Garden of Eden Invitation

Garden of Eden

I was sent the above invitation to the Garden of Eden and the following information below, along with a 'poem' by Peter Moore offering dubious advice.

Poetic Advice

I wonder why I was sent this material - I'm rather far from NYC! Maybe these people read my Bottomless Bottle of Beer story? If they haven't, they should! And so should you!

Go here!

Boys will be photogenic boys . . .

We have photos from the WAH Center! Here's Terrance:

And here are Carter and Bien:

Two of the three boys are holding up an image from my story, The Bottomless Bottle of Beer.

You might also be interested in my volume of poetry, Radiant Snow.

Spanish passage on my blog . . .

La botella sin fondo de la cerveza

Simple Spanish Spiel

I found this Internet scrap of information in Spanish about me and my work on Thursday:

El Dr. Jeffery Horace Hodges. BA 79, ha publicado su primera novela, La botella sin fondo de la cerveza. un cuento moral postmoderno fáustico naif de un joven que cambia su alma al diablo por una botella de cerveza sin fin, pero tiene un cambio de corazón. En alrededor de 150 páginas, el libro incluye muchas ilustraciones del artista conocido Terrance Lindall. Hodges tiene dos títulos de posgrado en Historia por la Universidad de Berkeley y vive en Seúl, Corea del Sur con su esposa, Hwang Sun-ae, y sus dos hijos . . . . Él es un profesor de la Universidad Femenina Ewha, una escuela cristiana fundada por misioneros en el siglo 19, donde enseña composición y la . . .

The passage just breaks off like that. I also see that my first and middle names got reversed. This sort of thing happens all the time with my especially difficult name, but I don't want to start whinging about that. I did wonder how this bit of information got onto the Internet, and I think I've figured that out. It probably comes from Baylor Magazine in the Spanish edition. It thus originates in the English version that I myself penned.

But I'm pretty sure I got my own name right.

The Bottomless Bottle of Beer is an E-TEXT!

E-TEXT!

I recently had contact with an old friend in Spain, and we did some catching up on literary topics . . . ahem, I mean my books:

Did you ever have a chance to read my story? You can have a free preview:

The Bottomless Bottle of Beer

I'll soon have a book of poems published. Then a second story.

My friend, referring to my first book - The Bottomless Bottle of Beer - informs me:

I actually ordered your story from Amazon. But it never made it to me. Do you have a digital copy?

Looking forward to your poems... and [your second] story. Will it be a bestseller?

I replied:

As for ordering my story - you do realize it's only an e-text, don't you? Amazon offers a free app for downloading the book. There's no waiting. You don't need a Kindle reader, either, for you can download onto any device, from smartphone to desktop.

I do have a digital version since that's the only one that exists, but I can't share it since the software prevents that.

Bestseller? I can only dream . . .

Anyway, this email conversation revealed a misunderstanding that could be shared by others who have tried without success to order a hard copy. Let me therefore make clear: The Bottomless Bottle of Beer is only an e-text.

Why? The many colorful illustrations would raise the cost of a hard copy tenfold or more.

John Wells: The Beer Man of Arkansas

Mr. 'Elton John' Wells

Facebook

For several years (yes, years!), I had been unable to contact the Arkansas "Beer Man," Mr. John Wells. I received his e-circulars weekly and therefore knew all about the craft beer scene back in Arkansas. But if I tried to write him, a message came right back 'explaining' that my email was considered spam. Not much I could do about that glitch in the system, except keep trying to send an email once in a while. Last week, that finally worked, and from my email, John presented me in a "feature article":

I . . . got an email recently from our long-lost international correspondent, Dr. Jeff of Korea, this past week. First time in a while that I've heard from him . . . great to know he's still out there and kickin'. Jeff was one of the early subscribers, and lives vicariously through our great beer tales from the West. See more in the . . . feature article [below].
. . . .

Dr. Jeff in the Land of the East

What follows is an email from our good friend Dr. Jeff, a longtime subscriber and contributing author to the newsletter. Hadn't heard from him in a while, turns out there was a glitch that, thank goodness, isn't there any more. How great to know we'll be hearing from the doctor again. Here's the latest on the craft beer scene in South Korea.

