From Belle Bannon No. 2: Doll Island

  An exciting scene near the end of the second book in the Belle Bannon series (title yet to be determined) takes place on Doll island. While the book locates Doll Island in the Texas Everglades, the real Doll Island can be found outside Mexico City. Here’s the story: Julian Santana Barrera was a hermit…

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“ROCKY” Sex Life

A crude, but nevertheless common expletive hurled at the object of one’s anger suggests that the affronter go [have sex with] himself. Fortunately (or, depending on one’s point of view, unfortunately,) having sex with one’s self is anatomically challenging—unless you’re a rock.   Pyura chilensis, otherwise known as the Blood Rock, lives in the waters…

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Is This Creepy House of Mannequins an Art Project?

It’s called the John Lawson House, located near the New Hamburg train station in New York, and it’s impressive for a few reasons.    First, it’s a really old house, built in 1845. Second – and here’s the “Man Bites Dog” angle – several life-sized female mannequins can be found on the front porch, in…

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So You Think You Like Pizza

Pizza has recently edged out chocolate as America’s favorite food. No real surprise given pizza’s place in the fabric of our culture.  Comedy Central’s  John Stewart continually battled with Chicago over whether New York’s pizza is best. And New York mayor Bill DiBlasio has received more criticism for eating pizza with a fork than for…

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DETROIT SCHADENFREUDE

A federal judge just recently approved Detroit’s use of the bankruptcy laws to deal with the city’s staggering financial problems. This ruling will allow the city the freedom to pay pennies on the dollar to its creditors, and to significantly reduce its current and long term employee pension obligations. The decision is but the latest…

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Do Literary Devices Help Us Better Understand our Halloween Experiences?

Christmas and Thanksgiving movies often hinge on the underlying stresses of families getting together and trying to have a happy, peaceful and meaningful family gathering.   It’s great tension, and story thrives on tension. But there’s also underlying tension for the Halloween experience, which is usually underutilized because it is, perhaps, just a bit too…

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Halloween: the Unintentionally Scary Holiday

Halloween parties have already begun and costumes like the sexy nurse has got me thinking about the origins of the holiday, and how far from its original purpose we have come.   A basic Wikipedia search tells it pretty well: Halloween was originally a Celtic holiday to celebrate the harvest season, possibly including pagan rituals…

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Fire or Ice? Author Stephen King’s ‘Shining’ Sequel Favors Fire

In 1977, Stephen King wasn’t STEPHEN KING (!!!) yet; he was just a promising young novelist. That’s why he recalls the many details of the morning when the much-celebrated director Stanley Kubrick called his home 36 years ago about adapting King’s novel, “The Shining.”   King has told the story a number of times to…

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