James Pyles's Blog, page 143
June 22, 2018
Ghostbusters, Ocean’s 8, and “Gender Flipping”
I think I may have seen the 1960 film Ocean’s 11 at some point decades past, or at least parts of it. It had an all-star cast which included Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Peter Lawford. The sole primary actress featured was Angie Dickinson, and the movie (as I understand it) set […]
June 21, 2018
Mr. Bartholomew’s Temporal Train
Twenty-five year old elementary school teacher Preston Dunn arrived at the train station just before six on Sunday morning. He normally slept in on the weekend, but he was enormously curious about the strange train ticket that had been delivered to his home by special messenger three days ago. Well, he was also intrigued by […]
June 20, 2018
Who is a Nazi and Why Should I Care?
Nazi: noun 1. historical a member of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party. adjective 1. of or concerning the Nazis or Nazism. That’s the dictionary definition of “Nazi.” Of course, there’s a lot more to it, and to get the details, please visit the Wikipedia pages for Nazism and The Nazi Party. Why am I […]
The Target
Peter took a taxi from JFK into Manhattan, seeing the driver frown in the rear view mirror when he gave the address. Anna had met him outside Terminal 4 where she’d given him the item secured in a laptop case. He was the only one in the organization who could deliver it to the target, […]
Social Experiment
“They’re beginning to panic, Vym.” Vym and Qloutyd were watching the news broadcasts from their alien stealth ship in low Earth orbit. “Naturally. They expect Venice to be flooded in a century according to their belief in this climate change phenomena. They could hardly expect the famous canals to actually dry up.” “They’re blaming…wait a […]
June 19, 2018
When Julia Wore Her Thorns
The mask of thorns was almost a part of her now, as if it were growing out of her skin instead of inexorably piercing it, boring through muscle and bone. Blood, thick as syrup, slowly described glacial paths across her face, then down her delicate throat and onto her chest and shoulders. Julia’s body was […]
June 18, 2018
Frozen Love
It had to be as beautiful as possible, but because of the ice sculpture’s size, Victor had to use automated industrial saws and chisels. It didn’t help that he was working alone in a freezing warehouse, but he required absolute secrecy. He sat behind the console of the remote control unit and directed robots with heated metal arms […]
Galactic North: A Brief Book Review
A friend of mine loaned me his copy of this book because we share similar tastes in reading and I must say I found it well-written and compelling. Galactic North is a collection of eight short stories all set in the same “universe” and spanning centuries. They involve different variations of the human race, and […]
Deasiling with Brady
Twenty-four year old Brady Walsh authentically enjoyed it when people called her a ginger. It was much better than being a drab brunette or a vaunted blonde, and anyone meaning to insult her with the term were doing so out of envy. She had resolved to deasil, invoking only positive qualities and expressions of her […]
June 17, 2018
Aekh’s Kikroot
Surprisingly, they were sexually compatible, so Aekh could teach him the forty-one forms of the Shin Ratda, as well as his native planet’s Kama Sutra and Ars Amatoria. She stood fully one meter taller than Quinn, and he marvelled that her elongated limbs and torso could hold her upright. Of course, at the moment, they […]
