AUTHOR-SPEAK, HEART-SPEAK ~ Double*Feature Tuesday AT THE BIJOU with Barry J Northern and John Wiswell of Harbinger*33

AUTHOR-SPEAK  . . . HEART-SPEAK

Doesn't take Neil Young to get you in the mood for these next two Harbinger*33 authors I enjoy with a theatre-load of admiration here AT THE BIJOU.

But just in case you can not still hear Music Mike Whitney harmonizing "MoonGlow" (he played it for my birthday - it was better than requesting Misty), here's a touch of Mr Young for age-old messages . . .  

Characters have messages of their own.
  They sure do for their creator 
when they come to life.


Why? Glad you asked that question.  
BARRY NORTHERN IS INTERVIEWED
BY HIS VERY BARRY CHARACTERS!

  Yep, right out of the true grit sands of time of his desert mystic'classic, Chasing the Wind. Oh you'll enjoy this one. (Did Barry have fun! ~ Even more than usual for our Bar.)

excerpt,

HEART OF GOLD
from the Y of CSN&Y

I've been in my mind,
it's such a fine line
That keeps me searching
for a heart of gold
And I'm getting old.

Keeps me searching

for a heart of gold

Friends to no ends have mighty messages of their own. From a man who has endured much where pain and injustice try to hide out, came a gentle request to tip the single spotlight on the stage AT THE BIJOU his way.  


JOHN WISWELL makes a veritable difference when the man of The Bathroom Monologues, lit and wit personified, steps up and out of wry character . . . over an issue he finds much more than trying. Hear him out. His heart speaks gold. His friends are blessings when he reaches as they have.

Isn't that the way with hearts of gold

and desert tales of old?

~ Absolutely*Kate

and our fine staff of renown
for very fine authors of care and characters

*AT THE BIJOU*

JOHN'S HEART SPEAKS OUT ~ John Wiswell Stages Serious, AT THE BIJOU

JOHN'S HEART SPEAKS OUT

I’d like to thank Kate for giving me a little forum today. I’ll use it to tell you about Jemma and Shelly, the best couple I’ve ever met. They’ve outlasted every romance I’ve ever had, and every romance any friend of mine has ever had. They’re in a rough period and I’m going to ask you for a little help. First, how I know them.

They met at college. Perhaps unsurprising, it was a Liberal Arts college. Jemma was a Quaker from Virginia, while Shelly was a northerner with a strange affinity for Chinese literature. Shelly didn’t even know she was gay when they met. When I met them, they were already inseparable friends. Sometimes they would eat lunch and dinner at my table, called the Long Table because our group of friends grew too big and we had to push two normal tables together to fit everyone. It was one of the most important settings of my life because everything was open to a friendly humor. Comparative religion, blowjobs gone wrong, Bush winning a second term – everything conveyed in the humor of acceptance, which I have pursued in my writing ever since.

It’s in that spirit that I say, if they didn’t know they were in love, I did. And this is from a man who has no gaydar. A gay professor once told me about stalking his boyfriend and I came away from it oblivious that he was gay. I could tell about Jemma and Shelly not because of social stereotypes, but just how they were to each other. They were so bonded, so warm, and arrived together so frequently, that I just assumed they were a couple. Sorry if I beat you to the realization, ladies.

They have been two of my dearest friends for years. They are often the first to see my newest short stories. My half-crippled body made a very rare trek across country to be at their wedding (there’s a photo somewhere of me trying to lift the two of them for a hug in their wedding dresses). When my family went so broke we couldn’t afford groceries, they found a local grocery store online and ordered a delivery for me. The night before my gallbladder surgery they were so worried that I had to call them to calm them down. A week later, when I was finally able to sit up at the computer again, the first thing I saw on GMail was Shelly’s status: “Missing John.”

They live in Virginia. Both worked at the same employer, which I won’t name because I don’t want to get my friends in trouble. Jemma mostly worked in the library and records, while Shelly was on the tech side.

