Bibliophilia - Essays and Creative non-fiction

September 10, 2010

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Summer Musing - Missive from Santa Catalina

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Ohhhh the tangled webs we weave

By saveyrgrace
Published: July 28, 2010
Updated: July 28, 2010

My thoughts on america and the times we live in.

feedback please !

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Mad

By sirba
Published: July 17, 2010
Updated: July 18, 2010

Just my thoughts when I was going through a conflict.

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Volcanic Disruption.

By Gerry.
Published: April 30, 2010
Updated: April 30, 2010

On being stranded abroad because of the grounding of aircraft, and the adventure which followed...

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	Gerry. - May 3, 2010 Hi Harry, we did eventually make it home safe and sound, but unfortunately our luggage didn't. We have no idea where it is, nor do the airport. A bit worrying... PS. I can let you have some 'Diazepam' but nothing hand rolled i'm afraid.
	HarryB - May 2, 2010 You're into those hand-rolled ones again, Gerry. I can tell ... save a few for me, I could use a lost weekend or two. Thanks for the trip, it was invigorating!

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A year abroad

By bintarab
Published: December 1, 2008
Updated: March 2, 2010

Bits and pieces, memories from a year living in Jordan, June 2001 through June 2002, told in 350 word flash accounts.

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	bintarab - March 29, 2009 Harry, I had to wiki "narwal" because I'd never heard of them before. But yes, it's impossible to change long-held beliefs/conceptions in just a casual conversation, plus I had no authority whatsoever -- why should they believe me? It would have been frustrating to me if not for the fact that my room-mate Arwa was okay with me putting plants all over our bedroom. In fact, I gave them all to her when I left!
	HarryB - March 29, 2009 Part X: Green And you made no progress with the photosynthesis lecture! Pity. Perhaps Eskimos feel the same way ... along with narwhals and polar bears. A delightful little vignette ... with an embedded lesson.
	willie - March 26, 2009 I should have said 'often' demonised and misrepresented... rather than such. You get my drift I'm sure.
	willie - March 26, 2009 I didn't realise you had added some, bint. As far as my opinions go, I'd say you should relax on the word count (when you feel you need more / less) and don't feel you need to explain specific 'lingo' --let the reader find out for themselves what, for example, a jilbab is. Or describe within the context of the story. Mostly keep writing them down, this is a great collection of memories. There must be a book in these. The personal detail is fascinating in itself, some fiction could tie it all together. There's surely no better time / more need for personal accounts and stories putting a human face to such demonised and misrepresented, yet (in the global scheme of things) ordinary people. On the reality of part two of two. Tell ( convince) yourself it doesn't matter maybe, but make damn sure everyone involved knows it has happened and let all be accountable for their own actions and conscience. That way it should be clear, or at least sets the standard that, the victim is guilt free. A great read, I look forward to more.
	HarryB - March 24, 2009 part two of two Reaction is all. Learning to control reaction is everything. Just tell yourself it didn't happen ... do not react and it hasn't happened. Even the man who did it will not believe it happened. The man who pulls the pin on the grenade in his pocket waits very calmly for it not to happen.
	bintarab - March 23, 2009 Oh! I don't have more on the thieves' market itself in the second part -- that part is about what happened later, after Fatima and I got home. Hmmm... now you've got me thinking... Thanks for the encouragement, Harry! ~bint
	HarryB - March 23, 2009 Part IX: Thieves' market I suppose it's a compliment when the grabber comes back for seconds. The market deserves some detailed description, which I suppose will come in the second part ... your 350 word limit doesn't help you here bint. Don't get me wrong, what you have here is good, but worthy of being longer.
	HarryB - March 10, 2009 Part VIII: I chose to wear this Apparently jilbabs are worn for reasons other than modesty. Poke bonnets covered dirty hair in past days ... likewise hoopskirts concealed down-at-the-heels shoes and ragged petticoats.
	bintarab - February 14, 2009 Oh so true, Harry! The first one was the easiest to write because it was such a revelation, but the last one was the hardest to write. I'm still plugging away, though -- I've lots of memories that might work in this flash format, we'll see. Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for more. ~bint
	HarryB - February 14, 2009 No. 1 There's something uplifting in Arwa's philosophy, I can't help feeling that appreciation of one's own physical beauty is every bit as important as someone else's. Nicely done, bint. 350 words beautifully spun. No. 2 Not as illuminating as No.1. The most fascination sentence to me is "I paused on the threshold with the sound of girls hanging out in the TV lounge down the hall coming from behind me." It's as natural as breathing. It comes out of the blue and is remembered long after the soot on the ceiling. No.3 I get the business with the shoes, but what gave Azhar the impression that she, as an Iraqi) would be allowed to win a TV show in Jordan? I think the unsung hero of the incident is the dorm supervisor.
	AndreaUKA - December 12, 2008 A great little tale asking a very interesting question, and one I have asked myself many times. I'm with Sunk on this - a bit of fur keeps you warmer in winter (and who sees yer legs anyway under all those layers?) Nice, enjoyed it and a great length for reading onscreen (tired eyes)
	HarryB - December 2, 2008 I must say it's been so long since I've seen a beaver I've forgotten whether they have four legs or two.
	sunken - December 2, 2008 I feel that I must stick up for the ladies of Britain. I don't know of any who let their body hair go un-waxed or unshaven. Someone has obviously been spreading malicious rumours, Ms. Bint. I trim my dangly bits now and again... Not in the winter tho. I see it has insulation (-; I hope this has helped. Thank you. s u n k e n prior to the internet he used tin cans
	bintarab - December 2, 2008 Yes, dear sunks, we call them beavers too! But over here people joke a lot about how women over there don't shave armpits or legs -- is that true? And I don't blame you for preferring the trim look; I wish more guys would tidy up that way too! ~bint
	bintarab - December 2, 2008 Many thanks, Harry, though the credit should go to Arwa for having taught me a lesson. We women are not the women we think we are either. It's that all important question that I often forget to ask myself: who am I doing this for? ~bint
	sunken - December 2, 2008 Good for her! That's what I say, Ms. Bint. I must admit tho, I am glad that the majority of girls shave their armpits and legs. It's just not very attractive is it? I don't mind a hairy beaver, but I'd prefer a trimmed one. Do you call them beavers over there? If you don't know what I'm on about ask Val of Veemem fame. Enjoyed the read. Sorry about the comment. s u n k e n shedding new light on ignorance
	HarryB - December 2, 2008 A thinking woman's story, and if men get the point, it may make them think too. We men are not the men we think we are. Very pointed tale bint. Congratulations!

