Happy Birthday?

'Tis the witching hour of night,

Orbed is the moon and bright,

And the stars they glisten, glisten,

Seeming with bright eyes to listen --

For what listen they?

For a song and for a charm,

See they glisten in alarm,

And the moon is waxing warm

To hear what I shall say.

John Keats

There is more to that poem, but that is the part I was thinking of tonight... er... this morning. (I couldn't sleep, so it all blends together.) All I remembered was that it was perfect for Halloween, and that John Keats had written it to his brother who had sailed to America. I have a book of his collected works, but figured I should be able to find it online.  The funny thing is that for some reason I actually remembered that he was born in 1795. The interesting tidbit I found out tonight is that he was born on October 31, 1795. It is his birthday today.

The way my memory works, I may have bits and pieces of his poems floating around in my brain, somewhere. Oddly enough I remember reading two beautifully written  introductions to his work, both of which he wrote himself, and I specifically recall my impression of him being self-conscious and humble.  This brilliant young man only lived to be 26 years old, and although what he offered the world with his writing in his short life could be considered poetic perfection, he constantly questioned his ability as a poet.  I may not remember the words, but I remember the impact they had on me.

The perfect one...

Halloween and Christmas have always been my favourite times of year.  Christmas last year almost fell by the wayside, and it looked as though Halloween was going to be the victim this year. However, I did break down and buy some Halloween treats, just not as much as I always did in the past. I was thinking of not dressing up, not decorating, not even carving a pumpkin, for the first time in almost thirty years. I have two big trunks full of costume stuff and decorations, including at least a dozen bats, spiders of various sizes, cobwebs, skulls and other whatnot, which I hadn't had the slightest inclination to delve into. On my late afternoon Saturday walk, I decided to pop over to the grocery store just to see what kind of pumpkins they had, and there, sitting at the very top of the pile was perhaps the most perfect pumpkin I have seen. It was only $2.77, so I ended up getting it.

That is one damn fine pumpkin...

Pumpkin carving music:  Mozart's Requiem. Although I didn't finish it within the duration of that CD, the next one in the player was StaticX which seemed to be more motivational for some reason. 

That was five, six hours ago. It is now 4AM. I am not tired. I should be, but I'm not. I think that folding three loads of laundry right before bedtime was the wrong thing to do. Or it could be because I was folding laundry and the temperature in the house is pretty much close to 12 degrees Celsius (54F).  Or maybe it is because I'm hungry. Or all of the above.  Good night, good morning.

Alone.... I can relate....

Odd that in all these years I have only read bits and pieces of Poe, even though I have his works in one big volume sitting on the bookshelf. Funny that I somehow knew that I could relate, but not how closely until I read this, the first seven lines in particular. Other than that, I do  not believe myself to be quite... as... dark.

Alone

by Edgar Allan Poe (Jan 19, 1809 - Oct 7, 1849)

From childhood's hour I have not been
As others were; I have not seen
As others saw; I could not bring
My passions from a common spring.
From the same source I have not taken
My sorrow; I could not awaken
My heart to joy at the same tone;
And all I loved, I loved alone.
Then- in my childhood, in the dawn
Of a most stormy life- was drawn
From every depth of good and ill
The mystery which binds me still:
From the torrent, or the fountain,
From the red cliff of the mountain,
From the sun that round me rolled
In its autumn tint of gold,
From the lightning in the sky
As it passed me flying by,
From the thunder and the storm,
And the cloud that took the form
(When the rest of Heaven was blue)
Of a demon in my view.

I happened upon this video whilst searching for a song in a prior post.

YouTubeLink. (Views 66,944)

Castration, passion and jobs...

YouTubeLink.

From Noahware.

Alone (from the Big Hair 80s)

The other day I was in a store and there was a song playing on the radio that I thought I recognized, but it took me a moment to figure it out. Someone had added a dance beat and done a cover of "Alone" originally sung by Heart. How retarded is that? I went looking for a link and found the Big Hair 80s video that I remember, as well as a few live acoustic versions, including this slower tempo one of Ann and Nancy with her guitar.

One with more powerful vocals here.

Did you know...

... that if you cry in the shower, the tears will be washed away down the drain, making for no-fuss cleanup. The only problem is that where there be tears, there be snot. Then what do you do?

Warning: Something sappy this way comes...

Cracked open another one of those cookies:

Praetor Shinzon v Captain Kirk

No, not really, but sort of...

Tom Hardy v Chris Pine in  what looks to be a fun movie... action, romance, comedy...

