Categories: stories, members only
New Dalai Lama, same as the old Dalai Lama
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by David Raffin
The Dalai Lama is retiring. He'll likely move to Florida. What will he do with his time? Same as anybody, relax, learn to meditate.
When the Dalai Lama retires to Florida I fear that he will not be able to relax. He will always h… more »
Flights of Fancy
By David Raffin
Because of our modern dependence on oil, transportation is a sticky subject. Everything becomes mired in it. It jams up the thoroughfares of rational discourse.
Bicycles are better.
The Wright brothers were bicycle mechanics. I… more »
Viva Chapeau
by David Raffin
Occasionally, in clothing stores, I am waylaid by the hat rack. I even stop and try a few on. But the truth is, the absolute truth, I am not a hat person.
I’m sure it does not help to have an unusually large head. Most hats simply do… more »
Why I have decided to weaponize my plutonium
Like Kim Jong-il, I have decided to "weaponize all my plutonium." Why do I have so much plutonium? Transuranium element fixation?
Possibly. I am attracted to other elements on the periodic table, but the transuranium ones just have that je ne sais quois… more »
Old Clown Day at the Circus
I am not one of those people who will use the tired phrase, “Some of my best friends are clowns.”
I do not know Justin well. All I know is that he is old. Older, even, than the late Jack Benny. I have met him in the past. Justin, not Jack Benny. He was… more »
A World Without Jellybeans
My desire for jellybeans is so strong it adds an extra layer of tragedy to the great jellybean factory fire which devastated world supply.
Now the shelves in the jellybean section of the supermarket are bare. The spiraling effect is in force, no jelly… more »
Wiener in a Bottle
Almost forgotten today but popular at the beginning of the twentieth century is the once ubiquitous tradition of the wiener in a bottle. Back in your Grandparent’s time it was still a well-practiced hobby: fun family time for young and old alike, as gran… more »
No Excuses
Dear friend,
If ever I use you as a personal reference, please do not tell the interviewer about the time I burned down that orphanage.
If you do, at least have the decency not to tell them I laughed.
I do not think I am asking too much.
You know… more »
Che Guevara Memorial themepark
An experience like no other -- a visit to the Che Guevara Memorial themepark and gift Emporium. Perhaps you are familiar with their revolutionary roller coaster, or giant socialist log plume. There is no better ride for 50 centavos.
Don’t believe me.… more »
Poor Little Rich Boy
Richie Rich, poor little Rich Boy
Money is everything. This is the message of Richie Rich comics, which millions of young kids read from 1953 to 1994.
The protagonist and namesake of the comic, Richie, is a young man who wears short pants and a red… more »
I am a master of misdirection
College. Have you noticed often colleges have brick courtyards that they call "Red Square?" I don't know how true this is but it's true of two large colleges in WA, and one in OR.
In OR I went to a college that did not have a red square. It was a large… more »
The People Who Owned the Bible - a story
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
The People Who Owned the Bible
by Will Shetterly
It was time for another Mickey Mouse Copyright Extension to keep Disney's star property out of the public domain. Som… more »
Jimmy Kimmel VS a sack of wheat
Jimmy Kimmel, like many talk show hosts, hangs on for dear life- living and dying by audience share. Unfortunately for Jimmy, another network has discovered a newer and some say more exciting late-night talk show host--- a sack of wheat.
Scientists in… more »
Great Disasters that effected commerce
In our society, all disasters are calculated to a dollar loss. From auto accidents to industrial mishaps and Hurricanes-- and, of course, to the..
Great Disasters throughout time effecting commerce
1656- Black Plague sweeps Europe. Commerce suffers.… more »
How the great American novel is created
Intro: "Writing a novel takes a lot out of a person. That's why there are so very few professional writers."
Panel 1: "You must get up at the crack of dawn and go down to the corner, standing in the cold with illegal immigrants and people just out of… more »
Food is a weapon
Intro- "War is never pretty. It is hard, dirty, and often bizarre."
Panel 1: "Actual propaganda poster from WWII proves that the old stories you thought were the stuff of myth and legend were, in fact, true."
Image: "Food is Ammunition! Don't waste… more »
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