My own Poetry, Fiction, Non-Fiction, and occasional commentary on all of the above.
Thursday, October 31, 2013: Bronx, NY, USA Liberty Sou was what the kids in her neighborhood referred to as “the crazy cat lady.” And, oddly enough, they were actually right. An up and coming folk singer at the turn of the century, she’d become politically active during the pivotal Presidential election of 2004 and had quickly worked her way on to the Department of Homeland Security’s Domestic Terrorism watch list. She spoke out against the President, harshly, at each of her concerts, not an unusual thing in those days, but it was a random quote in a Rolling Stone interview…
(ongoing series only) 1. Gotham Central - I'm a big fan of strong characterization and tight plotting, and this Batman-themed take on the classic police procedural, a la Hill Street Blues and Homicide: Life on the Street, features some of the strongest writing in comics. Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka are terrific, and Michael Lark's gritty artwork matches them note for note. He'll be sorely missed but I'm hopeful that DC will tap a replacement with similar sensibilities. 2. Teen Titans - I fully expected this series to take an immediate downhill turn for the worse after the thrill-ride of…
(ongoing series only) 1. Gotham Central - I'm a big fan of strong characterization and tight plotting, and this Batman-themed take on the classic police procedural, a la Hill Street Blues and Homicide: Life on the Street, features some of the strongest writing in comics. Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka are terrific, and Michael Lark's gritty artwork matches them note for note. He'll be sorely missed but I'm hopeful that DC will tap a replacement with similar sensibilities. 2. Teen Titans - I fully expected this series to take an immediate downhill turn for the worse after the thrill-ride of…
Thursday, October 31, 2013: Mt. Pleasant, NY, USA The Mayor of Mt. Pleasant, NY, Jacob Harrison, could trace his family’s lineage back to the original Wampanoag tribes of Massachusetts Bay, all the way to within one generation of Chief Metacom and the vicious slaughter of his people by the immigrant Puritans. Looking around at the gathering of various levels of law enforcement – local, state and federal – that had invaded his sleepy little town, their pale white faces reflecting the morning sun, he felt a fleeting wave of revulsion at his place in the world. As if he’d somehow…
One 37-cent stamp, and five minutes of your time, and you might make a difference. The Honorable David M. Walker Comptroller General of the United States U.S. General Accountability Office 441 G Street, NW Washington, DC 20548 Dear Mr. Walker: I am writing as a registered voter and a taxpaying citizen of the United States, to request that you launch a public and fully-transparent investigation into the increasing allegations of massive and wide-spread election fraud perpetrated against the American voting public on Tuesday, November 2nd. The right to vote, and the right to have that vote properly counted, is perhaps…
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…
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…
