darvis opened his eyes to a pelican rooting its way through a duffle bag near the hull of the vessel. “no dice, freak beak. you’re shit out of luck.” darvis said in a suprisingly unalarmed tone. the bird had looked up at him as if he were pathetic for not having carried any rations this far out to sea. “now get out of here before I decide to have you for breakfast.” darvis raised his arms, stood on his toes and puffed out his chest as far as he could and began to muster up his most menacing and convincing impression of a predator. his half assed threat was cut short. “wait a second.. what type of animal would prey upon a pelican?” thought darvis.
darvis knew that stella was an expert at animal classification and decided to rouse her from her sleep. “hey stella, wake up sleepyhead I have a pop quiz for you!” darvis shouted. stella, rubbing her eyes and shaking her head glances over at darvis with the all too familiar death stare. “are you talking to yourself again..I thought we went over this already..” “no, you have a visitor this morning!” darvis points over to the now impatient looking pelican. “looks to me like a regular american white pelican. we must not be too far out at sea yet.” stella said. “so, what type of animals prey on our little friend here?” darvis asks. “well, this little guy is part of the pelecanidae family and is related to other sea birds like cormorants and tropic birds.” stella proclaimed proudly with the convcition of a veteran wildlife lecturer. “so to answer your question, he doesn’t have many predators that can get at him. perhaps only sharks and other large birds of prey have a chance.”
darvis quite impressed with the sheer volume of stella’s knowledge presses on almost teasingly. “so professor, do you think we could capture him, train him and make a fisherman out of him?” darvis asks in a terribly executed snide british accent. “no, this isn’t a circus act.” stella replied back. “he is quite docile and unusually personable for a wild bird – provided he actually is a male.” stella states as she continues to examine the pelican. “maybe we can find out. does he have a dodo with some berries on it?” darvis quipped. stella ignoring his incessant need to be comedian of the year replies “it doesn’t really matter if it is male or female now does it?” “I guess not.” darvis exclaims sounding put in his place.
suprisingly, the pelican continues to remain near the hull of the vessel despite the ongoing banter between stella and darvis. the pelican has a very large frame with a long protruding wingspan. its beak, a large canary yellow contrasts its cotton white body. this pelican in particular had a very majestic dispostion with an unusual aura of wisdom and good fortune eminating from its berry-like black eyes. unbeknownst to the young seafarers, historically the pelican represented self-sacrafice and piety, often times providing her own blood to her young if food was scarce. perhaps this happenstance wasn’t a coincidence?
“so what are we going to do now that we don’t have any food?” stella said sternly after having looked through the empty duffle bag. “wait a second, have you checked the storage hatch yet?” darvis offered as a last ditch attempt at advice. stella opens the rusty latch of the storage compartment after some effort. inside she finds a fishing rod with some bait and the sack of non parishables she had told darvis to place inside of the duffle bag at the beginning of their journey. “well I guess we’re not going to need this little fella to catch fish for us anymore.” as darvis says this he wastes not a second continuing where he left off in scaring the poor seabird away. this time however, darvis lifts up one leg and extends both of his arms out as if they were talons and screams off into the distance. his screams echo off of the calm water and sound reminiscent of an ultrasound machine on steroids through a guitar distortion box. quite an obnoxious sound. as stella looks over at darvis as if this charade were a daily occurrence, she sighs while removing her clothes and plunges into the inviting water for her morning swim.
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Saturday, December 23, 2006
from a tiny island in the south pacific. part I.
[from a tiny island in the south pacific.]
the voyage started a simple one. darvis was always one to defiantly resist any attempts made by stella to venture out into the vast entireties of the unknown. whether this had to do with an intense fear of having to leave the comfort of his own environment or some type of separation anxiety was soon to be beyond the point.
the voyage started at a small seaport on the Canadian west coast. stella set the course of the vessel southwest while darvis tried to come to terms with this ever changing environment. bitterly but quietly darvis looked out into the uncharted and felt a moments peace. (he had seen the movie Captain Ron several times and wondered if he would become subject to a similar sequence of crazy antics.)
"come here quick, check out the dolphins!" stella shouted excitedly. darvis yanked himself away from the ropes on the starboard and saw a small team of dolphins swimming in a triangular pattern. he had always wondered how these small mammals earned their reputation for exceptional compassion and intelligence skills. as the moment of wonder slowly diminished, darvis realized that like the dolphins, he and stella were indeed on some type of journey. stella had always ranted on and on about how a journey need not a specific direction or purpose. the key ingredient to a 'magic moment' being a liberal dose of spontaneity.
always caught up in a immense amount of introspection, darvis quickly came to realize that the sun had almost completely sank into the horizon. it was getting dark quickly. "darvis, isn't the sunset beautiful?". stella exclaimed. stella had a talent of being able to speak with her eyes. at this moment, her eyes were competing with the sunset for beauty. "yes, these are far better than the ones on the east coast of Huron." darvis had always thought of the Huron shores sunsets as 'rookie' despite the fact he once read that they were of the top ten locations in the world. switching his attention from stella’s eyes back towards the sky, he again sank back into his thoughts.
