Spouts of information

A Reboot

2013-08-28T15:24:00.002-07:00

I realize its been quite some time since I've written anything in this blog, and I can understand why that is. In the past year, I found myself overwhelmed with the new responsibilities of my life, and was unable to deal with them properly, which caused me to let go several things; this blog was one of those things. Despite this desire to start writing again, I am fully aware (now) that sometimes life has a way of jumping up on you, and it makes you change. I have certainly changed, but I believe myself ready to once again take up the mantle of the writer. Consider this the "reboot" of Spouts of Information.

"Geronimo" - Who hasn't said this at some point in time

The Town that Time Forgot

2013-01-27T05:35:00.001-08:00

The Town that Time Forgot
Its the twenty first century. At least, for the rest of the world. In the lonely reaches of the West, lies a town that rests forever in the year 1888. Eternally blind to the workings of the outside world, they toil on in the heat of the sun without ice, live the night without the comfort of electricity, and brave the winter without heating. There, they entertain themselves with books (of which there are few), and singing songs around a bed of coals. In this town, they eat off the land, with the food that they grow and the game they hunt. Supported only by their gardens and their ability to hunt, they dance on the edge of possible calamity. Should the harvest be too poor, of a disease or storm kill off game, they would starve. But if their bodies were to be weakened by hunger, they would fall to sickness long before the emptiness of their stomachs. There was no idea of bacteria, or sterilization. They drank from wild streams, touched the blood of the injured, loved without a worry. And so they rose each morning, oblivious to the troubles of our world, toiled to survive, and slept at ease, knowing that they would awake to the same world they closed their eyes on. Until time remembered them. The changes came slowly, like water seeping through the ground. At first, it appeared as if nothing had changed. Then, the days became hotter, and the nights colder. The air turned sour, and tasted of metal and waste. The mountain streams that once flowed crisp and clear were transformed into rotting cesspools of stagnant bilge. The dirt tighter it's grip on the soil, making is poor in quality and scarce to find. The harvest dwindled, the land died, the game vanished. The people, in their little town with its backcountry roads and wood and nail buildings that lay in the reaches of the West, cried. The children screamed with the pain of empty bellies, the young raged at the injustice. Mothers cried for their children, and the elderly wept silently, for fear of being heard. The people turned from despair to hate. They shouted at the sky, the stars, and themselves. They blamed one another, and fought. As the cries of the children started to lessen in number, they turned to fixing the calamity. But it was too late, as time had fully discovered them. Soon, our world found them too. We sent healers, thinkers, speakers. But the more we tried to help, the more the people of the town fled in terror. When the speakers, and healers couldn't help, we sent the fighters. In all their glory, we sent them. They flew in their metal birds and rode their steel horses. The town people saw these, and struck out in fear. The shouted and cursed, throwing rocks, and shooting their guns. It did little to the metal beasts on the land and in the air. Our thinkers could not tell us where they were from, or how they appeared there. The leaders soon began to yell at one another, preaching about morals, giving sermons of war. And all the while, the harvest dwindled, the land died, and the game vanished. The leaders switched from leading to fighting, and soon, they called an order. They demanded a storm be called, and from it try would rain down wrath and ruin on the town. The clouds gathered, the sky darkened, and the rain was ready to fall. As the downpour began, the clocks blinked. And time forgot. It forgot the town in the reaches of the West, that in January of 1889 was struck by so terrible a storm that the town was wiped from the map. Soon, the harvests were bountiful, the land was vibrant, and the game flourished. Time forgot, never to again remember.

New Beginnings

2013-01-23T15:54:00.001-08:00

So, tomorrow is the beginning of the second semester for school. As I look back at the past two terms, I realize how much I'm gonna miss the classes I had, the teachers who taught me, the friends I made, the things I've learned, and the new things I've experienced. Here's to the new semester, and all it will bring.

So that's the first thing. The second is what I was doing on Monday. For any Americans out there, I'm sure you know what was going on. For those of you who aren't American, or don't know that much about America, it was the 57th Presidential Inauguration. On that day, President Obama took the oath of office, reinstating himself as the president of the United States. See, I was volunteering there, working directional assistance. When I was there I got to meet a ton of people, help a ton of people, and I got to listen to Obama speak. It was pretty inspiring.

Tomorrows

2013-01-06T21:28:00.001-08:00

Has it ever crossed your mind that tomorrow never comes? Because, as third dimensional beings in a fourth dimensional world, we are always trapped in the present. Because of this, we can never be in tomorrow. At the turn of the clock hand, when the day ends and the next one begins, we are always in this state of the moment. We always plan for tomorrow, are constantly look toward it, waiting for the time when it arrives. But it will never come, and I'm not saying this because I'm in some sort of depressed state, or that I want you to be one. It's the truth, or rather the truth of a concept constructed by humans. To search for answers is to be human, but often when we know the answer, we look back to the question. So stop looking for that tomorrow that will never come. Instead, look towards that today that's already here.

New Year!

