tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-135710742011-07-28T05:44:27.779-07:00Microfiction in a variety of genres. Take none of this as gospel, as advice, as advocacy, as theology, as autobiography, as confession, as metaphor, as a call to arms, or anything other than stories.Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.comBlogger561100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1140504821582398772006-02-20T22:03:00.000-08:002006-02-20T22:54:29.160-08:00

Jared Winburn cleared his throat, closed his eyes, wiped his sweaty palms on a handkerchief he kept in his jacket pocket just for such occasions, and climbed out of his four-door sedan. He stepped quickly across the parking lot, head kept down only partly because of the rain starting to fall. He stepped up to the door, looked both ways quickly, then knocked three times."Come in," came the reply

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1140466147763915082006-02-20T12:04:00.000-08:002006-02-20T12:10:11.020-08:00

Rising horror author Elizabeth Donald's new short fiction anthology, Setting Suns, ships today from New Babel Press. It can be purchased Amazon at the link above or through the publisher. The tale of the assassin in the snow-covered tree mentioned in the blurb below was a collaboration with yours truly, but I'm telling you about the book because I bet some of you would enjoy it; no money is going

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1136430358654103982006-01-04T19:01:00.000-08:002006-01-04T19:06:29.840-08:00

Revisiting some fiction I wrote in college -- straight fiction, no fantasy elements at all, about coming of age in the provincial South in the late 20th century. I'll be breaking the stories up into smaller chunks, as most were in the 20- to 40-page range.

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1130284009732651992005-10-25T16:46:00.000-07:002011-06-04T13:28:00.135-07:00

Note: Story originally appeared in 2004 at the Distinctive Fiction site as part of the Muse City series. This is a revised version, with some errors corrected and a change in timeframe, from shortly after the Civil War to the Great Depression. "Morning Dew" He was a muscular man, broad in the shoulders, with calves and upper arms resembling nothing less than tree trunks. The sweat

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1129159181551095382005-10-12T16:20:00.000-07:002005-10-12T16:30:21.583-07:00

Josh took a swing at the tall, stocky man with the long hair and the perennial smirk. He stared as his fist passed through the man's jaw, emerging on the other side. The heckler winced a bit, and he saw his features blur for a moment, but then the other man's appearance returned to normal."You're not real," Josh said."Hell, I'm as real -- or not -- as you, man," the tall man said. He grinned,

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1128973450517774672005-10-10T12:44:00.000-07:002005-10-10T12:44:10.523-07:00

Christopher Reeve, a real man of steel, took his final flight."Look, I've flown, I've become evil, loved, stopped and turned the world backward, I've faced my peers, I've befriended children and small animals and I've rescued cats from trees. What else is there left for Superman to do that hasn't been done?" -- Christopher Reeve (1952-2004), 1983 Los Angeles Times interviewIf you've ever thought

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1127944240948612652005-09-28T14:50:00.000-07:002005-09-28T14:50:40.956-07:00

"Something's wrong with Stephanie," Katherine said, then she took another hit, held it, then finally exhaled as she passed the joint to Kyle."Her brother's dead," Kyle said, looking at the back of his hand. "You think about how creepy hair is? You've got this stuff that just comes from nowhere, pops out of your skin, but if you get an X-ray, you don't see it curled up under the skin, waiting to

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1126671428612714132005-09-13T21:17:00.000-07:002005-09-13T21:17:08.620-07:00

Oliver Hawke shot an arrow into the chest of the first woman he'd ever loved. It caught Eve in the stomach, and she stared at him in disbelief."For all the times you seduced me when I was meditating," he said through gritted teeth. "You didn't even have the most basic respect."The sorceress raised her hands, preparing to throw some dark energy or summon some shadowy beast to attack him.The next

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1126653105370938352005-09-13T16:11:00.000-07:002005-09-13T16:11:45.376-07:00

Since launching this site -- or, more specifically, since adding the Site Tracker feature (the box at the bottom) -- I've been seeing traffic pop up on here from all over the world. Every populated continent has shown up at least once with the possible exception of Africa; I'm not sure whether all of them have been people reading this, or people looking to spam me, but it's still kinda cool to

