COLUMBIA, MARYLAND-

I have always loved Halloween.

There are the visuals: monster movies, baskets of brightly colored candy bars, costumes that amaze, (more…)

By Rich Ferguson 

LOS ANGELES, CA-

Generally, the Day of the Dead is a holiday celebrated mainly in Mexico and Mexican immigrant communities here in the U.S.

Officially, it occurs on November 1 (All Saints’ Day) and November 2 (All Souls’ Day).

Though some consider the holiday depressing, the mood is actually much brighter, with a strong emphasis placed on honoring the lives of the dead, and celebrating their continuation of life in the afterlife.

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OTAKO, JAPAN-

So yesterday was Halloween and therefore our chance to give the kiddies a taste of authentic American culture.

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SEATTLE, WA-

“I think I’m going to have a seizure!” Ken yelled.

He was inside of me and I laughed. We’d known each other since college and our decade-long flirtation had combusted at a Halloween party earlier that night. We were having sex for the fourth time in six hours and I assumed he was kidding.

When he began violently jerking up and down, I realized this wasn’t mere flattery. Suppressing an urge to freak out, I rolled him onto his back, reached for the phone and called 911.

“911. What’s your emergency?” the dispatcher asked.

“My friend’s having a seizure,” I responded, simultaneously moving a pillow between Ken’s head and the wall.

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SAN DIEGO, CA-

The fires are mostly out, the air has mostly cleared, the city of San Diego is returning to a new normal.

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PHILADELPHIA, PA-

Body memories ooze through pores. I once resisted the feelings. Not anymore.

I let my body relive the moment, whether it’s getting goosebumps, letting my shoulders slump, or tightening every muscle in my belly. I think of the place, and there I am, again, in that moment . . .

Richmond: where things shook under my fingers and led to uncertain paths

The Chevy becomes an extension of my body. The steering wheel isn’t something external to me. It’s the outgrowth of my hands and my handle on sanity.

I need to be in the driver’s seat. My Chevy is the only place where I actually am.

This is therapy. Or escapism. Same thing at this point.

I flounder in two part-time jobs.

My elbows grow calluses from leaning for hours on desks and counter tops while I work.

It is possible I am not a happy person.

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA-

The world is on fire (at least part of it) and as if in harmony with flames, the moon was orange last night. (more…)

CHARLOTTE, NC-

It had been a while since I’d been to “Uptown” Charlotte. Part of Charlotte’s big-brain marketing is calling downtown “Uptown.”

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PARIS, FRANCE-

I was pulled over by the French police today.

I suppose it was only a matter of time before it happened.

Every time I see the police here I actually physically cringe because I’m so afraid of them.

But this morning I didn’t see them. I didn’t know they were there.

I also didn’t know I’d done anything wrong. (more…)

SEATTLE, WA-

Two years ago I interviewed Sherman Alexie for the second time. The interview was going to be a centerpiece of a theme issue for a magazine that I had written for a number of times before. The editors decided to scrap said theme and the interview hung in limbo for nine months before the managing editor killed it.

I’ve interviewed dozens of individuals from Wanda Sykes to Ron Jeremy and Alexie remains among my favorites, both because his art impacts my life and because he is boundlessly intelligent. He sends my mom the sweetest thank you notes when she sends him baklava, plus, he is the only person who’s ever had the balls to write her and say, “Could you please send more?”

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PHILADELPHIA, PA-

Welcome to the first installment of my first interview on TheNervousBreakdown.com.

I was inspired by Kaytie M. Lee’s interview of NOMAD, the graffiti artist, and by B. Francis Smith’s interview of David Breithaupt, Kurt Vonnegut’s pen pal.

I wanted to post an interview, but I had no idea whom to interview . . . until I thought about what has consistently interested me the most: the intersection of sexuality, law and culture.

In fact, all facets of sex and sexuality have interested me as long as I can remember. In the early ’80s, my folks let me take Dr. Ruth’s books from the library, something that other young grammar-school children weren’t doing.

Throughout three academic degrees, this intersection has regularly been my focus: mating and dating rituals, gender identity, sexual harassment laws, pornography regulation, obscenity laws, feminism, polyamory, rights for same-sex couples, sex work, and plenty more.

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LAFAYETTE, CO-

Anxiety attacks.

Mild depression.

Manic spells.

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CHICAGO, IL -

The other night I was at my favorite coffee shop with my favorite girl, Claire.

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA

When I started Opium Magazine in February 2001 I had no idea. Didn’t know HTML, had only a tiny handful of friend’s who wrote where I lived (Chicago), and decided to create the site and run it for one year. I thought of it as fun, a fun thing to do.

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SARANAC LAKE, NY-

You buy a house. Alone.

You paint your living room. Alone.

One Saturday in October, you force yourself to drive to the hardware store, buy a sander, a pry bar, a carpet knife, a nail set, three kinds of sandpaper, and a can of finish. (more…)

THE DEEP SOUTH-

a couple of weeks back Eric Spitznagel wrote a lovely ode to the frustrations of the punctuation - perhaps my favorite post of the year. In the frou frah that is sometimes TNB it got a bit lost. Please go back and reference it either pre or post the reading of my own little post which it inspired…

To hell with commas

you little coma

you killer of spark and stride

Know thee not that thou art

the devil’s tail?

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SAN DIEGO, CA-

The sun sets over Lindbergh Field on Oct. 23, 2007.

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SAN DIEGO, CA-

Those few little fires I wrote about on Sunday night have multiplied and grown and ravaged somewhere over 300 square miles of land and over 1000 homes throughout Southern California.

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SAN DIEGO, CA-

This was the view out my window Sunday:

The Coronado Bridge, rising from the two towers to the new Hard Rock Café Hotel Condo building, usually sits in the middle of that image.

The bridge is still there, I just couldn’t see it through smoke thick enough to make my eyes burn and my throat raw.

That’s right, Southern California is burning again. (more…)

By Rich Ferguson 

LOS ANGELES, CA-

The word Uranus.

Here are a few things I know about it.

First, it’s a noun.

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