It’s the week before Christmas, and this is the time when many people are concentrated on gifts: either buying them for people or looking forward to getting them. Gifts are usually good (at least, we hope so). We might say that someone has a gift for languages or public speaking. Or anything, really. Of course,…
Muse on Monday – December 11, 2023
In North America, at least, December is often a crazy time of year. Christmas and New Year’s dominate the month and there are all kinds of holiday celebrations and end of year events. There can be pressure to layer on traditions, so that there is a lot to plan for. Each tradition and event has…
Luddite Philanthropy
Luddite Philanthropy People whispered about the creepy house because that is what people do. It had hundreds of shoes hanging from one outside wall. People said that they were trophies from the owner’s victims. Gossip leads to accusations, then to investigations, so the police stopped by. Mrs. Hodges, 92 and half blind, sat while the…
Muse on Monday – December 4, 2023
Happy Monday and welcome to the last month of the year. One of my hobbies is geography, and I like to find out the origins of place names. Sometimes it is obvious, such as places named after a famous person (e.g. Lincoln, Nebraska) or from geographical features (e.g. Grand Rapids, Michigan). But then there are…
Muse on Monday – November 27, 2023
They say you can’t judge a book by its cover, but of course, that is the whole point of the cover. Every day, artists in publishing companies try to design covers that will help you judge the book inside positively. As someone who occasionally self-publishes books and makes my own cover art, it is interesting…
Muse on Monday – November 20, 2023
Stories are all about conflict and microcosm of conflict is in games. Usually games are just for fun but sometimes, like the Hunger Games (or Squid Game), they have life or death stakes. This week, the challenge is to write a story about a game. It could silly or serious; epic or very small. Whatever…
Muse on Monday – November 13, 2023
Sometimes when I need inspiration, I look at stock images. There are various random image generators online where you can see random stock photos. The trick is to find a picture with a story. There are a lot of nice pictures online but a picture of a flower, for example, doesn’t have much of a…
Shoppers from Elsewhere
Shoppers from Elsewhere Our tables were ready when the Others stepped through the Door, otherworldly eyes wide and curious. They circulated the flea market, buying goods before returning to wherever they came from. No one knew. Or cared. They liked plastic, and they paid in platinum, making every 37th day a jackpot. A woman (probably)…
Muse on Monday – November 6, 2023
Happy Monday and welcome to a new month. November is a month of transitions: between fall and winter and between the dark Halloween season and the brighter, more festive Christmas/New Year season. It is also the penultimate month of the year. Penultimate is a great word, meaning second last. We tend to give a lot…
You Can’t Miss It
You Can’t Miss It “Stop! That’s the one.” “He said it had a green door.” “That is green.” “You sure? Looks yellow. I think it’s just a greenish light.” “Well, he said it’s the house with the green door, said we couldn’t miss it.” “You wanna go knock?” “Go up and ask if this is…
The Green-Walled Treehouse 