In the last year Jemma became very ill. Her energy and appetite were sapped, so that many days she could barely get out of bed. On her good days a simple surprise like a door slamming would shock her and put her right back in bed. In addition, Jemma’s arms became incredibly tender, such that she couldn’t type on a computer, let alone stock bookshelves. She underwent a battery of tests, but the best her doctors came up with was that this condition was similar to Chronic Fatigue. Seeking treatment for an unknown disease has been arduous. Seeking it while fighting a torrent of paperwork from her disgruntled employers on made it worse.

Shelly took extra jobs to make up the slack. She helped a novelist with computer problems and took care of people’s pets. When she came down with Lyme’s Disease, she had to soldier through it. When she fell on the campus steps and hurt her knee, she limped through it. She had to work.

A few weeks ago they fired Shelly. It had nothing to do with her performance; they were “eliminating her position.” That was odd since she was one of two people responsible for a great number of services in the department, and the other woman is quitting before the Fall term. Who will pick up their work, they didn’t say.

So right now these two are out of work. They’ll lose their health insurance when they need it the most and they’re wading through a historically bad job market. That’s where we come in.

I started a pledge drive to lend Jemma and Shelly a hand. You can find it at this link: http://pledgie.com/campaigns/11015 I encourage everyone to visit the page. Spread the banner wherever you like. If you can spare a few dollars, please consider contributing. Your donations will go to keeping the lights on and getting them to the doctor in a very rough period. They are not going to coast on your generosity; I know them, and as soon as they can do anything, they will. But we can help them in the mean time.

Thank you.
~ John 

John's note prefaced the zeal of John's feeling ~

 *********************************************************************

Kate,

You previously offered to do a post sometime for the Fleming-Meyer

Aid Drive, so long as I wrote it. That was very fair of you, and the

offer extremely kind. Following is the story for the aid drive,

including the link. - right here: http://pledgie.com/campaigns/11015

Whatever attention you can drum up would be wonderful. 

This couple really needs a hand.

  Thanks for all the fish, captain.

      Cheers,

        John

*********************************************************************

We've all gotta follow the way our feel zeals. John's LongTable not only shaped his writing's zeal as well, but carried a lot of care. That's the stuff of life you DO bring home from college. Can you help a friend you know this day? Can you help our friend John's friends? What you can do makes any piece of the world you're in . . . all that better. Good vibes make a difference 

~ Absolutely they do.  ~ Kate 

To aid John Wiswell's friends ~

Fleming-Mayer Aid Drive

EVOLVE ~ By Absolutely*Kate, captaining Harbinger*33 on a #Flashing Friday

Hello fine fellow FridayFlashers who have welcomed me in to the lit and wit of your superb writing midst. I'm still amidst birthday celebrations with the enrichments of Life ~ folks who matter, so fittingly I'm sharing the reflection of how EVOLVE enters one's psyche . . . Do enjoy and know as this weekend shakes down, I'm off to explore all the More of YOU!

Thanks the way I know best, wholeheartedly,
~ Absolutely*Kate

E V O L V E

Intuited by ~ Absolutely*Kate

We are given the shadows and the light, both equidistant to themselves. It's not choosing either. It's finding out both are of equal sum of significant value. Mirrors and illusion give way to trust and inner-know. As nature abhors vacuum, lessons vortex in - the more we open, the more they flow. Evolve spins eons in a day.

(C) 2009 ~ Author/Muser, Absolutely*Kate

Published various literary sites; Quite at home here

 
Absolutely*Kate believes in believers, befitting a prolifically creative person, vibrantly alive and well.Writer/Designer, Promoter-Publisher at the confluence of two rivers in Connecticut's smallest city of renown, she is director of RiverView Studios where books are underway and creative collaborations are having their encouraged say.

