Eggp > Recent Status Updates

10. Last Night, 4 stars. Terminally ill older woman plans an assisted suicide with her husband, invites a younger lady friend to be the third wheel at her fairwell dinner.

07. Palm Court, 2 stars. Cowardly man pines after the girl he secretly loved for 20 years, immediately loses interest once he sees she got fat.
08. Bangkok, 2 stars. Extremely bitter old girlfriend tries to hurt/tempt her ex, taunting him about his lovely wife and child.
09. Arlington, 2 stars. Weak man remembers the times his dead friend helped him with his terrible one-sided marriage and the legal fallout.

04. Such Fun, 2 stars. Lady friends get together to complain about their love lives, one is terminally ill but can't bear to bring it up yet.
05. Give, 3 stars. Husband is romantically involved with a mutual male friend, wife asks him to break it off for her birthday.
06. Platinum, 3 stars. Husband with a happy marriage makes a fool of himself over a younger woman that doesn't even love him, father-in-law finds out.

01. Comet, 2 stars. Older couple settles unevenly into their life together, have an uncomfortable conversation/argument in front of people at a dinner party.
02. Eyes of the Stars, 2 stars. Widow gets her big career break after her husband's death, man is still dumbfounded by his lucking into acting.
03. My Lord You, 2 stars. Woman is groped by drunken poet at a party, obsesses over him, his dog obsesses over her.

Wiki: "...His Holiness had sent a cardinal-ablegate to place the Golden Rose , the pontifical tribute to virtuose queens, on Her Majesty’s tomb in the mausoleum at Frogmore."

Golden Rose > Blessed sword and hat

Wiki: "The pontifical regalia is not sacrosanct like the Carthaginian zaimph."

03. Inheritance, 4 stars. Woman reconnects with her dead mother's creepy family, gets sent to the old country to see the family holdings and treasure.
04. Captain Hendrik’s Story, 4 stars. Man from formerly wealthy family sets up a sailing expedition to regain wealth and honor, disappears for 10 years.

01. Third Time Lucky, 4 stars. Grieving? Unstable? Extremely unlucky? Woman is obsessed with ancient Egypt, agrees to a loveless marriage as a means of visiting.
02. People to People, 4 stars. Old friend finds love and jesus in a big way, wants everyone to confess to a crime they committed back in college.

Wiki: "Oh and I’ve taken the liberty of bringing You a jar of pickled samphire like what You used to fancy."

Wiki: "Pinned there were a pencil design for a Diamastigosis ..."

Word: "... lucubrations of my ancient predecessor ..."

1. The action or occupation of lucubrating; nocturnal study or meditation; study in general; an instance of this.

2. The product of nocturnal study and meditation; hence, a literary work showing signs of careful elaboration. Now somewhat derisive or playful, suggesting the notion of something pedantic or over-elaborate.

05. David Lynch Keeps His Head, 3 stars. Never speaks to him at all, is a fan.
06. Tennis Player Michael Joyce's Professional Artistry as a Paradigm of Certain Stuff about Choice, Freedom, Limitation, Joy, Grotesquerie, and Human Completeness, 2 stars. Tennis facts, realizing you are not pro-level.
07. A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again, 3 stars. Being a creep on a cruise ship, more sneering at other people.

Wiki: "I’ve got to say I feel like there’s been a kind of Peter Principle in effect on this assignment."

01. Derivative Sport in Tornado Alley, 3 stars. Using math to excel at tennis as a Midwestern youth.
02. E Unibus Pluram: Television and U.S. Fiction, 2 stars. TV is bad and you should feel bad, or not.
03. Getting Away From Already Pretty Much Being Away From It All, 4 stars. Being contemptuous of everyone enjoying the state fair.
04. Greatly Exaggerated, 2 stars. Literary critics love to tear down old theories.

Wiki: "I gather “Little Jim” Edgar, the Governor, isn’t much respected by the Press, most of whom are whispering about Michael Jordan’s father’s car being found but the father being missing, still."

Q&A Author/Artist Spotlights, stars.
Carly Janine Mazur
Reiko Murakami
Sam Guay
Shelby Nichols
Stacy Nguyen
Gemma Files
Catherine MacLeod
Katherine Crighton
Livia Llewellyn
Joyce Carol Oates
Tanith Lee
A.R. Morlan

Nonfiction/Interviews, 3 stars.
Lisa Morton - Joyce Carol Oates
Lisa Morton - Jessica Sharzer
Lucy A. Snyder - An Historical Overview of Classic Horror Novels
Maria Alexander - Baby Got Backbone
Lisa Morton - Women Destroy Horror! Roundtable Interview
Chesya Burke - The H Word
Jessica Amanda Salmonson - Women's Short Horror Fiction

07. Tanith Lee - Black and White Sky, 4 stars. Magpies blot out the sky over Britain, power etc is knocked out.
08. A.R. Morlan - . . . Warmer, 3 stars. Music video model isn't quite desperate enough to go along with producer's lip-syncing scheme.
09. Excerpt: Catherine Cavendish - Linden Manor, 2 stars. Woman tries to track down the origin of a spooky song at a spooky house.

