“We Three” by Mike and Kristen Pihlman

In early 2001 we went to DisneyWorld in Florida.  Kristen was 9 years old at the time.  One day, she and I were sitting near the lake at Epcot when we conjured up (what we thought was) a great story plot.  We thought of several titles as well, one being “Me, Myself, and I”.  It is now almost 12 years later, and after years of pondering how to (or who will) write this plot down, I am taking a stab at it.  I am sure Kristen can do a much better job writing this story (and she may still…) but, here is my micro version of it…..enjoy.

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One day many years ago, three babies were born at nearly the same instant.   Different towns, different states.

As children, mysterious bruises, cuts, and broken bones would occur in two of these children.

No one could figure out how this happened…a true mystery.

These three people grew up and chose different paths in life.  One became a law enforcement officer, one a college professor, and one a murderer.

As luck may have it, the law enforcement officer was assigned to the most difficult case of their career.  To find the ruthless murderer.

The officer followed the leads, spent years tracking, and finally was in the right place at the right time.

The murderer and officer stood face-to-face.

“Stop, put the knife down and put your hands behind your head”

The murderer did as told, but, as the murderer was putting down the knife they lunged at the officer…..who shot to kill.

The officer, the murderer, and professor, who was in the middle of teaching a class on the theoretical aspects of teleportation….all died.

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Copyright January 6, 2013 by Mike “TracyReaderDad” Pihlman, and Kristen Pihlman.  This is fiction, I think.

“Santa” by Mike Pihlman

I asked for, and got, my Christmas wish….

A shiny new 12 gauge shotgun…

I was admiring my new present when I heard a clatter….

The noise was louder than most and I was concerned about a burglar….

But I was ready…

I saw a flash in the fireplace….

BANG..

Oooops….hey, kiddies, there is no Santa…..anymore.

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Copyright December 23, 2012 by Mike “TracyReaderDad” Pihlman.  This is fiction, I think.

 

 

 

 

“I Can Fly!” by Mike Pihlman

Whoooops…

S-P-L-A-T

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Inspired by this months National Geographic cover.

Copyright Sept 8, 2011 by Mike “TracyReaderDad” Pihlman.  This is fiction, I think.

“Rapture” by Mike Pihlman

Genre: Horror

Paul spent his last week preparing for the rapture everyone said was coming.

He quit his job, told his nagging ass wife to stuff it, picked up with a particularly attractive hooker, and drove to Yosemite to hang out until 6 PM PST May 21.

He was ready.

As he was walking a trail sometime close to 6 PM…he heard an odd sound.

A fluttering, then a loud screech.  What was left of his eyes spurted blood and he felt tearing of his flesh..the last thought he had was of the coming of the Rapture.

He was at peace.

He was also wrong…it was the coming of the Raptor.

Ooops.

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Copyright May 22 (yes we are still around!), 2011 by Mike “TracyReaderDad” Pihlman.  This is fiction, I think.

The eBook Bookstore

I ran across this article on CNN this morning.

Very interesting and very scary for those of us who LOVE books, but, the changes in how bookstores evolve in the next few years will be interesting to watch.

To summarize the article:  Borders is going under chapter 11, and Barnes & Noble stock is down almost 80% since 2006.  The swiftness of the eBook phenomena took Borders and Barnes & Noble (and ME!) by surprise.  Of the two, B&N is doing the best job moving to the eBook world, but, the article says it may not be fast enuf.  It says that B&N will be closing stores (many of them) and / or downsizing and / or leasing out space (see my future below) in the once sprawling book aisles.  It sees Nook boutiques…and a whole new look for what once were the mighty “bookstore”.

The eBook trend has the publishing industry facing tough times ahead as well.  See this discussion between Authors Barry Eisler and Joe Konrath.

“These are interesting times, Harry”

My Future B&N

I can imagine the new Barnes & Noble housing a coworking location within it’s walls (hell, we already have B&N tables at AltamontCowork, see the above pic), with video conferencing stations for those who need to keep in visual contact with their company or attend meetings remotely.  Barnes & Noble coworking….how cool would that be?

There could be a section of the once large store where parents can take their kids while they cowork.  B&N Day Care.

The Cafe will stay, and a large section of Nook ebook readers and accessories could be located somewhere close.  In fact, a whole small community can evolve in a single empty B&N store; from fast food, to a small grocery, to whatever….this new community could be billed as a “green working environment”.

#telecommuting = #coworking = #Barnes&Noble

“The OFF Button” by Mike Pihlman

Genre: Horror

Jake is a micro-biologist interested in discovering the frequency (some call it “resonance frequency”) of the human body for a Department of Defense project.

A complicated task since the human body is a complicated machine.

One day in the lab, Jake picked up the TV remote they had been using to control some experiments (it was modified to produce an electromagnetic pulse at a frequency of 1.1666 Hz).

He jokingly pointed the remote at his babbling graduate assistant and hit the OFF button.

The assistant died.

He was OFFED, and Jake found what he needed to request more funding.

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Copyright Jan 26, 2011 by Mike “TracyReaderDad” Pihlman.  This is fiction, I think.

 

“Dead Red Wings” by Mike Pihlman

Genre: Horror

Recent news reports are telling us that thousands of birds have fallen from the sky….dead.  Thousands of fish are suffering the same fate.

In the last few hours of 2010, the alien species in control of Earth made a few software changes.

The birds and fish are victims of a bug in the new program.

Are YOU feeling ok?

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Copyright Jan 5, 2011 by Mike “TracyReaderDad” Pihlman.  This is fiction…I think.