PODCAST

Writing – DESIRE in CHAINS

David Raffin

Journal of. Published under the auspices of the HiSky* Trust, founded 1957 to promote disorder. (*Hiss-Key)

fiction comedy fiction

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What you see

Writing – DESIRE in CHAINS ·

2014/05/02

In all fairness, the wicked witch was also known to screech “What a world!” when she was extremely happy. So, for the half-observant monkey – all was well.

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Things in which

Writing – DESIRE in CHAINS ·

2014/04/29

Things in which some people believe: miracles, daydreams, me. Things one can be the prince of: peace, darkness, frogs, whales. Places you can rock: you can always rock the Casbah. Times in which you can rock: all night (but only if you party every day), around-the-clock, ages. Things that come in packs: wolves, cigarettes, fools, some inclined animals, mentalities, lies. Malarky comes in bunches. [amazon template=iframe image&asin=B0012FFOAI][amazon template=iframe

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Movies for the seeing impaired

Writing – DESIRE in CHAINS ·

2014/04/23

Jodi: Sometimes your facial expressions don’t match the situation. At all. Me: Oh, no, they are always correct expressions. We are just out-of-sync. *** Seeing a movie at the Capitol theater a week or so ago. The movie starts. WB logo comes on screen. A woman’s voice says, “LOGO, CENTER SCREEN.” It is a strange choice, I think, esthetically. The voice reads the text appearing on screen. “In space, survival is impossible.” The voice starts to describe the action on

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At the existential sandwich shop, your sandwich calls...

Writing – DESIRE in CHAINS ·

2014/04/09

At the existential sandwich shop your sandwich talks to you. It is unclear if the power of speech and thought is conveyed by the quality ingredients or by the artisan construction. The sandwich philosopher behind the counter, when asked, shrugs her shoulders and says, “Who can say?” Still, you eat it. What else can you do? When confronted with a talking sandwich in an existential sandwich shop it is a simple equation of eat or be eaten. Still, you know it is wrong. If I like you I will write you a

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Police procedural

Writing – DESIRE in CHAINS ·

2014/03/28

I looked at the items assembled upon the table. I said to my partner, “These are the raw ingredients for trouble.” He said, “Not to worry. They have to be assembled in exactly the correct order. At exactly the right temperature. For exactly the right amount of time. Anything less renders them inert.” Our relief was short-lived. Even as he uttered his last word both our eyes wandered directly to the left. There, sitting upon the counter, open, was a cookbook. It was open to

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Your Swedish Ancestry

Writing – DESIRE in CHAINS ·

2014/03/19

You, like many others, have doubtlessly spent long sleepless nights wondering, “Am I a Swede?” Now it is possible for you to realize your full family history- from It’s humble beginnings in a young Swede named Leif Haagstrom to your distant cousin of today, the new Deputy Undersecretary to the Assistant Regent of the Communist Party of China, Hu Waang. Leif, a prolific breeder, has initiated a line of descendants that include not only the Haagstroms and their derivatives, but all

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He’s not a bear doctor

Writing – DESIRE in CHAINS ·

2014/03/15

Doctor: This is really quite serious. Your anxiety is now causing physical symptoms. Me: I see. Will it break free all those emotions I jailed inside a cardboard box all those years ago? Doctor: Perhaps. Wait, you did what? Me: Confined all my emotions to a cardboard box and taped it up. Doctor: I’m pretty sure you’re never supposed to do that. Me: Yes, cardboard was a very poor choice. But, in my defense, it held a lot longer than you would think. Doctor: When you look outside the window do you see

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A statement of belief

Writing – DESIRE in CHAINS ·

2014/02/19

I believe in multiple universes, but I am willing to give this belief up if it’s proved otherwise or if all the other universes are destroyed. All I ask is that you refrain from destroying all other parallel universes just to prove your point.

