Tag Archives: #fowc

Been a Long Time…

1 Reply

Been a Long Time…

A hypothetical conversation between old Rockers in rockers; a typical day at the Association of Retired Rock and Rollers (ARRR) Seniors’ Center.

“The business has changed so much” Plant lamented. “Back in the day, we needed to record start to finish.”

“Could you imagine all the spliced tape if we recorded like they do today?” Jimmy shot back laughing.

“I know, we laid down tracks and layered them on top of each other. The new artist builds loops and mixes it all together in segments on a computer.” John Paul continued, “Shit for some tracks I could pound out six notes on my bass and be done. Let the mixer do the rest.”

“The nuance of a song is lost because every drum beat, every riff, every hook, and every chorus is recorded once and used again and again, reuseable and replaceable across multiple tracks on the same record. Identical in every way. The human element is lost.” Page postulated. “Not to mention the shit that stolen, I mean sampled from other people’s works.”

“What’s worse, auto-tune makes any pretty-faced Frankenstein sound like Fitzgerald. Imagine how pitch-perfect I could have sounded on Stairway. 🎶And she’s buying a…” Plant finished by singing the final line badly out of tune.

“You know what I miss the most, besides John smashing away on drums, jamming together in the studio. Now we can record the parts in our basement studios and email it in. I guess there is one positive though, I never have to see any of your ugly faces!”

Continue reading →

One Monstrous Bite

3 Replies

One Monstrous Bite

The woman has one monstrous bite,
Her acrimonious air recondite.
Once caught in her noise,
You’d best keep your poise,
Or it’s good morning, good day, ‘n goodnight.

Continue reading →

Same Shit, Different Day

2 Replies

The following is in response to Fandango’s Provocative Question #166. The prompt is:
Do you feel that President Biden’s plea to take action and to do something to stem the rising tide of gun violence in America have any impact? Or will lawmakers at both the federal and state levels do nothing more than offer their useless “thoughts and prayers,” which is all they ever do?

Content Warning: Offensive Language

Same Shit, Different Day

Ten days, 21 more lives, 19 of them ten-year-old children. The same old news with different names, different faces, and subtly different storylines. The one thing they all have in common is the same all too familiar outcome.

Unfortunately Fandango, I don’t believe Biden’s call for action will have any effect on Federal and State politicians, the NRA, individual gun owners, and most everyday Americans. These types of pleas have fallen on stone deaf ears in the past and there are no signs that America’s views on guns are any different now than in the past.

I have already heard from family and friends in the United States and in particular, Texas that don’t believe gun control is the solution. Instead, they believe training and arming teachers to carry in school is the answer. It appears the best option is to shoot our way out of these messes.

Hell, I suggest we not stop there, empty the entire gas can on the dumpster fire. Let the elementary kids carry too, on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday they should take several hours out of science, math, and literature (but not religion) classes and learn how to shoot stuff (or each other.) If that sounds ridiculous, it’s because it absolutely is ridiculous. If you are reading this and it doesn’t sound absurd to you then let me spell it out…

The answer is NEVER more access to guns! NEVER!!!

Continue reading →

Life/Forgiveness

1 Reply

Life

The bastard left me spinning at thirteen. Got himself killed at work and never came home. I’ve hated him through years of anger, substance abuse and self-destruction.

Forgiveness

Dead from overdose, his ghost paid me an impromptu visit. Narcan pulled me back but his forgiveness changed my life forever.

Continue reading →

Atlantis (1)

Leave a reply

Content Warning: Contains violence, sexually explicit themes and course language.

Atlantis
Part One: Disaster

She remained calm even as her colleagues spawned a storm of nervous energy that bristled all around her.

Amaya stood five foot seven, her jet-black hair contrasting with her white jumpsuit as it fell over her shoulders. As a young child and long before her family moved to England, she remembers standing along the Bay of Bengal imagining what lay beyond the blue. Her father sparking her curiosity with stories of mermaids and monsters filling the deep.

While her peers turned toward the stars Amaya looked to Earth’s oceans. Fueled by her memories the Indian born, Oxford educated graduate, dove into her studies, becoming the rockstar of her chosen field. Her caché landed her a prestigious position on the Atlantis project. As member of the CoreOne team, the cutting-edge oceanic engineer was part of the deep-sea colony from its initial submergence.

