Aaron Belz and Ectoplasm

I had a privilege of seeing my good friend Aaron Belz give a fantastic poetry reading last Thursday. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time (not at Aaron, but at the poems--okay, maybe a little bit at Aaron). I encourage you all to check out and purchase his new book (pictured above). You can take a look (it's searchable) and buy it here on Amazon.


Here is one of my favorites from the reading the other night:

The One About the Ectoplasm and the Osteoblast
Aaron Belz

Some ectoplasm sits next to an osteoblast
at a bar. The ectoplasm asks the osteoblast,
"Why do you form bones?" And the osteoblast
responds, "Why are you the outer relatively
rigid granule-free layer of the cytoplasm usually
held to be a gel reversibly convertible to a sol?"
And the ectoplasm is like, "Wow, that is such
an awkward question." And so the osteoblast
goes, "Seriously, why are you? I form bones
for the same reason." The bartender, an osteoclast,
asks them what they want to drink. The ectoplasm
asks him what he recommends that's on draft,
and he says the Dead Guy Ale, it's a fresh keg.
They both break into fits of laughter. "Oh my gosh!"
says the osteoblast, "Dead Guy is a German-style
Maibock that's deep honey in color with a malty
aroma, rich hearty flavor and a well balanced finish.
Now does that sound like the kind of beer we drink?"