Taken in August of 2007 in Brooklyn.
DAILY PHOTO: Coney Island Beach
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Author Archives: B Gourley
DAILY PHOTO: That Luang, Vientiane
Taken in January of 2019 in Vientiane, Laos.
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POEM: Sins & Skyscrapers
Once mankind invented the building, we needed to see how huge one could be built — how broad & how tall. If there was a Babel Tower, it’s testament to the disaster written in such ambition. If there wasn’t, there is still plenty of crushed bone to be found in archeological sites that certify the same.
Once mankind invented evil, the compulsion to see what grand scales it could reach swelled, as well. It’s written in our history.
Nothing can be endlessly stacked without groaning under its own weight — not even evil.
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POEM: Mountain, River, or Mirage
What is this world: mountain, river, or mirage?
When one arrives at the mountain
one finds a fixed collection of matter.
Sure, it’s slowly changing its arrangement,
bits of grit erode off,
cracks develop, splitting rock from boulder,
but the long-and-short of it is that it’s a bunch of stuff.
When one arrives at the river one finds it exists
but is never the same arrangement of stuff.
With the pass of a second of time,
it’s completely rearranged itself.
If one could ever reach the slyly retreating mirage,
one would find that it was purely an illusion —
or, more precisely, you’d never find it because it’s not there.
Maybe it’s all three combined in some way
that my mind can’t comprehend.
Maybe it’s none of the above —
and, instead, is something outside my capacity to imagine.
Yes. That’s probably it.
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POEM: The Scream
The scream that shears souls off like tear-away suits. On the gasp, those souls are sucked inside that wide mouth. So hot does the heat grow that it glows like a flaming pumpkin. The monster’s got a bellyful of souls, fired into a forge of rage.
Wild-eyed and never a child — birthed into a blind fury. Sightless, those wide eyes — all expression no vision. Like the teeth that aren’t free to chew, but none-the-less seem fierce in form.
It looks the part of one who hates love, loves hate, but knows neither.
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POEM: Unfamiliar Neighbors
In ancient days, it came this way,
and now it’s living among us.
What’s more, it seems, it’s here to stay.
It’s sunk its flag and worn its ruts.
It built its mansion where once stood huts.
It’s cattle graze the fallow land,
but something about it stirs the guts.
And now the people want it banned.
They’ve called a meeting, made their stand,
and found a verse by which to curse
it to a life in the southlands —
Where live the shunned, loathed, and perverse.
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DAILY PHOTO: Hungarian Village
Taken in the summer of 2011 in Szentendre, Hungary
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DAILY PHOTO: Mysuru Palace
Taken in Mysore in November of 2013.
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POEM: New Moon [a Triolet]
It’ll soon be a monsoon New Moon.
One spark will mar the perfect Dark.
Sure, leaves and debris will be strewn.
It Will be a Monsoon new moon,
but darkness brings its own view boon.
In darkness, mess can’t make its mark.
It’ll soon be a monsoon new moon.
A spark will mar that perfect Dark.
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BOOK REVIEW: Preacher, Book One by Garth Ennis
Preacher, Book 1 by Garth Ennis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
After hearing glowing praise about the television series, I picked up this volume, intending to watch the series and wanting to take in the source material. As both the television show and this book were available via Amazon Prime, I ended up reading it in a period overlapping with watching the first season. [I don’t recommend doing it that way. The comic book and series share the same basic premise, but are wildly different in the story details and even shared plot points are revealed in different ways or at different points in the story. One can end up conflating the two in confusing ways because they are neither so close nor different that the stories merge or completely distinguish themselves.]
The book involves an unwholesome but likeable trio who travel together in search of divine answers. The lead character is Jesse Custer, a preacher prone to cursing, drinking too much, and getting in brawls. Early in the telling of the story, we also learn that Custer has been granted a godly superpower – the ability to give people orders that override their freewill – which we learn is called “Genesis.” The other two characters are Tulip, Custer’s love interest, and Cassidy – an Irish Vampire who parties hard but has surprising levels of charism and good-naturedness for a member of the undead.
Book One contains a dozen issues. There are three distinct parts to the story. The first part (Ch. 1 – 4) not only introduces the story (in part through flashbacks as the three sit in a diner telling stories,) but it also shows the three being tracked down by “The Saint of Killers” — an old west gunmen that some angels hire to take out Custer because even the angels can be stopped by Custer’s “word,” i.e. Genesis.
In the middle part (Ch. 5 -7,) the trio heads to New York City in an effort to rendezvous with someone Cassidy knows who might be able to put them back on God’s trail. This puts them in the middle of a manhunt for a serial killer who’s been terrifying the city.
In the final part (Ch. 8 -12,) Custer and Tulip go back to Texas to fix Tulip’s debt problem, but they end up getting caught by two mysterious rednecks who turn out to be henchmen of Custer’s despicable grandma – who plays the role of lead villain throughout the remainder of the book. Chapters nine and ten are largely flashbacks that give the reader insight into Jesse’s background, why he’s so screwed up, and also answers a number of burning background questions.
I thought the ending point was a good place to end the volume. In serialized works I often end up focusing on the question of whether the collected issues present a full story arc. In this case, they did. It is true that a part of the resolution hinges on a bit of deus ex machina that is clearly meant to be part of the hook to keep people reading. However, they pile on the action so it’s easy to miss the importance of this inexplicable sleight of hand. Overall, I thought the story was skillfully delivered.
As many people will have seen the tv series, one point of interest might be whether it’s worth it for said individual to read the comics. As I said, the details of the story are quite different, and so even though the core characters are the same [in some cases only superficially so] and the central ideas (e.g. pursuit by St. of Killers and Genesis) are shared, it’s not the case that you’ll be rehashing the same story. As far as the quality of the two media, I thought they were on par. I’m not going to spout the bookish motto – i.e. “the book is always better.” In fact, I would say there is one way in which the TV show is much better, and that is the character of Tulip. In the comic book she is an unexciting character who largely serves as love interest and damsel in distress. In the show, she easily holds her own weight against the strong characters of Jesse Custer and Cassidy. But that said, I think it’s worth reading the comics and I don’t think a reader will be disappointed.
By way of warning, I should mention that, while it’s hard to pin a genre on this work [Neo-Western / Horror / Anti-hero story?] it is graphic in gore, language, and [though only sparsely] sexual activity.
This is a fun read. It’s a tense story, but has humor and characters to which a reader will be drawn. I’d recommend it for readers of horror and comic books.
