“Yes! ‘Never play to the gallery,’ I think. But you never learn that until much later on, I think. But never work for other people in what you do. Always … always remember that the reason you initially started working was that there was something inside yourself that you felt, that if you could manifest it in some way, you would understand more about yourself and how you coexist with the rest of society.”
Getting Political, Just for a Moment
Clinton is a fox who knows many things you can fact check. Trump is a hedgehog who knows one very big thing: We need change.
— Newt Gingrich (@newtgingrich) September 25, 2016
Okay, yes @NewtGingrich just made a ham-handed reference to Sonic the Hedgehog and his unmemorable buddy Tails. But that’s not the point, is it? Thousands of people are literally lining up at the blender to guzzle this amoral shills asshole-shakes about @RealDonaldTrump. That’s right. @Newtgingrich is our nation’s chief mixologist, his life’s work has been figuring out ways to plop a steaming dump in a blender, hit Frappé and convince Americans that “Yes, hum, I can taste the blueberries.”
Good grief people! It’s your constant desire to gobble down such obvious crap that makes this veteran ashamed he ever stood up in your defence. @RealDonaldTrump is unquestionably a self-possessed liar who couldn’t fix anything wrong with this country any more than he could name all 50 state capitals. Monday’s debate should have proved that to you. No doubt should remain. He couldn’t articulate a plan, not a single one, even when asked directly and coddled by a generous moderator. His ideas all sounded like something an underwear gnome might repeat.
The Underwear Gnome Plan for National Prosperity: A @RealDonaldTrump Story
A don’t even get me started on @NewtGingrich because that rabid shit-show of a dog has bitten the Republican hand that feeds it so many times I find it laughable that they haven’t put him down. Any fiscal conservative with even a shred of self-dignity still in their possession should meet anything this man has to say with derisive laughter. And you social conservatives? Good grief people, @NewtGingrich is an unpenitent sinner your own dogma condemns to hell fire and damnation. The simple fact that he doesn’t wear a crimson “A” around his neck is clear evidence that *your* convictions are lacking.
Let me repeat that, you lack the courage of your convictions.
Look, I know that people make mistakes and I’m all for cutting everyone some slack and even offering forgiveness or finding a reconciliation as each case may demand; if only so we can all move forward. And I’d be a lesser person if I didn’t acknowledge the fact that I’ve wronged others on numerous occasions, but here’s the deal. You don’t get to negotiate what is and is not “truth” when you’ve been caught in so many lies. You cannot be allowed to become an arbiter of justice if your advocacy always punches down. And for the life of me, I can’t understand why anyone would consider handing the reins of government to an ignominious dolt who returns NULL when asked to provide even a glimpse of his outline for our future.
So, before you elect a madman to the Oval Office on the shitty advice of shitty people, for no other reason than because you “can’t trust Hilary” stop and think about where you’ve previously invested your confidence. Look, as a long-time Democrat with strong progressive leanings I’m not happy with Hilary, but I know she can be counted on to keep things moving. If not toward my personal ideals then at least forward. She has, at a minimum, clearly defined her plans, including the mechanisms she intends to use to achieve these outcomes. Conversely, @RealDonaldTrump has spent the last year and a half appealing to your baser instincts. He’s relied on liars, sinners, and crooks to provide him a veneer of credibility. And when that pretense has been peeled away he’s strong-armed his critics. Eyes on you Ted Cruz.
I’m aware that in the event of a Trump Presidency I’ll find myself up against The Wall. Got that. Ted Cruz and I can enjoy our first and last conversation, blindfolded, sharing a cigarette.
Given supreme executive power, how long do you think it will be before he strong-arms you? The GOP, which so often claims the moral high ground on any issue, remains compassionless and in putting forward people like @RealDonaldTrump they’ve failed their party’s mandate. Their continuing acknowledgement of @NewtGingrich just demonstrates how important those “values” really are.
Instinct
Yesterday, I went for a slow paced trail run at Island Center. Nothing special, I’m working on building aerobic efficiency right now which means I’m trying to keep my heart rate below 136 BPM (more on that later).
The sun was out. The sky was an azure blue seldom seen this close to the dirty air of Seattle. The dense trees cast their shadows over the trail before my feet. I’d left my sunglasses in the car, and I have a horrible time with the glare, so I’d been squinting and tripping as I covered the ground.
