Alex and his synthetic partner attempt to solve the possible murder/suicide at the far away space station. Rolfe deals flawlessly with the difficult line between how human is machine and how machine-like are we all. Great short story. @syntheticsaints #syntheticsaints https://www.amazon.com/Synthetic-Saints-Jason-Rolfe-ebook/dp/B007OYYJEI A Must Read
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Just finished reading Shock Totem #9. I became an instead fan of this unique horror publication. I highly recommend it. @ShockTotem Shock Totem
#9
On Sunday, 9/20/15, I had the good fortune to see Keir Dullea at the Film Forum down in the Village. After the Film "Bunny Lake is Missing" he spoke and took questions for about twenty minutes. 
Most people know Keir Dullea as the astronaut turned Star-Child in 2001: A Space Odyssey. He again played the Dave Bowman character in 2010: The Year We Made Contact. Bunny Lake
The performances of Lynley, Dullea and in particular Laurence Olivier were excellent but by today's standards the psychological motivations did not make enough sense. When "the crazy one" was finally exposed I kept saying, "Are they certain they have the right person?" Keir Dullea's interview was more impressive and made the entire evening worthwhile.
Mr. Dullea will never age (he mentioned he would soon be 80). To me , he will always be the StarChild of 2001.
1972
Everyone screamed for joy as the doors to the bus opened to accept us. Regan grabbed my hand and led me to the window seat of her choice. After we were safely seated, the bus started to move away from the front area of M&A high school. This caused everyone to again scream and then applaud, as we pulled away from the sidewalk. We were finally on our way to Pinegrove Dude Ranch and Resort.
Regan’s senior class had chosen this place for their graduation trip. Friends of students weren't really supposed to go but since I had just graduated last year and I knew the teacher’s, it was easy enough for me to get a seat on the bus. Regan and I snickered about my not having to pay the fee that everyone else had to. I brought money with me just in case I had to though. I didn't want to get thrown off the bus while we were traveling up to Kerhonkson, New York. 
Once there, everyone registered and I did have to pay. I found out that I was not the only boyfriend that came along for the ride. Dan, who had graduated with me, was in one of the other buses. The clerk at the desk said that there were not enough accommodations for all the “extra guests” but there were trailers down the road which were just as good as the rooms. I and the two other guys were supposed to bunk in there for the night. To make up for the inconvenience, each guy would have their own trailer. After we all checked in, we decided that we would sleep with our girlfriends in their bedrooms but keep the trailer keys.
The thought of having a key to my own trailer started a thrill which caused a personal round of applause to erupt in my head. Not to mention the fact that while we were still at M&A, Regan had whispered in my ear, as we stood waiting for the buses. 
She cupped her hand around my ear and spoke quietly.
“I know this is crazy but I brought the condoms that I've had hidden away, just in case.” “No,” I said to her as I pulled away from her hand to look at her face. “Yes,” she said slyly, “You never know. We might need them.” I was going to say something dirty but at the same moment others were hollering that they could see the buses coming. This could turn out to be a very nice weekend but with all these other people around, I decided not to get my hopes up. dude ranch
I walked Regan to her room and for the time being, I placed my bag there. I found that the regular guests were sharing three or four to a room. There were two full sized beds and a bunk bed against the wall. All bedspreads had some sort of brown wigwam print which I thought was stupid but it wasn't my room. The interior design didn't matter now anyway because we were all starving.
The bunch of us, Regan’s best friend Dawn, Phoebe, Vicki and her boyfriend Dan had decided to head to the dining room for lunch and then we’d fly over to the stables for horseback riding.
It was the second time I had ever been on a horse and hopefully, this time it would be fun. The first time was at Van Cortland Park stables with my eight grade class. Since the barn and gated area were so limited, the smell of dung was excruciating. The horses all looked old and tired, so instead of enjoying myself, I was feeling sorry for them. I sat in the saddle and the horse lumbered around the fence for about two minutes. I was very happy when the ride was over. 
This time it was definitely different. The horses looked young and strong and it was obvious that they were better cared for. The ranch hands gave us a quick lesson and then we jumped on our steeds. The only thing that I had to learn was to flick the reign so that the horse would get started while I said, “Giddy-up” and then how to pull back on the reigns to stop while saying, “Whoa.” I chose to call my horse Amber because of her rich orange-brown color which matched so well with my jacket. Regardless of my antics, the horse, knew the way she was supposed to go and would follow the other horses ahead of her. As Amber walked forward, I swayed with her rhythm. At first, it felt like my head was disconnected from my neck but after a short while, I got used it. Riding slowly through the woods, I had fantasies of being a cowboy out in the old West but I guess all we newbie’s had that same thought while we were out riding on the range.
