Revelations (Part 3)

A person, who claims to be a Christian, once posted this meme to a Facebook page. I consider their use of this meme ironic. Unless I am mistaken, Jesus was the Shepard. Not the leader of wolves. He left his flock to save a single lost lamb. And he did so without using violence. In fact, he endured it instead. 

For me, this meme speaks deeply to what is wrong with our present-day political and cultural discourse.

 

A Deep Breath (#5)

Some day I will write something worthwhile. For now you will have to settle for the following. And while the content my be trivial, even a bit repetitive, I would like to think my deliver is slightly different. With a few surprises thrown into it. 

In case you were wondering, I am employing an exercise I learned from a YouTuber whom I highly respect and admire (and who is nothing like me, right down to his skinny body covered in tattoos). He goes by Struthless. When he struggled to draw regularly (he had a mental block created by a negative teacher), he employed a lesson that a professional artist shared with him.

Draw the same object each day for a year.

Struthless chose a cartoonish bird. And every day, he drew this bird. Not the same way each time, but slightly different iterations. In the beginning, the bird found itself alone on a page. Eventually, forests would spring up, or a building would appear. There were days in which the page was covered in doodles and designs. And some times there were days in which the bird appeared the same as it did on day one. Except the lines were darker, more confident. 

In the end, Struthless broke from this habit, and started his own animation studios. Well, a lot happened in between, but it began with drawing the same object every day for a year.

I am not ready to write every day, however, I am committed to blogging once a week. Even if it means rehashing the same material, with some slight adjustments.

(A second pile of mulch, which I managed to spread in two days.)

A Deep Breath (#4)

Sigh. Nothing came of last week's post. The next day, I gave it about ten minutes of thought, and then moved on to other things. More pressing matters. Just do not ask me what they were: I cannot remember.

(The thirteen yards of mulch that I spread throughout my yard over the course of two days--I discovered just how out of shape I am.)

A Deep Breath (#3)

After last Sunday's lengthy post, I will keep today's entry rather brief. On my phone, in the Chrome browser, are over hundred open tabs. They comprise articles that provoked in me intellectual and emotional responses. The oldest, I believe, has remained untouched since last September. The youngest was discovered within the past twelve hours. I have collected them in the hopes of writing down my initial reactions, doing some research, and arriving at revised conclusions. Then I would share these findings on my blog.

On Dreaming (#14)

A week full of vivid dreams, with a common thread (or two) running through them. I think. This post was not intended to be long. Yet, it may be the longest one so far. Perhaps I am making up for skipping last week. Or, maybe these dreams are best understood collected together. 

Most likely?

I'm still not good at this thing called writing.

(This image is tongue-in-cheek. If you read far enough, you'll understand the reference. Then you will roll your eyes, shake your head, and think I'm immature. Or you'll find it funny like I did.)

   

A Brief Interlude (#19)

"It's only once a year, sir," pleaded Bob, appearing from the tank. "It shall not be repeated. I was making rather merry, yesterday, sir."

~ Bob Cratchit to Ebenezer Scrooge upon arriving late to work on the day after Christmas, from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

(These people are making rather merry in this painting. I especially like the energy the female figure in the middle is giving off. IMHO, the painter captured her movement and emotion well. The Dance by Francesco Vinea)

(Post-) Two Year Anniversary!

Last Sunday marked my blog's two-year anniversary. While I wrote a long winded thank you the week before, I failed to produce anything on the actual day. Despite hinting, at the time, something special, I have nothing worthwhile to present tonight. Except for the following observation.

Many apologies for those expecting something more.

(Once again, Charlie Brown, my spirit cartoon character, to the rescue. The first image sums up my daydreaming sessions. The second image, my habit of sticking out my tongue when I am concentrating. Scenes from You're the Greatest, Charlie Brown.)

(Pre-) Two Year Anniversary!

Next week is the second anniversary of this blog. My goal is to write something special for that Sunday. In the mean time, here are some words of gratitude for those who have supported me these past two years. Hopefully you will continue to do so.

On Dreaming (#13)

A rather dark and bleak dream sequence that my unconscious conjured up early Sunday morning. Not for the extremely anxious types. The details that follow have more to do with the past and present instead of the future. I am not a prophet.

(Two eerie and frightening scenes from one of my favorite movies, The Time Machine, the 1960 version.)

A Movie Review (#1)

I was trying my hand at something different. Except, the same old managed to get in the way. So, this is more of an experiment. Well, really, a first draft. Hopefully, it will become something better. 

In the end, it is yet another window into my mind..

(I love this part of history, the stuff that went on more than we are led to believe--not just the tawdry subject matter itself, but how people captured it in stories and images. Here we have a work by John Collet, called the Unfortunate Discovery. The lady of the house walks in on her husband playing with the chambermaid. I love how the broom is placed. And apparently the book in his pocket is called "An Essay on Woman", which, according to Wikipedia, is a "... a pornographic poem dedicated to he courtesan Fanny Murray ... as a parody of Alexander Pope's 'An Essay on Man'.")