Fair is Fair
Don Hall, Fiction Don Hall Don Hall, Fiction Don Hall

Fair is Fair

"Father?"

The old man sitting on the bench was eating pistachio nuts and carefully placing the shells in a ball cap to his left. He looked Jack's way.

"Ah! Jack. Not any more. Not in long time."

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Leaving Afghanistan Better Than We Found It was Never Possible
David Himmel David Himmel David Himmel David Himmel

Leaving Afghanistan Better Than We Found It was Never Possible

I’ve been thinking a lot about my friend Jordan lately. I haven’t seen her in a while and I would like to get together with her, her husband Tom—have them over to our new place, see the kid, drink some beer, have some laughs. But mostly, I’ve been thinking about Jordan because of a rule she lived by during her dating years.

“Always leave your ex better than you found them.”

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How About Some Upbeat News for Fuck's Sake?
Don Hall Don Hall Don Hall Don Hall

How About Some Upbeat News for Fuck's Sake?

Among the most shrill in our daily discourse is a small group of Utopians suffering from utopian idealism. Utopians compare the present with what might be called the future perfect, not the past imperfect. Instead of seeing the present as a vast improvement on the past, they see the present as failing to live up to some sort of an imagined utopia.

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What Happens When Everyone Gets Bored with the Scolds?
Don Hall Don Hall Don Hall Don Hall

What Happens When Everyone Gets Bored with the Scolds?

We're bored out of our everliving skulls with the hysteria. The faux outrage has worn us right the fuck out. We're fed-up with Bob Dylan being accused of doing something in 1965 and moving on with life. We're nodding off every time we hear someone (usually young but not always) crying wolf every moment of every day.

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The First Call
Fiction, Wayne Lerner Wayne Lerner Fiction, Wayne Lerner Wayne Lerner

The First Call

The ringing of the phone reverberated throughout the office. You can tell who’s calling by the ring, whether it’s a good call or one which foretells disaster. The phone knows. Its voice sends you a message. You have to be smart enough, open enough, to understand its language.

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The Artistic Subtlety of “Pig” and Nicolas Cage
Brett Dworski Brett Dworski Brett Dworski Brett Dworski

The Artistic Subtlety of “Pig” and Nicolas Cage

I texted my friend, Adam, who appreciates the Cagester more than me. “We’ve got to see this,” I said, basically wanting to see it to mock Cage. We did. And when it ended, I was stunned. It was nothing like I expected. No hazardous car chases. No deathly shootouts. No exaggerations. Just a lonely man looking for his pig. It was, simply put, sensational.

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