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You can?t make this stuff up: reality is often stranger than fiction
2012-05-01 15:50:00 Commentary by James H. Shott A couple of items recently in the news illustrate the weirdness of some of the ideas that are put forth for serious consideration these days, and that actually gain support from some Americans. Labor unions in Indiana are upset over the state?s recently passed right-to-work law. According to the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, a right-to-work law ?affirms the right of every American to work for a living without being compelled to belong to a union. Compulsory unionism in any form ? ?union,? ?closed,? or ?agency? shop ? is a contradiction of the Right to Work principle and the fundamental human right that the principle represents.? Individual freedom such as the option not to belong to a labor union was a fundamental component of the United States Constitution, but that concept has Indiana?s unionists all out of sorts. They fear the new law will cause a decline in union membership, something that is so far not supported by the...
By: Faultline USA
Improved Short Sale Processing Time ? Fact or Fiction?
2012-04-24 14:08:00 If you are considering the purchase of a short sale or if you are an listing short sales, 2012 may be the year for you. First off, the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007, which protects certain short sale sellers from tax liability, is set to expire at the end of the year. The ...This Article is Copyright © 2004-2011 BiggerPockets, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Improved Short Sale Processing Time ? Fact or Fiction?
Walmart Eyes Indian Online Retail: Fact Or Fiction?
2012-04-12 08:00:00 American retail giant Walmart appears to be eyeing the lucrative online retail in India. Though the news could not be corroborated, the company was apparently in talks with e-commerce companies in India for partnership possibilities. However, upon confrontation Walmart reverted that information was “completely speculative”. Why is Walmart keen in a partnership? With a global revenue of US$ 400 Billion, one would think Walmart could easily open a chain of stores just like in the US. However, our Indian foreign investment restrictions in domestic trading are applicable to e-commerce, too. Accordingly, such companies can only conduct Business to Business (B2B) e-commerce and no direct retail trading is permitted. In case Walmart opens a physical store it does get a 100% trading permit but for wholesale B2B. Additionally Walmart does not do single-brand trading which too has 100% investment permission. The Union cabinet had cleared FDI in multi-brand retail in 2011 but then withd...
By: WATblog
first and foremost a 'genreclectic' fiction writer.
2012-04-01 16:31:00 The FREE PLANET blog was something I started in 2004 as an infrequently-updated Alternative News mirror, sharing interests and news items that often (by a process of lazy osmosis) made their way into my novels. Nowadays, Free Planet is updated rather more regularly, sometimes twice or three times a day - and only until recently, I had no idea that I was inadvertantly researching material for what would become the Free Planet novel (first draft complete, talking with literary agents). Here are my most recently published novels:2008: (Silverthought Press)BUKKAKEWORLDBukkakeworld- is the conscious evolution of the staid three-act narrative horror genre. It's a book about YOU, the corporate lackey, the indentured, the subordinate. Stuck in a job you cannot stomach, under a manager you want to annihilate, in a corporation that wants to grind you into nothing more than human grease to lubricate its inhuman profit-making machine. You are not alone.PLANET OF THE OWLSThe world is coming to a...
China?s Science Fiction: A World Ruled by China
2012-03-27 16:15:00 Reporting from Beijing —— Han Song predicted the destruction of the Twin Towers a year before 9/11. In his novel “2066: Red Star Over America,” Han, China’s premier science-fiction writer, depicts a disturbing future. It is the year 2066. China …Read more »
By: 1913 Intel
Neal Stephenson says Science Fiction responsible for ?Innovation Starvation
2012-03-18 21:18:00 In an article in the World Policy Journal, noted SF writer Neal Stephenson says we are experiencing ‘Innovation Starvation’: This summer, at the age of 51?not even old?I watched on a flatscreen as the last Space Shuttle lifted off the pad. I have followed the dwindling of the space program with sadness, even bitterness. Where?s ...
Fran Drescher Reads Racy ?Nanny? Fan Fiction
2012-03-06 10:34:00 For probably longer than the Internet has been around, there's been fan fiction. And as long as there has been fan fiction, there has been...