This Means War

The Burning Bush?

Point and click...

Both this and the previous picture posted were taken with the cell phone camera through the car windshield whilst travelling down the highway at approximately 120 km/h. You never know what you're going to get.

To the Dentist...

Call me weird. I like going to the dentist. I think I always have. Sure... when we were kids we used to get a little toy or treat or something, and now we are lucky if we get a toothbrush or cute wee package of dental floss. That wasn't it. I find it relaxing. Reclining back in a chair, staring up at a bright light, with someone's fingers in your mouth, scraping your teeth with a sharp metal instrument, in turn spurting jets of water and suctioning the excess fluid out, the whir of a miniature floor polisher with gritty pink goop buffed onto your teeth. Then, the fluoride treatment, with more suction, but you get to control that part. I know it doesn't sound that great, but you come away with a mouth feeling fresh and shiny... new almost. One of only two places in the civilized western world where you can gargle and spit with impunity. Can't beat that.

Ah... the dentist. You didn't really go to see the dentist himself, although he does make a brief appearance to review your x-rays and do a cursory examination of the bone structures within your facial orifice. No... your experience at the dentist's office rests entirely in the hands of the dental hygienist. I guess I've just been lucky.

I wasn't planning on writing about going to the dentist, but thought that I might post a couple pictures I took on the way there. That then got me to thinking that perhaps... just perhaps...  the trip to the dentist's office was somethng more than that. Way back when, it meant that I would have a chance to get out of school... to be on the road with mom and the siblings, to get a treat... and to probably eat out somewhere before we came home.  Later on, as an adult, it meant getting time off from work... time to relax in the dentist's chair, to forget about paperwork and all that other crap. And now, like today, it is the highlight of my existence. Oh... well... that and I splurged on a Raspberry Custard Danish and a Ham and Cheese Croissant afterwards.

Gone but not forgotten...

To honour the fallen since last time:

U.S. (Tex (3), Cali (3), Ohio (3), Mich (2),

         Colo, Illi, D.C., Ariz, NJ, Fla, Ga, Wa,

         Tenn, NM, NY)

Estonia

Poland

U.K.

and those who had gone before and finally found their way home to the States after 67 years. 

"The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of 10 servicemen, missing in action from World War II, have been identified and are being returned to their families for burial with full military honors.

Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Robert R. Bishop of Joliet, Ill.; 2nd Lt. Thomas Digman, Jr. of Pittsburgh; 2nd Lt. Donald W. Hess of Sioux City, Iowa; 2nd Lt. Arthur W. Luce, of Fort Bragg, Calif.; Staff Sgt. Joseph J. Karaso, of Philadelphia; Staff Sgt. Ralph L. McDonald of East Point, Ga.; Sgt. John P. Bonnassiolle of Oakland, Calif.; Sgt. James T. Blong of Port Washington, Wis.; Sgt. Michael A. Chiodo of Cleveland; and Sgt. John J. Harringer, Jr. of South Bend, Ind., will be buried as a group, in a single casket representing the entire crew, on Oct. 26, in Arlington National Cemetery. Hess and Karaso will be interred individually in Arlington National Cemetery.

On April 29, 1944, the 10 airmen were ordered to carry out a bombing mission over Berlin, Germany, in their B-24J Liberator aircraft, piloted by Bishop and Luce. German documents captured after the war noted that the aircraft crashed near the town of East Meitze, Germany, and there were no survivors."

Read the rest here.

 

Where?

But then that little voice whispers... it is the journey that matters, not the destination. The thing is that this journey appears to have become far too abstract. There is no road, no path, no direction, no prevailing wind, no tide, no compass, no map.... nothing.

As I am still lacking for substance on the blog, I offer up that unfinished thought which was all I could muster in an email earlier tonight.

Hah!

I knew it! I had a funny feeling that I had posted that quote on the blog before. Normally I would double-check, but I think in my haste to follow up that earlier bit of sappy crap last night, I let it slide.

Unexpected...

"Our brightest blazes of gladness are commonly kindled by unexpected sparks." 

                                                             Samuel Johnson

What?

I wrote the following in a notebook on June 19, 2010. In the margin notes I jotted down when I re-read the journal, I had written in bold, capital letters "WHAT?????"

One breath, two Souls

Two minds, one thought

One love, two hearts

Yeah, I don't know where it came from.  It weren't me!!!  It must have been my cuddly and fluffy evil twin.

Egads...

Funny... I didn't realize until now, that I am... that cat.