04. Katherine Crighton - The Inside and the Outside, 3 stars. Awkward camping trip gets worse when an animal visits the tent.
05. Livia Llewellyn - It Feels Better Biting Down, 3 stars. Twin sisters snoop on a neighbor, explore their changing bodies.
06. Joyce Carol Oates - Martyrdom, 2 stars. A jiggly girl sold to a rich man and a rat cross paths in an unexpected way.

01. Gemma Files - This Is Not for You, 4 stars. Goddess cult gets together for their yearly hunting trip.
02. Catherine MacLeod - Sideshow, 3 stars. Ugly woman returns to the place of her sexual assault for closure.
03. Pat Cadigan - Unfair Exchange, 3 stars. Still half-asleep woman tries to help her neighbor during a home invasion, gets seriously injured.

08. The Gibbet, 2 stars. Old guy sees a spooky vision of youths.
09. The Doldrums, 3 stars. Ship's druggie doctor cracks up over the heat and lack of wind.
10. Memorable Moments, 3 stars. Little boy spies on his parents party, likes his governess.

04. Told by the Schoolmaster, 3 stars. Impulsive boy rushes off to join a war/elopes/knocks up his wife in record time.
05. The Smile, 3 stars. Snooty judge is perturbed by a voluptuous woman grinning at him all the time.
06. The Black Coat, 2 stars. Sleepy old man doesn't pay attention while tending his fire.
07. The Mummy, 3 stars. Man wastes his life amusing himself and running away from a beautiful woman.

01. Danaë, 3 stars. Rather loose but luscious woman enjoys attention from various men, especially when they fork over cash.
02. Water, 3 stars. Frustrated money man is seduced by the idea of a verdant outback, travels to AUS see for himself.
03. A Patriot, 3 stars. German American wants to help his homeland, turns out to be a piss poor spy.

Word: "... he also set down with meticulous care an exact itinerary of Stillman’s divagations , noting each street he followed, each turn he made, and each pause that occurred."

1. To wander about; to stray from one place or subject to another.

Wiki: "He thought for a moment of Vermeer’s Soldier and Young Girl Smiling , trying to remember the expression on the girl’s face, the exact position of her hands around the cup, the red back of the faceless man."

09. Witches, 3 stars. Little boys find a dead kid, hide his body for their private enjoyment.
10. Bonding, 2 stars. Father and son have a ritual fight to the death, mom observes.
11. Marriage, 3 stars. A ouija board interview with a convicted killer and his victim (I think).
12. Every Day for the Rest of Your Life, 4 stars. Strange child intrigued by dead animals grows into a strange man obsessed with dead animals.

05. Best Friend, 3 stars. Slacker neglects his dog's care, buys random expensive food to feel better about himself.
06. Coping, 3 stars. Scorned woman obsesses over her ex, plays a simulation to take out her frustration.
07. The Prime Minister, 2 stars. Easy going people trapped in a house are sort of sad when one of them dies.
08. Smells, 3 stars. Poor woman has a smelly toothache, but no dental insurance yet.

01. Messes, 3 stars. Cleaner at a sex club gets accosted by a creepy customer.
02. Opportunities, 3 stars. Compulsive gambler makes a series of bad decisions in gas stations.
03. Ammon, 3 stars. Parents and other people who knew a troubled child are interviewed about his life.
04. The Alumni Association, 3 stars. Graduate is hounded by his alma mater, like his father before him.

09. Majken, 3 stars. Downtrodden old woman is barely scraping by, gets involved with a shoplifting ring.
10. Paper Walls, 2 stars. Father brings a big box home, son drags it to the woods.
11. The Final Processing, 2 stars. Baddies are experimenting on zombies, guy with daddy issues meets a pretty girl.

05. Substitute, 3 stars. Childhood friend wants to meet up after 20 years, seems wonky.
06. Eternal / Love, 3 stars. Husband is obsessed with immortality after a drowning accident.
07. Let the Old Dreams Die, 3 stars. Retired policewoman and life partner grow old and sick, she receives a tip on an old cold case.
08. To Hold You While the Music Plays, 3 stars. Uneasy smalltalk waiting for everyone else to arrive.