Travel Diary of a Madman – Boldly going where lots of people have gone before…

Voters Get the Demolition Derby They Deserve

The announcer called the adult contestants to the line and I had that first guilty tingle – similar to what the Roman plebeians must have felt when they watched the lions pacing back and forth in the coliseum, waiting for dinner to be served. The drivers skidded through the watered-down infield to the start. Engines in need of lozenges roared. The announcer counted down. The green flag waved and seconds later my senses were overwhelmed by the endorphin rush from hearing the first metal-on-metal collision.

Standup Comedy – Coming Out

Last night I debuted my standup comedy routine at the Revival Theater here in Hyde Park. The video misses the first 5 or 10 seconds, but it won’t take long to pick up the plot. 4:41.

Short Story: Traditional

Engaged? Or thinking of popping the question? Then this is for you. It’s barely a two-minute read, and come on, is being on time for that next thing you have to do really all that important?

Short Story: Perfect in Almost Every Way

Here’s a romantic story, with time-travel, that went up on a site called /Asymmetry. It will take 9 minutes to read.

Short Story: The Help Desk

All those years of dead-end programming jobs finally paid off. Here is a link to the “The Help Desk“. The story is a four-minute read, but it’s so funny you’ll swear it only took 3:55.

Short Story: Days of the Dead

The good people at Theme of Absence are fast becoming my best friends. They have put up another short story of mine, Days of the Dead. It’s either a dark comedy or a lighthearted horror. It’ll take you four minutes to read, excluding pauses for the laughing and the quaking in fear.

Short Story: The Nymph

A fiction site I looked at a couple years ago had submission guidelines which stated explicitly: no nudity. I was amused that a story with no pictures or illustrations could contain nudity. The following link will take you to a short story of mine, The Nymph, on the website Theme of Absence. It’s a dark… Read More »

Falling off the Wagon at the Chicago Lowrider Festival

My brother-in-law is a car guy who likes tinkering. I thought a bunch of cars that have been trained to sit up and hop would be perfect, both for him and our kids.

Short Story: Some Assemblage Required

This is a short bodice-ripper. In outer space.

Passports, and the Fine Print: When the journey is more exciting than the destination, you’ve done something wrong

My comeuppance was sure and brutal. It was a full two months after our return to Chicago that I could bear to tell the story to even my closest friends. I stand here now, chastened and deflated. Go, with my blessings, to the Wisconsin Dells, and be at peace.