Posts

Showing posts from 2012

The World Is Their Stage

Image
      It's Sunday morning here in the brisk outskirts of Salem, Oregon. It's not raining today, it's just... wet. And it's not freezing, it's just... cold. All-in-all, not bad I suppose. If I turn on the news I'd see blizzards and tornadoes in other parts of the country, so I'll gladly embrace the cold and wet. Besides, I'm not having fun with the news lately anyway, e.g., top global banksters getting caught funding terrorist groups and walking away unpunished, unmanned aerial robots shooting rockets into foreign villages everyday, FOX News getting caught hashing a conspiracy to select and fund the next President of the United States, and of course the all too frequent mass shootings. And that's just a quick skim off the surface!      Speaking of news and knowledge and truth seeking, in my quest for these things it was inevitable that I would eventually set my sights on learning more about 9/11. I came to the point where I wanted to hear what the

Rollerderby King

Image
The Omega Juicer and now a Blendtec Blender? Oh yes, my fruity friends, I have gone All The Way. From here on out it will be a hemp protein/bulletproof coffee smoothie for breakfast, an avocado/hummus/turkey sandwich for lunch, a tall cup of go-go-green juice in the afternoon, and then whatever I scrounge for dinner. I haven't thought that far ahead yet. Probably woodpecker soup, or maybe garlic fence lizard. We'll see. I went rollerskating yesterday with some friends and let me tell you, if you ever question whether you're getting a good workout at your gym, just go rollerskating for two hours and compare how you feel afterwards to how you feel after your gym workout, then you'll know. Holy shit, am I sore! Not only that, but I crash/stopped into a wall when I was first getting my balance back (it had been nearly two decades since I last went skating) and bent the pinkie on my right hand all the way back. That was pretty cool. I could feel a tingling sensation run

Saturday Song Salute (and a poem!)

Image
It's Saturday morning, cold and miserable rain is what I see through my window. I wanted to go for a walk, but instead I think I'll stay in and write a blog. I already wrote a poem this morning, so I guess I'll begin by sharing it: without the rain as I sit here with my shoulder to the rain, with my heart flung open like a notebook scarred by scribbles, I think of you, here now, with your soft neck pressed against my lips. I peer out at the falling droplets finding temporary homes on blades of grass, on folded flowers, on fence posts, in pavement puddles and I wonder how many times they splat the exact same spot. life is like that; we are like that. our pasts fold over, our mistakes repeat. but we discover happiness in the answers we find in between, though we're still learning to grow, to become, to erase the parts of who were were (and didn't need to be). as I sit here I think about these things and realize I love you as I love life, t

It's The Money, Lebowski

If you have the time (and interest) I have uploaded two audio clips for your ears. Both clips share a common theme: how the banking industry has spoiled our society. In the first clip (apx. 40 minutes) you will hear Stefan Molyneux discuss his thoughts on how the criminal actions of bankers and government have negatively affected college students, and in the second clip (apx. 13 minutes) you'll hear Cenk Uygur talk about two recent news stories involving bankers getting away with theft and crime. The first story especially affected me while I listened to it at work this morning, seeing how I know someone currently spending a great deal of money and time in the pursuit of higher education, and who is also well aware of the crumbling society in which we reside (in part, much thanks to me). Well I don't really have anything else to say except, hope you enjoy. Here are the two clips:

Where Did The Writer Go?

Image
This will be a life update post because, well, there's a lot to be said. I'm not even sure how to begin this really. (fast forward to later in the morning) Okay, I just wrote a poem over at my poetry site (couldn't get into a groove here) so I'll kick off this blog post by sharing it: our minds crawl our minds crawl into the strangest of holes leaving the light that warms us at the surface to enter a dark place of hidden mystery. we crawl forth, like babes across soft carpet, crawling to where comfort ends and the cold uncertainty of tile begins. most stop here, but some continue on and find themselves wearing the button(s) of their god(s) on their lapel, or lipstick from another lover's dream. the holes lose shape the deeper you go, become less rounded, surrounded by the roots of trees. many stop here, few continue on to the undercurrent of our emotional existence, that network of connectivity that reads like a poem, transform

