#branch rickey

[coolthingsguyslike]

#Jackie Robinson #Branch Rickey #Brooklyn #Dodgers #baseball

[fortunaegloria]

Harrison Ford as Branch Rickey in 42 (2013) dir. Brian Helgeland

#harrison ford #branch rickey #42 #42 movie #42 a história de uma lenda #42: a história de uma lenda #movieedit #filmedit #mine #meus #his performance in this movie is oscar worthy #this movie is perfect

[newyorkthegoldenage]

Jackie Robinson was signed to the Montreal Royals, the Triple A team of the Brooklyn Dodgers, on October 23, 1945. Pictured alongside Robinson are Royals president Hector Racine, Branch Rickey Jr. and Royals vice president Romeo Gauvreau. Just a year and a half later, he would make his big-league debut as the first black player in the modern era.

Photo: AP via the NY Times

#New York #NYC #vintage New York #1940s #baseball #Jackie Robinson #Brooklyn Dodgers #Branch Rickey #Montreal Royals #October 23 #Oct. 23 #Hector Racine #Romeo Gauvreau

[esmethenightdemon]

love and baseball

moneyball (2011) // 42 (2013)

#moneyball #billy beane #42 movie #42 #branch rickey #brad pitt #harrison ford #mlb #baseball #major league baseball #web #web weaving #parallels #i could probably find more but really how can i beat that moneyball quote #i love it more than most things

[gummyartstradingcards]

#branch rickey #baseball #baseball cards #card art

[betweenthebasepaths]

I was as green as grass and happy as a kid with his first fish on the line, being out there with the players I'd dreamed about.

-Branch Rickey, on his first season playing with the Cincinnati Reds

#Baseball #Branch Rickey #Rookie #cincinnati reds

[biblebloodhound]

Don't Be Afraid (Matthew 17:1-9)

We need the courage to stand alone, love people, and listen to our gut.

Transfiguration by Sieger Köder (1925-2015) After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good…

View On WordPress

#afraid #branch rickey #bravery #Christ #christian belief #christian discipleship #christian faith #christian life #christian love #christian mission #christian spirituality #christianity #courage #disciples #faith #fear #fearful #gospel of matthew #jackie robinson #jesus christ #love #matthew 17 #moses #thomas a kempis #transfiguration #transfiguration sunday

[soberscientistlife]

Charles W. Follis, aka. "The Black Cyclone," was the first Black professional American football player. He played for the Shelby Blues of the "Ohio League" from 1902 to 1906. In 1904, Follis signed a contract with Shelby making him the first black contracted to play professional football. He was also the first black catcher to move from college baseball onto a black professional baseball team.

He was born in Cloverdale, Virginia. The Follis family moved to Wooster, Ohio, where he attended Wooster High School and participated in organizing and establishing the first varsity football team. He played right halfback and served as team captain on a squad that had no losses that year.

In 1901, Follis entered the College of Wooster. Rather than playing football for the college, he played for the town’s amateur football team – the Wooster Athletic Association.

In 1904, he signed a contract with the Shelby Athletic Club, later the Shelby Blues. With that contract, he became the first professional African American football player. Follis played on the team with Branch Rickey, the Ohio Wesleyan University student and future Brooklyn Dodger owner who would sign Jackie Robinson to integrate MLB

Like other players who integrated sport teams, Follis faced discrimination. Players on opposing teams targeted Follis with rough play that resulted in injuries. At a game in Toledo in 1905, fans taunted him with racial slurs until the Toledo team captain addressed the crowd and asked them to stop. In Shelby, Follis joined his teammates at a local tavern after a game; the owner denied him entry. At the Thanksgiving Day game of the 1906 season, He suffered a career-ending injury.

Follis turned to baseball, a sport he played for many years in the spring and summer. Having played for the Wooster College and in the Ohio Trolley League, Follis was an experienced baseball player, but could only play in segregated baseball leagues. He played for the Cuban Giants, a black baseball team, as a catcher.

Source: African Archives

#black history month

[vintage1981]

Actress and Author, Lara Parker, of Dark Shadows, Passes at 84

Lara Parker, who found the role of a lifetime at just 28 years old when she was cast by Dark Shadows producer Dan Curtis as the beautiful, vengeful and altogether evil witch Angelique Bouchard Collins, died October 12 in her sleep in Los Angeles following a battle with cancer. She was 84.

