Bread Keeper

at the nexus
of lord and loaf
the grain supply
the holders of plenty
and the bread beggars

the shepherd of sums
exacts his due
from the low places
he himself
bathed in the glass light
of heaven

father, son, ghost
the one law
of plentitude
in communion

blessed the high walls
of providence
sun, soil, and rain
on the fields of eternity

blessed the plow and yoke
the share exacted
the protection given

blessed the poor
the compliant
the copper-filled pockets
of towns become
cities, states, nations at war

Santa Loves You

Never forget Santa's love :-)
I composed this tune with MuseScore
and edited the video in Movie Maker.

The Secret of Kells

Aithníonn ciaróg ciaróg eile... one beetle recognizes another. Here is a very cool animated film called The Secret of Kells, which you can find among other places on Amazon Instant Video. The character Aisling (left) is a real marvel, but Brendan, the main character on the right, is the star. The film got nominated for an Oscar in 2010. I highly recommend it.

Crewcut (Ellen Umansky)

Here is one of Playboy magazine's college fiction contest winners with a story from the October 1991 edition:

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?dggu2ik7wsulvsx

Were I a fiction editor putting together an anthology of contemporary stories, I'd consider "Crewcut" in a heartbeat. References to the story on the web are scarce, so I uploaded my copy of it in PDF format. Umansky gets inside the head of the young female character, who is dealing with family dysfunction while discovering her own identity.

I have had the story in my files for close to twenty years now. I remember the hassle I went through to photocopy the story at the SUNY Binghamton library, brown-paper bagging the cover of the magazine, struggling to get the job done quickly. I'm glad I did.

I lived off campus that semester. This was one of magazines the guys had lying around the living room. One day I got bored and wondered if the actual words in Playboy were any good; sure enough, every now and then, they strike gold, as is the case here. I hope you enjoy the story as much as I did. Happy December!