“Hey, Self, we haven’t made bread in a while. Maybe it’s time.”
“Sure, sounds good. And while we’re at it, let’s play around with the rise. This sourdough levain looks great, let’s try using just that and a pinch of yeast and see where that takes us.”
“Terrific idea, Self!”
/hours pass
“So, this second rise is taking forever, right?”
“Indeed it is. Perhaps our fun and innovative exploration into alternative rise methodologies wasn’t a wise move after all.”
“True, true, but the fireplace is on, let’s see if raising the heat will help.”
/another hour passes with encouraging results
“This is working, we just need more heat. Let’s move the dough off the coffee table and snug it right up against the fireplace.”
“Excellent idea, Self. The cat’s super sacked out, what’s the worst that could happen?”
No, he’s not sorry.
/sigh, although in my defense, the dough was covered with several layers of tea towel plus plastic.
There are a lot of holidays happening today or starting this week, including some of the big ones: Lunar New Year and the Spring Festival, Mardi Gras (and Lent), and Ramadan.
If I used AI casually I might ask it for an image of a fiery horse eating a beignet at an iftar meal, but instead I’ll just wish you all a wonderful week!
“Yet, through all the gloom, I can see the rays of ravishing light and glory. I can see that the end is more than worth all the means. And that posterity will triumph in that day’s transaction…” ― John Adams
The idea for Missed-Fits is born of two central motivations at Calendar of Fools: the desire to create truly unique books and reading experiences for our readers, and the desire to provide a service or fill a gap we see in the professional short fiction space. In this case, the gap we saw was a relative dearth of stories of a certain length (1,200 to 2,100 words)…
I backed an earlier Calendar of Fools campaign and am happy to see that these anthologies are still going strong.
Given that I like books, often write stories that don’t fit traditional venue length requirements, and enjoy supporting artists, this is right up my alley.
If there’s one thing I frequently excel at, it’s doing things badly. And I don’t mean this in a negative way.
I find something really enjoyable about just muddling through low-stakes activities, because for me at least, it’s clear that it’s all about fun. If it’s something I’ve never tried before, I’m not going to be great right off the bat. And I’m not there to win prizes, head off to the Olympics, or generally ratchet up expectations to the point of stress. It’s a temporary retreat to childhood with many of the perks and few of the perils.
For example, we’re going snowshoeing today and I fully expect to be terrible at it. And that’s okay!
With any luck, a good time will be had even as I fall, get snow in my mittens, and laugh hysterically while generally have a blast.
The Winter Olympics are here, and that can only mean one thing: for the next few weeks, people who don’t like to do housework and can’t really tolerate the cold will become unnaturally interested in a sport which involves sweeping while standing on ice. Curling is back, and all is right with the world.
Do you want the truth? I will whisper so no one else will hear and think that I am crazy. I am not the ‘clever young legal scholar’ as has been alleged. The idea didn’t arise because I am brilliant or original. It only happened because, one night, after I had given up before trying, Lake Owakeela talked to me.
This story was a winner of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ “Write Before Midnight” short fiction competition, judged by none other than Kim Stanley Robinson (yes, of the Mars trilogy, The Ministry for the Future and many, many more).
See Robinson’s story notes at the top of the page, then settle in to enjoy a clever, entertaining, and ultimately uplifting story about protecting the world, and those who live in it.
J.R. Johnson 
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