the sun rises slowly like a small globe cast over the earth. its sole purpose is to shine for us. like an eye that has seen too much of the day, it slowly grows heavy and sinks back into the horizon.
with the sun behind them now, darvis and stella settle under the stars for their first slumber at sea. the air is unusually humid and heavy carrying with it the aroma and taste of salt. this journey, although fairly unspecific in its trajectory, was turning out to become somewhat of a paradigm shift for both of the young seafarer's. laying on her back with her arm slung over the side of the vessel , stella falls out of consciousness quickly and as darvis stares into the night sky, he quickly becomes victim to his meandering imagination.
closing your eyes to the waking life
is like turning your back
on a hungry panther.
the voyage started a simple one. darvis was always one to defiantly resist any attempts made by stella to venture out into the vast entireties of the unknown. whether this had to do with an intense fear of having to leave the comfort of his own environment or some type of separation anxiety was soon to be beyond the point.
the voyage started at a small seaport on the Canadian west coast. stella set the course of the vessel southwest while darvis tried to come to terms with this ever changing environment. bitterly but quietly darvis looked out into the uncharted and felt a moments peace. (he had seen the movie Captain Ron several times and wondered if he would become subject to a similar sequence of crazy antics.)
"come here quick, check out the dolphins!" stella shouted excitedly. darvis yanked himself away from the ropes on the starboard and saw a small team of dolphins swimming in a triangular pattern. he had always wondered how these small mammals earned their reputation for exceptional compassion and intelligence skills. as the moment of wonder slowly diminished, darvis realized that like the dolphins, he and stella were indeed on some type of journey. stella had always ranted on and on about how a journey need not a specific direction or purpose. the key ingredient to a 'magic moment' being a liberal dose of spontaneity.
always caught up in a immense amount of introspection, darvis quickly came to realize that the sun had almost completely sank into the horizon. it was getting dark quickly. "darvis, isn't the sunset beautiful?". stella exclaimed. stella had a talent of being able to speak with her eyes. at this moment, her eyes were competing with the sunset for beauty. "yes, these are far better than the ones on the east coast of Huron." darvis had always thought of the Huron shores sunsets as 'rookie' despite the fact he once read that they were of the top ten locations in the world. switching his attention from stella’s eyes back towards the sky, he again sank back into his thoughts.
the sun rises slowly like a small globe cast over the earth. its sole purpose is to shine for us. like an eye that has seen too much of the day, it slowly grows heavy and sinks back into the horizon.
with the sun behind them now, darvis and stella settle under the stars for their first slumber at sea. the air is unusually humid and heavy carrying with it the aroma and taste of salt. this journey, although fairly unspecific in its trajectory, was turning out to become somewhat of a paradigm shift for both of the young seafarer's. laying on her back with her arm slung over the side of the vessel , stella falls out of consciousness quickly and as darvis stares into the night sky, he quickly becomes victim to his meandering imagination.
closing your eyes to the waking life
is like turning your back
on a hungry panther.
Monday, December 18, 2006
eb and flo
we Become
just by surfing the crest
of this second
now I feel
the tension split
from your pull
towards freedom
your bold moves toward
autonomy
like the waves you ride,
living from breath to breath
is the only thing
that will keep you afloat
i will surrender my soul
so it becomes
the weight of
rarefaction
to push you
safely to shore
just by surfing the crest
of this second
now I feel
the tension split
from your pull
towards freedom
your bold moves toward
autonomy
like the waves you ride,
living from breath to breath
is the only thing
that will keep you afloat
i will surrender my soul
so it becomes
the weight of
rarefaction
to push you
safely to shore
Thursday, December 14, 2006
variables in aesthetic value
what makes art prepared for (lack a better word) consumption for the masses? If you've been working on something for years, how could something whipped up in five minutes have a higher aesthetic potential than the work that was in progress for years? There is a latent process beneath creation that gives something its aesthetic value. Is there something to be said on how a moment can affect your perception? Are certain moments more 'special' than others? The time invested in a body of work alone does not contribute to a higher aesthetic value.
A multitude of variables -- latent and visible contribute to these values. What are they all? I guess the majority of art depends on you Being at the right place at the right Time. I think I need an anaesthetic to stop my mind from ruminating on these aesthetics.
A multitude of variables -- latent and visible contribute to these values. What are they all? I guess the majority of art depends on you Being at the right place at the right Time. I think I need an anaesthetic to stop my mind from ruminating on these aesthetics.
Monday, December 11, 2006
moral decline? closing parishes and the state.
Sadly, I was informed today that many of the roman catholic parishes in my hometown will be closing down within a few years. I'm not sad in the fact that I participated any practice of faith within these establishments, but that it is a grim sign of the times.
