A strange brew is this, and not all of it is pretty. Partially a record of a crackup and partially a tale of rising from that crackup back into a useful life; and part of that is how I decided writing was necessary to my life and recovery; and another part is just keeping a record of where I have been and what I have learned. You can see the topics I cover the sidebar. The hope is to help others; the purpose is figuring out where I am going. Thank you for dropping by. Feel free to comment.
Trump is not just selling out Ukraine and Europe, but also this country.
Once more Trump means to sell us a dumb stunt for a real deal. His usual con. Behind his bluster is the same old squeak. He thinks we are a bunch of suckers.
The anger of the American public and its widespread disapproval of Trump and his administration has largely centered on the immense damage being done domestically. Typically, voters are less likely to base their political decisions on foreign policy issues. But typically, Americans have not had a President who is waging simultaneous wars on our Constitution and our global allies. To the best of my knowledge, we have never before had an outright traitor in the Oval Office.
Hoosier Crispy Pizza is patterned after East Coast styles out of New Haven, Connecticut, and Trenton, New Jersey. They are thin, crispy, and built on a sourdough base rather than a quick-rise dough. And despite the name, don't expect a tangy bite. The 72-hour cold ferment does double duty. It gives the crust that light, airy texture customers describe as “filling but never heavy,” and it's gentle enough on the system that several customers with dietary restrictions now count Hoosier Crispy as a pizza they can enjoy. A small choice in the kitchen, and a big deal for the people finally getting to order a slice again.
The pizzas are served Wednesday through Saturday, with the full 14" menu available all day and a 10" option added at lunch, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Most of the pizzas carry a name with a Muncie wink built in. The Letterman, a three-cheese classic, nods to Muncie's own David Letterman. Garfield's Pie, a tomato-forward pizza light on the mozzarella, is a tip of the hat to Jim Davis, the Garfield creator who also studied at Ball State. Close Encounters, a mushroom pie built on organic cremini mushrooms and sweet onions, references the film that name-dropped Muncie as its setting. Ordering pizza now carries its own little piece of local trivia.
Also: We’re officially on the One Bite pizza app! Please leave us a review! This is the most important place to review us! People who travel for great pizza use this app, plus it’s great for you when you travel!
Well, a less rocky start to my day than has been the rule this week. I accomplished what I meant to do on Monday; so now I caught up myself to two days ago.
Not a thing done for Stew apart from having it too much on my mind. No, I decided to expand on one of my planned submissions. I was in the middle of that when the PO made a visit. Actually, I got two for the price of one. The old one showed up again. I think this is the third straight time for a fellow who had to take on new work. The new one made a remark about me having been a bit of a smart ass, so is the pairing because they think the older one intimidates me? After all that was his MO.
I did get clarification that they do have my mental health records. It turns out what they are looking for is whether I remain suicidal. The new guy says he reads the blog, I thought it was clear I was long past suicidal. And that makes me wonder if I am being understood. I had to explain that they were 17 years late worrying about me and suicide, that not being good at killing myself was taken as a sign to give it up. I guess I am also curious if they ever wondered why I didn't try to off myself in prison. Muncie can be grim, Indiana dull, but I would think if I had continued with suicidal thoughts it would be done at Fort Dix FCI.
And we had a discussion about masturbation. They seemed incredulous that I saw no point in even attempting. I felt afterward I had disappointed someone's prurient interest. Perhaps I should give it a try for the PO's benefit? Too much work.
I did get a compliment from the new guy on my writing.
Got them on the road to a hopefully more reqarding experience and finished revising the story.
I talked to KH and am still waiting for his verdict on Stew's second and third chapters. That took me up to the time I needed to take CC to her probation meeting.
Usually treated as mysterious or somehow authentically arising from the grass roots, what came to be known as “the manosphere” was to a large degree a racket run on Internet platforms that let lies, hate, and manipulation proliferate because they were profitable. It has become a miasma that engulfs everyone from the titans of Silicon Valley to teenage boys recruited for the right by those titans’ platforms. The manosphere is a shared set of references and perspectives that began on the Internet and ended up as real-life consequences shaped by the beliefs and values slurped up online. The much-discussed crisis of masculinity is in no small part a product of the exploitation of masculinity as identity politics and marketing schemes (and the most harmful identity politics in the United States have been all along the nexus of whiteness and maleness). Its many facets are often treated separately, but they are all connected.
It’s understandable, in a somewhat self-interested way, why a president would want to lower domestic energy prices before an election (though the president’s diesel deal, even if it goes through, is unlikely to have much effect on prices because the total volume being traded is about one day’s worth of American diesel consumption). But denying an aggressor the resources it needs to keep fighting is also important. Why would the United States provide Russia with an economic lifeline while simultaneously expecting Ukraine to follow American instructions about where, when, and how to fight its war of self-defense?
