The words over at Three Word Wednesday are downhill, freak and sliver. A nod to Boots, who really jump-started this piece through a text and phone conversation. She kicked my ass, and kicked away the writer’s block. A Night In with a CanadianIt’s n

It's nearly time for "the big game," or "championship Sunday" (hey, I don't want to get sued).Some people watch for the game.Some watch for the ads, which run about $3.5 million for 30 seconds this year.Some get entertainment out of both - hence all the parties.Some ads are stink bombs. But many are

In 1978, a movie was made called "Buffalo Rider." It was about a guy who finds a buffalo and decides to tame it.It has fallen into the public domain.Enter The Possum Posse. The Possum Posse is an Austin, Texas  sardonic honky-tonk/bluegrass band. On th

Yes, kids, this post includes the F-Bomb. If you have sensitive ears, do not watch.But it is funny. I've shared this before. There was an Australian TV show called the Ronnie Johns Half-Hour. In Australia, you're allowed to swear on TV (like in real life).There's an Aussie criminal named Chopper Reid (Eric Bana

It's the Christmas season, so that means putting up a few Christmas standards.Here's the Pogues, with "Fairytale of New York." It's a great song. It's your Video Friday:

The words over at Three Word Wednesday are flag, might and passive. StrandedWith a white veil of silk, she cause his attention, flagged him over. The car in idle, he watched her walk toward him from the rear-view. She smiled at her sway. H

Watch this and then tell me again why anyone would be against gay marriage.The eloquent Zach Wahls, your Video Friday:

The words over at Three Word Wednesday are behave, jettison and mob.OccupyThe blond bimbo on the news said it was a mob, but shit I was there, man. There wasn’t a mob. It was an army. Fucking behaved one, too. Line after line of believer

This is my first submission for Six Sentence Sunday.Nighttime Jitters He’s too lazy to spin the cap back on the bottle of bourbon.Maybe he’s too drunk, but it doesn’t matter anyway, he thinks, since maybe, just maybe, bourbon is

No explanation needed. From SNL, NPR's "Delicious Dish," your Video Friday:

The words over at Three Word Wednesday are hollow, misery and shallow. Not very uplifting, huh? I actually, for the first time in more than 150 attempts, missed a 3WW last week. Too many early deadlines, not enough sleep. SleeplessThe steam on the win

Adrian Belew is an American musician best known for his work with the band King Crimson. He's great. Maybe you haven't heard of him. Maybe you haven't heard his stuff in forever.Please do give him a listen.Adrian Belew, your Video Friday:"Oh Daddy""I'm Down""1967"

The words over at Three Word Wednesday are drank, hitch and muster. A Fiction in 58.LeavingWe drank until the pain began to fade. We didn’t speak. The afternoon turned to dusk; those who could muster the enthusiasm lit a bonfire. We watched flames dance on somber faces. As flames turne

War. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing.However, on this Veteran's Day, it's good to remember that every person who has put on a uniform and fought, you are in our thoughts today. Here's Edwin Starr, with War, your Video Friday

The words over at Three Word Wednesday are carnage, jerk and puncture. Kinda angry. AfterI open my eyes and hears the sounds of women, wailing.There’s a gauzy sheet pulled over me, soft and ticklish on my cheeks as I rise.The

The new Black Keys drops Dec. 6. You can pre-order on iTunes (I know I did).The CD is called "El Camino."New Black Keys (plus a teaser ad for the album), is your Video Friday:"Lonely Boy"

The words over at Three Word Wednesday are figment, inclined and vulnerable. Wow, good words. Who comes up with them?Again late this week, so I’m tossing up a Fiction in 58FigmentHe felt like a figment of her imagination. He flittered from roo

I'll admit, I don't quite understand the fascination with Halloween.I mean, as a child I participated, and as an adult I've been to parties (once I dressed up as a Corporate MoFo - I just wore my best suit and had pink slips of paper in the breast pocket, which I gave out - and won a prize), but I don't get the whole

Time for a Fiction in 58, since I haven’t challenged myself in forever. By the way, I recently went over 100,000 unique viewers to this blog of mine. Cool.AnniversaryThe shower has seats, he’s never understood why, but today he doesn’t question. He’s sitting under the hot flow, head be

Here's a OneWord I pounded out - before coffee even. Feels good to be back.AwakeningOnce bitten, he waited for the awakening. He sat there on a crusty couch, in a dented trailer in a park that didn’t even have paved roads. Dust would rise up and coat e

A very wise man once told me that the true emotion of happiness was quite different than the feeling of happiness.Of course, I was paying him $175 an hour at the time (insurance pro-rated) to get my mind “right.”My mother had just died, my marriage was crumbling, my career was suffering (fools, or a foolish

The words over at Three Word Wednesday are breach, ember and tentative. A poem? Sure, why not.AwakeningsA tentative heart sings not,no music in its everyday beat,shy and shaded, it but does it’s jobThere’s an ember in a gla

As in the Top 100 movie insults of all time.(If bad language makes you cry, don't clip play.)Can you guess what's at No. 1?Movie insults, your Video Friday:

The Words over at Three Word Wednesday are admire, follow and piece. Yes, this is the latest I’ve ever turned in a #3WW. Wednesday, for me now, is production day for the newspaper. I’ve got to have it to bed (sent to the press) by 9:30 a.m. That means I get to work about

I continue to wonder what will happen to the Occupy Wall Street movement. Will it gain traction, or will it die?It is time for the politicians and the multinational corporations to start listening to the 99 percent, of which I find myself, even though I'm better off than most.I pray it happens. I pray people ris

My Twitter and Facebook streams were heavy this week with the passing of Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple, Inc.Not surprising, since I worked at the Fifth Avenue Apple store in NYC for 10 months.Along with collecting friends, you get a sense of what the company - and Jobs - are (were) all about: thinking in a way