Yes, I'm still in Korea. I've tried to contact you previously to report on the changing beer situation here in Seoul, but my emails were rejected as spam. I'm glad finally to have gotten through.

The good news is that good beer has finally come to Korea. Many imports and a growing local craft beer scene.

The bad news is that I have to watch my alcohol consumption. Why? Same reason. Many imports and a growing local craft beer scene.

The doctor advises me to drink moderately, and I can, but I also discovered on my own that a moderate beer or two daily isn't a good idea in my case (I must be aging!), so I've cut back on drinking and let the doctor's advice do what it's supposed to do, namely, prevent me from having a good time.

I do get together with other folk who like good beer - a group of us, including the Canadian ambassador, get together once a month or so to drink beer and talk politics. We have noticed that the Korean peninsula produces more tension than can be consumed locally. The man up north seems to like things that way . . .

I read your beer circular every week, so you needn't tell me how good the Arkansas craft beer scene is.

By the way, I don't know if you ever saw the finished literary product, but if not, here's the link to my Bottomless Bottle of Beer tall tale:

Amazon Books

I've included you in my acknowledgements - due to the "no nick" [Nonic, a beer glass style] pint glasses and the Belgian tulip [likewise] - so let all your beer friends know that you've been acknowledged in a book that will save Western Civilization.

Great to hear from you Dr. Jeff . . . keep them cards and letters coming.

I will do so, and thanks, John, for featuring me so prominently!

An Uptick in Sales?

Amazon Books

Not that anyone (other than yours truly) actually cares, but my novella has sold about four copies over the past couple of days.

For newer readers - who might not yet have decided not to care - here's a synopsis:

"The story of a naive young man who trades his soul for a bottomless bottle of beer, but has a change of heart and tries to get his soul back."

If that interests you, go and browse through the free preview . . .

Another Student's Gratitude . . .

Professor Hodges Reads from Novella

English Lounge Literary Event

Photo by Chung Yun-jo

Some time back toward the onset of this semester, a DIS student came to see me in the English Lounge to give me a gift along with a note of thanks:

I would like to express my sincere gratitude for everything you have done for me over the last semester.

First of all, thank you for being such a wonderful professor in World History class. At the beginning of the semester, I was really worried about writing the research paper and I (and my teammates) struggled while writing it. But we could successfully finish the paper as you kindly gave advice every time I visited you in you office hours and even on the days when you did not have office hours.

Also, thank you so much for taking your time to look at some of the papers that I wrote for College English class. I would not have been able to correct or even notice all the grammar mistakes I had made without your help. (And I would have received a terrible score.)

Finally, thank you for sharing your poems, book, and your personal stories. To be honest, I did not expect to have this close interaction with professors in university.

I am so glad to have taken your class and to be listed as one of your "unforgettable . . . . and intelligent students."

Thank you once again.

The poems this student refers to are a couple that I recited in my class on World History, in which I also mentioned my book The Bottomless Bottle of Beer - and I think I told in class of how I met my wife on a train in Germany . . . so this student must have asked more questions about me and my interests when she came to my office hours in the EEC . . .

Satan Seen Somewhere Suspicious, Says Someone

Old Scratch

Chesley Plumbing Supply

Houston

Concerning the Satan image above, someone at Glasstire on Instagram announces: "Seen at Chesley Plumbing Supply in Houston." A commentator named Brittanie Shey says she's "Pretty sure Poison Girl has this velvet too." Eh, what's that? A velvet artwork that doesn't feature Elvis Presley? Blasphemy! Although . . . Elvis himself was last sighted in a bathroom, wasn't he. And given Presley's years of hard living, this image might possibly be a Dorian Grey sort of mirror into Presley's oppressed soul.

Anyway, if it is Old Scratch, he apparently isn't bottomless, unlike that 'beer' he offered to the naif in my novella . . .

