Groupthink – Sex and loneliness

The act and the emotion. Entirely unfamiliar to HAL. But not to these guys.

Untitled Project – by Owsley Beck
“…digging like some sort of virus i have cleverly managed to take control of a long forgotten corner of her mind she stands in front of a full-length mirror wearing a pink go-go dress red panties pulled down and stretched tight over her thighs a full blush to her cheeks her mouth open breathing…”

the recipe – by Ling’Ling
sex and loneliness for dummies

Lighthouse Beacon – B.
There will be blood.  On the dance floor. Blood.  And an angel in a silver dress.

Groupthink – Fantasy

Frodo! NOOOOOOOOOooooo!!! Yes motherfuckers! HAL rocked everybody’s favorite genre this week with a venture down fantasy lane, and there’s nothing Gandalf and Dumbledore can do to stop us.

Xiao La and the Demon – by Ling’Ling
Part 1 of many more to come we hope. What is the grey little demon feeding Xiao La, besides goat testicles and other standard shaokao ingredients? What exactly is goblin diplomacy, and what role will our little heroine have to play in the great wars to come?

Flight of Fancy – by Betty P
HAL is hiring Astrid Lindgren (that’s right mfs) to write the screenplay, and Cameron is begging us for the movie rights. We’re riiiiiiiiiiiich!!!!!!!!!!!!

Groupthink – Love at First Sight

For better or worse, in sickness and in health, till death or the bottle do us apart. Love love love. It’s waiting around every corner but breakin’ up ain’t easy to do.

The One and Only – by Betty P
This protagonist finds it a tricky task to locate his one and only in the ruins that is Shanghai. While navigating the usual Hengshan Lu ruins, high-heeled clones and…nuclear bombs?

Tiny Feet – by Antique Rice
Love in the black year of 1994. And HAL can’t help but to ask: why are redheads synonymous with heartbreak?

Switching Platforms – by Ling’Ling
Heartbreak on repeat. God help me.

Groupthink – Your Last Will

The task this week was nothing less than to write your own last will, and, if you so will, last words to the world. Heavy stuff, ladies and gentlemen. Besides donating all their earthly possessions to HAL (as we knew they would), our groupthinkers came up with deeply personal texts, and we’re still begging most of them for permission to publish. Enjoy meanwhile the two Bs:

Suitcase – by Owsley Beck
Owsley’s legendary suitcase reappears, delivered out of the rich black soil of Battler River ‘like Jonah to shores of Nineveh.’

Do not bury me in Asia – by B.
Or else B. will be back to haunt us all. Rest assured B.: HAL will personally cremate you in the Da Marco pizza oven and smuggle you back to frosty northern Europe, we promise!

Groupthink – the Last Cup of Coffee in Shanghai

Quick! What’s the first thought that jumps into your mind when you hear the phrase ‘the last cup of coffee in Shanghai’?

If you said ‘suicide’ then sign on the dotted line. You’re the perfect candidate to be a HAL writer.

This week’s Groupthink exposed the morbid side of HAL as an eerie 6 out of 7 contributors chose to end their writings on a suicidal note (on paper, not in real life thank dog). From a suicidal lover, to a zombie slaying coffee addict and back  to caffeinated  murder/suicide.

The open-ended nature of Groupthink is calculated to give authors the freedom to do what they will with the assigned theme. Part of the appeal is in seeing what writers do with it. This week saw an intriguingly melancholy convergence. Strange…Read on…

i am steel baby – by Owsley Beck
Caffeinated zombie slayer Owsley is a weapon. Steel baby!

No Sugar – by Ginger wRong
Ginger wRong serving it up bitter and unadulterated.

Groupthink – Superhero saves Shanghai

HAL writer Mr. Murakami (“Make that just ‘Murakami’ please.”) is proud presenter of this week’s topic: superhero saves Shanghai! Turns out our writers define ‘save’ in interesting ways, including extensive destruction of public property, slaughtering construction site management, and shooting tequila with the devil. The kind of stuff you need permission from your local 公安局 for. For HAL and E.Snow it’s classic communist pastime for the masses, the kind of stuff we teach our kids,  延安 1942 mfs, been there, done that.

Flee the Children – by Betty P
The Anti-Lei Feng is born! In a world of xiaowangzi, this little hero wreaks righteous havoc to the mother of all oppressors: Disney English Class.

The Fearsome Min’gong Man – by B.
Straight outta Funan, this mean mf must not have paid attention to his village party secretary: ‘There will be no unlawful petitioning’. HAL supports that. Little does the Mingong-man listen. Based on a true story B. tells us.

Groupthink – Comedy

Hahahahahahahahaha:

Leaving the Seat Down – by Ling’ling

White China Girl – by Antique Rice

Groupthink – Xiamen's Keith Richards

A HAL classic – we present you our favorite barman on the mainland, serving the people with cheap booze for millenia, and awarded the prestigious HAL Worst Hangover Award for three consecutive years.

Eau de terminal alcoholic – by NCF

Pumping air – by Antique Rice.