Shows
The Portfolio Podcast of Jordon ShinnPoem: Walking by the Gate of Atoll Lanta Resort LifeWalking by the Gate of Atoll Lanta Resort Life
A yellow sheet of halogen light splasheson the blue plastic chair, spilling shadowson the grass beside the guard shackat the gate of Atoll Lanta Resort Life.The chair is vacant, warped and fadedlike the walls of Van Gogh’s bedroom —misshapen lines unstraightened, bent to abetter degree of artistic fantasy. I imaginethe quiet man who sat for hours in the sununtil his brown skin blackened like a pieceof t...
2024-09-0500 minThe Portfolio Podcast of Jordon ShinnPoem: Girl in the MarketGirl in the Market
Girl in the market wearing blue skinny jeansand a tight navy blazer with the tailcoatshanging out like a flag over her assplump as an unpeeled peach wrapped infaded denim and the caramel sheen of herankles strapped in black leather stilettosunnecessarily sexy for shopping solofor dinner — her hair chopped shoulder-length, dyed a faded shade of orangelike a flickering flame that’s blazedfor too many days on not enough tinder.My gaze...
2024-09-0501 minThe Portfolio Podcast of Jordon ShinnPoem: Night BirdNight Bird (a fictional fantasy)
This moment will become a memoryforgettable but for these words, the nightbird calling out a steady pitch of E-flattapering off into a warble with no reply —his question echoing into the shadowsan unrequited love song. It’s been a longtime coming till you finally texted me,months of waiting for you to initiatea greeting I thought would never bloom.I let you loose like the ribbon of a helium-filled balloon, I blew salt...
2024-09-0501 minThe Portfolio Podcast of Jordon ShinnPoem: PurgePurge
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
2024-09-0400 minThe Portfolio Podcast of Jordon ShinnPoem: Midnight SonnetMidnight 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...
2024-09-0101 minThe Portfolio Podcast of Jordon ShinnPoem: MoonsongMoonsong
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
2024-05-2801 min
The Portfolio Podcast of Jordon ShinnFilm Preview: "Biker Fox""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 DeLarzelere III, 52, owner of the international muscle car parts company Billions and Trillions Inc., as he experiences some of his most joyous and darkest hours as his alter ego, Biker Fox — a humorous and hothea...
2021-08-1103 min
The Portfolio Podcast of Jordon ShinnIn Memorium: Musician Ellen LooARMED 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 rage, her songs are well-suited for reflective hours at a café and walking home in the rain.
As a teen, Loo swept the Hong Kong music scene with her angst and optimism in the e...
2021-08-1101 min
The Portfolio Podcast of Jordon ShinnEvent Preview: Streets Kill Strange AnimalsStreets 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. Their unique brand of rock reveals a darker, aching side of Chinese youth that is much less beautiful than it is, well, noisy.
For those who want to headbang to something different, ho...
2021-08-1101 min
The Portfolio Podcast of Jordon ShinnAlbum Review: Casiokids “Topp Stemning På Lokal Bar”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 from Casiokids, is a lo-fi, electronic peach smoothie. An electro-pop dance band from Norway, Casiokids gleefully emerges in an array of Christmas lights from behind an overpowering Scandinavian death-metal sce...
2021-08-1102 min
The Portfolio Podcast of Jordon ShinnBook Review: Totto-Chan, the Little Girl at the WindowLooking 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. The plot follows the childhood adventures of the author as Totto-Chan and her escapades at the Bus Study Garden, against the backdrop of war.
Under the guidance of Principal Kobayashi Sosaku...
2021-08-0202 min
The Portfolio Podcast of Jordon ShinnEvent Essay: Rodeo RoundupRodeo 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, grappling for attention in the arena, a cowboy in a neon pink shirt ropes a calf, his daughter chasing a red ribbon fluttering on a thrashing tail.
...
2021-08-0201 min
The Portfolio Podcast of Jordon ShinnNarrative Writing Excerpt #4: Designing Doors of DestinyExcerpt: 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 first impression. A door has psychological significance and sets the aesthetic tone for its surroundings. It must both blend in and stand out. A door is the first thing peop...
2021-07-2201 minThe Portfolio Podcast of Jordon ShinnNarrative Writing Excerpt #3: Stillwater’s Unlikely SisterhoodExcerpt: 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 — just like the other young people around them.
It could be an unlikely friendship. Nino, 24, is from Georgia and Bolor, 22, is from Mongolia. But in fact, they have a lot in common.
...
2021-07-2201 min
The Portfolio Podcast of Jordon ShinnNarrative Writing Excerpt #2: An Artist Resists Rising RentExcerpt: 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 Pollock painting, red and black paint flung over white primer. He says that one is finished. But he is unsatisfied with the opposing wall across the room, sm...
2021-07-2201 min
The Portfolio Podcast of Jordon ShinnCharacter Sketch: Sam Alberts, Passionate PianistAs 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 with the crescendo of an elongated arpeggio.
In a glass-encased corner of the hotel, a young man wearing worn tennis shoes and a black beanie performs...
2021-07-2101 min
The Portfolio Podcast of Jordon ShinnESV-Luke-12:22-34Therefore I tell you,
do not be anxious about your life,
what you will eat,
nor about your body,
what you will put on.
