Well, Excuse Me for Being Literate!!

It's sho been a while since I posted last, and so I figure I'd get on back and let ya'll know whats been happenin in these here parts, hyawh. It was right nice to see my cousins from down south a ways at our little Easter pradu-...produck-... thingimabobber with the singing and the talking. What'd you say? Production? Stop making up words, Hank! Ya'll know what I'm goin on about. I recollect there was some sorta joke I was s'posed ta mention but I jus plum forgot! 'Magine that!

Now, if ya'll aint haven't noticed nothin t'all about my lil country western doa-diulet-diale... You know, my funny talk! I ain't like this here normally but I thought I would give y'all a heads up! No, Hank! There's nothing up there! It's a figure o'speech! No, I dunno what "figure o'speech" either. Just sumtin people say! oh, go milk a cow! Anyhyawh, as I was saying... Them there World Travelin' Puppeteers are havin' another o' them little melodrammers they like to have. Ain't that excitin! HOO! I ain't had this much excitement since Eddie lit after Hank fer setting a coon loose in his drawers! Oh hush Hank! Every'un knowed it was you! What? Well, you shouldn't have put yer brandin on that coon! How'd you get that coon stuck in his chest a'drawers? 


Um... Anyways! We have a skit upcoming and it should be a lot of fun!

Now, if any of you have played Balderdash before, then you will love LIEbrary! It's a similar concept but the goal is to write the first line of a book and try to figure out the right one! I had a lot of fun playing that with the youth from my church this weekend. It is quite hilarious to hear what my friends come up with! ("STOP!" Bob cried. Best, line, ever.)

Just thought I would pop in a quick reminder that my birthday is coming up soon! MAY 2! So be sure to send a long a card or two! (credit card, of course!) I accept cash in any form, so I'm not picky at all! :D

Anyways, I'm avoiding homework right now... So back to work for me!
Oh, and here are a few pieces from my glassblowing class :D

Words with Friends...

What are words? The myriad different words and their meanings that are placed intentionally to communicate ideas. Words. Small collections of different sounds that sum up the entire knowledge base of humanity. Possibilities of creation and destruction lie in the power of these insignificant emanations. Indeed the universe was created with a word, along with every single molecule of being, by God. A God with whom our sole source of communication with is words. The Holy Bible. Prayer. Preaching. The power of words relies on the individual speaking them. Words, by themselves, are stagnant. Unmoving. If I tell you to "Go to the store," and do not give you a reason beyond my simple command, you would not do it. In fact, I may even supply you with a reason, a hundred reasons even. My reasons must become significant to you. That is where the power comes. When the words become significant to the recipient. God's very breath has significance to our entire universe, and it is no small wonder that His spoken word created it and everything within. We agree that He has power, and that His power created us. Therefore some small measure of that power could have passed on to us. I believe that it did. Is it any surprise that the Holy Ghost is evidenced by speaking in other tongues?

I enjoy words. I like learning new ones and using them, the more obfuscating the better. (Obfuscating means hard to understand... DidyouseewhatIdidthere?) Language, poetry, prose are all fascinating uses of words. In sooth, my words turn ever quickly to that of yonder years, years of ages long gone past yet still to ever rear its head. Till thou hast made a morn-full tear, when I, in foolish ennui, speak like late Shakespeare. I wonder how long it took you to realize I was attempting to write in a style similar to his. The speech patterns of his plays are well known and easily recognizable to almost everyone. Words are powerful, but they must have meaning and a response. Without either, they are nothing. 

Boundaries

I had an assignment for a class today, and, in the process of actually being surprised I found the homework interesting, came across some fascinating information. It was a TED talk by Neuroscientist Neil Burgess about How your brain tells you where you are. Now, I found this quite interesting because he said that the way we figure out where we are... Is with boundaries. Rather than go into detail about it I will sum it up. The human brain has roughly a hundred billion neurons and these communicate through electric impulses. Now they did studies that showed a specific set of neurons in a rats brain fired whenever the rat was in a certain part of a room. A different set fired in a different area and so forth. If one were to enlarge the room, the area that the neurons fired in would stretch out according to the increased room. This is how we find our cars in a parking lot, by mapping the firing neurons in our brains when we park, we can return to the location by finding the correct neuron pattern. These neurons map the space around us. These neurons also assist us when we use imagination and even when we remember a previous occasion, such as a wedding.

