There’s a rumbling outside and in my stomach; probably from the undercooked potatoes in the curry.
Seventies Television
Where dreams become late night TV shows
Wednesday, May 28, 2025
Saturday, May 24, 2025
Airsoft Kool-Aid
Friday, May 23, 2025
Field Trip
Escorting children off the school bus at the Natural History museum, Steve finds a roll of pennies.
Opening the roll, he finds a 1944 cent with the Lincoln Memorial reverse, and a 1924 Barber dime, both coins literal one of a kind unique impossibilities.
Thursday, May 22, 2025
E3 2049
The Electronic Expo revives in the old Towne East mall in Wichita, Kansas. Each former commercial store is a cavernous showroom dedicated to a single arcade game.
As one of the first attendees, Steve sprints down a second floor walkway, past a Spencer’s Gifts filled with dozens of Star Wars arcade machines.
Next door, a B. Dalton bookstore shows rows and rows of classic Asteroids cabinets.
The upper floor of JCPenneys displays nothing but Primal Rage machines: hallways filled with upright cabinets, bright white showcase 33” screens, and a converted Jurassic Park cockpit.
Spotlighted at the front of the store is a unique prototype machine seemingly carved out of a model volcano, with control panels placed close to the floor, forcing players to sit cross-legged or kneel in a sandy compartment to play. Somehow there are four of these compartments around the base of the volcano, with caves cut into the slope where 25” monitors are mounted.
Dominating the peak and vent of the volcano is a rotating holographic projection cube that shows off the fighting game action. Monolithic Stonehenge pillars contain stacks of subwoofer and speakers, rattling spectators skulls with each prehistoric punch.
Monday, May 19, 2025
Stabbity Rainbow
Sunday, May 18, 2025
Friday, May 16, 2025
Thursday, May 15, 2025
Own A Subway
Tuesday, May 13, 2025
Cool Beach Vacation
Monday, May 12, 2025
Forgotten Memories
Saturday, May 10, 2025
Intergame Transfer
I lassoed a Dark Red Hereford in Activision’s Stampede, and fixed a saddle on its back.
I mounted and rode the calf, leaping out of the CRT, IRL.
Then we jumped into my laptop and explored our new Minecraft world.
Thursday, May 8, 2025
Fall Harvest Decor
Eggs and sausage fry in oil in a concrete basin.
I pass by several times (with shoes and bare feet) through the food court, and up and down staircases, among the fall harvest decorations.
On the third time passing, I pick up someone’s discarded sandal and hang it on a hat rack.
Later, creeping slowly with headlights off as partygoers return home.
Tuesday, May 6, 2025
Paintball Tactics
Sunday, May 4, 2025
The Great Spreadsheet War
Friday, May 2, 2025
Prototype Build Quote
Thursday, May 1, 2025
Falling With Style
Playing with the reduced effects of gravity at the university’s new science research center construction site.
Leaping and soaring high above the steel beam structure.
Floating softly and controllably back to the ground.
Heading to the showers where janitorial staff host an interview with a new pest control company.
There’s cake.
Wednesday, April 30, 2025
Underground Fried Rice
Carved into the foot of a mountain, this restaurant features 999 varieties of fried rice including: chicken fried rice, beef fried rice, pork fried rice, shrimp fried rice, vegetable fried rice, honey fried rice, miso fried rice, shoyu fried rice, duck fried rice, mushroom fried rice, pineapple fried rice, egg fried rice, lentil fried rice, birria fried rice, lamb fried rice, goat fried rice, fish fried rice, shadow fried rice, rainbow fried rice, potato fried rice, steak fried rice, tofu fried rice, peanut butter fried rice, butter fried rice, seaweed fried rice, cranberry fried rice, chickpea fried rice...
Tuesday, April 29, 2025
Popper Parkour
Thousands of makeshift jumbo toilet paper poppers adorn the ceilings of a three story townhouse with furniture packed into every room.
Thursday, April 24, 2025
Egg Water
At the indoor community pool, a bucket of hard boiled eggs is dumped into the water.
AH grabs one and eats it while, with the shell on, while I stuff my sweatpants pockets.
Wednesday, April 23, 2025
Strawberry Bavarian
Some remember today as the day in 1806 when Bavaria declared itself a sovereign nation.
But I will remember it as the day my brother and I rode bikes and slurped strawberry ICEEs.
Saturday, April 19, 2025
Monster Truck Art Show
At Mr. S’s free annual “It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” monster truck themed art gallery, several contestants are turned away for being too ‘pushy’ in the registration line.
Each of these contestants was unique, exhibiting some uncommon or rare physical disability: dwarfism, albinism, muscular dystrophy, ataxia, alopecia, and many with one or more missing limbs.
These contestants rejoined the registration line and were eventually admitted to join the parade of trucks roaring around the obstacle course while displaying a wide variety of art projects in oil and watercolor paint, ink and pencil, woodcut prints and etchings, charcoal and crayon resist.
Friday, April 18, 2025
It Swindy
Thought sand feeling smash together.
Nextdoor, the Netflix Airlines travel agency closes early.
Swinging Venetian blinds indicate an open window.
A yellow gumball gacha machine bursts open; its contents swirl around the empty office.
Saturday, April 12, 2025
Bonus! Free DS!
I forgot I left my laptop and backpack in an outdoor patio of a BBQ restaurant.
When I returned, everything had been neatly returned to my backpack, including someone’s Nintendo DS I didn’t recognize (mine is red).
I spent the rest of the dream searching for the owner of the DS - someone who named their Animal Crossing character, Kira.
