The slug moved slowly across the sidewalk. It was a mild day, about 70°. The sun was moving west at 3 PM. Sylvia was reading a book entitled, Molecular Condensation, and she flipped a page; she was now on page 74, and an hour earlier she had been on page 50. She had an iced tea, but it was not really hot enough to drink iced tea, and she was sitting in the shade. She had a pencil, too, to take notes. Using the pencil, she made a line next to the passage that she had just read, to indicate its importance. It was Saturday.
By the time the slug had moved an inch, Sylvia was on page 76. She propped herself up on her elbow to shift herself further back into the chair. At 3:15, Sylvia got up to go into the house. The slug moved another half-inch before she emerged from the house. She picked up her book and continued reading. The book engaged her; she was already on page 80.
Sylvia stopped reading for a moment to think about what she would do tomorrow. After she came home from church, she decided, she would continue reading about molecular condensation.
She looked around. On the path to her left, she saw the slug. It was 3:30, and the slug was nearing the edge of the path and the cool shade of a bush over the bark.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Write Something Journalistic
NEW YORK, NY – Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced today that he would be eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch until the city’s economic crisis takes a turn. The announcement came as part of a press conference at City Hall in which the mayor detailed strategies to break a lack of confidence pervading Wall Street.
“I was visiting Goldman Sachs yesterday, and I saw nothing but gloom,” he said. “My new policy is meant to be an example to others.” Several times the mayor repeated the slogan, “Have a little sunshine in your day,” which he unveiled during the press conference.
Seth Pinsky, president of the New York City Economic Development Corporation and a close adviser to the mayor, told reporters that the mayor would also be having carrot sticks and potato chips with his sandwich. “I plan to follow his lead,” he said. “There’s nothing like a good old-fashioned PB&J to put a little sunshine in my day. It reminds us of when we were children, when there was less stress.”
When asked whether he would be having cookies and milk in the afternoon, Mr. Bloomberg noted that it was tempting, but said that he would avoid it in these difficult economic times. “It is important to show some restraint,” he added. “The slogan is, 'have a little sunshine in your day.'”
He admitted that “If somebody has a birthday or something like that, there will probably be some cake.”
“I was visiting Goldman Sachs yesterday, and I saw nothing but gloom,” he said. “My new policy is meant to be an example to others.” Several times the mayor repeated the slogan, “Have a little sunshine in your day,” which he unveiled during the press conference.
Seth Pinsky, president of the New York City Economic Development Corporation and a close adviser to the mayor, told reporters that the mayor would also be having carrot sticks and potato chips with his sandwich. “I plan to follow his lead,” he said. “There’s nothing like a good old-fashioned PB&J to put a little sunshine in my day. It reminds us of when we were children, when there was less stress.”
When asked whether he would be having cookies and milk in the afternoon, Mr. Bloomberg noted that it was tempting, but said that he would avoid it in these difficult economic times. “It is important to show some restraint,” he added. “The slogan is, 'have a little sunshine in your day.'”
He admitted that “If somebody has a birthday or something like that, there will probably be some cake.”
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Write Mathematically
Read. Eat dinner. Go to bed. Wake up to pee. Go back to sleep satisfied. Wake up when the sun shines. Add two eggs to a hot pan. Make two pieces of toast with unsalted butter. Put the toast on a plate; add the eggs. Make an egg sandwich and eat it with orange juice. Think quickly: one egg per day, two eggs – wait two days. But wait: indulge on Saturday with a three-egg omelette – subtract accordingly. That means on another day make two eggs with toast, unless you’re bored. If you’re bored, does that mean nine eggs the following week, and the consequence? The consequence being malfunctioning limits, or the growing allowance of a heart attack, remain steady. Perhaps immediate desire is the best judge; it will govern what your body needs and detests. Unless, unfortunately, you have a not too rare hormonal imbalance that negates your body’s food regulatory abilities. What do you count on then, when your body doesn’t understand how to calculate calorie intake, enlarging itself?
Monday, January 26, 2009
Write About Skinny-Dipping
“In the old days it was never a make-fuss, that nude swimming. But then there was this egalitarian social way, and the men made a pitch to the girls and tried to be tolerant, but I ain’t going away.
“It was a free curling rush, that first jump in the lake, or my neighbor, Benjamin, had a pool. And the girls didn’t play with the boys, unless you were young, and then we all went our private ways, grabbing a girl that you might want to share an intimate secret with. That was a thrill, and it still is.
“It’s different now – it means something. It was a bunch of us, splashing around, gay as could be, edenic. Or you snuck out with a girl in the middle of the night and took your clothes off and jumped in, and let it all take place.”
“It was a free curling rush, that first jump in the lake, or my neighbor, Benjamin, had a pool. And the girls didn’t play with the boys, unless you were young, and then we all went our private ways, grabbing a girl that you might want to share an intimate secret with. That was a thrill, and it still is.