Friday Night Frivolity...

You do not really want to know how many hours I just spent watching videos on Jokeroo. You also don't want to know that I just embedded eight videos into a blogpost and after I saved it and was ready to post it, the internet gods magically changed all eight embed codes to the same one. Twice. Why twice? Oh... because I thought it was something I did wrong the first time. 

So for now I am only posting this one.  Enjoy.

Training...

... discipline. I like it.

Parenting...

This method may not be effective in the long run, but it gets the point across.

Tomorrow Never Knows...

I heard a song the other night, and knew that I had heard it before, but I couldn't for the life of me remember where or when. The one I listened to was a cover by Phil Collins, on another CD that was in the "getting rid of" stack. I was picking my brain about who sang it before, and recalled it being on a movie soundtrack... The Craft. I could not figure out who sang the original though, so I had to Google it. Turns out it was by ... the Beatles.  The album was "Revolver" and I have a funny feeling that I used to have the vinyl LP.

"Tomorrow Never Knows"

Turn off your mind, relax and float down stream
It is not dying, it is not dying

Lay down all thoughts, surrender to the void
It is shining, it is shining

Yet you may see the meaning of within
It is being, it is being

Love is all and love is everyone
It is knowing, it is knowing

And ignorance and hate mourn the dead
It is believing, it is believing

But listen to the colour of your dreams
It is not leaving, it is not leaving

So play the game "Existence" to the end
Of the beginning, of the beginning
Of the beginning, of the beginning
Of the beginning, of the beginning
Of the beginning, of the beginning

Wow... listening to the words, really listening to just the words and reading them after what seems like an eternity, makes me wonder if the interrelated structure of reality has indeed brought me full circle, from the ending of one to the beginning of another. Hell... I knew that the end of many things was here, I just didn't know when the beginning is supposed to begin... and of what? All I saw...  all that I yet see... is the void of uncertainty.

Forever...

A story I came across today confirming the existence of wuv... twue wuv, in a bwessed awangement which lasted 72 years and ended with the couple holding hands.

Random chuckles...

I was remiss in not responding to old friend's email in a timely manner, and as my non-existent life is a long-standing joke, this was the reply I received:

"Helloooo.....

I thought for a minute that you did have lots going on and maybe that's why you haven't emailed....Got all excited there for a minute....."

I chuckled to myself.

***

Was at a restaurant the other day, and sitting at the table across from us were a guy and two gals, probably in their twenties. The gal sitting on her own opposite the other two, and facing my direction,  made imquiry of the waitress as to the Veggie Burger. She wanted to know if it tasted like meat. She wanted the Veggie Burger that tasted like meat. I... I...  (Meat is good...  meat is good...)

I almost burst out laughing. Or ... maybe I just stifled a guffaw.

Heavy...

I never read Anne of Green Gables when I was a little girl. Heck... I never even read anything by Jane Austen until a few years ago. Just not quite my cup of tea I suppose. Anyways, Anne of Green Gables was written by beloved author, Lucy Maud Montgomery, who, unbeknownst to me had also written poetry, which I didn't find out about until I was in my twenties. She was a famous Canadian writer, known for her cherished children's stories, which I had never read, and I knew very little about her. I have a book of her poems which I know that I read through at some point, but the only one that stood out in my mind, or with my poor memory, was one regarding Sorrow as a companion. Tonight, as I was reading over at Thormoo's blog, this poem came to mind. I knew I still had that book of poems, but I went online to search as I figured it would be faster. I found a few sites and scanned through the list, clicked on a few, but couldn't find it, so I went to grab the book. It didn't take me too long, just skimming through the titles. It was called "The Revelation".

The Revelation
by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Once to my side a veiled figure came

To bear me company,

Deeming that Sorrow was her bitter name,

I strove from her to flee.

She clasped my hand in hers and led me on

Beneath a clouded sky;

Till many dour and dreary days had gone,

Right sullenly went I.

But as time passed I grew to love my guide.

No more escape I sought;

At last contented by her gentle side

To learn the lessons taught.

Then lifted she her veil and showed to me

Her calm eternal youth.

"Lo! Mortal, who has known my ministry,

Behold me - I am Truth."

All I know is that this poem struck a chord with me years ago when I first read it, enough so that it would remain in my memory.

Lucy Maud Montgomery was born in 1874 and died in 1942. What I found out tonight is that she suffered from severe depression and  took her own life, at the age of 67.

Skylines...

Dancing with tears in my eyes...

