Shannon

Billy on His Eighteenth Birthday

He pulled his clothes on, wincing when he had to lift his arm to get his shirt on. The bruise was an ugly purple, turning green at the edges. The last bruise

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Music Videos in the Eighties

There is an evolution to music videos. In the beginning, no one knew what the fuck they were doing, and it was great. Here are some of my favorite music videos from the eighties. “Young Turks” by Rod Stewart Okay, so, obviously music videos as we know them started in the eighties. Prior to MTVContinue reading “Music Videos in the Eighties”

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Northbound

She sat on the train and twiddled her thumbs and tried not to let the rhythm of the wheels on the rails make her fall asleep. When she came close, she would rub her tongue against the roof of her mouth, shift in her seat, button or unbutton her coat, depending on how it was. Once, she had gone up to the dining car and gotten a cup of tea. It still sat in the little cup holder, now nothing more than cold gray water.

Act Like You Belong

“Well, I’ve never been, so that’s where we should go next. Don’t look at me like that. I’m the one trying to experience life here, so…oh, wait, hold on…excuse me…yes, excuse me…this is decaf.” Paulette froze, a forkful of eggs halfway between her plate and her face. Dinah was looking at the waiter pleasantly, anContinue reading “Act Like You Belong”

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Seeking a Friend for the End of Hyrule

his is going to be the first in a series where I talk about my favorite scene from the video games I have played. As I only got into video games at the end of 2016, this won’t be long. The Best Cut will air the last Friday of every month until I run out of stuff.

The Not-Deer

Clementine knew she shouldn’t have left the party just as soon as she did it, but through some combination of stubbornness and pride she kept on walking. This stupid party her boyfriend – ex-boyfriend – had dragged her to was all the way out in the boonies. She should have known it was a stupidContinue reading “The Not-Deer”

How Blue

Just a little ways from the shore the waves were blue monstrosities, towering higher than she knew waves could go. They foamed and curled and crashed and then the water came rushing at the white sand, flowing over it, reaching her toes and tickling them just so before retreating back to Mother Ocean. In between the waves – so big they must be dreams! – she could see the horizon, a straight line stretching all the way from one direction to the other. Blue meets blue.

The Dark Tower of Ass

Spoilers, hey. Okay, so, this isn’t so much a review of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series, but a brief look at why I hate every single word in all seven books. Hate. Hate. I hate these books like I hate the Nazis. I hate these books so much Emperor Palpatine is somewhere in spaceContinue reading “The Dark Tower of Ass”

Just a Little Magic

This is the tale of Cecilia Ramos, who never figured out she was mildly psychic. Strictly speaking, ‘psychic’ is a garbage term that umbrellas so many different types of mental abilities as to make it quite useless. A mind reader and a medium could both be called psychic, and if you asked, for example, theContinue reading “Just a Little Magic”

The Biddies Above Broken Hearts

On the corner of Astoria and Sunday on the ridge above Broken Hearts were four Victorian homes. In happier times this was referred to in the town as the Biddies’ Corner, known for the four old women who had lived there and spent much of their lives together in one house or another, playing bunko and drinking gin. Not a one of them had survived, although the word had been Mrs. Rockby had tossed herself down the cellar stairs before the disease could get her.