Jennifer Bredl, Paolo Buzzi, Aime Cesaire & Rene Depestre, Ruben Dario, Rachel Loden, William Bryant, hassen, Kerryn Goldsworthy, Jessamyn West, Salvador Dali, Greg Djanikian, George M Wallace, Sharon Brogan, Roger Farr, Lesley Yalen, Jessica Tillyer, Cathy Eisenhower, Noah Falck, Beka Goedde, Patrick Lovelace, Erik Anderson, Shahar Gold, Olivier Cadiot, Peter O'Leary, Mel Nichols, Juan Felipe Herrera, Mirabai, Rob Mackenzie, Bethany Wright, Joseph Mosconi, MTC Cronin, Terrance Hayes, Bryson Newhart, Yoko Ono, Gherardo Bortolotti, Olli Sinivaara, Jim Crace, Brendan Lorber, Tracie Morris, Jeffrey Side, Brent Cunningham, Henry Miller, Christina McPhee, Mike Nicoloff, Ray Federman, Valerie Coulton, HL Hazuka, Ari Banias, Thomas Hummel, Nicolette Bond, J.F. Quackenbush, Julia Stein, Bill Borneman, Jon Link, Steve Dickison, Scott Helmes, Brion Gysin, Sean Burke, Laynie Brown, Hermit-Sage Tradition, Jane Dark, Scott Withiam, Lance Phillips, Michael Ford, John Olson, John Bailey, Rebecca Morgan Frank, Derek Motion, Ashby Tyler, Sarah Campbell, Andrea Strudensky, Roger Gilbert-Lecomte, Mathias Svalina, Ishle Yi Park, Dubravka Djuriƒá, John McHale, Grant-Lee Phillips, Jeremy Czerw, Richard Newman, Diana Slampyak, David McFadden, Jim McGrath, Gregory Crosby, tyler funk, Kristi Maxwell, Vladimir Zykov, Daniel Brenner, Don Mee Choi, Ted Greenwald, Meena Alexander, Sarah Mangold, Steve McCaffery, Jill Magi, Glen Bach, Hank Lazer, Stephen Brockwell, Helen Adam, Sasha Steensen, Ryan Alexander MacDonald, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Jack Morgan, Jr., Radu Dima, Larissa Szporluk, Teresia Teaiwa, Amiri Baraka, Monica Mody, Vincent Katz, Jen Benka, Roberto Harrison, Edward Byrne, Patrick Rosal, Cheryl Townsend, Carol Novack, Clive Thompson, Mary Biddinger, Erica Lewis, Michael Robins, Mira Schor, Severo Sarduy, John Taggart, Lauren Krueger, Wanda O'ÄôConnor, Peter Van Toorn, Kevin Varrone, Mark Axelrod, Erica Svec, Erik Donald France, Daniel Green, Marilyn Hacker, Ben Wilkinson, Stephanie Young, David Hall, Joe Moffet, Ric Royer, Basil Bunting, Peter Everwine, Terryanne Chebet, Philip Messenger, Maurice Sendak, Barrett Gordon, Shonni Enelow, Hannah Weiner, Dan Vera, Kristin Berkey-Abbott, Douglas James Martin, Randall Williams, Phil Crippen, Roy Kiyooka, Anita Dolman, Chris Martin, Max Ernst, Michael Rothenberg, Adeena Karasick, D.H. Lawrence, Sean O Riordain, Anne Kaier, Simone dos Anjos, Brian McMahon, Josef Capek, Gloria Oden, Georges Hugnet, Sekuo Sendiata, Timothy Yu, Craig Dworkin, Mary Ann Sullivan, Guillermo Juan Parra, Paul Klinger, Catherine Wagner, Angela Veronica Wong, Terence Gower, Chris Toll, Francis Picabia, David Bromige, John Estes, Kenneth Koch, John Moore Williams, harry k. stammer, Kyle Gann, Paul Guest, Carl Rakosi, Cole Porter, Ray Craig, Bob Holman, Jordan Stempleman, Gilbert Sorrentino, Larissa Shmailo, Kris Hemensley, Jennifer Manzano, Peter Culley, Dan Silliman, Lyn Hejinian, Lloyd Schwartz, Peter Larkin, MaryLou Sanelli, Clare Latremouille, Karla Kelsey, Peter Magliocco, Bruce Stewart, Kyle Simonsen, Glenn Ingersoll, Teri Hoskin, Henry Louis Gates, John Mcmahon, Dan Raphael, Tanya Allen, Annie Finch, Mitch, Bill Kushner, Rochita Ruiz, Tom Gilroy, Yashodhara Raychaudhuri, Elaine Terranova, Tom Hibbard, Joel Nichols, Don Cheney, Ashraf Osman, Melanie Little, Barbara Cole, Chris Higgs, Paul van Ostaijen, Kate Hill Cantrill, George Kalamaras, Ren Powell, Steve Smith, Lloyd Mintern, Denise Duhamel, Veselovsky Pitts, G.L. Ford, Stanton, Kyle Minor, Bradford Haas, Kristy Bowen, Mingus Tourette, Anna Joy Springer, Laetitia Sonami, Sam Silva, Candace Kaucher, James Dickey, Kit Kennedy, Jill Jones, Susan Scarlata, Jack Kimball, Mary-Anne Breeze, Frederico Garcia Lorca, George Kalamaris, Raymond Hsu, Joshua Arnold, Bernadette Mayer, Calvin Bedient, Rachel Tompa, Nathan Curnow, Noel Sloboda, Doug Macpherson, Vivien Bittencourt, Steve Roggenbuck, Jules Boykoff, Jessica Lawless, Raymond Federman, Sandra Miller, Amos Bronson Alcott, Marina Garcia-Vasquez, Mathew Timmons, Paul Killebrew, Mike Young, John Tipton, Chad Parenteau, Michelle Cross, Eric Abbott, Hayden Carruth, Dream Bitches, William James Austin, St. Teresa of Lisieux, Donald Hall, Karen Weiser, Marty Hebrank, Liberty Heise, Kyle Stich, Charles Reznikoff, Chris Felver, Dorothy Trujillo Lusk, Mecca Jamilah Sullivan, Henry David Thoreau, Frances Driscoll, Leonard Gontarek, Edward Smallfield, Chris McCreary, Steven Zultanski, Peter Pereira, Marthe Reed, Mackenzie Carignan, Victor Hugo, Rebecca Gopoian, Ivy Alvarez, Highfill, Harry Gilonis, Sotere Torregian, Judy Kamilhor, Justin Sirois, Suzanna Gig, Peter Seaton, Julie Carr, Mazie Louise Montgomery, Sean Reagan, Tennesee Williams, Anne Kellas, Christopher Nealon, Joan McCracken, Malcolm Phillips, Christopher Casamassima, Andrew Steinmetz, Tom Sheehan, L.Y. Marlow, Martin Larsen, Susana Gardner, David Weinberger, Bill Cohen, Sasha Sommeil, Jill Chan, Josh Robinson, Crag Hill, William Burroughs, Ruthven Todd, Annie Proulx, Monty Reid, Simon Perchik, A.K. Scipioni, Ron Hogan, Marcel Duchamp, Thomas Day, Bob Arnold, Rabia al Basri, Michael Andre, Raymond Foss, Ruby Mohan, Kate Schatz, Elizabeth Smith, Tom Matrullo, Carmen Racovitza, Blake Butler, Maggie O'Sullivan, Eugene Ostashevsky, Therese Halscheid, Lauren Levato, Hermann Hesse, Christian Prigent, Michael Reid Busk, Caroline Sinavaiana, Marcia Roberts, Muriel Rukeyser, Jessica Watson, sara seinberg, Garth Whelan, Peter Ramos, Harry K Stammer, Tom Jones, Arjun Chandramohan Bali, Lawrence Joseph, Lee Posna, Tim Mcnulty, Patrick James Dunagan, Laurie Clark, Sabbir Azam, George Green, David Maney, Jill Alexander Essbaum, Jenny Allan, Gary L. McDowell, Samuel Wharton, Leonard Cohen, Kyle Conner, Maxine Hong Kingston, Stephanie Strickland, Michael Schiavo, Lynne Tillman, Jesus Manuel Mena Garza, David-Baptiste