Sun Is A Tank On Fire

(Seriously, if you are at all offended by perverse sexual depictions, do not read this short story. Or at least skip the section that begins with "Sometimes she would snoop". Now that you've been fairly warned.... enjoy!) It all started when... A girl came into my life during the Second Recession, she brought with her two handfuls of heartache and a heavy dose of love. I insisted on examining everything equally, but instead was met with a telescope that could see only into the future. I told her a great deal could be learned by exploring the past, but she couldn't put that telescope down.      A lifetime is a long time to be unhappy. Between us, we shared sixty years of delusion and the world hasn't stopped spinning even once. Several moments were close encounters, comet fly-bys, but we just blinked as the danger raced by at 20,000 mph.      "I feel like we're doing that," I said.      "What?" she asked. I blinked and s...

I went over to where she had stood and placed my feet in the exact two spots where her feet used to be just moments ago. In an attempt to recreate what life would be like at 4 feet tall, I squatted down in the aisle and peered up at the shelves of food looming before me. I scanned the myriad selection of canned soups and stretched my arms high, but struggled to reach the New England Clam Chowder. Being 4 feet tall would exclude my number one pick from the dinner list, forcing me one shelf lower to where the less desirable soups were kept. Damn, life at this altitude sucks. I pivoted around while still crouched down low, sort of like a goose waddle, and slid my empty grocery basket toward the opposite shelf. After flipping the basket over, I climbed onto it and was able to reach a jar of bread & butter pickle spears. Score! I climbed back down, erected myself once again, and dropped the jar of pickles into the basket. Upon looking up I noticed a mother and child halfway down the a...

Self evaluation 101: Where am I in this life? What am I doing now, and how has that changed from years prior? In what direction am I headed? What is the state of my mind, body and spirit? Have I learned how to love? Do I want to live and die alone? Am I serious about my writing? Am I an alcoholic? Are corduroy pants ever going to make an official comeback? Okay let's break it down, one question at a time. I am in Salem, Oregon, situated on the west coast amidst the rain and mountains, snuggled close to an ocean I seldom see. I live in a beautiful area of an enormously magnificent landmass, which I seldom explore. This is where I am physically. Where am I mentally? Rewinding. With every new year tacked onto my existence I find myself going backwards in thought. Why was I born? To what purpose? What am I supposed to do with this life of mine that feels so damaged and bruised? Why can't I remember my childhood? I want to, I really do. I want to remember everything: birthdays, sc...

     The rain continued pouring as he walked down the sidewalk towards the shopping center. His cargo shorts and light, cotton zip-up Etnies hoodie didn't provide much protection from the water, but he didn't care. This was Oregon, after-all. He adjusted his camera around his neck and tucked it deeper into his soaked clothing.      "Shit," he though to himself, wishing he had left it home instead. Earlier, when he left the apartment, it was a perfect evening for a photo walk. And now the temperamental mood of the west coast skies had shifted against his favor.      It was still nice to be walking, regardless of the weather. He just hoped his desire to burn calories didn't destroy his camera in the process. His journey lead him down the length of Senate Street and across Rosemont Ave. Upon reaching the intersection he noticed a Coca-Cola bottle lying on its side on the pavement against the curb. Stopping momentarily, he gaze...

For those of you who aren't in the know, the rapture will occur tomorrow. Did you notice the usage of the verb 'will' in that sentence? Yes it was intentional, and yes I'm quoting someone else. Do I believe God is coming back tomorrow? Um, no, but let me tell you who does... Harold Camping. This guy has spent thousands of dollars posting the May 21st prophecy signs (like you see above) on 2,000 billboards nationwide. He's very serious about this, as are many others I'm sure. I'm guessing he overlooked the part of the Bible (Deuteronomy) that says false prophecy is punishable by death. Oopsie! Well look, I'm not here to debate or discuss the Christian religion or the myriad ways that the fundamentalist wackos taint it, I'm just here to write one more blog entry in case all of this is true. You see, if millions of people disappear tomorrow there's a good chance the internet will be affected, and I don't want my last words to be a silly poem ...

fritz a pig's bloodshot eye peering through the key hole, "open the fucking door!" he says, as good times give way to madness. on one side, the law on the other side, the raw... sex stuffed into pipes and cats scratching back at nature. what a wonderful wiggly world. poem by Mick Tomlinson

I'll just let the video speak for itself. Keep it together, bitches!