Craft Beers at Namsan Chemistry Pop-Up

Google Images

I brought several of my friends and acquaintances together Friday evening at Namsan Chemistry for a few hours of drinking - thirty-two craft beers to choose from (none bottomless, but a lot of beer nonetheless) - and I learned what a "pop-up" is, as our conversation broached the topic when I remarked that the place seemed still to be unfinished. It looks like this:

I've borrowed this image from A Fat Girl's Food Guide, and if you click on this image, then again, you'll get an image large enough for you to see what I meant by its unfinished look. Anyway, that's when I got explained to me what a "pop-up" business is. I got the jist of it, but later checked with Dan Thompson's Pop-Up Business For Dummies, which says that "to truly qualify as a pop up, a project should":

Use an empty or under-used space.
Be time-limited, with clear start and end dates.
Not aim for permanence.
Be designed for demountability and ease of removal.
Have the potential to transfer to a different site.
Be in some way exclusive, distinct or special.

This describes exactly what Namsan Chemistry is like, and also accounts for its appeal - some of us had to sit on stacked-up crates for chairs! Drinking there is a gritty experience - not in the sense of dirty, but in the sense of down to earth.

The place was also conducive to conversation. We talked about a number of issues, but especially about North Korea's recent threats and actions, and at least three of the fellows present were qualified to speak as experts - one a recently appointed ambassador to Korea, another a long-time resident of Seoul, and a third from a major think-tank here in Seoul. The three had never met, so they had a lot to talk about. I listened and learned . . . and drank.

Anyway, if this brief report has piqued your interest, here are Fat Girl's excellent directions:

Namsan Chemistry is located at 225-5 Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. To get there take a train to Noksapyeong Station (line 6) and come out of exit 2. Walk straight until you reach the underpass, go through and exit using the left hand stairs. Follow the road around and walk straight through Gyeongridan until you start walking up the hill. Namsan Chemistry is about half way up on the left hand side opposite Meatballism. For more information you can call them on 02-797-2279.

Never before have I received such clear directions from a woman! Her way is clear! Nobody has any excuse for not going! But hurry, the chemical experience lasts only till October 31st!

Eureka Springs: A Little Bit of San Francisco in Arkansas

San Francisco, circa 1980, when the party was over, but the guests hadn't yet left on that stairway to heaven:

And you sometimes get that feeling that you've been there before, which makes you wonder what's going on:

But don't focus on the past. Go drown all your morrows in beer:

After all, tomorrow is another day . . .

Lake Scenes and Bottle of Beer

We went for a walk around Salem's city lake yesterday, and Sun-Ae took some photos, which I reproduce below and which offer close-ups by clicking on the photos, respectively.

Here's a photo of the lake from a small wetlands area fed by a tiny creek behind us and therefore not visible in this photo:

Next is a peaceful shoreline scene:

You see in the photo below some local wildlife (several geese and a duck, but I can't make out the duck as I post this), though these fowl don't seem especially wild:

The lake has a dock, but whether for small boats or just fishing, I don't know:

Here's a view of the lake showing its length:

After the lakeside's arduous march without provisions, we stopped by at my brother Tim's place, where I enjoyed a small bottle of the devil's brew:

The drink would appear to be obscurely hinting at the possibility that it offers a 'bottomless' bottle of beer, but there was - fortunately for me - a bottom to this bottle.

I therefore had another . . .

The NecronomiCon Providence Team Contacts Me . . .

H. P. Lovecraft
NecronomiCon

I recently received an email circular with the above photo announcing yet another NecronomiCon get-together in Providence, R.I. (2015) to the memory of H.P. Lovecraft. I am told that "Preparations are wrapping up . . . , and we know there is much movement on all horizons as folks from around the world prepare for their pilgrimages to the sacred city, Providence," which sounds vaguely ominous, especially as "some quick and pertinent details" are dragged into my consciousness, e.g., "the Eldritch Ball and Cthulhu Prayer Breakfast," tickets to which "will go on sale . . . Wednesday, 22 July, at 5 p.m. EST!" That sounds remarkably like today.

What's my connection to all this?

I include much detail about Lovecraft and Cthulhu in my novella The Bottomless Bottle of Beer, so perhaps that's a reason I get emails such as this one, and I welcome it.

You can learn more about NecronomiCon at the Facebook site . . .

Always someone scheming to be a parasite!

A website whose name is seemingly rendered "ectechnano" but whose ostensible name is "Free Download Ebook Pdf: Free Register And Read Online" - which is an odd name, but there it is - purports to offer my book for free.

