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The soft, white

presses againstthe tongue, runit over the lips,taste it. At firstit feels firm, thenslightly yielding,slightly salty. Roll itaround the mouth. The lipsstretch wider to take more insideits dark, wetness, packing it almostto overflowing. Breathe through the nose.Deeply. The teeth tease carefully on the mass,finally closing with an even up and down, up anddown motion. Pleasure. Savor the taste.


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Thoughts slowly return to other times ofexperiencing such pleasure, often in the dark.Breathe. Swallow.Usually it starts out small, then, grows, largerand larger. It becomes hard to ignore. One wantsto put their hands on it, run their fingers overit.

Its been done in the dark and in the light ofday, been done in front of huge screens and smallones. In cars parked in secluded places and incars speeding down the Interstate, behind closedshutters, down by the beach, up in the mountains,in another town and in another country, in no-tellmotels and fancy hotels. At your parents house,your friends house, at school, at the park, withfriends, the kids and total strangers, sometimestwo or three people groups. Often one needs alittle something to improve the enjoyment, a beer,a cocktail, a coke with rum.

Sometimes one has to pay for it, others times,its free.

Popcorn.

by,Marilee Stang

A man named Kaldi was a goatherd who lived inEthiopia around 850 AD. He usually set his goatson the hills and let them graze. The goats were soloyal and always returned home by themselves whennight fell. But one day they didnt come back homeand stayed all night out. Kaldi set out in themorning to see what happened to them just to findthem on the hills beside a shrub with shiny greenleaves and red berries. They were jumping around,acting wild and strange. He couldnt figure out

what the cause was. Finally his eyes were drawn tothe shrub. The goats were still snipping the

berries with great pleasure. He decided to try theberries himself to see if they would have the sameeffect on him. Just after a moment he was filledwith ecstasy and started dancing with delightaround the leafy shrub. A monk passing by noticedthis strange behavior and asked Kaldi what it wasall about. He was shown the shrub and he took someleaves and went home to taste it. He and his

fellow monks discovered the beans in the berries,roasted, grounded and boiled them in water anddrunk their finding. They found themselves awakethe whole night without having to fight theirsleep back during their nocturnal religiousduties. The place where this happened is said tobe Kaffa, a province in the then Abyssinia thepresent day Ethiopia.

This is a story that has been told in Ethiopia foryears and years. What kept the goats and Kaldimadly excited and the monks non-asleep is coffeeor the green gold as we call it in Ethiopia.


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Ethiopian Coffee Ceremonyby, babasteve on Flickr!

Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic Licensed

Coffee Ceremonyby, DamienHR on Flickr!

Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic Licensed

Ethiopia prides itself of being the first placethat grew coffee. The English word for this

beverage drink-coffee- is believed to have derivedfrom this particular place where it is believed tohave been discovered in-Kaffa. And it is said thatit was taken to Arab in 1000 AD and then to therest of the world.

Besides playing a role of a backbone in theEthiopian economy, coffee also plays an importantpart in the social life of the Ethiopian societywith its peculiar ceremonious preparation. Itaccompanies moments of happiness and sadness and

it also sets the stage of discussing serioussocial matters and solving them. It is the firstthing you offer to serve in Ethiopia when a guest

comes to your home. It takes at least an hour tomake coffee with all of its traditional slow waysgoing through the different cycle of process fromroasting the raw beans to making aromatic,steaming cup of coffee.

There are three things that come with coffee inEthiopia. There is the green freshly cut grass

that the serving tray where the cups and placedwill sit on-this gives a sense of freshness and afeeling of being at home. Then there isfrankincense to give a sweet smell especially whenit blends with the divine aroma of the boilingcoffee form the clay pot. In Ethiopia, you are notsupposed to drink coffee with out eating somethingfirst, so you will be served with roasted grainsof different variety or in most cases popcorn. Itis preferred as a snack to go with coffee becauseit is easy to cook-you can do it while you aremaking your coffee and it is also used as adecorative agent to the coffee ceremony.

