A Poem

Let me preface the process of this, and why I chose such a traditional or 'rigid' form of poetry. First, I prefer to explain this in terms of painting. If you are starting off, no one teaches you how to paint Picasso or Dali first off. We start with traditional realist methods to portray reality to encourage creativity in looking at objects and people so that the artistic process can go forward with skill instead of just some mad conception of what they want to portray. Otherwise you end up with crap like this:

Without craft and skill, then your poetry can suffer. And so, I wrote this poem in the most traditional of forms: a sonnet. Now, typically, there are only two versions of a sonnet, English and Italian. They both have 14 lines, and their differences lie in the rhyme scheme and stanza breaks.

Here is an example of an English Sonnet: {A,B,C,D, E, F, G added}

Shakespeare's Sonnet 34

A Why didst thou promise such a beauteous day, B    And make me travel forth without my cloak, A    To let base clouds o'ertake me in my way, B    Hiding thy brav'ry in their rotten smoke? C   'Tis not enough that through the cloud thou break, D   To dry the rain on my storm-beaten face, C   For no man well of such a salve can speak, D   That heals the wound, and cures not the disgrace: E   Nor can thy shame give physic to my grief, F   Though thou repent, yet I have still the loss, E   Th' offender's sorrow lends but weak relief F   To him that bears the strong offence's cross. G   Ah but those tears are pearl which thy love sheds, G   And they are rich, and ransom all ill deeds.

There are four implied stanzas, ABAB, CDCD, EFEF and GG. The A lines rhyme with A lines, the B's with B lines and so on. Each line is also in iambic pentameter, which means there are five feet of Iambs. These are a bit confusing to the layman. An Iamb is a metrical foot consisting of an unstressed then a stressed syllable.

An example of a single word iamb is outdoors. outDOORs. The 'door' section has the emphasis.

So one of the lines would be read, with emphasis on the italicized, 'and they are rich and ransom all ill deeds.'

I decided to follow this form, I don't feel like delving into the Italian sonnet. To sum up, it is also an iambic pentameter meter with rhyme scheme [ABBAABBA][CDCCDC] The final parenthetical can often vary.

So my sonnet is more similar to the English form, with one difference: It is iambic tetrameter, meaning there are four feet of iambs instead of five. The rhyme scheme is also ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GG instead of the other way. I liked it because it moved it faster, but after thinking about it and the subject, it may have been wiser to use the pentameter for its dwelling power. My mind works better in tetrameter, though.

Now, I'm using this traditional form as a stepping stone to a free verse version of a poem to conceive my thoughts on the event, which was in Damascus, VA at a party. The woods erupted with literally thousands of fireflies, and it just was something I never think I'll see again (which is an element I want to add)

But anyway, here is the first draft of this iambic tetrameter English sonnet that I call "Herald's Sparks."

While walking down the grav'ly road
with friends beside and night so close
the party lights behind us glowed
and waxing night arose.

The three of us we gently wait
in grass so cool and softly rolled
down to the forest's pillared gates
where twinkling stars above patrolled.

And waxing eyes begin to see
the twinkling stars below the skies
emerging from the blackened trees
a host so bright - a thousand flies

Parading as some distant king
girdled with light will morning bring.

Please leave comments!

The Most Incredible Trip Ever Part V: "Pale Blue Dot"

So, I lieu of the fact that it has taken me absolutely forever to finish these posts about Brandon Kelly, Josh Henderson and I's trip to Boston in May of 2010, I have compiled a list of the links below for you to refresh your story experience as you read this new, and hopefully final installment in this epic saga. 

PartI:
http://thecoldword.blogspot.com/2011/04/most-incredible-trip-ever-part-1-smoke.html

PartII:
http://thecoldword.blogspot.com/2011/05/most-incredible-trip-ever-part-2-then-i.html

PartIII
http://thecoldword.blogspot.com/2011/05/most-incredible-trip-ever-part-3.html

PartIV
http://thecoldword.blogspot.com/2011/06/most-incredible-trip-ever-part-iv-stay.html

So, we begin at the close of the final show of The Receiving End of Sirens. Josh was dripping in sweat, Brandon seemed okay and I was almost at dehydration. Utter and complete exhaustion was beginning to set in as we pushed our way to the front for this picture:

The security guards were having a hissy fit to leave, but we still rebelliously took this.

