Author: Vic Socotra

Arrias & His Muse: Best and Brightest

They want us all to know they are the smartest of all, The most perceptive and clever, and with powerful recall. They have at their fingertips a cornucopia of facts, And options to cover everything, no matter how Putin acts. They understand China even better than Master Xi, After all they went to some Ivy […]

Life During Wartime

(The Talking Heads, 1979) Splash was humming this morning. He was inside due to the return of the gray cold by the Fire Pit. It was ominous indication he may be thinking again even after that last memo from the HR Department at Socotra House. They get irritated, since his antics frequently cause meetings between […]

Life & Island Times: Car Wash

Editor’s Note: The tide of interesting news has washed the shores of Marlow’s Coastal Empire. On a delightful Sunday morning, filled with light, there are continuing rumblings from overseas. In the meantime, there is a cascade of laws- or what used to be laws- being circumvented by the very government charged under law (and Oath) […]

Arrias: Putin’s Orientation

Russia has a long history of being invaded. Scythians, Huns, Mongols – the land has changed hands again and again and again. In large part that’s because it has so few obstacles. From the Urals to the plains of Eastern Europe there a number of large rivers, but all can be forded. To the west […]

Sunny. And Dry

Splash was out with the dawn, an event we experienced at The Farm for the first time in the latest Big Storm passage over the Piedmont. This one was so big it got a name. When he was done with a cigarette he came in through the storm door but was unusually silent and part […]

Arrias & His Muse: Weather the Weather or A Howling in the Trees

Wind is howling in the trees, Gray sky above, clouds skid past, Rain showers move across the swamp, The dogs settle in for the coming blast. Weather comes and weather goes, Too warm, too cold too wet, too dry, Despite protests to the contrary, We really don’t know why. A new ice age approaches, A […]

…And Taxes

Author’s Note: the Writer’s Section is puzzling through rumors of “False Flag” provocations in Ukraine that could bring war again to Europe. It is a sobering business, just like the Jobs Report that is likely to have bad news this morning. We intend to be strong, and Splash advocates taking the afternoon off, in peace. […]