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1126569522535054452005-09-12T16:58:00.000-07:002005-09-12T17:01:36.996-07:00

The men threw Salazar to the ground; he landed hard on his shoulder, hands still tied behind his back. He let out a cough. "Do what you will," he coughed. "Just get it over with. You're boring me.""Big words from such a small man in the scheme of things," Pyrias said, stepping into the barn. "Take his blindfold off, gentlemen; unlike he and his riders, we have nothing to hide."Pyrias' fellows did

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1126452666422649432005-09-11T08:31:00.000-07:002005-09-11T08:31:06.426-07:00

I'd never heard of CounterPunch until today, but I'll be visiting the site often; and it's been added to the sidebar here. With writers such as Chuck D, Norman Solomon, Ralph Nader and Alexander Cockburn (the last of whom is an editor), it's sorta like the Huffington Post, but with the gloves removed.Tim Wise, author of White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son, weighed in this

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1126048287420850152005-09-06T16:11:00.000-07:002005-09-06T16:13:21.426-07:00

Seth watched the TV, listened to the radio, read the newspapers, popping antacids all the time. Just because you're immortal, that doesn't mean you can't get sick, and there was a lot to sicken him these days.A preacher picketing soldiers' funerals in the name of God, saying their deaths were not due to an idiot occupying the White House, starting wars to avenge the family name or satisfy his own

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1125685434799583532005-09-02T11:23:00.000-07:002005-09-02T11:23:54.806-07:00

The Federal Emergency Management Agency's Web site purportedly lists a Pat Robertson-affiliated charity right underneath the American Red Cross under a list of suggested donation sites for those wishing to help victims of Hurricane Katrina.If you're a fan of this site, odds are pretty good you're not a fan of Radical Cleric Robertson. (And if you're both, you're probably an emotional masochist.)

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1125423250665992102005-08-30T10:34:00.000-07:002005-08-30T10:41:05.326-07:00

They said to get out; well, lots of us ain't got the money to get out. If you ain't got money, you make do and wait.Storms like this are scary, sure thing. I feel sorry for the kids; they deserve a shot at a long life, or more important, a better life.But truth is, we'd be just as trapped if there wasn't a storm coming.So the hurricane cuts our phone service -- that just means a day or two

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1124771594308046662005-08-22T21:33:00.000-07:002005-08-22T21:35:34.083-07:00

"You know what really insults me, doc?""What's that?" Dr. Barnes set the notepad on his desk and looked at Neil, waiting."You, my parents, my friends -- people look at me and say, 'You're killing yourself, eating like you do.' As if that was some profound revelation that's never occurred to me.""So you know it's self-destructive," Barnes said. "That's a good thing, a first st--""You're missing my

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1124252690743753062005-08-16T21:24:00.000-07:002005-08-16T21:38:51.186-07:00

Going abroad was a sign of sophistication, until you could download the taste of the wine, the sounds of Trafalgar Square, the bite of the alpine wind.Learning piano or guitar got a lot less sexy when the stem cells of musical geniuses got bottled up and stuck into bone marrow.Virtual reality turned us into the Babe, into Olivier, into Pavarotti and Alexander. Electrons put the Saharan sand under

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1124241165019715112005-08-16T18:12:00.000-07:002005-08-16T18:13:38.716-07:00

The National Association to Protect Children needs your help with its California campaign, getting the "Circle of Trust" bill passed to stiffen penalties for child abuse. Visit PROTECT's home page to learn how you can help -- you don't even have to live in California.Additionally: Two U.S. Reps. have introduced the CARE Act of 2005, which would at the federal level close "incest loopholes" across

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1124039356017919122005-08-14T10:09:00.000-07:002005-08-14T10:11:50.263-07:00

"I'm sorry I tried to kiss you at the reunion. How much does your girlfriend hate me?"Kyle smiled that same old half a smile. "She could smell the booze on your breath from a mile away, Katherine. Besides ... she understands my raw animal magnetism."Katherine laughed, then groaned. "Don't make me laugh," she said. "I'll end up puking again."He sat down on the hospital bed, which barely creaked

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1123917448101637242005-08-13T00:17:00.000-07:002005-08-13T00:21:47.030-07:00