Anyway, we began to funnel out and saw Michael yelling about All the Day Holiday to sell some merch and stuff, so we asked him if they were staying with us tonight. Nathan was beside him, and they both seemed excited to stay in our room. As we passed them, we saw Mark, whose nose was still running like some toddler and he asked, "Yo, we getting crazy tonight!?" Oh silly Mark.

So we told them to call us and I could give them a parking pass for the hotel lot and escort them to the room. Once we got back, we took a quick set of showers so they could have them for the morning. We lounged around the room for a while until Daniel called. We met them in the lobby, looking like a crazy rag-tag group of punk kids in this super nice (3-4 stars maybe?) hotel. I handed Daniel the parking pass, and helped carry stuff to the room. Josh, earlier wanted dinner, and like a good gluten intolerant person, wanted pizza. So just before they came we got 8 large pizzas for 40 dollars delivered to the room.

1 large pizza for every man.

They were delivered to the room as soon as they got there, and believe me, that room was packed. But we just all laid around wherever, on tables, chairs, the floor, the bed... maybe the bathtub. They brought up a few brewskies and we just generally had a good time joking, talking and enjoying one anothers' company.

So the pizzas... we literally had 1.5 pizzas by the time we finished. I know I ate half of one, considering I hadn't eaten since 10:30, but Josh, who, remember is allergic to wheat, so that's bread, at an entire large pizza. 

Inconceivable!

But everyone had a slice for breakfast in the morning.  As the night drew on, people got a bit silly. Josh and David both decided it'd be a great idea to prank call the other rooms. This was horrifying to me at first, but now, knowing we'd get away with it, it's rather hilarious.

Josh would call this random room and just ask, "Hello, is Batman there?" To which people would ask either, "Who is that" or "No, I don't think so." We had caught these people right in REM sleep and were totally taking advantage of their grogginess. But the shenanigans stopped, and we got ready for bed.

All the Day Holiday gave us the beds, which was very gracious of them. And they slept on the floor. However, there was one space in the bed open, and Mark managed to get it with Brandon. Since the two of them were both having major allergy problems, it figured they should sleep together. As they got under the covers and the lights went off, I heard Mark turn over to Brandon and said, "Hey, I've got to sleep naked....It's my allergies."

Which, just thinking about it makes me laugh, if you knew Mark it would be 1,003 times more funny, but I'm really writing this for myself, Brandon and Josh.

So we finally went to sleep...


Then we woke up!
The guys got ready, we packed up, I got some of their Merch and packed it up in my bag. We said our goodbyes, I checked out. We got this awesome picture and prayed over one another before they drove off. They offered us a ride to the Greyhound station, but it was such a beautiful day, we figured it's be a nice mile walk.

So we began our trek to the Greyhound through the beautiful Worcester, MA. This was seriously one of the nicest towns I have ever been to in my life. Clean, elegant, well laid out and very very pretty. As we walked Brandon told us about this church service he went to that morning at a Methodist church we could see from our window. He said it was pretty, but didn't really have much of a spirit to it, which made us all a bit sad.

Anyway, I'll show you some pictures:

It took like 100 tries to get this!

As you can see, it's just nice and eclectic

Clearly not a bus

Their beautiful transportation center was being renovated

Anyway, we got our Greyhound tickets to Boston for about $15 and got into downtown within an hour. It was a sleepy ride. I read most of the time and by this time I was over halfway through with Camus's The Plague.

So we wandered around, and decided to go to Chinatown where it was Buddha's birthday celebration going on! Weeee! Well we saw they were giving away some free stuff if you poured water on some crappy porcelain statue, so we did it and got these little hanging things with some Chinese lettering on the back held up by a very pretty knot. I got the crappy one, which made me angry!!!

If you could zoom in, you'd see a sun disk (a reverse Swastika) on Buddha's chest

Anyway, lucky us, we got escorted to talk with this big name Buddhist Priestess about Buddhism. Lucky us. She was bald and had on an orange robe and spoke very good English with only a very slight accent and was very polite to us.

So she asked us about ourselves, and Brandon did most of the talking.

She asked our names and we went around: Brandon, Josh ... Cameron. She had a tough time with my name.


"Cameron? That's a very unusual name!"

A little later she found out we were Christian and tried to show us the similarities.

"Now you believe that if you do good, then that will get you to heaven right?" she asked.

"Well, that's not what we believe. We believe you can't do enough good to ever get to heaven. That's why we need Jesus," retorted Brandon wisely.