The cool spring air felt great as it filled my jacket and then found a way to escape. Regan was just ahead of me and it was getting to be distracting. It was all I could do, not to focus on the back of her moving to and fro as she rode. Damn, that looked sexy! I decided I’d better watch the six or seven other riders ahead of us, instead of fantasizing about Regan’s butt. Amber raised and lowered her head a few times as if she was in agreement with my decision. Towards the end of the trail, we did a minor trot back to the stables. I realized that I had just eaten and maybe it was not the best idea to bounce my stomach up and down. Regardless, we all walked away laughing, while I rubbed my belly.
After the ride, we decided to split up. It was late in the afternoon and I’d heard that there were going to be other activities during dinner. Regan and I walked to her room so she could get her bag of personal items and I could get the key to the trailer. 
We stopped at the lobby desk and Regan asked for directions. As she did, I couldn't help but stare at all the steer heads attached to the wall and the saws, yokes and boots hanging from the ceiling. Who hangs boots from the ceiling? The guy leaned over the counter and pointed down the hallway as he spoke.
"After going out the front door, bear right and just follow the road. It'll bring you right to the trailers. You can't miss it." We said thanks and started on our journey. After we found the dirt paved road, we followed it for about a minute and then it winded to the left and down a small hill. “Are we going the right way?” Regan said. There were beginning to be more trees as we moved away from the resort. She was looking back in the direction we had come from. As she turned her head, I thought I saw something in the clearing. “There they are,” I said. “Right down that hill. He wasn't kidding when he said just follow the road. We might have missed it if we hadn't.” 
The three trailers were each about 40 feet long and each had a fresh coat of white paint. There was a large number 3 on the trailer to the right which matched the number on my key. I climbed the three wooden steps to the locked door and tried the key. It turned in the lock with little effort. I stepped inside first, to be on the safe side and Regan held my hand and followed me in. I was very happy with what I saw.
To the left, near the entrance, was a dining table with seats and then a cushy looking couch which met a closed door in the back of the trailer. Directly in from of us was a sink and stove built into a shiny new wooden counter. On the back wall to the left, next to the closed door, there was a TV also built into the wall. To our right, there was another couch which took up the front of the trailer. All the counters, furniture and tiled floors were so clean. Someone had gone through a lot of trouble to make this trailer look special and it worked.
“Everything looks so nice,” Regan said as she moved quickly towards closed door in the left rear of the trailer. She was still holding my hand and by now she was dragging me. “Dyllon. Look at this.” Before I got pass her, I could see that her mouth was open. 
I walked in and immediately to the left there was a small bathroom with a sparkling clean glass shower stall. Just ahead, sitting on the plush red carpeting was a full size bed. It was covered by a dark brown comforter with brown and red throw pillows. Facing the bed was a small bureau which had another TV sitting on it. On the ceiling, just over the headboard, there was track lighting which shined on a drawing of a woman with an apple. Everything in the room looked brand new.
“This is beautiful!” I said to Regan. “It even looks better than the bedrooms at the resort.” Regan was looking at me now instead of the bedroom. It was obvious why I was smiling from ear to ear. I could not believe our good fortune in getting such a beautiful place. Not to mention that we were enough of a distance from the resort that we would have total privacy. Regan placed the bag she had brought with her on the one nightstand to the left of the headboard. I left the bedroom to check that the trailer door was securely locked. When I returned, there was no need for small talk since we were both of like minds. We shed our clothes and jumped into the bed in less than a minute. At first I had to shiver because the temperature under the sheets was cooler than in the bedroom but the sheets smelled so fresh and clean it didn't matter. After a few minutes of hugging and kissing to get warm, the time seemed right to try something new. Regan looked at me with a soft smile and simply said, “I’ll get it.” She leaned to the right to get her bag. 
I felt like I was lying in the middle of a wonderful fantasy. I might as well have been stretched out in a field of tall grass surrounded by white and red roses. Cooling wind whistled pass my body as the warm soothing sunlight slowly caressed my face. As I lay there in my dreamland bliss, I could feel Regan turning back in my direction. I awaited her next sweet words.
“Dyllon. I’m sorry. I don’t have the condoms. I think I left them at home.” My eyes shoot open like someone had slapped me. “Are you sure? I mean, are you sure?” “I really thought I put them in my bag,” Regan said looking me in the eye as if she was trying to search my feelings. “Maybe they’re back in your room,” was all I could think to say. I said this, hoping against hope. “No. I wouldn't have put them anywhere else,” Regan said with certainty. “I’m sorry. I’ll make it up to you,” but she said this with a lot less confidence. As she cuddled next to me and rubbed my chest, she must have known how disappointed I was. I was trying not to play the numbers game but we’d been together for two and a half years and we had never done it. There was not going to be a more perfect opportunity than today. We could have screamed our heads off and nobody would have heard us. I didn't want to believe that she had left the condoms on purpose. That just didn't make any sense. She had always been honest with me before. I settled into blaming myself and taking responsibility. I guess I could have thought ahead also. 