This sparked a thought in my mind that made me recall one of my college teachers comments. Children playing at schools want barriers. They want that wall up between them and the street. Certain people noted how at recess the children would play to the fence. They would go all the way out and back in their play. One bright intelligent person with possibly a very advanced degree decided that we should do away with the fences. Perhaps the children feel caged or imprisoned and we should get rid of those fences! Well, this happened and the children would no longer play as far. They would stay closer to the school. The fences went back up eventually and the kids would play out to the fence again. While those students would go all the way up to the fence they still deep down knew the value of them. They wouldn't feel safe until the fence was back up.

In our life we have boundaries. Spiritual. Physical. Mental. These are what tell us where we are. We can push those boundaries to the limit. Expanding or contracting according to whim or reason. They are there for a reason. I could go on and explain and explain but I will leave it with this.

Without boundaries.


We will be lost.

Contemplative

I was told, quite recently, that I was "not nerdy, but smart and contemplative." Now we may dispute the former assertions of intelligence and the lack of being nerdy, but I would like to focus on the latter assertion. That is to say, the contemplative part. Being who I am, I would not say that I am especially thoughtful. Indeed, it is most often the case that I am not thinking, especially when I am speaking, and find myself in greater amounts of trouble than it would had I thought for but a moment longer. The thought needed for me to think to myself "Just shut up John." This thought rarely occurs to me until much later, after I have–with great time and effort–clawed myself out of the hole I had so quickly dug. That said, I find myself at times, when I am no longer surrounded by people or inclinations to speak, that I become pensive and... yes, even contemplative. Thoughtful almost. It is in these moments that I find myself eloquent. Speaking (Or rather, thinking.) with unfettered words and insightful musings which cause me to wonder why I cannot seem to grasp this innate part of me in times most dire. Dire circumstance like that of the hole-diggery and all around foot-in-mouth incidences. Am I the pompous prattler to which the surrounding observers must perceive me as? Is there some gift to obtain to suddenly become so quick-witted that I speak with quality? Sadly I believe that there is some interference caused by my proximity to others that causes my signal to be unclear. My wit is staticky. I don't have any antennas on my brain to fiddle with to get better reception either.

It is but the plight of a fool
to be one though he know it not
sadly speaking wisdom unwise
twisted words sound correctly but
sadder still when said fool knows it
for all a fools effort changes naught.

photo by Caitlyn Kimbley

interim post

I was intending to post sooner than this, but I was working on a post that became longer that I thought it would be. Then I got writers block and now I am stuck... So yeah, that is where I am. I know you are waiting in frantic anticipation upon my latest post and it must be killing you I'm sure. heh

Well, a new semester of school. Another round of homework avoidance and intense not-studying. I have a couple online classes which, as strange as this might be, require more work than going to an actual class! Honestly, I am appalled. This is extremely taxing upon my ability to get by on the seat of my pants.


I leave you with this encouraging thought. People around us often say nice things and we look at them and think... "If only they knew!" but really they will never know. The truth is that None of us knows another, like the way we know ourselves. We can get bound by insecurities and failures but the real test is to push past those. To not let them get you down. Smile anyways. So be strong. Be happy. Ignore all those flaws you see. Be the person you want to be, and not the person you think to be.

Art is my (insert word)

Art has become a huge part of my life. It's what I do. It's how I express things that cannot be spoken or explained with words. It's my heart in the paper. It's in my blood spilled in ink poured out upon the canvas. Flights of fancy or hard reality. Joy or sorrow. This may seem slightly macabre to some, but please do not think of it that way. Reality is what it is and it cannot be denied. Art is apart of reality so much that reality begets art! It's funny how moments happen when I draw or write or create something that expresses my heart at that moment. Often quickly followed but lets put this away before no one else sees it! Ah, I am by no means a great artist. I do not have that force of skill that can call forth the images of the mind onto the canvas, but I must slowly peel away the many layers to find what wants to be and not what I would make. There's still a joy to it. A focus that I can reach within the drawing that I find nothing else matters. I have a horrible attention span. It is difficult for me to focus upon anything for long without wandering off to some corner of my mind. When I draw or paint... I can focus. It draws me in like a current. I've looked up to see hours have passed, and all I want to do is turn back to the page and keep working. Art is my hobby. My stress-relief. Art is many things, but most of all. Art is my passion.

