Kurt R.A. Giambastiani's Blog, page 38
April 18, 2017
Future Imperfect
as you look across the room/table/bed at him/her/them your heart’s perfect home remember this skin wrinkles waists thicken hair goes thin/grey know this hearts grow minds expand dreams die/are reborn expect this we are inconstant water in life’s river evolving/adapting/learning accept this alive we change we are change want this life is our fate promise gift remember this […]
April 13, 2017
A Swan, She Was
A swan, she was, with all that entails. Long-necked, pale, graceful, a pillar of dignity, She was also fearless and arrogant, Intimidating with a sharp-eyed glare, Loyal unto death. Within her arms, I felt safe, protected by her fierce strength. She stood behind me in maternal overwatch As I took first steps to face a […]
April 6, 2017
Seoul Train
A lot of today’s pop culture cinema leaves me cold. Superheroes. Vampires. Zombies. Especially zombies. What is it with zombies? I don’t watch The Walking Dead. I don’t get all fidgety waiting for the next zombie apocalypse video game. And I certainly don’t queue up to see the latest action-packed, gore-spattered, plucky regular-guys facing walls of […]
April 3, 2017
The Sunne In Splendour: A Writerly View
A long-standing obsession of mine has been act 1, scene 2, from Shakespeare’s Richard III. It’s the scene where Richard accosts Lady Anne during a funeral procession and, in the course of a few hundred lines, steers her from unmitigated loathing all the way ’round the bend to a point where she warms to his affection, accepts […]
March 28, 2017
Old Man Gamer: Rifts and Valleys
This past weekend, still recuperating from a kick-your-teeth-out head cold, I didn’t have much energy for anything beyond breathing, so I figured maybe I’d play Valley, the new game I’d purchased. Aside from that, my one major expense of energy would be to accompany my wife (who had also succumbed to the Killer Cold) on an errand […]
March 23, 2017
Defining Man
Man, the tool maker. Great apes, dolphins, sea otters, crows, jays, octopuses: Dude, get a grip. Man, the user of language. Dolphins (again), orcas, bats: Um… what now? Man, the animal that grieves. Elephants, dolphins (yet again), giraffes, jays: Seriously? Man, the animal that farms its food. Ants, damselfish, wood beetles: Hey, get off my lawn! […]
March 21, 2017
Diary of a Head Cold
Thursday: Barbarians at the gate Riders, sir! Enemy advancing! Portcullis down! Drawbridge up! All able bodies to the walls! Defend the city! Heaven help us, they’ve breached our defenses. We’re being overrun! Friday: Auto-da-fé Muscles are seared by heat. Every joint creaks. Be strong! Don’t give in. Tell them nothing! But the fire, it burns. It burns! […]
March 13, 2017
Vignette 13Mar17: The Beauty of History
We have changed, she and I. The slender, vibrant creatures of decades past are gone. The bright, idealistic hearts of youth have faded. Our eyes are dimmer, our skin more slack. The hair we brush is thin, dull. Our waists are thick. Our steps less spry. Our knees creak as we climb the stairs. We can feel […]
March 7, 2017
Trashing Paradigms: Cable-Free Follow-up
It’s been a full month since we dropped our cable and land-line package to become a primarily streaming household, and I think we can say that the results are in. As with any paradigm shift, behaviors and attitudes have changed. What surprised me, though, was the speed with which the changes were made and some of […]
February 27, 2017
7 1/2
Last week, I stood out in the rain. On purpose. Last week was a stay-cation, and I spent many hours out in the elements, reclaiming the gardens after a couple of years’ worth of accumulated neglect. It being February — and one of the wettest on record, to boot — more of those “elements” were liquid than […]