Chirot, Augustine Porras, Juan J. Morales, Tim Z. Hernandez, Diane Ward, Donald Marshall, Jack Collom, Paul Lyons, Megan Kaminski, Chris Fritton, Paul Vermeersch, Aaron Lowinger, Bob Perelman, Steve Yarbrough, J.H. Prynne, Amy King, Geoffrey Chaucer, Joel Dailey, Christopher Hennessy, Meghan O'Rourke and Cathy Park Hong, Jennifer Scappettone, David Hecker, Carl Brush, Joy Hendrickson-Turner, Leny Strobel, John Timpane, Amanda Watson, Cate Peebles, Danny Snelson, Christopher Mulrooney, Jaime Anne Earnest, Trina Gaynon, Caleb Puckett, Weyman Chan, Patricia Dienstfrey, Evelio Rojas, Susan Tichy, Shawn McKinney, Gerald Bosacker, Joel Kuszai, Norman Lock, Eric Gelsinger, Suzanne Frischkorn, Gabor Szilasi, Shannon Smith, Peter J. Grieco, Nasra al Adawi, Anna Moschovakis, Charles Henri Ford, Nicholas Downing, Sharron Proulx-Turner, Richard Long, Majena Mafe, Timothy Kreiner, Jorge Luis Borges, Lucebert, Chuck Stebelton, John Sparrow, Victor Hernandez Cruz, Jee Leong Koh, Sophie Robinson, Carol Mirakove, Susan Stewart, Adalaide Morris, Camille Bacos, Diane Williams, Robert J. Baumann, Kristi Castro, Don Illich, Holly Anderson, C.D. Wright, Jerome McGann, Alex Gildzen, Joseph Lease, Allen, Meagan Wilson, David H. Thomas, Jane Thompson, Andrew Zawacki, Gottfried Benn, John Hyland, Jim Morrison, Lyle Daggett, Robert Duncan, Diane Lockward, Kate Daniels, Angela Woodward, Paul Vazquez, Jesse Minkert, E. Ethelbert Miller, Scott Withaim, Arthur Rimbaud, Luc Fierens, Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore, Rackstraw Downes, Elizabeth James, Paolo Javier, Robyn Sarah, Rosemarie Crisafi, Wendy Collin Sorin, Jack Hirschman, Flynne Bracker, Rick Wiggins, Baron Wolman, Frederic Tuten, Su Carlson, Raina Leon, C.E. Chaffin, Katrinka Moore, Lucy Anderton, Reyes Cardenas, Mei Mei Chang, Scott Malby, Alice Becker-Ho, Wassily Kandinsky, Bob Hazelton, Leonard Schwartz, Larry Smith, Dave Winer, Ivan Carswell, Genevieve Kaplan, John Findura, Shrikanth Reddy, David Horowitz, Jocelyn Grosse, C. Dale Young, Kiki Smith, Scott K. Odom, Brandon Brown, Tim Lockridge, Lauren Goodwin Slaughter, Steve Luxton, Melissa Buzzeo, Aaron Kunin, Anne Haines, William Carlos Williams, Catherine Daly, Jack Martin, Ocean, Angela Rawlings, Richard Hell, Monica de la Torre, Ruth Lepson, Trevor Calvert, Donato Mancini, Diana Adams, Miranda Mellis, Dust Congress Hackmuth, Philip Whalen, Dan Thomas-Glass, Abigail Licad, Caroline Rothstein, Matt Briggs, Hans Arp, Patrick F. Durgin, Ashley VanDoorn, George Murray, Gerald Bruns, Richard Greenfield, Ken Rumble, John Perrault, Soleida Rios, Andrew Schelling, Robert Marshall, Russell Jaffe, Albert Wendt, Emily Brink, Jennifer Bartlett, Jeannine Hall Gailey, Mecca Sullivan, Ron Silliman, David Caddy, Marcel O'Gorman, Lucy Ives, Sarah Browning, Rob Johnson, Michael Magee, Doug Ireland, Tim Martin, Seth Parker, Yi Sang, Andros Montoya, Allama Prabhu, Jacob Glatshteyn, Dan Waber, Jim Goar, Michael Kelleher, Michael Peverett, Patricia Storms, Howard Junker, N. Scott Momaday, Tsuyoshi Yumoto, Peter Manson, Adam Clay, Sharon Mesmer, Sasha Frere Jones, Ronna Johnson, Murphy, Edward Williams, Bernard Hoepffner, Kareem Estefan, Lindsay Colahan, John Stiles, Ed Barrett, Steven Shaviro, Hart Crane, Thad Rutkowski, Paul Pearson, Jan Pollet, Jon Woodward, Frederick Seidel, Laurie Fuhr, Ku-ualhoa Meyer Ho'omanawanui, Peter Dale Scott, Pablo Picasso, Jeremy Halinen, Damien Hirst, Camille PB, Glenna Luschei, Jimmy Chen, Fairfield Porter, Douglas Coupland, Kismet Al-Hussaini, Kim Hyesoon, Sarah Vap, Carla Harryman, Louise Landes Levi, Kiran Desai, jUStin!katKO, Carol McCarthy, Michael Estabrook, Christian Nicholas, Lauren Russell, Biskit Roth, Ron Koertge, Benjamin Friedlander, Geoff rey Hill, Harold Abramowitz,¬†Allison Carter, Larry Sawyer, Joanne Underwood, James Sanders, James Wagner, Gyula Illyes, Deborah Ager, John M. Bennett, Elizabeth Dorbad, Matthew Langley, Amira Baraka, Adrian Khactu, Aaron Smith, David Christopher LaTerre, Ann Margaret Bogle, George Evans, F.T. Marinetti, Steve Mueske, Barrett Watten, Chris Hamilton-Emery, Travis Jay Morgan, Brian Kim Stefans, Julie Doxsee, Jane Monson, Terrance Diggory, Jeremy McLeod, Len Joy, Carrie Etter, Suzan Frecon, Malia Jackson, Akilah Oliver, Carrie Katz, Michael Gizzi, Benjamin Kroh, Michael Koshkin, David McGimpsey, Paul Hegedus, Heather Christle, Anselm Berrigan, Art Durkee, Marianne Moore, Aleksei Kruchenykh, Tom Wolfe, Phil Primeau, Nona Caspers, Dominic Fox, Nate Ethier, Michelle Greenblatt, Julianna McCarthy, Davide Trame, Aaron Vidaver, Alli Warren, Kathleen Fraser, Paula Bernat Bennett, Jon Rolston, Basil King, Henry Darger, Ray Hsu, P. Inman, Ben Lyle Bedard, Dallas Wiebe, Michael Bernstein, Margaret Stawowy, Nicole Steinberg, Maged Zaher, Andrew Levy, Edwin Rodriguez, Harold Abramowitz, Red Pine, Kenneth Rexroth, Hong Ou, Julian Beck, Piers Hugill, Daniel Nester, Ryan Clifford Daley, Kurt Brown, Mark Halliday, Emily Abendroth, David McLean, Cara Benson, James Joyce, Lara Odell, Katia Kapovich, Arielle Greenberg, Tony Lopez, Charles Bukowski, Laura Moore, Brian Howe, Juana de Ibarbourou, Barry Schwabsky, Susan Briante, Clayton Eschelman, David Hadbawnik, Brett Evans, Susie Bright, Ted Berrigan, Tony Green, Gary Barwin, Alice Notley, Amy Unsworth, Bryan Coffelt, Else von Freytag-Loringhoven, Samantha Barrow, Henry Longfellow, Max Jacob, Renee Gladman, Susan Denning, Matt Reiter, Lee Friedlander, Lars Palm, Nick Carbo, Peter Fox, Robert Wexelblatt, Christina Strong, Sophie Read, Jami Macarty, Breyten Breytenbach, Lisa Forrest, Regina Derieva, Sarah Dowling, Phong Bui, Christopher Sorrentino, Lee Ann Brown, Laura Goldstein, David Jones, Fritz Ward, Alexandra Tolstoy, Chris Abani, Jennifer Gravely, Alicia Rabins, Chris Funkhouser, shishir gupta, Clark Coolidge, Ann E. 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Yuri Nosenko Passes

