a novel, and a website about science, progress and culture
Too busy to commit to an epic novel? Newly released short stories I just released three short stand-alone stories from the epic novel Quantum Cannibals. The stories are free on Kindle Unlimited, $0.99 from Amazon.com. If you haven’t yet jumped into the full novel, dip your toes in the waters through these selections.
Read More A shaman, a cop, a snake, & a bear walk into a short story…Many historical figures were reputed to be great beauties, from Helen of Troy and Cleopatra to Marie Antoinette. Many historical figures were reputed to be great scholars, from Plato and Aristotle to Adam Smith. We know more of the latter because knowledge and wisdom are more easily preserved than appearance. She should be better known […]
Read More Osnat Barzani: Her Dove, Her Story and Her PeopleA world in which everything once unthinkable became normal, would not be livable.
Read More The Unthinkable Became NormalThere is a sad children’s story about a Czarist Russian soldier who threatened an elderly, terrified Jewish man. The brutal soldier rolled up his sleeve to administer a beating, revealing an ugly scar on his forearm. The old man looked at the scar and froze. “Yossele?” he said to the soldier. “Huh? Who’s Yossele?” Tears […]
Read More Kill the Indian/Jew, Save the ChildI am pleased to present a guest post by fellow speculative fiction author Lorina Stephens. Lorina has worked as editor, freelance journalist for national and regional print media, been a festival organizer, publicist, lectures on many historical topics from textiles to domestic technologies, teaches, and continues to work as a writer and artist. Her short […]
Read More Dreams of the MoonHappy New Year (we hope) It’s the five thousand, seven hundred and eighty second birthday of that fourteen-billion-year-old ball of rock and water we call home (see Happy Quantum New Year for the math). The day is relevant to all humans, not just the Jews. After a year like 5781, everyone should take it seriously. […]
Read More Happy New Year!Though answers may change, many questions stand. Dr. Anthony Fauci made an important statement about the fluid responses to the Wuhan virus. “So when you hear someone say something at one point and then two or three months later, if you stick with what you said at the original time when you had one-fifth of […]
Read More COVID: The Questions StandTransgender rights (privilege, if you prefer), are an intractable issue in contemporary Western culture. Is a man who decides he’s a woman entitled to be treated as one? In the novel Quantum Cannibals Aarluk, a major character, changes from male to female as part of becoming a powerful shaman. (S)He marries and copulates with a […]
Read More What Are You, Transformed Person?There’s an ancient story about a man who was walking down the road when he encountered a great sage, whom he greeted with great respect. The rabbi replied “You worthless, ugly person. Are all the people of your city as ugly as you?” The man rebuked him, saying “I don’t know, but you should say […]
Read More Beauty and Wisdom- The CharacterThis is the first in a series of posts introducing characters from the novel Quantum Cannibals Alex is a secondary character in Quantum Cannibals. He’s a renowned poet whose wife tells a friend “Alex likes young men and boys.” The character was inspired by the pederasty of beat poet and cultural icon Allen Ginsberg. He […]
Read More Sexy Cuties: Art or Abomination?The novel Quantum Cannibals has a large cast of characters, some evil, some saintly. Most are complex, neither black nor white. A person can be a good character, but simply confused when facing an impossible situation. All of the characters in the book are intended to reflect back on our non-fictional world, to say something […]
Read More Trying To Be a Good CharacterThe coronavirus pandemic could be something out of a horror movie, perhaps from sci-fi, a thriller… mystery… existential fiction. What the world is experiencing with the coronavirus has been well covered in literature and film, dealing with questions of the origin of the plague, and how people, society, the world responds. The book may focus […]
Read More The Plague of Our Complacency1921-22, among the Iglulik Eskimo (Inuit): “I once went out to Aua’s hunting quarters on the ice outside Lyon Inlet… For several evenings we had discussed rules of life without getting beyond a long and circumstantial statement of all that was permitted and all that was forbidden. Everyone knew precisely what had to be done […]
Read More Two Plus Two Equals Five: the Miracle of Limited UnderstandingI am pleased to announce that a new book ZIONISM- AN INDIGENOUS STRUGGLE, co-edited by Machla Abramovitz and me will soon be published by the Canadian Institute for Jewish Research (CIJR) and RVP Press. This one is non-fiction, but reflects the same interest in aboriginal cultures, exile, and return that lie at the heart of […]
Read More new book: Zionism- An Indigenous StruggleI’ve been victimized by sexual violence. Lucky me; it’s happened twice, and I was horrified. Let me clarify. I wasn’t horrified when it happened. I thought it was funny back then, and laughed. Rather, I was horrified when told that what happened to me was sexual violence. An educational program I’m taking recently obliged all […]
Read More Sexual Violence- Twice a Victim