David S. Atkinson's Blog, page 112

Book Plug Post!

Book plug post!

Apocalypse All the Time is post-post-apocalypticism. The apocalypse happens on a weekly (if not daily) basis and Marshall is sick of it. Life is constantly in peril, constantly disrupted, but nothing significant every really happens as a result. It’s always handled. Marshall wants out; he wants it all to end. In short, the book explores what about the end times holds such fascination for humanity and what impact such a fascination has on the way we live our lives.

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Life is absurd, ultimately beyond our comprehension, in [some awesome accomplishment] David Atkinson’s latest short story collection Not Quite So Stories. Themes of adolescence, marriage, work, and death intersect in stories that will leave the reader at times amused, sorrowful, pensive, hopeful, and marveling at the bizarre things that make people tick.

Don’t you hate it when you may (or may not) be trapped endlessly in a Village Inn with your ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend, coincidentally your ex-best friend? That’s the kind of day Cassandra is having. In a homogenized world that is left mostly empty so everyone can feel comfortable, The Garden of Good and Evil Pancakes explores the fictions we tell ourselves and the fictions we tell ourselves about the fictions we tell ourselves. See the trailer on EAB Publishing’s YouTube page.

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Bones Buried in the Dirt features a young boy named Peter. Ranging from ages four to twelve, Peter’s stories focus on the sort of moments in childhood that get buried in the mind but never fully get absorbed, the moments that constantly come to the surface later in life and shape identity. The result is a sonar picture of the individual Peter will become.

Don’t forget to leave reviews on Goodreads and Amazon!

You Know What I Haven’t Had In Forever?

You know what I haven’t had in forever? Spray cheese.

That seems really odd right now. The stuff isn’t even really food so I doubtless shouldn’t be eating it, but it seems really odd right now that I haven’t eaten it in ages. I used to eat it all the time on road trips as a kid.

What The Hell Is The Deal With The Toad?

“We don’t have enough for a movie.”

“Well, just pad it out with shots of a toad.”

“What? Why? What is that for?”

“I don’t know, just do it. It’ll make sense, like…it’s artistic or something.”

I Wish RTD Would Put A Regular Driver On My Route

I wish RTD would put a regular driver on my route. We used to have regular drivers. Then they started switching them all out every couple of months, even more than the substitute drivers we’d just get a few times. It makes things more challenging than they really need to be, though I’m sure they do it because they don’t have enough drivers and my route isn’t important enough. I just wish they’d establish regulars.

Drivers new to the route take longer because they aren’t familiar with where and how to go. They use the brake/gas more, resulting in neck-snapping rough ride. Given that this is a bus that goes in and out of downtown at peak times, it can be a problem. Regular drivers learn how it goes and things go way faster and smoother, way more comfortable. Our drivers start out really rough and then things get better as they learn the route. Then RTD switches them out again.

I just wish they could keep regular drivers on the route, since I take it almost every day.

There Must Be A Narrow Age Range For Storm Drain Tunnel Exploration

There must be a narrow age range for storm drain tunnel exploration. You know, the tunnels that connect the storm grates on the street eventually to creeks and rivers. Not sewage, just storm runoff. You have to have them or you’d flood when it rained, and cities with rivers or creeks going through even more so. You can get some fascinating networks of these in a city (I’ve seen cement tubes twelve feet in diameter or so, small old ones made of brick, corrugated steel covered in tar, living cave formations, and more), if you’re into that sort of thing, which I am.

When you’re under a certain age though, exploration can be difficult. I’ve run into tunnels so long that I couldn’t get away from my parents long enough to explore them fully. I’ve had cops called on me because people worried about kids getting stuck under grates and note being able to get out. I’m old enough now though. I could get to any one I want and explore as long as I want. Right?

Yeah…imagine if the cops found a forty year old guy crawling around a storm drain tunnel? I don’t think that would go well. I think there’s a narrow range for this when you can do what you want without coming off really creepy.

I’m past that, I believe.

An Odd Thing To Bug My Wife

My wife and I don’t usually agree on programming. I don’t care for much of the reality television she watches, and she isn’t especially fond of the cartoons I go for. Her dislike of Bob’s Burgers is a pretty easy to understand. She doesn’t care for the humor. Even I’m only so much for it, kind of getting depressed if I try to watch more than one episode at a sitting. After all, it’s very sitcom oriented for a cartoon. I usually need a bit more of an escape than that. Rick and Morty is a little more unusual though. She doesn’t like their teeth.

Seriously, the teeth are what get her. She can appreciate the humor and the plots, but those rounded teeth set her on edge. They bug her. Nothing really to be done about it. I just thought it was odd.

Spooky

Spooky.

Isn’t it?

Thin Mint Cereal Seems Pointless To Me

There is apparently a cereal based on the Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies.  This seems kind of pointless to me. I’ve mentioned this to several people when they’ve talked about it.

After all, however close it comes, it still isn’t the original cookies. Why not just crush up actual Thin Mint cookies in milk and eat them like cereal? I’m not kidding. I’ve actually done this. More than once.

Ever Think Of Getting A Costco Membership Just To Get A Hot Dog?

Ever think of getting a Costco membership just to get a hot dog? I do. I’ve had memberships there before, but I let them lapse and never renewed. I just don’t end up using enough stuff from there that I can get in bulk to make it worthwhile. Usually, the stuff that would make it economically worthwhile is the stuff I shouldn’t be eating anyway. I miss their hot dogs though.

They have good hot dogs at their little concession counter.

I Wanted To Take My Wife To Glacier National Park Next Year

I wanted to take my wife to Glacier National Park next year. I spent time there around 1989, both on the US and Canada sides. It was such a beautiful place and I have so many wonderful memories of hiking through the woods, paddle boating and trying to swim in glacier fed lakes, watching goats that roamed free in a small Canada town, and all that. Now I’m wondering if there’s even going to be anything left to go and see.

For a moment I thought I should have insisted we go there this year instead of the Grand Canyon. Then I remembered we would have been there during the fires if so. I should have insisted that we go years ago.

I know forest fires are part of nature, but even left alone it would take longer to regrow than I would ever hope to live. It may simply be too late.