The Fiction Blog!

Greetings. The blog has been moved slightly to adjust to the MyCommunityNow locations.

Click here to find the new Fiction Blog!

I'll also try to post on this spot as well, just to make sure people stay in touch.

Cheers.

I've been reading a lot from Redivider, a literary journal housed at Emerson College (and I have every intention of submitting a short story to it sometime in the near future). It's a really impressive journal, very entertaining with some great poetry and artwork included in every issue. I spoke at length with a couple of editors from the AWP writer's conference in Chicago as well, and they all seem to share a passion for the literary profession.

Click here to read "The Poetess Writes Unanswered Letters" by Carrie Messenger.

Their Web site also features a couple of different stories and poems from each issue that you can read online for free. Click here to check them out.

Cheers.

This is a short-short story by Amelia Gray found in the newest issue of American Short Fiction. ASF is a great magazine for those of you who enjoy a broad range of fiction, and welcome a pretty decent amount of experimentation, the type of stuff you might not see in a stuffier literary journal.

Case in point: "AM/PM." It's a short piece, extremely unique, funny and fun to read.

Click here to read "AM/PM" by Amelia Gray. It's a downloadable pdf file, so don't feak out when your computer asks if you want to save or open the file. I know, it can be scary, but I really think you can trust me at this point.

Her story collection, AM/PM, can be purchased by going here: AM/PM

 This one's a short-short but it's a good one, from Whiskey Island Magazine out of Cleveland State University.

Click here to read "This is the Way We Belong" by Jesse Dunlap.

Whiskey Island has a few poems and short stories available online from each of their print issues. It's a good way of doing things, for literary journals that want to stay in print but also want to offer something online to curious readers. It'd be nice to see a little more of this, since most of what I've been finding online are small "excerpts" that only tease curious readers.

There's a lot of opportunity to literary journals like Whiskey Island to expand. Why not offer an advertisement on the right side bar (which is just green space right now)? If that works, start putting more stuff online in addition to the print to increase readership. Just an idea. Either way, the journal is worth checking out. Here's a link to a poem in their newest issue, too.

Here's a good short story by Eric McKinley available online for FREE! Isn't that fantastic? In fact, on his official Web site, he even has LINKS to his short stories so interested visitors can read them! Eric used to be a lawyer, and now he's finishing up his MFA at Rosemont College and working on completing his first novel.

Click here to read "Intrusion" by Eric McKinley.

Really, what a fantastic idea, offering short stories on a Web site for interested readers. Why, exactly, aren't more talented writers doing this? I'd love to know, because this blog is currently getting about a hundred hits a day and there's plenty of Web surfers thirsting for something good to read while they whittle away their time online ...

You have no idea how long it took me to actually find an author like this. But I'll keep searching, week in and week out, so we can really get some fresh faces out in the spotlight for interested readers.

I know some people don't like reading, especially when there's a good (or bad) movie to watch instead. I accept this. I also know that a lot of people who DO enjoy reading like to go out and watch movies, too. But let's face it: who has time to read an entire paragraph summarizing a movie? In today's modern world, that just isn't fast enough.

Try Uncomfortable Plot Summaries instead. They're quick, to the point, and downright hilarious.

Example: "Die Hard - Dysfunctional cop saves marriage by murdering foreign national." Concise and the point, in my opinion.

Sometimes a Web site really stands out, and it helps when you're a writer to entertain people who visit the site (I haven't mastered this yet, primarily because I'm downright lazy). 

But Amanda Stern has PLENTY of stuff worth checking out on her Web site. In addition to links for her fiction and non-fiction, she has plenty of great Graphic Poetry up, all available to read for free. She also has "Ugly Teen Photos," and you're free to contribute to that collection. I'm considering it, since I spent my middle school years with a rat tail.

You can also peruse Rejection Letters and a great list of Links for every occasion. Just a fantastic site worth checking out for her writing and her creativity.

Click here to visit Amanda Stern's site.

I've been tearing through a number of literary journals to see if I can find my favorites online to share with you, but so far I've had little to no luck. Everything, it seems, requires a subscription to the print journals, which is a shame because there are a lot of people willing to take a little time online and read some great fiction.

Lucky for you, I didn't give up until I found something worthy of sharing. This story comes from Our Stories.

"At Four Thousand Feet and Rising," by Renee Simms.