I've had a song in my head for about a week or more, but couldn't remember the title or much of the song for that matter. The other day I opened a box of CDs that I was going to be getting rid of for many years now but never did, and I found one by Midge Ure, the lead singer for a band called Ultravox that I remember listening to in the 80s. As soon as I saw the CD, I knew it was his voice in that song which had resonated with me, so I went aGoogling for info and found that the song I was thinking of was "Vienna". When I went looking for a link, I ended up finding a few versions, but this one was the cleanest, or clearest that I could find:



Oddly enough I clicked on another link and found a live acoustic version from twenty years later, with the comedian Eddie Izzard accompanying on the piano. I thought that was weird not because Mr. Izzard is playing the piano, but because I had posted a link to one of his stand-up routines not too long ago.

Anyways...  in the midst of the YouTubing, I also rediscovered a song of theirs that I had almost completely forgotten. The funny thing is that I have a vague recollection that the end of the world was often on the periphery of my thoughts back in my youth, which makes it surprising that I didn't remember the song or the video until it started playing.

Listening to that song again after more than two decades, brings to mind a question tonight.  If the world were to end tomorrow, are you where you want to be... or with someone that you want to be with?

Giggling like a school girl?

No, not really, nor that I ever did, but pretty darn close to my reaction when I saw the announcement a while back as to who was going to be starring in the Avengers movie. I just saw the official trailer last night and all I can say is that, good or bad, I am going to like this one ... a lot.

YouTubeLink.

From Twinkle to Pipers...

I don't know about me. For some reason I had "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" in my head, so I went YouTubing for it. Of course then I got to wondering if there was a metal parody of it. Found several (not metal) versions, checked out a few, but nothing that caught my twinkle. Not sure exactly what the segue was, but there on the sidebar I noticed something that I just had to share. From one of the most moving scores in movie history.

YouTubeLink.

And then something else caught my eye. Something about Dueling Pipers. Made me smile. The funny thing is that if you take a listen, you will hear part of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" in there.

It's got zing...

...zip or zest... a slight sweet tanginess. What am I talking about? Miracle Whip. I had one participant in my Mayonnaise or Miracle Whip post the other day. Yippee! I guess no one else was up for it, or maybe no one is bothering to read. Whatever.  Why Miracle Whip? It has character.  It isn't one dimensional. For sandwiches, Miracle Whip works better than Mayonnaise with Tuna, with Tomato, with Bacon and Tomato, with Salmon, with Roast Beef,  with Corned Beef, with Pastrami. It even adds more flavour to Macaroni Salad. Getting hungry now I am. One more thing... my mom used to make a delicious Shrimp Dip. There was no set recipe, but I learned how to make it by watching her every year when she was getting stuff ready for the New Years Day open house. There is no way in heck that that dip would work without the wee bit of zip provided by Miracle Whip. (Heh... read that sentence over just for fun.) Technically, it wouldnt work if you omitted any one of the ingredients. Back then I didnt even like shrimp, but I liked that dip, and I still make it, like mom used to.

My answers:

1. Miracle Whip.

2. Tabasco Sauce... because its got some heat at least.

3. Chili... withOUT beans... because without beans means
     it has BEEF in it.

4. Handshake.

5. Spinach... because it has more substance.

6. Lemons. This was a tough one, regardless of my
    thoughts on Lime Crush, Lime Slurpies and Key Lime Pie.

7. Snow... because you can work AND play with it.

8. Beef... despite my drooling desire for chicken.

9. Bacon... oh... bacon.

10. Couldn't decide. Hadn't listened to either in ages.
       My first instinct was the Stones.

October...

YouTubeLink.  (Views 7734)

Just a song wherein its simplicity struck me as a teenager and which has stayed with me through the years. It seemed fitting to follow the previous post.

Virtual hugs... me?

Over the past year, and since I wrote about my opinion on hugs, I may have softened a wee bit on the subject. I've written about being lost, cold, empty, broken and fractured, as well as on the matter of becoming human. There was a song I posted several months ago that reminded me of someone, and in the trend towards softening up and being human, I will admit that tonight, I am sending a virtual hug his way. I don't believe he has been over here for a while, but he will know the reason for this.