My Story "An Incomplete List of My Wishes" Wins Bayou Magazine's Fiction Pr
2012-02-29 20:03:00 My short story "An Incomplete List of My Wishes" has just won the James Knudsen Editor's Prize in Fiction from Bayou Magazine, the literary journal of the University of New Orleans. Contest judge Joseph Boyden said, "This gorgeously written story snuck up and walloped me. It's beautifully conceived and executed. A gem, with a last line that made me shiver."Thank you, Mr. Boyden and Bayou! The story will appear in the spring 2012 issue. Order a copy here. Meanwhile, enjoy the opening paragraphs: An Incomplete List of My Wishes The best funeral I ever went to was Wallace P. Chandler's. I didn't know him hardly at all, I just went because everyone else was going, and because his death was unexpected it seemed important. You know how it is, on a warm and buzzing May afternoon, with those bits of tree fluff lazing through the air, and the campus seeming half-empty but tense with last-minute cramming, all those boys and girls discovering where's that library their parents paid ...
By: Reiter's Block
Scene cos non si vedevano dalle fiction Garko-Arcuri.
2011-12-28 23:08:00 Devo ammetterlo che adoro sotto sotto l’iconografia dei grandi regimi. Un po’ come il viavai di Arcore: avessi avuto i registri di entrata e d’uscita avrei avuto un fremito, lo ammetto. E voi (non so, ve l’han detto i tg … Continue reading →
Reiter's Block Year in Review, Part 2: Best Fiction
2011-12-27 02:13:00 For me, there are two things that take a good story to the next level of greatness: fully human characterization, and a connection to wider moral-philosophical themes. And not just any themes. I want a narrative that is aware of tragedy without being defeated by it. A narrative that values equality and diversity, and hints at how we can move in that direction, without glossing over the contrary impulses in every human heart. Throw in an appreciation of art's power to undermine dehumanizing ideologies, connect it to God somehow, and you've got me hooked. The books below were not only my favorite novels of the year, but will also be favorites for years to come. Russell Hoban, Riddley Walker (first published in 1980; expanded edition from Indiana University Press, 1998) Imagine the Bhagavad-Gita as a Punch-and-Judy show. What do the legend of St. Eustace and particle physics have in common? In this unique novel, part mystical treatise and part fantasy-horror fiction, two millennia h...
By: Reiter's Block
"Pulp Fiction" in chronological order & boxing dramas (The Set-Up, Body & S
2011-12-16 16:31:00 The legendary movie "Pulp Fiction" (1994), directed by Quentin Tarantino (starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson and Uma Thurman) placed into chronological order.?Tarantino works with trash, and by analyzing, criticizing, and formalizing it, he emerges with something new, just as Godard made a lyrical work of art in 'Breathless' out of his memories of casually crappy American B-movies. Of course Godard was, and is, a Swiss-Parisian intellectual?. 'Pulp Fiction', by contrast, displays an entertainer?s talent for luridness.? -David Denby, New YorkThe complex narrative organization of 'Pulp Fiction' plays with temporal sequence, so that it is difficult to understand the causal connection between events. Most jarringly, Vincent, a leading character, is killed halfway through, only to reappear and play a significant role later in the film?but earlier in the temporal sequence of events.Robert Ryan as Stoker Thompson in "The Set-Up" (1949) directed by Robert Wise. Like many noir p...
By: Jake Weird
Turn up the heat: Creative Loafing’s Fiction Contest is back and I&rs
2011-12-05 15:14:00 Deadline is December 22nd – here are more details: The theme for the 2012 contest is “Heat.” Incorporate the theme any way you like — temperature, tension, firearms, fever, track & field, sex… the choice is up to you (and your characters). Deadline for submission is Dec. 22, 2011 at 5 p.m. The top 10 ...
Book Review: ?Killer Fiction:11 Short Stories of Killers, Fixers, and P.I.
2011-11-16 19:03:00 With the subtitle of ?11 Short Stories of Killers, Fixers, and P.I.?s? you know exactly what you are getting in this primarily hard-boiled read from Sniplits. Unlike many anthologies that often waste several pages with a well-meaning introduction of some type, this one gets straight into the action. ?Vista with Player? by R. A. Allen opens ...