2008-09-07T19:45:00.000-07:00

The Telegraph(UK)
28 Aug 2008

Yuri Nosenko, who died on August 23 aged 80, was a KGB intelligence officer who defected to the West at the height of the Cold War; after initial doubts about his authenticity, the CIA came to consider him one of its most valuable, if troublesome, defectors.
Codenamed "Foxtrot" by the CIA, Nosenko was a KGB Second Chief Directorate (SCD) officer when he approached the CIA in Geneva in June 1962. He was in Switzerland as a member of the Soviet Union's disarmament delegation.
Nosenko offered to provide the Americans with information, saying that he hoped to defect some time in the future, and that he wished to acquire medication for his asthmatic daughter, Oksana; but his principal objective was to replace funds which he had misappropriated from the local rezidentura which he had then blown in a local nightclub.
Nosenko – the son of one of Stalin's ministers – was persuaded to continue working in the KGB, but in the meantime he made some significant disclosures. He revealed that the SCD had compromised a British official who had been caught in a honeytrap in Moscow while employed at the British embassy, and MI5 soon identified the suspect as an Admiralty clerk, John Vassall.
He also named the Canadian ambassador, John Watkins, as having been compromised in the same way, as well as a CIA officer, Edward Ellis Smith. All three allegations proved accurate. Nosenko added that he had heard that MI5 had been penetrated by the KGB at a high level.
After these initial contacts, Nosenko returned to Moscow, but he unexpectedly defected in Geneva during a second visit, in February 1964, having claimed to have reviewed the KGB file on President Kennedy's assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald.
The CIA's Counterintelligence Staff, however, spotted a number of significant contradictions in Nosenko's debriefings, including details of his career and even his rank, and became convinced that he was a "dispatched defector".
The issues at stake were considerable, because if Nosenko were a plant his insistence that the KGB had played no part in the assassination of President Kennedy could be considered equally bogus.
Another KGB defector, Anatoly Golitsyn, who had defected in 1961, had warned that the organisation would very likely seek to discredit him by sending to the West others armed with ingeniously-constructed cover stories to mislead Western intelligence agencies. Some professionals came to believe that Nosenko was one of these.
Accordingly, from April 1964 Nosenko was detained at a safe house in Maryland for nearly 18 months, on the authority of the US attorney-general, before being transferred to a cell-block specially constructed at the CIA's training facility at Camp Peary, in Virginia. He remained there, under continuous and hostile interrogation, until October 1967.
A year later a report sponsored by the CIA's Office of Security concluded that Nosenko was a genuine defector, and he was given an apology for his treatment, $137,062 in compensation and a contract as a consultant.
The controversy over Nosenko's bona fides was to continue for years, and had the effect of splitting the American counter-intelligence community. The central issue was the concept of the "dispatched defector": the idea that a professional intelligence agency would risk sending a well-informed staff officer directly and deliberately into the hands of an adversary.
On the one hand, the Counterintelligence Staff, led by James Angleton, found it impossible to reconcile the many inconsistencies in the defector's story; they pointed out that Nosenko's family was part of Moscow's elite and that he was therefore an improbable traitor. Furthermore, Nosenko's claim that he had had access to Oswald's file, a claim made just as the Warren Commission was investigating the background of the assassination, seemed a little too convenient – especially as Nosenko's essential message was that the KGB had been innocent of any plot.
The case against Nosenko was made in Spy Wars: Moles, Mysteries and Deadly Games (2007), a book by Pete Bagley, a CIA officer stationed in Switzerland in the early 1960s who initially handled Nosenko's case.
The opposing view suggested that Nosenko was a hard-drinking womaniser who had found himself in financial difficulty in Geneva and, in turning to the CIA for help, had exaggerated his own status.
Yuri Ivanovich Nosenko was born on October 30 1927 at Nikolaev, in the Ukraine, the son of Ivan Nosenko, who was minister for shipbuilding in the Soviet Union from 1939 to 1956, the year of his death; he was buried with honours in the Kremlin wall. Yuri was a student at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, and joined the KGB in 1953.
Once he had been brought over to the United States, Nosenko proved difficult to handle, often becoming involved in bar brawls and embarrassing episodes with women. He never complained, however, about the harsh treatment he had received, once remarking: "While I regret my three years of incarceration, I have no bitterness and now understand how it could happen."
Nosenko's case epitomised the "wilderness of mirrors" in the counter-intelligence community, and his illegal incarceration became one of the notorious "family jewels", the list of the CIA's breaches of its 1947 charter which led to the Pike and Church congressional investigations conducted in 1974.
Until two years ago he continued to visit the CIA headquarters to give presentations. By contrast, those who had opposed his rehabilitation were shunned and their arguments dismissed as manifestations of the paranoia often associated with lengthy, labyrinthine counter-intelligence investigations.
A month ago the CIA delivered to his house in the United States a ceremonial flag and a letter of thanks from the agency's director, Michael Hayden.