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One more time for those in the back: The United States has extraordinary capabilities to strike targets almost anywhere, but destroying a target and achieving a strategic objective are not the same thing. Iran has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to retaliate through missiles, drones, regional partners, cyber operations, and attacks against maritime commerce.
Military commanders are taught to examine the second- and third-order effects of their decisions before executing any action. Political leaders should be expected to do the same, especially when the consequences could include more American casualties, an expanding regional conflict, continued damage to the global economy, and a weakened American position in other parts of the world against more formidable threats.
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Deterrence requires military capability and credible diplomatic engagements. It also requires strong alliances that convince potential aggressors the costs of an attack will outweigh any possible gains. That applies across the globe: the Middle East, Europe, and the Indo-Pacific region. When American officials undermine trust with allies, they risk weakening an essential component of our national security: trust.
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Beijing is observing how American forces respond to Iranian missiles and drones, how rapidly precision weapons are expended, how effectively allied defenses operate, and how long industry takes to replace sophisticated munitions. Chinese military planners can also assess the difficulty of maintaining forces across several regions simultaneously. It would be surprising if the People’s Liberation Army weren’t already incorporating these observations into assessments of a potential confrontation with the United States. China continues modernizing its conventional forces, expanding its nuclear arsenal, and developing capabilities designed to complicate American operations in the Western Pacific.
Why are the blues the lingua franca of guitarists everywhere? Why is the 1959 sunburst Les Paul one of the most coveted axes in the universe?
The answer to both questions has a lot to do with guitarist Mike Bloomfield. Though he is often overshadowed by Eric Clapton, Peter Green and other electric blues guitarists who emerged in the mid-1960s, Bloomfield set the pace for the disruptive fervor of that period’s youth revolution with his deep-fried mix of Chicago blues and freak-out frenzy.
The steely urgency of his guitar solos energized the music of groundbreaking artists, including Bob Dylan, Muddy Waters, Janis Joplin, Al Kooper and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Dylan himself once called Bloomfield “the best guitar player I ever heard.” Many would agree.
At its best, adaptation is the artistic world in conversation with itself. Its creators are in dialogue across mediums, recognizing quality and being inspired to represent it in their art form. Even so, there will always be some anxiety around a beloved story making the jump into the mainstream, but there can also be joy in finally sharing in the thrill of collective experience with a wider audience. Future adaptations may fall short, but they can still enrich the story in the process by sending you back to the novel, and through comparison highlight all the things you didn’t realize you cherished until you were faced with their absence.
Other names remain throughout the state. Cities like Shipshewana and Kewanna are named after Potawatomi chiefs. In Indianapolis, the White River’s name comes from a translation of the Miami word “waapikaminki,” which means “on the white water.” The Monon Trail is named after the Monon Railroad, which derived its name from the Potawatomi word meaning “swift running.”
But for Miami tribal historic preservation officer George Strack, naming places for Native Americans isn’t the same as respecting them.
Strack is a member of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, descendents of the Native Americans that were forced out of the state. The Miami Tribe owns 45 acres of land outside Fort Wayne where members can reconnect with their history, language and culture.
“It was really hard to grow up with that identity. There were times that people would make fun of that and do the ‘woo woo woo’ sound with their hand over their mouths. It really affected me, you know. And I think it affected all of us from a Native background.”
As we mark the United States’ 250th anniversary, very few Native Americans live in Indiana, which actually translates to “Land of the Indians.”
The Pokagon Band was named after its leader, Chief Leopold Pokagon. Pokagon convinced the U.S. to allow them to stay in southwestern Michigan, a portion of their homeland. According to the band, they earned the right to remain there in part because they had demonstrated a strong attachment to Catholicism.
After decades of trying to get their federal recognition restored by the Congress, they finally succeeded in 1994. In 2016, the band received 166 acres of their land in South Bend back, which they used to create 44 homes for their members and a casino.
The Miami Tribe are the descendants of the Miami that were removed to Kansas. After a few decades there, the Miami were moved to Oklahoma in the 1870s.
The book that changed me as a teenager
I studied F Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby for my English GCSE and it entirely reshaped my brain. I still think it’s about as near to perfect as it’s possible for a novel to be. All the stupid loveliness and yearning in the world, distilled down into image after image, with a core of white-hot rage, at the way extreme wealth enables – necessitates, really – extreme cruelty. There’s functional alcoholism, and then there’s whatever Fitzgerald was doing in 1923. Everyone should read it.
Part of me is perhaps too contrarian. Maybe I have seen too many film adaptions that feel as if they missed the mark that I now attribute to the novel. Must it be read? Certainly.
The book I could never read again
The Sun Also Rises. I was worryingly into Ernest Hemingway, for a teenage girl, whereas now I think he’s a bit of a pillock.
