Vacating?

 Three days of gastritis dominating my days. No writing today, other than catching up on this blog. A run to the grocery. MNaybe get my voting done. It could be a full afternoon. The morning has been pretty empty: some reading, a trip to the convenience store, a lot of wishing the pain would subside. Insomnia again has left me listless.

Do I need a vacation?

 

Readings from yesterday:

The Mystery of What Befell in the Ditch by Thure Erik Lund review – is this the greatest living Norwegian writer? (The Guardian): not sure if this could be done in America but damn what if it could?

 When will we see the movie version: Gilgamesh by Simon Armitage review – an ancient epic is brilliantly translated for our times?

How many people read Sherlock Holmes nowadays? Stephen Fry: ‘Sherlock Holmes altered the course of my whole life’   (The Guardian).

So, KFC is a sign of the apopoclypse? Why the Broiler Chicken Is the True Symbol of the Anthropocener ( Literary Hub)

Not sure I should follow broiler chickens with Warm front and 70s for Halloween: How rare is that in Indiana? but why not?

Monday:

It took all day to write 8 pages & 2293 words. I have got to leave the green curry alone as well as the red. Add to this laziness that has overtaken me these past few months.

All together 72 pages. Taking a break tomorrow. Too tired to work on it now and need to do some other things.

Mostly, I kept trying to catch up on the sleep I did not have the night before.  I went to the convenience store.

Sunday:

Liturgy followed by a day of unsettled digestion. A little writing done, some emails deleted, and not much else.  

 Saturday:

Some writing done, a trip to the Farmer's Market, a convenience store trip, passed on going further from home. 

“A Heart’s Judgment Judged” rejected 

Thank you for submitting your writing to Passager. We are sorry that your work was not selected for publication this year. This reading period we received thousands of pieces and we loved far more submissions than we are able to publish. 

The editors must agree on all acceptances unanimously. Sometimes our decisions are based on how the issue is coming together, or what we published most recently, and not a reflection on the quality of your work.

Best of luck with your writing—we always hope you keep us in mind.

Sincerely,

Rosanne Singer, Mary Azrael, Johnny Sweeney

Passager Editors

And another rejected:

At this time, the editors at Gordon Square Review have chosen not to publish "After Making Landfall" in the next available issue of Gordon Square Review. 

While "After Making Landfall" was not selected for publication, please know that the editors carefully considered your piece. 

With gratitude,

Katie Strine

Gordon Square Review 

Friday was the group class. I still need to write up my notes. Two rejections arrived. I binge-watched Lupin on Netflix. Great show, and it looks like there will be more. Omar Sy! And a rejection:

Thank you so much for submitting to the 2026 Boudin Novelette Chapbook Contest. We received an exciting and overwhelming amount of submissions. The finalists are currently under consideration with our final judge, Robert Olen Butler. We enjoyed Plain Tales From The Flatlands a great deal, but I'm sorry to report that it did not make it to our semi-final round.

We're honored that you chose to submit it to us. We have no doubt you'll find the perfect home for this piece, and hope you'll consider submitting other work to our bi-monthly online journal.  

Best,

Vallie Lynn Watson, Editor, Boudin 

Dusti RW Levy, Managing Editor, Boudin Chapbook Contest

Stephanie Smith, Managing Editor, Boudin Chapbook Contest

‘Fjord’ Review - by Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark ). This will probably not come to Muncie, but I would make sure to see it if I could. The review had me thinking of Ibsen's An Enemy of the People.

New study traces van Gogh's famed 'Starry Night' to an actual night sky from 1889

sch