Delta Air Cancellation Update

2008-03-27T12:01:00.000-07:00

133 Dead As Delta Cancels Flight In Midair

CINCINNATI-Delta Airlines issued a statement apologizing to those inconvenienced by the tragic cancellation.

Monchego's Extremadura

2008-03-23T21:44:00.000-07:00

Vic Monchego’s Extremadura (formerly known as Vic Monchego’s Episodes) is an eclectic blog of sudden fiction, poetry and features. According to its Creators, the blog has an international readership “in the dozens.” In 2007, the blog briefly made Technorati’s Top 500,000.

Many posts are written by Victor Bravo Monchego, Jr., a fictitious underdog inspired by Don Quixote. Like Quixote, Vic Monchego wanders the blogosphere’s Extremadura. He is both a fool and a romantic.

The fiction is sudden in the sense that it is written spontaneously, often between flights, by a posse of travelers with so-called straight jobs, and because of the brevity of the serials. Like satirist George Saunders, Monchego frequently mocks corporate culture and capitalism.

Monchego also is intended to be an Everyman in that some readers may project themselves into the character, as no dominant characteristic of the Everyman prevents them from doing so.

James Madison said,

2007-11-25T18:59:00.000-08:00

“If tyranny and oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy.”

“It is a universal truth that the loss of liberty at home is to be charged to the provisions against danger, real or pretended, from abroad.”

“No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare.”

“The executive has no right, in any case, to decide the question, whether there is or is not cause for declaring war.”

“War should only be declared by the authority of the people, whose toils and treasures are to support its burdens, instead of the government which is to reap its fruits.”

“Each generation should be made to bear the burden of its own wars, instead of carrying them on, at the expense of other generations.”

- James Madison: Father of the Constitution of the United States of America

Putin's Bare Chest is a Display of Power Best Kept Secret

2007-08-31T22:40:00.000-07:00

by Michael Gove (UK)

Of all the menacing gestures associated with the newly assertive Russia, from annexing the Arctic to restarting nuclear bomber runs, none seems to have discomfited the rest of the world quite as much as President Putin being photographed bare-chested, with his perfect pecs on proud display. It was quite the most audacious demonstration of political self-confidence from any Russian leader since the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Whatever else Vlad may have learnt in the KGB, he certainly absorbed everything one needs to know about psychological warfare. How many of the politicians charged with our safekeeping do you estimate would emerge enhanced if their torsos were laid out for all to see on a summer fishing trip? Does Des Browne have a perfect six-pack? Would we all feel a little better about our place in the world if Dick Cheney’s treasure chest was on proud display?

What Vlad’s tactical strip has revealed, apart from the lifetime benefits of Spetsnaz training, is the continuing role that nudity plays in male power relations. We’re used to discussion of how little, or much, women should safely display in a variety of circumstances. Any number of fashion experts, for example, will advise that when tempted to dress revealingly it’s necessary to choose between showing off either legs or décolletage.

Attempting to do both at the same time is like smoking while eating foie gras – either might be thought sophisticated – do them together and you look like a Ukrainian actress holidaying for the first time in St-Tropez.

But while there are all sorts of rules, and seasonally updated tips, on how much women dare to
bare, with the rival merits of halternecks and exposed midriffs regularly rehearsed, the question of how men should manage the exposure of their own flesh, and what can be read into these displays, is rarely given the close study it deserves.

As Putin’s careful release of the pictures of his own taut form demonstrate, the deployment of male nudity is, above all, a power play. On one level Vlad is showing us all that he’s a remarkably fit man for his age (54) and that, unlike in the decadent West, Russia’s leaders remain the physical embodiment of their nation’s vigour – classical champions in the manner of those Roman emperors who would renew their mandate to rule on the battlefield or even in the gladiatorial ring. His bare-chested peacockery is, in that respect, in line with the broader cult of Putin as his nation’s silverback – the leader of the band.

And while it’s becoming rarer, the assertion of prime physical vigour through summertime displays of shirtless masculinity has been a trick in several leaders’ repertoires. From Mussolini, to Jack and Bobby Kennedy, baring your torso for a publicity shot was just another way of demonstrating a break from the failed and flabby Old Gang and the arrival of New Hope.
But tactical exposure of holiday flesh is a way of asserting power which is certainly not restricted to the political sphere. For a particular class of man – think of pictures of Gianni Agnelli, say, or Aristotle Onassis, or even Michael Winner, letting it all hang out above deck has often been accompanied by the wearing of briefs so small that they look like sparrows that have crashed into the Matterhorn. These men present themselves to the world with an apparently unembarrassed delight in how much there is to see. And in so doing they appear to subvert one of the rules about what it is that the wealthy really cherish – discretion, privacy and protection.
What, of course, they are really doing is reminding the rest of us how little they need to care for our approval, how liberated they are from bourgeois notions of propriety, how unrelated to their physical appearance is their considerable power of attraction. For them, daring to bare so much is just another assertion of how much, in every sense, they’ve got. And the knowledge that male nudity is linked to power, the more you’ve got, the more you are liberated to show, is now, I think, inherent in how we conduct ourselves.

And it’s not just related to wealth. The insouciance of a particular type of millionaire has its analogue in the breezy, what’s-it-to-you, shirtlessness of any man who is, in effect, making a declaration of machismo when he should, ostensibly, be relaxing. Baring your torso on holiday, whether in Ayia Napa or on the deck of your yacht, means setting aside the expected norms of modesty and thus, in its way, involves you staking a claim to attention, and occupying more space than if you were clothed. It is an act of assertion, a waving of the coxcomb. And, whatever the socio-economic background of the bare-chested male, his shedding of a protective layer, whether it’s Fred Perry or John Smedley, involves an implied challenge to other men – haven’t you got what I’ve got; what are you hiding behind?

Regular readers of this column will know that I am hiding something. I’m hiding 20-odd years of Ginsters abuse behind my comfortably baggy polo shirt. So perhaps my approach to holiday fashion is framed by my accumulated experience of holiday indulgence. But looking again at those chilling photos of Putin, his ice-cold eyes masked by shades but his torso on open display, I couldn’t help but feel my prejudices being reinforced. The region from a man’s waist to his neck should be like the nuclear deterrent – everyone knows it’s there, it’s often glimpsed slipping into the water, but its exact condition must always remain a mystery.

Michael Gove is Conservative MP for Surrey Heath

Bad Memories Tied to DNA

2007-08-20T13:17:00.000-07:00

By Benjamin Lester
ScienceNOW Daily News
30 July 2007

People haunted by traumatic memories could be missing a few amino acids, say researchers. A new study links a deletion in a neurotransmitter receptor gene to a marked increase in an individual's ability to remember emotionally charged events. The finding represents the first gene shown to play a role in emotional memory and could have implications for anxiety and other psychiatric disorders.