Her death was announced by producer Jim Pierson of Dan Curtis Productions, on behalf of Parker’s family.

“I’m heartbroken, as all of us are who knew and loved her,” said her Dark Shadows co-star and longtime friend Kathryn Leigh Scott in a statement. “She graced our lives with her beauty, talent and friendship, and we are all richer for having had her in our lives.”

Parker was born Mary Lamar Rickey on Oct. 27, 1938, in Knoxville, Tennessee. Her father, Albert, was an attorney, and her mother, Ann, was active in civic groups.

She graduated from Central High School in Memphis and attended Vassar — she roomed with Jane Fonda there — and Rhodes College in Memphis, where at 19 she served as Wink Martindale’s assistant on his WHBQ-TV show, Dance Party. She then earned a master’s degree from the University of Iowa.

Parker, who also authored four popular Dark Shadows-related novels from 1998-2016, arrived on the supernatural soap opera in 1967, not long after Canadian actor Jonathan Frid had been cast as vampire Barnabas Collins. Frid’s storyline changed the show from a moody, Gothic Jane Eyre-type serial into a flat-out horror show.

During breaks in production, Parker acted on Broadway in September 1968 in Woman Is My Idea, which lasted just five performances, and in the early Brian De Palma film Hi, Mom! (1970), starring Robert De Niro.

And toward the end of the daytime serial, she and fellow castmembers including John Karlen, Kate Jackson, David Selby and Grayson Hall appeared in the poorly received MGM film Night of Dark Shadows (1971).

In 1972, Parker relocated to Los Angeles and went on to appear on episodes of such shows as Medical Center, Kojak, The Rockford Files, Police Woman, Kolchak: The Night Stalker (as a witch) and The Incredible Hulk, where she played David Banner’s first wife in a flashback sequence in the pilot.

In her later years, Parker turned to writing and teaching — her novels include Angelique’s Descent (1998), The Salem Branch (2006), Wolf Moon Rising (2013) and Heiress of Collinwood (2016). The books proved popular among Dark Shadows‘ still-devoted, conventions-attending fan base, as well as devotees of romance and horror genre novels.

Parker kept in touch with her co-stars including Scott, Selby, Roger Davis, the late John Karlen and others throughout her life, particularly once the conventions became annual events in the late 1980s through the 1990s and up to the 50th anniversary celebration in 2017.

Many of the original cast, including Parker, recorded a series of Dark Shadows audio dramas in the 2000s released by Big Finish Productions. They also reunited for a “Smartphone Theatre” Zoom-style, Covid-era performance of A Christmas Carol in 2021 and, on Halloween night 2020, a YouTube/Zoom Dark Shadows cast reunion.

Parker is survived by second husband Jim Hawkins, daughter Caitlin, sons Rick and Andy, and their wives Miranda and Celia; and grandson Wesley.

#Lara Parker #Dark Shadows #Dan Curtis #Jonathan Frid #The Incredible Hulk #Kojak #Kathryn Leigh Scott #Big Finish Productions #David Selby #Grayson Hall #Angelique Bouchard #Angelique Bouchard Collins #Barnabas Collins

[dayaowu]

🏡 Welcome to my Sim Family 🏡

Adopted by Cierra Branch as a teenager Raphael grew up wild and a bit of a play boy. He had twins as a teen with his now wife, Maria Branch. He graduated from Britechester with a degree in Culinary Arts. 🥘

Maria had twins with Raphael as a teen. She mostly raised them by herself with little assistance from Raphael until his last semester in college. With a change of heart she put a pause on her Drama degree & moved out to the countryside to be with Raphael & raise their family. 🌱

Jada & Catalina are twins and are as close as can be. Jada is more of a home body and loves tending to the farm animals. Meanwhile Catalina can’t wait to move as far away as possible from the countryside. ✨

Rickey is the newest addition to the Branch household! He’s a cautious little one but is quickly growing into himself. 🤎

#sims4 #sims 4 story #sims 4 gameplay #sims 4 maxis match #sims 4 cc #ts4cc #sims 4 custom content #sims 4 screenshots #sims 4 family #shows your sims #the sims 4 #the sims community #ts4 screenshots #ts4 story #ts4 simblr #ts4 gameplay #ts4 legacy #ts4 maxis match #ts4 #The Branch Family

[baseballbybsmile]

Today In 1947: Branch Rickey issues a historic press release: "The Brooklyn Dodgers today purchased the contract of Jackie Roosevelt Robinson from the Montreal Royals. He will report immediately."