I somehow doubt that it's really for free. Whatever the site is up to, the folks running it are very, very touchy:

DMCA Policy

We are in compliance with 17 U.S.C. § 512 and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA"). It is our policy to respond to any infringement notices and take appropriate actions under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA") and other applicable intellectual property laws.

If your copyrighted material has been posted this site or if links to your copyrighted material are returned through our search engine and you want this material removed, you must provide a written communication that details the information listed in the following section. Please be aware that you will be liable for damages (including costs and attorneys' fees) if you misrepresent information listed on our site that is infringing on your copyrights. We suggest that you first contact an attorney for legal assistance on this matter.

The following elements must be included in your copyright infringement claim:

-Provide evidence of the authorized person to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

-Provide sufficient contact information so that we may contact you. You must also include a valid email address.

-You must identify in sufficient detail the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed and including at least one search term under which the material appears in this site' search results.

-A statement that the complaining party has a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.

-A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

-Must be signed by the authorized person to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly being infringed.

Send the written infringement notice to the following address and an email notifcation to CONTACT US

Note: Post mail is not accepted, send email instead. Don't send PDF or Scanned PDF, we filtered all attachments.

Please allow 1-2 business days for an email response. Note that emailing your complaint to other parties such as our Internet Service Provider will not expedite your request and may result in a delayed response due the complaint not properly being filed.

Rather cheeky of them! Whether they're selling my book or merely offering it for free, they're clearly infringing my copyright (and a lot of other authors' copyrights). They know this, so they're bluffing through 'legalese' with a hostile undertone marked by threat of countersuit.

Of course, my charge of "infringement" assumes that 'ectechnano' is really offering my book. If one looks carefully at the website, however, one sees that they've borrowed material from my book's Amazon webpage, so they might just be offering the free preview allowed by Amazon. If so, they're likely infringing on Amazon's rights.

I doubt that they're having much success - probably haven't sold a single copy even if that's their intention - but I don't intend to find out. That's too much trouble.

I'm not even going to link to the site. If you want a legitimate copy of my very inexpensive ebook, go to Amazon.

Another positive review of my Bottomless Bottle of Beer novella . . .

Amazon

Fellow fantasy writer Mark Russell liked The Bottomless Bottle of Beer, awarding five stars and adding:

A smart, fun fantasy novella, full of literary allusions, puns, and deep thoughts. Hodges combines a bunch of fun tropes (Faust, Milton, Daniel Webster and many more) in a light-hearted, thoughtful adventure. If you like Neil Gaiman or Terry Pratchett, you're probably going to quite enjoy this story.

He alerted me via email to his review and added these words:

It was a fun read . . . . A nice balance of fun and smart, and it went in a couple of directions I did not expect.

Great to hear that. I wonder what the unexpected directions were . . .

Sudden Surge of Sales! BBB and Little Young-hee!

Amazon Books

My BBB book has abruptly surged in sales! Three copies sold in the past couple of days! Things may have settled back down, now, but I can at least hope word of mouth is playing a role.

Speaking of books, a book launch is taking place tonight - Mark James Russell's book for children, Young-hee and the Pullocho, goes on sale, and Mr. Russell will be entertaining several of us like-minded, would-be novelists who will be congratulating him as we toast his own book on his own tab.

I can't stay out late since I have to get up early and teach two early-morning courses tomorrow . . .

Alexandra Alter: On Julie Strauss-Gabel, Editor of Children's Books - or Should that be of Young Adults' Books?

Julie Strauss-Gabel
Photo by Josh Haner
The New York Times

I've just finished reading an article by Alexandra Alter about Julie Strauss-Gabel, editor and publisher of Dutton Children's Books, who's known for "Her Stinging Critiques [that] Propel Young Adult Best Sellers" (NYT, April 10, 2015), given that her editing almost invariably ensures critical and commercial success in the world of children's book publishing, and all that due to her rigorous standards:

"I am naturally exceedingly picky," she said. "If I'm not in love with someone's writing at the sentence level, then I'm not going to sign up the book."

