Facts? Harold had a tough time processing each day’s news. Truth was increasingly hard to find. His friends struggled through the same problem. The news media mirrored the divided nation. For truth, people loyally believed their political side, either on the right or left. Major events were impossible to get the truth. A war was […]
Do You Have An Escalator? Can you avoid the rough steps of life by riding over them on your personal escalator? Rising effortlessly above life’s disasters? It is a wonderful image—gliding upwards through life, taking not a single step, riding over problems, gliding past bad patches. Better than wings (where you have to keep flapping […]
The Summer of 2036 The summer of 2036 was tough for everyone–humans and animals and plants. Drought for some, flooding for others. Rising oceans washed away coastal areas. And the heat. Dreadful heat, surrealistically bitter cold every freezing winter. Followed by summers that scorched. Pierre lived near Paris. One morning he looked at his large […]
A Modern Career Choice Carl’s choice was critical to his future happiness. He was 18 and ready to start the rest of his life. Work would dominate his waking hours, five days every week. What career should he choose? He ruled out student loans–with their forever debt—which in turn ruled out education and training. His […]
A Modern Career Choice Carl was 18 and ready to start the rest of his life. Work would dominate his waking life, at least eight hours every weekday. His choice was critical to his future happiness. What career should he choose? Not using student loans–with their forever debt–ruled out education and work training. His career […]
Gifting Arnold, 80, loved giving gifts. His children and grandchildren lived in other cities, so they had to receive gifts by mail, not in person. He sold his greeting card company while he still could—in this new age, he lost business to email gift cards. People used to purchase a card or gift by going […]
Desmond’s New Trees It was a bad time for trees. Climate change, pollution and wildfires challenged them—but they endured. Their suffering caused by people. Desmond knew he must act—he believed the world needed to treat trees better, and so he literally created new branches. An experienced agriphysicbiotheorist, he developed unique seeds and started an orchard. […]
This is the extended version of the CFRO FM, Vancouver, 57 minute broadcast. This version runs over one hour, eighteen minutes. Some audio difficulties which I did my best on. This is Ed’s first time as an interviewer, and he interviews his friend and guest, Rebecca Clifford. You likely have not heard of her, she […]
Bernie Questions New Meds It was not easy, being 80. Bernie naturally wondered why death from aging had not yet been cured. Was it a conspiracy? Bernie’s first thought: funeral homes, secretly lobbying to ensure business continued. Next possibility: Pharma–big pharmaceutical companies made more money keeping folks alive only temporarily, benefitting from turnover. None of […]
Arnold Wonders What Women Think About Could it all be about hormones? Arnold, a novelist, knew women thought—but he had no idea about what or how it was different from how men thought. He assumed women were concerned about careers and accomplishment, mating and having children, stability. At least, that is what women told him, […]
Low Hanging Fruit These were tough times for Milton, a satirist. Real life had been replaced events wilder—stupider–than anything Milton could imagine. It was like living in a bad novel that tried to be satiric and imaginative but was too weird to be believable. Current events were dominated by low hanging fruit, for a satirist. […]
The Need To Argue Increasing tension building under his skin until it bursts–like a volcano–fierce heat under the surface, earth tremors, erupting in an outpouring of fiery lava, smoke filling the air, rising dark into the sky, obscuring the clouds until he cannot not see the sun. Ethan never found release in the fiery outbursts […]
Leonard Feared For The Future Leonard looked forward to franchise film sequels but saw nothing worth his time when they finally came out. He looked forward to elections but was almost always disappointed at the results. He looked forward to promotions but continued to trudge through the same dead-end job. Leonard daydreamed about how great […]
AI Tries To Help Mitch Mitch had an advanced AI programme on his computer. He worried he kept missing cues—nonverbal cues from colleagues and family, friends and even strangers. Sometimes he understood what they hinted at–but too late; other times, he was simply confused. Mitch needed to change that. He naturally sought solutions by consulting […]
Movies Commercial movies started with documentaries: a steam train pulling into a station. Movies quickly advanced to longer films with plots. In those early days that meant westerns and gangsters and romance. Those films steadily grew longer, to about 90 minutes, that was what audiences could take. For a full evening at the theatre, trailers, […]