[howardhawkshollywoodannex]

Harrison Ford as baseball commissioner Branch Rickey in 42 (2013). This is Harry's third honorable mention, after Presumed Innocent and The Fugitive.

#harrison ford #42

[saatrenungan]

Renungan 19Nov23

Bacaan Injil Mat 25,14-30

"Sebab hal Kerajaan Sorga sama seperti seorang yang mau bepergian ke luar negeri, yang memanggil hamba-hambanya dan mempercayakan hartanya kepada mereka. Yang seorang diberikannya lima talenta, yang seorang lagi dua dan yang seorang lain lagi satu, masing-masing menurut kesanggupannya,lalu ia berangkat. Segera pergilah hamba yang menerima lima talenta itu. Ia menjalankan uang itu lalu beroleh laba lima talenta. Hamba yang menerima dua talenta itupun berbuat demikian juga dan berlaba dua talenta. Tetapi hamba yang menerima satu talenta itu pergi dan menggali lobang di dalam tanah lalu menyembunyikan uang tuannya. Lama sesudah itu pulanglah tuan hamba-hamba itu lalu mengadakan perhitungan dengan mereka.Hamba yang menerima lima talenta itu datang dan ia membawa laba lima talenta, katanya: Tuan, lima talenta tuan percayakan kepadaku; lihat, aku telah beroleh laba lima talenta. Maka kata tuannya itu kepadanya: Baik sekali perbuatanmu itu, hai hambaku yang baik dan setia; engkau telah setia dalam perkarakecil, aku akan memberikan kepadamu tanggung jawab dalam perkara yang besar. Masuklah dan turutlah dalam kebahagiaan tuanmu. Lalu datanglah hamba yang menerima dua talenta itu, katanya: Tuan, dua talenta tuan percayakan kepadaku; lihat, aku telah beroleh laba dua talenta. Maka kata tuannya itu kepadanya: Baik sekali perbuatanmu itu, hai hambaku yang baik dan setia, engkau telah setia memikul tanggung jawab dalam perkarar yang kecil, aku akan memberikan kepadamu tanggung jawab dalam perkara yang besar. Masuklah dan turutlah dalam kebahagiaan tuanmu. Kini datanglah juga hamba yang menerima satu talenta itu dan berkata: Tuan, aku tahu bahwa tuan adalah manusia yang kejam yang menuai di tempat di mana tuan tidak menabur dan yang memungut dari tempat di mana tuan tidak menanam. Karena itu aku takut dan pergi menyembunyikan talenta tuan itu di dalam tanah: Ini, terimalah kepunyaan tuan! Maka jawab tuannya itu: Hai kamu, hamba yang jahat dan malas, jadi kamu sudah tahu, bahwa aku menuai di tempat di mana aku tidak menabur dan memungut dari tempat di mana aku tidak menanam? Karena itu sudahlah seharusnya uangku itu kauberikan kepada orang yang menjalankan uang, supaya sekembaliku aku menerimanya serta dengan bunganya. Sebab itu ambillah talenta itu dari padanya dan berikanlah kepada orang yang mempunyai sepuluh talenta itu.Karena setiap orang yang mempunyai, kepadanya akan diberi, sehingga ia berkelimpahan. Tetapi siapa yang tidak mempunyai, apapun juga yang ada padanya akan diambil dari padanya.Dan campakkanlah hamba yang tidak berguna itu ke dalam kegelapan yang paling gelap. Di sanalah akan terdapat ratap dan kertak gigi