This is a photo blog of my recent family vacation in Baltimore, Maryland. I took a Saturday night flight out of Portland, Oregon and arrived in Wilkesbarre/Scranton Pennsylvania on Sunday morning. Mom & Dad picked me up at the airport and we drove back to Mifflinville, PA where they live. We stayed there for a few days and then headed down to Baltimore for the next few days. Mom, Dad, sister, nephew and me, together in one vehicle. We stayed in an upscale Marriott Hotel right on the harbor, which was nice, but a little too richy-rich for my taste. Day one was spent at the Baltimore Zoo, here are some pics: Meet mom & dad. Meet sister & nephew. Good times! Let's move on. The following day was our trip to the Baltimore Aquarium, which was badass and my personal favorite of our three destinations. Here, have a look: Our last day in Baltimore was spent at the Science Center, but I didn't get very many pictures there since I got food poisoning from dinner ...

This will be a life update blog with a few current events sprinkled in for good measure. I have so much to talk about, I really don't know where to begin. How about this: I just got back home (to Oregon) from a week-long vacation visiting family on the east coast, and let me tell you, it was exhausting. I feel bad for what I'm about to say, especially since there's a slight chance some of my family will read this (doubtful though, since I've been writing poems/blogs/short stories online for many years now and none of them seem to notice). I should probably add an "in their defense" to what I just said in parentheses. In their defense, it's probably a good thing they don't read everything I write. I am well aware that some of the stories and poems I write are not G-rated, and quite often I tend to test peoples' emotional and personal boundaries, but all I really want is for them to recognize that I've dedicated myself to something my entire li...

Once upon a time there lived a butterscotch butterfly with beautiful wings that shimmered in golden delight whenever the sunlight would hit them. He would spend his days fluttering from one flower to the next, and every time his magical feet would touch down, the flower would instantly turn into butterscotch. All the little creatures of the forest loved this. They would hurry over to where it landed and lick the sweet butterscotch treat that used to be a flower. This made everyone happy, that is, except for the butterscotch butterfly. You see, this little magic butterfly had only one wish, and it wasn't to turn flowers into tasty treats. He wanted to race go-karts! All through the day and all through the night, the butterscotch butterfly would dream of racing the go-karts that zipped around the go-kart track in the field next to where he lived. Every weekend the human kids would show up with their parents, and every weekend those kids would laugh and laugh as they raced their lit...

I am sad. I'm sad because I'm lonely again. I'm lonely again because love has tricked me one more time. If relationships have 1,000 pitfalls, I've found myself in 900 of them for sure. As time passes by and relationships fail, I find my energy dissipating, and the vigor I once had gets lost somewhere in the heartache. This probably sounds really lame coming from a guy, but hey, we have our soft moments too.  I like love. I like being in love. I miss my girlfriend. Now that we are over, I find myself thinking about how much I loved her, and how much she loved me. I'm saddened by the fact that I could never match the level of passion that she had. I think I let her down, even though I was doing the best I could. We both let each other down in different ways, but I lament my inability to reassure her just how much I loved her. I miss her, I hope she is doing well. While I'm on the subject, I'd like to play a song for you. Grab your headphones first, because...

     "I miss her," Mike said as he reached across the table and scooped up the dice. He held them in his hand for a moment, inspecting the black dots as he jostled the two white cubes against each other, watching them change from 11 to 4, then to snake eyes. "Shit, man, she was so cool. Remember that night you first met her? When she was allowed to play on our poker night?" He gave the dice a good shake and released them onto the table.      Andrew looked down at Mike's roll and pondered for a moment before replying, "Uh, yeah, I remember, you dick. You're talking about the night when one unknown chick cleaned house and went home with all of our money, right? Most of us haven't forgiven you for that, just so you know." Andrew let a feint smile appear as he picked up the pencil and jotted down the new score. "She really was something to watch, I've never seen anyone play poker like that before." He grabbed the dice in both hands ...

I've been trying to keep an eye on the recent developments in Libya, trying to determine whether the good ol' Red White & Blue will be ensnared in yet another war. Obama says "No!" to implementing ground troops, I say he's full of shit and will do it anyway. We already have covert CIA operatives within the borders doing who-knows-what to who-knows-who, so it's just a matter of time. This puppet is no different from the others, and the military industrial complex is very, very hungry. I can hear it's belly growling even from the solitude of my apartment: "Me hungry! Feed me! Gaddafi... Muslims... Al Qaeda... Iraqis... Afghans... Feed me!" Speaking of Al Qaeda, I heard they are fighting with the Libyan rebel forces, which is odd, because I was lead to believe Al Qaeda was the terrorist organization responsible for 9/11. So, if they are on the rebels' side and we are on the rebels' side, that means we're aiding them in their onsl...

