The Portfolio Podcast of Jordon Shinn

Walking by the Gate of Atoll Lanta Resort Life A yellow sheet of halogen light splashes on the blue plastic chair, spilling shadows on the grass beside the guard shack at the gate of Atoll Lanta Resort Life. The chair is vacant, warped and faded like the walls of Van Gogh’s bedroom — misshapen lines unstraightened, bent to a better degree of artistic fantasy. I imagine the quiet man who sat for ho...

Girl in the Market Girl in the market wearing blue skinny jeans and a tight navy blazer with the tailcoats hanging out like a flag over her ass plump as an unpeeled peach wrapped in faded denim and the caramel sheen of her ankles strapped in black leather stilettos unnecessarily sexy for shopping solo for dinner — her hair chopped shoulder- length, dyed a faded shade of orange like a flickering fl...

Night Bird (a fictional fantasy) This moment will become a memory forgettable but for these words, the night bird calling out a steady pitch of E-flat tapering off into a warble with no reply — his question echoing into the shadows an unrequited love song. It’s been a long time coming till you finally texted me, months of waiting for you to initiate a greeting I thought would never bloom. I let yo...

Purge If I don’t write something soon l’Il burst in a flurry of pent up frustration like a pigeon popping from gastrointestinal inflation — that could be me today, a feathery confetti. If I don’t get these words out on the page fast my head might crack, my car might crash — spraying stardust and moonshine on the side of the highway to high heaven. I must relieve this aching urge for a poetic purge...

Midnight Sonnet I cannot shake the angst of wanting more The door quakes on its hinge a darker hue A bluer moon of heartache hugs the roof 'Tis proof the sun is shining somewhere else Or else it would be blackened in the sky So why should I be worried were it not The hottened houses of the neighborhood Withstood the cleansing UV light of day I say that I am all together lost The cost of living...

Moonsong By Jordon Shinn The moon is a lover for lonely people. Look up at the night sky — there she is, she is shy. She pales white when you glance at her. You can blow kisses to the face of the moon. She will kiss you back when the wind blows. When cheeks blush red as Yantai apples in February moonlight, in the midnight air — she is there. She is your lunar lover. She lies down with you to bed....

"Biker Fox," starring infamous Tulsa cyclist, set for deadCenter film fest screening Film preview by Jordon Shinn, published on NewsOK.com, June 2, 2010, OKC, USA. The sensational and sincere story of a controversial cycling activist, muscle car businessman and nature enthusiast is shamelessly revealed in “Biker Fox.” Directed and produced by Jeremy Lamberton, “Biker Fox” follows the life of Frank...

ARMED WITH A GUITAR AND A SOFT VOICE, ELLEN JOYCE LOO (1986-2018) SANG ABOUT LIFE BEAUTIFULLY BROKEN Musician memorial essay by Jordon Shinn for Apple Music, autumn 2019, Beijing, China. Canadian-born musician Ellen Joyce Loo (卢凯彤) was an effervescent rainbow, stubbornly emerging from a stormy Hong Kong sky, stopped short by an abrupt sunset. From longing and loneliness, to heartbreak and...

Streets Kill Strange Animals — so leave your pet at home Event preview by Jordon Shinn, published in REDSTAR magazine, November 2013, Qingdao, China. If the name “Streets Kill Strange Animals” sounds bloody and bizarre, then you’re on the right track. A ‘noise rock’ trio from Beijing, SKSA loses itself somewhere in the chasms between surging metal guitar riffs and angst-filled pop music. Thei...

Grooving to 'Great Vibe at Local Bar' with Casiokids Album review by Jordon Shinn, published in The Oklahoman and on NewsOK.com, June 11, 2010, Oklahoma City, USA. ALTERNATIVE (Polyvinyl Record Co.) With all the claps, cowbells, cymbal crashes, shakers, hiccups and drum taps of a children's keyboard, backed by trolling bass beats and lots of reverb, "Topp Stemning På Lokal Bar,” the U.S. debut fro...

Looking out the window with Totto-Chan Book Review by Jordon Shinn for China Daily, August 2016, Beijing. A charming and masterful study of the child's psyche , Totto-Chan, the Little Girl at the Window , is the seminal work by celebrated Japanese author and television personality Tetsuko Kuroyanagi. Published in 1981, the novel begins in late-1930s Japan during the lead-up to the Second World War...

Rodeo Roundup Event Essay by Jordon Shinn, published in PhilNews, July 2009, Cimarron, New Mexico. In front of the grandstands, a little boy in black chaps attempts a cartwheel in the dirt track circling the arena, his fur felt cowboy hat toppling off his head as he hits the dirt. Frizzled red hair poofs, contrasting his fair, freckled face, and brightening his toothless smile. Meanwhile, grapplin...

Excerpt: Materials, design and history give voice to a home’s front door Full article by Jordon Shinn published in "Central Oklahoma Homes," July 2010, Oklahoma City, USA. Our lives are guided by the opening and closing of doors — from opportunities to obstacles, success to failure; from entryways to backdoors, gateways to chamber doors. A door is a focal point. It makes a statement and gives a fi...

Excerpt: A Tale of Two Countries Full article by Jordon Shinn published in “The Daily O’Collegian,” April 2011, Stillwater, Oklahoma. Nino Kiguradze and Bolor Bayarsaikhan occupy a small, round table at Aspen Coffee Company, their favorite café, in downtown Stillwater. It’s mid-April, and the café is warm and crowded. The two girls sit with their open laptops, textbooks and Facebook, studying — ju...

Excerpt: Stories of the Ages: Artful Endurance: The Paseo District Full article by Jordon Shinn, published in “The Oklahoman.” Summer 2010, Oklahoma City, USA. Moving in In the shadowed living room of his apartment, Tim Anderson, a.k.a. The Reverend, sits in a black armchair splattered with paint. His shoes — and the room, too — are splattered with paint. The wall to his right looks like a Jackson...

As twilight blooms over Oklahoma State University, piano song resonates through the lobby of The Atherton Hotel. Bearded professor types in suits lounge on regal-patterned couches, sipping various stout brews. The sound intensifies as the pianist sweeps his nimble hands liquidly from end to end across the pearl keys. The men have stopped drinking. For a moment there is a shocked stillness, filled...

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://jordonious.wordpress.com/2021/07/21/narrative-writing-excerpt-1-an-aging-cowboys-american-dream/

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://jordonious.wordpress.com/2021/07/20/250-word-memoir-sunday-soliloquy/

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://jordonious.wordpress.com/2021/07/01/flim-into-july/

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://jordonious.wordpress.com/2021/06/23/feeling-yourself-disintegrate/

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://jordonious.wordpress.com/2021/06/20/bangkok-portrait-16-acting-headshots-sukumvit-24/

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://jordonious.wordpress.com/2021/06/14/bangkok-portrait-13-impromptu-model-shoot/

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://jordonious.wordpress.com/2021/06/17/bangkok-portrait-14-rooftop-tree-at-twilight/

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://jordonious.wordpress.com/2021/03/18/tour-eiffel/

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://jordonious.wordpress.com/2021/03/18/portrait-caleb-kirby-in-braums-before-marriage-fatherhood/