More - D.N. Schmidt

Heterological Words and the Ineffable Gap Between You and Me

More / linguistics, semiotics / 5 minutes of reading

I’ve always been annoyed by certain counterintuitive words, words that demonstrate the opposite of their meaning. Words should be easy to grasp once you learn their definition, but some words seem to want to confuse you. The word “hyphenated” has no hyphen. The word “long” is shorter than “short.” The word “backwards” isn’t spelled in reverse. How irritating! As a …

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words on a building - illustration for heterological words article

Thank You For Trying Mind Shield

More / computers, creepy, cyberpunk, software / 4 minutes of reading

Dear Customer, Welcome to your free trial of Mind Shield, the premiere infohazard protection service! Your new neuro software has already been activated. During your limited trial, you will be shielded from all manner of mental threats, infectious information, and thought invasions. NOTE: You have selected the highest level of protection, Fortress Level. Our Instant Perception Editing process may affect …

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Neon neurons, illustration for cyberpunk horror piece Thank You For Trying Mind Shield

The Speculative Short Fiction Sites List

More / links / 2 minutes of reading

I’ve decided to share a list of some sites with free speculative fiction I’ve enjoyed. For those not in the know, “speculative fiction” is an umbrella term including genres like science fiction, fantasy, superhero fiction, horror, utopian and dystopian fiction, space opera, steampunk, and supernatural fiction. I’ll add more links to short fiction sites to this page as I run …

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Bookshelves spelling out the word "read" - illustration for short fiction sites link page

The Ants

More / detective / 7 minutes of reading

A Strange Short Story Detective Nick Wergild returned to his office after a particularly grueling day’s work. A new client had hired him to find out if her husband was having an affair, and if he was, to get proof for the divorce lawyers. So Nick had spent several hours hiding in his bushes and waiting for a girlfriend to …

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Ants Crawling - Illustration for short funny story The Ants

The Snake Charmer and the Human Unicorn – A Love Story

More / circus, sideshow / 22 minutes of reading

For one week in summer, red cloth and steel polls transformed a vacant lot into another world. Strange creatures danced like demons, beautiful women tamed wild beasts, and ordinary men demonstrated a host of supernatural powers. The sideshow had come to town. The sideshow! The bastard child of the circus and the absolute bottom rung of the theatrical ladder. In …

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