dennis scharnberg

Category: Uncategorized

exercise in crystallography

Brad’s plan was simple:  make a list of things that are important in his life, and see how many of those things he can ruin.

Delbert Arbogast,  The Null Hypothesis, and Other Stories.

first person singular

The word “history” has come to mean the following:  (1) Hitler and World War II and (2) American slavery.

Cedric Plumm, Calpurnia’s Dream and Other Essays.

running amok again

The world is not an illusion.  The world is ridiculous.  And we make it so.

Rollin Mungo,  Selected Rants of Mr. Barraclough.

unpacking the trunk

Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Jim Morrison were noted authorities on how to prevent middle age.

Nolan Grayshott,  The Giants of Popular Culture.

crack the whip

“I want to pursue honesty,” declared Colin.  “I really do.  Not yet, though.”

Priscilla Onkers,  All About Edward.

three body problem

Under what circumstances might “telling the truth” be regarded as a revolutionary act?

Desmond Urquhart, The Unsocial Sciences.

cross the rubicon

“Did you know that…?”  Of course, the rhetorical realm established by this expression is essentially a form of oppression.

Valery Datsuk,  Yielding in Plastic Strain.

feel the logic

Once we open the can [the unconscious], the contents go everywhere.  This cannot be confined to the “patient.”

Janora Ketch,  The Retailing of Dream.

tears of night

The guitar strumming of Maybelle Carter—if there ever was a something (as opposed to a nothing), there it is.

Cedric Plumm,  Calpurnia’s Dream and Other Essays.

taunted by logic

More things to do:

—Read a list of names aloud (very slowly).

—Roast wieners over a wood fire and eat them with bare fingers.

—Switch on four radios, each tuned to a different station.  Listen for one hour.

—Gulp three ounces of whiskey, then sit back and watch Charlie Chan in Cairo.

—Select nine items and paint them black.

Tessa Fielding and Constance Gogarty,  A Book of Lists.