Regan looked up at me and was probably concerned at how quiet I had become.
“Are you mad at me,” she asked quietly. “No. I’m not mad. I’m disappointed but I’m not mad. It’s on me too. I could have brought some.” I said this but I didn't believe it. I hadn't thought there was going to be a need. She had put the thought in my head that “it” might happen and I wished she hadn't. Now she was getting quiet. What good would it do, hurting her feelings? She had to have left them by accident. I kissed her on the cheek and we then took advantage of the privacy. Doing “the regular” was nice but it was all I could do to act as if not doing something else didn't matter much. Afterwards, as we were leaving the trailer, we told jokes about how stupid the whole situation was. After the dinner, which included some guy juggling and another doing a not-so-funny comedy act, we all went back to Regan’s room. There were about twenty-five of us piled into the room. Some on the two full-sized beds, some on the extra bunk bed and the rest were anywhere on the floor. The immediate “family” of friends considered Regan to be the mommy and I was the daddy. This game started back when I was still in M&A because Regan and I had been together for so long. The rest of the friends fell somewhere in the category of being some kind of play siblings. 
There were about six of us on the same bed. I was on the left side, hanging on to Regan for dear life so I wouldn't fall off. Dawn and another girl were to the right of Regan. Dan and Vicki had squeezed in around the foot of the bed. Throughout the night, people told stories, some stupid and some dirty but that they were all funny. I knew that, in the morning, we would all gather up our things and get back on the bus, so whatever laughs we were going to have would have to take place now. It was half past three in the morning and I could hear two idiots still running their mouths. I had found a decent position and I was falling to sleep as I was hugging Regan.
“Are you okay?” Regan asked me and sleepily turned her face in my direction. “I’m fine,” I said and kissed her on the ear. This made her giggle and pull back a bit. My last thought, which I kept to myself was, “I'm fine but I could have been better”.
A chapter from the book, Reflections of EL: In Search of Self, by Lloyd A. Green
"Do you remember the World's Fair?"
My story begins on a beautiful spring day in 1964. Let's first take a ride on the subway. Remember this tune?
Now let's take a walk. I was with my wonderful mother and father and my knuckle-head older brother. Actually, he's a lot of fun, I just like to call him that. We got off the number 7 train in Queens and man, was it crowded. All the people pushing didn't matter though. I'd been looking forward to this trip for the past month and a few people were not going to change my mood. As we found our way through the crowd, there was so much overhanging excitement in the air that I was having a difficult time keeping my eleven year old feet on the ground. A three minute trip across the boardwalk led us to Gate No. 1. Admission fee was $2.00 for adults (13 and over) and $1.00 for children. 
Across the intersection of Gotham Plaza, we then walked on the Avenue of Commerce. This was where I sited the first lander. Others called it the IBM pavilion but no one could tell me that this wasn't some kind of spacecraft.
We then walked up the Avenue of Progress until we came to the Bell System pavilion. 
It was obvious from the huge landing struts and the amount of "visitors" boarding, that the true purpose of this craft had nothing to do with the earth.
When I turned around, there lay the Pool of Industry, also known as the Fountain of Planets. In the distance, I could see strange a spherical object. I would attempt to ascertain it's purpose at a later time. 
do you remember
As we rounded the Promenade of Industry, we then stood in the Court of the Universe, I could see the third craft known as the General Electric pavilion. Was I the only one that could see the truth? These structures had not been built here, they had landed. This obvious fact didn't seem to bother anyone else so I decided to keep it to myself.
Our small group then walked on the Avenue of Asia. This led us pass the Solar Fountain and then the Astral Fountain, which was located in the Court of the Stars. I was hypnotized by the reflective metal as the water danced through it's stars in a weaving motion. As I glanced to my right, I realized that it was not the fountain but the mysterious sphere that was beckoning to me. I was taking a few steps in that direction when I felt my brother grab my collar in order to pull me in the opposite direction. Obviously, the family had other plans.
I could see across the Meadow Lake bridge that there was a transportation platform for some type of train. I soon found that it was called the Monorail. We followed the line and got aboard. The "Hostess" told us that all of the cars were completely automated. As the doors closed and the train pulled out of the station, I anxiously looked to the front and the rear of the vehicle. I suddenly realized what the woman had truly meant. The reason I saw no compartment for a driver was because there was none! The hostess then said that the control booth was in a room back at the main platform but I knew better. There were other worldly forces propelling this train for the eight minute ride. Though the view was nice, I was relieved when we were finally able to disembark.
After surviving the train, we doubled back across the bridge and we strolled down the Harry S. Truman Promenade. To my left was the New York State pavilion which was looking a little too familiar. The towers on this building seemed exactly like those on The Jetson's cartoons on TV. That series was about a future utopia in the year 2062 where flying cars and robots were all commonplace. I gazed up in disbelief at the height of this structure. It seemed impossible that people could be walking around on the top tiers but it was true. Those platforms really looked as if they were going to take flight at any moment. 