"Ah!" she exclaimed, "you are reformed!"

First of all, I was amazed that a Buddhist new that term, when 9 out of 10 American Christians have no real clue about reformed theology.

So in spite of the fact that she knew the differences, she went on with her self-help drivel, full of pithy statements and the importance of cleaning one-self up. She would talk about how people would seek advice from her, and this is straight from her lips, "I cannot help you, until you help yourself."

It made me sad to think about all the people who seek salvation from their own broken-ness but don't know about Jesus and his work to save us from ourselves. That's why I love Jesus, he's not an ambulance driver or some motivational speaker, but a heart-changer.

So we wrapped up conversation there, being happy about Jesus.

We walked away downtown in Boston, and Brandon and Josh were making fun of how she didn't know my name, and I went, "I should have said, 'Yeah, well Buddha's a dumb name." I haven't heard Josh laugh that much in my life. He literally squatted on the ground and laughed into the ground like he was vomiting happiness. Luckily, it was a holiday Sunday and almost the whole city was empty.

Perfect Band Picture

Anyway, we walked around for a while taking in the sights and such. We went to the site of the Boston Massacre and other nice places around Boston whose names I cannot remember. It seriously is the most beautiful city I have ever been to. It is the only city I would ever move to in the North. We went around to the Holocaust Memorial in Boston. It was very sad, but hopeful and every bit of its architecture taught a lesson and told, unabashedly about the horrors committed. It was a place of deep sadness and memory that just came down hard on all of us.

A plaque in the memorial.

We moved on to the Old North Church where Paul Revere did his thing with the lanterns alerting the Colonials about the approach of the regulars. Then we went on up the hill to Copp's Burial Ground which has graves that are hundred of years old. It is a very well kept place and is just astonishingly beautiful and peaceful.

Next we went to some dessert shop Josh recommended to us for a snack. That place was incredible!!!! I got some slice of chocolate cake, and I hate cake, but this was brilliant!

Just a smidgen of Boston Commons

So then we moved on to somewhere else, I believe it was Boston Commons, which is this incredible park right in the middle of downtown Boston. That place is beautiful. This park puts Central to shame. It is pristine! There is literally nothing out of place, all the gardens are well maintained and all the fountains were completely clean. There was a wedding shoot going on there, and it was incredibly touching how beautiful it was. We walked through there into some rich neighborhood and stopped in front of some nice clothing store for a while. And by a while, I believe it was about an hour. Our feet were killing us, we had to have walked around Boston for 5 hours taking in all the sights, and were planning on walking to Fenway soon, so we decided to rest. And, wow did we look like homeless dudes. Dirty, stinky, poorly dressed with backpacks.

They had many pretty sewing machines, though!

We sat outside and just waited for someone to tell us to leave, but no one did. As everyone walked by we just said thinks like - "Asians are number 1" "Dresses are number 1" "Being fat is number 1" "Being skinny is number 1" "Being white is number 1" "Being snooty is number 1" "Heels are number 1"

This spawned a huge amount of jokes about everyone who walked by and is forever immortalized by the three of us for just about everything.

So we walked on to Fenway, and then met some homeless guy and got dinner with him at McDonalds. I don't remember his name, but I hope he remembers us. We told him about Jesus and why we fed him. He seemed to ignore us, but I'd like to think that it meant something to him.

We got to Fenway, and there was a game about to go down. It was absolutely packed, and it smelled like beer and hot dogs like all baseball games should.  Then we caught a bus to downtown, then to the airport where we hoped to get inside the gate. Which didn't happen. By this time, my feet began to hurt very badly. I was suffering from tendonitis at the time, but didn't know it. It didn't hit me until I had sat for a while outside the gate.

So we did our usual shenanigans. Made collect calls to people under names like "Batman" and "Bilbo Baggins" [what's with all the B's?] and no one answered but instead said "This isn't real!" It was funny for a while. We grabbed some wheelchairs and some Arab lady took them from us saying that other people need them.

First of all, it was midnight. There was no one outside the gate at all. And what old people are going to use those wheelchairs at midnight!? But we gave them up. I stole another later and used it to get to the bathroom since I couldn't walk I was in such terrible pain. We pulled together some benches and tried to sleep. Josh went over to some restaurant and slept on their booths. I had no clue where he went. Brandon and I seriously thought he may have been arrested. But, being good friends we didn't do anything about it.