For more than 10 years, neuroscientists have known that our brains' emotional memory circuits are linked to the neurotransmitter norepinephrine. Higher levels of this hormone, released as part of the fight-or-flight response, can increase a person's ability to recall emotional events. Because the clarity of emotional memories varies from person to person, a team of European and African researchers set out to determine whether a common deletion in a specific norepinephrine receptor gene called ADRA2B might be responsible.

The researchers recruited nearly 450 Swiss volunteers, as well as about 200 refugees of the Rwandan civil war. The Swiss volunteers were shown photos varying in tone from cuddly puppies to accident scenes. They were asked to rate the photos as emotionally positive, negative, or neutral and give the strength of the emotion. Ten minutes later, the researchers asked the volunteers to write descriptions of the photos. The two groups had equal success describing neutral photos, but for emotionally charged photos, the deletion carriers wrote descriptions judged "successful" 34% more of the time than did noncarriers, the team reports online 29 July in Nature Neuroscience.

The Rwandan refugees responded similarly. When rated on the degree to which they recalled the traumatic events of their country's civil war and genocide, the deletion carriers scored more than 50% higher than did noncarriers on the test.

The findings make sense, says Dennis Charney, a psychiatrist at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. ADRA2B shuts off norepinephrine release when levels of the hormone rise, he explains, so people with a mutated, impaired gene would be expected to have higher norepinephrine levels and thus better recall of emotional events.
However, Charney notes that having a crystal-clear emotional memory may be as much a curse as a blessing. Emotional memories are evolutionarily vital because they help avoid repeats of dangerous situations--"you want to remember where that tiger was," he says--but if the memory of a traumatic event is too strong, it can begin to intrude into everyday life and cause problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

Going to Court over Fiction (NY Times)

2007-06-20T16:42:00.000-07:00

The New York Times, June 15, 2007

Cloaking one’s identity while writing — to hide, in other words, in order to reveal — is an old literary tradition. Mary Ann Evans used the gender-crossing pseudonym George Eliot to publish “Adam Bede” in 1859, when female authors still struggled to be taken seriously. Charlotte Bronte released “Jane Eyre” in 1847 under the name Currer Bell.
What, then, of the complex case of JT Leroy, the pseudonymous writer with the titillating past, a supposed child of a truck-stop prostitute who rocketed to fame in 2000 with the publication of “Sarah,” a novel of poverty and sexual abuse set among the grease-stained highway rest stops of West Virginia?
Mr. Leroy seemed at first to be a hot commodity in today’s biography-obsessed literary world, a gifted writer with a grotesquely compelling story that only enhanced the value of the work. After years of celebrity that included friendships with Winona Ryder and Madonna, articles in The New York Times and Vanity Fair, and many other gaudy trappings of early 21st century fame, JT Leroy was revealed to be the name not of a writer — in fact, not even of a person — but of the fictive alter ego of Laura Albert, a mother and otherwise obscure young novelist from Brooklyn Heights.
This intricate game of hide-and-seek with its interlocking issues of identity, fame, money and the healing power of art has now leapt from the media to what is arguably the culture’s second most obsessive arena: the courts. A film production company has sued Ms. Albert for fraud, saying that a contract signed with JT Leroy to make a feature film of “Sarah” should be null and void, for the simple reason that JT Leroy does not exist.
At its heart, the case revolves around the contract, signed by Antidote International Films Inc. (producer of, among other movies, “Laurel Canyon” and “Thirteen”) and Ms. Albert’s company, Underdogs Inc., to option the film rights to “Sarah” in 2003. Underdogs was paid $15,000 under the contract, which was renewed, at the same rate of $15,000, for each of the next two years. Antidote is suing for its money back.
Along with tales of commerce, the jury was treated yesterday to a bit of culture: A lawyer for the defendant referred in his opening remarks to the O. Henry story “The Last Leaf” moments after the plaintiff’s lawyer played a recording of Terry Gross interviewing someone posing as JT Leroy on NPR’s “Fresh Air.” The trial, in Federal District Court in Manhattan, promises to be an Escher-like convergence of the movies, literature and journalism with references to sex in truck stops thrown in and a documentary filmmaker, considering a project on the case, sitting quietly in back.
Gregory Curtner, a lawyer for Antidote, opened the trial by painting a broad picture of JT Leroy’s supposed rise from Appalachian misery to stardom. The son of a truck-stop prostitute, the jury learned, JT Leroy (according to the stories concocted on his behalf) would sit in parked cars or at a diner while his mother turned tricks. He himself eventually turned to prostitution and, after finally picking up a pen to describe his ordeal, tried to peddle his early works to agents, publishers and the like by sending faxes from gas station bathrooms.
It was this hardscrabble “life” that caught the attention of a director, Steven Shainberg, who wanted to work with Antidote and blend elements of JT Leroy’s biography into the narrative of “Sarah” in what Mr. Curtner called a film about “how art could emerge from a ruined childhood.” The trouble was there was no ruined childhood from which art could actually emerge.
Or at least not one that belonged to the imaginary JT Leroy. Ms. Albert’s lawyer, Eric Weinstein, began his own remarks with the memorably understated line, “Laura is a complicated person.” He said she was physically and sexually abused as a child. He said she was institutionalized in psychiatric wards and in a group home as a ward of the state. He said she was in therapy for 13 years with a psychiatrist whom she spoke to by telephone while posing as a teenage boy named Jeremy, an embryonic version of JT Leroy.
By the time the psychiatrist advised her to write, the persona of the teenage boy had become engrained as Ms. Albert’s alter ego, what Mr. Weinstein called her “bridge to the world.” Ms. Albert herself, in conversations before the trial, called JT “her respirator,” an unreal, though entirely necessary, entity that allowed her to breathe.
As movie people say, the “inciting incident” of the lawsuit came with the publication in late 2005 of an article in New York magazine that questioned JT Leroy’s identity. The Times followed with an article in February that identified Ms. Albert as the true author of “Sarah.”
The producers at Antidote were stunned; they were also worried that the commercial prospects of their project might crumble. As Mr. Curtner put it: “The whole autobiographical back story aura that made this so attractive was a sham.”
Mr. Weinstein told the jury that the contract with Antidote was for a book, not a back story, and that the film company could have made the movie no matter who wrote the novel. He then went on to suggest that the project was in freefall (a bad screenplay) and that Antidote had used the excuse of disputed authorship as an escape hatch.
It was at this point that the sort of lemonade-from-literary-lemons notion that can exist only in Hollywood was introduced. Mr. Weinstein said the director, Mr. Shainberg, decided he would now make a new film, something in the vein of “Adaptation” or “Being John Malkovich,” a “meta-film” that mixed the novel with the lives of its real and purported authors in a project touted in-house as “Sarah Plus.”
But that required obtaining the rights to Ms. Albert’s story — a story of such apparent darkness that she herself had required a literary dopplegänger to tell it.
She refused to grant the rights. “And that,” Mr. Weinstein said, “is why we find ourselves here.”

