Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Monthly Wrap-Up: April

Well, this is it. April is over with. Done for. Gone. Nonexistent.
To be clear, I mean April 2014. April still exists, but it's like a year away.
This month, we:
  • Went below the earth in a brief post about caving
  • Went hiking and to the zoo on Spring Break!
  • Determined that Superman is fun to play with, not to eat
  • Talked about how I didn't have anything to write about
  • Cried because we didn't have music
  • And came to terms with HIMYM ending...
Well, April showers bring May flowers. And parking cars... And AP tests...

Onwards and upwards, guys. Onwards and upwards.

Wednesday #18 - Caving

Hello Dreamers!!! How are you guys doing? This week, we're talking about caving!
Caving
     So, this past Saturday, I found myself 450 feet below the surface of the world... That's right, I went caving! Well, technically its called spelunking... but that's harder to type... and I have less than 8 minutes to write two posts... so yeah.
It was dark
It was damp
It was sandy
It was rocky
It was freaking awesome!
I also went rappeling. 
That was cool too.
See ya next week, when we talk Tolkien (it's a lot of stuff)
Love
Love is not a thing to understand.
Love is not a thing to feel.
Love is not a thing to give and receive.
Love is a thing only to become
And eternally be.
Sri Chinmoy
"We choose to go to the moon!" -JFK

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Wednesday #17 - Spring Break, and Why You Shouldn't Date Superman

HELLO DREAMERS!!!!
       How are you guys doing? Tell me, I want to hear about it. I'm serious, write a comment saying how you're feeling right now (you know you want to). Even if I don't respond to you, simply telling someone how you're feeling will make you feel better (and if you're already on cloud 9, don't get complacent! Cloud 10 is out there, and you're settling for Cloud 9?!?).
     So I recently posted a list of upcoming topics to look forward to, and this week we address a couple of those topics. This week, we're talking about Spring Break and why you should not date Superman... Let's get to it.
Spring Break
     This isn't going to be some crazy story about how I went some where warmer, got drunk, and did stupid things. This is simply a tale of a hike, and a date.
The Hike:
     On the 17th of April (the first day of break), a friend of mine named Tyler and I went on a hike along the AT (Appalachian Trail). We started at Gathland State Park and ended in Harpers Ferry. In total, the hike was about 10 miles long, and was accomplished in about 4 hours (that's 2.5 mph). It was pretty freaking awesome, with jokes and stories, not to mention the killer view at Weverton Cliffs. Of course, there were some B.A. turtles, awesome ice cream cones, and discussions about psychological assault to deter drug use in room mates (a usual hike for me).
The Date:
     So, the National Zoo (sorry, the Smithsonian National Zoological Park) makes for a pretty sweet date. I took my girlfriend there on Friday, to take in the sights (and... interesting... smells) of the various animals there. Totally picked a great entrance point by the Maned Wolf. Which is known for it's distinctly powerful musk, excreted through it urine. 
     Don't I know how to show a girl a good time?
    Urine aside (never thought I'd ever say that), it was really a fun day, even though we didn't get into the reptile house, the small mammal house, the ape house, or Amazonia (lines...). But, we did get to meet one of the coolest birds ever: the Kiwi (not a fruit, a bird).
     The Kiwi come from New Zealand (a series of island south of Australia), which didn't have mammals on the island until humans came to the island. Causing other animals to evolve mammal traits. The Kiwi have really tiny wings. Yep. Tiny, tiny wings.