Google booted me from their ad program because I used the search box on this site a few times. Piss on them. The $3 I was owed from various people's clicking isn't worth the tax paperwork, and their ads had shit to do with the contents of this page, anyway.Soon as I get my weekend, I'll be adding links to Audible.com content, and perhaps to iTunes. And, of course, the Barnes & Noble links still

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1123730456631157482005-08-10T20:20:00.000-07:002005-08-10T20:20:56.663-07:00

Note: This story originally appeared in 2003 as part of my "Muse City" urban fantasy series at Distinctive Fiction Studios."Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Time"1."This road, U.S. 70, used to be a main east-west thoroughfare across middle America," the old woman behind the counter said. The smell of spices and potpourri filled the air in this little shop, Dorothy's Odds 'n' Ends. The shop was out in

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1123568772232170782005-08-08T23:25:00.000-07:002005-08-08T23:26:12.236-07:00

No, son, I'm not going to make you any promises; the white man has taught us well the value of a promise, that it weighs less than the air, that it is less reliable than a spark from wet wood."One day, son, all of this will be yours," the white man tells his son."One day, son, you will live here and see your children grow to be men and women." That's what I would have told you, as I held you up

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1123457908657728472005-08-07T16:38:00.000-07:002005-08-07T16:39:44.066-07:00

The best of all possible worlds? The best of ALL POSSIBLE WORLDS?You don't know what the hell you're talking about.This isn't that world where the near-brush with death turned John Kennedy into a peacemaker, the next Gandhi, the man who made peace with Cuba and ended the arms race and never sent another man to Vietnam. So this isn't the world where Ibrahim Ferrer died at age 90, with a room full

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1123267573631502032005-08-05T11:49:00.000-07:002005-08-17T04:32:01.653-07:00

You know you're in the boonies when the three films you most want to see at a given moment aren't playing within a hundred miles.For me, right now, those films are Gus Van Zant's Last Days (about the final days of a rocker very obviously based on Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain; it stars Michael Pitt, who was in the artsy foreign film The Dreamers but may be best known to many Americans as Henry, the

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1122493981338845012005-07-27T12:53:00.000-07:002005-07-27T12:56:48.526-07:00

The God of Love sat in traffic, stuck in rush hour, just like the mere mortals He served and tormented in equal measure. He cursed in a dead language as the air conditioning struggled against the 90-degree, 90-percent-relative-humidity air that clung to everything like melted chewing gum, like bad karma, like dog shit.The car to his left was a beat-up 1980s Plymouth driven by a white kid in his

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1122356141277958532005-07-25T22:35:00.000-07:002005-07-25T23:03:52.616-07:00

I, Kirk Walton, am not going to brag about being of sound mind and body. It's insulting. By the time you read this, I'll have blown my goddamn brains out. And you'll fight over this will, just like you've fought over everything else.But here's what I want to leave you -- even though I know that the mere fact of making such wishes known is a virtual guarantee that the distribution of things will

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1121794540019447802005-07-19T10:35:00.000-07:002005-07-19T10:35:40.026-07:00

Joseph Malin walked into the casino, past the gift shop, past the buffet, past the woman asking if he wanted a drink, and down to the row of slot machines. He looked to his left, then to his right, and stepped forward.Left, right, then forward. Left, right, then forward. Left, right -- paused, then shook his head. Left, right, forward. Left, right, forward.Two slots behind him on the right, the

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1121744748578444462005-07-18T20:45:00.000-07:002005-07-18T20:45:48.586-07:00

Streams of hot lead ripped through the house, exploding the glass windows inward, shattering pictures hanging on the walls, the porcelain figurines in the cabinet by the door, the television set with the old-time vaccuum tubes. Mattress stuffing, plaster, glass fragments and wood chips sprayed through the air.George Henry Abbott huddled in the hallway, hands over his head, cursing himself."Come

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1121705799401076562005-07-18T09:56:00.000-07:002005-07-18T09:57:41.736-07:00

Excuse me just a second.THWAP!Don't start pissing and moaning about me killing the harmless little bug. I know everything, remember? That ladybug carried a mutant gene, which happened because of it flying through your hairspray, OK? Nothing that stinks that badly can be good for you.The mutated gene in that ladybug wouldn't have affected her. Her hatchlings would have been no different from

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1121657294972519492005-07-17T20:28:00.000-07:002005-07-17T20:28:48.200-07:00

Jazz singer Jimmy Scott, formerly Little Jimmy Scott, is 80 today. Chances are, you don't know who he is. (Here's a five-year-old article to fill you in, but nothing can compare to hearing the man.)Meanwhile, Britney Spears is talking about taping her childbirth for broadcast purposes.Men should weep.Happy birthday, Mr. Scott ... may you keep singing until you're 120.More fiction coming soon.

