Flame, Glass and Ink are Poems, essays, and reading notes by Stefania Joori Suh

Tag: article

  • prompt 92

    What do you complain about the most?

    I get irritated when things are not going the way they should, so the litany of complaints is as follows:

    • I can’t find what I want to wear – My closet is so tiny that all my clothes are crammed together, making it difficult to see my choice of clothese to wear. It happens constantly, so I must prepare my wardrobe for work at night to avoid the hassle in the morning. The closet has more than clothing because it is also used as a multi-storage room for everything from the food for my cats and parakeet to a set of Christmas decorations to miniature dollhouse articles. Searching for what to wear is like finding a Nemo.
    • The buses are not coming, and I am waiting forever… – I commute to and fro work and home by bus, which used to run on time until last month. But now is a morning ordeal. Either I have to get up earlier than now or leave home late. Either way, I am not late for work, but it’s troubling my yearning for a calm morning. What with attending to Mom’s healthcare attention and tending to the morning needs of my cats, fish, and parakeet, my morning is never in the doldrums.
    • I hate when people do not listen to me or ignore my presence – There is nothing more disheartening than being treated as if I were invisible. For example, when you say hi to everyone but me, I will be very shocked, vexed, and disheartened through a process similar to Kubla Ross’s five stages of dying. I will be more in sorrow than in anger if I am ignored.

    So these situations prompt me to burst into complaints, but my complaints usually dissipate into the echo of the air no one hears.

  • Movies Digest

    Some indulge in drinking, some gaming, but mine is binge-watching supernatural/suspense movies when I am under dark spells. Hence this past weekend, I wallowed in the below visceral world of make-believe with my cats as guardians perched next to me on both sides like Odin’s two crows, Memory and Thought.

    Vivarium (2019): This is one of the most surreal movies I have seen. Some classify this movie as Si-fi, but it is Horror because it has no hope of escaping from the cycle of repetition with no end to the movie’s end. The young couple’s hopes of finding a new home could be this sinful. I am only asking because the movie’s central theme stems from the globally realistic issue of housing problems in the context of planning and paying. And the question of conformity dominates throughout the movie. Readers familiar with the YouTube sensation of the Backroom series will find a kind of deja vu phenomenon while watching this, but this is scarier because it happens to good people.

    The New Daughter (2009): Kevin Costner plays an affectionate father who wants to bring up his two young children to the best he can as a newly divorced father. It’s refreshing to watch such a movie that portrays a loving single father caring for his children when most movies show only single mothers struggling – of course, loving, with their circumstances. Although the film does not feature my favorite ghostly characters who are purely spiritual, it can be forgiven for the sinister consequences that show no mercy to good people.

    Half Light (2008) – Demi Moore is a novelist in this movie who can’t get over the death of her beloved young son. She blames herself for him to drown to death while she is writing her new novel. The guilt-ridden mother retreats to a coastal village in Scotland, where she experiences supernatural phenomena so tangibly that it all seems too visceral to accept because of the preponderance of the awe. The lighthouse on a deserted island within such a small coastal village serves as a beacon of her spiritual guide, or could it be an alarm for the impending danger? But one thing is confident that the living must let go of the dead because once the soul leaves the body, then the soul belongs to no one, not even in the streams of love’s salty fires. If you really love them, set the departed free.

    Stephen King, whose name befits the sobriquet of King of Horror, once said that fiction is the mirror image of reality, sort of an alter ego of the real world. Horror reflects fear that hopes are only a vanity of imagination or, as Thucydides says, a dangerous daydreaming made of bodacious hubris. What if what we think of or see as real is not real but only the likeness of truth? That is Horror, which is all reflected in these movies.

  • Prompt 91

    What would you do if you won the lottery?

    If I won the lottery, the first thing I would do is pay off all my dues in one fell swoop, just like Alexander the Great cutting the Gordian Knot with his sword in one fell swoop.

    Once debt-free, then I would fix my teeth with braces. Orthodontists and dentists make fortunes because, most of the time, dental insurance does not cover the expenses entirely. That is why people do not visit them as often as they should. The ancestors of the professionals were barbers, butchers, and even cooks before the middle-class professionals replaced the aristocracy and became the new ruling class after the French Revolution. It is not to demean dentistry and its professionals out of malice. Still, the medical professionals, except for physicians who did not deal with the blood and pusses from the fleshes, were not regarded as highly as they are now. Today’s exorbitant medical and dental expenses are the pride and prestige of the coveted class status.

    Finally, with the rest of the money, I will buy either a unit of an apartment with a commanding view or a townhouse with a nice little backyard well guarded by a security system somewhere in northern California, Oxnard, or Northridge. If the money’s still left, then I would use it to keep up my appearance and to go to Capri and Positano in Italy for holidays with my cats, Toro and Camille.

  • prompt 90

    What books do you want to read?

    My choice of books is nonfiction, preferably history, particularly about ancient civilizations. Also, I read books about psychology and memoirs of people selected based on their philosophy and characters I find relatedly interesting. A few fiction may claim the places on my list if they are short stories or stories about relatable characters.