Sleep didn't really happen. It sucked. So when the gates opened at 6, we got our tickets and went through and waited for our flight for a few hours. Dawn came up and reminded us how tired we really were. We got on the plane, where I finished The Plague. I can't sleep on planes, so I just read. We had no ride from Raleigh to home, so we made calls and texts as soon as we landed, and luckily the incredible Caitlin Stevens offered to pick us up. We just crashed when we got back. Josh got Cookout, ate, and slept for 23 hours. I had an exam the next day and just spent about an hour studying. I got an A.

That was it. One of the greatest memories I have ever had. Now, leave comments, and tell me how awesome this story was. Here are some more pics.

Our favorite picture

This trip was number 1

A Harry Potter Forever Alone Comic

This is my first time really trying a comic, especially one based on a hugely popular meme and a billion dollar franchise. So be kind, commenters... if there are any....

My Garden and a handy Pesticide

So don't judge by the pics, but its actually doing pretty well considering there are weeds everywhere. I'm just going to say it makes it look more organic.

Oh and at some point while my tomatoes were just barely growing tomatoes, they began to get little white bugs growing on them. I never knew what species of bug they were, but I found a great home-made recipe for pesticides.

First, you take a spray bottle [I just got a 12 oz. one from Ace] and put one or two drops of dish soap. The only thing you need to avoid in the dish soap is antibacterial. For some reason, in every blog or article I read about this method, antibacterial soap is the worst choice, because it kills the plant.

So you've got one or two drops in the bottle, put about fl. oz. of water in the bottle and shake it up well. Then just spritz the part of the plant with the bugs lightly. They should be gone within two or three days. Don't do it more than twice a week, or it could be bad for your plant.

For me it worked great! I sprayed one branch that was covered in them, and ALL of them left.

Jalepeno flowers

Jalepenos, Crooked-Neck and Straight Neck Squash

My lovely tomatoes

 

 

It legitimately grew a half a foot the next day, and I'm 5' 7"

 

How does Star Wars Spirituality relate to Christians?

This article will attempt, in brief to analyze and compare Christianity with a little recognized aspect of the Star Wars religion and spirituality.

So to begin, let me just say, I love Star Wars. It's a great franchise that has really brought what was once a laughable genre to the forefront of modern film, literature and music [don't even pretend electronica isn't sci-fi]. I greatly respect the influence it has had over American society and culture and was a favorite in my early days. However, this article is not here to laud the praise of Star Wars but rather to analyze and conceptualize to the Christian why its force is dangerous to an orthodox worldview.

First, this article will not deal with the typical problems of the Pantheistic qualities of the force, though that may be touched on in several details. It can be cleared up with one Bible verse: Genesis 1:1. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Here we see that creation is no synonymous our bound to God, but created ex nihilo [Greek: out of nothing] or in the Hebrew bara [God exclusive creation, rather than man-initiated forming from existing matter]. Done. Moving on.

Star Wars at its basis has the Force as a source of power and interconnectedness throughout the universe. It is supernatural, but also in a way measurable. It not only can transmit information across light-years in an instant, which is impossible according to the Einsteinian model of the universe where data can only travel at the speed of light, but enables the user to throw objects, extend life, heal, perform miracles, or even cast lightning. It is a pantheistic god that is heavily connected to the life force of the universe. It is strengthened by the presence of life and draws energy from every creature.

Now as I'm sure you know if you live in America, there is a Dark Side and a Good Side. Sith on one side and Jedi on the other. Reportedly, according to the movies, there is supposed to be a balance with the force, where Good and Evil are equally represented and understood or able to function. [That is another problem, that may need to be dealt with at some point.]

The Dark Side is able to take control and mar the good. It can cause it harm and bring it under its Iron Fist. It has the desire to dominate the light and does so by slaughtering the good and implanting evil in its strongest representatives. It has the ability to overwhelm and dominate the light and cover it as the ocean covers the land. The Star Wars Dark Side seems to be part of the force, but a crazy angry self-destructive separate personality. There is no promise that good would permanently overcome, but have to live in perfect harmony with it [if that is somehow possible.]

For all intents and purposes, the force most closely relates not to Buddhist or Hindu philosophies, but the Gnostic beliefs of Manichaeism. This is a bit complicated to wholly explain, but put most simply, there is a good side and a bad side, represented by light and darkness. The light resides in a purely spiritual sense of the word, and by some cosmic war or happenstance, the spiritual light was sealed in physical matter that is a product of darkness. They believe the physical is evil and that the body cannot be held responsible for sin, but their knowledge of the light within will save their soul from destruction. At some point in the future, though, the good will overcome the evil, however, not without losing serious ground and being defeated and hurt along the way. The Good is able to be deteriorated and lost and hurt by evil.

