Ben East Books

Category: Humor?

  • Poe’s Pigeon: “Poop Galore”

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    Ben East
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    My son asks how my satire of The Raven is coming along. It’s stalled, I say, and explain the problem. The first seven stanzas, more than a third of the poem, have nothing to do with the bird. Yet the inspiration to write this satire flaps all around me, every day, unavoidable reminders of their own absurdity:…

  • Chinese Propaganda

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    Ben East
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    Now why should we doubt a video created by New China TV?       ##

  • Freedom! …and a Sammidge

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    Ben East
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    The scene last weekend in Raleigh, North Carolina, a state that has recorded 15,000 COVID-19 cases and over 550 deaths. Armed protesters, organized on a Facebook group called Blue Igloo, paraded through downtown carrying shotguns, pistols, and a sweet AT-4 anti-tank rocket launcher. Thanks Facebook! When they got hungry, they marched into a Subway restaurant (remember former…

  • No Joking, Dum-Dum

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    Ben East
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    This morning I received the bad news in the form of an email signed, “Sincerely Yours, Dum-Dums.” The disappointment? Dum-Dums lollipops Save Wraps Program is coming to an end! Now, I’m no distinguished and orderly candy wrapper saver (I’m no distinguished or organized anything), but the message did send my already quarantined spirits spiraling ever…

  • A Novel Coronavirus Novel

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    Ben East
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    Will sustained isolation lead to a baby boom or a novel boom? Long before COVID-19, the most recent novel coronavirus to come along, I’d toyed with the idea of writing a novel called A Novel. As is usually the case in the life of a novelist, however, I ran into a few problems right off…

  • COVID, or Covfefe?

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    Ben East
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    Covfefe is the sound of an old man choking on his attempt to say “COVID” While forced isolation has us looking for ways to pass the time at home, I look for something meaningful to read and settle on Poe. The meandering path of my literary pursuit began this morning with Book Fight!, a Podcast…

  • When I’m Not Writing

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    Ben East
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    This is what I write about when I’m not writing: Stuff I read The ice in my drink vs the bell around my cat’s neck Titles of books I’d like to write The news Rage at the universe when the universe applies its whims inexorably against my wishes Politics Things I think are funny but…

  • Coronavirus: the Culprit

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    Ben East
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    Russia’s meddling in the 2016 U.S. elections was followed by an endless litany of contorted efforts to pin the hack elsewhere, including on the Democratic National Committee,  a 14-year-old hacker, and the Chinese government. Most consistent among the alleged offenders was an unnamed Jersey tuba-lard. “…It could be Russia. And it could be China. And…

  • Cube Farm

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    Ben East
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    BOGIE, or Why I Wrote Patchworks My second novel addresses gun violence in America. It didn’t start out that way. Patchworks‘ protagonist, a millennial grad student interning for peanuts within a government bureaucracy, didn’t appear until several months into writing. And, angry as I felt to see America shredded over and over again by episodes of massive…

  • Swipe-N-Wipe?

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    Ben East
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    The Internet can solve a lot of problems, but not this one. Spotted this sign in heavy traffic on the stretch between Navi Mumbai and Mumbai proper. Never did spot the facility itself as promised, 100 meters on. Or was that the place where all the cyborgs were lined up, that most human of all…