Why You Shouldn't Date Superman
He'll Kill You:
     Not intentionally, no. Indirectly. In various ways. Like breaking your bones during sex. You think I'm being funny, but I'm not (okay, maybe a little). Superman is best known for his super-human strength. He has the power to quite literally move the moon. And I don't mean George Bailey moon moving, I mean flying into space, and pushing a moon like it was a somewhat heavy couch. If he gets over emotional, tired, or just carried away, you might wind up in the hospital with broken bones galore. 
     He's also being constantly attacked by villains and evil-doers, so if you went on a date with him, chances are you're going to get caught in the crossfire between your hunk of Kryptonian man and another Lex Luthor robot. And unlike Superman, you don't come back to life if you die.
He's Already Married:
     That's right. He's married. Superman (synonymous with Clark Kent) married Louis Lane. Enough said.
You'll Go Broke Buying Sunscreen:
     Superman draws his very life-force from the solar rays of the sun. This means he has to be in near constant exposure to that sweet sweet vitamin D. Assuming that you're definition of dating someone means being around them often, the amount of sun screen you'd need to not shade you skin the same color as your date's cape will make you more broke than your bones after you fell from a tall building that Superman caught you from (it's a physics things: he wouldn't have been able to reduce speed in time to catch Louis without breaking her human bones). You had better hope investigative journalism is a lucrative career.
You'll Get No Privacy:
     Superman has telescopic, x-ray vision. Not assuming weird perverted things, he could see you were ever you are. That means if he wants to find you, he will. And you can't plan surprises either. Whether he hears it with his super hearing or hears it when he reads your mind, he'll know. I hope you don't like the occasional alone time. 
He's Never Home:
     Not that you'll ever see him. Whether it's training somewhere, visiting his adoptive parents, fighting crime in Metropolis, or in the Galaxy when he helps Green Lantern, or when ever the Justice League calls him in. Or if he goes on assignment for his job (you know, that thing he often forgets he has).
You'll Never Be Right:
     With a perfect photographic memory, a super brain, and the memory skills to quickly learn and memorize DNA, you'll never need a fact check again. Especially when you're arguing with him.
He Can Be Toppled By Pubescent Wizards:
     Superman is weak to magic. Not just Kryptonite. But also 11 year-old Brits with little sticks (Harry Potter, so we're all clear). That's right, you're amazing superhero boyfriend can clear buildings in a single bound, move planets, reverse time, shoot lasers, turn invisible, and produce an impact equivalent to 10 octillion megatons (which is equal to dropping 2,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 Tsar Bomba nukes, the most powerful bomb humanity has made) can be dropped by a swish and flick. 

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
- William Blake
"Did you just barf that out your neck?" - Teresa Svincek

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Wednesday #16.1 - In the Weeks To Come

Hey Dreamers! How are you guys doing? It's Easter!
...and the end of a 4 day Spring Break...
But I'm not here to complain. Instead, I'm here to tease you guys. Because I've got something awesome waiting in the wings...
A LOT OF BLOG TOPICS!!!
That's right! After two months of nothing to talk about, I have finally come up with a list of topics for me to write a blog post on (not all in the same one):
This Spring Break!
Why It Would Suck To Date Superman
Should We Legalize Prostitution?
Adventures in a Cave!
Thousands of Cars!
Shootout at the J.D. Blogger
Morp (also know as "prom")
AP Tests: the Good, the Bad, the Ugly

That's it for today, see y'all Wednesday!

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Wednesday #16 - No Acts Of Sodomy

Hey guys! How y'all doin'? Mighty fine?
I don't have anything to talk about this week. But I will have stuff to talk about next week! Like, a lot! 
But still, nothing this week. No, not even anti-sodomy laws in Maryland. I found out the reason behind that law's existence is actually much more boring than I had hoped it to be. It's because people don't like acts of sodomy. If you don't know what that is, just look it up. 
So, nothing much this week. Sorry guys. But I'll have a ton of pictures and stories next week, I promise. 
Moments
There comes a moment
A moment so rare
That if you're not careful
You might not know it's there

A few brief seconds
And all of time
Rushes to fill it up
To add rhythm and rhyme

That moment so short
A couples breaths in length
Creates a memory so powerful
Endowed with immeasurable strength

Those moments are there
They keep happening everyday
We experience them infinitely
In every single way

Soon you'll finish reading
And the moment will be gone
But while you're still reading
The moment still goes on

You'll never again know
A moment quite like this
Never again live the same
As it falls into the Abyss

And the Doors of Time
Slam shut on the past
And you can't reclaim your gamble
After the dive have been cast

So make the bet a good one
Because you might lose it all
Except for the memories
Which you'll wear like a shawl

This moments come and gone
And my words said and done
This is all in the past
Onward time has run
                    "And can you feel the love tonight?" -any drama kid

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Wednesday #15 - 7 Days: Sans Music

Hey Dreamers! I almost fell asleep before realizing I hadn't posted ANYTHING today... oops.


7 Days: Sans Music
            Philmont Scout Ranch, located in Cimarron New Mexico, contains 214 square miles of backcountry, according to their website, and has felt the boot prints of 950,000 Boy Scouts and Venturers since its opening in 1939. It lives in the hearts of Scouts as the ultimate adventure in Scouting, a trial of skills and determination. When I stepped onto the dusty ground of Philmont’s base camp, I was more than ready for 10 days of backpacking in the New Mexican backcountry. With worn-in boots and a 60 lbs. pack, I was set for adventure, my eyes on the horizon, my thoughts already miles down the trail. I wasn’t prepared, however, for the lack of music.
            The next three days had beautiful views, happy faces, sunny skies, but no music. We shot shotguns, told stories, climbed rock walls, made jokes, but heard no music. We bled, we fell, we fought, with no music. It wasn’t until the fourth day when this streak was stopped. We were all sitting around a flameless fire pit –dry season in Philmont means no fires- asking each other what we missed while we were out in the wild. Some of the guys said showers, others said indoor plumbing, but I said music. That’s when I started reacquiring it.
            We had a layover on the fourth, giving us two nights in the same campsite and an opportunity to go out and explore the nearby mesa, Window Rock. The climb was some 550 feet, and a mile or so down the trail from our campsite, winding us just a little when we got to the base of the mesa, but this time with music. It that I started singing, and the first song the came to my mind was “The 12 Days of Christmas.” I couldn’t keep singing the
            I’ll never forget how that felt, climbing that height. It was different from all the others, maybe because I was there to kill time, maybe because I didn’t have the weight of a rock on my shoulders, but maybe because there was music. We finished singing “12 Days of Philmont”, laughing at our joke,  
            There are, according to musicgenreslist.com, 273 different genres of music. And these genres of music have been fully integrated into our lives, on our phones, on our computers, on our televisions. Music can be heard playing in elevators, waiting rooms, stores. It’s sitting in our pockets, cars, and homes. We have music everywhere.
            But what if it all disappeared?