Demikian sabda Tuhan

Terpujilah Kristus

Dalam bacaan Injil malam ini Yesus memberikan perumpamaan tentang tanggung jawab kita terhadap karunia dan bakat yang Tuhan berikan bagi setiap kita. Dalam film "42," kita dapat melihat paralel antara pesan dari bacaan Injil Matius 25:14-30 dan bacaan pertama Kitab Amsal 31:10-13,19-20,30-31 dalam konteks kisah Jackie Robinson. Film ini menggambarkan kisah nyata perjuangan Robinson dalam menghadapi diskriminasi rasial yang kuat dan tantangan besar saat ia mencoba memecahkan batasan rasial dalam bisbol. Robinson adalah pemain bisbol yang sangat berbakat, dan Branch Rickey, pemilik Brooklyn Dodgers, memberinya kesempatan untuk bermain di MLB. Robinson tidak hanya memiliki bakat dalam bermain bisbol, tetapi dia juga harus memanfaatkannya untuk mengatasi diskriminasi rasial yang keras seperti dikatakannya "The right of every American to first-class citizenship is the most important issue of our time," menggambarkan kesetiaan Robinson pada prinsip-prinsip yang benar, yang sejalan dengan pesan Yesus tentang pengelolaan talenta.

Dalam bacaan pertama Kitab Amsal 31:10-13,19-20,30-31 menggambarkan seorang istri yang bijaksana dalam memanfaatkan bakat dan keterampilannya untuk kebaikan keluarganya. Dalam konteks film, pelatih Robinson, Branch Rickey, juga memainkan peran penting dalam memberikan dukungan moral dan emosional kepada Robinson saat dia menghadapi tekanan dan ketidakadilan seperti dikatakannya dalam film "I want a player who's got the guts not to fight back" mencerminkan ketabahan dalam memikul salib dan tetap tenang bahkan dalam situasi sulit, yang mirip dengan sifat bijaksana dalam Kitab Amsal.

Bacaan Injil malam ini juga mengajarkan tentang keberanian untuk berdiri demi kebenaran tercermin dalam perjuangan Robinson. Dia menghadapi intimidasi dan ancaman, tetapi tetap berani dalam perjuangannya untuk mengakhiri diskriminasi rasial dalam bisbol seperti dikatakan "I believe in the goodness of a free society. And I believe that society can remain good only as long as we are willing to fight for it," mencerminkan tekadnya untuk berjuang demi prinsip-prinsip yang benar, yang sejalan dengan pesan keberanian dalam Injil.

Robinson juga mengajarkan kepada kita untuk teguh mewartakan kasih yang mampu mengubah hati orang lain melalui dedikasi dan tindakannya melalui talenta yang diberikan dalam bisbol. Dia menginspirasi banyak orang dengan perjuangannya dan membantu mengubah pandangan masyarakat tentang rasisme seperti dikatakan, "A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives," menggambarkan pengaruh positif yang dimiliki Robinson, yang sejalan dengan pesan tentang pengaruh positif dalam Matius 25:14-30.

Terakhir, Robinson mengajarkan tentang pentingnya menerima dan mengampuni. Meskipun dia mengalami banyak perlakuan tidak adil, dia mampu mengampuni mereka yang pernah menyakitinya. Kutipan dalam film, "I'm not concerned with your liking or disliking me... All I ask is that you respect me as a human being," mengingatkan kita akan pentingnya mengampuni dalam mencapai perdamaian dan persatuan, yang sejalan dengan pesan pengampunan dalam Kitab Amsal.

Dalam keseluruhan konteks film "42," kita dapat melihat bagaimana pesan-pesan dari Matius 25:14-30 dan Kitab Amsal 31:10-13,19-20,30-31 tercermin dalam kisah nyata Jackie Robinson yang mengajarkan kita tentang keberanian untuk berdiri demi kebenaran dan pengaruh positif yang dapat kita miliki dalam dunia ini melalui tindakan dan dedikasi kita. Dia juga mengajarkan kita tentang pentingnya mengampuni, bahkan dalam menghadapi perlakuan tidak adil. Ini mengingatkan kita untuk merenungkan, "Bagaimana saya dapat menjadi saksi Kristus dalam dunia ini, menginspirasi perubahan positif, dan berbicara tentang pengampunan?"

Sebagai ajakan pertobatan, mari kita berkomitmen untuk mengelola bakat, tugas, dan tanggung jawab kita dengan bijaksana, berani berdiri demi kebenaran, memengaruhi orang lain dengan kasih dan integritas, serta memberikan pengampunan kepada yang lain. Dengan demikian, kita dapat mewartakan Kerajaan Allah melalui tindakan kita, sama seperti Jackie Robinson dalam kisah hidupnya. 