On a recent foray into his old blog, I came across a little bit which made me smile:

"I used to have dreams as a youngster, where I could see almost all of our farm from a birdseye view. Had it for years, and then told my ma about it. Come to find out, when I was three, I climbed the silo all the way to the top, and stood in the little crow's nest checkin' the place out. About the time my dad started to climb up, I decided it was time to come down, so I made my way, yelling at my father to "get out of the way, Daddy, I'm coming down!" When I reached arms' level, I was yanked off of the silo, and my little bottom blistered. I never had a problem remembering the spankin', but I did forget what had brought it on!"

His most recent post can be read here.

*****

Hmm... I am also sending virtual hugs out to the family of another young man I didn't know and never met, but whom I had written about last year a couple times after coming across his sister's blog journal of his battle with cancer. For whatever reason, I remember he passed away the day after Christmas and that it was his birthday today.

Name calling...

I'm sure we have all done it at some point in our lives, but I like to think that there comes a time when you outgrow it. Perhaps it is simply because as one matures, there is that buffer or filter between how we feel and what we say. I don't know. Last night I called someone a "nebulous void". Of course, it didn't stirke me as odd until just now. Maybe it is just that our vocabulary improves with age.

Done...

I think I am done. I am fractured and cannot be reset. Whomever I was is gone. My memories are shards of glass on a dusty floor. My past is gleaned from pictures that I once saw of myself, but that I carry no longer. The mirror now, so faded and worn that I no longer see my own reflection. The thoughts and words that once flowed so freely from my mind and hand in youth have become the parched throat of decaying time. There is no more me left. This quiet peaceful place that I came to in my life has become a  cold empty tomb and all I want to do is die close my eyes, be enveloped in warmth and sleep.

Random advice...

I agree with all ten from this list, but I am only capable of six of them at present.

Miracle Whip or Mayonnaise?

A post about homemade mayonnaise over at Bad Example prompted me to pose the question, Miracle Whip or Mayonnaise?  I know my answer and I wish to expound on that, but I must ponder my reasons carefully. For now however, some more of this or that, that came to mind.

1. Mayonnaise or Miracle Whip?
2. Tabasco Sauce or Ketchup?

3. Chili... with beans or without?
4. Hug or handshake?
5. Lettuce or spinach?

6. Lemons or limes?
7. Snow or rain?
8. Chicken or beef?

9. Bacon or sausages?
10. The Stones or the Beatles?

As with most things, not quite as good as the first time, but a few tough choices nonetheless.

I just don't think I'm crazy enough...

What makes great bloggers? I have to agree with that article. As for crazy? I'm sure I have my moments, but my crazy is a lot less crazy than most people's. In addition to that, I am short on intensity, passion, strife and struggle, such that my conflicts can only be turned over and rotated once or twice, before the two people who know me personally and read the blog start to get deeply concerned.  You also have to consider that the most exciting thing that happens in my life is stepping in dog poop... or cat poop. That has happened to me three times within a year, and I narrowly missed another steaming pile just last week. Of course, in regards to having something of substance to blog about, I just hope that it isn't shit.

Curtsy to Harvey at Bad Example.

Reality check...

I was checking out some of the blogs in my reading list earlier today, on another fine, overcast, but not rainy Sunday, and found the link to this little piece over at the Crow's Song. Hopefully it will make you think, perhaps make you cry, and it might even help you or someone you know... if you let it truly sink in. I wanted to write something more than this, but as the day progressed, me sitting here in the quiet cold alone, no words came.  Just read it.

At some point, I looked up and noticed that the sun was shining, so I went outside, pulled some weeds and turned over the compost pile. Shortly thereafter, someone made me smile and laugh. It's a start.

To my fellow realists...

I laughed when I received this, but for a brief moment considered it perhaps as a pithimist. However, upon further and immediate reflection, I couldn't not agree.

Curtsy to T1G.

Summer of '85...

... or '86, I can't remember which. Hot summer day, fade to evening. Metallica, myself, black leather chair. I had heard of them and probably listened to something by them before, but I did not know them before that day. I've written a little bit about them here and there. Was never into the metal scene, or long-haired head-banging dudes, nor am I familiar with all those terms that have arisen, before or since... death metal, thrash metal... whatever. Listened to countless other bands since, but none really compared.

Awesomeness...

Again, not a word oft used in my day to day vocabulary, but.. this is little kids playing Metallica... and pretty damn good at that. Just ignore the vocals.

YouTubeLink.

Wouldn't it be cool to have Mr. Hetfield sir sing with them?

nb: After watching this video over at Harvey's blog, I started to write something more regarding my Metallica, but didn't get very far. Not sure where I'm going with it.

Beautiful...

I never really thought of anything Japanese as beautiful ... ever.  Except maybe my sister, but then she's more cute than beautiful.

