Category: articles
-
Tardigrade Physiology
Here’s where they live:Hot springs / deep sea / shingles on my roof Terrestrial Tardigrades adhere to liverwortsand feel most comfortable with a water film But some have survived in spaceSome have been spilled on the moontossed carelessly in the lunar dust They’re ‘dead’ there of courseBut a well-aimed droplet from a droppermight well reanimate…
-
Yang Got UBI Right for Once
For the most part, the campaign of Andrew Yang has cooked up that perfect blend of inspiring, vaporware, and buzzwords we’ve come to expect from both the business community and the gold rush cities of California. Buzzwords because naming a new radioactive isotope does not negate the power a Dyson sphere (advanced solar panels) hold…
-
Artificial Sonnets
VI. The poet cut a sorry figure lately;Early triumphs had lost all of their glitter.His boss called, which did not surprise him greatly,But poverty required he was no quitter.His manager was terse, her tone was brittleAs she explained to him the situation:“This lady oversees a hospitalAnd hopes you’ll diagnose an aberration.”He nodded to the guest;…
-
Tardigrade Morphology & Reproduction
Barrell-shaped with stubby legs Their caudal segments are enrichedwith a fourth set of these legseven pudgier than the other six Only a few enjoy pigment-cup eyessince most are eye-less Others are endowed with bristles along the head and bodyfor sensation And the entirety of the bodyperforms respiration The round tube-holein the middle of their facescontains…
-
On the Existence of Poetry, An Ars Poetica
Poetry is not real. It hovers overthe edge of existencethe blurry line betweenlife and death. It does not dealwith the mundane and banalthreads of being. It enters into themicroscopic, trivial things, the important thingsthe things that are painful to think aboutthe things that burn us if we get too closethe things that bring us joy…
-
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.…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…