Monday, July 25, 2016

- GET OUT OF CITIES -


*editors note:  After informing police of the heinous crimes an underworld figure client of ours allegedly committed, Ray Gill never showed up for work again. His daughter hasn't been contactable and we fear the worst.  The following is an excerpt from the final work for Info Digest of his replacement, Gary Kelp. Ray was something of a mentor to Gary and they had a close working relationship. Gary admired Rays rumination on life and his penchant for a return to living off the grid.


Ray. Ray used to be a butcher till he chopped off two fingers with a boning knife and ended up condensing fiction at the Info Digest. Ray read copious amounts of text. Novels as thick as house bricks. War stories, romance, pulp horror and period classics. Ray didn't care. Rays fingers guided his mouse over everything he thought was bullshit and just deleted it. Bits that caught his attention for whatever reason, bits that glinted in the light, or shone through the water like mother of pearl, Ray would cut out and savour. He'd turn them over like precious objects, reading and rereading them with satisfied animal smile.

One night when he was working late, his daughter Christine turned up at the door of his office unannounced. Ray shut his eyes to a lot of things, but he wasn't blind. He could see she was sinking deeper and deeper into a place where there was no light. He asked her happened and the secret she'd been keeping from him poured out from her like a warm bloody rush. Ray grabbed onto her and held on. He felt like a man attempting to revive life - trying to bring it back from another realm. He knew he had to get them both up for air, swim them towards the surface toward the light. Ray put Christine in the passengers seat of his car and pointed it north. He drove through the night, the bonnet devouring the white lines of the highway.



Christine didn't stir until the heat of the morning sun filled the car. She sat for a long time in silence, gathering up the pieces of recollection available to her. The highway unfolded and unfolded. Eventually she looked over and asked her father 'Where are we going?' Ray looked at her for a moment and said 'Back to bloody nature'.

The Illustrated Family Doctor

Monday, February 22, 2016

Toilet Etiquette in the Workplace


Not By Sean Keenan

We've all been there but don't like to admit it. We've all kicked back in our cubicles and suddenly felt something brewing down below. As much as we try to convince ourselves otherwise, the WORK POOP is inevitable. For those who hate pooping at work, following is the Survival Guide for taking a dump at work.

CROP DUSTING
When farting, you walk really fast around the office so the smell is not in your area and everyone else gets a whiff, but doesn't know where it came from. Be careful when you do this. Do not stop until the full fart has been expelled. Walk an extra 30feet to make sure the smell has left your pants.

FLY BY
The act of scouting out a bathroom before pooping. Walk in and check for other poopers. If there are others in the bathroom, leave and come back again. Be careful not to become a FREQUENT FLYER. People may become suspicious if they catch you constantly going into the bathroom.

ESCAPEE
A fart that slips out while taking a pee or forcing a poop in a stall. This is usually accompanied by a sudden wave of embarrassment. If you release an escapee, do not acknowledge it. Pretend it did not happen. If you are a man and are standing next to the farter in the urinal, pretend you did not hear it. No one likes an escapee. It is uncomfortable for all involved. Making a joke or laughing makes both
parties feel uneasy.

JAILBREAK
When forcing a poop, several farts slip out at a machine gun pace. This is usually a side effect of diarrhea or a hangover. If this should happen, do not panic. Remain in the stall until everyone has left the bathroom to spare everyone the awkwardness of what just occurred.

COURTESY FLUSH
The act of flushing the toilet the instant the poop hits the water. This reduces the amount of air time the poop has to stink up the bathroom. This can help you avoid being caught doing the WALK OF SHAME.

WALK OF SHAME
Walking from the stall, to the sink, to the door after you have just stunk up the bathroom. This can be a very uncomfortable moment if someone walks in and busts you. As with farts, it is best to pretend that the smell does not exist. Can be avoided with the use of the COURTESY FLUSH.
OUT OF THE CLOSET POOPER
A colleague who poops at work and is Doggone proud of it. You will often see an Out Of The Closet Pooper enter the bathroom with a newspaper or magazine under their arm. Always look around the office for the Out Of The Closet Pooper before entering the bathroom.

THE POOPING FRIENDS NETWORK (P.F.N)
A group of co-workers who band together to ensure emergency pooping goes off without incident. This group can help you to monitor the whereabouts of Out Of The Closet
Poopers, and identify SAFE HAVENS.

