The Gears of the Machine

These are pictures of some of my favorite home libraries. I...

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 21:03:16 -0500

These are pictures of some of my favorite home libraries. I absolutely love home libraries. I love the thought of having a nice, cozy retreat where I can be surrounded by books. Someday I intend to have one of my own (something similar to the second picture), one with rich, dark wood shelving, full of old books and antiques, and comfy leather furniture. While a fire burns in the fireplace, I can read and enjoy some good wine while my pet Siberian fox rests on the rug in front of me. Someday.

Internal Voice

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 21:48:00 -0500

You know that internal voice that provides the narration when you read? Over recent weeks, mine has developed a slight British accent, and though I am perplexed by this odd development, it does make everything I read sound smarter. Slightly more entertaining as well. Things always sound smarter when spoken with a British accent. Although I dread the day should it develop into a Cockney accent. I would not be able to stand hearing more than a few sentences of such linguistic butchering.

Day 08 - A picture that makes you laugh. Seriously, look at it...

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 16:02:00 -0500

Day 08 - A picture that makes you laugh.

Seriously, look at it and try not to laugh.

(Although if you look at it too long, you start to hear a voice in your head going “Eeeeeeeehhhhh” in a high pitched voice. Creepy.)

Day 07 - A picture of your most treasured item. That is my...

Sun, 27 Mar 2011 21:27:51 -0500

Day 07 - A picture of your most treasured item.

That is my notebook. It is the repository for my thoughts and ideas, not in the “Dear Diary” sort of way, but in a rather more pragmatic fashion. Contained within are half a dozen unfinished poems, various short story ideas, an ever changing novel timeline and random ideas that I don’t want to forget. There are things underlined, circled and crossed out as the need may be. Pictured along with it is the pencil I with which I write down those thoughts and ideas, which I see as an extension of my notebook. Without that pencil, my notebook would be nothing but a bunch of empty pieces of paper and my thoughts would just be a bunch of disorganized neural impulses in the folds of my brain. Taken together they represent my hopes and my dreams, my thoughts and my ideas. In other words, my most treasured possessions.

Day 06 - A person you’d love to trade places with for a...

Sat, 26 Mar 2011 17:24:57 -0500

Day 06 - A person you’d love to trade places with for a day.

Anthony Bourdain. Besides being a professional chef, he’s also a respected author and travels the world for his show No Reservations. He gets to explore all these different cultures and experience the various exotic foods they have to offer. I envy him.

Day 05 - A picture of your favorite memory. For those of you who...

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 22:22:00 -0500

Day 05 - A picture of your favorite memory.

For those of you who don’t know the full story of me and Kyley, well, that’s a story for another time. This was taken about a month into our relationship, the day we went to the zoo. On our way there my GPS took us through a park. We drove through a tunnel of trees, the bright afternoon sun shining through the leaves, casting a moving dappled pattern over everything while a soft acoustic song played over the radio. The zoo itself a blur of animals and squeals of excitement. A brightly colored bird sitting atop Kyley’s head while she smiles with enjoyment, no doubt in my mind about which one is more beautiful. Holding her close while posing for a picture. A flash of light and a memory forever burned onto a piece of film and in my mind. A small stuffed white tiger named Alexis, with her still today. Later that day, twilight casting everything in a dark purple light, she whispered, “I want to try something.” Holding her afterwards until she fell asleep, stroking her hair and thinking about what a wonderful treasure she truly is.

Day 03 - A picture of the cast from your favorite show. Ah yes,...

Wed, 23 Mar 2011 18:35:00 -0500

Day 03 - A picture of the cast from your favorite show.

Ah yes, Bones, with the ever so lovely Emily Deschanel. Normally I hate crime shows but Bones is the exception. The drama isn’t cliché and the show doesn’t try to confuse you with overly intricate crime trails. The various perspectives of the characters, especially Bones’ logical analysis, makes for some witty banter that’s fun to listen to. Plus, Emily Deschanel.

Day 02 - A picture of you and the person you’ve been...