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1121531240487937462005-07-16T09:27:00.000-07:002005-07-16T09:27:20.493-07:00

I've long since given up on entertainment awards shows, especially the Emmys. When Emmy or Oscar or whatever goes to the right person, it's usually by accident.However, I was glad to see the mere existence of HBO's brilliant The Wire acknowledged this year: the series received a writing award for the next-to-last episode of season three. And USA's entertaining The 4400 received a "best miniseries

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1121144620386952912005-07-11T22:03:00.000-07:002005-07-11T22:17:12.476-07:00

I didn't see that car coming around the corner -- garbage truck was in the way, and like a damn fool, I tried to make the right turn.Upside down. I wasn't wearing my seat belt. I don't feel my arms, or my legs.I've been across the galaxy. I've fought off fleets of alien invaders, and you never knew about it.And when I turned 21, the powers were gone. I wasn't a soldier, wasn't a slave, wasn't a

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1121101148662771802005-07-11T09:59:00.000-07:002005-07-11T10:34:15.966-07:00

I'm very happy to be able to link to Jude Cole's Web site, which had been offline for some time. The site includes information about his own releases, about the Ironworks studio he co-owns with Kiefer Sutherland, and information about artists he produces (Lifehouse, Rocco Deluca, Clay Davidson) and his session work (Jewel, Beth Orton, Billie Myers, Travis Tritt).If you're not familiar with Jude

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1121030407149617642005-07-10T14:19:00.000-07:002005-07-10T14:30:34.433-07:00

Note: Originally published in 2004 as part of my "Muse City" urban fantasy series for De Novo Studios/Distinctive Fiction.1.Crazy Mary didn't come back today. Blind Willie said maybe she'd gone into rehab, that she'd been talking about getting clean. Bastard Boy said maybe she’d turned the death trick, same as Janie Beth last month. And Ratface -- well, he cried himself to sleep with a bottle of

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1120921456862807212005-07-09T08:03:00.000-07:002005-07-09T08:07:05.863-07:00

"Did you ever hear of anyone who, lying on his death bed, thought to himself, 'I wish I'd spent more time at the office and less of it home with my family?'"Walt looked at John and waited for him to think about what he'd just said. But no, John was serious."John, remember last week when you asked if I was banging my secretary? Think about what you just said."John let out a sigh. "OK. Bad example."

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1120594815594791262005-07-05T13:20:00.000-07:002005-07-05T13:42:49.473-07:00

I encourage you to look around at the links on the right-hand side of the page. Several new things have been added over the past several days, including: My Froogle wish list TV-related sites (Adrian Paul, Nigel Bennett, Rob Thomas and Tim Minnear) Shooting Star Comics, and the blog of their creative director, Scott McCullar"Lonely Island," with video parodies of some recognizable TV

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1120536206229695682005-07-04T21:03:00.000-07:002005-07-04T21:46:38.020-07:00

To change the behavior, change what's inside. We teach the kids that here at the center.Take away a smoker's cigarettes, and he'll get more. Take away the craving, or teach him ways to control it, and he'll quit.Give aspirin to a woman with a brain tumor, and the headaches may fade -- but so will her life. To save her life, you have to eradicate the cancerous cells.Change comes from inside. And

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1120526804858807522005-07-04T18:26:00.000-07:002005-07-04T20:42:59.370-07:00

"Hold my hand," Janet whispered.Nicholas reached out and took her tiny, gnarled hand into his. He caressed it lovingly, like he had a thousand times before these past five years."I love you," Nicholas managed, his throat feeling tight, his chest burning. It wouldn't be long now."I love you," she said. "You're the best man I've ever known.""Well, I feel sorry for you then," he said with a smile. "