Writers Imagination and National Security

2007-06-08T21:24:00.000-07:00

Reposted from: http://www.writerswrite.com/wblog.php?wblog=531071

Science Fiction Writers Help Out Homeland Security Department

USA Today reports that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is turning to science fiction writers to help avoid future terrorist attacks. Why turn to writers? The government says it need s people with wild imaginations.

"We spend our entire careers living in the future," says author Arlan Andrews, one of a handful of writers the government brought to Washington this month to attend a Homeland Security conference on science and technology. Those responsible for keeping the nation safe from devastating attacks realize that in addition to border agents, police and airport screeners, they "need people to think of crazy ideas," Andrews says. The writers make up a group called Sigma, which Andrews put together 15 years ago to advise government officials. The last time the group gathered was in the late 1990s, when members met with government scientists to discuss what a post-nuclear age might look like, says group member Greg Bear. He has written 30 sci-fi books, including the best seller Darwin's Radio. *****

Although some sci-fi writers' futuristic ideas might sound crazy now, scientists know that they often have what seems to be an uncanny ability to see into the future. "Fifty years ago, science-fiction writers told us about flying cars and a wireless handheld communicator," says Christopher Kelly, spokesman for Homeland Security's Science and Technology division. "Although flying cars haven't evolved, cellphones today are a way of life. We need to look everywhere for ideas, and science-fiction writers clearly inform the debate." Bear says the writers offer powerful imaginations that can conjure up not only possible methods of attack, but also ideas about how governments and individuals will respond and what kinds of high-tech tools could prevent attacks. The group's motto is "Science Fiction in the National Interest." To join the group, Andrews says, you have to have at least one technical doctorate degree. "We're well-qualified nuts," says Jerry Pournelle, co-author of the best sellers Footfall and Lucifer's Hammer and dozens of other books. Authors who are thinking out of the box in the name of national security also include Greg Bear, Sage Walker and Larry Niven. We've read their work and know the kinds of amazing things they can dream up. And we are very glad that they are all law-abiding citizens.

2007-05-25T19:05:00.000-07:00

Reprinted from:
http://throughthescarydoor.blogspot.com/2007/05/all-fun-of-stasi.html
Without Permission.

All the fun of the Stasi
Stasi scent-tracking methods are being used to keep a check on selected protesters planning to demonstrate at next month's G8 summit.

Scent traces collected directly from everything from people's palm sweat to their vests and cigarette lighters have been made available to investigators so that sniffer dogs can detect potentially violent protesters, federal prosecutors confirmed yesterday following reports in the German media."Potentially violent"... What a turn of phrase.
The revelations have immediately led to comparisons with the methods of the former East Germany's secret police, the Stasi, who habitually collected the scents of dissidents to identify suspects at a later date. It was thought that such chilling espionage techniques had been consigned to history.But the news that similar methods are to be deployed at the upcoming summit in a democratic Germany has further angered activists already fuming over the construction of a 7.5-mile barbed-wire fence around the venue, at Heiligendamm on the Baltic coast."[This is] another step away from a democratic state of law towards a preventive security state," said Petra Pau, a member of the opposition Left party. "A state that adopts the methods of the East German Stasi robs itself of every legitimacy."Which is a good sign, that Left Party MPs are using their position to be tribunes of the movement. Having said that, I can imagine the responding slurs about the party's connections to the GDR.I treasure these two factlets though:
A 68-year-old atomic energy protester from Hamburg, identified by police as a possible danger to the G8 summit, reported how investigators knocked on his door at 8am and demanded scent samples from him.The man said he was made to hold metal pipes in his hands - as palms give off an immediate scent - which were then sealed and marked with his name before being taken away.But, worse than that:
The number of car burnings in Berlin has risen considerably over the past fortnight as tension rises, as have incidences of anti-G8 graffiti. Honestly, what is the world coming to?

Drunken Misbehavior Award

2007-05-03T10:32:00.000-07:00

"FIRST PLACE"
Too much "who hit John?" for breakfast.

A patients open mouth, and misplaced trust.
A high speed drill, "on the move"
"ding, ding, ding, ding, ding."
WE HAVE A WINNER!

I ran into this guy who used to be a dentist, but his license had been revoked three times. The last time, for life. This was back in the early eighties, when I worked at an "alternative to jail" program for the county, of San Diego.

It was, and is still, a program designed to free up jail space at the county jail for more serious offenders. Like people minding their own business, but are found to be in possession of an "illegal smile."

This was accomplished by decriminalizing people charged with California penal code 647-f. (public intoxication) So that they could be "handled" in a cheaper, non-custody type setting and manner. Back in the early eighties when I worked there, this approach was saving the county something like five million a year.
The program was designed to decriminalize "drunk in public" charges when a person was judged to be "under the influence" by the local gendarmes. "If" the person was not exhibiting hostile or threatening behavior. (While the police officer was still present.)
And promised to stay at the unlocked facility for a four hour period. And actually did so. (Until the officer drove out of the parking lot.)
Which someone had figured would result in most people achieving a sober state. Or near enough to it that you could set them afoot in the hard side of town and they would most likely be O.K. Stay the four hours and there was; "No fine. No record. No charge."
I was "team leader" for over two years. My shift ran from 11 p.m. at night, until 7 a.m. in the morning. During which time, the San Diego Police , San Diego County Sheriffs Department, and surrounding city police agencies brought me the 80 to 120 drunkest people that they could find on any given night.

Over a year and a half of that two years as team leader, I had no team. Even though state law mandated that at least three people must be on each shift, bare minimum, to deal with that many "impaired" individuals. They couldn't get anyone to work that shift but me. To this day, I can't imagine why. I loved it!

Every night was like a cross between Barney Miller and Fort Apache.

Downtown winos.

Beach bums.

Paddy wagons full of sailors, on their first leave in months.

Freshly minted Marines. Usually in groups of four to six, on their first "off the leash" departure from their gunny's loving wet nursing since enlisting.

Women, both young and old. From every economic station in life. Crying uncontrollably from the realization of how far they had fallen from their lofty perch above the masses, as a result of their first experimentation with jello shots.

Other women, mildly bemused at the entire spectacle, and their place within it.

All promised verbally, and affirmed that promise in writing, to stay four hours. By doing so, the police officer didn't file a formal charge. Which meant that there was no "record" of arrest. No listing of the incident on any enforcement data base of it as a "criminal matter."

If an individual refused to promise by word and signature that they would stay the prescribed period of time, then the police officer would place the cuffs back on the wrists, and the "stuck on stupid" individual back in the cruiser. And then `it was off to; "The prize behind door number three!" that Monty Hall had tried his best to talk you out of trading your; "All expense paid trip and no cost freeload" at some vacation spot that wasn't "exactly what you wanted." For; "Your very own Pig in a poke!" (Or, in this case, "drunken pigheaded persona in the local pokey!")

So almost all that were brought to me gladly, and quickly promised to stay the four hours.

About 12 percent of these people were straight up lying.