Popcorn with sugar on it is always part of the ceremonyby, Linda on Picasa

Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licensed

For most Ethiopians the word coffee brings a


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nostalgic memory of smell, taste and sound. Thesmell of coffee beans being roasted, frankincenseand popcorn, the taste of fresh organic coffee andpopcorn and the sound of the popping of popcornand the pounding of the roasted coffee beans. Italso brings memory of people sitting togethertalking and laughing or having a hot discussionand arguments on topics. This is what coffee is

for an Ethiopian not just a cup of hot, brown,stimulant drink.

popcornby,

Tigist Defaru

The following is Scene 2 of Where's Waldman, a

play about life working at a grocery store.

Scene 1 can be read in The Uncertainty Principle

Issue 4 Reality.

Scene Two

(The trio walks off stage and reappears in thebreak room, which consists of a table, a fewchairs, a soda machine and a snack machine. Seatedat the table is a middle aged woman, JOYCE,reading the paper. She is a veteran manager atWaldmans who has likely just returned from a

cigarette break As they walk in, DREW is in thelead, followed by JAY and then JEFF a few stepsbehind. )

DREW: And here we have the break room. Furnishedby Danny Waldman himself, our luxurious facilitiesinclude this lovely table, a few chairs that foldup for easy storage, and a soda machine with yourchoice of Waldmans Cola, Waldmans Dew, OrangeWaldman or Waldman Up.

JAY: I dont really drink soda.

DREW: Smart man. That stuffll kill ya. Right,Joyce?

JOYCE: Sure. (Folds her paper, and looks up atDrew) So is it true what I here? The famous DrewHenderson is leaving us?

DREW: It is indeed.

JEFF: I just dont know how were gonna get by.

DREW: (To JAY) JAY, meet Joyce. Chronic smoker andmanager extraordinaire. Known by many, and fearedby well, most of them.

JOYCE: Oh, Drew, Ill miss these tender moments.Quite a coincidence though, huh? Danny Waldmandeciding to show up on your last day?

DREW: Cmon Joyce, when was the last time the BigMan actually descended from his ivory tower tomingle with us po folk. Theyre just trying toscare us all into cleaning up. Hell never show.

JOYCE: I dont know they say ever since the oldman died hes been all about hands onmanagement. Hes supposed to be revising themission statement.

JEFF: Whats he changing it to, All for one, andanything for a bump? (Laughs and hits JAY,

wondering why hes not laughing)

DREW: Thats really more of a slogan than amission statement.

JEFF: Like that coke monkey knows the difference,Right? (Hits JAY again, who musters a strainedlaugh)

JOYCE: Settle down, Jeff. Go have a smoke... orfive.

JEFF: Ay ay, sir. (Salutes Joyce, turns sharply,


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and walks off stage)

JOYCE: Anyway Drew, you should get back to yourregister. Everyone should be getting things readyfor the boss and that means you, too. Itll begood chance to show this kid how things aresupposed to run around here.

DREW: You got it, skipper. (to JAY) Lets hit thebricks, kid.

JAY: Ah hit what? I was told thered be no hardlabor.

DREW: Cmon.

Scene Three will be published in the upcoming

issue of The Uncertainty Principle to be published

on October 13th, 2010.

Where's Waldmanby, Dave Kilpatrick

The Artwork ofLarry D.

Alexander 007

by, Larry D.Alexander on the

Wikimedia Commons

Creative CommonsAttribution-

ShareAlike 3.0Unported Licensed
http://commons.wikimedia.org/http://commons.wikimedia.org/http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/http://commons.wikimedia.org/http://commons.wikimedia.org/http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/


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`

What I had proposed for my popcorn submission wasa collection of my old action figures arranged ina way that they were making popcorn. The popcornprobably stood for something else, but I didn't

really know. In any event social circumstances andothers over the previous weeks have proven my

choice over the diorama.

In the possibility that it does not get made, Iwanted to sketch out my unrealized vision.

The key of the piece would be the hand pop corn

maker. Some might say that's only because thetopic of the issue is popcorn, and I would agree.

There would be a group of four on a journey.


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At some point they'd come across this big bucket.It'd be like ancients coming up upon Angkor Wat,they wouldn't know what to do.

All of a sudden, various natives would appear. Apossibility of hostilities would ensue.


