BABE IN THE WOODS: Interlude (one)

2004-2006; East Coast, United States of America Damon Vargas would be the first to admit he could be something of an idiot. Unlike most politicians, he was unable to disassociate himself from his past record. Not that he was much of a politician, losing the only race he’d ever run, as an independent candidate – translation: no financial backing worth mentioning – for mayor of New York City back in 2005. According to New York City Board of Election Records, he’d received less than 1% of the vote, relatively few of them cast by close friends or family. Prior to…

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You Must Still Act

Six out of seven nights of getting to bed post-midnight took its toll last night, muddling through another 1,052 words as my brain locked up and I half-assed two short "chapters" that severely tested my ability to keep my Inner Editor at bay. NaNoWriMo Word Count, Day 4: 3,512 (-3,156) The only good thing is that, including the 384 words I wrote during lunch, it was the closest I've come to hitting the daily goal of 1,667 so far. I'm in serious trouble, though, if I have to count on my lunch hour to keep me close. In other news,…

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BABE IN THE WOODS: Three

Friday, October 30, 2015: Bronx, NY, USA Diane Rodriguez ran her fingers through her long dark hair, pulling it back from her neck and wrapped it around itself in an inelegant version of a ponytail. The bags under her eyes were full from lack of sleep and she blinked constantly in an attempt to moisten her contacts. “You look like you need some sleep,” offered Damon Vargas. “I probably look worse than you, no?” Diane laughed. “You look like you need a new wardrobe and a doctor. I can help with some clothes but you’ll have to wait until tomorrow…

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BABE IN THE WOODS: Two

Tuesday, October 15, 2013: Mt. Pleasant, NY, USA “Maybe we could domesticate one?” “Dude! No fucking way can you domesticate a zombie!” Anthony DiBlanco passed the cup of warm Budweiser to Jason Reed, his vision slightly blurred, nodding his head in mock annoyance. “You’ve taken one sack too many, I think!” They both laughed like it was the funniest thing they’d ever heard. Jason, star quarterback for Mt. Pleasant High School’s varsity football team and boyfriend of Anthony’s sister, Jennifer, was known for holding on to the ball too long, preferring a sack to an incompletion or an interception. “Scouts…

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NaNoWriMo 2004: BABE IN THE WOODS

I've renamed my NaNoWriMo novel: BABE IN THE WOODS. As in... "The Babe was the original Clark Kent," he said. He was also the equivalent of Patient Zero, as he soon realized that some of his human suppers would return to "life" as zombies three days later if they weren’t properly interred. Or decapitated. So the Babe decided to start a family in the woods of Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park. He wanted revenge. Maybe I'm just loopy from the election but I crack myself up sometimes!

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Pumpkin Seeds: Mental Reboot Edition

1. NaNoWriMo Word Count, Day 3: 2,076 (-2,925) 2. Damn election! 3. The novel is happily percolating in my brain, flowing easily whenever I've found the time to write, but it's been 48 hours since I've found such time, so I'll need to spend my lunch hour on it before the well runs dry. And a late night tonight, I suspect. 4. Post-election America; a reanimated Babe Ruth and his zombie army; teenage sex! Diane's random-ass plot idea has been extremely liberating and my inner-editor has remained relatively quiet, letting the words flow freely. Lacking an outline, pre-determined cast, or…

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The Democrats are done.

Kerry concedes, delivering a bad Oscar speech, and once again calls for compromise from Democrats: "America is in need of unity, and longing for a larger measure of compassion." Instead of rallying the troops and capitalizing on the momentum of an invigorated, if demoralized, left he wants us to play the lamb to the lion and hope this time we don't get mauled. Sorry. Not this time. We tried that route in 2000 and took it square on the chin as a result, and got saddled with another compromised loser instead of taking a stand for real change and nominating…

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