Barnes & Noble one day sale: 50% off new & bestselling fiction
2011-09-12 22:20:00 Barnes & Noble is having a one-day-only sale where they are offering 50% off new and bestselling hardcover fiction. 50% off sales from B&N are almost unheard of, so I’m pretty giddy about this sale. There are a couple of books I have had on my list, including: The Paris Wife by Paula McLain –... Read more »
I am at war with myself
2011-02-23 11:31:00 You seem to be doing odd thing all the time ? sitting in sun and avoiding cold water during summers, sitting in shad and having chilled water in winters, keeping awake during nights, eating less and...
By: Light Within
Your Ultimate Guide to the Best of the Web: Science Fiction
2011-01-15 17:56:00 Science fiction is all over movies and television, so it’s no surprise that there are tons of great science fiction web series. Without the big budgets of their larger-screened cousins, science fiction on the web relies more on character, plot, and – very often – comedy. A lot of the best science fiction series online will not only feature aliens or robots, but also big laughs. So ignore the occasional cheesiness and step out of your everyday world with these great web series. The Crew The Crew is a comedic series about the crew of the Azureus as they travel through space in a ship full of mechanical problems and a dysfunctional group of people that cannot get along. The show features cast interviews similar to The Office, and occasionally breaks the fourth wall when the production staff talks to the characters. Ghost Town Teenagers Jacob and Marley lead the Para-normals, a group that investigates paranormal activities in their town, Arcade Bay. After an accident i...
By: the TV addict
Movie review: 'Casino Jack' turns reality into fiction
2010-12-30 13:13:00 'Casino Jack'Reality that wanted to be a movie becomes a movie without reality*1/2 (out of five)While frequently emphasizing the need to keep matters legal or close to it, D.C. lobbyist Jack Abramoff (Kevin Spacey) involves himself in a number of ethically questionable situations along with his similarly unscrupulous business partner, Mike Scanlon (Barry Pepper). The result: a lot of political back-scratching and an eventual FBI investigation.The buzz: The real-life account of Abramoff's shady operation already was chronicled in Alex Gibney's effective documentary, "Casino Jack and the United States of Money," whose themes of greed and extreme influence extended into Charles Ferguson's "Inside Job" as well. "Casino Jack," which is merely "inspired" by real events, has its work cut out for...
Islam and Science Fiction
2010-11-16 04:32:00 Muhammad Aurangzeb Ahmad is the editor of Islam and Science Fiction website, the foremost resource on this subject on the internet. He is currently doing a series of interviews with Muslim science...
By: Light Within
GIMME FICTION: Arthur Magazine's Jay Babcock on the Art of a Dying Med
2010-10-29 18:30:00 Last year around this time, I spoke with Jay Babcock, founder and publisher of Arthurmag, a publication that's changed cities as many times as I have.
H.P. Lovecraft: The Rats in the Wall
2010-10-27 22:09:00 I have a group of friends who love H.P. Lovecraft. I've read two of his short stories- "Call of Cthulhu" and now, "Rats in the Wall." My impression of the Rat one: Poe-like in it's complete lack of humor and the fact that the guy goes insane ("Tell-tale Heart," "The Black Cat") The writing style is turn-of-the century formal, which I don't mind (Poe-like, again). No dialog, which gives it that rushed, insane horror feeling. Unlike Poe, who mostly deals with the psychological, Lovecraft adds a supernatural element. I think this is its appeal amongst some: the creation of an alternative "world" with a metaphysical reality. This might appeal to those who don't believe in the non-physical in this world. I can also see how this turns off others. One contrast to Poe is that the person's insanity has a "real" cause, the existence of the Cthulhu deities. The two Lovecraft plots I've experienced aren't really plots: There's an interesting setup and then the guy goes insane u...
By: Asymmetric
FICTION
2010-10-27 08:32:00 FICTION par ennemiede-larealité Fin des votes 24/11/10 08:32commentaire : 0-
By: Rue du tee-shirt
Taj Mahal : My short story from ?Why We Don?t Talk?
