James Pyles's Blog, page 126

Colin Kaepernick’s Sacrifice and Nike

NOTE: As I come across more strangeness and silliness pertaining to this topic, I’ll add edits to the bottom of my missive, so this essay has become something of a “living” document, or at least a wee bit of streaming consciousness. Keep checking back for more. “I disapprove of what you say, but I will […]

Moving to the Beehive

“I’m Erika. Welcome to the beehive.” Erika Kiribati was the unofficial greeter for the San Jose State dorms. “I’ll get that box.” “Thanks. I’m Josh. There are more people living here than the town I grew up in.” Josh McKenny had his hands full with his duffel. “You get used to it.” The 19-year-old Samoan […]

The Wrong Moon

“Honey, come here. The full moon is so beautiful tonight.” Robin and Noah Clarke were celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary in a small resort town and had just returned to their hotel room after dinner. “Full moon?” Noah picked up his smartphone and started pushing virtual buttons. “Can’t you leave that thing alone and come […]

Quoting: Boost Your Self Esteem Objectively

People with low self-esteem are frequently very good people by objective standards, but have high aspirations and hence feel frustrated in not reaching their lofty goals. Since they are not perfect, they consider themselves failures and this leads to many negative consequences. It is important for such people to realize they are thinking in either/or […]

The Murasaki Betrayal

Charlton Ortega piloted his light scout ship “Lily Sloane” into the nebulous Murasaki 312 quasar-like formation at half impulse power not knowing if he and his three crew mates would make it back out again. “Shields are nominal. Continuing sensor sweep. Still nothing.” Helen Olssen was both the ship’s systems expert and Ortega’s lover, and […]

The Man at 100 Forrest Avenue

“Are you sure he lives here?” Emily Long had been a stringer for the AP for the past three years and if this story panned out, it would make her career. “100 Forrest Avenue, Panama City, Florida. There’s no mistake.” Quentin Street called himself a consulting detective, like how Sherlock Holmes described himself. Emily had […]

Quoting: Feel Joy at Overcoming Obstacles

A powerful general will prefer difficult military assignments because he wants to show his strength and abilities when he is victorious. Similarly, if you feel strong love for another person, you will experience joy when you find opportunities to express the full extent of love for that person. So, too, when you have a strong […]

Shut up, Wesley OR Why You Should Expect twitter to Hurt You

“It is impossible to see a fault in someone else if you don’t have it in yourself.” -Anonymous I’ve been thinking about the amazing amount of kvetching going on in social media and especially twitter. I’ve participated in a certain amount of it as well, as chronicled in blog posts such as This is the […]

The New Dragon Saga: The Resistance

Chapter 3: “It’s a good thing the biotrace found him.” Landon heard a familiar voice, a man’s voice. The Master? Where was Buddy? “Yes sir. Another few minutes and his signal would have faded forever.” It was Carmen Ramsey, Landon’s doctor; the one who treated his wounds after one of the Games, the Roman’s sword. […]

Quoting: The Wealth of Torah

During a holiday, students at the Lakewood Yeshiva were elated at the words of Rabbi Aharon Kotler, the Rosh Yeshiva, who had just delivered an inspiring holiday lecture. At the end of his talk, the students began to sing a tune to the words from King David’s Psalms, “Were it not for Thy Torah being […]