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The Avian Quartet
 
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The Avian Quartet, an Amazon Short
by Alan C. Baird (Author)
  5.0 out of 5 stars 1 customer review (1 customer review)  

Price:  $0.49
Length:  5,305 words, 18 pages
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About the Author
Alan C. Baird is a prizewinning author whose storytelling is currently available in the Glory anthology and in a hardback/softcover/web/wap ... Read more
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Editorial Reviews
Product Description
Flying has always fascinated me, and I've often dreamed of the freedom of birds. Then I met four birds who changed my life: a courageous robin in Vienna, a playful seagull off the coast of Ireland, a sparrow-in-training who lived in a college town and a curious hawk, soaring effortlessly above the mountains of Tehachapi.

The Complete Works of Alan C. Baird
Most recent titles listed first
Literary Potpourri, Vol 1, #4 Literary Potpourri, Vol 1, #4 January, 2003; 390 pages
A compilation of excellent short stories, flash fiction, poetry, graphic art and photography from the online literary journal, Literary Potpourri's quarterly issues. This is a special four-issue anthology which is a 390 page First Anniversary Issue. Read more
Glory: A Nation's Spirit Defeats the Attack on America Glory: A Nation's Spirit Defeats the Attack on America November, 2001; 261 pages
9TimeZones.com - an eMail screenplay collaboration between Hungary and L.A. (includes first draft script 'The Fall In Budapest') 9TimeZones.com - an eMail screenplay collaboration between Hungary and L.A. (includes first draft script 'The Fall In Budapest') December 1, 1999; 316 pages
Imagine writing your script with a mysterious stranger who's half a world away. Brief phone calls reveal some of the puzzle, but a short-story-filled eMail exchange provides the real key. If you wanted to share this correspondence, what would you do? Read more
9TimeZones.com - an eMail screenplay collaboration between Hungary and L.A. (includes first draft script 'The Fall In Budapest') 9TimeZones.com - an eMail screenplay collaboration between Hungary and L.A. (includes first draft script 'The Fall In Budapest') September, 1999; 316 pages
Imagine writing your script with a mysterious stranger who's half a world away. Brief phone calls reveal some of the puzzle, but a short-story-filled eMail exchange provides the real key. If you wanted to share this correspondence, what would you do? Read more

About the Author

Alan C. Baird is a prizewinning author whose storytelling is currently available in the Glory anthology and in a hardback/softcover/web/wap project entitled 9TimeZones.com, which recently appeared at the Whitney Biennial. His articles may be found in various periodicals, including PC, Playboy, and Britain's Guardian and Screenwriter. Online, he's been featured in McSweeney's, In Posse, The Morning News, Locus Novus, 3am, Flashquake and Quick Fiction, among many other fine publications. Alan was inordinately pleased when ABC-TV's Max Headroom series purchased his debut student film, widely hailed as the most uncommercial piece of_in Michigan State's history. Born down east, he now lives just a stone's throw from Phoenix which is fine and dandy, until the stones are thrown back.

Alan C. Baird's latest blog posts
       
 
Alan C. Baird sent the following posts to customers who purchased The Avian Quartet
 
6:51 AM PDT, May 17, 2008


Kevin Spacey, Laura Dern, Denis Leary, John Hurt, Tom Wilkinson, Ed Begley Jr. and Bob Balaban will star in Recount, the drama about the Florida results in the 2000 presidential election. Recount premieres Sunday May 25th at 9pm on HBO.

Written by 33-year-old actor ("Buffy," "Gilmore Girls") turned screenwriter Danny Strong, Recount was the top script on the 2007 Black List, an annual poll of 150 development executives and high-level assistants that ranks the hottest screenplays making the rounds in Hollywood.
Comment    

8:20 AM PDT, May 15, 2008


I just got the itemized bill for my little 2-hour outpatient procedure:

Pharmacy - $1,152.75
IV Solutions - $400.00
Med-Surg Supplies - $82.00
Sterile Supply - $5,007.00
Supply/Implants - $3,448.00
OR Services - $13,709.85
Anesthesia - $3,873.45
Recovery Room - $1,969.20
TOTAL CHARGES - $29,642.25

Man, you could buy a really hot car for that kind o' dough. Keerist. I was starting to feel sick... but then realized I couldn't afford it.
Comment    

10:19 AM PDT, May 12, 2008


Simply having reproduced is nothing to be especially proud of. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to get knocked up. In fact, millions of gals do it without having the slightest thought in their pretty little heads. But around this time of year, many mothers would like us to believe they've performed enormous selfless services to the species and the planet.

Do you remember asking to be brought into this overpopulated, globally-warmed, hate-filled, war-torn, disease-infested hellhole? Neither do I.

Dammit Mom, why didn't you keep your legs crossed?

Most women don't even consider what the potential kid might want. They get pregnant mainly because they want a real live kewpie doll they can play with. They need a small helpless being to give them the unconditional love they've heard so much about, the kind of love they can't get from their men. They need to see a pair of adoring, unjudgmental eyes staring back at them. For a few years, anyway.

But when the helpless doll matures and inevitably realizes how fucked up his mommy made him, the mom is outraged. She says, "But I gave life to you."

Bullshit, Mom. You selfishly decided your life was incomplete without a rugrat. And now you want... GRATITUDE?!

Oh, okay. Happy Mother's Day. Don't choke on the chocolate WMDs.
 
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Aviariations on a theme..., May 27, 2007
Four common birds: a robin, a gull, a sparrow, a hawk. All seemed completely ordinary to me before now; all too often they are invisible participants in the course of a busy day. In "The Avian Quartet," these birds not only come to life in the most exquisite locations (yes, I'll venture East Lansing is exquisite at times!), but each is given a delightful persona as well that complements the recurring melancholy theme.

While the sparrow's story was my favorite (I found myself clenching my fist as I read, hoping it might help the little guy make the enormous flight across the street without becoming a "feather pancake"), the four stories together create a harmonious quartet. The fourth story offers a subtle climax and resolution to the melancholic theme of the series by way of an unexpected and redeeming moment of mystique. Very satisfying!

Baird appears to have an extrodinary connection to birds and a lovely way of passing on his tales. Perhaps his similarly spelled surname is no coincidence.
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