Category: articles
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for Love of the Damaged and Unbroken
“Who is that? Wh—G-ah!-D…Damn it! Who is that?” The man brayed into the shadows, but there was no answer. Still, even the most possessive Gods allow us to know more than we should. He felt someone there—in the vault with him. For a moment, he heard nothing, neither breath nor heartbeat in those cavernous chambers.…
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Artificial Sonnets
V. The poet knocked politely on the doorThen opened it and stepped into the room.His boss was there – as she had been before – Joined by a man in army uniform.The poet’s skin went cold. His boss said: “Hi,Welcome. This customer wants to discussSome poetry-based issues, which is whyI thought it best that you…
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Tardigrade Nomenclature
Some call them water bearson account of their bear-like gait Goeze charmingly called them: Mein kleiner Wasserbär (my little-water-bear) (In profile, Goeze himself resembled a Tardigrade) Today Germans label them – with decidedly less charm:Bärtierchen (little-bear-animal) But it was Spallanzi who christened them: Tardigradum (slow-walker) like teens out for a saunter with their mobile devicesstepping…
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Kyle Voyles: Caveman
The people who dedicate their lives to the exploration of caves are a breed apart. Kyle Voyles, the St. George Utah cave expert, is one of those people and he leads an unconventional, fascinating life. I first met Kyle at the base of the Bloomington Cave entrance, his truck was easily spotted as its license…
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The Cycle of Embers
Which moment marks the part of our lives when we learn to live, and which milestone is the beginning of the end? When does the present pass us by and become the past? When does the long-anticipated future become the present? When does the future become nonexistent? I can tell you what the beginning is…
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Do You See?
Do you see a swan aloft? Or, no, a frog adrift, dreaming on the wing. Do you see a stand of trees?Or walkers,standing still for now. Do you see a bus, huddled with a hundred cars? A S L O W hurry. Do you see a cloud?Or only Sky, her rumpled hair falling to her…
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Artificial Sonnets
IV. The poet wore a smile, broad, smug and warm,Took praise from everyone who offered it.He thought: “I am a sage of my art form!And now I’ll just sit back and take credit.”He burst into his office in this mood,The grin still wide upon his haughty face,To find two people talking there – how rude!Who…
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Santa Quit: I am Applying to the Position of Santa
(Inspired by the McSweeney’s piece “I Would Like to be Pope”) Dear Sir or Madam, I am reaching out to apply for the position of Santa in the Claus division. This year, I will graduate from Brown University to receive my Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, in an independent concentration called “Capitalism and Holiday…
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Spiritual Activism (for Frederick Buechner)
We know what we should be doing with our lives:meeting the world’s deep hunger with our own, as we nourish the soul, with all its tribulationsand desires, and stand like a rock on principles. When we get off the hurtling merry-go-round, we discover the everyday rhythms of living: remembering how to breathe, to integrate body…
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The Food Chain
When I was 11 years old, I got a baseball glove for Christmas. I had been a Mets fan since the age of 7, starting in the second year of the franchise. My dad would put the radio on for me at night before I had one with a snooze button. I would come…
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Reading and Decoding English
English text has two different forms, which are alphabetic and phonetic. When we read, we decode, recognize, read and each word mentally or subconsciously before reading it in context: vizibal and visible. The better we learn and understand the phonetic and alphabetic relationship, the faster we can decode and process the alphabetic words. People who…
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The Smartphone Adjuster
“Henderson Atwell,” a woman announced. She stood in an open doorway to a small office, a wane smile on her face, and a clipboard held protectively in front of her light blue cardigan. “Yup, that’s me,” a beefy man said. He hoisted his large body from the waiting room chair. In three strides, he stood…