Life Update... Sort Of

Image
     I haven't written a Life Update blog in quite awhile, matter-of-fact, the last time I did I'm pretty sure it was a downer and my words got erased in post. This time will be different. Sure, my mind has frolicked in the rolling hills of sadness since last we spoke, but whose hasn't? Overall, I am really happy, though, and have been for a steady 3.5 months. So much has changed in such a short amount of time, for example: I drink very little now, I no longer smoke, my bad dreams have diminished, I use my gym membership frequently, I'm eating healthier (and even growing veggies in a garden), I'm back to work full-time, I have a motorcycle now and that's just fun, period. That being said, some of those things have produced other changes, for example: poetry doesn't stir within me anymore and I've said goodbye (via silence) to that slice of my life (for now). Will I ever write poetry again? I really don't know. For me, poetry has always been the armo

The Big Break (short story)

Edgar woke and leaned over to pull up the blanket that had been kicked down while sleeping. Judging from the chilly temperature inside the room, he could only assume it was going to be another frigid day. The sliver of morning sun pierced brightly through a horizontal rip in the pull down shade covering his bedroom window. A faint chorus of songbirds could be heard outside accompanied by the garbled, but much louder, sounds of a Spanish conversation taking place in the adjacent room. He lay there for a moment listening, as the mixture of indecipherable voices gave way to lively Latin music laced with energetic beats peppering the wall. There was no point in trying to tackle more sleep. Edgar rolled out of bed and threw on his sea green terrycloth robe and grabbed a beanie off the nightstand for his morning hair. He walked over to the closet and slipped his left foot into a flip-flop, turned and scanned the room for the other one. After chalking it up as a lost cause, he removed t

Saturday Song Salute

Image
My blog page misses me, you guys miss me, my mommy misses me. I haven't been writing lately, ya know? I have my reasons, but instead of sharing them I think I'll keep you in a dispirited state of wonder instead. Mean, Mick, very mean. Today is Saturday Song Salute though, and I intend on letting the world hear one of the greatest songs ever created (the world = half a dozen bloggers). The band is Bright Eyes and the song I've chosen is called Four Winds (from their 2007 album Cassadaga). Here we go, this is what music is all about. Four Winds has it all, folks. It soars musically with a wonderfully catchy tune created by a slew of instruments, i.e. guitar, mandolin, banjo, organ, lap steel, percussion, violin, etc. Upon first hearing it I found myself intrigued by the "country" feel, but when Conor enters and begins singing in his rhythmic cadence, everything changes. And this is where the lyrics take over and my brain begins dissecting the importance of the son

Love In Reverse

Image
I fall in love with things I cannot have, or with things that are only temporary. Great distances have kept love at bay, as has the swell of life as it rushes in and swallows everything in sight. I've come up for air on the other side of things, looked out across calm waters just in time to see a fin disappear beneath the surface... followed by a ripple, a dark descending shadow, and then... nothing. There's not much to be done at this point except wait. I'll watch the sun as it taunts the children at the playground with intermittent streams of sunshine, I'll listen to tree branches moan as they bend in a steady wind. And in the waning days ahead, I will think about my new lover fighting an old war on the precipice of formatted principles and I'll just... breathe. Slowly in and out again, breath for death on the front line of my mind. This war-torn patch of dirt is full of pock marks and machine-gunned dreams, littered with traces of love just out of reach. On th

Saturday Song Salute

Image
It's Saturday Song Salute and in keeping true to the spirit of the Oregon Garden Brewfest that I'll be attending tonight, I've chosen one of my favorite drinking songs. I think this song was originally performed by The Dubliners, but has since been revisited by many (if not all) bands with an Irish punk sheen to them. It's called 7 Drunken Nights and the version I play here is performed by a Chicago-based Celtic punk rock band called The Tossers. I first heard this song several years ago, it was being played by a live band in the corner of a dingy bar. There were many in the audience who knew the lyrics and it was a moment of pure pleasure watching them and the band sing along to this tale of a drunkard and his adulterous wife. So go grab your headphones and a big-ass beer, and maybe your girlfriend's butt, because this song is a lot of fun. Enjoy! Seven Drunken Nights As I went home on Monday night as drunk as drunk could be I saw a horse outside the doo