“It’s different now – it means something. It was a bunch of us, splashing around, gay as could be, edenic. Or you snuck out with a girl in the middle of the night and took your clothes off and jumped in, and let it all take place.”
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Write about Flying
“Whichever one of you amounts
to elemental transcendence, let
me know – right now I only bounce,
gravity my ornery net.”
Like I would tell him. Maybe flair
is all he’s likely not to find
if insight lets him conquer air
to buoy up his fleshy kind.
Instead I have a heart to sing
my body to a twirling high,
for I am lighter than any thing
when my love waits patiently by.
to elemental transcendence, let
me know – right now I only bounce,
gravity my ornery net.”
Like I would tell him. Maybe flair
is all he’s likely not to find
if insight lets him conquer air
to buoy up his fleshy kind.
Instead I have a heart to sing
my body to a twirling high,
for I am lighter than any thing
when my love waits patiently by.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Write Something that Engages All Five Senses
“Honey! I bought Rita some new treats!” Edward yelled to the upstairs. He heard his wife on the balcony, and down the stairs, and she appeared bright to him in the kitchen.
“I’m glad you’re home.” Jenny put her arms on his shoulders, letting him hold her at the lower back, and kissed him on the lips. “What are they?”
“Peanut Butter Paws. Let’s let her in.”
“Let’s dissolve into each other.”
“Wait. Let’s give her a paw.” He saw her at the back glass.
Jenny released Edward and went to the back to let Rita in. She could smell the air of fun.
“I’m glad you’re home.” Jenny put her arms on his shoulders, letting him hold her at the lower back, and kissed him on the lips. “What are they?”
“Peanut Butter Paws. Let’s let her in.”
“Let’s dissolve into each other.”
“Wait. Let’s give her a paw.” He saw her at the back glass.
Jenny released Edward and went to the back to let Rita in. She could smell the air of fun.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Write Something With Your Eyes Closed
I write with voice recognition software. It has its quirks, so that what I said during this exercise is not what actually ended up on the page (although it is almost entirely correct). What I originally dictated appears at the top of the entry; below that, I have included the text as I intended it when I spoke it, as far as I can remember. The changes, again, are slight.
----------------
The underlings whose echoes descend into the toes of the King made breaks for a stone church. Lately, it was all but one could do for food, given the famine, for the work paid small subsistence amounts.
They shaved and shaped the bricks. It had been one of those misguided economic disasters. Kalamazoo had ordered a stone church; but the Kings friend on the brick-making business, and Kalamazoo was far away.
The bricks eventually did go to Kalamazoo; and the King of Kalamazoo, furious, took the bricks by force, paying for nothing, and assembled a team of laborers to build a brick road from the town to the church that was not there. He installed his pastor of the church the poor shipmaster of Ireland who was taken with his shipment of bricks. He directed the man, O’Neill, “preach to the masses so that they will not feel their knees get cold on the damp earth – and live in their spirits.”
And this O’Neill did, to such ecstasy that no attendant peasant ever left with a new sense of body, which had faded away on the clouds, or a new sense of spirit, which had thrilled them as his quiet words filled the empty air. “Do not rejoice,” he told them; “do not rejoice until you have been good or have been humbled. For I was good and I was humbled, and I live directed to be a servant, and I am happy.”
No structures were in place that suggested happiness to them, nor had it ever seemed possible, until indeed, this man, O’Neill, had laid it down as an option.
----------------
The underlings whose echoes descend into the toes of the King made bricks for a stone church. Lately, it was all that one could do for food, given the famine, for the work paid small subsistence amounts.
They shaved and shaped the bricks. It had been one of those misguided economic disasters. Kalamazoo had ordered a stone church; but the King’s friend owned a brick-making business, and Kalamazoo was far away.
The bricks eventually did go to Kalamazoo; and the King of Kalamazoo, furious, took the bricks by force, paying for nothing, and assembled a team of laborers to build a brick road from the town to the church that was not there. He installed as pastor of the church the poor shipmaster of Ireland who was taken with his shipment of bricks. He directed the man, O’Neill, “Preach to the masses so that they will not feel their knees get cold on the damp earth – enliven their spirits.”
And this O’Neill did, to such ecstasy that no attendant peasant ever left without a new sense of body, which had faded away on the clouds, or a new sense of spirit, which had thrilled them as his quiet words filled the empty air. “Do not rejoice,” he told them; “do not rejoice until you have been good or have been humbled. For I was good and I was humbled, and I live directed to be a servant, and I am happy.”
No structures were in place that suggested happiness to them, nor had it ever seemed possible, until indeed, this man, O’Neill, had laid it down as an option.
----------------
The underlings whose echoes descend into the toes of the King made breaks for a stone church. Lately, it was all but one could do for food, given the famine, for the work paid small subsistence amounts.
