Monthly Archives: July 2011

Reception

Posted on July 29, 2011 by sputterpub

For 50 years I drove myself to get a spouse and raise my kids and earn my keep and exercise and write. That’s when I set my course: I lost no time – I traded sleep if necessary to attain … Continue reading →

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Fair Market Value

Posted on July 28, 2011 by sputterpub

“The only place the word fair appears in the Internal Revenue Code,” Al intoned, is “immediately before the phrase market value.” Al has since retired, but I’ll never forget his words. He was responding to some complaint I voiced about … Continue reading →

Posted in Lessons, Money Stuff | Leave a comment

Eeps

Posted on July 27, 2011 by sputterpub

Recently I got into “eep” words. It started with keep, and moved on to creep, sweep, weep, peep, and steep. They all come from Middle English words which developed from Old English. Most of the Middle English words rhymed too … Continue reading →

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Characters

Posted on July 26, 2011 by sputterpub

It’s been said before and today it’s my turn. When you create fictional characters, they’re likely to make decisions and proceed in directions you didn’t anticipate when you started them. It isn’t that they act perversely – rather, you didn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Lessons, Poetry, Writing | Leave a comment

Snubbin’ Cousins

Posted on July 25, 2011 by sputterpub

If you go back just a few generations in anybody’s family, the tree widens. Folks tended to have more babies last century, and even if fewer (percentage-wise) survived to adulthood, enough made it that everyone had cousins, and many came … Continue reading →

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Reveille

Posted on July 22, 2011 by sputterpub

I started this sonnet in 1998, saw it published in the online zine Cyclamens & Swords last August, and have just dallied with edits and played with line breaks, for here. I don’t know what breed of bird it was, … Continue reading →

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The Truth about the Tortoise and the Hare

Posted on July 21, 2011 by sputterpub

It’s a great fable and it made a cute cartoon. But is it honest? We all get it: that to win the race one should stay focused and avoid cockiness. But under what circumstances, really, would the tortoise win? Clearly this … Continue reading →

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Blasphemers and Heretics

Posted on July 20, 2011 by sputterpub

Well it just goes to show you. A few weeks ago I thought it might be fun to look up blaspheme. And before I did that I knew I’d also have to check out heretic. But I expected blaspheme to … Continue reading →

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Multitasking

Posted on July 19, 2011 by sputterpub

One day two years ago, Lisa asked why we think it’s good to multitask, and her question stopped me cold. I couldn’t come up with a good answer. I’ve given the subject more thought since, and I am boggled at … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry | Leave a comment

The BART Effect

Posted on July 18, 2011 by sputterpub

They don’t give out full information, but I just happened to ride the escalator with the responding emergency personnel, so I knew it was one septuagenarian who took our BART train out of service. “It’s her hip,” the station agent … Continue reading →

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