2010-09-21 05:49:00 AN EXCERPT FROM ‘TAJ MAHAL’} Mullick was by then transported to a phantom land where naked bodies swarmed in clusters. He had somehow grown courageous and gone beyond his timidity to enter that world, based on the fact that these things were not meant to entertain but to inform people. Had it been porn matter, ... Continue to read at JoshCafe.com
By: Reportage
The noise : A short story
2010-08-05 19:03:00 ANOTHER ONE } The characters appearing in this story are figments of my imagination. Any resemblance to any of those, living or dead, is purely coincidental. THE NOISE By Joshua Newtonn It was a white room. He was not sure if the singing breath came from the professor or the ventilator-like machine. Was the sound ... Continue to read at JoshCafe.com
By: Reportage
Our acid lives : A short story
2010-07-26 07:14:00 SHORT STORY} This is the first time I publish fiction here. It’s about a day from the life of a ‘quotation’ gang in Mattanchery. When I knew what this tale was going to be about, I wished to etch out the texture of those minds, of those characters, in words, through a sort of different ... Continue to read at JoshCafe.com
By: Reportage
Glen Huber wrote a new blog post: Watch Masters of Science Fiction: The Com
2010-07-14 14:34:00 Glen Huber wrote a new blog post: Watch Masters of Science Fiction: The Complete Series Movie Online Watch Masters of Science Fiction: The Complete Series Movie Online. Movie Title : Masters of Science Fiction: The Complete Series Average customer review: Masters of Science Fiction: The Complete Series is available for streaming or downloading. Click Here to Stream or Download Masters of Science Fiction: The Complete Series I personally abandoned the major networks some time ago, I suspect around when ... Comments: 0
History And Science Fiction Mash-Up: A Transformer Tribute To An Ancient Ch
2010-06-17 17:49:00 Usually, graduating students are required to pass 25 or more pages of extremely dry thesis reports that are oftentimes read and appraised by a single person before being dumped in the library sometimes rendering them dusty and forgotten. But, a student at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in China named Bi Heng, made a decision that he would do something different and unusual... Click here to know more....
By: SnitchCentral
Sci-Fi Contest wants disabilities to be accepted...even in fiction.
2010-06-10 05:40:00 Redstone Science Fiction wants stories that show "disability as a simple fact, not as something to be overcome or something to explain why a character is evil."
Top 5 Science Fiction Movies for Beginners
2010-03-01 17:30:00 Friday night's tweet-up proved to be every bit as fun as I expected it to be. I had a great time meeting my readers, getting re-acquainted with my fellow RedEye bloggers, and bugging the s**t outta Stephen Markley.Now, since the spirits were flowing liberally that evening, many of my memories of the event are kinda fuzzy. I've seen some photos taken by other bloggers, but I have this sneaking suspicion that there are some - ahem - memorable shots out there that have yet to surface on 'teh interwebs'.There are two things that occurred, though, that I will never forget:Kyra Kyles said I was 'adorable.' Wow! And...Tracy Swartz told me that she has NEVER SEEN Star Wars! Or The Lord...
Fiction: The Great Engine Heist
2010-02-25 13:00:00 Nearly a Year (approximately one Earth millenium) before Kumo’s string of psychic computer hacks, there was a series of similar similar crimes. And then there’s the list. Date: 19.4.150.8 In the early Winter of Year 19, the mainframes of Shusa, Atosa, Hitonen, and Hladdat were attacked. The gigantic warehouse-sized buildings filled with analytical engines, or ordinators, were ...
By: shindotv
Fiction: Visualizing the Server
2010-02-23 13:00:00 This is the hack as it occurs in Kumo’s mind. She is, after all, a telepathic hacker and she draws her inspiration from the Temple of the Muse. Also, remember, she’s on Hlau?s listand she is one of the Seven. Kumo often focused on something related to the network. Sometimes she would use a wireless signal ...
By: shindotv
Democracy in America Is a Useful Fiction
2010-02-01 15:54:00 [From Truthdig ] By Chris Hedges Corporate forces, long before the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, carried out a coup d’état in slow motion. The coup is over. We lost. The ruling is one more judicial effort to streamline mechanisms for corporate control. It exposes the myth of a functioning democracy ...
By: News for Greens
VPN Man-in-the-Middle Attacks: Fact or Fiction?
2009-12-07 01:00:00 It seems that just as we move forward in securing our networks, we take two steps back. Or do we? In 2006, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) required two-factor authentication and VPN technology through the M-06-16 memo. Departments and Agencies moved quickly to deploy both two-factor authentication as well as VPN technology.