Her knack for spotting and developing talent is apparent on this week's New York Times young adult best-seller list, where novels that she edited hold five of the top 10 spots. She has edited 22 New York Times best sellers . . . . Ms. Strauss-Gabel's unconventional taste and eye for idiosyncratic literary voices have helped her identify and build up some of young adult fiction's biggest breakout stars . . . . Ms. Strauss-Gabel, 42, remembers the precise moment she realized children's books could be just as sophisticated and challenging as adult literature. She was in eighth grade, already reading grown-up books, when her earth science teacher gave the class a trivia challenge for extra credit. The question - where is the East Pole? - stumped her. She learned it was in "Winnie the Pooh," and read the classic for the first time. "It was an utter revelation to me," she said. "I fell in love with the book. It's an extraordinary work of literature" . . . . Even in college, when most English majors tackle Proust and Tolstoy, Ms. Strauss-Gabel was obsessed with children's books. She took a course in children's literature and a seminar on the Brothers Grimm, and wrote her senior thesis on fairy tale tropes in young adult literature . . . . [She received] a master's degree in education from Harvard, where she took classes in comparative literature and folklore . . . . Ms. Strauss-Gabel's books are strikingly diverse, covering science fiction and dystopian worlds, psychological suspense and works of social realism. She favors realistic, contemporary fiction . . . . Sometimes she'll see potential in a manuscript that no one else will touch. Several years ago, the literary agent Sarah Burnes sent her a chapter of Mr. [Adam] Gidwitz's debut book. It had obvious problems . . . . [as] "an illustrated children's book, in which the children are decapitated by their parents," said Mr. Gidwitz . . . . But Ms. Burnes knew that Ms. Strauss-Gabel was a fan of dark fairy tales, and thought she might appreciate the book’s weirdness. When the three of them met, Ms. Strauss-Gabel said there was no market for the book but suggested that Mr. Gidwitz rewrite the story as a novel for older children. She offered to read it and give him notes, with no promise of publishing it. A year and three excruciating drafts later, she bought the book . . . . "A Tale Dark and Grimm," [which] turned into a best-selling trilogy that has more than 500,000 copies in print. It was listed as one of the best children's books of 2010 by Publishers Weekly and School Library Journal.

Mr. Gidwitz still remembers the pep talk Ms. Strauss-Gabel gave him before the book was published. She wasn't just hoping for a best seller; she aimed to make the book a children's classic. "She said, 'Our goal is for this book to never go out of print.'"

This dark, Grimm fairy tale sounds like one for me to read. See how effective Ms. Strauss-Gabel is? Just by reading about her, I've already fallen under her spell! I wonder if I should re-market my novella as children's literature - or more appropriately, as  young adult - and get her attention focused on my novella . . .

Another positive review for The Bottomless Bottle of Beer!

Amazon Books

Another good review of The Bottomless Bottle of Beer has appeared on the Amazon site:

Temptation and the decision making process are part of our everyday lives. How we decide to choose from right and wrong is what defines us, as an individual, spouse, and a member of society.

The Bottomless Bottle of Beer (BBB) is a rich story that follows a man who is trying to kick his drinking habits, but decides to have just one last beer. In his quest to find that one last heavenly beer, he finds himself in a dark hidden bar that will ultimately test his strength. Mr. Em, the proprietor of the bar has much darker intentions than just serving a simple bottle of beer. The connection in the early chapters to Genesis Chapter 3 is remarkable, which paves the narrative for the rest of the story, how to overcome the sin of making a deal with an unscrupulous “being”, and conquer temptation.

Dr. Hodges brilliantly takes the reader through the struggles of the protagonist, and the steps to regain control of his life, with his wife and a suspicious attorney, Daniel Webster. The pure beauty of this novella lies within the didactic humor of Dr. Hodges' storytelling, historical knowledge, and linguistic talent.

This novella is highly recommended.

Many thanks for the positive review. I hope readers will also spread the word . . .

Neil Gaiman on Kazuo Ishiguro's Buried Giant

Illustration by Peter Sis
NYT

To my surprise - because I think of him as writer, not as literary critic - Neil Gaiman has reviewed Kazuo Ishiguro's new novel, The Buried Giant, and he did so in the New York Times (February 25, 2015). For now, I'm more interested in what Gaiman says about writing than about Ishiguro's story, so I'll focus on Gaiman's thoughts on writing:

Fantasy is a tool of the storyteller. It is a way of talking about things that are not, and cannot be, literally true. It is a way of making our metaphors concrete, and it shades into myth in one direction, allegory in another. Once, many years ago, a French translator decided that my novel "Stardust" was an allegory, based on and around John Bunyan's "The Pilgrim’s Progress" (it wasn't), and somewhat loosely translated the book with footnotes to that effect. This has left me a little shy of talking about allegory, and very shy of ever mentioning "The Pilgrim's Progress."

