Brain-Dead Baby Jesuses

“Miley skimmed the article, but it was clearly ridiculous — it claimed that swarms of nano-drones were flying around the country, finding women who had said pro-life things on the internet, and then entering their bodies.”

by Mary E. Lowd

Originally published in Kaleidotrope, July 2019


The snow came down in flurries.  It swarmed outside the window of Miley’s dorm room, brushing softly against the third story window in gusts of wind.  Tiny flakes.  White crystals, pinging against the glass.  Miley had been checking the weather app on her phone, watching the forecast fluctuate back and forth all week — snow on Friday, no wait, now on Saturday, back to Friday, and then only freezing rain.  She’d been praying for snow. Continue reading “Brain-Dead Baby Jesuses”

Yasper and the Afterparty

I don’t know if I have the energy for it, now that I’ve waited until it wouldn’t be outrageous spoilers… but I have THOUGHTS and FEELINGS about how The Afterparty turned out.

The Afterparty is a show that I’ve ended up with incredibly mixed feelings about. Like… it was super fun to watch, and I kind of can’t deny that it was really well done… Continue reading “Yasper and the Afterparty”

Highest Aspirations

“If there were a TV show you could have written for… which one would it be?”

Obviously, Deep Space Nine.

When I was in high school and DS9 & Voyager were on the air, they were still open to looking at freelance scripts. My mom told me that, yes, if I wrote one, sent it, and got invited to join the writers room, she’d move down to LA with me so I could. Continue reading “Highest Aspirations”

The Wonder Years and Copyright

I grew up watching The Wonder Years, and some years ago, I wanted to be able to share that show with my spouse.

It wasn’t available. Why? The songs and copyright.

The songs in The Wonder Years — and they had so many good songs; they’re such a part of the texture and meaning of the show — hadn’t been purchased with DVD or streaming rights in mind or somesuch. Because of course, DVDs and streaming didn’t exist when the show was made. Continue reading “The Wonder Years and Copyright”