People had different reactions to the whole thing. Some were surprised that anything had happened at all. Some were disgusted, angry at Essjay (inexplicably) for provoking Baruch; put off by the actual violence; made nauseous by the sight of blood and a distinctly out-of-line nose; frightened of Baruch; sympathetic of Essjay but only in a […]
One of these fragments is not like the others
Posted by Ben on March 3, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/one-of-these-fragments-is-not-like-the-others/
From the files
Q: Ever since seeing a Lamborghini in the movie Rising Sun, I’ve had what you might call a preternatural lust to buy one. Well, I thought I’d have to live with this for my entire life—this insatiable, impossible desire. I thought, as you might imagine, that buying one would be way out of my league. […]
Posted by Ben on February 28, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/from-the-files/
Race To The Bottom
“I knew a girl once,” Simcha was saying, “who absolutely refused to call me by my real name.” I never really trusted Simcha behind the wheel of an automobile.
Posted by Ben on February 25, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/race-to-the-bottom/
Birds Attacking
Saw a memo on my desk, everyone else gone from the office, memo said: birds attacking. That’s all it said. Well, and To: (my name) and Cc: and the Date and our company’s Name and everything, but other than that. My radio-in my car-was turned off for the time being, what with there being a […]
Posted by Ben on February 23, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/birds-attacking/
I left my heart in Plano, Texas
I left my heart in Plano, Texas. Nothing turned out like I’d expected it to. I paid for a safe deposit box, a 5″ by 10″ by 22″ receptacle. I went to Plano because I’d heard they had an organ discount. Turns out I was wrong, but I paid for the box anyway. After all, I had to keep my heart somewhere. Plano seemed as good as any place else.
Posted by Ben on December 13, 2003
https://www.swordbilled.com/i-left-my-heart-in-plano-texas/
Her name was Janine (I think)
She was the waitress from hell. I had the chicken cacciatore and some kind of sparkling water that she’d recommended. To be honest, I don’t mean to say that she was spiteful or malicious or full of vitriol; I’m merely stating fact when I say that she was from hell. Her name was Janine Hensworth, and she was renting an apartment that, she told me, was literally in hell. To get there she took a twenty-seven minute elevator ride. The rent on her apartment was wicked cheap, she said, but the screams of the damned and accursed sometimes kept her up at nights. Had she considered sound-proofing, I asked?
Posted by Ben on December 12, 2003
https://www.swordbilled.com/her-name-was-janine-i-think/
breathe, 1, 2, implode
Don’t worry about the cost of milk because you won’t need to worry about it much longer. Nor the cost of gasoline, if that’s more your thing. Nor blood pressure. The falling sky is none of your concern. Simply go inside and remain there, ensconced in your precious little crab-house, waiting for the next infusion of energy. Read a book. Watch a movie. Enjoy these things because nothing else is real, or, if it is real, it’s not something you can worry about.
Posted by Ben on November 25, 2003
https://www.swordbilled.com/breathe-1-2-implode/
How you cackle
I know it’s going to sound unbelievably cheesy and trite, but I’ve fallen in love with your smile. That thin sliver of spite and bitterness that fluoresces into sudden brilliance under the proper provocation. I know that’s one of the first things you’re taught, that and the steely glare and the ascerbic laughter (can laughter […]
Posted by Ben on October 4, 2003
https://www.swordbilled.com/how-you-cackle/
Worry, worry, such a flurry
As they say the things you expect them to say, all the modern conveniences, you think whether or not they’re actually conveniences or even modern. They’re convenient for you, now, and they’re apparently modern, but how much good will they do you elsewhere? Taking apart an automobile and rebuilding it so that…
Posted by Ben on September 9, 2003
https://www.swordbilled.com/worry-worry-such-a-flurry/
Alberto
It starts with noticing someone else’s wristwatch, and before you know it, you’re a regular time-traveler.
Posted by Ben on April 21, 2001
https://www.swordbilled.com/alberto/