Perhaps I can use some of Gaiman's insights on fantasy's relation to myth and allegory the next time I'm invited to an international conference on storytelling. I also like his remark about fantasy being "a way of making our metaphors concrete," a point particularly worth some exploration and explication. As an aside concerning Bunyan's famous allegory, Pilgrim's Progress, allow me to note that I recently helped my wife translate a Korean fantasy story by the nationalist Korean writer Sin Chae-ho (1880-1936), titled Dream Sky (1916), and I described Sin's story - set in 1907 (three years before Japan colonized Korea) - as follows:

Sin Chae-ho's nationalist novella Dream Sky, written in 1916, reads like a cross between The Apocalypse of St. John and Pilgrim's Progress. The first several lines depict the protagonist Hannom seeing a divine figure revealed in the heavens who announces the necessity of struggling for national survival. Battles in the sky follow and reflect battles on earth. Hannom, however, is called on not merely to observe and record, but also to join in a celestial battle against Japanese invaders. Yet, he encounters various tests and temptations along the way that distract him from his goal of reaching the battle, and that teach him of his own weaknesses and shortcomings. (Sin Chae-ho, Dream Sky, 1916, pages 3-4)

I think I had more cause to connect Sin's story to Bunyan's (also to St. John's), though perhaps I was making an error of judgement similar to that of the French translator. But back to Gaiman on writing:

Kazuo Ishiguro is a remarkable novelist, both for the quality of his work - because his novels share a careful, precise approach to language and to character - and because he does not ever write the same novel, or even the same type of novel, twice. In "The Buried Giant," his seventh and latest, he begins with clear, unhurried, unfussy language to describe the England of some 1,500 years ago, in a novel as well crafted as it is odd.

The words "careful, precise approach to language" and "clear, unhurried, unfussy language" sound like praise to my ears. Gaiman goes on to talk about the book itself, but in a way that reveals still more about his own views on writing:

"The Buried Giant" is a melancholy book, and the mist that breathes through it is a melancholic mist. The narrative tone is dreamlike and measured. There are adventures, sword fights, betrayals, armies, cunning stratagems and monsters killed, but these things are told distantly, without the book's pulse ever beating faster. They are described unflinchingly, precisely, sometimes poetically. Enemies are slain, but the deaths are never triumphant. A culmination of a planned trap for a troop of soldiers, worthy of a whodunit, is described in retrospect, once we already know what must have happened. Stories drift toward us in the narrative like figures in the mist, and then are gone. The excitements that the book would deliver were this a more formulaic or crowd-pleasing novel are, here, when they appear, not exciting, perhaps because they would be young people's adventures, and this is, at its heart, a book about two [old] people who are now past all adventure . . . . Fantasy and historical fiction and myth here run together with the Matter of Britain, in a novel that's easy to admire, to respect and to enjoy, but difficult to love. Still, "The Buried Giant" does what important books do: It remains in the mind long after it has been read, refusing to leave, forcing one to turn it over and over. On a second reading, and on a third, its characters and events and motives are easier to understand, but even so, it guards its secrets and its world close.

Ishiguro is not afraid to tackle huge, personal themes, nor to use myths, history and the fantastic as the tools to do it. "The Buried Giant" is an exceptional novel, and I suspect my inability to fall in love with it, much as I wanted to, came from my conviction that there was an allegory waiting like an ogre in the mist, telling us that no matter how well we love, no matter how deeply, we will always be fallible and human . . .

That expression "Matter of Britain" reveals that Gaiman is familiar with scholarly discourse on medieval Arthurian romance writing, which further tells me that I ought not be surprised that he would be chosen to review this book by Ishiguro. Gaiman admires Ishiguro's story, but worries that this fantasy novel might hide an allegory, which makes the story unlovable, at least for Gaiman. I seem to recall that Gaiman loved the Narnia stories as a child, but realized - as he grew older - that the stories were Christian allegory, which bothered him for the pretense at being one thing but actually being another, a kind of deception, to his mind. Or am I thinking of a character in a Gaiman story? Speaking of Gaiman's writing, he has a new book out, the story collection Trigger Warning.