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Fortunately for all involved they'd be resolved asthe local elder would raise his hand and begin thepopping ritual. Seeds would be poured in as theforeigners watched in awe. Eventually, they'd pop.It's possible one or two locals and/or foreignerswould die along the way.

text, photos and diorama by,

Charles Jeffrey Danoffedited by,

Jeffrey Edwin Danoff Junior


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The last bucketful of slush and mud came at lastfor Jason Squiff. He squinted at the bottom.Something was shining. He reached his fingers downthrough the slush and mud and took out what wasshining.

It was the gold buckskin whincher Blixie Bimberlost from the gold chain around her neck the weekbefore when she was looking down into the cisternto see what she could see. It was exactly the samegold buckskin whincher shining and glittering likea sign of happiness.

Its luck, said Jason Squiff, wiping his fingerson his greenish yellowish hair. Then he put thegold buckskin whincher in his vest pocket andspoke to himself again, Its luck.

A little after six oclock that night Jason 82Squiff stepped into his house and home and saidhello to his wife and daughters. They all began tolaugh. Their laughter was a ticklish laughter.

Something funny is happening, he said.

And you are it, they all laughed at him againwith ticklish laughter.

Then they showed him. His hat was popcorn, hismittens popcorn and his shoes popcorn. He didntknow the gold buckskin whincher had a power and

was working all the time. He didnt know thewhincher in his vest pocket was saying, You havea letter Q in your name and because you have thepleasure and happiness of having a Q in your nameyou must have a popcorn hat, popcorn mittens andpopcorn shoes.

The next morning he put on another hat, anotherpair of mittens and another pair of shoes. And theminute he put them on they changed to popcorn. From Rootabaga Stories

Text & Illustration by, Carl Sandberg on Project Gutenberghttp://www.gutenberg.org/etext/27085

Public Domain
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/27085http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/27085


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My orthodontist told me that Im not allowed toeat popcorn while Im wearing my braces, which isokay because I dont even like popcorn that much.Sometimes I get it when I go to the movies, butusually I just get Sour Patch Kids. Sour PatchKids also stick to your braces so the thing aboutbraces is that when you go to the movies, youpretty much cant eat anything.

That would be cool, but today Im at the movieswith this boy I like. Were out on a date. Werewith like twenty people and he keeps trying tohold my hand. Hes pretty nice but I dontunderstand why he wants to hold my hand so much.The whole thing seems a little silly to me. Hehas a nice hand. Its not too sweaty. He alsojust started shaving. Im happy he did becauseabout a month ago he had a really gross boymoustache that looked like someone wiped mud onhis upper lip.

So he offers to buy me some snacks. I told himokay, and I got Sour Patch Kids and figured maybeI would just suck on them and not chew them sothat they wouldnt get stuck to my teeth. Wereseeing this movie that nobody really wants to see,but there isnt really anything to do becausewere only thirteen and its better than hangingaround in the food court. I get my Sour PatchKids and he gets some Snow Caps. I dont reallylike Snow Caps, they dont taste like anything.

We get into the movie theater and as soon as themovie starts, he puts his arm around me, which isreally uncomfortable and he starts staring at me.Im trying to watch the movie, but he is juststaring at me. Were sitting with all ourfriends, and everyone is kind of watching themovie and kind of joking around. I turn to myfriend next to me and I say something to her abouthow cute the guy on screen is. Hes not even thatcute, but I just dont know what to do about this

boy staring at me.

I decide to focus everything I have on opening upthe pack of Sour Patch Kids. I carefully unwrapit. I take as much time as I can, butunfortunately it doesnt take that much time toopen up a pack of Sour Patch Kids. They actuallymake it pretty easy and you dont really have tobe careful about it. So I open up the pack ofSour Patch Kids and I sort of stare into it. Icant really see what color any of them arebecause its a dark movie theater. But I make abig to do of choosing which color Sour Patch Kid Iwant. All the while, the boy I like is stillstaring at me like what Im doing could be themost important thing on the earth. If you askedme on any other day, I would tell you that I donthave a favorite flavor of Sour Patch Kid. Theyall taste exactly the same; sour. People thathave a favorite flavor of Sour Patch Kid are thetype of people that usually just do things to seemimportant. The only thing is, I usually dont eatyellow Sour Patch Kids because they have Yellow 5in them. There is a rumor at school that Yellow 5shrinks boys balls. Its gross to think about,and if its true, it probably does something badto girls, so I generally avoid it. Its not hardbecause there usually arent that many yellow SourPatch Kids, and I dont really like Mountain Dewwhich is basically the only other thing that hasYellow 5 in it.