My Hero's

My hero's aren't in comics
My hero's don't wear capes
My hero's don't battle mythical
Monsters
My hero's don't have a special call
My hero's aren't talked about daily

No,
My hero's are real
My hero's wear green
My hero's risk their lives
For the ones they love
My hero's risk so much
For so little in return
My hero's aren't invincible
My hero's are normal people
With big hearts
My hero's aren't perfect
My hero's make mistakes
But my hero's are
Courageous
Brave
And honorable
My hero's fight for the red white and blue
My hero's fight for me and you



Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Wednesday #14 - HIMYM Finale

     Hey Dreamers! How's it going? So... a lot happened this week, didn't it? Maybe not for everyone, but for me at least, that's the case. How I Met Your Mother premiered its series finale, so that's over. Mother Nature threw a hissy fit on Sunday, while I was trying to deliver several hundred bags of mulch to people. The percussion ensemble I was in went to Championships on Saturday (we got 5th out of 5...). The last term of this school year started on Monday. I got introduced to chinchillas. Several relationships that my friends had found terminus in the past week. Oh, and my grandfather turns 87 today. Happy Birthday Grandpa!
     It was one of those weeks that makes it feel like nothing in your life stayed the same. Sure, I'm still writing for the same old blog, on the same keyboard, at the same desk, in the same room. I'm seeing everything through the same glasses, with the same eyes.
     But everything feels different.
     Normally, I'd spend my entire night working on homework, wondering how on earth am I going to get everything done in time for their due dates, but not tonight. Normally, I listening to Rhett & Link shoot the breeze about anything while I read some book for AP Lang, but not tonight.
     Tonight I'm sitting at the same old desk, in the same old room, with the same computer and keyboard, but it couldn't be anymore different. I feel older, almost like I'm the clinging remains of a bygone era. I'm one of the last relics of a time when writing blogs was a cool thing, when reading books wasn't stupid. I'm the dying breed of the rare Experiencer. Most people walk about in their hum-drum lives, going from point A to point B, and typically, I fit that mold (unfortunately). Tonight, though, something's different.
     Sure, it could simply be that I'm just being introspective over the ending of things, in that gray area between the end of the old and the beginning of the new (okay, to the person that I said smelled really good today, I just somehow smelt you out of nowhere), but it could also very well be that I've changed, and (I hope) for the better.
     I realize this may be a huge reaction to a show ending that I only started watching in... maybe 2011? and even then, just old episodes, but it was such a major part (major part) of my life, and now it's vanished. Not only that, but now everyone I talk to seems to decry the show, angered and enraged even at the series finale.
     There isn't really much I can say, for spoilers sake, and for your sake, Dreamers, except that I'm just going to remember the big thing that HIMYM taught us: Life is full of unexpected turns, and you never really know where it's taking you. All you can do is make every night legend-waitforit-dary, go where you can (because when in Rome, make like the Romans), do something you love, find someone to love, and never forget the big moments, be it weddings, funerals, births, or rainy nights with a blue French horn, because it's all leading up to something, one fateful day, one destiny-driven train wreck of a night, one... something.
     I guess, this is good-bye, How I Met Your Mother. Thank you for all that you taught me, all the jokes you told, the crappy days turned good, that awesome apartment just above a cool bar... Thank you for everything. I'll miss you, and I cannot believe I went this entire post without spoiling anything. Strange...
It's Been Fun

All those days
Of practiced plays
And hours spent in the sun
Problems and tests
All doing our best
But now those days are done
The chattering halls
The rises and falls
It really was a good run
The battles of old
Their stories retold
Of those days that were won
The ties and strings
The memory clings
From the day when we begun
We've traveled so long
To many a song
And I have to say, it's been fun. 

"And that kids, is how I met you mother." -Theodore Evelynn Mosby, How I Met Your Mother 2014