Brainchaw

This is a VERY short piece I wrote for a 'zine I co-published a few years back. Our first issue of ROT was zombie-themed, and we asked Chris Herndon, artist/writer/creator of the comic Living With Zombies to do a piece for our cover (the picture at left). Surprisingly, he said "yes."

Well, actually, he said "Bam!" in an email with a link to the file - I assume he meant yes. He didn't complain when we gave him a complimentary copy at the Motor City Comic convention later that year.

When the system works, I like traveling by train. It relieves me of the pesky burdens of driving - like speed limits and staying awake. It’s mostly relaxing, with a few exceptions (like people crinkling plastic wrappers at 3:00 am while trying to open a candy bar quietly), and it frees me up to pull out the old lappy and write nice things about the experience.

Oh, irony…

I’m currently on my way to Philadelphia for a conference. I was supposed to leave T-town at 11:59 last night. On the way to the station, I got a call from a friend who will be joining me at the conference tomorrow.

“Have you talked to Julie?” He asked. Julie, for those of you who haven’t been acquainted with her, is Amtrak’s automated attendant. She’s supposed to be friendly, pleasant and helpful. Mostly, she is. It’s not her voice - they found a woman with a calming and informal tone to record the script - but there’s something off-putting about Julie.