Especially the; half of a squad of: First time downtown/in full uniform/ just spent over a hundred and thirty dollars on a custom K-bar with a 7 inch, razor sharp blade/we all got arrested at a local tittie bar when I complained about the hostess reaching for my cock with one hand, while she reached for my wallet with the other one/you're out of your ever lovin' desk pushin', "sign here" mind if you think that this here group of Marines is gonna take orders from some long haired, hippie lookin' guy, who had better unlock that filing cabinet behind him and give us back our razor sharp K-bars back right now before we just climb over that desk and take them keys/Marines.

The percentage of these types from within the Marine population was something like 20 percent.

Fortunately, among the regular winos, which I affectionately named "the wrecking crew" were several former grab it and growl type individuals; A"seventh special forces" ;An "Airborne Ranger,"; A couple run of the mill Airborne types like myself. and one ex "seal team eleven" member named James Lee. Who while past his prime, had also been Archie Moore's favorite sparring partner.

Most of the "regulars" had gone from disinterest in me as a person, to tolerating, to ambivalence, to liking somewhat, to actually showing signs of genuine affection for my totally ignorant of their reality ass.

Because they percieved that I saw past the camoflauge that they threw up between themselves and most of the world. That kept most people from seeing that for the most part, they are honorable people. Bound and determined that they are going to live life on their terms. Come hell of high water.

As I learned more, I became less of a "rule twit." You know, holding the company line when it was stupid, and or wrong. Like; "Never let anyone in the facility who hasn't been brought there by a police officer, and signed in by him."

I got tired of seeing 20 or 30 men and women a night huddled outside using the building for a wind break on cold damp winter nights. With officer after officer walking by without responding to their request to be signed in.

Using my considerable power within the organization, (of being the only one crazy enough to actually work the graveyard shift) I began to flaunt the breaking of this rule.

This resulted in a letter being sent from the program director to me. Warning me of "serious consequences," if I didn't start exhibiting the baser qualities of a souless rat bastard.
(This letter to me, hand delivered by someone else, came from a man, I use that term loosely in this instance, that almost wet himself every infrequent time he actually had to show up in person. Inside the actual building where the program he "directs" takes place.

I called his secratary, and said I can drop off the keys today and will if you think I'm gonna look out huge plate glass windows all night at people freezing their ass off for no fucking reason at all.

It didn't cost a penny more to let them in. I told her to "get back to me with how it was gonna be."

About half an hour later she called me back, laughing and said "He won't be sending you anymore letters. He's scared to death of the target population that he is supposed to be helping,, and you go to work there each night like a kid going to Disneyland for the first time.

So he's straight up terrified of you. When his "letter" which was his attempt to get you to "jump through his "administrative hoop" ellicited a snarl from you instead, he told me to offer you a raise" He was all agitated and said "He can't quit. Who's going to work the night shift?" She told me it won't be much, but ask for more in about 60 days. And keep asking for mor after that every four months. You'll get it."

When the wrecking crew saw that I didn't value my check enough to aid and abet the county program's insensitivity to their vulnerabilty to health problems during cold and wet weather.
I was officially judge to be a; "human being, and not a poverty pimp" which was their designated term of ultimate disgust that was reserved for those that they felt profited from their misery. It is the little things in life that really count.

But James Lee took a shine to me when he won a five dollar bet with his brother, with the wager being; "He (me) won't last a week." This said by his brother after I narrowly ducked a folding metal chair that wasn't meant for me per se, but was more on target to do me damage, than the intended victim. James bet on me when I went over to the chair, picked it up, walked over to the guy who threw it and held it out to him. He didn't reach for it, but would alternate between looking at the chair and then at me.

I finally said to him; "I won't make your day any harder if you'll do the same for mine. Deal?"

He thought about it for a second. Looked at me one more time, and smiled. Then he said OK. He took the chair and sat in it. He became over the next few weeks my informal, back channel conduit to a society just as complex and nuanced as any you can name. I just refer to them as the regulars, or the wrecking crew.

And James was at the top of this particular food chain. And when ever a half squad of freshly minted Marines or any other dedicated malcontent threatened the tranquility of their nightly access to warmth and shelter, they were quickly disabused of such notions before it became so stupid the police had to become re involved. Although not always.

There were a few Marines, God Bless 'em, that have gained a healthier respect for old long haired hippie looking/"sign here"/pencil pushing/got their 7 inch razor sharp custom made hundred and thirty dollar K-bar knives in the filing cabinet/type individuals. And the flotsam and jetsam made up of our societies dispossessed that love them. Being a former 82nd Airborne, long haired hippie looking type made this learning experience a little easier for them to bear as well.

About one third were regulars. The local "wrecking crew" that were up and waiting in front of the liquor store before it opened at six. These folks for the most part were the basic elemental building blocks of every blues and hard luck song or story you ever heard or read.
Mostly harmless. Usually good natured. And for whatever reason, steadfastly determined to complete their slow motion deconstruction of self with an air of indifference.

Yes, it's a palpable air of indifference. To their present state, their situation, and their slightly modernized Chaplinesque attire. If "casual disarray" ever makes the fashion leap back up on to the New York, Paris and Rome runways, these wags and wagettes will be the power brokers of the "layered" look. Soothing colors like; "muscatel green" and "mad dog maroon" with extra large pockets for fifths of wine. Look! It doubles as a blanket!

Another third were "periodic problem drinkers. You might see them on a regular or semi-regular basis for a time and then, poof! They'd be gone from the mix. Out of the loop. On hiatus, sabbatical. Possibly due to something or someones intervention.. Family, friends, the court, or common sense.

The last third were the "one hit wonders." Victims of circumstance. Wrong place at the wrong time.
Their "Dog ma" got run over their "Kar ma" on this one night, types.

Everybody sat around tables in a large common area. Mostly drinking coffee and smoking, But if gravity wasn't your buddy at the moment, we had these green plastic lined, foam filled mattresses stacked to the ceiling. Just grab one throw it down and surf the linoleum until your time was up.

Because this wasn't a lock up facility, there was no segregation of the men from the women.
Which led to so many "Kodak moments" without a camera I could cry.

As an example, I have seen more than one woman's hair set ablaze by the weaving flames of multiple stick matches, zippos and other undetermined accellerants in the cluches of near blind drunk men "intent on Chivalry." (as Van Morrisson so eloquently said about entirely different men, in his song, "Tupelo Honey")

When you see a ball of flame moving accross the room like some indoor equivalent of a St. Elmos fire, meteorlogical phemomena on parade, but you know better, then you can count on it being a platoon of inebriates bum rushing some gal to let her know that "Chivalry isn't dead. Just dead drunk enough to believe that they have the whole "pitching woo" flame game thing down to a science.

But when there are seperate heat sources, in a large enough number of drunken hands, in a cramped enough space, the thermal dynamics of the beast, in conjunction with the almost complete loss of hand eye coordination within 20 feet of this about to go south endeavor, can end up blazing its own trail, where it will. Especially if the girl is sporting some highly teased, laquer coated into place, conflagouration in waiting hairstyle.
I have actually quickly grabbed and thrown a girl down to the ground, then furiously beat her around the head and shoulders with my jacket to knock down the flames, and been thanked sincerely for giving her the "rough treatment." Truly, I've been blessed.