Both HARBINGER*33, the upcoming book and ongoing author/artist promotion-sensation, and AT THE BIJOU are creations which bring her joy and pride . . . for Creative Writing Spirits are the wellspring of a life well'lived. SHE THANKS YOU THE WAY SHE KNOWS BEST, (wholeheartedly), for comin' 'round AT THE BIJOU to sit in our red velvet rows before Writers' Raves as they (naturally) become perpetual Readers' Faves. 

COME BACK for

* BARRY NORTHERN'S desert classic,

CHASING THE WIND *

all next week, 

plus a heartfelt message

from MR JOHN WISWELL

~ The staff of eloquent renown . . . 

* AT THE BIJOU *

LOOKING AT LIFE FROM BOTH SIDES NOW ~ Double*Feature Thursday and Tuesday AT THE BIJOU

The dark side into evil

The light side where goodness rises

*AT THE BIJOU*

presents both sides now

with a return from a renowned writer

and a debut of a PR'gal which surprises

JOHN WISWELL

AND

KIM URIG

tale it . . . as they see it

POSSIBLE ORIGINS FOR HIM. 1. ~ By John Wiswell of Harbinger*33

THE SHOWS MUST GO ON!

JOHN'S ALWAYS DOES

CUE SOUND:  Here's an audio recording

of the wizard Wiswell performing his cinematic monologue 

~ JUST LISTEN IN 

Starring John Wiswell as ~

Possible Origins For Him. 1.

By ~ John Wiswell 

I wasn’t bombarded by cosmic rays. My parents weren’t shot and a clown didn’t fly through my window as I was calculating revenge. I like clowns, though. They aren’t scary or menacing. You make them that way, when all they want to do is make you smile. They don’t care if you’re a Muslim or emo or President of these United States. You could have the codes to all the nuclear weapons in the world, and all a clown wants to do is make you chuckle. That’s why he scares you – he’s unhinged from your forced habits. I like that.

I wasn’t a clown. I was a pharmacist. Used sugar and food coloring to put smiley faces on lollipops for kids who didn’t want to take their medicine. That’s my story. Day after day. Lollipop after lollipop. The child comes in crying and leaves happy, sucking on grape or lime. Mom comes in frowning, fakes a smile for the pharmacist, puts up with his antics, then, when she’s paid and thinks she’s out of eyeshot, goes back to frowning. Mom’s smile isn’t real, kids, no matter how much sugar and food coloring you put on it. You’ve got to follow her into the parking lot, climb into the back seat, catch her by the scalp and dig in there with a straight razor if you want to give her a smile that won’t go away. That’s my story.

But that’s also small scale. Eventually a clown’s got to play to bigger audiences. You’ve got to put money away. 401K – not for retirement, but terrorism. A pharmacist can make a lot, especially when he does his shifts alone and tampers with the billing. And he has access to so many handy chemicals – wholesale!

Adults will pay anything for their drugs. It helps them fake things. I handed them their Rx lies, and rang up the bill. That’s what I’m serving everybody now. Grape, lime, and the bill. This isn’t a trench coat – it’s a lab coat dyed purple! I want to see you laugh, Gotham. I want to see your smile. Not the one you put on when you walk by security guards and bar tenders. You just insist on turning back into pumpkins at midnight when your fairytale fix of alcohol wears off. And if you’re going to insist turning back into pumpkins, then I’m going to carve you like a Jack O’Lantern. I’ll find that smile in there somewhere. That’s my story.

(c) 2010 ~ Author John Wiswell

A characteristic hit from the parade @ The Bathroom Monologues

ABSOLUTELY*KATE: Well John, you certainly creeped me out in your wacky mind goes wild-wise . . . but, while I catch my breath and turn the house lights back on -- all of them -- Would you tell the nice folks AT THE BIJOU what's shaking down with you and your prolific writing? Any announcements? 

