Man In the High Castle Season 3 Episode Reviews

 

17 (Draft 4)

It was just another one of those count the hours

until it’s time to go home days.

Hide your phone under your Trig. book

text about weekend plans

same shit as goes on everywhere.

 

The first student falls down next to you

just to your right

She was sitting in her seat

just a second ago

what was her name

later you will promise yourself you will learn it

but when you do you wish you hadn’t

she will come to live in your dreams night after night

 

The second student falls down next to you

just to your left

She was seating in her seat

just a second ago

You’ve been going to school with her

forever

No wait, she doesn’t have forever

 

Then all of them start to hit the ground.

16 students. All on the ground. All around you.

Then the teacher falls down.

 

All 17 are gone.

You want to get up from your chair.

You want to scream.

You want to clear the sky to let their beautiful lights

find their way up

to somewhere safe

 

For the rest of your years

you feel crazy

because shit like this

doesn’t happen in real life

 

Let’s Play and Commentary: Batman the Telltale Series

Tags

Anatole, Anatole Ghio, Anatole's Penthouse, Batman

17 (Draft 3)

It is another one of those days.

Just a count the hours till it’s time to go home days.

Hide your phone under your Trig. book

text about weekend plans

maybe see a movie or whatever

you know same day as hundreds before.

Same talk and same shit as goes on

everywhere.

 

The first student falls down to the floor next to you.

She was a new student. A transfer student.

Fuck, what is her name again?

Later you promise yourself you will learn it

but when you do you wish you hadn’t.

 

But now in this square box room that is always too hot

she is laying on the ground and god damnit she won’t get up

she must be acting.

 

The second student falls down just to your right.

You’ve been going to school with her since… forever.

When you tell others this story you make a point

to always say her name

but will they later remember?

Will they forget when it’s convenient?

 

Then all of them start to hit the ground.

16 students. All on the ground. All around you.

Then the teacher falls down.

 

Dominos. Stars blinking out from the night sky. Emptiness. 

 

All 17 lay there.

You want to get up from your chair. You want to scream.

You want to try CPR. You want to yell.

You want to cry.

 

When you call for help it comes, but it doesn’t change a damn thing.

All of them are gone. No one knows why.

That’s it. All the rest of your years you will feel crazy.

 

Because this doesn’t happen in real life.

Asia Tour 2007: Part 3 Shanghai

Tags

Anatole Ghio, Anatole's Penthouse, Anatole69, asia, blog, china, photos, pudong, shanghai, travel

 

Having celebrated my 38th birthday in Macau, I was now set to embark on the next leg of my journey: a train trip from Hong Kong to Shanghai.  I bundled all my books and clothes into my travel suitcase and backpack and took the bus down from the peak where my hostel was. As the driver swayed and swerved down the mountain road, I blasted NIN, Too Short, and Timbaland on my iPod, watching the fauna zip by the window. Soon enough I was unceremoniously dumped off at the Sai Ying Pun MTR station. 

As I took the MTR to the train station, I pondered when I would really know that I had left “The Pearl of the Orient” and arrived in “The Middle Kingdom”. As it turned out I didn’t have long to wait. As soon as I had turned over my train ticket at the gate and taken the elevators down to the train platform I came upon a large scrum of people, looking like something out of Night of the Living Dead, jammed at the doors to the train carriages. 

I caught the attention of a train clerk and in fumbling Mandarin asked where my train car was and then, even more boldly, ordered a bottle of water delivered to my car and berth, “Car 4 berth 3.” An hour later I asked another clerk when I would be getting my bottle of water. I then learned that my bottle had been delivered to Car 3 berth 4. 

 

After that inauspicious introduction I found my next week in Shanghai to be packed, pulsing, polluted, phosphorescent. From the bright and shiny exterior of Pudong to the teeming subways and chaotic roads, it was hard to find a quiet moment in the city. Everything screamed for your attention: the bright lights of the buildings and malls at night, the hucksters and touts yelling out as you walked by, the vendors riding bicycles with speakers bleating out ads for their wares, it just never quit. When my time finished after a week I was thrilled to have been in the city but also ready for a quiet sea voyage to relax before reaching Japan.

Unfortunately my calm sea voyage, as I imagined it would be, was a rough a violent one and I spent the night at sea next to a porcelain god. I was more than relieved when we reached the calm waters of the sea of Japan two days after departing Shanghai.

 

 Shanghai

On the train from Hong Kong to Shanghai.

Although the trip was hot, cramped, and smoky… I enjoyed the chance to see the Chinese countryside. I chatted with a guy I was in the same cabin with and he helped me get a legit taxi (and not a rip off pirate one) when we arrived in Shanghai.

My first free day in Shanghai. Check out all the bicycles!

 

No… cars don’t drive on the left in China. They drive on the right but the totes put their wares onto the street in front of their shops, so the cars have to drive into the oncoming lane to avoid plowing into them. 

Welcome to China!

Pudong, a commercial district across the river from the Bund which is the old business district of Shanghai.

Two competing visions of the city, one new and one old, placed adjacent to each other. 