Well, the other day, this changed my mind:

Go figure that it was over at the blog of some hairy caveman named Og.

One of the translations I found and a little backstory can be read here. The odd thing is the timing of finding out about the song, and how the words reflect where I ended up in life. The funny thing is how much it reminds me of a poem I learned in school 30 years ago and never forgot. The few translations that I have come across thusfar just don't do it justice.

Just curious...

I'm not on Facebook. Not a fan of Facebook. I have written that a couple times in the past here. I am however curious about something...  Is it possible to meet someone intriguing and interesting on Facebook? Or... is this more likely to occur on a Blog? 

And no... I'm not going to do any research to answer my question. Just throwing it out there into the void.

Pretty...

... in purple...

Hydrangeas on the kitchen table.

A little bit of summer...

... the original shot below, taken a couple months ago on one of the very limited number of sunny days, whilst standing in  my backyard, with the huge evergreen peeking out on the right hand side, and the powerline running through near the bottom.

Summer was sporadic and short-lived this year and I definitely didn't spend as much time outside as in the last few years. Hmm... I didn't get too sunburnt, I didn't play tennis at all, I didn't even bring the bike up from the basement. This was of course only partially due to the lack of sunshiney weather, and moreso to do with lack of motivation... still.

 

 

I could almost taste it...

Tonight after getting home from the obligatory sporting activity, I was trying to decide what to eat for dinner and opted for the two Roma tomatoes from aged father's garden. I sliced them up, placed them on toast with Becel (margarine), Miracle Whip and Cheddar Cheese, and set to broil in the oven so as to melt the cheese just so. What can I say... I could almost taste the bacon. I'm hungry thinking about it even now, a few hours later. Oh... bacon...  in all your crispy, fatty goodness... I miss you.

I suck...

I am presently in a particularly precarious position pursuant to persistent procrastination.  The living of life was limited due to lengthy lapses of linear thought and lolligagging in lethargic limbo. I am aversely aware that my attitudinal aptitude for appropriate activities has apparently abandoned me. The simplification of self seemed sufficient for self-preservation yet subsequently started the struggle stemming from a systematic systemic shutdown  Simply said... I screwed myself.

Literally...

YouTubeLink.

From Magniflorious Phule.

But of course I had to watch a couple more.


YouTubeLink.

I watched this one last, but for some reason it just seemed a little funnier... probably because of the last line.

YouTubeLink.

The Muppets?

... they seem to be everywhere  lately . Even in my head.


YouTubeLink.

Oh... and there's a new movie too.


YouTubeLink.

This cracked me up...

YouTubeLink.

From here.

Almost home...

Heading down the sidewalk towards home, looking North.

I don't know...

Nothing lasts forever. But what happens when you never imagined it any other way? What happens when the forever you never imagined is gone? What happens when you never look beyond what is and when what is dies, all of you dies with it? 

The rain falls,

the wind blows, the sun shines, but for some, no more shall.

To honour those who gave their lives for another and in service to their country. Since last time,

U.S. (Cali (3), Wis (2), Okla (2), Tex (2), Fla (2),

         Neb, NJ, Ga, Mass, Ind, Tenn, Nev, Idaho,

         Ohio, Mich, Alab, Puerto Rico)

Italy (3)

New Zealand

The Tao of Eeyore...

Even at the very bottom of the river, don't stop to say to yourself, "Is this a Hearty Joke, or is it the Merest Accident?" Just float to the surface and say to yourself, "It's wet."

The wisdom of Eeyore, who by these words was indeed a smart ass.

I blog therefore I am?

I struggle yet with the reason for my existence, the purpose of my life, the usefulness of this person. The funny thing is, that the blog mirrors this facet of me...  I could just as easily have said... I struggle yet with the reason for my blog, the purpose of my blogging, the usefulness of this blog. I am therefore I blog... or I blog therefore I am? I write nothing of substance because there are no words of substance within me. Is it because I lack substance or because I have become nothing? And so on and so on. Whatever. Stop blogging, start living?  Blog about life? Sure, I'll get right on that.

A lobotomy, cake or death?

There was a comment on the blog the other day: "Have you considered doing a brainial makeover?", to which I responded "A lobotomy or death?". I now find this pretty damn funny because I just remembered from a few days ago in an email, "Cake or Death?" came up.  Oh... the choices are limitless. On an interesting side-note, Star Wars was also mentioned in that comment, so the video I posted here suits this theme as well.