013126

doorway to sun-drenched
summers long ago
memory flung wide

013026

landing gear
squashed the last Martian
extinctionizer

012926

blue ceiling
under emerald skies
kids wonder why

Review of G. O. Fizzickle Pogo

Walt Kelly, 1957, G. O. Fizzickle Pogo. I am reviewing every Pogo book (yes, I have them all), but not in chronological order. This is because they are not on my shelf in order. This one is all about the Okefenokee crowd's take on the geophysical year. The geophysical year was 18 months long, so the book begins with a discussion about whether every month should be half as long as in a normal year or whether we need six new months to fill it out. Names are suggested for the new months, such as Septemberry (yum!). The expedition to measure the world runs into trouble a few minutes after it sets out, when Captain Owl accidentally sinks the boat. Subsequently, a flea claims that a dog is man's best friend, if that man is a flea: "Yum"! A short time later, Howland Owl develops a plan to occupy the moon before the Russians can get there. The flea will go up on a rocket, tied to a thread, which is tied to a string, which is tied to a rope. Then, Albert Alligator climbs up hand over hand. Well, this ends up not working out too well, but in the process much has been learned about algebra and movie stars After this, the book quickly descends into chaos, from arming butterflies to replacing the Suez Canal with a homegrown job. In the process it is learned that there is always somebody stupider. A struggle for mastery of the new canal ends as one might expect. Unlike some Pogo books, the humor in G. O. Fizzickle Pogo does not require knowledge of the politics of the day. An appreciation of slapstick and silliness is all you need. I found good copies available online for about 10 bucks.

012726

a green shoot
if ragweed is all we get
we'll take it

012626

Dreams and Nightmares 132

Contents

Allen K., Innsmouth Docks, cover
Roger Dutcher, Embrace the Moon
John R. Platt, Companionship
M. Frost, Visit to a Private Collection of Parietal Art
Marisca Pichette, obituary (reprise)
Robert Witmer, Other Worlds
Ken Poyner, Open Question
Roger Dutcher, Stubborn
Nicholas De Marino, An Earthy Intervention
Denny E. Marshall, Marooned and Frightened
Holly Day, Chrestomathic
Kendall Evans, Star Fire and Singularities Along the Way
Rich Magahiz, Why celery
David Clink, A Slice of Silver and Always the Darkening Sea
DJ Tyrer, [reading Lovecraft]
Ruth Berman, Demeter and Balder
Roger Dutcher, Furthest Shining
Nico Martinez Nocito, rampion speaks
Allen K, Stamping Art
F. J. Bergmann, A Report
Diem Okoye, Love potions
Sandra Lindow, Burning Machu Picchu
Silvatiicus Riddle, Ophelia
Richard Magahiz, The Coming Clearing
Robert Borski, Do-Over
Greg Schwartz, [petrified forest]
Allen K, Alien Panorama
L. A. Hyland, In the Old Parish
Lynn Sargent, The Dolphins out Here
Brittany Hause, Confessional
Sarah Cannavo, [after-prom sex]
Lilith Acadia, Isn’t every story a vampire story?

012526

another bolide
those pesky jovians
never give up

012426

lunar vacation
the stars stare down
and don't twinkle

012326

Sold a poem to Asimov's, "Star Train." I got the idea from a song by the Sonic Assassins called "Over the Top.".I think they were kind of a one-hit wonder, but I love that song.

012326b

now we are
the same age again
happy birthday

012226

winter garden
brussels sprouts ready
for plucking

The Clergy Letter Project

https://www.theclergyletterproject.org/Resources/jan2026newsletter.html#1 Where science and religion coexist. Evolution and Climate Change.

012126

cooking
the last fresh broccoli
southern garden

012026

the ferns
think it's spring
cold front coming

011926

spring on New Earth sea of green

011826

cash-strapped museum
I buy a T-shirt for me
and socks for you

011726

that little star
we used to call
it home

011626

the oyster's chaw
spat all over the crowded
elevator

011526

the genie's one wish
to whistle up a breeze
on a hot day

011426

the dog
brings back the skull
each mouth wants a treat

ICE ICE baby

bang bang again stupid bitch he said as he killed a mother and a loving wife

Domestic terrorism

I shot a woman in Minneapolis just to watch her die they won't throw me in Folsom prison ICE is the reason why

011326

death waits
for you all
six clammy feet

011226

my debut
panned on a 1000 worlds
bipeds!

011126

fool hunchback cut the power
just as the monster was explaining
unified field theory

011026

flying monkeys
replenish the larder
who gets the dog?

010926

new leaf fall
on the quicksand
renters move in

010826

in Flatland
I did standup
my jokes fell flat

010726

our big debut
on the Flatland stage
pinch and swell

010626

terraform Mars: first
rain in a billion years
dormant flowers open

in the ER again. Really hoping that I will go home today!

010526

sci-fi flick
earthman saves the day
as usual

010426

I was sick a lot of last year, and one ball I dropped was writing a poem for my spouse for every conceivable holiday and her birthday. Well maybe I did her birthday, It was before I started getting sick. Anyway, I need to get back on the case! It is difficult, though, to write a love poem that's not sappy decade after decade.

010326

Earth embassy
to Mars 3 km down
ice palace

010226

I never voted in Analog magazine's Analytical Laboratory when I was a kid, mainly because the price of stamps seemed much too high. It was probably about 8 cents at the time. But I needed that money for fireworks and candy!

Reading in the New Year

I have been reading Astounding/Analog magazines for the last few months, not strictly in chronological order, and now I have gotten to the first half of 1953. Quite a few excellent stories were published in the first three issues of that year, and the first publication of Hal Clement's Mission of Gravity, certainly one of his finest hard science fiction novels, was serialized beginning in the April issue.

I have also been rereading every Far Side book. This was unquestionably the best single-panel cartoon of it's time, and it still holds up remarkably well. These books also used a higher quality glue in the binding than some contemporary cartoonists' work, so it should not be difficult to find used copies.

Next up, the greatest comic strip of the 20th century, Pogo. I have every book.

010126

Just got around to reading the September/October 2025 Asimov's, which contains, on almost the last page, a poem by me. I had been warned by a correspondent that the presentation wasn't good, but oh my God, who chose that almost unreadable font!? It is one poem that I am particularly happy with, and perhaps someone who is able to read it will consider it for the Rhysling. As for the fiction in this issue, the one I enjoyed the most was the novella "The Signal and the Idler", by Ted Kosmatka. Creepy and believable.