The words over at Three Word Wednesday are eject, impact and render.Another Thursday Night in the ‘BurbsShe heard the impact before she felt it, which seemed odd to her, since what she really expected was something close to synchronicity. This was j

You can say that Steve Jobs has had an impact on my life. I bought my first Mac in 1984; I've never personally owned anyth

We're really not into schilling products here at The Tension - especially one that smells and tastes skunky - but you have to give it up for Heineken (and its ad agency, The Mill Company) for a series of very well done advertisements.Yeah, The Date doesn't make a lot of sense. It's not supposed to. It's got grea

The words over at Three Word Wednesday are cherish, guarantee and nausea. The Shells We BuildThere was no tenderness in his caress, not anymore. She felt like he was petting the dog when he mauled over her, a rough hand across her skin, an equal

It's a Holy Shit moment when you realize that 20 years ago, Nirvana released its second album called Nevermind.It's interesting to note that Curt Cobain, in the lead-up to this undertaking, was listening to bands like R.E.M., Pixies and The Smithereens as a way out of the Seattle grunge scene."Neverm

The words over at Three Word Wednesday are dull, race and yawn. Something short. And, hopefully, sweet. UnsettledThe yawn was stifled between his index and middle fingers. It’s cold, much too brisk for the track pants and old flannel shirt he’s fumbled i

I don't yet have a high-speed Interweb connection. I'm not sure when that's going to happen either, since in the wilds of Wyoming, things move at a very different pace.That said, I'm using my iPhone as a hotspot, knowing that my next mobile bill will give me the willies. So posts will be when I can get to them.

The words over at Three Word Wednesday are backward, ease and omission.Hopefully, by the end of the day, I will have a high-speed Interweb connection. Until then, I give you a drabble. Just a slip of fiction, in 100 words. ProstheticsShe counts

A tip of the hat to Diane Harriet Welch, who started this. The idea? Go A through Z in the alphabet with band names and a song. Everyone has different tastes. Some of mine are easy. Some, I used bands that I don’t think get enough credit. A: Adam Ant, “Dog Eat Dog”B: Bad Religion, “Sorrow

The words over at Three Word Wednesday are erode, heart and observe. Still no Interwebs in the wilds of Wyoming, so I have to muddle through. Alone In The DarkHe’s fairly certain there’s something wrong with his heart. It’s pumping a

The words over at Three Word Wednesday are drag, mumble and penetrate.I don’t yet have Interwebs in Wyoming, meaning I’m using my phone as a personal hot-spot. Reading contributions, for me, will be difficult. Sequestered She worries a

Headed out to Coney Island with friends recently to stare at the freaks (Coney Island is the only place in NYC where it's OK, even encouraged, to stare) and take in a free Cheap Trick concert.Free Cheap Trick? Hells yes.My friends were somewhat impressed about my brush with the band back in the summe

The words over at Three Word Wednesday are gasp, mute and viable.RandyThey both dreaded dinner and drinks, not because there was any animosity between them, not really. Fact was, they were nearly complete and total strangers – except they shared a c

I can say that Bobby McMullin or Redding, Calif., is a friend of mine.Not an acquittance or a passing friend during many years of talking and writing about people. Bobby is one of the good guys.He's blind. But he's got more guts and nuts than anyone I've ever met.Bobby, a two-time organ t

The words over at Three WordWednesday are drench, immune and radiate.MovementsWe pulled the mattress off the bed, the expensive one that was purchased in a previous life with a previous partner, and drug in into the backyard through French doors. The

Never say never.Nearly a year ago, this reporter said he'd unlikely ever again show his face in a newsroom. That it would have to be the right situation, one free of Corporate Overlords that squeeze and squeeze and squeeze the help, then let them go in mass layoffs while they themselves take obscene bonuses. OK,

Alas, this is my last attempt at photographing burlesque in NYC. It was a great show, as three of the performers were first-timers. The energy was great.Here's a glimpse of the shoot (for the rest, follow this link to my Tumblr blog):

I loves me some Bodega cats.Bodegas, for the uninformed, are basically convenience stores in NYC that sell everything from fresh oxtails to 40-ounce bottles of Olde English 800 to chips to cough syrup.It is up to the Bodega cat to keep the store free of rodents. This is the Bodega cat from my favorit

The words over at Three Word Wednesday are appear, dose and pierce.IndividualityThe boy’s mother thinks the black eye shadow will directly lead to his becoming the most infamous school shooter in U.S. history.She fears her shame, m

And when I say women of Rockabilly, I mean Wanda Jackson and Imelda May. I got the chance to see both women in concert this week, and man what a show.Jackson, 73, started off in country, met and dated a guy named Elvis and at his suggestion, started singing rock. She's played with Poison Ivy and Lux Interior of

The words over at Three Word Wednesday are banter, fumble and glance. A Sure ThingWe’re the whitest people in here and I say so, out loud, enough to get punched in the arm from my date, Grace, a woman with very pale skin and long, fine blond hair, t

For what seems like a very long time, I've been on the hunt for new music that hits me as hard as something sung by The Clash, or Television or Replacements. Many a good folk have given me recommendations and while I appreciate their efforts, I'm at a loss to see why their suggestions don't wow me.No, I do not l

The words over at Three Word Wednesday are early, jiggle and quality.SkinShe tapped a fuchsia-lacquered nail on bleached-white teeth, wary that the diamonds embedded into the finish would pop loose and ruin a perfectly good $49.95 manicure.

The words over at Three Word Wednesday are indecision, option and fate. This is the latest I’ve ever contributed, but things are afoot. I was traveling last week to my hometown and then to Wyoming to check out a job. These words were selected on my second day of the intervi