They shaved and shaped the bricks. It had been one of those misguided economic disasters. Kalamazoo had ordered a stone church; but the Kings friend on the brick-making business, and Kalamazoo was far away.
The bricks eventually did go to Kalamazoo; and the King of Kalamazoo, furious, took the bricks by force, paying for nothing, and assembled a team of laborers to build a brick road from the town to the church that was not there. He installed his pastor of the church the poor shipmaster of Ireland who was taken with his shipment of bricks. He directed the man, O’Neill, “preach to the masses so that they will not feel their knees get cold on the damp earth – and live in their spirits.”
And this O’Neill did, to such ecstasy that no attendant peasant ever left with a new sense of body, which had faded away on the clouds, or a new sense of spirit, which had thrilled them as his quiet words filled the empty air. “Do not rejoice,” he told them; “do not rejoice until you have been good or have been humbled. For I was good and I was humbled, and I live directed to be a servant, and I am happy.”
No structures were in place that suggested happiness to them, nor had it ever seemed possible, until indeed, this man, O’Neill, had laid it down as an option.
----------------
The underlings whose echoes descend into the toes of the King made bricks for a stone church. Lately, it was all that one could do for food, given the famine, for the work paid small subsistence amounts.
They shaved and shaped the bricks. It had been one of those misguided economic disasters. Kalamazoo had ordered a stone church; but the King’s friend owned a brick-making business, and Kalamazoo was far away.
The bricks eventually did go to Kalamazoo; and the King of Kalamazoo, furious, took the bricks by force, paying for nothing, and assembled a team of laborers to build a brick road from the town to the church that was not there. He installed as pastor of the church the poor shipmaster of Ireland who was taken with his shipment of bricks. He directed the man, O’Neill, “Preach to the masses so that they will not feel their knees get cold on the damp earth – enliven their spirits.”
And this O’Neill did, to such ecstasy that no attendant peasant ever left without a new sense of body, which had faded away on the clouds, or a new sense of spirit, which had thrilled them as his quiet words filled the empty air. “Do not rejoice,” he told them; “do not rejoice until you have been good or have been humbled. For I was good and I was humbled, and I live directed to be a servant, and I am happy.”
No structures were in place that suggested happiness to them, nor had it ever seemed possible, until indeed, this man, O’Neill, had laid it down as an option.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Write a Poem Not Containing the Letter "R"
Unto the sea I go,
walking, and thinking of whales:
between one sea and the next I go,
taking plankton and watching sails
that villains mend
to make them billow
in the wind, to give chase,
to make haste,
in those days of gold. Why,
if they had wet stockings,
and tasteless food, why
didn’t they want to be good?
I play my tails and my fins, sea-slap,
and if they hunt me,
between one sea and the next I go,
to escape.
walking, and thinking of whales:
between one sea and the next I go,
taking plankton and watching sails
that villains mend
to make them billow
in the wind, to give chase,
to make haste,
in those days of gold. Why,
if they had wet stockings,
and tasteless food, why
didn’t they want to be good?
I play my tails and my fins, sea-slap,
and if they hunt me,
between one sea and the next I go,
to escape.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Write About Sloth
Be frail if you can, but do no more.
Take necessities to action – comply.
Autonomy is why you were born.
The porter’s wife is mystery.
Take necessities to action – comply.
Autonomy is why you were born.
The porter’s wife is mystery.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Write Something Suspenseful
“Hold him, but take his eyes into account before you kill him.” Marshall left the room without saying another word.
It was me, and a knife, and a murderer. I was fastened to a chair. Take my eyes into account, please.
“Do you know what he means, take your eyes into account? It’s an unusual request.”
“He says it because I’m blind.”
“He says it with everyone. The eyes are a force to be reckoned with, he thinks.”
“So I’m –"
“But see, I think the eyes just get in the way –"
“So I’m not going to close my eyes. And I’m going to listen to you kill me with my eyes open.”
“So be it.”
And I was afraid.
It was me, and a knife, and a murderer. I was fastened to a chair. Take my eyes into account, please.
“Do you know what he means, take your eyes into account? It’s an unusual request.”
“He says it because I’m blind.”
“He says it with everyone. The eyes are a force to be reckoned with, he thinks.”
“So I’m –"
“But see, I think the eyes just get in the way –"
“So I’m not going to close my eyes. And I’m going to listen to you kill me with my eyes open.”
“So be it.”
And I was afraid.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Write Something Simple
John went to the store. He bought apples, peanut butter, and a toothbrush. He ate the apples and peanut butter for lunch, and he used the toothbrush to clean his teeth. John’s teeth were clean.
John went out for coffee with Jane. John and Jane both ordered black coffee. Jane paid the cashier. John and Jane talked about economics. They got up to leave; they kissed. John had gas. They parted.
John went out for coffee with Jane. John and Jane both ordered black coffee. Jane paid the cashier. John and Jane talked about economics. They got up to leave; they kissed. John had gas. They parted.
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