The idea of hunting frogs with sticks and pokers of various sizes, seemed not outside local traditions of boyhood misadventure at that moment. some of them i pounded across the back, and repeatedly, until they stopped moving. some were pinned by a swift stab, against the mud, and into which they sank, as i sustained/increased my pressure, again, until it was dead. time passed in the rhythm of the killing. i forgot where i was, i think. i can't remember anything but the coldness and the precision, and the nearness of terror. if killing things could be so easy, what prospects for a young man just finding his power. i killed many frogs that day...more

The world is filled with a great diversity of living things. Many of them are so strange that they evoke in us a feeling of uneasiness. Sometimes, for reasons we cannot logically explain, they make our skin crawl. When such animals are small and vulnerable, we are at a loss to explain why the have such power over us. I have myself very often experienced such feelings of revulsion -- even horror -- at the sight of some creatures. In this blog, I will attempt to illuminate that quality possessed by certain insects and creepy things. I am hoping to gain power over them and the effect they have on me. Perhaps other "victims" of their own irrational psychology will benefit also. Jack Mardack