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 19:56:00 -0500

Day 02 - A picture of you and the person you’ve been closest with the longest.

This one was a close call, so I decided to show the two who tied. In the picture there’s me (left) and my two best friends, Randall (center) and Patrick (right), who became such roughly around 7th grade. Funnily enough, we were anything but friends until then. Randall was mainly a rival trombone player in band class. Patrick was sort of a sidekick for the guy who bullied me. However, by the end of 7th grade we were thick as thieves. Life is funny like that.

Day 01 - Fifteen Facts 1. I’m really lazy. The only reason...

Mon, 21 Mar 2011 20:48:14 -0500

Day 01 - Fifteen Facts

1. I’m really lazy. The only reason I have that beard is because I don’t want to go through the hassle of shaving. I really should though, I look like a creeper.

2. I’ve been playing the trombone for nine years now. All the ladies love the sultry sound of a sweet trombone solo.

3. See all those books on my bookshelf? That’s roughly half the books I own, and I’ve read all of them at least twice.

4. I once dislocated my knee playing air hockey. So far that’s my claim to fame. I dare you to find just one other person who’s done that.

5. I’m the kind of person who enjoys the company of a few rather than the company of many.

6. I live in my mind more than I live in the outside world. Head in the clouds kind of person.

7. I’m not a cat person or a dog person. In fact, I’m not really a pet person at all. However, I would give anything to have a pet fox.

8. I like to cook and take every opportunity I can to do so.

9. This feels like I’m writing personal information for an online dating service. Is…is anyone interested?

10. I have a hard time coming up with facts about myself.

11. I talk out loud a lot. It helps me concentrate and focus. In fact, I’ve been doing so while writing this.

12. I’m allergic to shrimp. I hate seafood anyways. Nature worked it out so that me and the shrimp both win.

13. I’m an incredibly quiet person. I’ve gone days without speaking a single word to anyone, including myself.

14. I love thunderstorms. It gives me an energy throughout my whole body like I’ve been struck my lightning, except, you know, it didn’t kill me.

15. I’ve been to two other countries, Italy and Switzerland. I really like travelling and I have a list of places I want to visit someday.

Yes, I'm doing the picture-a-day thing...

Sun, 20 Mar 2011 18:23:34 -0500

I haven’t had much of an opportunity to use my Tumblr lately, due to school and whatnot, so this seems like a good way to get me back in the habit of using it. Though it will be a challenge. I think there’s about a dozen photos of me in existence, so I’ll have to improvise for some of these.

Day 01 - A picture of yourself with fifteen facts.

Day 02 - A picture of you and the person you have been close with for the longest.

Day 03 - A picture of the cast from your favorite show.
Day 04 - A picture of your night.
Day 05 - A picture of your favorite memory.
Day 06 - A picture of a person you’d love to trade places with for a day.
Day 07 - A picture of your most treasured item.
Day 08 - A picture that makes you laugh.
Day 09 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most.
Day 10 - A picture of the person you do the most messed up things with.
Day 11 - A picture of something you hate.
Day 12 - A picture of something you love.
Day 13 - A picture of your favorite band or artist.
Day 14 - A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without.
Day 15 - A picture of something you want to do before you die.
Day 16 - A picture of someone who inspires you.
Day 17 - A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently.
Day 18 - A picture of your biggest insecurity.
Day 19 - A picture of you when you were little.
Day 20 - A picture of somewhere you’d love to travel.
Day 21 - A picture of something you wish you could forget.
Day 22 - A picture of something you wish you were better at.
Day 23 - A picture of your favorite book.
Day 24 - A picture of something you wish you could change.
Day 25 - A picture of your day.
Day 26 - A picture of something that means a lot to you.
Day 27 - A picture of yourself and a family member.
Day 28 - A picture of something you’re afraid of.
Day 29 - A picture that can always make you smile.

Day 30 - A picture of someone you miss.

