Invictus

       In our World Literature class, we're discussing folk music. I suppose we were assigned to write a folk song and to post it on the blog. It was supposed to apply to the present. More specifically, to 2013. Rather than go down a political road (as we all know I love doing), I created this song at a time when I was have some relationship trouble. Who doesn't write a song about that every once in a while?
       With the help of my friend, Alyssa, a recording was created. I'd had this song for a long time and had been waiting to hear what it sounded like recorded, and I'm pleased to say that, although it is a rough track, we're very satisfied with the noise. All the instruments were programmed, and vocals were laid over that track. I shall post a video below, so y'all can check it out!

Lyrics:

My dear, come home. Come home to me.

My time is wasted with every breath I breathe

and these hands; they shake in the memory

of  all you gave to me.

I hope I surely do my best.

My faith is tested.

Here my head does rest, separated from my heart.

My bones aching, skin uncaresed. 

But I won't let my head hang low.

And I will not surrender for no more am I alone.

I'll not be defeated, as the sun comes out to warm me.

No, I will not let myself sink,

until you're home.

I untie my hands, and rise from my knees.

Though bruised and scraped I sing my reverie.

'Neath the bludgeonings of chance I raise my chin,

and and stand this ground for all to see.

For I am here and my heart is elsewhere.

Content amid the sand, as though this were not unfair.

Hold me for as many tides as you see fit,

then come home. Come home to me.

But I won't let my head hang low.

And I will not surrender for no more am I alone.

I'll not be defeated, as the sun comes out to warm me.

No, I will not let myself sink,

until you're home.

It matters not how strait the gate

or charged with punishments the scroll.

I thank whatever gods may be,

for my unconquerable soul.

Hear me. Hear me out now,

I will say this once,

but I will say it loud.

I shall not live til' you are home.

May The Force Be With You

       Has anyone else ever sat and stared at a keyboard, and no inspiration would come? That's what's going on in my life right now. I would say that it's an inconvenience, but instead I will have to say that the Force is not with me today. 

       The Force is a pretty great thing. I believe in the idea of the force. It is my opinion that the world is one living organism filled with many smaller organisms. God is not, in my views, a single omnipotent being. I don't think God is separate from humanity. I believe that everything around us (rocks, trees, people, fish, plastic and books) is all a part of the same thing. I don't think I can describe it as well as I would like to. It's a confusing concept at times. This belief, however, is similar to the Taoist ideas of the Jedi. 

       In our English class we are studying Chinese literature, and thus we must discuss Chinese culture. Are Jedi really just futuristic Taoists? I believe that they are. If you look at many of their ideas, they match up detail for detail. I didn't really pick up on it until we started this unit. 

      

        On a different note. I should probably tell you all what's been going on in The Hobbit. I would absolutely love to tell you how many pages I've read and what's new, but unfortunately, I either work or attend DMACC every day. If there was ever a pain in my ass, this week has made it feel like nothing. 

        So I'm not going to tell you anything about The Hobbit, but I hope this blog wasn't a waste of your time. If it was a waste of your time, I apologize. I'll be less busy in a week or so. Thanks for reading! 

People Are Trolls Too

In the abyss of society,

is the Mordor of the Earth.

There, stain defines humanity;

a mark received at birth.

It grows upon the skin

and plants it's roots down in the bones

of men and women caught in ignorance.

It spreads and makes it's home.

Like trolls beside the fire,

we feast without regret

for what we've stolen from our fellow man.

The lives that we upset.

Our greed becomes our motive.

Our motives decide our course,

and we eat horses at the fire-side.

We show no remorse.

No pity for the broken hearts.

Less care for broken homes,

than the lining of our pockets.

Our ignorance is shown.

Revealed we are as cowards.

We are strong beneath the lunar light,

but in the sun we falter.

Our values not near so bright.

Our stain sinks ever deeper.

No remedy exists

for shot values and selfish morals.

We are nothing more than this.

So in the sunrise, perish.

To stone our vessels turn.

An eternity of nothing,

is a fate we all deserve.

       As you may have guessed, I have taken some inspiration in the trolls of The Hobbit. I draw many lines between their carelessness and stupidity and ours. I suppose not all people are bad. Some people are charitable and decent, to a certain extent. My point is that humanity is flawed, and we don't seem to realize it. At the very least, we place much less value in others than ourselves. Allow me to elaborate.

       The trolls steal horses from the company of adventurers along their journey. They plan to eat them, but they don't care about who they stole them from. They don't care about the inconvenience to the horses' rightful owners. It's plain selfishness. Humanity is naturally the same. We think of ourselves before anyone else. Nearly everything we do, we do for selfish reasons. This wouldn't be so bad if we weren't constantly preaching about helping the less fortunate, which we do at times, but only after our own desires are satisfied. 