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Notes (not from) a cruise ship.

By Gerry.
Published: August 18, 2009
Updated: August 18, 2009

Why my cruise came to an end!

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	Gerry. - August 19, 2009 Harry, I think my roots in the old sod are probably stronger than I care to admit. I wouldn't have described myself as peripatetic, but I know what you mean lol. Thank you for your input--it is appreciated... Gerry.
	HarryB - August 19, 2009 You certainly are a peripatetic sort, aren't you? With solid roots in the old sod, of course, but with the itchy foot of the inveterate traveler. I share your distaste for cruise ships, (ship of fools?) I suppose they're all right for people who love traveling but don't like to go anywhere.

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On being a writer

By bintarab
Published: August 10, 2009

What makes a writer: is it something you do or something you are?

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	Kwikguy - February 9, 2010 What I like about your writing style in this short piece is that you give the reader glimpses of you and your thoughts, but more importantly, challenge the reader to consider what the same thoughts mean to them. I think you can be a singer even if no one hears you sing, a painter, if no one sees your canvas, and a writer if no one reads your words, just as you can create fire with a flick of a lighter. But just as that flame will kwikly extinguish if is not combined with wood or other materials to feed the fire, I think writers, painters, singers, and other artist are the igniters of the passions and thoughts of others. They ask did you see this, can you feel that, did you notice this, what emotions did that bring out? While the artist expresses his passion through his medium, it is not his passion he want you to discover, it's your own. So when you ask " What makes a writer: is it something you do or something you are?" My response would be it is something you do because of who you are.
	bintarab - August 11, 2009 So true, Harry. I suspect that what she sees in those photos is not what I see. By the same token, I'm sure there are writers who see something different in their own writing than what others do! Of course, if they never write it down, then no one else can see anything in it, eh?
	HarryB - August 11, 2009 Taking 'breathtaking photos' doesn't make one a 'fantastic photographer' bint. It means she has a great eye and can see things other people ordinarily miss. Many great photographers have completely missed or misinterpreted the significance of the pictures they take and only see it when it's pointed out to them on the gallery wall.

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Summer Musing - Missive from Santa Catalina

By Bryan Hemming
Published: July 4, 2009
Updated: July 4, 2009

The sun appears to be getting to Olaf Mosely�s brain as he wades up to his neck into the deep waters of political correctness.

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Missives from Santa Catalina

By Bryan Hemming
Published: February 25, 2009
Updated: July 3, 2009

A new slant on the Santa Catalina short stories already published on the site in the form of little pieces on the everyday life of the narrator.

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HarryB - March 13, 2009
Friendly Ladies in Scanty Clothes

sounds like a wonderful party Brian. Awfully sorry you didn't have a good time ... although I suspect you're hiding the fact you did. Glibly told, I enjoyed it.

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The Broomstick - Missive from Santa Catalina

By Bryan Hemming
Published: June 22, 2009
Updated: June 22, 2009

Fidel�s forty winks cost him a little more than he bargained for when his broomstick goes walkabout.

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Olaf Mosely - The Man Behind the Missives

By Bryan Hemming
Published: June 14, 2009
Updated: June 14, 2009

Olaf Mosely was born in the Yorkshire town of Butley on February 14th 1963. Author of Missives from Santa Catalina, our correspondent in Andalucia has written a short bio in response to the many requests he has received over the last few weeks.

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