In My World

Image
in my world (a poem by Mick Tomlinson) last night the four of us wanted to experience life past midnight, life past last call, strife as it wrestled for life inside the jaws of a hungry fox. we sat around the table discussing holes: in education, inside our souls, in the universe. at one point I managed to slip away through the swinging saloon doors, out back where the cooks were getting high and counting bricks in the wall that was their prison. I listened to passing traffic, I listened to the sound of tires on rain-soaked pavement and realized it's the same sound my hole makes when running against the wind. we are all just barely hanging on at times- to our jobs, to our lovers, to our faith in the future. we are fox-jawed and fighting for our lives, we have stories to tell and piles of books we'll never read. this is life behind the blinds of a billion beings. later that night we joined hands while the three of you took a leap of faith with

The Great Omega Beast

Image
I finally figured out a way to incorporate the maximum level of vegetables and fruits into my diet: I bought a juicer. It arrived yesterday and I was so excited that I decided to record my trial run and share the experience with you. I edited the video and trimmed the entire process down to five minutes, that way you don't have to watch me grinding each and every piece of produce. I won't say too much about it, I'd rather just let the video speak for itself, so watch it and then I'll have more to say afterward: Haha, so that didn't go exactly as planned. Not surprising since I couldn't identify half of those vegetables I brought home, but I'm already becoming a pro. I have since made 5 other juice drinks that were completely potable and 3 of them were downright delicious. Like everything in life, it just takes practice. My ultimate goal with this juicer is not to radically change my life or my eating habits, I simply want those necessary micro nutrie

Snug Bug

Image
The whole point in choosing a cat over a dog is because cats are independent creatures, they don't need constant affection from their owners. Or at least so I thought. It turns out that I ended up with a Cog for a pet (a cat that acts like a dog). I guess that's what I get for rescuing an 11 year old cat who needed a new home because it's elderly owner passed away. Let me explain the weirdness for you, and while I'm doing that I'll also explain why I think he does it. First, let's meet Snug Bug : "Um, I ordered a white russian." The first and most obvious eccentricity is that he doesn't appreciate a gin & tonic. Whaaaat? Alright, but seriously, his eating ritual is so bizarre. He absolutely needs me to walk with him to his food bowl and stand next to him while he eats. If I don't do this he just sits on the edge where the dining room carpet meets the linoleum kitchen floor, staring in at his food bowl, meowing. I get perturbed

The Farmer

Image
the farmer (poem by Mick Tomlinson) some people bleed and loosen their hearts against iron stakes strung by barbwire, out there way out there in green pasture where the cows roam, the farmer works his hands to the bone. only dusk can save him, while crops sleep the farmer weeps and wanders alone, out there way out there in a town with a million faces, he walks backwards, finishes the race before everyone. who will tend to the meat parade? who will bucket the milk and pray to god more than a farmer who didn't love his life? some people need connectors, a means to an end between you and them. sentinels to stand watch when everyone else on earth is still sleeping, out there way out there in the middle of an egg-shaped ceremony, lost upon the face of mother nature. out there way out there his spirit still sings as the chow bell rings, all across the wide-open prairie. (R.I.P. friend, we will miss you)

Saturday Song Salute

Image
Today's Saturday Song Salute goes to the song Heaven by the band Live. As track number one, it kicks off their album Birds Of Pray (2003), the second to last album the band would create before their separation in 2010. Much like the other seven billion people on planet earth, I spend a great deal of time pondering life, religion, and god. I was raised by a Christian mother and an agnostic father and have made friends in life with people from all walks of faith. I have studied and read, experimented with psychedelics, listened to perspectives and ideas and philosophies, have gone to churches and prayed and felt currents of energy move through me that was labeled the "holy spirit". As I grow older I find myself taking giant steps away from organized religion, but I approach such a heavy subject with a very open mind and heart, always doing my best to keep all possibilities piled on the table in neat little stacks. That being said, I love the approach taken in this song. I d