So after some thoughtful digging, I put a (not

yellow) Sour Patch Kid in my mouth. It is reallysour and I sort of make a face to myself becausethats the most fun part about eating Sour PatchKids. I look at the boy I like for like a secondand smile while making the sour face to be funny.But literally this is all the time he needsbecause he just launches into my face and startskissing me, which is okay I guess but I have thisSour Patch Kid in my mouth and I dont know whatto do with it. So this is weird but he is likereally sticking his tongue into my mouth so

somehow the Sour Patch Kid ends up in his mouth.He gets this funny look on his face and pulls back


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and starts chewing while looking at me. I smileback at him- what else is there to do?

He leans into my ear and says that was reallyhot. The he looks at me again. I smile at him.I dont mind doing something really hot, it justhonestly seems kind of weird. Im okay withkissing but you taking food out of my mouth justseems weird to me. When I look at him again hestarts kissing me again. I can feel his handtouching my stomach. Then all of a sudden hepulls back and says is this okay? then he triesto put his hand on my boob. I dont really haveboobs, and I dont want to freak out, but I justsay no! not too loud, but maybe a few peopleheard it, I dont know. Maybe some other day,like if we were at his house or something in thebasement, after dating for like three months, butin a movie theater with all my friends around no!

So a few people look at us, and then he startssaying Im sorry over and over again in my ear.Then he starts making out with me again. I makeout with him because I can tell he feels reallybad about the boob thing.

That Monday at school, everyone is talking aboutit. I heard from my friend that all the guys atschool are saying that Im a cock-tease and allthe girls are saying that Im a slut, but I didntdo anything. At lunch I feel really weird sitting

at my normal table even though people are beingnice mostly.

That night that boy calls me and he just keepssaying hes sorry in a really gentlemanly way,that he didnt mean to do anything, he feelsreally weird. And now Im feeling really weird, Ikeep thinking about it, and now I feel reallyembarrassed about the whole thing. Basically, nowI say to him, because I have to really, that Idont want to see him again and hes not my

boyfriend any more. I really wish I had justgotten popcorn. I dont know what my problem is,

thats the normal thing to get, from now on Imgetting popcorn and this just wont happen again.I wish I didnt have to go to school tomorrow, Imafraid hes going to write me a note or somethingto get me back.

My Orthodontist Told Me Not to Eat Popcornby, J. Lunney


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The Uncertainty Principle

Issue Five Popcorn

front coverto page two Marilee Stang, Staff Writer

pagesthree to six

popcornTigist Defaru, Original Writer

pagessix to eight

Where's Waldman Scene TwoDave Kilpatrick, Staff Playwright

pages

nine to twelve

Eyasu Tarekegn, Staff Poet

pagesthirteen to

nineteen

Charles Jeffrey Danoff, Editor

pagestwenty to

twenty-one

Rootabaga StoriesCarl Sandberg

pagestwenty-two

to twenty-six

My Orthodontist Told Me Not to EatPopcornJ. Lunney, Staff Writer

back cover Grasshopper Green and the MeadowMiceJohn Rae

Online Edition: August 27th, 2010

http://theup.biz

http://theuncertaintyprinciple.danoff.org

Unless otherwise noted, all writings and photosare copyright the original artists. Everythingelse Copyright The Uncertainty Principle, All

Rights Reserved.

Charles Jeffrey Danoff, [email protected]
http://theup.biz/http://theuncertaintyprinciple.danoff.org/http://theup.biz/http://theuncertaintyprinciple.danoff.org/


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Dancing so much had made everyone hungry; soFather Meadow-Mouse got the corn popper and theypopped, and popped, and popped, and ate, and ate,and ate! I don't dare to tell you how much theyate. Especially the four youngsters. The Fairies,too, seemed very fond of the popcorn.

"It's such a nice change from rose pollen andhoneysuckle juice," Thistle-Whistle remarked.

From Grasshopper Green and the Meadow Micetext by, John Rae

illustration by, Maud and Miska Petersham
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/24237http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/24237

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