 Businesses have been hit hard during this quasi-depression. People are scared and they're not buying as much, which is one of the big reasons why things are still bad (of course, you can hardly blame them!). Market law dictates that when people buy less products (demand goes down), companies drop the prices of their products to meet that lower demand. As demand goes down, so do prices.

But that's not what's happening. Take a close look at your toilet paper wrapping. Take a close look at the measuring system used for everything from paper towels to jars of peanut butter. Guess what? The price is going down a little, but so is the product!

That's right, folks. You're paying the same price for LESS now because retailers have found clever ways to shrink the product and offer less for the same price.

Keep an eye on it. Call out businesses that do it.

Here's another link.

Why is everyone so surprised by AIG's large bonuses being paid out? Is it just because the cable news companies found something they can focus on for a week to draw in ratings? That must be it, because none of this came as any surprise to me or anyone else I know. Well, anyone who doesn't glue their eyes to CNN every day.

The fact of the matter is this has become the norm. Executives are promoted through corporations and receive compensation packages and bonuses from boards of directors who are usually connected in some way to those very same executives. What happens next is simple: lots of money is paid out. Lots and lots and lots, and thanks to the low low low low low tax rate for the wealthiest 1% of Americans, there's really no point in NOT taking all that money. We've reached a point where executives at large companies typically make about 200-300 times more than their lowest-paid workers, even their middle management.

When AIG saw the opportunity to swallow up its competitors, it did so. It did this by taking advantage of lax regulations and regulators--like those appointed by Reagan and Bush Jr.--who didn't actually FEEL LIKE regulating anything. Thus, AIG became "too big to fail." That means they can swallow up taxpayer money to pay off their debts, and they can reward themselves for doing so.

It's borderline terrorism, isn't it? After all, if we DON'T bailout AIG, our economic system reacts just as it did when Lehman Bros. failed, only on a much larger scale. But if we do, the executives who took on the toxic investments "promise" to stay put only if they keep their money.

Here's how to fix the problem:

1. Enforce the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.

2. Create new tax brackets for the mega-wealthy to encourage top-down investment.

3. Regulate investment banking so the toxic mortgages problem never comes back. Then, make sure regulations are staying up-to-date with the changing economy.

Here's why it'll never happen: ideology. 

I know it may be difficult to come to terms with, but that guy on CNBC who's always yelling? He doesn't really know what he's talking about half the time. No, no, I'm sorry, but he really doesn't. I know he's made a lot of money in the stock market, but guess what? Now he's lost a lot of money, too. Not only that, he's going on OTHER networks now with tears in his eyes to tell President Obama to stabilize the stock market. To do things and say things that will make the stocks go up because "people are losing their money."

Sounds pretty nice, doesn't it? Kinda romantic, in a populist sort of way? Kinda reminds you of that guy on CNBC who started yelling about Obama's mortgage plan but never made a peep about the two trillion dollars used to bail out Wall Street. Thankfully, Jon Stewart gives CNBC a little taste of their own medicine. And he does it in a more intelligent way than they do, too:

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Republicans Mark Sanford and Phil Gingrey both had to apologize to Rush Limbaugh after daring to criticize him. Then, Michael Steele--the head of the Republican National Committee!!!!!!--was forced to apologize for criticizing him! Since Rush Limbaugh--who enjoys a favorability rating less than President Bush's--is obviously the de facto leader of the conservative movement, I think we'd better make sure everyone apologizes to Rush.

Click here to send Rush a letter of apology.

It's important for all of us make sure Rush Limbaugh is duly recognized as the Master of the Conservatives because, quite frankly, this whole fiasco is a LOT of fun to watch.

Ken Brosky

Boy, I am really hooked on Clean Coal after seeing this commercial! Guys, this stuff is amazing! (The commercial below was directed by the Coen Brothers, in case you're wondering)

I happened to turn on HARDBALL the other night and saw a particularly ridiculous former Republican congressman attempting to blame George Soros for the entire fiscal crisis. He was subsequently torn apart by the other guests and Chris Matthews, but not before he spouted some other ridiculous nonsense attempting to cast blame away from the real problems we're facing right now.