Cool Story, Bro

I was sitting in a coffee shop one day, when a friend of mine walks in. He has a big grin on his face like he just won the lottery. I had to laugh because I knew it probably had to do with some girl he had met or talked to or randomly smiled at him as he was walking to who knows where. "Bro!" he said, excited to see me, or rather, more likely anyone with whom he could share his story. "Dude! You'll never believe it man!" I started to reply but he rushed on. "Okay, so you know how it's finals week and everything? Yeah, and remember that one girl I told you about?" As if I paid much attention to it when he told me in the first place, but I decided to allow him his story. I was sitting in a coffee shop alone. Not exactly too-cool-for-you status. "Which girl was this again?" I asked him. "You know! the one that kept smiling at me all semester?"
"Ah. That one."
"Yeah! Well, anyways, I was leaving after the Final for that one class."
"Which?"
"The horrible one. Horrible teacher? I complained all semester about it."
"Oh yeah. That one. What about it?"
"That's the class the girl was in."
"The smiley one."
"Yeah, she's so gorgeous! Anyways, I was leaving class and she said to me."
"Are you going to order?"
"No, she didn't say that. Where would you-"
"I meant, are you going to order a drink?"
"Oh, right... Be right back!"
He ordered his drink and came back to wait for it, continuing his story exactly where he left off.
"So I was leaving class and we just happened to be walking in the same direction..."

****

"You ready to be done with this semester?" She asked him, that smile on her face lighting up as she spoke. "Oh, I've been ready!" He replied, "Especially that class!"
"Tell me about it! I was anxious every time I went to class!"
"You're anxious? She's so feminist I was wrong even when I agreed with her!" He said, and she laughed at this. "Everything you are is wrong!"
"For real! White. Middleclass. Male... I was born wrong!" He shook his head, admiring her smile again.
"Well at least it's over now. What grade did you get?"
"A minus on the last project, I'll probably end up with a B for the class. You?"
"Your orders ready."

****

"What?" My friend asked, intently telling his own story.
"Your coffee is ready. You going to get it?"
"Oh! Hold on!"
"Not going anywhere dude," I said to him wryly, wondering where exactly this story was heading. He got back to the table and went on.
"So I told her what I got and she said she got an A."

****

 "An A. Wow, nice work," He complimented her.

"Thanks. So is this it for the day?" She replied, looking up at him.

"Yeah, I have another final tomorrow but that's it."

"What's your major?" She asked him, curiously.

"Liberal studies. Yeah, I'm getting my teaching credential." 

"Oh that's good, and you-"

"Get summers off. Week for Thanksgiving. A month for Christmas..."

"That's smart!

"So I'm just going to walk in and be like 'Okay kids, I'm here for the summers, just like you. So you don't mess with me, and you all get 'A's. Even you, little Jimmy special in the back there."

"Oh my word!" She said as she was laughing. Her blonde hair tossed artfully over her shoulder. 

"What's your major?" 

"Communications major, like with special cases. I just decided."

"What since you've been talking to me?"

"No! That's not what I meant! You're funny!" She laughed and hit his arm. 

****

"She hit your arm."

"Yeah man! She said 'You're funny' and hit my arm! Oh, and she was totally playing with her hair. Whole time."

"Oh wow, she is totally into you."

"Right?" He said as that sort of rhetorical question that ends up being an exclamation. 

"Go on," I said, my curiosity amused. 

"Man, I was on. I couldn't say anything without her laughing."

 "So why didn't you ask her out?" 

"Yeah, it wouldn't have worked out. Oh hey, gotta go," and with that he walked out.

---------------------

This is simply a short story meant to entertain. Any details within the story are purely for the sake of entertainment.