"All sorrows can be borne if you put them in a story"

 I think it was yesterday. I was working at the front of the store filling a display when two women came in. Medium girls in age, height and weight. One was obviously here for something, the other just tagging along as friends sometimes do. I got the sense of them immediately. They had that slightly 'enhanced' way of being; people that are just a bit louder and a bit more brash than their surroundings.  Friend One had a mission: buy groceries.  Friend Two also had a goal: embarrass Friend One. 1 “I want to check the deli, I think I need cheese? Oh, and they have the best bread here.” 2 “Don't you want a pickle ?", said with all of the subtlety of a 9 th grader. 1 “Nooooo, I want to get some produce. C'mon.” 2 (Now noticing me) “Oh you should get a cucumber. You LOVE cucumbers!” 1 “Shut up”, meaning Shut up (but not really). 2 “They have big ones. You neeeed a big one.” Looking at me, mere feet away. I assume for approval (?) as I have little co...

 So it is all happening again, again: Another new Batman movie starring punching, explosions, dark cinematography, noise and sounds, actors, big bangs-bangs, superhero stuff, music loudness and goopy-doo madness squeegledunce, macha macha hey.   People are excited. I get it, I was excited once - intoxicating stuff. But this cover song of a movie isn't doing much for me yet. Maybe because we've had a bunch of Batman movies already? Plus games, animated films, graphic novels, monthly comics, bubble bath foam, breakfast cereals, etc. I don't know.  As a Batman fanman I just feel like I've seen a lot of this before and I really thought NEW was a word people understood. NEW doesn't mean, you've seen it before. NEW used to mean New, as in original, as related to Unique, as in different. I really didn't expect a New Batman movie to basically be 'Here's a bunch of shit you've seen before but from THIS angle.'  I don't know. I am sure it will be f...

  My neighbour has gone crazy.   Let that sink in.  DATE UNKNOWN   I am outside around midnight taking pictures of the spiders living in the buildings awning. Suddenly a blonde person blows past me while talking: “Hey dude,” a deep voice says, “my name is Roxanne”. She stalks off across the street trailing the scent of marijauna. “Hello,” I reply. “Yeah, I've lived in the building for three and a half years--” “Oh. Nice to meet you.” Roxanne is still talking but the sound doesn't carry back to me as she briskly walks off into the darkness. I finish taking my pictures and go inside. OCTOBER 3rd I come home late at night to find the basement walls now covered in weird writing. Most of it superficially biographical (places visited? Countries travelled to? Organization affiliations?) What are we to infer from these? Some writing feels ominous (OCCUPANCY HELD TILL DEATH is particularly striking) Some feels disconnected (THE TRUTH IS T...