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New stories you’ll love, handpicked for you by our team and updated daily.
The Irony of Flying While We Bomb the "World's Greatest Terror Regime"
Ah, the irony of flying at this moment in time as the United States is simultaneously bombing Iran - the nation officials have insisted for decades is "The World's Greatest Terror Regime" - while the TSA is on a go-slow, courtesy of a funding squeeze that's left its officers unpaid, quitting in droves, and turning checkpoints into something like slow-moving bread lines.
By Scott Christenson🌴2 days ago in Humor
Foraging Appalachia’s Wild Edibles
It's that time of year again and Appalachia offers a remarkable abundance for anyone willing to learn its seasonal gifts and practice careful gathering. Across ridges, holler's, stream-side's, and meadows, edible plants, berries, roots, and fungi appear through every part of year. Knowledge is key and teaches not only what can be eaten, but also how to gather with respect so that these resources remain available far into future.
By Tim Carmichaela day ago in Feast
A Visitor's Guide To Victorian England
A Book Review Being interested in all things Victorian, I am constantly looking for books on the Victorian Era. In fact, I should admit that I am obsessed about ‘all things Victorian’. From the clothes worn by men and women, rich or poor, to how they lived, where they lived, what they ate and would (or would not ) drink, what kind of transport there was, who worked where, who went to school (and who didn’t), the list really is endless.
By Ruth Elizabeth Stiffabout 15 hours ago in BookClub
You Should Stop Trying to Be a Better Person
A year ago, I spent two days in the Colombian mountains drinking ayahuasca as part of a spiritual ceremony. An experience that pulled apart every detail of my being and rearranged me in a new sequence. I wish that life became easier after the feat. It didn’t.
By Annaise Michelle2 days ago in Humans
It’s a fact awards
Do you ever feel that non-fiction writers are the poor relations of the Vocal community. I do! Those nice people at Vocal Media heap much sought-after $200 prizes on poets and story smiths, left, right and center, while leaving us fact factors out in the cold.
By Raymond G. Taylor11 days ago in Writers
Waiting
It could have been the perfect summer day. The hot July sun warmed the water in the backyard pool just enough to be comfortable and refreshing. The laughter of the five little girls echoed against the splashing water as they chased each other in a classic game of Marco Polo. The game distracted them enough that they failed to notice the dipping sun nearing the horizon. Their fingers and toes had long ago turned wrinkly like raisins, but none wondered why they had been left to play so long today.
By A. J. Schoenfeld7 days ago in Fiction
Rock Outgrew Gene Simmons
“And they claim that it's music." — Sampled in Public Enemy’s “Contract on the World Love Jam” Gene Simmons cannot seem to hold his tongue. Just weeks after being named a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors, an award he did not deserve, the bassist from KISS made headlines again, showing how rock stars sometimes age into caricatures. Ironically, the aging rock legend was complaining about rap artists being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
By Carl J. Petersen7 days ago in Beat