Tuesday, April 30, 2024
Using a dream
Missing a semicolon
Nightmare
Business trip to Europe
Seedy dark downtown
Unfamiliar Coworker bros
Delieriant pills
Social gatherings in a church
Nighttime alley confrontation
Foot chase
Hop on moving subway train
Lost shoe
People on train concerned/praying
Acapella singing group
Headless singer interviewed
Calling dial tone
Wake up
Text wife
Text work
Meditate
Pet a dog
Jumping For Treats
Saturday, November 12, 2022
Scooter World Tour
It starts off as a basketball / dodge ball tournament with 8 teams of seemingly 100 players each.
I moved over to Team F with the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. We did center court drills with partially deflated basketballs until after dark, when the zombies started to emerge. Then we broke into groups of 4 to survive.
Unfortunately we forget to lock the five double front doors and two zombies shamble through around dawn, prompting the scooter leg of the game.
With reduced gravity settings it’s easy to clear 6-foot gaps, weave perpendicularly through street traffic, and jump over 5-foot hedgerows.
I leaned back after longer and longer jumps, landing gently into a manual on the rear wheel, and riding it for hundreds of feet down the sidewalk.
I began to lose consciousness after leaping into a multiplayer frozen river section. The graphics changed into 8-bit and the camera angle switched from 3rd person to top down. There were too many player to player collisions and not enough tricks.
Thursday, November 10, 2022
Elevator 7B
Nobody can tell me the location of this elevator.
Staff and I look at a map while teenagers roughhouse across a counter.
Sunday, October 30, 2022
Plane to Oklahoma
It’s really a small office with a bed in the back corner.
Two other passengers fall asleep before the flight.
I flip on the light to read and a giant cat slinks down the hallway.
Sunday, February 24, 2019
Saturday, February 23, 2019
Friday, February 22, 2019
Thursday, February 21, 2019
Monday, February 4, 2019
Round and round and round and round!
Circle high above the ground!
Every lap: a happy sound!
Play a round of Plane Around!
Monday, November 5, 2018
English Beat Weekend
Friday, November 2, 2018
We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams
Do your brain a favor and start playing today.
You have so much time and so few levels to see! Wait a minute! Strike that. Reverse it.
- A proud Zynga employee
#WonkasWorldOfCandy
Tuesday, December 19, 2017
Fatality
Riding in the Celica with no driver; figure I should move into driver seat. A high speed crash at a T-intersection on my right throws flying debris. I swerve into left lane to avoid it and falling palm tree. Double back to investigate crash and find the dead victim under a trash bin. He was transversely bifurcated.
Friday, May 12, 2017
#NationalLimerickDay
Boggle With Friends is its name.
Install it and play
A game every day.
Worthy of worldwide acclaim!
Tuesday, April 18, 2017
Seeking solitude? Solitaire is the solution.
One
Lonesome
Isolated
Troglodytic
Apart
Individual
Reclusive
Eremetic
– A Zynga Employee
Thursday, March 23, 2017
Ode to Boggle With Friends
On letter tiles my thumb swipes fiercely through
Going for high scores until late at night
Gladly defeating friends both old and new
Lexophiles rejoice with newfound zeal
Everlasting gameplay and appeal
(full disclosure: I am a Wordie, and a Zynga Employee)
Friday, May 24, 2013
Lepidoptera Survivor
Confrontation
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Double J
On raceday, I forgot my glasses, and resigned myself to a day of fuzzy arms-length vision.
For some strange reason, TWO races were scheduled simultaneously that day - MotoX and Rallycross Trucks - and I had just put those two facts together when a motorcycle rider skidded across the finish line barrelling head-on towards a truck in the opposing race.
There were goggles littering the sidelines but thankfully nobody got hurt.
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Refriending
SF is enamored more with the thick white fur carpeting (and the other shoeless patrons) than she is in perusing adult beverages.
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Juxtapositioning
Patrons ride down the slide on empty burlap potato sacks.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Fashion Update
Friday, September 2, 2011
Swap Meet Search
At the swap meet, a young boy shops for a tomahawk.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Punk'd In Planes
3-in-1 Show
At a birthday party banquet, in a room with broken tiled-glass doors, there's a lenticular picture of me in a black sport coat, seated, and turning around from behind.
Attempt to distract Disney character enemies in order that the aggressor might kill the defender.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
Amputee Survival Stories
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Whatever Happened To...
I perform an impromptu Greek weather ritual by playing percussion.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Color Theory
KS visits us in the park.
I draw an orange 'JS' in the grass, on either side of a walkway, with a boogie board.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Backwards Memory
Working backwards through the dream to the moment I lost consciousness.
Trying to compose the thoughts and feelings into a New York Times bestseller book's opening paragraph.
Spiralling blackness, then small figurines pressing against my face and solidifying impressions as my body unfolds from its fetal position.
Crawling backwards like a wounded animal through the shallow backwash of discarded anniversary gifts and a sandy market bazaar.
Two dollars to join the buskers' band.
Earlier remembering how TL had brandished the absurdly giant steel shuriken. Another middle school boy grabbed it. In the struggle it ended embedded in a girl's upper back, missing her spine by an inch, and grazing her shoulder blade. She was mostly unharmed (physically) but I still had to retell the story to her mother.
When I did, she suffered a heart attack.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Circuitous
Walk through a sleepy IHOP.
Climb a puzzle stairway with purple and gray stones in shifting patterns.
A failure slide leads back to the hotel lobby.
Feats of Astonishment
Friday, August 5, 2011
Hand-me-downs
Old textbooks are crammed into the narrow space between the CRT and the side of the stand.
In addition to the books are several slide binders filled with photos of school activities including a visit from Big Bird of Sesame Street.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
LA Traffic Jam Meetings
The frequency with which drivers passing through the tunnel will honk their horns is inversely proportional to the speed the cars are travelling.
DD hops out of his SUV to hand me a sipa sipa.