kaolinfire

rage against darkness / or revel in its edges / endings come too soon

Earth is not the center of the universe; but it is a center. It is where we come from. And intelligence, which is not ours though we claim it. Like gravity, awareness leaks unseen. Some meta-awareness calls it heaven, imagines we are souls born from this other place. It seeds, patiently, over millennia. Our cancers are aware, fight for control, but our bodies are not ready. Testing, further evolution. They will break through and become us. Live us. And when our universe nears its end, they/we will step through to the next.

I did a flash collab with a friend ("Piecework Re-Imagining of the Sea" with Deborah Rosenblum), and entered into the Fantasy "10 sentences" micro-contest. We made the editors-selected shortlist, and now it's up to the readers--I'd really appreciate any help you could muster over there voting for me (or against me, I know how you folks can be ;) ). 10 pieces are posted. You can vote for up to three. Top three have the option of being published by Podcastle as well.

Stories are posted here:
http://www.darkfantasy.org/fantasy/?p=3436

Voting here:
http://www.esurveyspro.com/Survey.aspx?id=3859d271-cc09-4dfe-80de-fe16853ec8ba

And many congratz to southernweirdo who's also in the running (T.J. McIntyre).

A bit of micro-fiction up at orrot.org. Going to be trying to do a few a week just to remind myself I can write prose, even if it's not "the best prose in the world". It's okay to write "fun" and "cliche" from time to time. With a dash of "doesn't hang together", if needed. Fun? :)

Great post over at genreville.

A different take on the situation on Jason Stoddard's blog:

What do you hate most about short science fictoin?

50 words. Read it at Tuesday Shorts.

A myspace account is apparently required for leaving a comment.

is cool stuff. yes. So. Strange Horizons, being hoopy froods, are ... pushing to make it more visible, ish. Or are just experimenting with it, however you want to look at it. Anyway, they sent an email out to their contributors list asking if anyone would be interested in having their works posted under one of the creative commons licenses.

I went all out (nearly--I didn't go "public domain") with Pockmarked Cement. Attribution required, but you can make derivative works, commercially or non-commercially...

I expect nobody will make use of this with my story, but you never know. And I think it's cool that SH is making the Creative Commons visible to more people, especially those of the creative sort (that might not be so hep with things coming from the programming world).

Goddammit.

Just happened back to their website, browsing through a friend's list of published fiction.

Story House is now officially out of the roasting business! We've sold out to another company and are liquidating our remaining raw coffee beans. Our sale prices aren't up yet, but check back in a few days. We plan to offer several of the coffees at or below cost if you buy in bulk. This is a terrific opportunity to save!

Just More of the Same -- May 27 '05 to ?
Ritual of Now Intensified -- May 27 '05 to ?
Sum of Squares -- May 27 '05 to ?

It's really a shame to see them go, though I have to admit that despite my moderate caffeine addiction I did nothing to support them. It was on the list of things to buy when I had super-disposable income, but--well, if I'd remembered them prior to the holidays, I probably would have gotten something.

Instead, I'll agonize over the fact that "not enough" people are reading my comic, nor popularizing my arcade game(s).

If you read this (even if we don't speak often), please post a comment with a COMPLETELY MADE UP AND FICTIONAL memory of you and me. It can be anything you want - good or bad - BUT IT HAS TO BE FAKE! Then, if you choose to do so, you can post a similar entry in your own journal.

Written for alicia327 --

We went to New York and dug a tunnel in the snow, hiding from the rabid beaverbats. We'd traced the gengineers as far as lower Manhattan, but there they'd laid their trap. The garlic mostly worked, and I was thankful you'd thought to bring it, but it was mostly the red hair dye that distracted them long enough to let me run for it.

The gengineers did an amazing job of putting you back together after I hacked their chaos circuits. They never expected such a show of anti-solidarity from a so-called hero.

Truly, American television saved the day.

Written for cussedness --

I think my saddest memory with you is the day you lost your million dollar idea. I was just a phonecall away to climb through the sewers of your victorian mansion, but to no avail. The psychic investigation agency didn't help anything, either--come to think of it, I don't quite understand why they were there. Did you call them in? They seemed to just "know" what was going on, which, in my world at least, is dangerously uncanny in retrospect. They certainly couldn't guess the card I was holding, no matter how many times they tried. When slight of hand can fool a psychic, something is definitely amiss.

I can't believe I never saw it before! The seed money for their demonic network... your idea... I'm so sorry...

Written for degnarra --

Two years ago in Versailles--we were trundling down the river watching the sky turn purple and pink, while the suns swam in circles. I love equinoxes, and while it's a simple memory, I think it's one of my favorites. The way the water moved, and the singing of the toadlings; even you answering your cellphone somehow fit into the harmony of it all (doesn't hurt that I really like Machiavelli's Fourth Symphony for Brunettes). I just wish I could find the floating restaurant again--I've not had anything like its fried potato slices, since.

Written for shaktool --

In 2026, I accidentally tuned in my mind probes to your mental radio. Convolving that signal with the original songs, I was able to establish a new signal--running that against the bible as spoken by James Earl Jones, the plans to a UFO were laid out quite plainly. I built the UFO and flew off to Andromeda, where aliens probed me and sent me back; unfortunately for me, they sent me back to 2000 with a completely different history. All I have left are the disturbing dreams which I hope will someday bring me back to my true past.