Grandfather’s Daughter

Curled and dusty photos found her fingers. She lifted them up, they hadn’t seen light in years, and gazed at the yellowing forms.
She gasped, glanced around her. Grandma wasn’t home, but the indulgence still felt dangerous, almost traitorous—grandpa had been shut away for a reason.
She got up and locked the door.

Heavy

Abe was born a worrisome five weeks early. It didn’t take a doctor to determine why the premature evacuation took place; as soon as Melinda held her frail new creation it was evident that he was, for lack of any known medical term describing his condition, heavy.  Though Abraham Isaac Goldberg was of average size for an infant five weeks premature, he weighed an astonishing thirteen pounds. He simply fell out.

He was a smelly vomiting scientific anomaly.  His first earthly sensations were of the soft-bosomed nurses who took turns holding him with amazement – an occurrence that may or may not have played a factor in his eventual detachment from his mother.

After extensive testing confirmed his general good health, Baby Abe was taken home where he was put on display to a cavalcade of friends and relatives until his weight became more an inconvenience than a wonder.

The only relics from that period of his life were a birth certificate with the astonishing poundage highlighted, and the framed tabloid clipping of a story with the headline “GOVERNMENT TOP SECRET EUGENICS PROGRAM RESULTS IN LEAD BABY”.

Abe knew at a young age why he weighed so much: his thoughts were of unnatural density. They weren’t of above average intensity or wisdom – they simply weighed a lot. That and there was some organ within him that seemed to catch his thoughts, giving gravity more power over his skinny body. He’s pretty sure it’s his liver.

Memories

Dusty streets tumble wildly into chaotic patterns
Tin-roofed houses with colorful doors
When the rain comes it slides off
When the rain comes they cave in
And the children with sticky faces huddle in the neighbors house
and the neighbor feeds them strawberry milk and cereal

Sitting on doorsteps sipping cocacola
Buying tampons from the man at the corner store
And he forgets to put them in a bag
Men will forget these things
Maria blushes and shoves them in her jacket pocket

Tiny hurtling buses
18 & 32 turquoise and orange
Numbers written on a wrinkled note card
Shoved into a wallet, clutched in a trembling hand
With small rusty coins, counting change again and again
Hands grip metal grip seats grip backpacks
Balancing becomes an art

Show and Tell

Today for show and tell I present to you SCAD shorts:

they are often freaky and weird but undeniably entertaining.

http://www.scadshorts.com/

enjoy!

Walk

The Goldberg Family’s imposing silhouette filled the back row like a scrawny Russian doll set. The clan, which did everything together, was comprised of two girls, four boys, and two parents who had, on this occasion, unintentionally sat in decending height order. It was the Grand Oaks High School ’s 3rd Annual Film Festival and the theater/cafeteria was lined with two hundred twenty chairs sprinkled with about twenty two limp, nonGoldberg bodies.

It was Mrs. Melinda Goldberg’s clout in (and financial contribution to) the local Board of Education that was primarily responsible for the creation of this event, which just so happened to start the Freshman year of her aspiring filmmaker son Abe. Despite this fact, Abe’s film Walk only managed to win an honorary mention along with the other three films that earned no other distinction.

Tonights debut was not so much nerve-racking for Abe as annoying. His trophy-hoarding family lacked the capacity to understand how he had tried to get honorable mention – that he would have considered it a profound failure to receive a legitimate award at this joke-of-a-festival.

“Honorary Mention!” his mom had squealed upon the dinner-table announcement the week prior. The journey of her upper lip over those mother-of-pearl teeth that constituted her smile was an Olympic event she was proficient at – the unobservant recipient of which was left feeling thoroughly encouraged.

At five foot four, Abe was the shortest Goldberg which meant this night he was sitting by the aisle.

“It’s okay man,” his younger, taller brother Jake whispered to him “there’s always next…”

His words of encouragement were cut short by an uncontrolled burst of laughter elicited by the film currently showing which featured Mitch Perkins wearing a fat suit and fake side-burns.

After about 90 minutes of various other meditations on the general themes of fat-suits, fake facial hair, and air-soft guns, Walk made it’s debut.

