ESSAY

I finished my twenty-somethingth cup of coffee that day, then sprinted to the emergency room.

My brain didn’t connect these events. Not initially. Not for ten years. It should’ve been obvious.

I have been oblivious to the obvious, my entire life.

I want that to be my epitaph.

I’ve been a drinker, a coffee drinker, since I was nine or ten. Two cups a day — initially. That pair had rabbitty morals. Two became six, a dozen. By age twenty, I was drinking as many cups of coffee every day. …

MUSIC

Hello, Friends —

I’m happy to announce the release of CAHOOTS II, a 3-song indie rock EP co-written with Duke Sims, lead singer of the ubiquitous New York City band Shinobi Ninja.

Have a listen to the punk-poppy lead single, “Rock’s On the Brink of Extinction.”

You might like track two, too. “Muddafuggin” has an 80s vibe.

The third and final track, “I Wrecked My Guitar,” blends grunge and jazz.

The EP is dedicated to my friend Mike, who recently and unexpectedly passed away.

CAHOOTS II is available on Spotify, Apple Music and most other streaming services…

ESSAY

Hello, Friends —

Medium is unkind to one’s older stories. They vanish down rabbit holes, never to be seen — or read — again.

To help remedy this, I’ll be exhuming some of my favorite dead posts from time to time. This week, I’m digging up a short, darkly humorous essay called “Everyone Was Drunk that Day.”

I put a lot of work into this piece — it includes a number of original drawings — and feel it’s worth another look.

I hope you enjoy “Everyone Was Drunk that Day.” You’ll find the link below.

Note №1

If you enjoyed this story…

NEWS

Hello, Friends —

During last year’s COVID lockdown, Shinobi Ninja frontman Duke Sims and I made a 3-song alternative pop EP called CAHOOTS. It was a surprise success, receiving airplay on CBC Radio and various curated streaming playlists.

Finding ourselves in lockdown once again, my friend and I decided to repeat the process. We’re hard at work on CAHOOTS II.

Like its predecessor, CAHOOTS II will contain 3 songs. This time around, however, we’re aiming for an edgier, punk-pop sound.

I know you’ll love the first single, “Rock’s On the Brink of Extinction,” which will be released later in the…

FICTION

She could be seen, Anna, in her later years, fair weather or not, walking up and down streets that might’ve been bridges of wafer, so tentative were her steps. The straw hat, the woolen jacket — as characteristic as her gray eyes, her strong English chin.

Fifty years earlier, her father had served as veterinarian, dentist, and doctor to the town’s thousand-or-so residents. In no extraordinary day would he thrust his hands into darkness and, like some red-gloved magician, procure a colt, a tooth, a swollen appendix — and all before a light lunch of biscuits and tea.

Doctor Pain…

FICTION

I am a robot. I live in the sea. My skin is metal yellow, though the seaweed makes this difficult to see. It covers me.

I am inactive during the day. But when the night swimmers step into the sea, my electrocells swell with electricity.

The night swimmers swim close to the shore. On occasion, one swims further, out of sight of the others. This is when I rise up from the sand at the bottom of the sea.

I approach the swimmer. He is always unaware of me.

My heart chamber slides open, drawing in seawater and the swimmer.

…

NEWS

Hello, Friends —

This morning, my little blog received its 10,000th follower.

Now seems like an opportune time to thank all my readers, old and new, for their support and interest.

It’s been a difficult journey…

I joined Medium close to three years ago, now. It was so easy, then, to connect with writers, find their posts — and earn decent dollars for one’s hard work.

That hasn’t been the case for a long time, now…

Beginning in the fall of 2019, constant algorithm and platform changes have made it all but impossible to find one’s favorite writers. …

Call them Blogrolls or Tootsie Rolls, they aren't what Medium writers have been asking for or remotely want. What we want is to be fairly compensated, as we were before the disastrous algorithm changes implemented in November of 2019 which robbed so many of us of 90-95% of our earnings. What use are bells and whistles to a dead dog? #disgusting #tonedeaf #listen