It's tax time and I owe Uncle Sam six bucks. Every year I play with the numbers, trying to get what we owe each other down to zero. This time around I almost nailed it. A small part of me wants to send in a check for the amount of 5.99, just to see if Mr. Suit & Tie IRS guy is really on his game. A penny. Would he catch it? And if he did, would he send me that dreadful letter stating how I underpaid and that I still owe Uncle Sam another penny? Hmm, I wonder... This past month was a bitch, financially speaking. First off, I had to purchase my plane ticket so I can fly to Pennsylvania in April ( -425 ). Secondly, I have a new car that I'm making payments on now, so there's another added expense ( -300 ). Insurance is higher ( -100 ). My Toshiba laptop crapped out on me, so I got a brand new Asus ( -550 ). Rent came due, like always ( -425 ). And now for the real kicker: Just the other week I was drinking a few gin & tonics, trying to get some writing done, when ...

When I was in college, freshman year, I worked part-time at the McDonald's to earn fun money. I was still at that point in life when a kid defines "fun" as Magic The Gathering games on a Friday night instead of poker. It turns out all the other "kids" were more socially advanced than I was, they didn't have to work at McDonald's for their fun money. I finally learned how to play poker just last month. I'm 34. I did, however, learn how to tap into my grown-up rage at a very early age. Jeannie, the skinny blonde who worked the register while I dropped fries into a boiling grease vat in the back, was a local girl working for her own fun money. She wasn't in college though, she was in a gang. After a few blowjobs and the promise of future sex, I was lured into her violent circle of friends. Suddenly, and without initiation, I had become a Cue Dawg. I roamed the campus with a mixed group of guys and girls, mostly guys & mostly black. At ni...

I have managed to paint myself into a corner. As I stand here with my back against the wall surveying the fresh coat of paint all around me, I look down at my feet and realize I've limited myself to six inches in every direction. I look across the room and see my girlfriend trapped by the same brushstrokes, trembling and crying and trapped in her own corner, crouched down and hugging her knees tight against her chest. To my left is a sliding glass door that exits to the outside balcony. It is open and I can feel the gentle breeze of life as it rushes in and swirls around my body, taunting me with its freedom. There is a cat poised on the railing, tail twitching wildly as it stares down at something of interest and meows loudly. I look back at my girlfriend. She now has her arm extended out, hovering and slowly moving in front of her, her index finger pointed down creating streaks in the floor in front of her. She is finger painting. Her lines take the shape of letters, words spel...

I could hear a beeping sound coming from the adjacent room which sounded like a microwave that finished cooking and was now in 30 second alert mode. I tried to turn my head in that direction, but found it to be impossibly painful. I wasn't sure if my neck was broken or my head was tied down, since the rest of my body was forcefully inactive too. I tried to move my legs, nothing... my arms, nothing. There were dozens of localized points of pain all over my body, the worst being around my chest and waist area. It felt as though parts of me were on fire, but not fully engulfed in flames. The only motion I could muster was a slight tilt forward with my head, just enough to see several crochet-sized silver needles protruding from my chest, rising and falling with each labored breath I took. I dropped my head back and as I tried to remember what happened and how I got here, foot steps approached from my left. A small woman appeared next to me and placed her hand on my shoulder as she l...

I was standing in line at Carl's Jr for lunch the other day trying to decide what to order. As I neared the register the worker asked me what I would like and I said, "A taco and a spicy chicken sandwich, please." After pushing several buttons he looked up and asked me if I wanted a hard or soft taco to which I answered, "Umm... let me get it hard." Within seconds of my reply I heard childish laughter erupt directly behind me, and as I turn around I see a kid standing there giggling at me. He was maybe 12 years old, and while he laughed he held a few folded dollar bills up to his mouth as if trying to somewhat conceal his comedic outburst. For a brief moment I truly couldn't figure out what was funny, but there was no one else around and he was looking/laughing directly at me. I started to ask what was so humorous when suddenly it hit me, "Umm.. let me get it hard." Hahaha, oh man! There was nothing I could do except join in on the kid's reve...

Revelation 23 poem by Mick Tomlinson Difficult to go back and retrace the hurt that lead me here, though I try, through toxic inhales and half a breath, I try. And the monster that escapes my mouth in the form of regressed anger pretends to be an exhale, one after another, moment after aching moment. My belly leads me through life, meals perfectly suited to go down and take no pleasure in the fat parts of my body. I find comfort in the taste of excess, and in the rich delight of dessert in golden inches that finds its way inside me every time. But that's not it, this isn't where it begins and ends.. oh no, there is so much more. You didn't just loosen my spirit, you devoured it whole, like a snake swallowing its neighbor. And I am now swelling inside you just as you were once in me, a bulbous cancerous turning you to tears, I hope. When trying to comprehend, I think about the sun exploding: a supernova jacking the space around it, unexpectedly fuckin...