Mike Kraus — By all appearances, John is a success. As we know, appearances are more important than facts. He looks the part of a celebrated businessman standing on the cobblestone lane waiting for his family to arrive. John dresses, acts, and delegates as is expected of an executive. In this stern Protestant…

Mike Kraus — I rub my eyes and hardly notice kicking a slipper in the hallway. The linoleum floor is surprisingly chilly. A faint light seeps onto it from under the bathroom door. It holds my attention in the darkness. Again, I hear a haunting whisper just under the rumble of a running…

Mike Kraus — There’s a break in the cornfields off highway 57 that is filled with prefab apartments, car dealerships, and run down strip malls. Five lanes of traffic chaotically battle in a race with no finish line. Potholed streets lined with weeds lead to a myriad of driveways where cars anchor in…

Brightscapes: The Way To Beauty I count my breaths as I enter the woods. It calms my thoughts and helps me to relax. The chaos and cravings of the world evaporate with every step. If you’re fortunate enough to find the mysterious pass, then you enter into paradise. …

Brightscapes: The Way To Beauty I count my breaths as I enter the woods. It calms my thoughts and helps me to relax. The chaos and cravings of the world evaporate with every step. If you’re fortunate enough to find the mysterious pass, then you enter into paradise. …

Brightscapes: The Way To Beauty We made a late-night adventure away from the city’s light pollution. NEOWISE was visiting our sky for the first time in 6,766 years. On its last stopover to Earth, humans were just figuring out how to domestic pigs. How far we’ve come. The stars shoot…

Mike Kraus A gaunt man behind the counter slowly takes his eyes off his customer’s alcohol to glance out the window. “Tom-me… Locks…” and the large man by the doors turned the locks, slides the metal security gate, and pulls out a Ruger LCP .380. Outside, a crowd of about…

Brightscapes: The Way To Beauty Where this path will end is a mystery. The trees rustle in the breeze stirring up the aromas of the forest. A freshness one always has to remind themselves of in civilization. The light refracts in strange ways at this time. …

Brightscapes: The Way To Beauty After a couple of weeks in the forest, it’s time to return to the daily grind. We’ve packed our tent and equipment into our small car. The last of the food has been cooked and the leftovers will be snacks on the long trek home…