Nick Brandt: Zebras Crossing Lake, Ngorongoro Crater 2000

“On The Island” has been accepted by Cezanne’s Carrot. Something different, but the story’s also something different, and it’s been through quite a few drafts, so I’m pleased it’s seeing the light of day. I edited the last draft at the Consul General’s Residence in Surabaya and my boss asked me “I thought you’re supposed to write about what you know. What do you know about animal testing?” Not really anything personal, of course, but it is an issue I feel strongly about, and it’s my first really environmentalist story. it’s based on the true story of Vozrozdeniye Island, which I learned about in Weapons of Mass Destruction: the USSR used this island, filled with various animals, as a testing base for various biological weapons – it is now completely contaminated and is negatively impacting surrounding areas on the coasts of the Aral Sea.

Factoid: It’s split into 4 parts, and I named all 4 parts after Law & Order: Criminal Intent episodes. What a fan am I.

in pitch dark I go walking in your landscape, broken branches trip me as I speak

there’s always a siren singing you to shipwreck:steer away from these walls, we’d be a walking disaster

just cuz you feel it doesn’t mean it’s there… we are accidents waiting to happen

– Radiohead: “There There (The Boney King of Nowhere)”