Berkah Dalem

#Youtube

[lboogie1906]

Charles W. Follis, a.k.a. "The Black Cyclone," (February 3, 1879 – April 5, 1910) The first African American professional football player was born in Cloverdale, Virginia. The Follis family moved to Wooster, Ohio, where he attended Wooster High School and participated in organizing and establishing the first varsity football team. He played right halfback and served as team captain on a squad that had no losses that year.

In 1901, he entered the College of Wooster. Rather than playing football for the college, he played for the town’s amateur football team – the Wooster Athletic Association, where he earned the nickname of the “Black Cyclone from Wooster.”

In 1902, Frank C. Schieffer, manager of the Shelby Athletic Club secured employment for him at Howard Seltzer and Sons Hardware Store in rural Shelby, Ohio. The six-foot, 200-pound played for Shelby (1902-03).

In 1904, he signed a contract with the Shelby Athletic Club, the Shelby Blues. He became the first professional African American football player. He played on the team with Branch Rickey, an Ohio Wesleyan University student.

Ηe faced discrimination. Players on opposing teams targeted him with a rough play that resulted in injuries. At a game in Toledo in 1905, fans taunted him with racial slurs until the Toledo team captain addressed the crowd and asked them to stop. In Shelby, he joined his teammates at a local tavern after a game; the owner denied him entry. At the Thanksgiving Day game of the 1906 season, he suffered a career-ending injury.

He turned to baseball, a sport he played for many years in the spring and summer. Having played for Wooster College and in the Ohio Trolley League, he was an experienced baseball player, but could only play in segregated baseball leagues. He played for the Cuban Giants, an African American baseball team, as a catcher. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[littleglasswalelu]

Ms. Pretty Rickey The Street Sweeper by Bryneen Gary

Book Summary:

Ms. Pretty Rickey: The Street Sweeper is a Force to Be Reckoned with, Infamous Poetry about Chief Officials, Freedom from War, Dirty Money, Narcotics Anonymous, World Affairs and Domestic Crimes. A Whisper of Sweet nothings, Fresh delights of Lasting Love in the mist of Terror’s Electronic Harassment and constant tracking through Satellite. Sweeping the Streets slowly through this short Poetic Book of Awareness

 Buy the Book – Amazon

 Reviews:

Resistance, Revolution and Other Love Stories by K. contains a series of short stories bound together by the theme of love during times of trouble. This anthology of stories is incredibly diverse and unique. K. soars above other authors with their sense of language, almost lyrically describing events in an abstractly beautiful way.

However, the prose is often so incredibly poetic that it was difficult for me to figure out what was actually happening. For instance, I had to read “Radius” multiple times in order to figure out what was going on with Mustapha’s brother, and I’m still not entirely sure I understood. There are so many abstract images painted to describe the story that are simultaneously poignant and senseless. During the portion describing Mustapha’s brother, I found myself squinting as if I were trying to decipher a Jackson Pollock painting. I knew it was beautiful, but I wasn’t sure exactly what it was.

Then it’s almost as if a different person picks up the pen to write “Calamity Jane,” wherein a teenage boy is exploring love and sexuality and the seemingly wanton need to tear down all women around him. It wasn’t a story that particularly resonated with me as a reader, mostly due to the amount of denigration focused on teenage girls throughout. The focus is on Jane, in particular, but also on any young girl who happens to wear yoga pants, who is thought of as an object in this young boy’s eyes. He constantly refers to them as “bitches,” and yet, he also constantly notes that they make his genitals “tingle.” If that made you cringe, perhaps skip this particular story. It strikes an ugly chord against the rest of the incredibly beautiful short stories.

In “Dog Whistle,” dogs are cruel in order to appease their masters, but with the touch of a gentle soul, realize the world around them is of their own making. Each story is so different in its own way and love truly ties them all together. I appreciate the different kinds of love woven throughout this story, not just pretty and romantic love. In “The Conversation,” familial love is explored, while in “Head Down,” a cheater falls in love. There were so many different voices within the book that it really felt fleshed out with untold ideas and unique stories. The stories were mostly very short and easy to read.

If you like philosophy, wistfulness, and the notion that love conquers all, this book will be a very enjoyable read for you.

Jenna Swartz, Seattle Book Review

  "I think we’re destined to one day despise those quirks we once fell in love with."