JOHN: The Announcement:

2010 has been kind to my writing thus far:

Right now you can read my crime story, “Helping the Nice Guy,” over on Short-Story.Me, my tiny story about the Puzzlemaker’s Wife at Tweet the Meat, and sensate into my zombie story, “The Strange Case in East Parish,” over on Alien Skin Magazine. I have tales forthcoming at Flash Fiction Online, 10Flash, Untied Shoelaces of the Mind, the #fridayflash anthology and the legendary Weird Tales. They are about, respectively: alligators tunneling under a guy’s house, two men chatting on a foggy lake, a man trying to marry himself, the military being banned from anywhere gay people might be as to not put soldiers in uncomfortable positions, and selling storks as a viable alternative to birth. I’m enormously grateful to these sites and magazines for their support. FFO will be my first pro-rate sale and doing anything with Weird Tales is a dream of many Fantasy and Horror writers.

ABSOLUTELY*KATE: Why that's funny John ~ A nightmare writer enjoying dreams. Sure makes sense though as you flush out flashes of something new every day at your BATHROOM MONOLOGUES. How many are piling up there now? OH -- SORRY! When I got rattled listening to your Jokester monologue, our local Phantom AT THE BIJOU pulled a switcheroo on your photo. Forgive me?

JOHN:  
Recently past 1,000 stories.

Yes Captain Kate, you're forgiven.

You plug rather prolifically yourself.

Cheers, all.

THANKS JOHN!

You scared up a great time for all of us once again.

~ Absolutely*Kate
  and our fine staff of renown

  *AT THE BIJOU*

DOUBLE*FEATURE THURSDAYS & TUESDAYS

~ AT THE BIJOU ~
*** It's Double*Feature THURSDAY! ***


PRESENTING 2 ~ yes 2 ~ BLOCKBUSTER AUTHORS
for a very good cause . . .

Why?
Fools ask 'why?' ~ Wise folks seldom try.
But sure ~ I'll tell you. Multitudes of Great Folks around the webwide writing community are getting together in any creative way possible to help out one of their own ~

" BE WELL, JOHN WISWELL "
Link your hearty help to a donation drive
to help a fellow-writer really jive,
The story's just below and so is
a very classy dame by the name
of ~ PEGGY McFARLAND.

Now Peggy said it's an honour
to appear on any marquee with John,
and John is pleased as ... well,
salt water splashes
to be in the swim with Peg.

I say this harbingers well with a dynamic duo
presenting quite a show for Your Viewing Pleasure!

* * * * * * * * * * *

AT THE BIJOU presents
"The Bathroom Monologues" man,
with a whole new splash of *flush fiction*
from an irrepressible lady . . .

Yes.
You heard me.

R E A D I T.
You'll see.

And help out our buddy John.
Your spirit will know how.
You'll see.

* * * * * * * * * * *

And we'll see You ... in the front row or the balcony ~
THURSDAYS & TUESDAYS, AT THE BIJOU!


Each Thursday, Each Tuesday, your viewing pleasure
will not only be titillated (and who amongst us does not want their pleasures titillated?), by two grand writers appearing in a particular place with a particular following on a particular day . . . but stay, stay awhile ~
chance a glance on other seasoned scrawls
AT THE BIJOU in your one-stop action-break,
and carouse your browse on the "Showcase Show*Off" wall,
over to the right for more golden oldies our featured attractions are right proud of.

* * * * * * * * * * *

~ RECENT STARRING ATTRACTIONS below ~

** CLASSY PAUL BRAZILL ** HARRY B-COOL SANDERFORD **

** LADY JEANETTE CHEEZUM ** SCARY JODI MacARTHUR **

and that ** ABSOLUTELY*KATE ** shows up here and there


WILL YOU BE NEXT
** AT THE BIJOU? **


Follow Our Blog*Lists showcasing some of the most prolific writers
and sensational write'site collections in Web*City.

Remember folks, you heard it here first.

NOW, GET YOUR SEATS IN THEIR BEST UPRIGHT POSITION,
PULL OUT MILK DUDS AND REACH FOR POPCORN


** IT'S JOHN! ** IT'S PEGGY! **
It's a Bathroom Monologue and Flush Fiction
It's 2 - 2 - TWO TREATS at once!


~ This has been an Absolutely*Kate promotional message,
which is one of the things she does best, believing in believers . . .

