New Story Announcement

I'm happy to report that I sold my third SFWA qualifying short story this past week. "Concussion," the longest of the four stories I've sold to date, will be making its way to your ears via Escape Pod, a fantastic venue for science fiction stories.

Magnitude Seven

The new audio story's up at Pseudopod. Check it out here.

Politics and Family

Lunch started off well enough. And then my father discovered I was voting for THAT guy. It's funny. He seems gobsmacked each time he rediscovers I'm a liberal, as if finding out that his son is really a short Korean lady or a broom.

New Poem in Ideomancer

I have a new piece up today at Ideomancer called Ana Morphosis. Check it out. It comes with a short commentary about the poem's origin.

Your Fortune for Today

An Elephant in the Womb Courtesy of the BBC

Beauty.

The Mirror With Six Faces

If anyone cares to read it, my short short came out today on Flash Fiction Online.

Farewell, Mr. Bradbury

"If we listened to our intellect, we'd never have a love affair. We'd never have a friendship. We'd never go into business, because we'd be cynical. Well, that's nonsense. You've got to jump off cliffs all the time and build your wings on the way down." Ray Bradbury

Hoist With an Ark to the Stars

My short, short Hoist With an Ark to the Stars is now up at Daily Science Fiction. You can rate it by clicking on the little rockets at the bottom. I was reading the story on my ipad, and when I accidentally tapped the screen, I'd given myself a 4 out of 7. Oops. My subconscious mind is out to get me.

Daily Science Fiction Story

My new story, "Hoist With an Ark to the Stars," drops into email boxes on May 17th. Then it'll be up on their website a week later for nonsubscribers.

Spring 2012 BFS Journal

I have a poem in the Spring 2012 issue of the British Fantasy Society Journal. I particularly like this one.

New Poems in Scifaikuest

I have some new stuff in both the print and online editions of Scifaikuest. Check it out.

Quote of the Day

"We should find perfect existence through imperfect existence." Shunryu Suzuki

Quote of the Day

"There is evil and disorder in the world because people have forgotten that all things emanate from one source. Return to that source and leave behind all self-centered thoughts, petty desires, and anger. Those who are possessed by nothing possess everything." Morihei Ueshiba (translated by John Stevens)

Children's Past Life Memories

A video about the studies done at the University of Virginia's School of Medicine. I love this kind of stuff. Is it just wishful thinking, or is there really something to reincarnation?

New Scifaiku

Check out the latest issue of Star*Line for my Zen Fish. A PDF is only $2.50.

Quote of the Day

"When you bow deeply to the universe, it bows back." Morihei Ueshiba (From The Art of Peace, translated by John Stevens)

New Scifaiku

Check out issue 36 of Beyond Centauri. If you look carefully, you might find a scifaiku from me.

Verse 63 of the Tao Te Ching

Act without doing;
work without effort.
Think of the small as large
and the few as many.
Confront the difficult
while it is still easy;
accomplish the great task
by a series of small acts.

The Master never reaches for the great;
thus she achieves greatness.
When she runs into a difficulty,
she stops and gives herself to it.
She doesn't cling to her own effort;
thus problems are no problem for her.

(translated by Stephen Mitchell)

A Must-Watch Video

If this doesn't drop your jaw, there's no hope for you. Solipsist, directed by Andrew Thomas Huang. Winner of the 2012 Slamdance special jury prize for experimental short.

SOLIPSIST from Andrew Huang on Vimeo.

Typewriter Museum

For those of us who love the anachronistic.

Quote of the Day

"We are all dying, a great slow death called life." Taigu

The Best Chocolate Mousse Recipe

Ok, you're not going to believe this recipe. It's going to seem too simple. But that's what makes it so great. You don't need cream and you don't need egg yolks.

Here's what you will need for 2 servings:

2 oz of REALLY GOOD dark chocolate (not unsweetened)
two egg whites
a few drops of lemon juice
and about a tablespoon of sugar (or to your taste)

That's it! The lemon juice and the sugar aren't even necessary, but they make the mousse come alive.

