Where Do We Go Now? - GNR

There are two sections of my bedroom where lyrics are taped to the walls. The first place is between my bookshelf and my bed stand. Those lyrics have been there for a long time, probably five or six years without modification. The songs include: "99 Red Balloons" by Goldfinger, "The Anthem" by Good Charlotte, "Everything Is Alright" by Motion City Soundtrack, "Here It Goes Again" By OK Go, "Beverly Hills" by Weezer, and "Holiday In Spain" by Counting Crows.

More recently, but still aged by three years or so, are the lyrics on my ceiling above my bed. They are: "Pain" by Three Days Grace, "Redundant," "Hitchin A Ride," and "16" by Green Day, "My World" by Avirl Lavigne, "Sweet Child O' Mine" by Guns N' Roses, and "Kryptonite" by 3 Doors Down. Some of these songs make me laugh and think why I ever put the lyrics on my wall (Avril Lavigne). The majority of the songs and artists are still high up on my favorites list, especially Green Day, Guns N' Roses, Weezer, and Counting Crows. I love and am proud of the music I listen to. The lyrics on my walls are not a fair representation. Most of the time I can put my iTunes library on shuffle and be satisfied with any song that plays.

I make it my business to be an influence on other people's music tastes and greatly appreciate when they influence mine.

Written 11 November 2009

Disturb and Perturb the Mind

A while ago I bought a book like I usually do at Barnes and Noble when I have gift cards to spend. I picked this book up off a table of "buy two, get the third free" paperbacks along with "I Love You, Beth Cooper" by Larry Doyle and "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath. The third book, the one I'm speaking of, was "Fragile Things" by Neil Gaiman. I had heard positive acclamations of Neil Gaiman and his work before so I guessed this collection of short fiction wouldn't be a bad choice. Plus, the cover was very inviting.

Up to this point, I've read quite a few of the shorts fictions. My favorite so far is "October in the Chair." Most of the stories are off by certainly entertaining. This book is somewhat a new leaf in my endeavorer of fiction reading, as the writing, subject matter, and plot are very different from anything I've read before.

The most recent short story I read was called "Feeders and Eaters." It was about a man's account to another man of an encounter with a strange woman who needed to eat raw meat to survive. She eventually held the cat, owned by her boarding family, hostage and each day sliced some meat off it's hind legs. The man telling the story and this creepy woman ended up together at the end of the story, and the man who was listening to the account was left completely bewildered. I too was left very confused and somewhat disgusted. The image of the mutilated cat left a bad taste in my mouth.

However, that bad taste was not a hindrance in my enjoyment of the story. The language Gaiman uses is easy to comprehend but still reaches a high level of sophistication. I have enjoyed all that I've read so far and look forward to reading my way through the rest of the book. I definitely suggest this book.

Written on 9 November 2009

Hunter's Moon

The moon was full yesterday. It's been a while since I've taken time to watch a moon rise. On Halloween, I noticed how close the moon was to being full and made a note in my head that I wanted to watch it rise on the second. On November first, I made my sister go on a walk with me around our neighborhood at five o'clock, the time of the moon rise. We walked five laps, around a mile and a quarter. The change we witnessed in the sky was drastic. The sun had just set when we were began walking, and by the time we were finished, the moon was up, the stars were out, and the sky was dark.

We followed the same pattern the next night to see the full moon of November 2nd. After walking another five laps, Sawyor went inside. I asked her to turn off our porch lights so I could see the moon and stars better. I sat on the trunk of my car, which wasn't all that comfortable. I sat there for about an hour, and in that time, a dozen or so airplanes passed over my head, two flocks of geese startled me, and quite a few fire engines went by in nearby streets. It took a while for the moon to be visible through the clouds, but when I could finally see it, the moment was well worth the wait. I took pictures, but they don't do it justice.

Written on 3 November 2009

Ice On Walden Pond

I am a Thoreau fan. I appreciate his writing much like a piece of art. His words are on the wall in my high school library. They appear:

"Books are the treasured wealth of the world..."

I read Walden during the summer before my junior year because it was on the American Literature reading list and because I had desired to read it for some time. I was the only person in my Am Lit class who voluntarily read Walden. I can't say I wasn't proud of myself. I have two quotes stored in my brain:

"The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation."

"However mean your life is, meet it and live it; do not shun it and call it hard names. It is not so bad as you are."

The second quote I've reflected upon many times. It is from the conclusion chapter. I'd like to call Thoreau a simplicisist, but that is definitely not a word. The meaning of it, though, is fundamental. Thoreau's words, lifestyle, and state of mind are simple but incredibly powerful and captivating.

written 29 October 2009