Years ago I wrote a short story called Lobbyist’s Nightmare, a satirical story about a corporate lobbyist who has a nightmare about congress. In his tortured dream he finds that there are no longer two dominant political parties in the two branches of Congress anymore. The Democrats only have a combined eight representatives and senators …
Author: termberkden
I am a writer, a software engineer, and a refugee from the punk/metal/new wave/my-God-what-did-we-do-last-night daze of the San Francisco scene.
I write, I run, I actually stop and smell the roses, I meow back at cats, and I pet strange yet friendly dogs.
The Right has Always Hated Science
Conservatives hate science. They always have. They loathe the vast army of scientists and researchers who are sounding the alarm bells about climate change. Corporations are responsible for that propaganda, because they would rather make as much profit as possible, even at the cost of destroying the planet. Evangelists hate the theory of evolution and …
Pinball World Record in the time of Coronavirus
As I have written before, I intend to break a world record: The longest time playing pinball, in which I would attempt to play for 33 hours. (Current record is 32 hours and 2 minutes.) I am doing this to raise funds for Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy, a charity that raises money to fight Duchenne. …
I Actually Want Trump to Lead. No, Really!
In the last week Trump has been touting jobs numbers and has been going off about statues being toppled over, and has even been ranting about flag burning. All in the middle of a pandemic, which he dismisses as inconsequential, over and over again.. Any silver lining for progressives? One could imagine that liberals could …
Smeg Trek – Star Trek Voyager/Red Dwarf Fanfic
Here is an excerpt from my script Smeg Trek! Two confessions: Yes, I wrote fan fiction! Also: This is the only fan fiction I have written. This is my Star Trek:Voyager/Red Dwarf crossover story. You can download this script in PDF format! INT. VOYAGER – BRIDGE Janeway, Chakotay, Tuvok, Paris and Kim are at their …
Gutter Folklore
Gutter Folklore is a collection of stories I wrote waaaay back when, some of my first attempts to write short stories and a somewhat cohesive narrative. It’s also the stories where I initially developed the extra-urban punk-crust extraordinaire Skye, a persistent character in my fiction. This book is currently available on Amazon! Film Gray streets. …
The Hardest Part About Writing
I’ve written about the writing process before. Writing comes naturally to me. That is, stories come naturally to me, since I’ve led such a colorful and insane life. I also write every day: Blog drafts, working on my newest novel, or just composing posts on Facebook. I’ve been blogging for more than fifteen years, I’ve …
Dry Heave Records
This is an early chapter from my novel-in-progress What the Hell Ever Happened to Yuri Rozhenko? This work is the sequel to my novel Crash Shadow: A Tale of Two Addicts. I have prepared this opening and am offering it up for feedback, as it is still a work in progress. “She wanted to call …
His name was Derrick Jones – The ones Before George Floyd
I remember what happened to Derrick Jones. But I didn’t remember his name. I only remembered the incident. I had to Google him. Derrick Jones was a barber in Oakland, California. He was a black man. And he was also unarmed when he was shot to death by two Oakland police officers. The officers who …
On the Subject of Speed and Privy Members – An excerpt from my novel The Falling Circle
Here is an excerpt from my novel The Falling Circle, a story about being down and out and punk in the big city. Available on Amazon.com It was an unusually cold night. The biting cold seemed to make the night extra dark. A good gust of wind would shoot by now and then as Preston …