Poetry in Motion

Fear not, I'm still around, just really busy with the day job. Rather than bore you with shop talk (as most of every thing I'm doing right now revolves around work), I thought I'd offer up some poetry. Enjoy!

I hope to be back to normal blogging activities soon…

Send author a comment on this post

Dar-Wednesday

It's time for another installment of The Darwin Awards.


(20 April 2008, Atlantic Ocean, Brazil) In 1982 Lawn Chair Larry, beloved survivor of a Darwin Award attempt, attached 45 huge helium balloons to his comfortable Sears lawn chair, packed a picnic lunch, and cut the tether. But instead of drifting lazily above the Los Angeles landscape, the combined lift of 45 weather balloons rocketed Larry into LAX air traffic lanes 16,000 feet above sea level. Astoundingly, he survived the "flight."
In homage to Larry's whimsical adventure, a Catholic priest recently ascended towards heaven on a host of helium party balloons. Adelir Antonio de Carli, 41, was attempting to set the world record for clustered balloon flight to publicize his plan to build a spiritual rest stop for truckers.


Spending more than 19 hours in a lawn chair is not a trivial matter, even in the comfort of your own backyard. The priest took numerous safety precautions, including wearing a survival suit, selecting a buoyant chair, and packing a satellite phone and a GPS. However, the late Adelir Antonio made a fatal mistake.
He did not know how to use the GPS.


The winds changed, as winds do, and he was blown inexorably toward open sea. He could have parachuted to safety while over land, but chose not to. When the voyager was perilously lost at sea, he prudently phoned for help. But rescuers were unable to reach him since he could not use his GPS! HE struggled with the control panel as the charge on the satellite phone dwindled.


Instead of a GPS, the priest let God be his guide, and God guided him straight to heaven. Bits of balloons began appearing on mountains and beaches. Ultimately the priest's body surfaced, confirming that he, like Elvis, had left the building.


The kicker? It's a Double Darwin. Catholic priests take vows of celibacy. Since they voluntarily remove themselves from the gene pool, the entire group earns a mass Darwin Award. Adelir Antonio wins twice over!

Send author a comment on this post

Weekend Recap

Ah… I finally found some free time to sit down and punch out a weekend update. We spent some time out at Rocklahoma but managed to not be there when the big storms hit and caused two stages to collapse.

I met a couple of band members from Deathriders on the plane ride home from New Orleans. Mike and Dave were great guys and we wound up spending a good deal of time with them on Friday on the concert grounds. They weren't scheduled to play until Saturday, so I missed actually getting to see them play. I just hope they weren't caught up in all the carnage of the unusually vicious storm (well, unusual for July anyway). They tour often and I'm almost positive I will get another chance to see them perform.

Thankfully the evening of the storm, we had gone to my SILs house for a cookout and a friendly volleyball tournament. Not to be daunted by a bit of wet stuff, once the lightning passed, we mustered for said volleyball game… in the mud. It was a hoot with much slipping, sliding and general chaos. My team still managed to annihilate the other team by a good sixteen points though.

Sunday we were all set to go to the lake for day of wakeboarding, but a series of misfortunate events kept us from ever making to the water. I'm not going to get into what all happened here, but let's just say I've had more relaxing Sundays.

Monday I was busier than a one-armed paper hanger. I had a site visit to work out the details of a new project, some modifications requested to one of the projects I have nearly completed, and all the while trying to get a good handle on the project I inherited in New Orleans.

I finally wrapped up (or at least decided to throw in the towel for the day) about six O'clock and sat down to catch up on my blog reading when BOOM… the power went out. Oh, joy!

Now, I'm sitting here waiting a couple of phone calls that will tell me whether I will spend the rest of the week in Denver or New Orleans. Either way, it looks like I'm on the road again. It's all good as long as they get me back into to feed my wakeboarding addiction.

So, what have you been up to?

Send author a comment on this post

Not So Easy

Welcome to Friday 55. The object of the game is to write a story using exactly 55 words. If you participate, be sure to drop a comment at G-Man's blog so others will know how to find your story.