For life is more than food,
and the body more than clothing.
Consider the ravens:
they neither sow nor reap,
they have neither storehouse nor barn,
and yet God feeds them.
Of how much more value are you
than the birds!
And which of you by being anxious
can add a single hour to his span of...
2021-07-2101 min
The Portfolio Podcast of Jordon ShinnCharacter Sketch: Sam Alberts, the PianistThis episode is also available as a blog post: https://jordonious.wordpress.com/2021/07/21/character-sketch-sam-alberts-the-pianist/
2021-07-2101 min
The Portfolio Podcast of Jordon ShinnNarrative Writing Excerpt #1: An Aging Cowboy’s American DreamThis episode is also available as a blog post: https://jordonious.wordpress.com/2021/07/21/narrative-writing-excerpt-1-an-aging-cowboys-american-dream/
2021-07-2102 minThe Portfolio Podcast of Jordon Shinn250-word memoir: Sunday SoliloquyThis episode is also available as a blog post: https://jordonious.wordpress.com/2021/07/20/250-word-memoir-sunday-soliloquy/
2021-07-2101 minThe Portfolio Podcast of Jordon Shinn5-minute writing prompt: What makes me angry?This episode is also available as a blog post: https://jordonious.wordpress.com/2021/07/20/5-minute-writing-prompt-what-makes-me-angry/
2021-07-2102 minThe Portfolio Podcast of Jordon Shinn‘Flim’ into JulyThis episode is also available as a blog post: https://jordonious.wordpress.com/2021/07/01/flim-into-july/
2021-07-2101 minThe Portfolio Podcast of Jordon ShinnFeeling Yourself DisintegrateThis episode is also available as a blog post: https://jordonious.wordpress.com/2021/06/23/feeling-yourself-disintegrate/
2021-07-2101 min
The Portfolio Podcast of Jordon ShinnBangkok Portrait #16: Acting Headshots @ Sukumvit 24This episode is also available as a blog post: https://jordonious.wordpress.com/2021/06/20/bangkok-portrait-16-acting-headshots-sukumvit-24/
2021-07-2101 min
The Portfolio Podcast of Jordon ShinnBangkok Portrait #13: Impromptu Model ShootThis episode is also available as a blog post: https://jordonious.wordpress.com/2021/06/14/bangkok-portrait-13-impromptu-model-shoot/
2021-07-2101 min
The Portfolio Podcast of Jordon ShinnBangkok Portrait #14: Rooftop Tree at TwilightThis episode is also available as a blog post: https://jordonious.wordpress.com/2021/06/17/bangkok-portrait-14-rooftop-tree-at-twilight/
2021-07-2001 min
The Portfolio Podcast of Jordon ShinnLa Tour Eiffel, January 2014This episode is also available as a blog post: https://jordonious.wordpress.com/2021/03/18/tour-eiffel/
2021-07-2001 min
The Portfolio Podcast of Jordon ShinnPortrait: Caleb in Braum’s Before Marriage & FatherhoodThis episode is also available as a blog post: https://jordonious.wordpress.com/2021/03/18/portrait-caleb-kirby-in-braums-before-marriage-fatherhood/
2021-07-2001 minThe Portfolio Podcast of Jordon ShinnJoker FaceThis episode is also available as a blog post: https://jordonious.wordpress.com/2021/02/17/joker-face/
2021-07-2001 minThe Portfolio Podcast of Jordon ShinnDon’t be phased by the craze — unicorns can kill you!This episode is also available as a blog post: https://jordonious.wordpress.com/2020/09/18/dont-be-phased-by-the-craze-unicorns-can-kill-you/
2021-07-2002 minThe Portfolio Podcast of Jordon ShinnRemembering Ellen LooThis episode is also available as a blog post: https://jordonious.wordpress.com/2020/09/17/remembering-ellen-loo-%e5%8d%a2%e5%87%af%e5%bd%a4/
2021-07-2001 minThe Portfolio Podcast of Jordon ShinnLooking out the window with Totto-ChanThis episode is also available as a blog post: https://jordonious.wordpress.com/2020/09/14/looking-out-the-window-with-totto-chan/
2021-07-2003 minThe Portfolio Podcast of Jordon ShinnTimed Character Sketch 5/16 II: Drunken seaman walks homeThis episode is also available as a blog post: https://jordonious.wordpress.com/2020/10/09/timed-character-sketch-5-16-ii-drunken-seaman-walks-home/
2021-07-2001 minThe Portfolio Podcast of Jordon ShinnTimed Character Sketch 5/16 I: Thai hippie on a public busThis episode is also available as a blog post: https://jordonious.wordpress.com/2020/10/09/character-sketch-5-16-thai-hippie-on-the-public-bus/
2021-07-2001 minThe Portfolio Podcast of Jordon ShinnNew decade. New me.This episode is also available as a blog post: https://jordonious.wordpress.com/2020/02/21/new-decade-new-me/
2021-07-2003 min
The Portfolio Podcast of Jordon ShinnThe End of a Cambodian King: A Royal Funeral Exploited and ObservedThis episode is also available as a blog post: https://jordonious.wordpress.com/2013/04/29/the-end-of-a-cambodian-king-a-royal-funeral-exploited-and-observed/
2021-03-0111 min