Now here's the procedure:

First, slowly melt the chocolate either in the microwave (carefully), or in a bowl placed on a double-bowler. Make sure it's completely smooth.

Then whip the egg whites, stopping just before the peaks are totally stiff. You want the texture to be silky, not crunchy. If you're using an electric mixer, stop every few seconds toward the end to check. Good egg whites can turn bad in the blink of an eye.

About half way through, put the sugar and a squeeze of lemon in the fluffy whites. The acid helps to stabilize the whites, and the citrus adds a nice note of subtle flavor. If you want to experiment, you can also try other flavorings such as cold espresso and/or bourbon at this stage. Everything is better with a little bourbon.

Once the eggs are ready, pour a third of the chocolate into the whites and fold gently. After they're incorporated, fold in the rest. If you put the whites into the chocolate instead, you run the risk of seizing the whole thing, turning your mousse into a solid lump that'll look like something your dog left behind.

Once the chocolate and egg whites are fully incorporated, spoon it into a couple dishes, refrigerate for a few hours, and then enjoy your light and airy, yet deliciously decadent chocolate mousse.

Carving Books

Amazing! Check this out. Using knives, tweezers and surgical tools, Brian Dettmer carves one page at a time... 

David Byrne Reads a Poem

Check it out. David Byrne reads a poem. 

Quote from Roald Dahl

"And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it." Roald Dahl

Quote of the Day

"Everyone has been made for some particular work, and the desire for that work has been put in every heart." Rumi

Scifaikuest

The latest print issue of Scifaikuest, the illustrated magazine of scifaiku, senryu, haibun, and tanka, is out now. I have a couple pieces in it, and though I haven't received my copy in the mail yet, if my work is any indication of its quality, you should dash on over (with your virtual legs of course) and pick up the issue without delay.

Pitching a TV Series

I've never pitched a new pilot, but I have pitched for existing series (eons ago), and I thought this article from the Los Angeles Times was a fun read.

ETA: click on "article" if you can't see the link.

Quote of the Day

"For a moment, nothing happened. Then, after a second or so, nothing continued to happen." Douglas Adams

Star*Line 35.1

Check out this month's Star*Line. It has one of my favorite poems in it, "I AM."

The Words of Lao Tzu (whoever/if ever he was)

"When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be."

"The truth is not always beautiful, and beautiful words not always the truth."

"Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality."

"Be content in what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there's nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you."

"Time is a created thing. To say 'I don't have time,' is to say 'I don't want to.'"

"Stop thinking and end your problems."

"Respond intelligently even to unintelligent treatment."

"Act without expectation."

"To a mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders."

"I have three things to teach: simplicity, patience, and compassion. These three are your greatest treasures."

"Muddy water, let stand, becomes clear."

"Life and death are one thread, the same line viewed from different sides."

Niteblade

For those of you not familiar with it, Niteblade is a wonderful horror and fantasy magazine put out by Rhonda Parrish. It comes out in PDF on a quarterly basis, but every fifth issue is also made available in print. I was lucky enough to have a poem in December 2011's print issue, and to have my name beside some of the true powerhouses in speculative poetry really is an honor.

I was so moved by the images I saw coming out of Haiti after the terrible Earthquake in 2010 that I knew I had to write a story or poem about it, and that it would undoubtedly be dark. It took a while for the seeds to germinate and bear fruit, but eventually I wrote Magnitude Seven, and with the help of editor Alexandra Seidel (a fabulous poet), shaped it into something I'm quite proud of.

I urge everyone to pick up a copy of the current issue, whether print or PDF, and help keep this fine magazine alive. For only $2.99 it's a great deal!

New Poem Up

My poem "Soaked Through" is up at Eye to the Telescope, the SFPA's online journal of speculative poetry. Check out issue #3. It's all about the persona poem. As guest editor Jeannine Hall Gailey puts it, "The definition of persona poetry is poetry that is told from the first-person perspective of a character who explicitly is not the poet." It's funny, quite a few of the poems I've written could be considered persona poems, yet it wasn't until Jeannine's call that I first learned the term. You just never know how much you don't know, do you?