Birds

My brain just won't find words
To put into blog form, ya heard?
It's crazy I know
Can't think of no mo'
I guess I could write about birds

Birds are quite nice I must say
They sing to us all through the day
Some are bright
Some black as night
And some are just charcoal gray

I swear I had something to share
Now it has vanished into thin air
It was just right here
Don't give me that sneer
I guess today I'll eat a pear

Lost, Season 4

Over the past few weeks, my wife and I have gotten into Season 4 of Lost. I had blogged earlier in the seasons about how great it was how this show weaved together so many stories into one seamless experience, utilizing flashbacks into characters' lives before the crash. Well, in Season 4 it takes a turn. It flashes forward. Is flashforwards a word? -nope, it has a red underline. I suppose there are two ways of viewing this season. You could now define the continuation of the main story as the present, which would make the new cutscenes flashforwards, cuts into the future. Or you could define the cutscenes as the present, which would then turn the previous season's present into the past. But it feels much more natural to continue following the "main story" as the present, thereby seeing occasional glimpses of the future. Any way we look at it, it is very effective in spicing things up without sacrificing the beautiful structure of every episode - still brilliant and structured storytelling.

Shakespeare ?= Foreign Language

I can't comment on anything political really, because I just can't follow it sufficiently to make me feel comfortable having too many opinions on the matter... On another note though, I have to finish reading Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing over my first break. It drives me crazy. Why we read Shakespeare in his original language is beyond me. How is it that Theater Appreciation class has temporarily turned into a foreign language class? Yes, Shakespeare is a foreign language. Scenes that should go by quickly take time to understand because of the language. Yeah it was fine for their time, but give them something written by a modern American writer and they would have the same difficult time reading it. It's not that I don't think there's something to be gained from Shakespeare, because I know the power of his play Romeo and Juliet from the modern adaptation of it starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Daines. But it took seeing that several times for it to make total sense since they used the original script. Very moving stories, good writer, but as it is a foreign language I think it should be treated as such. We don't read Latin in English class, do we? Well where do we draw the line? At least I have yet to be required to read Chaucer's Canterbury Tales in their original language. My wife wasn't so lucky in that matter. In her AP high school class, she had to memorize one of the stories, or maybe it was the introduction, in its original Old English. I also thought it was ridiculous back then. Maybe my beard is making me old and grouchy - 'bout time to trim it up!

Songs in My Head

I get the weirdest songs in my head at times, but the funny thing is sometimes I'll only have one or two words that I can remember, and so I google those one or two words with "lyrics" and a bunch of different songs come up. So I resort to singing the tune to my friends until someone finally figures it out. Of course there's an iPhone app that you can sing a tune into and it will do its best to match it to the right song, but I don't have an iPhone - I got the cheapest phone so that I could justify buying a PSP :)

Supporting Cast in the Me Show

This blog could easily be dedicated to countless people... My mother who birthed and raised me, my father who provided seed and raised me as well, my brother and sister who were great friends throughout my life (and also great enemies at times). My best friend Paul who I've known since I was 5 years old and who fixed my car for a good 6 years usually for free until I moved away to Montgomery (from Huntsville).

Thanks to Moses for giving good advice, as well as Jesus for also giving good advice, and Buddha, and Lao-tse, and Mark Pritchard the Gnostic author. Tetsuya Nomura who wrote the video game Kingdom Hearts and all its sequels, it holds very good lessons about simplicity, friendship, and love, and their ability to transcend and overcome any forces that might work against them both internally and externally.

And most importantly my wife who has supported me through the many stages of my learning and growing up, no matter how crazy things got sometimes she has stayed true through it all. She is a champ, works hard, does my laundry (yeah, I tried at first when we moved in together but never did it satisfactorily to her ;) She is the anchor of truth and love and purpose in my world.

Where Will I Be in 10 Years?

Where will I be in 10 years? Well, that's really pretty hard to say! But I do know that I would like to continue improving upon helping people to learn music online, and also writing some stories occasionally. Being able to read, write, and perform music is really precious to me, and so I want to provide something for people who would like to learn but never get around to it. It doesn't really matter much to me where I live. I mean, I would love to be living on a beautiful island with a private jet and all, but it's okay down here.

Shooting at University of Alabama in Huntsville!

Yesterday, a Biology professor opened fire during a Biology faculty meeting at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), killing three and injuring three more. My wife and I found this out on Facebook. I was a student there myself for a year straight out of high school, my wife has a diploma from there, my brother and his girlfriend are students there, and a friend is faculty. Fortunately they're all okay, but I do feel for those who lost loved ones. It's a horrible thing that people can snap like that and that it's so easy for them, with a gun, to take someone else's life, this precious gift we have no matter how bad it may seem at times.

A Welcome Break from Routine

Ah so a bit of snow was good as well as getting to leave work at 12pm. It was a greatly needed break from routine. I'll have to study a bit for my upcoming history test over the weekend. History has never been my strong point. It just comes down to motivation. I really don't have any enthusiasm to learn history, although at times I will get curious about something and google it, which is really how I think a lot of people learn these days. That's great that it's so easy for people to really get answers to things they're really curious about.

Argh, Essay Question...

Just had my first essay question since I've been back in school. You must remember I've been out of school for 7 years and this is my first semester back. Having been rather active online, in forums, writing blogs and stories and the such, I don't mind writing, but it's just that I'm so used to having as much time as I need to finish something I'm trying to say. If I am asked to write five paragraphs to answer a question, I wish to write the best five paragraphs I can possibly write, for better or for worse. How can you do that in less than 30 minutes?! It's not possible! It drives me crazy to leave holes. Oh well...