For the next 15 minutes clip after clip showing random people crossing a crosswalk washed over a befuddled audience. All the footage was candid and each subject held in his or her hand a familiar red flag, which the city had put at every major intersection following a series of accidents. The only sound heard was that of a harmonica playing the same faint, lulling four notes over and over. The all-but-dead audience, desperately seeking stimulation, fluttered back to life during the clip of a guy with a mohawk who looked particularly silly carrying the flag across a road void of cars, only to sink back into discomfort and indifference. No credit sequence followed and the lights were immediately flipped on for the presentation of awards.

American Brothers Reunite for Korean Block-buster Reprisal

WASHINGTON D.C. – PYUNG YANG DISTRICT

The largest organized function the Pyung Yang District has seen yet, “Shane and Oliver Town: 2008!” is what they’re calling the festival-like events scheduled for July 5-14 honoring the much celebrated American-twins-turned-Korean-movie-stars Barrette and Marshal Green.

“Shane and Oliver Town” first aired throughout South Korea during the summer of 1994. The children’s television program intended for beginning English learners quickly became a hit and was later expanded into a series of films known for their cameos by some of Korea’s biggest stars.

The Green Brothers’ time in the spotlight was cut short just after the premiere of their sixth film “Shane and Oliver Town: Up and Down the Street” when the boys’ father, General Peter Green, was re-stationed to Washington D.C..

Over ten years after the duo’s last public appearance together, the recently booming Korean population in D.C. has planned for the occasion a parade, multiple autograph sessions, a photo shoot, as well as a ceremony in which the guests of honor will be presented with an honorary diploma from Pusan University.

Neither of the Green brothers were available to comment but it is reported that Barrette is a part-time English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher and Marshal is currently doing work as a bank teller.

rough cut

Here is a very basic (just using imovie) scrapped together product of some of the footage I took last weekend. I want to re-shoot a lot of this, but this should give the pacing/feeling I’m going for. and…I think I want to use that song. tell me what you think…keep in mind this is supposed to be very rough. and I’m just using a crappy home camcorder….

Parker Family Christmas Tradition

So it occurred to me this will be the first Christmas that the entire Parker family will spend together. I think a cool tradition to institute would be a 12 Days To Christmas Movie Marathon. Here’s my proposal for the line-up:

December 13th The Nightmare Before Christmas

14th Home Alone (every other year Home Alone 2)

15th The Family Man

16th A Muppet Christmas Carol

17th Elf

18th The Grinch

19th The Polar Express

20th The Santa Clause

21st A Christmas Story

22nd It’s A Wonderful Life

23rd How the Grinch Stole Christmas/Mr. Krueger’s Christmas

24th The Nativity Story

Comments? Suggestions?

Brooke: Nattfari

*names are tentative and will probably change.

Nattfari was skeptical when she arrived. He set down his nets and watched as she strode confidently onto port with Sigridur behind her, following as a shadow in her steps. The mother wore a thick cloak to shield against the rain, but held her head erect as she fixed on him a fiery gaze—daring him to object before a word had even been spoken.

He scratched his chin, eyed the child gravely, and he spoke.

“You’ve brought the girl.”

She said nothing, only pulled Sigridur forward to stand at her side. Sigridur’s small head protruded comically from a thick animal skin, a cloak like her mother’s wrapped around her tiny frame. She tried not to shiver as she stood, and fixed Nattfari with the fiercest gaze she could muster. Even standing at full height she reached just above her mother’s elbows.

Nattfari was shaking his head, “and you intend for this little–”

“She comes with us,” the mother interrupted. Her voice was strong, her arm reached out possessively around her daughter.

“The boat is no place for a child”

“She is strong, she can work.”

As she spoke these words she silently felt the thick coat of animal skin draped around her daughter and was thankful that it hid the child in all her frailty.

“I will not allow for it.”

“Then I will leave,” said the mother turning as she spoke.

“Ha!” said Natfarri, looking at her mockingly, “you cannot leave.”

The mother shot around with a renewed fierceness. “The child comes, or I will leave,” she growled.

Nattfari frowned. “We will bring the matter before Garduar”

Five More Short Story Ideas

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Fill in the blanks.