From the opening tale, it is clear that this collection of twelve stories centering around love will be anything but conventional. Survivor's guilt devours the main character, Mustapha, who survives a bombing in Gaza that claims the lives of his neighbors and own brother, Khalid. In the privacy of his thoughts, he is unable to hide his attraction for Khalid's widow, Khalila, particularly knowing that the affection is reciprocated. However, outwardly he is resilient, thwarting any advances with the common statement that work needs to be done. The imagery of the fallen families, depicted by the metaphor of fallen branches, their limbs and bodies sprawled together yet mangled in every direction, is haunting. While love is central, the author's stories transcend beyond simple romance and dive into contextualized and developed worlds that add unique insight into what drives human behavior.

In "Calamity Jane," the author changes gears, delivering an attention-grabbing opening line: "Jane was a sweet girl once you got past the fact that she was a bitch." Simply put, the author has a knack for building characters that, while unorthodox, are irresistible and interesting. On the surface, this story could be perceived simply with the purely lust-filled lens of the on-again, off-again relationship of Jane and Jay. However, the perspective of Habib, the main character, provides a spin that is more focused on how much women are taken for granted in relationships. Needless to say, there are underlying themes to every story, albeit subtle, that impel audiences to spend a little more time unraveling the author's message.

As with Jane and Habib, the sexual tension is prevalent in numerous other stories. For example, in "The Hand," the main character is mesmerized by one of his supervisors, describing her moist lips and her black suit jacket as being "buttoned to just below her bust line; the silver buttons a fluvial shimmer against her white blouse." However, the Hand is strongly reminiscent of Orwell's Big Brother, always watching and controlling what memories are formed and even which memories can be kept (e.g., photographs).

On a similar yet different note, "The Conversation" features a blind character whose sexual tension with the pizza guy is palpable. But digging deeper, the reader can relate with her desire to be free from the shackles and constraints placed by her mother (who encourages Silvia to stay indoors) and the constant juxtaposition of what a parent perceives as protection with what the child feels is suffocation. Perhaps the most intriguing of the stories is "Head Down," where the instant attraction between Joseph and Shannon, both physically and from a personality standpoint, intersects with Joseph's tension in an unhappy marriage. A five-day information technology conference in Calgary turns into a whirlwind of passion and romance for the two with lingering effects.

From dystopian stories featuring Game of Thrones-esque great walls, an automaton with a mind of its own, and Greek mythology adaptations to inspired dogs inciting resistance and gardening being a metaphor for life, an element of the unexpected is embedded within each story. Undoubtedly eclectic, each selection takes on a life of its own with electrifying energy and the ability to incorporate themes that will keep ruminating in readers' minds long after the story is finished. 

Mihir Shah, US Review of Books

 About the author:

K., an anti-war advocate, studied English, Religion and Philosophy at University of Toronto and has written fiction for years, publishing several stories in literary magazines. Resistance, Revolution and Other Short Stories is K.’s first book. K. lives in Malton, Ontario, Canada, with their spouse, five children, an American Wirehair cat and a Quaker parrot.

[n-o-t-h-i-n-g-n-e-ss]

Ms. Pretty Rickey The Street Sweeper by Bryneen Gary

Book Summary:

Ms. Pretty Rickey: The Street Sweeper is a Force to Be Reckoned with, Infamous Poetry about Chief Officials, Freedom from War, Dirty Money, Narcotics Anonymous, World Affairs and Domestic Crimes. A Whisper of Sweet nothings, Fresh delights of Lasting Love in the mist of Terror’s Electronic Harassment and constant tracking through Satellite. Sweeping the Streets slowly through this short Poetic Book of Awareness

 Buy the Book – Amazon

 Reviews:

Resistance, Revolution and Other Love Stories by K. contains a series of short stories bound together by the theme of love during times of trouble. This anthology of stories is incredibly diverse and unique. K. soars above other authors with their sense of language, almost lyrically describing events in an abstractly beautiful way.

However, the prose is often so incredibly poetic that it was difficult for me to figure out what was actually happening. For instance, I had to read “Radius” multiple times in order to figure out what was going on with Mustapha’s brother, and I’m still not entirely sure I understood. There are so many abstract images painted to describe the story that are simultaneously poignant and senseless. During the portion describing Mustapha’s brother, I found myself squinting as if I were trying to decipher a Jackson Pollock painting. I knew it was beautiful, but I wasn’t sure exactly what it was.