That was 17 years ago and Atlantis had grown from a modest research station to an underwater city. Consisting of four cores supporting 17 modules. The colony was home to over 11,000 permanent residences. Its massive entertainment districts supporting 5,500 hotel rooms, three casinos, several restaurant, entertainment and shopping districts, and the state-of-the-art Marine Discovery Center was a bustling vacation destination for many surface dwellers.  

Continue reading →

Strongman Blues

6 Replies

This work of fiction has been crafted as a weekly roundup to Fandango’s One Word Challenges (#FOWC) posted over the last seven days.
Content Warning: Contains implied violence, sexually explicit themes and course language.

Strongman Blues

Johnny Fingers’ leg twitched as he sat on the edge of the couch,  listening to the instructions being relayed. Always with the… Hey JF, collect the payola. Hey Johnny, deliver the product. Hey Fingers, squeeze this guy / whack that guy / dispose of the body, or whatever other trivial shit he could come up with. It was always an imposition but when the boss gave an order you did not ask questions.

His pulse quickened and the knot tighten in his gut as he texted Trinity, his side piece was going to go off her rocker when he canceled. He’d promised her a day at the beach with no interruptions. Man, the girl was stacked and looked delectable in a bikini, but she was h-i-g-h maintenance. Johnny expected to be henpecked worse than his own wife could ever muster.

Continue reading →

The Cost of Indifference

8 Replies

Unrelenting darkness pressed down above the northern city trapped beneath the rubble of an intercontinental war it never asked for. Its only downfall is being landlocked between a wicked aggressor on the eastern front and indifference amongst the free and democratic societies to the west. The democratically elected government had aligned with the Western powers during the peaceful years following the Planetary Armistice of 2740.

The Eastern airforce was engaging in a campaign to carpet the rural grain and sheep farms with clusters of bombs precisely spaced to ensure maximum destruction of the arable countryside. Facing certain starvation, anger grew as it became clear that their allies had abandoned them. Sure, the West was providing stockpiles of old and neglected weaponry to shore up the National Resistance but compared to the weapons of modern warfare they were playing in the technological dark ages.

Continue reading →

Deep Below

7 Replies

Following the loyalist insurrection, many Minos separatists were forced to toil long unforgiving hours serving Earth’s greed-driven interests.

My clan survived the initial onslaught, fleeing to the shelter of the catacombs deep below the settlement. I miss the warmth of the Minoan suns but the long-forgotten passages have proved the perfect refuge for ostracized colonists.

The therapeutic properties of the moon’s super-heated core providing us with everything we need while planning our triumphant return to the surface.

Continue reading →

Watercolours

12 Replies

Ally looked confused sifting through the course catalog. “How in the name of God do I pick a future right here and now?”

Her Grandfather chimed in, “Think of your future as a blank canvas. It may start with some timid strokes but if you are deliberately thoughtful in making your choices and you let your heart lead you to the things that are important an image will begin to take shape. There may be obstacles to overcome and course corrections to be made along the way but as long as you remain true to yourself those early strokes will begin to bristle with confidence; the watercolours replaced with a more permanent layer. By the time you get to my age, your story will be filled with many chapters and the masterpiece you will be remembered for will have taken shape; it will be your portrait immortal.”

Firtlin’ about in her seat she rolled her eyes at him and replied, “Always with the life advice Grandpa, thanks I just need to decide between the Arts or Sciences.”

Continue reading →

Safe Passage

5 Replies

Bombs rained down around the village, now a target in a tyrant’s senseless war. Heorhiy thumb the cracked screens on the electronic gadgets in his hands hoping the screens and circuitry survived the concussive force of nearby explosions.

He was a farmer, not a fighter but she knew he would defend his homeland to the end. First worked to secure safe passage for his family. Lesya did not want to leave him but he insisted. She understood and accepted his need to see them safe. She watched him frantic, harried, as he searched for a signal from anywhere. Seeking information on the safest corridor, ensuring they safely fled to refugee centers across the border.

As they joined the convoy of millions moving north she could see he was torn, tempted to stay. She begged him to abandon this foolish fight and stay with them. The losses inflicted were enormous. She knew staying was a death sentence.

Continue reading →