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The Spectacle of Modernity & Mimes

Writing – DESIRE in CHAINS ·

2014/02/16

AKA: The Disquieting. A few years old but never before released. Read just after the writing at a small gathering on Halloween. This story will be in my upcoming book of shorts “Tragic Stories Disguised as Jokes.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9s33iNo2_VQ

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An excerpt from my user manual

Writing – DESIRE in CHAINS ·

2014/02/10

I don’t know if you can tell this just by looking, but I move my mouth through a process of mind control. The fact that you can’t tell this, it seems seamless, is part of the art; or rather, the magic of the act. Up close I am life sized. This is explained in the manual, though I know no one ever reads instructional guides. But this is alright as I am also fully automatic. Please do not be unduly alarmed. –This is an excerpt from my user manual. I know it is strange to mention the fact

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One all-purpose excuse for not having shown up

Writing – DESIRE in CHAINS ·

2014/02/07

I’m sorry I did not make our scheduled appointment. My absence was unavoidable. Our appointment, unfortunately, fell immediately after my earlier appointment with the Medusa. I could not make our appointment because I had turned to stone. I don’t like it anymore than you do. Thank you for your understanding.

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Yesterday I saw…

Writing – DESIRE in CHAINS ·

2014/02/04

I saw a man with a giant afro. At a distance it looked like a giant cowboy hat. It is impossible to express the joy of this sighting. Blame psychogenic alexithymia, if you must. A sign at a rest stop stating “You cannot be forced into work” translated into many languages. Whoever hangs these posters are unfamiliar with the peculiarities of capitalism in society. Also they hang these signs over the sinks, showing they are unaware that 90% of men do not wash up in the bathroom. And that is

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Spontaneous Combustion and you (& me)

Writing – DESIRE in CHAINS ·

2014/02/01

I have never seen anyone spontaneously combust, even though when I was a child they seemed to talk about this on TV regularly. I’ve never even walked into a room and had people say “You just missed it. There was a spontaneous combustion. Say, Clark, you’re never here when spontaneous combustions happen. If I didn’t know better, I’d suspect you were Superman.” I hear spontaneous combustions used to be so common that Reader’s Digest used to run a popular

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And that goes double for mimes.

Writing – DESIRE in CHAINS ·

2014/01/09

The biggest problem with the term “white privilege” is that it was created by white people. Just another attempt by white people to make everything about them.

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“Give & Take” by David Raffin & Richard F. Yates

Writing – DESIRE in CHAINS ·

2014/01/08

“Give & Take” by David Raffin & Richard F. Yates | The Primitive Entertainment Workshop. “It is my belief that recycling makes up for all the evil I do.” —Raffin & Yates [Words by David Raffin. Image by Richard F. Yates.]

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Insult to Injury

Writing – DESIRE in CHAINS ·

2014/01/07

The US medical system has long claimed to be exceptional. For example, every medical billing department has a team on staff to add insult to injury. They wanted to know if they could keep them under the new law. And the answer was, “Yes, if you like them.”

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Trolls never get my goat

Writing – DESIRE in CHAINS ·

2014/01/05

Life is rough / if you are a Billy Goat / and you are gruff. Then you meet a troll under a bridge / and enough is enough / for you are king of the ridge.

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Postage past due

Writing – DESIRE in CHAINS ·

2013/12/26

I received an Xmas card saying, “Don’t get trapped in a snow globe.” Now I am trapped in a snow globe. I have almost no one to blame but mysel… After all, this was a trap. The mathematics of culpability, squared. Years ago postage stamps were bothersome. With the advent of self-adhesion, we finally licked that sticky little problem. Progress, but at great price.

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The pudding of Xmas past, the gruel of Xmas present

Writing – DESIRE in CHAINS ·

2013/12/25

The most famous reindeer of all was Charles Dickens. What a Dickens! He invented Xmas pudding. Which hardly anybody eats anymore. He started the tradition of orphans eating thin gruel. Now nobody eats gruel. Except orphans. Xmas morning: “Hello gruel world.” (Gruel world is a future theme park for orphans.) The Dickens, you say! (This festive octopus painting by Richard F. Yates.)

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The stuff of monsters and love stories

Writing – DESIRE in CHAINS ·

2013/12/17

Every good long-term relationship is built on one of the participants not being eaten by a monster. This is my writing tip for the day. One of the participants in a love story being eaten by a monster, of course, is the stuff of tragedy. Unless it’s a comedy. Whenever I have a character be eaten by a monster I don’t plot it out. Because that’s not the way it happens in the real world. Remember that a tragic love story is still a love story. This may be viewed as a flaw in the

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Writing – DESIRE in CHAINS

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