Cool Pajama Kid

Thu, 03 Feb 2011 19:49:56 -0600

Hey, kid wearing pajamas to class. Yes, you with the Spongebob pajama bottoms and wifebeater shirt. I know, I know, you’re a really busy guy, but you’ll to want to hear what I have to say. Now, I understand why you might feel the need to wear the clothes you normally wear to bed: you just look so crazy and cool! I mean, this isn’t what people normally do! You’re not constrained by what society thinks of you or the way you dress. You’re in college now and that means that you’re getting into all sorts of college shenanigans and going to parties all night. You’re life is hectic and you don’t have time to get properly dressed in the morning. Who needs actual clothes when you could just wear what you wore to bed? However, here’s the thing: It is 20 fucking degrees outside you fucking tool! So put some clothes on you arrogant bastard!

Photo

Thu, 23 Dec 2010 20:43:02 -0600

"I don’t care what you believe. Just believe it."

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 22:17:14 -0600

“I don’t care what you believe. Just believe it.”

- Shepherd Book, Serenity

Fate vs. Coincidence

Wed, 08 Dec 2010 22:49:08 -0600

There are two kinds of people in this world: the ones who believe in fate and the ones who believe in coincidence. (This may seem like a religion vs. atheism debate, but it’s not, even though there is some correlation.)

For those that believe in fate, either a supreme being or cosmic force they term “Fate” is the orchestrating power behinds the course of their lives. For those that believe in coincidence, nothing in life is ordained or planned, but merely a series of events, both good and bad. Much debate has gone into whether fate or coincidence controls our lives. So which is it?

I think that’s dodging the real question, one that reveals more about the personalities of people: Why do people believe in fate or coincidence?

People want to feel that they are special, loved and comforted, so fate becomes the perfect way to feel these emotions. If fate causes something good to happen, such as a promotion at work or finding someone you love, you feel special because some supreme being or cosmic force has deemed you special enough to have those things. If something bad happens, like losing that job or that loved one dying, it’s all going to be okay, because it all happened for a reason. Fate is still there and will send something good your way soon enough. It’s a way for people to release control of their lives and put it in the hands of fate.

In terms of coincidence, people tend to believe that they determine their own destiny. If something good happens, like the above situations, it is the result of their own choices and hard work. If something bad happens it is the result of other people’s bad decisions, thus shifting the blame to other people. It is a way for people to take credit for the good things while feeling like the victim because of the bad things.

So which is right? On the one hand, we have a method of feeling special because some higher power gives us good things while taking away responsibility of the bad things by putting it in the hands of the higher power. On the other hand, we have a method by which we can take credit for the beneficial things because our own choices brought them to us, while shirking responsibility of the detrimental things by putting it into the hands of others because they brought them to us.

I don’t think it matters which one is right. What matters is what your decisions say about you.

Hunting

Tue, 30 Nov 2010 14:41:34 -0600

So I came home last night from eating dinner and found a dead duck sitting on my counter. Apparently one of my roommate’s friends went hunting over the weekend and wanted to show off his trophy. It was a beautiful animal, its plumage very shiny and vibrantly colored. But my roommate and and his friends thought that this fine specimen of a duck would look better stuffed and mounted on a mantel.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to come across as some PETA endorsing, animal rights nut. I have no qualms raising livestock for consumption. I love eating steaks and burgers and the like. Goose down pillows are like sleeping on little clouds of heaven. But lets not kid ourselves here. People like my roommate and his friends don’t hunt so they can eat whatever they kill or turn them into pillows, although they might do so anyway. They hunt them because they have an egotistical urge to conquer nature. They see a majestic buck grazing in a meadow and say, “I could kill that and mount it on my wall. That will show everyone how much of a man I am.” Hunting is just plain unnecessary. If they were hunting them for food, we’d have giant nature preserves for cattle and chickens so they could hunt down their burgers and fried chicken themselves.

I don’t think I could be friends with those people. People like that enjoy killing those animals, and that just doesn’t sit right with me. Nature is beautiful, whether you believe an almighty God created it or that it resolved itself out of chaotic interactions, and killing animals just so you can show off to your friends is just plain egotistical and wrong.

