Kendall Defoe
Bio
Teacher, reader, writer, dreamer... I am a college instructor who cannot stop letting his thoughts end up on the page. No AI. No Fake Work. It's all me...
And I did this:
Stories (833)
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A Few Thoughts on Pornography
Pornography – the love that can’t help but speak its name. It is now August. Summer is coming to a close in about a month if you consider what the seasons are like in Canada. I am here, tapping this out on a laptop that I made sure was not connected to the Internet, and I am considering a walk and a visit to a museum or theatre before I decide whether or not to transfer this piece to another laptop and post it for the wide world of Vocal.
By Kendall Defoe 4 years ago in Confessions
Bullet
The first problem was waking up in bed. It had been a beautiful morning while he waited in line for the bus. Will was expecting to take a very short nap before getting back to work. But he would also have to call them. That was the deal. Family is family, and we don’t get to choose them, do we? That was his thought as he put his knapsack on the floor, closed his eyes, and let the articulated city bus rock him gently into sleep in his seat.
By Kendall Defoe 4 years ago in Fiction
A Clockwork Memoir. Top Story - July 2022.
1. In 1981, Limeridge Mall opened in my hometown not too far from my aunt’s house. There was a Cineplex that played the big films of the day (Porky’s, Raiders of the Lost Ark, etc.) and my family took me to see Disney’s cartoon version of Robin Hood. I was eight years old and what I remember most about the day was the walk down the ramp to the theatres. There were separate lanes marked off with bars and on the right-hand side were the posters for each film. That was when I was struck by a huge white poster with a triangle framing the face of Alex, an eyeball and what seemed to be a naked statue of a fertility goddess.
By Kendall Defoe 4 years ago in Geeks
Parker's Blues (Alien and the Nemesis)
Note: this was originally written in September of 2009... No chance getting it published then, so... It is a strange time to be a fan of horror films. After September 11th, the media informed us that the age of irony (in American life, as has to be said) was over and that films would have to deal with cold facts and unpleasant truths in a manner supposedly unseen in recent American films. The press was apparently referring to the brilliant slew of films which arose in the shadow of the Vietnam War, the civil rights movement, hippies, recreational drug use, cults, the counterculture and Watergate. After almost three years after the fact, 9/11 is still firmly rooted in the psyche of the west, yet our films have not followed suit. We still have the blockbusters like Spider-Man, Transformers, and Fantastic Four in crowded cineplexes and Hollywood is pursuing a business-as-usual path. This is not to ignore some of the great “small” films that have gained notice in the press, such as American Splendor, Lost in Translation, Thirteen, and Saved! which have their own particular means of truth-telling or authenticity. They capture the obsessive nature of a culture and the need to see oneself as one actually is: ordinary, lost and unsure of where we stand.
By Kendall Defoe 4 years ago in Geeks
How Covid-19 Turned Me into a Writer
I had better be careful about this one… When the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that Covid-19 was officially a pandemic, I began another set of journals. This was a habit that I had given up for many years after returning from overseas and realizing that my life was becoming quite repetitive with work, bills and the usual dramas. The onset of Covid was a very unusual drama that kept me guessing as to how long it would last (I even discussed the rising number of cases in China in one of my classes while I could still go in and teach). But then there was the official notice that this was real; this was very serious. Everything was about to change.
By Kendall Defoe 4 years ago in Confessions
How (Not) To Kill A Roommate. Top Story - July 2022.
Hello and hello… I wrote this some time ago when I was still living with roommates. I have seen them come and go; I have seen a lot of different types of behaviour and observed that certain things do not change. Instead, they repeat themselves, like comedy or tragedy on the world stage.
By Kendall Defoe 4 years ago in Humor
YouTube Etiquette
Another summer is upon us. Many of you have had some luck getting passports, or getting out to the cottage, or even finding a private spot for some well-deserved rest. But for most of us, we have been haunted by the terms “staycation” and “Covid protocols”. I found myself lucky enough to not have to wait in line for my passport – all my paperwork was completely long before the pandemic hit us – but now it is a question of money and time. What do I do with it and how do I enjoy it?
By Kendall Defoe 4 years ago in 01
Sweet Dreams
The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window… The boy woke up with a shudder, sweaty and scared. For the last few months, at least once a week, he had been having the exact same dream: a cabin; a light; no one else around. Why was this happening to him again?
By Kendall Defoe 4 years ago in Fiction
Twenty Reasons Why Nixon Was a Better President than Trump
Note: an idea like this was not formed in a vacuum. I once read a piece by the late P.J. O'Rourke about how Nixon was a better president than Clinton and thought it was a valid list. And now it is my turn with the former quitter and the one who cannot remain silent. Please enjoy the ride. It is not about playing fair; it is about telling some painful truths with laughter.
By Kendall Defoe 4 years ago in The Swamp
Dear Prime Minister...
To the Right Honorable Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau: Hello! Prime Minister, let me first say that I am a fan, as is most of my family. My mother still waxes poetic about your father and has remained loyal to the Grits (the Liberal Party for those not in the know). I think that she may have even met him when she first came to this country and was just beginning her life as a Canadian citizen as he was beginning to take the reins of government. Myself, I barely remember the man while he was in office, but I have seen films and read plenty of books and papers to be impressed by his achievements. And then I think about you and what you have accomplished as his son. No one likes to be compared to their parents too often for too long, but I think that in your case it is impossible to ignore. So, I think that you might need to do something quite dramatic to keep you name in the history books besides being a footnote to Trudeau pere:
By Kendall Defoe 4 years ago in The Swamp