If you're interested in learning about the fiscal crisis in its entirety, go to this site:

The Baseline Scenario

Not only can you get an introduction to the crisis we're currently facing, you don't even have to read much if you don't want to! Yup, that's right: it includes audio interviews and even a few videos. There's no reason not to peruse this site, which is kept up by three separate economists.

Hey, torture lovers:

Here's a particularly fascinating story about a British man sitting in Guantanamo Bay right now: turns out, in addition to waterboarding and other gruesome acts, interrogators sliced open his genitals to get him to talk, all while British intelligence agents watched. Hey, what better way to get a terrorist to confess to his crimes, right? Right?

All charges against him have been dropped.

Currently, he's still sitting in Guantanamo Bay, on hunger strike. Can you really blame him? After all, he's is, quite literally, being held without any recourse whatsoever. There are no charges against him. Then again, if someone falsely arrested me and sliced open my genitals before letting me go, the thought of revenge would be pretty high on my list. But hey, it's not like this type of stuff could possibly create MORE terrorists, right?

A trial in California just started regarding this case.

I think this is pretty important, given how few options we have for immediate treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. According to a new study, playing Tetris following a traumatic event can actually reduce the flashbacks one has following said event. Yes, that's right: playing a video game could actually be used to help soldiers and others suffering from a traumatic event.

It sounds strange, but as I was listening to Thom Hartmann's program, he attempted to explain it in lay person's terms to provide some more insight. A while back, he wrote a book called "Walking Your Blues Away," and he cited evidence that the actual motion of moving from side to side, or from moving your eyes from side to side and up and down, can actually reduce stress to a certain extent and/or provide the brain with the necessary stimulation that will essentially combat the Post-Traumatic Stress of any sort.

Update: You can find more info on this in Newsweek. Click here to read it.

Okay, so I can't explain it in the most scientific way, but the study is worth checking out because I know that a lot of us out there know someone who's been to Iraq, and a lot more of us know someone who's suffered from some sort of post-traumatic stress disorder regardless of what the event may have been. And since there's currently so little in the way of short-term therapy, this type of stuff is really promising.

Yours,

Ken Brosky

 This is a good example of why authors should NEVER, NEVER have their books translated into Japanese, then translated back into English. Got it? If you ever decide to write a book, leave the translations alone and just stick with the original English version!

Boy, does Illinois governor Blagojevich love being a dastardly character. Let's face it: the evidence doesn't look good in his favor. While I'm all for the "innocent until proven guilty" (and am actually surprised at how much he's been demonized even in our modern day society), I think the fact that he was literally BRAGGING on tape even after he knew he was being investigated is really what makes people despise him so much. And rightfully so, if he's guilty.

But holy smokes! I've got to admit, this guy's got the fortitude of a dictator. Seriously. Not only does he get caught bragging and REFUSE to step down, he goes ahead and appoints a guy to the Senate anyway! Not only that, he appoints a guy who has no hope of re-election, pretty much screwing over the Democratic Party in the process.

So now what? What else is the crazy fella going to do before he's torn apart by Patrick Fitzgerald? It's actually pretty fun to watch, as unfortunate as it may be for the state of Illinois. Ah, they've got Obama to brag about, at least.

Would more sunlight laws help? Probably. Would public financing help? Probably. But the fact of the matter is that Blagojevich wanted to profit from his position as a public servant. It would be nice to see someone step in during the next gubernatorial election and promote public service that puts the people first and temporarily suspends personal profit. There are people out there who would like that, right?

Probably.

Update: Sorry for missing a few months, loyal readers, but Graduate School has taken a front seat in life for the time being. 

 How much does it suck to be Levi Johnson right now? Probably a bunch. Levi's the lucky fella who knocked up the Alaska Governor's daughter, Bristol.

*Cue the shotgun wedding*

So now Johnson's got Sarah Palin for a mother-in-law (which most conservative males probably envy, I suppose), he's not even old enough to drink and already he's got a baby on the way and he's going to be stuck with his current fling for DECADES. Yes, that's right: poor Levi won't be divorcing the governor's daughter anytime soon, not if he knows what's good for him. Because if Sarah Palin's own children are running around having illegitimate kids AND getting divorces, well, that's going to cut into her base when she finally tries running for president.

So imagine poor Levi. All he wanted was to have a little fun, a few bragging rights. Now, he's married and has to support a kid. He HAS TO, or he'll have to deal with one of the most powerful conservatives in the country. Yikes!