An inventive, irreverent collection of speculative sci-fi in which emphasis is placed on the emotional lives of the depressed, often addicted (sometimes alien) characters, rather than the technological specifics of their dystopian societies.

“There was no way anyone could live in a world like this with a fully functioning mind. You only found yourself feeling angry from morning until night. If she ended up joining some kind of political movement as a result, her mother and father would be upset. Using drugs, she told herself, was her way of being a good daughter.”

Amanda commissioned our friend Blake Andrews to make a game about Lola called “Kitty of the year.” Feed the cats until they fall asleep and wait for a special visit from Lola.

Walking through Old San Juan on Thanksgiving Day, Amanda and I got stuck in a tropical downpour. Hiding under the awning of a hotel, we watched as large drops of rain turned the road into a river.

I recently purchased a copy of A Guide To The Birds of Puerto Rico And The Virgin Islands at Rodgers Book Barn.

I particularly enjoyed its onomatopoetic descriptions of bird noises. Here’s a random list of my favorites:

• A raspy crick-et (White-tailed Tropicbird)
• A hoarse kak (Brown Booby)
• A guttural ga-ga-ga-ga (Red-Footed Booby)
• A peculiar oong-ka-chunk! (American Bittern)
• A raspy, insect-like kay-ti-dad (Gull-Billed Tern)
• Plaintive, liquid, twittering notes (Audobon’s Shearwater)
• A raspy ke-aaar that fades away (Red-tail hawk)
• A high-pitched killi-killi-killi (American Kestrel)
• A short, emphatic bow-wow (Short-eared Owl)
• A throaty ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-kaw-kow, kow, kow, kow (Yellow-billed Cuckoo)
• A very loud and conspicuous squawky whistle a-leep (Smooth-billed Ani)
• A varied assortment of gentle cooing notes (Rock Dove)
• A deep, deliberate whoo (Plain Pigeon)
• A raucous squawk (Brown-throated Parakeet)

Walked out to the pier of Shirley Chisholm State Park with Amanda a few minutes before a severe thunderstorm. The sea was rough and grey and the wind roared in our ears.