As I moved on, the huge transparent globe was growing ever larger as we approached. It was called the Unisphere and it sat within the Fountain of the Continents. As I stood at the edge of the circular, man-made pond, I could not help but listen as two gentlemen in black suits and dark glasses spoke.
"This is such a beautiful piece of architecture, Agent K. It will be a shame when it's no longer here."
"Agent J, will you please stop worrying about that ball of steel. What's going to happen here will be for the good of humanity. Not to mention a few other alien life forms." One of the men suddenly noticed how close I was standing to them. "Excuse me, Agent K" he said to his friend. "But do you think the kid heard what we were saying?" "Trust me, Agent J. Sometimes the distance between understanding and believing is a pretty big leap. He'll be okay."
The two men in black walked pass me and smiled. They then headed in the direction of the New York State pavilion. All I could do was shake my head. Apparently the sun had been shining in my eyes and it took a while for them to adjust to the light.
Finally, as my happy little family walked down the Avenue of the United Nations South, I was astonished by the majesty of the General Motors pavilion called Futurama. I'd never seen a structure like this before and for the life of me, I could not understand how the pilot had landed it here. In other words, it had to be a spaceship of some kind. My parents and brother did not hesitate to enter so I guessed that it was safe. 
Once inside, we relaxed in our row of moving seats. We were shown what the future would be like from deep beneath the sea, to the construction of the cities of tomorrow and finally, the exploration of the surface of the moon. 
It was late and the family had gotten their fill of excitement. I was really sad to leave the fair and looked forward to my next visit. I'd heard that Futurama drew more visitors than any other site at the Fair and I could understand why. Seeing the style and imagination that went into this particular spaceship (I mean building), made me curious as to where the idea for it's design originated.
The World's Fair ended in 1965 but in 1966, there was another ship called Enterprise which was similar to the structure of General Motors Futurama. It's shape was not quite as streamlined but one has to wonder, which came first?
tobago
I stand here, looking across the beach which was shaded by the few clouds in the sky. This is the whitest sand that I'd ever seen. In truth, the beaches that I'd been to before now were all kind of a brownish color. Hard to get away from that in New York. I guess this fact made what I was seeing even more surprising. An inner peacefulness was washing over me as I remembered that I was spending this vacation in Trinidad and Tobago. The warmth of the sun mildly bathed my face in a relaxing way and not a burning one which I had expected. Tobago feels like a paradise.
It's hard to tell if the people that are shuffling pass are natives or tourists like myself but it doesn't matter. The few souls scattered around are all displaying the same relaxed demeanor. As I walk through the warm grains towards the anxious waves, I'm happily reminded of my little partner by the tugging on my hand. My two-year old daughter, Danielle, is accompanying me on my journey. I hold Dani's hand a bit more tightly as she tries to quickly run forward in order to reach the watery playground. Dani has always loved the water and she'd play in it all day if she were allowed to. This child truly has no fear of her surroundings and could not imagine that the same might be unkind and caution should be taken. Of course, why should she fear when her mother and father were always taking the extra care to ensure her safety. Dani shrieked in anticipation as she saw the approaching waves. As the water rose around her legs, I bent down and placed both my hands under her armpits. I proceeded to play the "Lift Dani up to the sky and then gently drop you back into the water" game. She knew that I did this quickly in order to save her from the watery force that would have pushed her away from her not so firm footing in the sand. She half glanced at me and then the wave as it came rolling towards us. As I picked her up, she giggled loudly as her heels reached the sky. We played this game for a while, then I heard the expected command. "Daddy, water" she said. Dani stated this because she wanted to be put down. The water was now past her waist. She knew that I was not letting go of at least one of her hands. Suddenly, a small wave flipped it's hand up and water was thrown into Dani's face. She did not use her free hand to wipe her eyes but simply shook her head and laughed. "Lloyd, be careful," a distant voice called out. From a crumpled towel on the far away beach, my wife Wendy was keeping a watchful eye on the entire proceedings. The protective mother hen sounded concerned but never moved the eyepiece of the bulky camcorder away from her face I picked Dani up one last time and used her tiny body in order to wave back at Wen. After placing her back in the water, we slowly gripped our toes into the shifting sand and we walked back in the direction of the beach. Dani began to complain but only just a little. She was having too much fun kicking the sand and water in front of her. Wen smiled as we approached, never lowering the camera. We usually remember the huge, exciting events in our lives but the simple and peaceful ones need to be given a lot more credit. Spend ten minutes with me as I relax in Tobago and experience its simplicity
Click the picture to see the video. (Yes, she was a little younger back in the day.) |