Soft jazz plays in the background, ebbing and flowing as I pass near vacant buildings. Rueful smiles greet me as I walk along the streets. Eyes never quite meet mine, preferring instead to scan the pavement. The smell of fine cuisine permeates the air, covering the subtle stench of decay. This is now New Orleans.

Send author a comment on this post

Dar-Wednesday

It's time for another installment of The Darwin Awards.


(09 Nov 1999, Mexico) A Mexican jail guard died from an excess of zeal while supervising an inmate's conjugal visit. Raul Zarate Diaz was closely watching his charge from the roof of the prison when he tripped over an air vent, crashed through the skylight, and fell 23 feet to land beside the bed where the inmate and his wife were, against all odds, enjoying an intimate moment. The interrupted prisoner, offended by the intrusion, attempted to start a riot, but was squelched by prison security.


Prisoners in the Tapachula facility reported that Diaz was in the habit of prowling the prison roof during conjugal visits, in search of prisoners to supervise. Local law enforcement reported that the guard was clutching a pornographic magazine, which was retained as evidence, and binoculars, whose sentimental value led to them being given back to the family of the deceased.

Send author a comment on this post

Here is a blurb:


Johnny Walker is a FBI agent in need of answers. His sister was murdered a year ago and the police still don't have a suspect.


Mary Marshall founded a watchdog group to rid the world of online predators after her sister fell victim to a charismatic stranger she met on the popular website, HiyaSpace.

The similarities of their losses bring the two together and hurl them down a path wrought with peril, betrayal and unimaginable suffering at the hands of a madman whose unspeakable deeds threaten to destroy them all.


Will they be able to put an end to his reign of terror? Or will they be forever lost in a maniac's world of Pixels and Pain?

Look for The Writing on the Wall from Wild Child Publishing.

A chance encounter in a bar plunges Dennis O'Brien into an adventure wrought with death, love, and the fragility of the human mind. When Dennis realizes he's had a brush with a killer, things take a turn for the worse. Not only is he unable to stop the madman, but he finds himself the chief suspect in the murder investigation. Following a trail of bodies and revolting clues, Dennis uncovers the true motive behind the slayings. Yes, killers kill, but nothing is more shocking than the reason why. He should have seen it coming, shouldn't have become involved. After all, the writing was on the wall…

Have you read The Dance yet? Are you holding out for the print version? I realize that there are still a lot of people who just can't bring themselves to read an e-book.

Well, if this is the category you fall in, I have some fantastic news. The Dance is now available in print!

Click on HERE to order a copy directly from the publisher.

It's also available at Amazon.com You can reach it by clicking HERE

Nearly a decade ago, Detective Tom Wiley worked a case that continues to haunt him to this day. But while the nature of The Puppeteer's horrific crimes will always remain in Tom's memory, it's the guilt of not catching the serial killer before he vanished that still weighs heavily on his heart.

Eight years have passed since the last victim fell under the blade of that maniac during his vicious killing spree. The time of peace and quiet has come to an abrupt and gruesome end.

The Puppeteer is back.

With the unwanted help of his newly assigned partner, Detective Anna Perez, Tom will stop at nothing to end The Puppeteer's latest reign of terror. But as the detectives follow the trail of bodies, they quickly realize The Puppeteer may not be their deadliest enemy, and they're up against something far more sinister than the twisted workings of a serial predator.

Can Tom and Anna survive this world of insanity and death, of love and loss, of myth and magic, where the lines between good and evil are hard to discern? Or will they be forever swept away in The Dance?

James Goodman was born in Dover, Delaware in 1971, but has traveled extensively. Some of his travels around the world have been in service to his country. Others have been in service to his family, but most have been in service to his heart.

He graduated from Peach County, Georgia before joining the Army during Operation Desert Shield. He served with honor, pride and a whole lot of spent shell casings during his three-year hitch. He attended college at Oklahoma State University and eventually received a BS in EET.

He resides just north of Tulsa, Oklahoma with his with his loving wife and their rambunctious son. They are an active family and when they can pull James away from the keyboard or out of a book, they spend their free time wakeboarding, hiking, practicing mixed martial arts, riding motorcycles and taking road trips.

To find out more, visit his website http://www.goodysworld.com/ or contact him directly at jgoodman@goodysworld.com. He would love to hear from you.