The miracle at the Santa de Maria McDonald's was declared by the Pope to be bonafide, elevating the three good Catholic girls who witnessed the wonder to popular sainthood. Soon thousands upon thousands of the faithful began their pilgrimage to the fast food restaurant. Millions of hamburgers were sold and the waiting time kept under five minutes. It was said that the mere anointment with a drink purchased at the McDonalds could heal obesity and restore the use of limbs. Everyone was hoping for a repetition of the original divine occurrence, but no matter how many Cokes were ordered, none of them ever again turned into Pepsi.

Story #19

Concentrate. Concentrate. That's it. Think only one thought, to come into my world. What? No. I won't come out there with you. My world is much nicer. What's that you say? Of course not! It isn't lonely here at all. I sit back, watch the surfers go by. Someone always takes the time for a cozy little visit, or a stolen glance, and now I thought you were the one. Certainly. You can leave any time. I wouldn't keep you here. No, not at all. I haven't kept anyone here, have I? You wouldn't know? Well, you'll just have to trust me, won't you? If I wanted you here all I'd have to do is hold your attention for the time our heartbeats measure half a minute together, reach out my hand, cast my spell, and you could never leave. Yes, I think that is exactly what I will do.

Story #18

They kept the head in a cozy corner on the couch. The fact that it wasn't attached to a body didn't impair its company in the least. In fact, it was quite entertaining to have around, with its lively participation in any conversation that sprang up. It even had a macabre sense of humor, always making head jokes, "You haven't a head on your shoulders," "Look, I don't mean to head you off," or "Don't you worry your little head about it." The only time the head tended to look worried itself was when someone entered the room with a dog. No matter how vigilant everyone promised to be, at some point during the visit the pet invariably wound up licking the head's face, and sometimes even worse.

Story #17

Yes. She would do it. They were waiting for her on the beach. They had said she could come anytime during the night. To feel beautiful, to be desired, that was what moved her, and the decision to go to them, the two boys, the Gypsy and the West Indian whose mastery of voodoo she could sense in their compelling gazes, was one she made freely. The two boys did not ask any questions. She was pretty enough. But, oh, how she would look when they were through with her! Their magic would transform her into a goddess beyond measure. Even before she could disrobe they impatiently began the ritual to slide the skin from her body and reclothe her being in the outer form of Jennifer Lopez.

Story #16

The new way of smoking was hailed by all. No more smoke. No more smells. No more cigarette butts and ashes all over the place. No more cancer. Now the nicotine could be absorbed directly in streamed electron form via a surgically implanted chip interface right in the middle of the forehead. Nicking off, they called it. The nicotine was cyber-injected through the interface and into the brain with no stops in between, settling forever the issue of "Do you mind if I smoke?" For the sake of nostalgia the nicotine containers were kept in the form of the old cigarette packages including a new message from the surgeon general telling everyone to have a good time. The process of alcohol consumption was dealt with in a similar manner but in keeping with the secretive nature of that addiction the chip interface was kept out of sight and in the back of the head.

Story #15

Few people have not heard of the eminent German psychologist Dr. Heinrich Holzschnitt and his seminal research on human social interaction with furniture and larger household appliances. Since fleeing Germany in 1933, chased by a Gestapo agent swinging a kitchen chair at him, he had devoted his life to research in this heretofore little known but vitally important field. During the course of his career he brilliantly demonstrated how wobbly tables and refrigerators which constantly spoiled the milk could provoke the most violent of human aggressive responses. In one classic experiment subjects willingly set fire to a sofa which failed to match the room decor, when told to do so by a peer. Dr. Holzschnitt's theory of the innate human tendency of violence towards furniture was once again shown to be correct during a simple parlor game of Simon Says. "Simon says touch your nose." The players all did. "Simon says wiggle your left foot." They all did. "Carry everything outside and smash it." Before anyone realized the caller had neglected to say "Simon says," the damage had already been done.

Story #14

He tried his luck as a beggar and found that he had none. It was a rare person indeed who condescended to drop a dime into his hat. One day he hit upon a new idea. He found that while hardly anyone wanted to give him money, they were quite willing to give him their socks. They gave him old socks, new socks, white socks, dark socks, darned socks, designer socks, striped socks, monogrammed socks, socks with holes, socks without a mate, and even a few new types he had never seen before. Socks, socks, socks. Some were dirty, some were unravelling, a few were even his size. He kept the socks in plastic bags, wondering what to do with them. What he really needed most was the money to buy a new pair of shoes.