Manicheanism: Evil is able to mar and consume the in-omnipotent Good.

In Star Wars, similarly, evil is able to cover up and incapacitate the good and gain dominance on a cosmic scale.

Christianity, on the other hand believes in a God who is omnipotent, and remains above any attempt by evil to mar its perfect, immutable face. The Christian belief of evil is that it is routed and uprooted by light and the redemptive good. Good unveils evil and redeems it with the purifying blood of Christ. Evil has no eternal place in the Christian universe other than contempt, defeat and eternal punishment in Hell. There is a place for the physical realm, and that will also be redeemed in the new Creation. Creation itself began as 'good' [not of its own merit, but by God's decree] but fell into corruption. God, however, remains unchanged. Evil resembles an ant going up against us, futile and a bit silly.

Augustine understood evil in a very interesting way, that evil wasn't physical or powerful, but non-existent. Evil is a lack of good. Good is not a lack of evil, but a tangible righteousness. Just as light, in any place overcomes darkness with no fight, so also Good overcomes evil with the smallest iota of effort. Evil has no place, and once Jesus comes back, evil will be gone. He has never been marred by evil, while we have, and we are made perfect in his works and sacrifices. He fills up our evil deficiencies with his goodness and righteousness. Where there was death and darkness, he routs it with life and light.

In our beloved Star Wars, the fight between good and evil seems never ending, and likely that in many cases, evil will win and good can do nothing about it. But for the Christian, he is a living example of the destruction of evil and its destruction by the introduction of the light of Jesus Christ into our souls by the illuminating fire of His Holy Spirit.

I think John sums it up well in his gospel about the utter destitution darkness faces at the mere presence of goodness and light:

Chapter1: 

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, [1] and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The Goodness of the Lord alone is able to deliver us from darkness, and unlike the impersonal god of Star Wars and the Manicheans, his light pierces the darkness to save us from destruction. All of our efforts are in vain to overcome the darkness that scars our heart, soul and mind. So if you don't already, please trust in Jesus to be your goodness and joy, and lean into him for your righteousness.

Colossians 1:21- 23:
21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he [Jesus] has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Isaiah 61:10
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;
my soul shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.


Please comment! :D

Waking on the Wing: Blue Like Jazz - The Movie

Waking on the Wing: Blue Like Jazz - The Movie: "Blue Like Jazz has been one of my favorite books for several years now. When I heard they were coming out with a..."

NC Toast - Everyone Memorize This

So, I arrived at Global today and met up with Patrick, Jeremy and Caitlin, who were discussing the different emblems of North Carolina such as the state bird, saltwater fish, freshwater fish, and, believe it or not, we have a state trout as well, as if that is something other than a fish. Anyway, Patrick stumbled across the North Carolina State Toast, and I thought I'd share its beauty with all you other lovers of North Carolina.

The following information is excerpted from the North Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 149, Section 2. The words are included within the statute.

CHAPTER 149. STATE SONG AND TOAST
SECTION 1

§ 149-2. A Toast to North Carolina. The song referred to as "A Toast" to North Carolina is hereby adopted and declared to be the official toast to the State of North Carolina, said toast being in words as follows:

Here's to the land of the long leaf pine,
    The summer land where the sun doth shine,
    Where the weak grow strong and the strong grow great,
    Here's to "Down Home," the Old North State!

    Here's to the land of the cotton bloom white,
    Where the scuppernong perfumes the breeze at night,
    Where the soft southern moss and jessamine mate,
    'Neath the murmuring pines of the Old North State!

    Here's to the land where the galax grows,
    Where the rhododendron's rosette glows,
    Where soars Mount Mitchell's summit great,
    In the "Land of the Sky," in the Old North State!

    Here's to the land where maidens are fair,
    Where friends are true and cold hearts rare,
    The near land, the dear land, whatever fate,
    The blest land, the best land, the Old North State!

    (1957, c. 777.)<.PRE>

Memorize it, commit it to heart, toast as often as possible, toast in every pub,

look awesome doing it. NC State Scarf is optional, 

but recommended. [http://ow.ly/5hEno]