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1120494950125796462005-07-04T09:36:00.000-07:002005-07-04T09:37:28.840-07:00

"Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 people who signed the Declaration of Independence?"Well, it wasn't exactly what the spam you may have received this year said. (Courtesy of Snopes.com, your one-stop source for urban legend debunking.)None of that's to sell short the genuine sacrifices made by the people who founded this country, or by the troops who fight now. But they deserve the

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1120115562335782892005-06-30T00:12:00.000-07:002005-06-30T00:12:42.346-07:00

A is for Abdul, who disappeared one day, for the abandoned storefront where he sold coffee and newspapers and a surprisingly good bagel.B is for Betty, who walked outside the nightclub with the wrong boy, and was left beaten and bloodied and barely alive, until her insurance ran out.C is for Caleb, who placed the cold steel to the side of his head after too many days of tripping over his cane,

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1119987571959811172005-06-28T12:40:00.000-07:002005-06-28T12:42:34.576-07:00

That everyone who sees V for Vendetta, and everyone involved in making it, will be getting an FBI courtesy of our Dear Leader and his FBI, right?Here's hoping that this is one Alan Moore-inspired film that gets it right. Hollywood has taken the piss on his concepts so many times...

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1119935641503791092005-06-27T22:14:00.000-07:002005-06-27T22:14:01.506-07:00

He bumped into her in the doorway, same as a million other men and women have done before.But they weren't like most of them."You're real," they said simultaneously."Of course I am," they both said in turn."We've been roommates for three months, and all our friends played along with some joke?" she asked."It looks that way. I thought you were just like the other voices," he said, slowly. "I mean,

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1119928740023983102005-06-27T20:18:00.000-07:002005-06-28T12:52:23.040-07:00

Different color template, changed ad placement and added more links -- Moby's blog, the Twilight Singers' blog, Wil Wheaton's blog, links to HBO's main page and Penn & Teller's page at Showtime, plus my friend Reid's "Pop Culture Spectrum" site. The "Music on TV Commercials" song may help you figure out what a song is in, well, a given TV commercial.(And yes, the Jordan Zevon listed is the son of

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1119722094392124592005-06-25T10:54:00.000-07:002005-06-25T11:07:23.986-07:00

I study the guy closely -- the cherubic-demonic face, the thin nose, the curly brown hair hanging down in ringlets, like a caesar or a Greek god."You're--""James Douglas is the name," he says with a wicked grin, a hand jutting out for me to shake."You're the best damn karaoke singer I've ever heard," I say. "You sound just like--""Yeah, I know," he says, stubbing his cigarette out against the

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1119529550747249952005-06-23T05:25:00.000-07:002005-06-23T05:25:50.776-07:00

On the sidebar, there's a link to Dogblog -- and it is, simply put, one of the most enjoyable blogs in existence. The author takes a camera with him on his walks around San Francisco, photographing the various dogs seen in shop windows, tied to trees outside stores, etc., and offers up his commentary on what he sees, such as a possible backstory for the dog, or what it's thinking.Well worth

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1119401683454523492005-06-21T17:54:00.000-07:002005-06-21T18:12:00.996-07:00

"You sure you want to do this? It's kinda ... sick, don't you think?"The young man looked back up the slope, squinting into the sunlight at the woman asking him the question."Sick," he replied. "I heard that word a lot. You remember. You were there for some of it."Down the slope they crept, watching their footing. She felt something brush past her foot, and she tried in vain not to imagine

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1119253067062849022005-06-20T00:37:00.000-07:002005-06-20T00:49:56.076-07:00

She sighs. I look back at her, squinting to see her lie there, and wonder if she's awake.No, just a sigh. The sort she lets out in her sleep. She moves just slightly, fingers grabbing hold of the sheet just slightly, like a cat nesting.Back out the window I look, down into the stream of traffic below. The cars look like ants from up here; the drivers would be even smaller, if it were daylight, if

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1119159842474500962005-06-18T22:44:00.000-07:002005-06-18T22:46:10.376-07:00