What Would Jesus Do?

Wed, 24 Nov 2010 21:20:43 -0600

Probably use his damn blinker on the highway.

Today Is One Of Those Days

Mon, 22 Nov 2010 20:22:25 -0600

///////////////////////////////////////////////

One of those days of bright blue skies,

An endless view before the eyes.

Of winds that gently tease my hair,

A loved one’s touch upon the air.

///////////////////////////////////////////////

Of clouds that drift by overhead

As ephemeral as my dreams.

Of sitting ‘neath the verdant trees,

That sway and bend like heaving seas.

///////////////////////////////////////////////

And as I close my eyes and sigh,

A sense of calm serenity

Comes over me and memories

Before me frolic quick and shy,

///////////////////////////////////////////////

Of times when I would dream of fame,

That one day all would know my name.

When everyone would look at me

With envy gleaming in their eyes.

///////////////////////////////////////////////

I smile, sitting here beneath this tree,

And breathe a deep, contented sigh.

I close my eyes and drift away,

Those dreams can wait another day.

///////////////////////////////////////////////

Drones

Mon, 22 Nov 2010 14:17:07 -0600

As I was sitting in a lounge area on campus today eating my lunch I looked around at all the other people sitting in the same lounge, and I noticed something odd. Every single person, perhaps twenty people or so, were either listening to music, texting, talking on the phone, on their laptop or some combination thereof.

Nowhere was there a book to be seen, or even two people just having a conversation. Even when I finally did see two people conversing they were both texting on their cell phones at the same time. Everyone’s eyes or ears were glued to their screens or headphones, completely tuning the world out. Did any of them notice the song being played on the piano in the same room? Did any of them notice the birds fluttering around a tree just outside? Did any of them even notice what a nice day it was outside?

They all looked like junkies, craving their next hit of instant gratification. They couldn’t even wait until after they were finished talking to someone before they answered that oh so important text or refreshed their Facebook page. They looked like a bunch of drones out of some utopian/dystopian novel. It was eerie, and I hope our generation learns that that is no substitute for actually interacting with someone face to face.

Eye of the Beholder

Sat, 13 Nov 2010 16:21:52 -0600

I firmly believe that the most beautiful part of a girl are her eyes.

The longer you look, the more you notice. On the surface you see the juxtaposition of white like the post precious pearl and black like darkest jet. This surrounds a marbled ring of blue, interspersed with a dusting of gray and brown and veins of white. It’s as if you can see in the eye all that life has to offer, birth and death on either side of the vibrant colors of life.

And the deeper you look into those eyes, the longer they stare back into yours, the more they reflect her emotions. Love and adoration and trust can all be seen in them as if they were whispering those promises gently in your ear. They emanate from her eyes like the sun’s rays, basking you in their warmth.

And yet as you go even deeper, the longer you stare into those liquid portals, time seems to stand still and lose meaning. A slide show of the infinite possibilities of life flash before your eyes…

…a party, music playing and everyone dancing wildly…

…a wedding, everyone standing up and clapping while bells toll out joyfully…

…a park, the sun peeking through billowy clouds while the wind blows softly through the treetops…

…all this and more parade past your sight in an unending stream with but one constant: she is always there.

All this occurs in an instant of time, all of infinity reduced to the space of a moment as you gaze into her eyes.

And in the next moment, you know if she’s the one…

All because of her eyes.

I had to use a YouTube video because Tumblr only allows 10Mb...

Wed, 10 Nov 2010 15:14:18 -0600

I had to use a YouTube video because Tumblr only allows 10Mb songs =( (Stick with it until 1:30 at least, that’s the good part)

I love listening to this song on quiet, peaceful days like this. It’s cool and cloudy, but with just enough sun shining to keep you warm, and all I want to do is take a nap underneath a tree somewhere and listen to the wind blow through the treetops. I love days like that, but I can’t help but wish I had someone to share them with.