Monthly Archives: February 2012

Alone O’Clock

Posted on February 14, 2012 by sputterpub

The traffic has subsided and the TV screens are dark. The streetlights burn as brightly as the moon. The atmosphere’s delighted with the evening’s blue remark and midnight has agreed to be here soon. In my room I’m pressing for … Continue reading →

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Constructive Criticism

Posted on February 13, 2012 by sputterpub

I object. I have a complaint. I may not have any right to voice it, but that’s never shut me up before. I think I understand how evolution works. Natural selection has made sense to me since I first heard … Continue reading →

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Qualified Comfort

Posted on February 10, 2012 by sputterpub

I felt so low the other day I scared myself and others with explosive tears that welled up warm and overflowed and bared my cheeks as they exposed my pain and fears. So miserable was I and needy too, I … Continue reading →

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Notes

Posted on February 9, 2012 by sputterpub

Dad advised us not to take too many notes in school. He told us about his college days, sitting in a lecture hall, surrounded by other students who were trying to write down everything the professor said. They ended up … Continue reading →

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Bath

Posted on February 8, 2012 by sputterpub

In the olden days, in Northern Europe, people didn’t bathe much. There are legends about birthday and wedding day immersions – and those were it, till death invited the ritual cleansing of the corpse (typical backward tradition: care for the … Continue reading →

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The General

Posted on February 7, 2012 by sputterpub

I ambled in the park the other day, beneath the overcast and through the clumps of eucalyptus, picked a level way that dodged the poison oak and gnarly stumps and brought me when I paused before the tree. It was … Continue reading →

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TED Talk

Posted on February 6, 2012 by sputterpub

I had lunch a few months ago with a friend, and she told me how exciting it had been for her to attend a TED talk, live. I can’t remember whom she saw, but she glowed with the recent experience. … Continue reading →

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Boredom

Posted on February 3, 2012 by sputterpub

“What should I do?” the child asks again, and mother says amid her busyness, “Go hit your head against a wall” and then “Don’t bother me – this kitchen is a mess.” That’s how suburban childhood plays out among advantages … Continue reading →

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How to Tell Them They’re Wrong

Posted on February 2, 2012 by sputterpub

Most of the time, if you say “You’re wrong” to someone, you just get his back up. Even if you make it funny (“R-O-N-G: wrong!” my dad used to declare), the accused gets accused, gets defensive, argues or pouts and … Continue reading →

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Synthetic Plastics

Posted on February 1, 2012 by sputterpub

I know, I know. I’ve even said it myself: complaining about language change is as boring as nostalgia and as useless as confessing you’re insecure; it should be taken to the privacy of your room. Even so, now and then, … Continue reading →

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