Gowhere Hip Hop at Columbia's Non Fiction Week writing for music panel
2009-12-05 22:15:00 Watch me break it down at Columbia College here in Chicago, as I speak on writing for music with co-panelists that include Brian DiCrescenzo, Music Editor of Time Out Chicago, Laura Emerick, Chicago Sun-Times Arts Editor, memoirist and former frontwoman for Zuzu's Petals Laurie Lindeen, and Fiction Writing Department faculty member and Ray Bradbury biographer Sam Weller.Thanks to everyone that came out for this and asked questions, as it was a really interesting discussion about the past, present, and more importantly the future of writing for music. The panelists ranged from a wide variety of different publications and expertise, which made for a very nice comparison on the different types of music critics out there and their opinions on...
Fact Or Fiction? (Water On The Moon)
2009-09-23 06:07:00 It looks like news of the possibility of water on Earth’s little sister Luna is creating a lot of excitement amongst the space geeks community. NASA is scheduled to release the findings this Thursday, which should either boost the cause for lunar exploration at its most dismal period, or cause a collective yawn throughout the media. Previous ...
By: Colony Worlds
Postcard fiction challenge finals
2009-09-19 00:09:00 I issued a challenge, and that challenge was to write flash fiction based upon a very specific bottlecap photo. Readers dear, you are some talented folks, and picking top picks was positively painful. I recruited help, to keep things fair, and we still only narrowed it down to four entries. So, I'm turning to you! Please vote in the comments section and let's see who took this challenge....
Postcard fiction writing prompt: bottlecap
2009-09-16 12:45:00 Hemingway said a story could be written in a little as six words, and used the example "For sale. Baby shoes. Never worn." to make his case.In 100 words or less, write for us a postcard fiction story-- that is, a micro-flash fiction story, a very, very short story, but a whole story-- in the comments section. Your story must feature this particular bottlecap in some way, but otherwise can be about absolutely anything at all. The winner will be profiled in an upcoming post. Ready, set, go!...
Science Fiction – When is it Real?
2009-09-06 20:08:00 I love Sci-fi, but as I get older I know what I like and most commercial fiction doesn’t cut it. I suspect I was more flexible in my younger years, but again, maybe the authors were just a bit better. I love William Gibson, Greg Bear and Walter Jon Williams. But I usually ... No related posts. Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
By: Nano Future 2030
Murders in the Rue Morgue: Play chess online
2009-09-01 20:32:00 I enjoy the precise prose, Marx-free themes, and sense of decency of the pre-modern writers, even though things can get stuffy at times. Murders in the Rue Morgue, sometimes called the "first detective story," begins with a somewhat lengthy and difficult-to-follow discourse (below the fold) on which mental faculties are best tested by checkers in contrast to chess. Poe seems to think that the more constrictive rules of checkers better tests a man's analytic ability than the more varied move options in chess, although comprehending the exact reasoning would require me to think, and it's Saturday. Murder in the Rue Morgue is odd because the focus of the story isn't necessarily the mystery at hand, as the characters involved are barely present, but the inductive/deductive powers of C. Auguste Dupin. The reader can't possibly participate in the story: he's merely along for the ride. Or, the reader isn't given the information or time necessary to make a problem-solving guess and ...
By: Asymmetric
Christian Community in Fiction
2009-08-31 01:10:00 Nathan Hobby, an Anabaptist Christian and fiction writer in Western Australia, posted some worthwhile reflections earlier this summer concerning what it means to write novels for the kingdom of God. In this essay, Nathan unpacks N.T. Wright's directive to write "a novel which grips people with the structure of Christian thought, and with Christian motivation set deep into the heart and structure of the narrative, so that people would read that and resonate with it and realize that that story can be my story." Nathan observes that a lot of popular fiction with the "Christian" label is unfortunately cheesy and simplistic. Brian McLaren's books, such as A New Kind of Christian, use a fictional narrative to put across some sophisticated ideas in an emotionally accessible way, but are not well-crafted as novels. The same might be said of The Shack, an unlikely bestseller about the Trinity, which I admit I enjoyed despite its clunky plot.In the modern naturalistic novel, it's a challen...