Although I had grown up as a practicing roman catholic, one can never be expected to understand the motives of any type of faith at such a young age. For me, church was a social event more than some place where you would witness the birth, death and ascension of christ in a procession, three hymns and a recessional. I would alter serve every Sunday and be loyal to Father Rodzinka while trying to stifle my countless yawns during the service (those were the days I would wake up at 7am!)
After many years absent from the confines of the church and delving into different disciplines of science, my perspectives began to shift towards the ideas of evolution. This is where in, my opinion, the paths between faith and materialism diverge.
Materialism at the most simplest definition is a 'preoccupation with or emphasis on material objects, comforts, and considerations, with a disinterest in or rejection of spiritual, intellectual, or cultural values.'
Science fits in very snugly with materialism in that it concentrates mostly on fact and fact is, the majority of the time, derived from tangiblities and physical matter. In the 21st century, we rely heavily on this materialism in our everyday lives. In fact, I believe that we have gone so far as to making it into a crutch.
Science is materialism at its most empirical level. I could write a litany on the definition of materialism alone, so for simplicity sake I will leave it at this most fundamental definition.
Now that we know where these two currents diverge, it might be easier to see clearer through the differences. Humans are always concerned with wanting to "see results or instant gratification" materialism is the best route to this since we can manipulate matter to what we want to see and not necessarily what really is there. When we put the two up against eachother in this forum of "seeing results" I would bet that spending one hour at the local wal-mart would be more rousing than spending one hour cooped up in a church pew. This is one reason why the numbers are declining in the church. The old generation is dying off and the Gen X'ers raised in a material frenzy just "don't get faith dude". This, coupled with the catholic church's stubbornness towards change will only continue to see it's followers lost.
All of this begs the question of whether or not religion and science can co-exist peacefully. The short answer is yes. Science is what we know but can't feel and religion is what we can feel but we don't know. The very essence of Being could be hidden within these two opposing concepts. But, as humans it is no surprise we expect to reach this paradigm overnight. It takes generations of cultural evolution and thought to reach these enlightenment and this is our next cultural 'enlightenment'. Our very greed and need for instant gratification is getting in our way towards growing intellectually!
Someone asked me the question today for the reason of continuing moral decline. The thoughts I have set out on this page tonite are just the start of an answer. I can also note that we do not even know for sure whether moral decline is even occurring - there is no certain way to measure that. If it is occurring than it is occurring because something is changing within our society and this we can see and this is the only way we can draw observation without the danger of mere speculation.
Although I had grown up as a practicing roman catholic, one can never be expected to understand the motives of any type of faith at such a young age. For me, church was a social event more than some place where you would witness the birth, death and ascension of christ in a procession, three hymns and a recessional. I would alter serve every Sunday and be loyal to Father Rodzinka while trying to stifle my countless yawns during the service (those were the days I would wake up at 7am!)
After many years absent from the confines of the church and delving into different disciplines of science, my perspectives began to shift towards the ideas of evolution. This is where in, my opinion, the paths between faith and materialism diverge.
Materialism at the most simplest definition is a 'preoccupation with or emphasis on material objects, comforts, and considerations, with a disinterest in or rejection of spiritual, intellectual, or cultural values.'
Science fits in very snugly with materialism in that it concentrates mostly on fact and fact is, the majority of the time, derived from tangiblities and physical matter. In the 21st century, we rely heavily on this materialism in our everyday lives. In fact, I believe that we have gone so far as to making it into a crutch.
Science is materialism at its most empirical level. I could write a litany on the definition of materialism alone, so for simplicity sake I will leave it at this most fundamental definition.
Now that we know where these two currents diverge, it might be easier to see clearer through the differences. Humans are always concerned with wanting to "see results or instant gratification" materialism is the best route to this since we can manipulate matter to what we want to see and not necessarily what really is there. When we put the two up against eachother in this forum of "seeing results" I would bet that spending one hour at the local wal-mart would be more rousing than spending one hour cooped up in a church pew. This is one reason why the numbers are declining in the church. The old generation is dying off and the Gen X'ers raised in a material frenzy just "don't get faith dude". This, coupled with the catholic church's stubbornness towards change will only continue to see it's followers lost.
All of this begs the question of whether or not religion and science can co-exist peacefully. The short answer is yes. Science is what we know but can't feel and religion is what we can feel but we don't know. The very essence of Being could be hidden within these two opposing concepts. But, as humans it is no surprise we expect to reach this paradigm overnight. It takes generations of cultural evolution and thought to reach these enlightenment and this is our next cultural 'enlightenment'. Our very greed and need for instant gratification is getting in our way towards growing intellectually!
Someone asked me the question today for the reason of continuing moral decline. The thoughts I have set out on this page tonite are just the start of an answer. I can also note that we do not even know for sure whether moral decline is even occurring - there is no certain way to measure that. If it is occurring than it is occurring because something is changing within our society and this we can see and this is the only way we can draw observation without the danger of mere speculation.
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
forget
how it would be
easier
to forget
memories
are the sharpest
knives
they have a direct
route
to my heart
easier
to forget
memories
are the sharpest
knives
they have a direct
route
to my heart