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Lucky Man Update on the eve of my next round of oral chemo
Lucky Man Update on the eve of my next round of oral chemo We are feeling very optimistic that I might be around a few more years, maybe long enough… read more
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Blackout Day is here!
I think this is a good start, and I know there are other days planned, but I have thoughts and questions.First thought, I remember a few years ago folks tried… read more
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An All White America?
An All White America? Trump/Musk & co. wish to erase not only the acclaim of non white people and their accomplishments, but they want to erase them as peoples.If we… read more
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A New Way Forward
The grand plans we had for Better Than the Times have been derailed by my serious illness. I am in a long struggle to stay alive over the next few… read more
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Coffee House
(a lyric micro-essay by Liam Starkey, a writer living in Manchester, United Kingdom) My first memory of coffee is having an espresso scented silver coffee pot as a child. After… read more
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Is it really because we fear the end of democracy?
Is it really because we fear the end of democracy? In the novel I am writing, the protagonist, a preacher of rather progressive and unconventional thought (yes, he is a… read more
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Can I just say, I beleive the next 4 yrs, and even the next 4 weeks are likely to truly be in Nazi Germany territory. I used ot take comfort… read more
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America prides itself in its charities.
America prides itself in its charities. by and large, charities do the work that society should do through taxes, and the best way ot do that is to tax the… read more
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Does America Care?
I see folks saying creators of books and movies tried to warn us. the problem is not literary or movie ignorance. the problem is there are a lot of folks,… read more
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when it comes to immigrants, documented and other wise.
when it comes to immigrants, documented and other wise. here is a little story of a bit of my life in the past year.Last august (2024) we found out i… read more
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Never Again?
Never Again? In 1945, the allies liberated the last of the German Nazi death camps. Three years later, 11 minutes after Israel declared itself a state, Harry S. Truman recognized… read more
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under the radar organizing for the resistance
If you are going to be involved in any sort of resistance activity from peaceful marches to “Luigi” style actions, you would do well to do your organizing off line.… read more
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Today is a great day
for me, for you, for America, for the world. It is not a perfect day. We will probably never live to see that day. Tomorrow may be the beginning of… read more
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Butterflies, Elephants, and X, as in missing
I am still seeing a lot of posts by folks announcing their relocation from Twitter to BlueSky.I will not be moving, though i am happy to see that much of… read more
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I’ve Fallen and my Helper was Deported Because I Voted for a Racist
This is cute, and true, as far as it goes, but when you think that undocumented workers (and most brown and black skinned people in this country are documented), though… read more
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”Kind-washing” the GOP
David Brooks has a new piece out that paints the GOP and its predecessor the Whigs, as the party built on expanding opportunity. Of course another name for Whigs, a… read more
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The Big Five Publishers have Killed Literary Fiction and Nobody Buys Books Anymore
I keep seeing these posts all over social media. First the Big Five can only kill themselves, currently, there are a million titles per year published through the big… read more
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Thanksgiving vs Christmas
Growing up in central Alabama and celebrating in Montgomery and Jackson, Mississippi, we always had a traditional Thanksgiving dinner of at least these things: turkey, dressing, okra, peas (sweet and… read more
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Investing in Ourselves
If we INVESTED in our people with free lunches, single payer health care, no cost higher ed, a housing allowance/ubi, paid family leave (not thru the employer, but as a… read more
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Books, writers readers and sales and who is making a living
In the English language market of the book publishing world there are 4 million new titles published every year, about 75% of these are indie or self-published with the remaining million… read more
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Where the Streetcars Run
through the jungle, on bamboo pilings, cars covered with revolutionary graffiti and an occasional vine, where the farmers ride into the city with chickens and produce to sell children can… read more
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The Dead and Alive List
In the last few days I have seen posts of people honoring Taylor Swifts 35th birthday (Happy Birthday, Taylor) and honoring the memories of people like Nikki Giovanni, the great… read more
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Making Ghosts at the Lyric
It turns out, we all get what we wanted, or at least believed. Me, being an atheist, I will go no further, though this is a bit of an afterlife.… read more
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The First Step towards Dehydration
First you cook a turkey, like you might for Thanksgiving, even it its not. You can make fried corn, peas, cornbread dressing, however, you like, but bake the damn turkey.… read more
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Playing chess in the back of the lobby of the Lyric Theater
There was a time we stood on that stage and led and read and looked out over half the young people in Martin County, waiting to have their six minutes… read more
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Books, Writers, Readers, and Sales, and Who is Making a Living?
In the English language market of the book publishing world there are 4 million new titles published every year, about 75% of these are indie or self-published with the remaining… read more
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Dante and other rough beasts
In the middle of our journey we find ourselves with the path lost in dark woods, she sits on a bench and opens a bag of crunchies we packed for… read more
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Wonderful old manual from the CIA that makes a great workbook for the Resistance
Did you know that the CIA has a declassified field manual detailing the kinds of sabotage an ordinary person can do with lots of plausible deniability? With like, details for… read more
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Not a poem, only a remembrance
Dull Thud The sound of the wooden paddle banging against the flat bottom of the aluminum boat I was told it would scare away the fish, usually by someone older,… read more
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Announcement
To all the wonderful new friends and fans of Better Than The Times: Due to my current and ongoing serious health issues the July 31 publication date will be pushed… read more
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Open for Submissions for July 31
Better Than The Times (https://betterthanthetimes.com/) Is open for submissions year round, but we are approaching the July 31st issue. We don’t have a fixed deadline, but generally by the 15th… read more
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Dear fellow writers,
If you are tired of formatting issues, “name on top left, name on top right, name in subject line, no identifying information on the submission, etc.”, if you are tired… read more
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Better Than The Times – We Are Live!
Better Than The Times – We Are Live! Betterthanthetimes.com The premier issue features: An interview with and several recent poems by the truly great Rae Armantrout, Several poems by the… read more
Better Than The Times 