By: Reiter's Block
A floating body
2009-08-23 02:48:00 A SKETCH OF A STORY } You can?t really count the occasions of ?sometimes? in your life. It?s a trick, the thought. Because the truth could be that it was always there and not just sometimes. Yet, he could count some such occasions. One that he remembers was when he was in bed with his lower half raised, slanted on the wall. The rest of him in bed. He saw his toes and a day rushed into him when he remembered the shock of the whack on his back by his man. He was more struck by the shock of his... Continue to read at JoshCafe.com
By: Reportage
Healthcare Reform: Separating Fact from Fiction
2009-08-13 15:33:00 Fiction makes great story, doesn't it? I love a good beach read...suspense, colorful characters and drama. However, I don't care for it in my news and especially not when we're trying to make big decisions regarding the health of my patients, my family and myself. Dr. Tim Johnson on ABC has been doing a nice job of distinguishing the real facts. You've known him a lot longer than you've known me and I can't really do any better than what he's been broadcasting. So I'm going to refer you directly to this resource. This is the one to watch, folks. Some of what you're hearing is right up there with the legend of the Jackalope. Whee!!!!...
Summer rally: Fact or fiction?
2009-08-06 14:00:00 "While the Summer Rally is one of the oldest, and most popular truisms on Wall Street, it is also one of the most erroneous," says Jim Stack, who looks at "fact vs. fiction" in summer rally forecasts. Adding credence to his forecast, the market historian, money manager and editor of InvesTech Market Analyst not only successfully forecast the recent bear market but also moved to a 97% invested position just after the March bottom."Although it can be said that the stock market often rallies sometime during the summer months, from a recent low, the same could be said for any month out of the year."And here’s the clincher… Such rallies during the early summer months of May, June and July have historically shown the smallest potential gains for all 12 months of the year! "We analyzed the average DJIA gain from each month’s low to a subsequent rally high over the next 3 months -- based on data that has been compiled from the past ...
Theocratic Demagogues United Against Democracy: 2012 Pt 3 (fiction)
2009-08-04 13:48:00 Part One | Part Two | Part Three GimmelI?m not sure how long it?s been now. I lost track, sleeping in the first cell. There, I curled up in a ball near ten or twelve other women held there, i...
Theocratic Demagogues United Against Democracy: 2012 Pt 2 (fiction)
2009-07-30 04:04:00 Part One | Part Two | Part Three BetI don?t know if anyone will read this. I suppose that I must trust that my words will be read. I might be writing to myself, or to my captors, should they fi...
The Niqab, Fact v Fiction
2009-07-26 15:11:00 How much do you really know about the niqab? An insider guide to common misconceptions. 1. The niqab is a symbol of female subjugation. None of the niqab-wearing women who I know, wear it because they have been forced to. They see it as an act of devotion to their Creator: the culmination of a ...
Fact or Fiction: Jerry Reinsdorf is cheap
2009-07-03 18:29:00 A common perception of Jerry Reinsdorf, chairman of the board of the Bulls ownership group, is that he's cheap. That the Bulls are simply a cash cow where winning titles isn't important, and only the bottom line is. In order to discuss whether this is true or not I've focused on Forbes' Business of Basketball series of articles and Business of Baseball series of articles to test Reinsdorf's spending patterns versus his peers....
Woman - Fiction 55
2009-05-19 09:32:00 Born a child and celebrated as Goddess, she was a woman. Clad in pink, frills and bows, she was a woman. Taking care of brothers and sisters, she was a woman. Crawling, crying, caring, bleeding, and with glass ceilings, she was a woman. Exhausted, her newborn child in her arms, she was again a woman.
A woman - fiction 55
2009-05-19 09:25:00 Born a child and celebrated as godess, she was a Woman. Clad in pink, frills and bows, she was a woman. Taking care of brothers and sisters, she was a woman. Crawling, crying, caring, bleeding, and with glass ceilings, she was a woman. Exhausted, her newborn child in her arms, she was again a woman.
A woman - fiction 55
2009-05-19 07:10:00 Born a child and celebrated as goddess, she was a Woman. Clad in pink,frills and bows, she was a woman. Taking care of brothers and sisters,she was a woman. Crawling, crying, caring, bleeding, and with glassceilings, she was a woman. Exhausted, her newborn child in her arms,she was again a woman.
The look - fiction 55
2009-05-14 07:07:00 Across the room, he saw her, wildly, as if seeing her for the last time. Startled, she looked back at him, as if for the first time. Then they wheeled her to the operation theater. As the glass doors shut, he turned away from his reflection, violently, as if never wanting to see himself again. |



