“Water / Sui”
The river follows
the open path, while the wave
gathers its force.
Steve D
Concept Art – Ranting and Raving and Donating
Once upon a few weeks ago, my lease expired, as those things have a tendency to do, and I came to the ostensibly obvious conclusion that my possessions needed to be less obnoxiously numerous. Thus like a good little donator I compiled different piles of stuff based on what they were – mainly books and clothes, some furniture and randoms – and figured, hey no problemo, all this ish could go to some local less fortunate stranger. Awesome. Good deed planned, I assumed charitable donations would be accepted at any time that Goodwill was open. Now I fully understand that they have hours of operation; they have to pay their workers, electricity, etc. This makes sense. What did not make sense was that they stop taking donations after five pm when they have employees running the cash register and texting while pretending to fold goofy graphic tees (one of which featured a ninja turtle who was either Michelangelo or Rafael depending on whether his head band was an orangish red or a reddish orange) until 9pm. Continue reading “Concept Art – Ranting and Raving and Donating”
Book Review: LIONHEART, by Sharon Kay Penman
Medieval British History is my wheelhouse. I’m not an expert by any means, but learning about the English royalty is actually what first sparked my academic interest in history during high school. Who was the Black Prince and how did he get such an awesome moniker? How accurate were the popular tales about Richard I’s crusade? I just wanted to learn more, and I did throughout college.
Popular History
One oft-lamented aspect of the field of history by academics is the prevalence of popular history, particularly in film, television, and non/fiction. Popular history tends to take a wide, mass-appeal approach to the telling of history. The argument against these forms of history is that they are often more focused on a gripping narrative than on actual historical accuracy or objectivity. This is undeniable in many such works. Continue reading “Book Review: LIONHEART, by Sharon Kay Penman”
Haiku Sunday – Moment
“Moment”
The moment whispers,
a feeling captured like an
imprint on the heart.
Steve D
Haiku Sunday – Meta
“Meta”
At times I wonder
if my haikus will one day
be read as proverbs.
Steve D
Habits – FV
Joy isn’t a toy to be shared,
It’s a habit practiced daily,
Solitarily,
In private verily,
In public warily,
Don’t stand on ceremony.
Shown love doesn’t equal happiness only –
It’s matched with pain, jealousy, and suffering.
But happiness in one’s self?
Because of what’s inside
Drives given love
In a better direction.
Life in the little things.
Appreciation in the individual.
Jessie Gutierrez
Almost Near the Near End: March Goals
February was pretty good for me. I’m about 100 pages from finishing Lionheart and have the makings of a draft review sitting in my dashboard. I realize that I did not meet either of those goals, but that’s mostly because I was focused on writing… and occasionally watching Justice League on Netflix. Continue reading “Almost Near the Near End: March Goals”
March’s Theme – Marching Forward Toward What?
After the lovey dovey of last month, I figure it’s about time we get back to the harsh realities of life. This month’s theme was going to be “Simplify, Simplify, Simplify” a nod to Henry David Thoreau and then a brief comment on my own (book) hoarding tendencies and the pain inducing process of liberating some of them back into the wilds of Goodwill. Instead I’ve decided on: Continue reading “March’s Theme – Marching Forward Toward What?”
THE MARTIAN, the Oscar’s, and Rational Thought
I watched The Martian last night for the first time. After reading the book by Andy Weir a couple months ago, I was excited to see what Hollywood would do with such a detail-rich and well-researched story. They glossed over most of the super-scientific information (understandably so) to get to the heart of the human interest story of an astronaut lost on Mars, and the NASA scientists and astronauts trying to bring him home. Continue reading “THE MARTIAN, the Oscar’s, and Rational Thought”