Story #13

The man was a failure with the opposite sex. Frustrated by this he obtained an antiquarian volume on the occult and began a study of the darker ways to seduce women. Carefully he prepared the sinister spell and memorized the ancient words to be articulated upon lighting the candle. He invited the object of his lust to his room on a pretense, offered her the necessary potion he had so meticulously cultivated, and ignited the unholy flame, mumbling the secret syllables under his breath. That was actually his problem with women. He mumbled. He would never speak up and they couldn't understand what he was saying, nor did they care. It was the same with the demon of the nether forces. It strained its ears with bored indifference, but especially demons are not divinely infallible, and it made a few mistakes in interpretation. Instead of turning the woman into a passionate wildcat with an undying sexual hunger for the man, it turned her into a starving wildcat, which now stalked its victim. They found his remains the next day, mauled and mangled in the most ghastly manner.

Story #12

Once upon a time the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded for the simple act of taking a picture, a picture of a black man and a white woman in love. The photo circled the globe charming several million pairs of eyes in less than a week. It left the Internet and appeared on billboards, in magazines, on the TV news. They were just a couple in love, yet somehow their photo inspired hands all over the world to reach out and encounter the warmth of other searching hands. Before long it was the most talked about image on the planet. Some called it the knockout blow to intolerance and hatred. Even the most hardened mentality found itself disarmed by the message of love. The most remarkable occurrence was how the Ku Klux Klan spontaneously disbanded, turning its sheets into diapers for the coming baby boom.

Story #11

It wouldn't be easy to arrange three willing girls to escort him. None of the three must mind that he wouldn't fulfill their standard of beauty. Furthermore each of the three would have to possess a certain openness towards non-conventional relationships, be - in a certain sense - connoisseurs of the exotic. This they must do undrugged and with utmost sincerity, especially if an invitation to his hotel room was extended. Since it was a particularly important ambassador, it was decided in one of the highest offices in the country that he would have a good time during his visit. It is always certain that decisions like these are carried out, no matter how difficult, and so three young women of the desired flexibility were found. The receptive females, brought to him at the restaurant, greeted him with their sweetest, most engaging look. But the three-headed ambassador of Alpha Centuri, after one glance at their Earthly beauty, fainted from the sheer horror of it.

Story #10

Brian was the archetype of egoism. Always thinking of himself. One day he saw an old gypsy woman selling roses and imagined he would look good with one of the blossoms clutched between his teeth. He set about to steal one but the Gypsy woman saw what he intended and diverted his attention by granting him a wish. He wished for the perfect companion and that is what he got. The magic reached inside him and drew out an exact image of his psyche, wrapping it in an ideal physical twin, which by the way had much better eyesight. Now the two were together and the only problem was they couldn't agree where their lips should meet for the first kiss.

Story #9

No one could say the dictator didn't have a sense of humor. He himself had coined the phrase "Big Brother is smelling you." His new breed of canine, a strange stew of enriched genes, had a hypersensitive nose that could actually smell subversive thoughts. They were feared, and with good reason. The dogs were so astute they could even sense which books a person had read up to six months ago. And heaven help anyone who had read one of the forbidden titles. At any one time legions of officials were underway systematically patrolling with the dogs. In this particular instance the state lost five of its most loyal denunciators who were celebrating the reward for their latest victim at an evening barbeque. The steaks smelled too good.

Story #8

"Ah what we do to the men!" said the blond girl to her dark haired friend.

The friend giggled. "And what did you do with yours?"

The blond grinned mischievously: "I told him I had read this really erotic stuff in the Kama Sutra, in the forbidden chapters, and that I wanted to try it all out with him."

"I bet that worked," replied the brunette with a knowing lilt in her voice.

"And they say we girls make terrible electricians. All I had to do was attach the lamp wire to the doorknob before he came up. He never knew what hit him. And what about yours?"

"Oh," said the brunette, "I told him to close his eyes and I'd go down on him for as long as it would take. Then I made mincemeat out of him!"

"You certainly are wicked," the blond girl responded, beginning a daydream with variations on her friend's idea.

"Yeah, but now I just can't get over this belly ache."

Story #7

Party Man™ was just the thing to have if you wanted your party to be a success. He could sit on the couch and entertain your guests with the most fascinating of conversations. Depending on which memory stick you plugged into him he could talk about fishing, Kafka, or even play mp3s. And if you used an extension cord, he could get up and mingle. Well, that was the theory. In reality he was never much of a success. People kept tripping over his wire and injuring themselves badly. And if you were unfortunate enough to spill a drink on him you could even electrocute yourself.

Story #6

She had led a solitary existence locked in the room all her life. She lived with her imaginary postcards, listened to music, read books, but it had all become intensely boring. Fortunately she also had a brilliant mind and turned it towards solving the problem of her isolation. Taking apart her computer and assembling the electronics in a new way, she transformed her closet into a boy machine. After programming her wishes she pressed the button. There were flashes of light and high voltage sounds as the door to the closet vibrated, then finally swung open. Out of the closet stepped the boy, just as she had envisioned him. Her face lit up with all the new possibilities as her body moved in a spontaneous dance of joy.