But now, on to the matter at hand. One of the people that I met while leading my team of me into nightly forays with the dispossessed, and those that actually seemed to be possessed. was a dentist that had lost his license to practice for life.

Because while drunk, he passed out while drilling inside this guys mouth! Oh yeah! I was intrigued immediately. (If not sooner.) This two year period of constant strange doings coincided with me doing my post graduate work at the highly exclusive, routinely abusive School of Hard Knocks. In the extremely competitive field of "staying alive and in mostly one piece."
(My dissertation was on understanding the underlying principals and protocols that operate while in a discombobulated state. I titled it; "Malfunction Junction. What's your Compunction?)"

Anyway, Doctor Mortimer, which really is his name, was a regular. He used to see me putting pen to paper routinely, and read a few of my rhyme stories. At one point, he asked me to "put his madness to rhyme" I bullshit you not.

I explain to him that there is no way that I am going to be able to even come up with anything within the city limits of accurate, as pertains to his behavior, unless he is willing to suffer my questions, and answer them honestly. Then there is a chance, of getting a word picture that he might recognize aspects of himself within. He agreed to undergo my verbal scrutinizing of his persona.

So I began to worked him over vigorously with the; who, what, when, where, and
ALWAYS why. (what's up with that "sometimes" stuff?)

Asking him things like; "How did you keep your patients from catching on to the fact that you were higher than the price of silver, when the Hunt brothers tried to corner the futures market?"

His way around that little fly in his 100 proof ointment was to hire a receptionist that was open to aiding him in his deceptive charade. "IF" he paid her three times the going rate that an average gum chewing, nail filing, hickey on the neck, teenager was likely to be paid. ("IF" they quit chewing gum, filing their nails and, "showcasing the silver dollar sized blood bruises that straddled their jugular vein by wearing a blouse with a collar.)

When asked by a patient, who was there to have some mouth mechanics performed by the drunkified doctor, and had noticed that doctor Mortimer was looking like he was far from being at the top of his game, if the; "doc was alright?" All this "Little Miss can't be wrong" (with thanks, and apologies to the musical group "The spin doctors" for this spun doctor's spin meister's spiel") had to do to earn this extra swag was feign a look of dedicated (to the proposition) concern for her boss, lean forward, as if in confidence, and say; "Doctor Mortimer has the flu."

Well, right there, I knew that I had the title of this sad and venal vingette.

My next question was of course; And this worked?"

To which former doctor Mortimer replied; "For a while. Until it didn't. " Which was his way of saying; "Until I do something like pass out, while operating my high tech, variable speed dental drill in its mega rpm "getting busy mode " in some poor guy's mouth." (Talk about a Kodak moment. Yikes!)

DR. MORTIMER HAS THE FLU.

A DRUNK DENTIST. WHO LOST HIS LICENSE TO PRACTICE THREE TIMES.
(The last time for life.)

His office
opens up at nine.
By ten o'clock,
there is a line
of patients pained,
and feeling blue.
But Doctor Mortimer
has the flu.

He comes wheezing in
at ten o' five.
Scarcley looking
half alive.
Extractions!
Impactions!
Await his veiw.
But Doctor Mortimer
has the flu.

This fact has been
explained to all.
Who walk on in,
or place a call.
His secratary
pleads his case.
She tries to spare him
the disgrace,.
NEVER mentioning
what is true.
Doctor Mortimer...
(has had a few!)

He whispers;
"Hold them here awhile."
To his patients he turns.
Offering up a smile.
So full of suffering.
So devoid of guile.
They're just amazed
at how well he's bearing up,
against his viral trial.

Then: "Send the first one."
He commands.
As he tries to still
his shaking hands.
The patient enters
right on cue.
And says: "Hey Doc.
I here you have the flu."

"Uhhh, just a touch."
The Doc informs.
His insides,
like a can of worms.
"This time I think
that just a cleaning will do.
Excuse me a moment.
Won't you?"

Once behind
his office door,
where he feels safe,
he begins to pour.
Then doubles his double,
just because.
Never reflecting
on the things he does,
just to make it
through the day.
In seconds,
the bottle is put away.

Do you know that
the flu is gone,
when he returns.
He laughs!
He jokes.
His being yearns,
to make this patient realize,
that Doctor Mortimer is authorized,
to work miracles north and south,
INSIDE ANYBODIES MOUTH!

Well.
Halfway through
this dialogue deep.
Doctor Mortimer
began to weep.
I pray the Lord
his soul to keep.
With drill in mouth,
he fell asleep.

Contest Sample No. 3

2007-04-02T18:48:00.000-07:00

by V. B. Monchego, Jr.

The grumpy man has tripped on a crack and the crows in the trees are laughing at him. His hand is bleeding. His new trousers are torn at the knee. The grumpy man is alone on the sidewalk in the middle of a gated community at dusk. The neighbors watch the man through their shutters. The grumpy man stands and punches a mailbox. Ten blocks later, the man is spread eagle at the rear of a police cruiser. He has forgotten to bring identification. He was just going for a walk.

Contest Sample No. 2

2007-04-02T10:05:00.000-07:00

by V.B. Monchego, Jr.

The grumpy man is unhappy, always, even on weekends when he is not required to labour as a government-paid provocateur. When the grumpy man prematurely flips a perfectly round pancake and it breaks into battery pieces, the frying pan sails through the kitchen window, randomly striking a Witness spreading the hopeful word of Jehovah. This action assures the grumpy man a place in eternal hellfire. On the other hand, Jesus will greet the Witness in 23 earth years at the Pearly Gates. Jesus will give the Witness a monogrammed cardigan which the Witness will wear in Heaven, causing unspoken envy among the other angels.

Contest Sample No. 1

2007-04-01T20:53:00.001-07:00

MORNING: The grumpy man stands at his toilet. He has a headache and his vision is blurred. His penis hole is gummed up and two irregular streams miss the bowl entirely before he can cut off the flow. He knows his wife Faye will call him a slob. He will be misunderstood again. The piss on the floor is not the result of poor aim and male insolence. In a fit, he grabs a washcloth and begins to mop the floor. Behind the toilet, he finds a stump of cigar. He is not a smoker. Now he is really mad.

Announcing the Grumpy Man Flash Fiction Contest

2007-04-01T20:39:00.000-07:00

This contest is still coming together so check back for more information. The basic rules and guidelines are:

1. Short fiction or prose poem with 500 words or less.

2. Your short piece should feature a grumpy man.

3. Heck, why not. Or a grumpy woman.

4. Contest ends July 31, 2007 when the sun goes down over the westerly most point of Canada.

5. Winners will be announced in early August 2007.

6. There will be prize money (at least enough to buy some kind of meat, liquor, and a pack of Tiparillos) and a traveling trophy.

7. Email submissions to rowan.mayhewphd@gmail.com for postings.

8. Check this site weekly for postings and leave comments. All entries will be posted unless they are so remarkably offensive that the cyber police pay me a midnight visit.

9. Examples to be posted soon.

Thanks and live heartily.