 Pearl TV Tower, Pudong District. I spent the afternoon in Pudong doing some sight seeing. At the time the NBA was having an exhibition game in Shanghai and that afternoon I saw a couple of the players shopping at a mall in Pudong.

Nanjing Road, Shanghai.

At this point I was still cash poor so I spent many hours window shopping in this area. The “Road” is a long concourse that functions as a walking street with a lot of foot traffic coming from the nearby business district and subway.

Nanjing Road, Shanghai. pt.2

While I was on a stroll here one evening a tout stopped me.

“Where do you come from,” he asked.

“America,” I answered.

“America? Do you have a gun,” he asked.

“No, I don’t,” I answered.

“Oh. I want a gun. Guns are cool,” he finished.

True story.

Nightclub crawling in the French Concession Area, Shanghai.

A weekend in Old Town (Nanshi), Shanghai.

When I went the place was crowded with tour groups whose leaders shouted through megaphones. Not exactly a quiet excursion, to say the least.

A weekend in Old Town (Nanshi), Shanghai. pt.2

I think these are Koi. They were in a fish pond in Nanshi.

The Humble Administrator’s Garden in Suzhou. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A couple of backpackers I met in the hostel I was staying at took a day trip with me to Suzhou where this garden is located. To say this garden is beautiful is an understatement.

It was like walking through a painting.  Every angle was sublime.

The garden is divided into three sections: the western, the central, and the eastern sections.

I believe this pond is in the central section, but I cannot recall correctly if it is.

To find this duck pond you have to walk behind a quaint house and then down a slope to a pond that runs underneath.

I love that to find it you have to do some exploring.

It wouldn’t be a legit blog post without a selfie, so here it is.

Also the Geek necklace is there for street cred, because fans.

Remember how I said every angle in the garden was designed to be appealing? I submit this as proof. 

I also believe the placement of the paths and ornate doorways like this one has something to do with Feng Shui and is meant to direct the energy flowing through the environnment… but I am no expert on the matter so don’t quote me.

Or do quote me.

I’m not your boss.

… or am I?

My group left the garden and as we began making our way back to the train station, I spied this shop owner standing outside her stall in the fading light, so I took a snapshot of her.

 

I believe this is the Beisi Pagoda.

You can also see that when I took this photo night had come. My group had under an hour to catch the train so I took this photo as we were leaving Suzhou. 

Photo from the deck of my ship. I took a boat from Shanghai to Kobe, Japan.

The sea was rough and I got so seasick I stayed overnight in the men’s toilet. The ship’s crew saw me stuck in there and the head of security came to talk to me because they thought I was a stowaway. When I say they saw me, I mean they saw my legs from under the crack at the bottom of the door of the stall.

When I say came to talk to me, I mean a succession of crewmen banged on the stall door and spoke to me in Chinese until they finally got one who could speak English and demanded I open the door and show my passport. 

Indiana Jones never had to deal with that shit.

Video as my boats departs Shanghai for Kobe, Japan.

Notice the heavy winds? Later that night those winds and the rough seas they caused would ruin my night.

Calm after the storm. I took this photo the second night of my boat journey as we neared the shore of Japan.

Next time will be the fourth stage of my journey through Asia: Kobe, Japan.

That is all for now. Be well.

17 Draft 2

It was another one of those days.

Just a count the hours till it’s time to go home days.

Hide your phone under your Trig. book

text about weekend plans

maybe see a movie or whatever

you know same day as hundreds before.

 

The first student falls down to the floor next to you.

She was a new student. A transfer student.

Now she must be acting. She must want an early weekend off

starting with a trip to the nurse’s office.

 

The second student falls down just to your right.

You’ve been going to school with her since… forever.

Then all of them start to hit the ground.

16 students. All on the ground. All around you.

Dominos.

Then the teacher falls down.

All 17 lay there, eyes open.

You want to get up from your chair. You want to scream.

You want to try CPR. You want to yell.

You want to cry.

When you call for help it comes, but it doesn’t change a damn thing.

All of them are gone. No one knows why.

That’s it. All the rest of your years you will feel crazy.

Because this doesn’t happen in real life.

 

 

 

Making America Read Again

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17

It wasn’t much.

Just an ordinary afternoon.

Trig. or AP English or maybe even Health.

Same day at school as any other day.

Then one student fell to the floor next to you.

Straight down to the ground.

They must be acting. They want to go to the nurses’ office.

Then sneak out of the office and go off campus.

You know, be a little naughty. We are just kids after all.

Then another student falls down. And another.

16 students fall all around you.

Dominos.

Then the teacher falls down.

They all lay there, eyes open.

You get up from your chair. You scream.

You slap them. You try CPR. You yell.

Nothing.

When you call for help it comes, but it doesn’t change a damn thing.

All of them are gone. No one knows why.

That’s it. All the rest of your years you will feel crazy.

Because this doesn’t happen in real life.

 

 

My Top 10 Favorite Reads of 2017

Resignation

Because fuck it, he thought.

He had had his heart broken many times before. Sometimes through inaction, sometimes through neglect, sometimes through bad luck.

Each and every time a new heart had filled in the hole.

For this small grace, he was thankful.