* T * H * A * N * K * Y * O * U *
See you AT THE BIJOU next Tuesday,
come rain or come shine!

D. A. E. ~ by John Wiswell of Harbinger*33

BRIDGING WORLDS, BUT VIA HIS OWN PERSPECTIVE, is the John Wiswell who brings about the guffaw and not the gaffe . . . he who turns out unconventional tale after twistified tale ~ thereby gusting our laugh. John sends a Bathroom Monologue's piece from his old Perspectives line, fake news items that provide a weird perspective on something . . .

Lascivious Ladies
and Rebel Rogues

*** NOW PLAYING ****

*** AT THE BIJOU ***

D.A.E.
~ by the far flung murky-mirth of John Wiswell

Demons Against Exorcism is a grassroots organization that is either entirely composed of demons or has no demons at all, depending on how skeptical you are. The demons in question have 100% willing and agreeable hosts who do not want to see their companions evicted.

“It’s my body, my choice,” says Sarah Stockman, who will have been possessed for six years next month. Her parents were initially uncomfortable with her lifestyle, but grew to accept it after her demon ceased making her writhe in public. Following a popular tolerant trend, the Stockmans have nothing against writhing in private.

The demons provide no rent, being incorporeal and generally bad at finances. Unlike poltergeists, they are not very helpful at moving things around the house.

“A possession isn’t a business relationship,” says Paul Pensly, who has been passionately possessed for two years and doesn’t see the honeymoon enthusiasm fading. “It’s about companionship, knowing this infernal buddy of mine will be there when I’ve had a long day, lost a bar fight, or whenever I just need to talk. I never go to the movies alone now."

Some people do note advantages to the possessions, however. Sarah Stockman landed a job in the Foreign Languages department of a community college thanks to her ability to speak in tongues. An anonymous Indian-American possessee in Ohio claims his demon once possessed Aristotle and now helps him breeze through textbooks. College Board is currently devising a counter-demon measure to prevent possession-based cheating on its SAT exams, a measure Demons Against Exorcism calls "the worst kind of bigotry."

(c) John Wiswell

"There you go. Hope it helped you laugh,
to balance out the recent sadness
my circumstances have caused you.
I haven't enjoyed them much either.

"I appreciate AT THE BIJOU's request to highlight my work. Any attention is good attention. Just a shame I won't be around to field the comments and/or complaints over my piece. I don't know how far the pledge drive can go, but it's already surpassed my expectations by passing 10%. There are some wonderfully generous people out there. " ~ John

JOHN WISWELL'S SURGERY IS TOMORROW, Friday, November 20th.John's relating of the surgery over his neuromuscular condition is here and the pledge drive donation fund is here. If your heart or circumstances have the ability to help this cause, then go for it.

Life is all about relationships ~ borrowing a scrawl from John's bio wall, "The constant, unmedicatable pain has left me with a good sense of humor and humility. It's also left me with some ridiculous beliefs, such as that you've got to keep the good people you find, no matter where they were born or what logo is on their shirt. I firmly believe we need a sense of humor in everything, not only making fun of what we hate or would like to change, but what we hold most dear."

To me, aboard the Harbinger*33, John IS gentle wisdom, wild wit and sharp perspective, a new friend to no end. His words have joyed me and he even joined my ESPN pigskins pickem's group with some of the sportier sailors on the upper deck. Now that's a lot of yardage. Likewise in yardage are wide pass patterns John's trusty keyboard has rifle-armed to over 20 magazines, websites and contests. Past that mixed metaphor, we're all rooting for the Wis to score!

Prayers and good, good, good vibrations are around you John . . . Honoured we all are that your keen view of life hails aboard Harbinger*33, sailing to its publishing journey of manifesting destinies.

~ FORTITUDE AND HEALING, with FairWinds, Favourable Seas
~ Absolutely*Kate and readers of your distinctive voice all the more