    That said, the following is a list of my immediate books to read:

    • The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose – This is my second book of Prose. Her characters are so down to earth with real jobs. She makes the invisible visible. I mean how many books are written about a hotel maid solving a mystery unexpectedely?
    • The Greeks by Philip Matyszak – I am reading it now.
    • Lost Cities of the Ancient World by Philip Matyszak – I enjoy Matyszak’s history books. He draws on sscholarly knowledge with his trademark witticism, which is very entertaining and informative.
    • The Storyteller by Dave Grohl – When I heard it first, I thought it would be a fashionable memoir of yet another millionaire celebrity. But I changed my mind when I read his letter published elsewhere. He seems like a good writer.

    My first choice is The Mystery Guest, which I borrowed from a public library this week. Then I will finish reading The Greeks, which I am in the middle of reading. I habitually read books from one to another, depending on my mood. I should curtail watching YouTube the so that I can finish my books. But when I am home from work or on weekend, I watch aviation or travel contents from YouTube for refreshment because as I mentioned in my previous prompt, reading is studying using the faculty of mind to chew and digest it to be nourished.

    But this is not to say I am a luddite for YouTube, which is also an effective medium for transmitting knowledge of the world. A balanced acquisition of knowledge via optical illumination and linguistic stimulation is what I should do. I just have to make it a habit, as Artistotle said a repetition can make a strong result.

  • Prompt 75

    Come up with a crazy business idea.

    Busy at my curiosities shop 🌟⭐️🧚‍♀️ image credit “Kiki’s Delivery Service”

    It is said that those of us whose zodiac animal is Tiger are better suited for being employers. But I am an employee and have always been. Today’s prompt topic is apropos of my dormant nature suppressed by the immediate need for livelihood. Under the Universal Literary License, here’s a list of my business proposals.

    Welcome to our shop! 😃

    1. Erasing the Past – I will find a path to memory lanes for clients and send them to the moments of regret to erase the carbuncles so they can start afresh. Dr. Steven Hawkings said we can never go back to the past, while we can reach the future, but there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in his theory or hypothesis. When they return to the present, then they will not remember anything. No more mindless and inefficient counseling or therapy that will only exacerbate the pains of the wounded souls and keep them anchored in the ditch of the past.

    My shop assistants: Toro and Camille from L to R 👍

    2. Hearing Aid to Understand the Animals (exclusively adjusted to cats) – There are apps invented for understanding your cats’ sounds, but mine will not need to be downloaded but purchased at my store. I have mastered understanding the language of animals, specializing in the Feliani Silvetris (Domestic Cats). Cats can be very vocal, just like my Toro and Camille. Domestic cats have developed their lingual structures under the influence of humans. Besides, cats in the States speak differently from their counterparts in other parts of the world. My cats are bilingual understanding English and Korean. With my Hearing Aid, you have no qualms about what your cats are trying to speak.

    3. Automatic Automobile – No, not the one from Tesla. My cars will not need Driver’s Licenses to drive them. The age limit for driving my Automatic Automobile will be from 18 years old to as long as you can go around. The 18 years of age is what Arstitole believed was the ready age for marriage. You can rent it for 20 dollars for a day. Don’t worry about accidents at all because they are magically operated.

    4. Glamour Spell Book – The book has been licensed by Pixies, German faeries known for this spell to make women beautiful. I know that beauty is only skin-deep, but you can’t deny that it attracts others to learn more about your inner self. There are copies available, but you have to buy them at the store. Not available online. No more celebrity-owned beauty. It’s the democratizing of beauty for all.

    My Curiosities Shop is open to all who need my magical items. I sell Magic, Dreams, and Hopes using my Witchcraft under the influence of my stars and fire and water, two alchemical elements of my spirit. But mind you if you exploit them for any selfish purpose or malice, they will change their natures.

    Toro will watch over my clients. 👍

  • prompt 74

    Describe an item you were incredibly attached to as a youth. What became of it?

    Image credit from Google

    I still remember when my father bought me a pretty red-colored Sanyo Walkman as a birthday present in middle school. It was in 1986 when the Norwegian pop band A-HA was my idol – or some call it Puppy Love-. So, my walkman, which became a unique noun for any portable stereo cassette tape player back then, was my most precious possession for listening to my favorite band’s music. It was equivalent to today’s iPhone. So we’re my music cassette tapes.

    I used to tape off many pop songs from radio shows: Duran Duran, Madonna, Wham, Tears for Tears, Cindy Lauper, Sandra, etc. It was when MTV was in its prime, so it was all about their looks and gestures, not to mention easy, bubbly music tunes. I loved it all, and although my musical taste is quite eclectic, the 80s music is the best of all, unlike these days. (Already! LOL). Since then, my musical horizon has widened, but the first impression is the most indelible. By the way, Duran Duran is still alive and kicking, so it’s good to see them, especially to their loyal adoring fans.

    Come to think of it, I feel privileged to have lived two centuries, having witnessed the advent of the Digital Age and enjoyed its bells and whistles. I wonder if this is what it was like to live between the Bronze Age and the Metal Age at the Fall of Troy. I wonder if Aaenas escaping from the burning Troy into the Great Era of Rome would have felt the same? 🤓