SAFE HAVENS
A seldom used bathroom somewhere in the building where you can least expect visitors. Try floors that are predominantly of the opposite sex. This will reduce the odds of a pooper of your sex entering the bathroom.

TURD BURGLAR
Someone who does not realize that you are in the stall and tries to force the door open. This is one of the most shocking and vulnerable moments that can occur when taking a poop at work. If this occurs, remain in the stall until the Turd Burglar leaves. This way you will avoid all uncomfortable eye contact.

CAMO-COUGH
A phony cough that alerts all new entrants into the bathroom that you are in a stall. This can be used to cover-up a WATERMELON, or to alert potential Turd Burglars. Very effective when used in conjunction with a SHIRLEY TEMPLE.

SHIRLEY TEMPLE A subtle toe-tapping that is used to alert potential Turd Burglars that you are occupying a stall. This will remove all doubt that the stall is occupied. If you hear a SHIRLEY TEMPLE, leave the bathroom immediately so the
pooper can poop in peace.

WATERMELON
A poop that creates a loud splash when hitting the toilet water. This is also an embarrassing incident. If you feel a Watermelon coming on, create a diversion. See CAMO-COUGH.

HAVANA-OMELET
A case of diarrhea that creates a series of loud splashes in the toilet water. Often accompanied by an Escapee. Try using a CAMO-COUGH with a SHIRLEY TEMPLE.

AUNT BETTY
A bathroom user who seems to linger around forever... Could spend extended lengths of time in front of the mirror or sitting on the pot. An AUNT BETTY makes it difficult to relax while on the crapper, as you should always wait to poop when the bathroom is empty. This benefits you as well as the other bathroom attendees!



SOME VARIETIES OF POOP YOU SHOULD BE AWARE OF

The King Poop: This kind is the kind of poop that killed Elvis. It doesn't come until you're all sweaty, trembling and purple from straining so hard.

Bali Belly Poop: You poop so much you lose 5 lbs.

Cement Block: You wish you'd gotten a spinal block before you poop.

Cork Poop (Also Known as Floater Poop): Even after the third flush, it's still floating in there. How do I get rid of it? This poop usually happens at someone else's house.

The Bungee Poop: The kind of poop that just hangs off your rear before it falls into the water.

The Crippler: The kind of poop where you have to sit on the toilet so long your legs go numb from the waist down.

The Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The kind of poop that hits you when you're trapped in your car in a traffic jam.



The Party Pooper: The giant poop you take at a party. And when you flush the toilet, you watch in horror as the water starts to rise.

Sunday, January 17, 2016

The verdict is in 3 years after Kelsey and I broke up. I know these kinds of thoughts should be left in the past, but this is how I am. This is who I am. The decision is in: I should have stayed with her.

Zoe Melksham will go down in my history as an enormous learning curb. Sucking so much from me and never giving anything back, dragging me along. With her second strike out, there will be no strike 3. That mess of a human being has been perminantley left out to dry. I have nothing to say to that piece of shit. Suddenly I feel empty. Theres a void. Why am I feeling anxiety on my 3 day weekend? Is it because perhaps now Im alone? I am hurt. I put so much hope into that and got nothing. So many times over the year just thrown on the ground. I won't recover fully from that. Everytime I feel hope for something, Ill be reminded of her and 2015.

Im alone. Ive accepted the inevitable truth. Allison and Lana. Two girls who finally perk my interest. Its the first time in a long time, around 3 years. Fuck. That is a ridiculously long fucking time. Why is getting pussy so hard? Fuck I'm so over wanking. Im in love with Lana. Unique in every way and just so my cup of tea. Everythng about her beautiful soul makes me ache to touch her. To hug her and cuddle into the night with her. And, of course she has a boyfriend...had one for 2 years. Im not going down that road again. A wonderful first genuine conversation on thursday led me to believe, that yes, there was something. Despite my knowledge, I was in a state of praying hope. If she messages me tonight, Ill know its a sign - even if its by sunday night...

Oh...its sunday night. She's posted a few things since then. Oh. She's been online a lot... ahh, ok. Not looking so good now... Maybe I could... Fuck man! Give it up! You're finished.