The book I discovered later in life
I’m 35 so I flatter myself nothing I could say really counts, but: I thought I’d use my maternity leave to finally give some Donna Tartt a go. I staggered through The Goldfinch and thought it was extremely silly and bad.
Saturday, I worked on blog posts and the rock and roll story.
Thank you for submitting your stories to Merion West. We are going to pass on these, but I did enjoy reading them, particularly The First Day of Feeling Free. I look forward to future submissions if you have them.
Also submitted were After Making Landfall and Agnes 2026-06-26. It seems I'm doing something right with “The First Day of Feeling Free” but not enough of it.
Sunday, I made it to Liturgy and then spent the rest of the day not doing much.
I forgot Monday was Columbus Day, so off I went to the bank. I ate at Arby's thinking a real meal might get me straightened out. The bank was closed and nothing perked me up. I had already missed Monday's liturgy. I spent most of the day dozing.
Monday's rejection:
Thank you for your interest in Mulberry Literary and for the chance to review your work! We greatly appreciate your support of our mission. People like you empower our indie publication to maintain and expand opportunities for creativity across the world. Unfortunately, your submission does not fit our current needs, but we wish you the best of luck and success in your creative endeavors.
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to read your story and your patience while it was under consideration. Although the volume of submissions we receive is considerable, we remain committed to giving each submission careful attention. While we are not able to advance your story for publication this time, we hope you will consider submitting to Alaska Quarterly Review again. Information about upcoming submission periods will be posted on our website.
Thank you for submitting your work. We regret to inform you that, unfortunately, your submission did not fit our editorial needs. We wish you the best of luck finding another home for your work, and we encourage you to continue submitting to us in the future.
Currently, we’re still open for novellas & our short story contest, in which every story submitted is considered for publication as either a runner-up or a winner. By clicking here, you can access our 2025 anthology, which is available to read for free online; we recommend you read some of our stories to get a sense of what we're looking for before submitting.
Thank you for submitting to New Letters. Although we are not able to publish your work at this time, please be assured that we value your submission and your interest.
Our general reading period is open. You may also send fiction, poetry, and essays to our award programs with yearly deadlines in mid-May. Awards total $6,000.00 annually.
And so, I too am preparing to go. Word by word. I look out my window, from my office where I’ve been writing for these 30 years, and the air is unseasonable warm for March in Minnesota, even if the trees are still bare and won’t sprout leaves for several weeks. It’s a day of mild sun, a little overcast. I’ll go running out there along the river road in an hour or so, trying to stave off time and the body’s decay. I’ll think of this piece and this book I’m finishing. I’ll be thinking of the next book, and the next. It’s what writers do. I’ll feel this pain in the soles of my feet that’s more frequent now, I’ll be aching a bit in the knees and afterwards, with tingling in my calves and feet. I’ll worry about the neuropathy that’s only gotten worse in the past few years or my recent A-fib diagnosis. My body is signaling me—your warranty’s over, nothing more guaranteed. You’ve racked up the miles, only a few left. But I love the fact that I can still run and still write and I feel lucky I’m still here. And as she has for decades, she will be waiting for me when I return from my run, as will the next page on my computer.
And today, with my knees aching but not screaming, with submissions to make even when the odds are certainly against me, when I have dredged a manuscript out of 2010 thinking it was a matter of only typing when it has turned into a complete rewrite for what worked in 2010 is completely useless, reading articles like Mr. Mura's has me hitting the keyboards.
Are you a writer or a storyteller? Writers know how to use their most important tools (grammar and language). Storytellers spin tales. You can be one or the other, or you can be both.
Follow your heart. Don’t write for the market or for your friends and family. Figure out what ignites your passion, and then figure out how to translate that into a story, poem, or essay.
I like to think I am a storyteller, for all they seem to fail as stories, but worry that I am more of just a writer. The answer might come when I stop plugging away.
All I can do is follow my heart. Time is too short for me to do anything else now. Would I had learned that lesson 44 years ago.
I have been a Mary Beard fan for may be 20 years and maybe more. Los Angeles Review of Books reviews her latest under Scatological Graffiti and Other Arts. Which points out why she is so worth reading:
Modest in size but vast in scope, Talking Classics examines both antiquity and its later impact, from the Renaissance to the 21st century. It is especially rich in anecdotes and illustrations. Beard touches on many familiar classical remnants—July and August taking their names from Roman emperors, or Freud’s Oedipus complex. But she also tries to make those distant eras seem familiar—wall scratches, or “graffiti,” in a bar in Pompeii promoting political candidates alongside obscenities and boasts about bowel movements. Next to a latrine in Herculaneum: “Apollinaris the doctor of the emperor Titus had a good shit here.”