Then out of nowhere, I noticed something and my body stopped. Of its own accord. I drew up short before a garter snake laying in a pool of leaves, stones, and sunshine. I stood over the snake and watched for a good long while and while I did I realized that something in the back of my brain had fired. I’d just had a very primal experience.
https://www.strava.com/activities/725951284/embed/3eb4f07b5c7e502cd3e0920cf103a9d990902a21
My unconscious mind had seen the snake before the rest of my gray matter could even bother. Apparently, somewhere in my genetic history is the hereditary understanding that it’s a bad thing to step on serpents.
Beyond this immediate recognition is the understanding that there is power here. If you’re trying to push your body toward the health of your ancestors it’s imperative to find and leverage these bits of knowledge.
Stand Back, It’s Tele Time
“My-my-my-my gear makes me so hard makes me say oh my Lord.” Yeah, you’re going to have to give me a good long minute or two because I just came across this binding.
It’s everything I’ve ever wanted in a boot interface. Most of you are like, “What?” What you don’t understand is that secretly I’m a free-heal fanatic. I love to telemark. Between declining health and lack of pow-pow I’ve stayed off my boards for a couple of years now.
Add to this, when I lived in Crested Butte and up sloped every morning I’d already switched over to an ultralight, AT set up. I carried more in skin weight than bindings on those runs and I loved how light everything was despite the binding pinning my heal to the plank.
With cables, this bad boy comes in at 500 grams! Moonlight Mountain Gear. This! So much this!
So Close
I’ll begin by offering my sincerest thanks, seriously, I am overcome with gratitude. Writing is a rollercoaster, one where you almost never see where the tracks are headed, and since launching this Patreon near the end of last July I’ve been surprised by the support little-unknown-me has been able to generate. So, also a huge thank you to the makers of Patreon. Seriously, you guys are the best because this whole thing is helping me find new readers.
But, I’m not writing this to thank those of you who have already helped me turn my short fiction into a living. Rather, I’m looking for new eyes. In the last couple of days, we’ve added four new readers to our ranks and we’re five readers away from breaking my second funding goal.
So, I’m reiterating my request from a few days ago, I’m encouraging you to make a bet on me. If you can put down a dollar you’ll be helping create something new and special. If you can’t put down a dollar, maybe you can tell a friend. Thank you for helping, thank you for sharing.
IOTD
Recently, I was just interviewed for a radio show and one of the things we talked about was my belief that you cannot be a contemporary reader who doesn’t read science fiction. Rationally, it’s an impossibility. Even if you’re scanning the virtual pages of your Kindle, engrossed in a pre-historical treatise, you’re reading science fiction. You’re living it.
I bring this up because there have been so many instances since I became a full-time wordsmith that I’ve been asked, “What do you write?” Sometimes people show genuine curiosity, but all too often the response I hear is, “Oh, I don’t read science fiction.” Yes. Yes you do, and that should inspire you, is what I think.
I have friends who have been diagnosed with MS. I was born and raised in a place with a high incidence of the disease and I’ve watched vibrant, active and helpless people as their own immune systems eat them from the inside out. As little as 10 years ago, the idea that there would be a therapy to reverse this disease and return them all to full and productive lives was little more than fantasy. Back then, for them, we had some synthetic chemical treatments — their working mechanics a complete unknown — and a comfortable, lonely spot in an assisted living facility.
But, oh, the breakthroughs! Today, we’re on the threshold of rebuilding damaged neural tissues. Think about that for a moment, let it sink in. Despite what the standardized media outlets would have you believe, there is hope. We can fix inequity, right injustice, live together, and discover happiness. We just need the imagination to peer into that future.
Shadow Over Your Shoulder
Ink by Jeffrey Witty
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I’ve just posted the short story for September on Patreon. I’m very proud of this creation and Shadow Over Your Shoulder arguably one of the better pieces I’ve written. I’d describe it as literary speculative fiction, a fantasy of sorts where the magic can be found in the mundane. It’s also a bit of a love story — not the spicy, passionate kind, but the stuff of commitment and compassion.
If you haven’t subscribed yet, don’t fret, there is plenty of time. If you’re not interested in subscribing, but would still like to read Shadow Over Your Shoulder I’m going to try something new. FeetForBrains is henceforth a small press all on its own, and that means you can buy my short stories directly.
Here’s how it should work. You can purchase access to Shadow directly, no monthly commitment, by clicking on the PayPal button below. You’ll run through their purchase rigamarole and eventually get a link to a Scribd version of the story. Keep in mind that my overhead is increased with this method of distribution, consequently so is the cost of the story (yep, $2 whole bucks). Go, go gadget micro-transactions!
However you choose to support my art, thank you! And that’s what this is all about, we’re building a creative empire in increments. Of course, I’d love to hear your comments and impressions.