Too bad Allison talks like a teen. A mature teen, but still. Theres no flow in her talks. For someone who's interested in me, she sure hides it well. Fucken girls. They have it so fucking easy, just waiting there for the guys to make all the moves. Fuck its hard. Blah blah blah for 6 word replies. The conversation is dying. I haven't had pussy in 2 years. The idea of burying my head into her still-on knickers sends me into a spin and I cum over pictures. Lets be honest, thats never going to happen. Actually, Ill go one step further, I honestly don't believe Ill ever have sex again. Its just...too hard. They don't want it. They don't want me. I suddenly look in the mirror and see through my delusion. I have a few streches of several years without fucking. Accept it Sean. This is it. This is who you fucking are. You are NOT special. Your whimsical sense of happiness isn't going to get you through this anymore.

Oh, now I understand the anxiety.

Man, is this seriously what its become? Lana is perfect. Allison isn't, but available if you want to do all the talking and all the move making. Its too fucking much. So here I sit pulling my doodle for the umpteenth time over Zoe's knickers pics. I am really fucking lonely. I am...fucked.

I love the weird and avant grade. Too bad no one else does. A gif that took me literally all day making got zero likes today. Its not so much the face value of that, rather, its a sign that I truly am alone. At the age of 30.5 Im single, without friends, no motivation, no sex, obscure sense of humor...

I try to remind myself how good i have it. But what is happening to me is what would happen to anyone.

Theres no I'm gunna kill myself bullshit anymore. Theres just an acceptance. This is it. This is my life. I could of been cumming in sweet sweet pussy if I had some sense and stayed with Kelsey. I put in the hard years with her only to pull out and chase after a complete psycho cunt who ruined my mental state, right as Kelsey was changing into the girl I would have wanted.

Sucked in. My lifes always been like that. I don't suffer depression. I suffer from anxiety. Life isn't special, its not really bad for me. Its not horrible. Its just as it is. Ill die one day and all of this shit will  be meaningless. Im meaningless. The face bookers who never like or comment on my things just sink that point home for me. Particularly today.

Meaningless. I miss my home. I dunno what I want. Im completely lost. What happened to me?

Thursday, January 14, 2016

Big Day Out Review
by Sean Keenan



It was 29 going on 45 degrees at Metricon Stadium and I had already finished my second bottle of water by the time I reached the appropriately named “Boiler Room” where Peking Duk was performing. I arrive near the end of their setlist and found myself walking almost slow motion-like into a crowd scattered. The audience were singing in their best falsetto voices to a sample of 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight'. I approach the middle of the tent with trepidation - and that's when it happens….what I can only describe as a sudden wall of sound building slowly and the crowd tightens in unison engulfing me. Then it reaches critical pitch…the baseline drops and I'm hit with the sonic boom of sound and an earth shattering crowd roar explodes. Bodies jump up and down and pandemonium ensues.

This was my introduction to the day's proceedings.

A man wearing a 6 foot long Indian Headdress bumps into and spills his beer all over another man who's dressed as Robocop, unusual smells not normally associated with a lavatory, surreal conversations with strangers about what music tastes like and more female flesh (with a lot of sunburn) than you’d find in Playboy!

My first interview is scheduled and the nerves are building as I am ushered in to the backstage area.
"Yeah and at this one gig, we were literally shooting vodka into the crowd," Adam Hyde, one half of Peking Duk, gleefully exclaims when I inquired about some of their past gigs. These guys were as awesome in person as they were on stage; two down-to-earth best friends just loving life and the music.

Bluejuice were performing early in the day and I was standing at an ATM when their biggest hit 'Broken Leg' echoed through the walls of Metricon Stadium. Having conquered my “country boy” self-consciousness, I found myself singing out loud, complete with hand movements and an Air Guitar solo.

From there, I rush over to my next interview in the backstage area with a couple of the members from Loon Lake. Frontman, Sam Nolan forgave my nervousness at my first time interview and explained to me aspects of the band's sound and their video clips. It was interesting to hear his thoughts on the video for their single 'City Lights' (he wasn't a fan) and how they spend their downtime.

To avoid sunstroke I escaped to the shade of the red stage to chill. Later folk rockers “The Lumineers” were met with deafening crowd love and were possibly the highlight of the day. The beautiful and melancholy 'Ho Hey' was performed during the beautiful twilight period. It was a great preamble for the evening’s gigs and I was left positively charged.

Blur may not have made the trip down under, but Metricon Stadium's debut Big Day Out was hypnotic – add to this, the experience of having the privilege of interviewing Peking Duk and Loon Lake - I can't wait to come back and do it again next year!


This originally appeared on the Pedestrain website. I won a competition to have this piece published.