       An example: George Carlin, possibly the smartest man to ever live, once revealed an interesting fact about golf courses. (Side note: The game of Golf was invented when Bullroarer Took, during a battle with the goblins, knocked King Golfimbul's head into a rabbit hole.) Golf courses average 150 acres each. If we do the math, we find that within this country we devote space equivalent to two Rhode Islands and a Delaware to a game played by the people who say they want to help the poor. Why isn't any of this land being converted into low-cost housing projects? The reason is simple. There is no money to be made in doing that. We don't care to help anyone else unless we're profiting from it.

       I think I've made my point clear. If I have offended anyone with the views expressed in this particular post, I don't care. My opinion is more important than yours. Tune in next week!

Deeper and Deeper and McKellan.

       The deeper I get into The Hobbit, the easier it is for me to recognize Tolkiens genius. His work is brilliant. As a celebration of this fantastic writer, I want to take a moment to discuss a couple of things.
       First of all: Tolkiens did not just write stories. His characters didn't just appear in the timeline and serve their purpose in the adventure. Nothing "just happened to be". Everything he did had a reason and a story leading up to it. 
       The Dwarves in The Lord of the Rings were constantly in referring to their heritage and bloodlines. Gimli was the son of Gloin, one of the Dwarves in The Hobbit. This was brought up several times in that particular story. In The Hobbit, the Dwarves were constantly telling stories about their home city and the dragon that stole everything from them. Their entire history was spelled out over the course of the story. 
       The Hobbits don't appear to have much history until you compare The Hobbit to The Lord of the Rings. The scenes in which Bilbo gets upset and frantic over not knowing where the ring is are exactly like the scene in The Hobbit in which Gollum faces the same problem. The trolls in The  Hobbit are seen and even spoken about in The  Lord of the Rings. Tolkien made sure that things added up to one incredible story. Value was placed in detail, and that is certainly an incredible thing to find in a piece of writing.
       The second thing I wanted to discuss is my own progress in the book over the past week. I am still taking a lot of enjoyment from this. It keeps me engaged and I always find it hard to put down. The start of the adventure has long since passed and the group is now beginning to experience serious challenges with the forces who would stop them from achieving their goal. 
       I understand that it has become cliche to be as huge a Gandalf fan as I am, but he is one wizard that is not to be messed with. His witty comments and general Gandalfiness might be my favorite parts of this book. In the movies, Gandalf was played by Sir Ian McKellan. I just thought I would let you all know that Ian is the bee's knees. 
       I am excited to continue reading The Hobbit and I hope that my thoughts over the connections sparked some curiosity to go and find them by reading the books rather than watching the movies. Books are better, after all. Everyone knows that! Until next time...

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Read

        As a result of an interesting series of events, I have decided to put off my reading of Alice's Adventures In Wonderland. It seems like a fantastic story, and I will certainly come back to it in a few weeks, but I found something that I am more interested in. I have decided to read The Hobbit instead.
       While doing some cleaning I discovered this particular book under a pile of other, less entertaining books. I had recently gone to see the movie, but never had I thought to read the original story! I was disappointed in myself, because in the past I read books before I saw movies. I did this with the Harry Potter series, as well as with The Chronicles of Narnia, but not with The Hobbit. Now I am making up for that mistake.
        So far, this book has captured my attention and left me with questions that I feel must be answered. When I am reading it, I forget that I saw the movie. Everything seems just as new to me as they would if it were my first time experiencing the story. That makes me happy. The characters are described well enough to make it feel as though they are real people. The events as they are told make it seem as though they are actually happening. This makes the experience of reading this book a great one.
       Sadly, I have not been able to find as much time to read as I would like to, due to school and work schedules. Despite that issue, I have managed to get a decent part of the story read. As many know, it starts when the wizard, Gandalf, visits the home of a hobbit named Bilbo Baggins and tries to convince him to set out on an adventure. The Hobbit refuses, but Gandalf is persistent and upon the coming of that evening, Dwarves begin to arrive at his doorstep. From there, the the plan is laid out. A plan in which Bilbo, a Hobbit who has never left the Shire, will assist the Dwarves in taking back their capital city from the dragon, Smaug.
       I am excited to continue reading this book, and I am excited to keep you all updated on the goings on. I hope that it is as enjoyable for the readers of this blog as it is for me. I truly am happy that I chose The Hobbit. For those of you that are interested in reading this book as well, I will include a link below to a site where it can be purchased for the Kindle.
The Hobbit: Kindle

Introduction: The Bird Says "Hello"!

       The Blackbird, as it is said in some Native American cultures, ties very strongly into nature and creative energy. What better animal to represent my own personality? With this blog, I am going to be creatively expressing my personal ideas and opinions of certain things that I will be reading for my World Literature class.
       I will be focusing on a book I choose to read, and documenting my thoughts here. I have not yet made a choice on a book, but I have narrowed my list of options. At the moment, I am debating between Alice's Adventures In Wonderland and Wuthering Heights. I doubt I will choose the latter, considering that the first time I read it, I found it to be incredibly boring. Granted, it is a classic, but I have read a few classics that I found to be incredibly interesting! Wuthering Heights, I am convinced, was written entirely for the purpose of putting people to sleep. The only reason I might ever read it again is to see if there was something I missed the first time around.
       All that aside: I hope that my blog is enjoyable!