Internet ?= Less Real

I wondered recently why it is that some people have a tendency to view internet life in opposition to what they would consider "real life". For instance, we might have a tendency to scoff at someone who met their wife on Facebook or some other social network. But why? When I thought about it (which is what I like to do to make sense of things rather than just accepting a blind opinion), I thought about how we have a body here, but can we say that body defines us? What is it that drives this body? The body is a vehicle, with tools available for us to express whatever it is that is inside - i.e. we can speak, we can write, we can sing, we can play music, we can dance, etc. etc. But still, whatever it is that we do, we are only using the tools available to us in the vehicle. For instance, we could lose a hand in an accident and then we wouldn't have that anymore. Or we could hold onto an object and use that object to express ourselves, such as a paintbrush. What is it about the paintbrush in your hand that makes it not part of your body? I don't think there is a difference while you're holding it, because while you're holding it, it is an extension of your being, a vehicle for expression. If there were no air in between us then we'd have to communicate with something other than sound. It's all about what is available to us.

So how is internet life different? It's just a different set of tools, right? It's not really either good or bad, but can be used for either. Not everyone scoffs at the internet, but I've noticed in the older generation that many of them act as though the internet is less real than "real life", which maybe often it is, but I know relationships that formed online that are more genuine than many I've seen in "real life".

Where To?

Born and raised in Alabama, I don't really have any particular plans to stay here, but neither do I have any particular plans to move. I would like to go to New Orleans at some point and give it a chance, assuming my wife would be willing. Why? I'm not sure exactly why. I just do. Traveling is great, but I don't hold any illusions that life is magically better in one place over another. I think each person has their place in any given point in time and also I think home is what you make of it.

My first time on an airplane was for a trip to San Francisco, which was a fantastic place. The air quality was at least a million times better than that of Alabama's air.

My wife and I went to Greece a couple years ago, and it was fantastic. Of course, I would not really want to live there since I don't speak the language, but I have a lot of good friends there. Several months later I went to London alone to help some of the people I met in Greece to renovate a building. It was an interesting experience at least. I was there for 22 days. It was supposed to be a month but I changed my flight to surprise my wife. It was so funny. She thought I was on the other side of the world and I come knocking on her door about eight o'clock at night. I don't think I've ever seen her look so happy to see me. It was the funniest thing.

I think the U.S.A. is a fine place to live. Many people are going to freak as we head into lots of problems, but it's something we should all expect. A nation can't grow as fast as the U.S. did without having to suffer many drawbacks. But, as I've heard it said before - the greater the struggle, the greater the rewards.

Rhyming a Frame

Okay so I complained
Please forgive me in this refrain
in which I stand
with great reprimand
on myself for what I was saying

Whew this is going nowhere
Now I'm stuck in a blank and dumb stare
at this white screen
which isn't green
and at night it doesn't have glare

I took back what I was saying
Because in it all I have been staying
on top of my game
of rhyming a frame
for limerick word playing

Not Much to Say

Today I've got not much to say,
But say it I will anyway -
In limerick form,
Against every norm,
And everything will be okay.

Okay so that wasn't ten minutes
(The time which I must spend in finick
'bout what will I write
Ev-e-ry night
Before this educational senate).

PSP vs. DS

The world of handheld gaming was revolutionized by both the Nintendo DS (Dual Screen) and the Sony PSP (PlayStation Portable). Offering the latest in graphics and processing power, both units have their strengths and weaknesses.

I purchased my DS a couple years before getting my PSP. The DS sports dual screens, with the one on bottom being a touch screen. This really adds a new dimension to traditional single-screen gameplay. For instance, in the first Zelda game released for the system, the player controls Link, the main character, via the touch screen only. All movement and gameplay takes place via the touch screen. When the map is accessed, the stylus can be used to make handwritten notes, draw routes, etc. Not all the games utilize the touch screen - some more, some less - but all the DS games use the monitor aspect of the dual screen in some way or another.

The PSP does not have 2 screens and neither does it have a touch screen. But the screen it has is about twice as big as either individual screen on the DS. The system is also a lot more powerful in terms of graphics. On top of this it comes with a built in web browser and a memory card slot to store music, videos, and downloadable games. This means different kinds of games than the DS. The absence of the touch screen makes for more classic gameplay, and games seem to be geared to show off graphic capabilities.

Neither unit is really better than the other since each have their strengths and weaknesses. Graphics alone don't make a great game, although they can add a lot to the user's experience, particularly ones with intense stories. Unique gameplay and dual screens don't necessarily make a great game, but great games can make use of these features.

Ain't Too Happy

I ain't too happy with my literacy narrative, but I don't think I will ever be for any literacy narrative penned in my name. It's just an unnatural topic in a way for me.

Magical Pot Roast

Hands down, no one can cook like my mother-in-law, seriously. I have never met someone else with the ability to cook anything the way she does. She is full-blood Italian, grew up making everything from scratch, and applies that to the kitchen here in the U.S. It's just ridiculous. She will improvise anything, whatever she has around, and it will be the most simple dish comprised of just a few vegetables, some pasta, possibly some meat, but it will be the most delicious food you've ever eaten.

Last time my wife and I stayed at her house it was over Christmas vacation. She made a pot roast. I have never eaten beef that tasted that good... I thought my first filet mignon at Café Paris the night of my senior prom was a spiritual experience in itself, but now having tasted this pot roast, wow what an eye-opener. How can beef be so soft and juicy and just fall apart in your mouth? How can something taste so good that it completely eclipses opinion of any other food? There's only one answer for these questions... magic... it can only be magic.