Killing Yourself to Live III

Well, first of all, I was relieved to find the quite extensive Fleetwood Mac reference at the beginning of this section. I personally love this book and think it is hilarious, but my lack of knowledge regarding Chuck's kinds of music has been a slight turn-off from the start. My mom is the one who sparked my interest in this band, and I even went to one of their live concerts last year (yes, they are, in fact, still alive).

The whole twelfth day involving Chuck's Nemesis was pretty amusing--just because most people, I'm assuming, have that one person whom they are friends with, yet consider a type of rival or even enemy. Throughout this chapter, Chuck also eludes to the "something" that is going to happen tonight. At the end, the reader can have a good, disappointed laugh when it is discovered that nothing happens. I actually have that thought a lot too--that either something really good or extremely terrible is going to happen based on the circumstances, but.....it never does.

Life

Life has been treating me well lately. I've been working pretty intensely on setting up a club, called the Japanese Manga and Cosplay Club. This organization is meant to be a place where UMD students can go and have meaningful discussions on different aspects of Japanese manga while befriending others with similar interests. Once we get going, we will also try to participate in local events revolving around manga and cosplay. Presently, I am only a few signatures away from submitting my petition to the SAO, so I am excited.
Other than that, nothing too interesting has happened--I had a pretty mellow break, but appreciated being able to see my friends (over the last few weeks, since the schools decided to plot against the students and make our breaks at different times). I have also been beefing up my Magic the Gathering decks, hoping to find some people to play with around campus and at home.
A couple weekends ago, my orchestra played Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, which even got aired on the radio. We actually did incredibly well--especially considering that the piece has been deemed the hardest composition of the 20th century. Thanks goes to my conductor and all my fellow musicians for making such an extraordinary event possible.

After scanning the recent posts on Postsecret, this one stood out at me the most because of its emotional profundity. A lot of people may think that they are the only ones who harbor a certain secret, and see themselves as inferior to others because of their deed. It doesn't matter what the act is itself--that is made clear by this postcard. What does matter is to know that others, even random people on a bus, may carry around your same guilt, your same negative emotions so no one should ever feel like they are a 'bad' person or that they are all alone in the world. Like a piece of poetry, these posts are able to concisely and often figuratively have a strong emotional impact on the reader. Most of them have very appropriate artwork, which adds to the overall meaning of the secret. And like a poem, these can be either humorous, or very serious and emotional like this one. The ambiguity in this example shows that, like many poems, these cards can have different meanings for a wide variety of people. I think that a website like this is a very good way to divulge and expel one's inner guilt, while providing others with hope for the future.

Viola (free verse poem)

I don't like free verse, so I don't write it often. I was wondering what improvements could be made to this poem. Also, there is supposed to be more form to the lines, but this site won't let me post it like that, so bear with me.

One stroke of the bow fills the room with a
Luscious sound
And a cloud of rosin dust is added
For dramatic effect.
The string keeps on living as the note echoes,
Groping every corner of the hall;
Feeding the hungry ears that yearn for that
Melodious flavor
Meticulously crafted of wood
And a life’s worth of joy
Melancholy
And dreams

Haiku

This past week has been fairly laid back. I've watched a grotesque amount of anime and played numerous hours of video games--hobbies I haven't had time for in a while, though I'm glad to enjoy these activities once again. As for the Superbowl, I really dislike watching sports on TV, but I felt it was the perfect opportunity to get together with friends I don't see often and meet some new people.

Haiku:

~The harsh midday sun
Shines down upon frozen leaves
That glisten proudly~

Poetry

Fairy Land by Edgar Allan Poe

Though I am rather familiar with Poe's works, this poem struck me as being different. Most of his other pieces, whether they be poems like The Raven or short stories, are story-based. This poem, however, was more just a description of a mystical realm. And though one might expect a poem titled "Fairy Land" to be happy, frolicky, and fanciful, Poe adds his own mysterious and dark twist to the subject. The rhyme scheme was also interesting because it is constantly changing from sight-rhymes to abab form to rhyming couplets. Perhaps these alterations in the rhyme mirror changes in the speaker's state of mind as he witnesses this "Fairy Land".


At the Sea-Side by Robert Louis Stevenson

Though this is a rather short poem, it raises many questions. The speaker states, "A wooden spade they gave to me / To dig the sandy shore." So, the reader may ask, "Who are 'they', and why would they want this person to dig holes by the sea?" However, the only other information that is provided after that is: "My holes were empty like a cup. / In every hole the sea came up/ Till it could come no more." Overall, this poem leaves itself open for many different interpretations.


"Doing, a filthy pleasure is, and short" by Gaius Patronius

While most relationship poems that I encounter never involve sex, this one revolves around the subject. By revealing the crude, beast-like quickness of the act, the speaker shows how one should develop love for a person before engaging in sexual intercourse. In the beginning of the poem, the reader may question the speaker's blunt discussion of "Doing", but the true purpose shines forth in the end as he describes that love and emotion should come before instinct and instant gratification that can ruin one's relationship.


The Peace of Wild Things by Wendell Berry

This is a simple poem, that points out an important truth. The speaker is a person, inundated with the stress of everyday life. However, when she travels and spend time in the wild, she can finally be in peace. The wilderness is so much simpler than humans are, yet it is more peaceful and content. I'd like to think that the wild is God's realm, which is pure and mysterious, while human life is corrupt and hence stressful and often times too much for one to handle.

Inspiring Visual

Because I just recently completed the anime series "Wolf's Rain", this image immediately came to mind. Lord Darcia, to the right, did everything in his power to save his beloved Hamona--even turning half of his body into that of a wolf. In the series, this makes him the villain, though such a bold deed makes him a much more complicated character in my mind. To love someone so much that you would even sacrifice your own body and future to do so could be considered extreme, but is also shows a side of love that many humans are no capable of feeling or understanding. Whether it is love for a particular person, place, or ideal, everyone should have something that they are willing to risk everything for. This is the feeling that trumps every evolutionary theory of human development and reproduction, yet this is exactly the kind of emotion that makes people unique and inspiring.