You'll see I've divided the links at right into three categories: Friends, Arts/Music/Radio, and the somewhat redundantly named Links (which includes political sites, news sites, etc.).The first category will expand a bit -- but at the moment, it's friends of mine who either don't have a Livejournal presence or who have a blogging presence outside of Livejournal in addition to one there, and I've

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1118991502899798432005-06-16T23:58:00.000-07:002005-06-17T00:00:38.810-07:00

I've got this theory, see.I know why you remind me of so many people I've met before.You're them. They're you.There are only so many people in this world, and only so many combinations.You look like a girl I had a crush on in middle school. She looked like a girl I saw on TV.This guy I work with reminds me of someone I knew in college.They go away for a while, but then they come back, changing

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1118938486291936282005-06-16T09:14:00.000-07:002005-06-16T09:14:46.300-07:00

HBO's just started rerunning the third season of its drama The Wire. If you've never seen this show, you're missing out on -- bar none -- the best storytelling going on today on American television.Created by former Baltimore Sun reporter David Simon, author of the critically hailed book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets, and former Baltimore homicide detective Ed Burns -- who coauthored

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1118897603219052352005-06-15T21:53:00.000-07:002005-06-15T21:57:51.366-07:00

I'm down to the last three bites of pad thai when the door opens. It's a small place, so I look over to see who's walked on, through the glass that divides this non-smoking room from the entry.No one special. Only the most beautiful woman who's ever existed.About five-foot-six, brunette with curly hair a little past the shoulders, in a blue top and blue jeans, and a face that looks like she

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1118861436661470092005-06-15T11:46:00.000-07:002005-06-15T11:57:49.310-07:00

OK, now the disconnect between the ads and the content of this page has crossed over into the realm of the absurd. Two posts later and three days later, and they still haven't changed. Time to enter keywords and see if it shifts:Albert Camus. Andrew Vachss. Harlan Ellison. Amnesty International. National Association to Protect Children. MoveOn.org. Steve Earle. Emmylou Harris. Robbie Coltrane.

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1118777078453402172005-06-14T12:24:00.000-07:002005-06-14T12:36:47.656-07:00

DET. WILLIAMS: This is Det. Steve Williams, interview with subject Richard Malone, 4:12 a.m. on June 15, 2005. Det. Beth Greer and attorney Suzanne Carter are present.Now, Mr. Malone, you do understand that by making this statement, you're acting against the right of counsel and waiving your right against self-incrimination, am I correct?(INAUDIBLE)DET. GREER: You need to speak up for the tape,

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1118680543320013932005-06-13T09:35:00.000-07:002005-06-13T09:35:43.323-07:00

It'll be interesting to see what ads Google pops up on this page as I add stories to the mix. If you look on there right now, you'll see that Google seems to think this is a Christian devotional Web site, or a sermons page or something. All because the latest story is titled after the shortest verse in the Bible and features a preacher -- but the tone of it's as far from orthodoxy as east is from

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1118559176357819882005-06-11T23:52:00.000-07:002005-06-12T00:12:22.126-07:00

"Excuse me, pastor, I heard your sermon on TV the other day."The preacher turned around to see a tall, well-dressed man with an olive complexion, wearing a sharp suit, walking toward him on the steps of the state Capitol, where the minister had just offered up a prayer before the opening of the state legislature."Well, I hope you found something useful in it," he said."I liked the part where you

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1118477065290763322005-06-11T03:04:00.000-07:002005-06-12T00:11:59.193-07:00

It's getting louder now, loud enough that I can almost hear undercurrents to the sound. A noise that enormous has to have smaller elements, and if it gets just a little bit louder, you could break out every piece of music ever imagined but never written down.It'll be here soon, and this will all be swept away, gone into nothingness, like Beethoven's 10th, like the 28th chapter of the Book of

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13571074.post-1118423724802998542005-06-10T12:14:00.000-07:002005-06-10T11:00:31.900-07:00

Wait, that would be more appropriate as an adolescent reply, not an entry.Hmmm.Never mind, then.Move along, nothing to see here. Yet.As the sidebar indicates, this blog will be used to publish short original fiction.Take none of it as advice, as factual, as opinion or any of that.

Jason R. Tippitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13552766380741106854noreply@blogger.com0