Ink Tea Stone Leaf

A place to get the words out

  • Somebody Tried to Scam Me

    I am embarassed that I spent as much time talking on the phone with somebody who was trying to defraud and scam me as I did. It’s not because I wasn’t suspicious (I was, from the start). It’s not because he managed to wring any amount of money from me in the end (he didn’t).… Continue reading

    ,

  • Infinite Scroll

    Conflating faces,giggling, clappinghands and scribblingsituations,dressing actorsup, like dolls,and making littlekissy noises,playing doctor,diagnosis:same as me,I’m represented(take my money),kinks and squeesand innocenceand cinnamonand puritans,and everythingis calibratednicely, setto my specificScoville rating(half as hot asjalapeño),vetted, deemedunproblematic,well-informedby modern poppsychology,a parrot’s speech,a popinjaywith all his favoritewords in onevertical clip,a sassy littlebit of cheek,a nonconformistà la mode(so take my money)up to dateon… Continue reading

  • Five Years and Counting

    The sixth year of my marriage to Ariele has officially begun, and it’s a special milestone indeed. Our wedding took place very close to the fifth anniversary of our first date, which means that in the coming months I will at last be able to say that I have spent the majority of my acquaintance… Continue reading

    ,

  • Opera Report: August 2026

    Contextual note: Every three months my wife Ariele and I host an opera night for our friends at our house and via Discord, and while she does all the hard work of streaming and of updating the website where people vote for the shows, I contribute with an informal newsletter, sharing some history and other… Continue reading

    , ,

  • The Air Is a Nasty Soup

    It is a relief that the conditions that inspired me to write this post will have been much improved by the time it actually goes up. On Wednesday, the day I took the above photograph just outside my front door, wildfire smoke from the foothills of the Cascade mountains had settled over the Willamette valley. Simultaneously,… Continue reading

    ,

  • A relief and a break

    Now that I’ve finished my July challenge, having written a short poem every single day, I can say both that I’ve enjoyed the experience and that I am extremely glad I don’t have to write another poem today. Writing poetry means a lot to me, but it’s not really a “challenge” if you don’t end… Continue reading

    ,

  • Poet’s Portfolio #5

    This July, I’m going to write a short poem (or a long one, who knows?) every day. I’ll post them once a week until the month is over. That pretty much explains it, I think. July 25th, 2026 It’s not tomorrow ’til I sleep,and I can stretch tonight as faras this unfinished July 26th, 2026… Continue reading

  • This is not a post

    Forgive me, friends. Between writing a silly little poem every day, and putting off revising the last two of the current tranch of chapters of my novel, I don’t have the energy to write a real weekend post. I tried thinking of one, but it’s almost midnight on Saturday as I write this, and I… Continue reading

    , ,

  • Poet’s Portfolio # 4

    This July, I’m going to write a short poem (or a long one, who knows?) every day. I’ll post them once a week until the month is over. That pretty much explains it, I think. July 18th, 2026 Living by the image—everywhere I turn I’ve tucked remindersof whatever I wanted to remember,pictures and paragraphs—on the… Continue reading

  • Yoshi Compatibility

    Last week, Ariele and I had a short visit from the woman who is managing our adoption application. The visit itself was not very important, but she mentioned before she left that in the course of completing our home study, her supervisor had expressed concerns about our conure, Yoshi, and the possibility that he might… Continue reading

    , ,