Story #5

The new Barbie Doll was destined to be a smash hit. It was life-sized, clothed in the latest high school fashions, so stunningly natural and real, it was declared indistinguishable from its human counterpart. One night a girl climbed through an open window into the department store, posed herself perfectly still next to the Barbie display, and waited, hoping that when day began someone would stop and notice her. She was so blinded by her desire to be added to someone's collection of toys that she hardly noticed the other live girls standing around her.

Story #4

The mosquitoes were massive and had developed monstrous intellect, sufficient enough to bring them through all the defenses. Now the man and woman waited, huddled together on the bed, the buzzing of the approaching insects chilling all sensation. A group of them synchronously thrust themselves against the door, forcing it open. They flowed in left and right until the two walls opposite the bed were obscured by their hovering forms. They appeared poised to attack. The largest of the mosquitoes, apparently the leader, buzzed in a strange, high-pitched language, "We won't hurt you. We just want to watch you make love." In that moment the expression on the woman's face could not have been more serene.

Story #3

There once was a boy who passionately hated his sister. In a burst of malignant inspiration he decided to make her jealous. One day, while his sister was at a friend's house he crept into her room and removed her favorite doll. He would play with it, become good friends with it, make it love him. After a few intense hours together with the doll his feelings for it blossomed. He felt now that he could never live without his sister's toy. In expression of this he embraced the doll as tenderly as he was able, but the doll merely pretended to love him back.

Story #2

She had a magic bathtub and when she lay in it she could send herself back into history to be any woman she wanted. Once she was Cleopatra and enjoyed the fruits of her male slaves before sacrificing them to the Goddess of Lust. Another time she was Sappho and enjoyed the sweet fruits of her own sex. She had lived often as the secret lover of famous men and women, changing forever the course of their lives. Now she lay simply in her magic bathtub, closed her eyes and savored the sensations kept alive in her private memories.

Story #1

The Synchronicity of Indeterminacy photo blog is to be a synchronous experiment in creativity and indeterminacy. It will feature photos randomly found via p2p sharing programs paired with an ultra-short story inspired by the found photograph. Real lives and an imagined story will be linked by that visual image captured for all eternity. Any resemblance between fantasy and reality will be a consequence of synchronicity. The idea is based on the Indeterminacy recordings by John Cage, pairing one-minute short stories with random sounds.

In 1984 I finished my studies and began working and earning more money than I was used to spending. It was an easy problem to solve. I just learned to spend more money. Music began to interest me and I decided to explore the different types of music and build up the "ultimate" record collection. I first saw the word "indeterminacy" when I read it in "The New Rolling Stone Record Guide" under John Cage. The brief description ran:

"Indeterminacy is ninety stories read by Cage, each told within the space of a minute, and none having anything to do with the next. They are inadvertently punctuated by tape, piano and radio provided by David Tudor, and became points of reference on a map of magic and invention."

This description fascinated me. I wanted that record, and believe me, I searched for it in every record store I entered. It could never be ordered. It just wasn't available. When I moved to Europe in the late 80's I continued my search there, in various shops in over ten different countries. I always checked under "C", in every record store I was in, on the off chance that I would finally find it. My search ended in 1992, about eight years after I had first read that entry in the Record Guide. It had been reissued on CD. Indeterminacy has since become one of my favorite recordings of all time. I keep it on the shelf with Kurt Schwitter's Ursonate, my Velvet Underground CDs, The Residents, Kiev's "Get Out of My Basement" and Gary Wilson's "You Think You Really Know Me" and "Another Galaxy", which also happens to be one of the rarest records in the entire galaxy.

John Cage's idea with indeterminacy was to read his stories completely independent of David Tudor. During the recording each was in a separate room and had no knowledge of what the other was doing. The stories and the sounds would come together in a completely unrelated way, lending new meaning to the whole, which became more than the sum of the two parts.

Synchronicity is a concept explored by the Swiss psychologist Carl Gustav Jung. It describes what he calls "meaningful coincidences" or the simultaneous occurrence of two indeterminate events which are so astonishingly in concordance as to suggest a paranormal cause; for example: a vivid dream of a certain event, and the subsequent occurrence of that event; or recalling the name of a long, lost friend, and then unexpectedly running into that friend around the next corner. If we are open to the art of indeterminacy around us, to the beauty of coinciding events, we sensitize ourselves to a greater recognition and appreciation of the synchronicity in our lives.

This blog is a variation on the Indeterminacy idea, linking one-minute short stories, stories that might be read within the space of a minute, with photographs randomly downloaded using p2p programs. The indeterminacy is perhaps theoretical in this case as it can only be perceived by reading the stories with knowledge of the lives behind the photographs, and seeing how they contrast and complement each other. The lives and the stories are the two elements which exist independent of each other. On the other hand the visitor to this blog might first view the photo and imagine his/her own reality behind it, and then see how this goes together with the one I imagined. Whatever results from pairing the photographs with short stories that they inspired, I believe it is an experiment worth trying.