Then it’s almost as if a different person picks up the pen to write “Calamity Jane,” wherein a teenage boy is exploring love and sexuality and the seemingly wanton need to tear down all women around him. It wasn’t a story that particularly resonated with me as a reader, mostly due to the amount of denigration focused on teenage girls throughout. The focus is on Jane, in particular, but also on any young girl who happens to wear yoga pants, who is thought of as an object in this young boy’s eyes. He constantly refers to them as “bitches,” and yet, he also constantly notes that they make his genitals “tingle.” If that made you cringe, perhaps skip this particular story. It strikes an ugly chord against the rest of the incredibly beautiful short stories.

In “Dog Whistle,” dogs are cruel in order to appease their masters, but with the touch of a gentle soul, realize the world around them is of their own making. Each story is so different in its own way and love truly ties them all together. I appreciate the different kinds of love woven throughout this story, not just pretty and romantic love. In “The Conversation,” familial love is explored, while in “Head Down,” a cheater falls in love. There were so many different voices within the book that it really felt fleshed out with untold ideas and unique stories. The stories were mostly very short and easy to read.

If you like philosophy, wistfulness, and the notion that love conquers all, this book will be a very enjoyable read for you. 

Jenna Swartz, Seattle Book Review

   "I think we’re destined to one day despise those quirks we once fell in love with."

From the opening tale, it is clear that this collection of twelve stories centering around love will be anything but conventional. Survivor's guilt devours the main character, Mustapha, who survives a bombing in Gaza that claims the lives of his neighbors and own brother, Khalid. In the privacy of his thoughts, he is unable to hide his attraction for Khalid's widow, Khalila, particularly knowing that the affection is reciprocated. However, outwardly he is resilient, thwarting any advances with the common statement that work needs to be done. The imagery of the fallen families, depicted by the metaphor of fallen branches, their limbs and bodies sprawled together yet mangled in every direction, is haunting. While love is central, the author's stories transcend beyond simple romance and dive into contextualized and developed worlds that add unique insight into what drives human behavior.

In "Calamity Jane," the author changes gears, delivering an attention-grabbing opening line: "Jane was a sweet girl once you got past the fact that she was a bitch." Simply put, the author has a knack for building characters that, while unorthodox, are irresistible and interesting. On the surface, this story could be perceived simply with the purely lust-filled lens of the on-again, off-again relationship of Jane and Jay. However, the perspective of Habib, the main character, provides a spin that is more focused on how much women are taken for granted in relationships. Needless to say, there are underlying themes to every story, albeit subtle, that impel audiences to spend a little more time unraveling the author's message.

As with Jane and Habib, the sexual tension is prevalent in numerous other stories. For example, in "The Hand," the main character is mesmerized by one of his supervisors, describing her moist lips and her black suit jacket as being "buttoned to just below her bust line; the silver buttons a fluvial shimmer against her white blouse." However, the Hand is strongly reminiscent of Orwell's Big Brother, always watching and controlling what memories are formed and even which memories can be kept (e.g., photographs).

On a similar yet different note, "The Conversation" features a blind character whose sexual tension with the pizza guy is palpable. But digging deeper, the reader can relate with her desire to be free from the shackles and constraints placed by her mother (who encourages Silvia to stay indoors) and the constant juxtaposition of what a parent perceives as protection with what the child feels is suffocation. Perhaps the most intriguing of the stories is "Head Down," where the instant attraction between Joseph and Shannon, both physically and from a personality standpoint, intersects with Joseph's tension in an unhappy marriage. A five-day information technology conference in Calgary turns into a whirlwind of passion and romance for the two with lingering effects.

From dystopian stories featuring Game of Thrones-esque great walls, an automaton with a mind of its own, and Greek mythology adaptations to inspired dogs inciting resistance and gardening being a metaphor for life, an element of the unexpected is embedded within each story. Undoubtedly eclectic, each selection takes on a life of its own with electrifying energy and the ability to incorporate themes that will keep ruminating in readers' minds long after the story is finished.

Mihir Shah, US Review of Books

 About the author:

K., an anti-war advocate, studied English, Religion and Philosophy at University of Toronto and has written fiction for years, publishing several stories in literary magazines. Resistance, Revolution and Other Short Stories is K.’s first book. K. lives in Malton, Ontario, Canada, with their spouse, five children, an American Wirehair cat and a Quaker parrot.