I should note that my own story, The Bottomless Bottle of Beer, borrows a Shoggath's Old Peculiar from Gaiman - and is not an allegory!

Some Early Reactions To My Upcoming, Yet-To-Be-Published "Uncanny Story"

Wikipedia

I've pretty much finished my new story - The Uncanny Story - and am currently having it critiqued by friends and family, who will of course say mostly 'nice' things, but I doubt they'd whitewash their views if the story were truly mediocre. Anyway, here come the reviews . . .

A friend of mine who's also the force of nature behind the Emanations anthology series, Carter Kaplan, wrote:

Your story is excellent. I couldn't put it down. It really is a page turner as far as sophisticated literary texts go. I much enjoyed it.

As a "sophisticated literary text," it might find relatively fewer readers than I'd hope for. Another friend, the well-known artist who illustrated The Bottomless Bottle of Beer (BBB), Terrance Lindall, wrote:

The ol' Devil will find new ways to come back to haunt you! And with the BBB experience under his belt, "What does not kill you makes you stronger!" As a story in itself as a stand alone, The Uncanny Story is not as good as the BBB. However, as a sequel, it works. If someone reads BBB and likes it, they will want to read this too. The part where students are discussing the cowardly character of Sir Gawain can stand alone as a humorous story. I loved it. You should submit it to some major magazines!

So . . . "not as good as the BBB." Well, that's also my view. But "as a sequel, it works," likewise expresses my opinion. Yet another friend, physicist-From-The-Ozarks Pete Hale, wrote:

I liked it a lot! Quite a nice sequel or at least heavily tied-in successor to BBB. You did a great job of all the various nested-dolls aspects, very cool. The two Russkies kind of reminded me of Tintin's two goofball detective friends, Thomson and Thompson. Any story that invokes one of my top 2-or-3 favorite SNL characters, the immortal (literally evidently) Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer, is ok by me! SNL should, eventually, devote an entire show just to Phil Hartman, my personal favorite of them all. Finally, your use of "Too Much of Nothing" at the end is, itself, quite uncanny.

That's an entirely positive review, better than my story deserves, but the next view is even more positive! It's from my brother Shannon, who wrote:

I MUCH enjoyed your second novella. I even liked it better than The Bottomless Bottle of Beer. I had the sense early on that something unusual was about to happen regarding the meeting. There was a Twilight Zone/Night Gallery air about the story that I found enjoyable. There was more subtle humor than TZ or NG but also some of the bizarre. I thought your characters were well constructed and their interactions worked well. a good read. Naturally it was flattering to see the references to City of Shadows. The t-shirt "There's no X in espresso" comes from an encounter of mine in a coffee shop in Corvallis, Oregon. The "barista" was wearing such a shirt and it took him some 15 minutes to take my order despite having no line and it being the dead of summer.

Shannon is also a writer, and the reference in my story to "espresso" was drawn from a scene in his novel City of Shadows. I like to think that his positive evaluation of my story doesn't rest too much upon that allusion to his novel! Just kidding. I know he's not swayed by that. Not much, anyway.

More responses later if I receive any . . .

A Suntory Story - With a Ray of Light!

Suntory

One of the two former Yonsei students I went drinking with some weeks back, Raymond Rohne, is on vacation in Japan, where he photographed the putative 'beer glass of his dreams':

I am currently in Japan and have had a rocky internet connection . . . [for] the past few days . . . . I am going to send a picture of a Suntory beer glass I used yesterday. It reminded me of something Mr. Em would have probably said.

Readers can likely see the words clearly in the image above, but just in case not, here they are:

A GLASSFUL OF DROPS

EACH DROP IS TOMORROW'S DREAM

SIP YOUR DREAM BY DROPS

Ray is probably right that the sinister Mr. Em might have spoken such words, which are just ambiguous enough to get a drinker into trouble, for what is a drop but a fall, but Ray - forewarned by my novella, The Bottomless Bottle of Beer - was too alert to fall for the trick, so he guzzled the brew rather than sip it!

Good man, Ray!