2013-01-01T01:40:00.001-08:00

It's 2013! Another year come, and gone. With it goes the memories, the words, and the first semester (although second semester starts next week, not there just yet)! Now, normally someone would tell you of their New Year's Resolutions, but I'm not. I'm going to tell to the ones I had last year, and weather or not I did them.
Resolution 1: Be more kind to people who don't get shown kindness. This one was a success. I was more excepting, more open to people, and held in anger better.
Resolution 2: become significantly better at Magic the Gathering. Another ball on the hole! However this one got pulled of in the last week, so I was dance on the edge there.
Resolution 3: actually finish a campaign of the table top role playing game Dungeons and Dragon. Big thumps down. Looking back now, I wonder why I even considered that to be possible. The only story I've ever heard that has the campaign end is one that has all of the characters die in it. And thats not something I wanted to pull off. Well, that's all I had, so Guten Morgen, Guten Tag, Guten Abend, und Guten Nacht!

Poetry with JD - The Better Side

2012-07-02T07:59:00.001-07:00

The Better Side

I wish to be on the better side
Where grass is green and nature needs no guide
Where the good people wait
Where no one weeps at the sight of his fate

How can I get there?
When vines are all around,
And all I know,
Is crushed to the ground?

I wish to be on that better side
Where light is strong and darkness will hide
Where my path cannot go
To the shore I'll never know

I can smell the beauty
And hear the voices
The angels singing
Saying unchoosable choices

I need to be on that better side
Where strong things grow and nothing has died
Where I can lay to rest
After being my best

I see out there that better side
The way i found, in you I'll confide
Find what you love, and do it everyday
That is, and will be the only way.

I have made it to the better side
Where grass is green and nature needs no guide
Where the good people wait
Where no one weeps at the sight of his fate

Camping with JD - Part 6

2012-06-20T07:10:00.001-07:00

The water in the Youghagany River is FREEZING! I swear, if it wasn't a river, it would be an ice block. Now, the reason I know the state of the water in the Youghagany River is because... That right you guessed it! I went camping in the Ohiopyle campground this past weekend. On this trip, I faced the enemy that three years ago tore pretty much halve of my face off,

Poetry with JD - The Trees

2012-06-20T07:03:00.001-07:00

The forest lies in rest
Silence wafting like fog
Hiding trees and concealing logs

It sweeps over me
A sends me to reprieve
Where something happened you'll never believe

The trees whispered to me
Told of all the thing they've learned
Of time, of life, of the feeling of being burned

I just lay there, quietly
Hearing every word they spoke
Till I filled with wisdom from willow and oak

The lessons I was taught
Were teachings we had lost
Like trees lose leaves with frost

But I'll never forget them
As long as I shall live
Sharing all I have to give

There is not way to say it
In our mortal speech
But in the voice of a smooth barked beech

But what I know now
Is to always try to grow
And forget to do so

Plants your roots deep
But climb towards the sky
Up to the sun on high

Branch out far and wide
Spread your shade for others to rest
Make limbs strong for birds to nest

I give this now to you
The one who reads my words
So that you might be assured.

Poetry with JD - The Woods

2012-06-20T07:01:00.001-07:00

In the early morning
I traverse the grove
And hear the songbirds of those I love

They each have a voice
The deep voice of brother and friend
The chide of the sister whom I'll always amend

The growl of a father
Angry and terrible, a fiery rage
not soften a dulled by time and age

The jeer of a foe
The call of battle and cry of war
Though I know not what I fight them for

a plethora of sound
And all these voices I hear in the Glade
Amidst the trees and the shade

Then the cover breaks
And I see a sunlight clearing
As my vision cleans, so does
My hearing

A voice sang out
Like a soft crescendo of light and life
Nothing like the voices of strife

So I sit down here
And listen to the song bird
And slowly it is the only to be heard

Next time I visit
You can come too
Maybe you'll find the song bird that's you

Poetry with JD - The Dark Despair

2012-06-20T06:55:00.001-07:00

the dark despair holds me

a strangling hand clasped

tight around my throat

it squeezes all the life

from the once cheery soul

that i used to be

but how is it

that i could survive

that great and terrible pain?

with no way to ease

no method of healing

and no hope of a brighter dawn.

Poetry with JD - Plague

2012-06-20T06:54:00.001-07:00

You plague me
The disease inside
The words of friends
No longer a guide

The infection spreads
The extremities go cold
And my mind dulls
Not as sharp, nor as bold

I feel sickened by you
By the thoughts I have
The ones you seen to fester
Terrors I could never brave

The corruption is deep
It has burned into my soul
Eating away at me
Taking is horrid toll

I'm to far gone to save
There is no cure for this
I have begun the grave
And await Death's kiss

Poetry with JD - Crumbles

2012-06-20T06:49:00.001-07:00

The whole world falls
As everything crumbles
Leaving it to dust
Nothing but dust
That is what my future holds
The End of all things
The dying of the Light
The reign of the Darkness
The pillars that held me aloft
That held me in the air
Have burned down to nothing
And I plummeted into the Dark
Nothing hindering or stopping
The decay of my life
The rotting of happiness
As the crumbling of the Light

Poetry

2012-06-20T06:48:00.001-07:00

So, I recently went through something that has inspired me to write a lot of poems. A lot. So I'm just gonna put them up here, okay? Okay.

New Mexico

2012-06-18T13:42:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody! I am currently in New Mexico while I'm writing this. And Im that you're not wondering what it is I'm doing so far away from my grotto. Well, I'm going to Philmont Scout Ranch, which is about 200 miles away from Albequerque. When I say this, I tell you that I'm not going to be writing anything until the 3rd of July. See ya guys!

Time (the creation)

2012-06-14T08:19:00.000-07:00

The entire concept of time, is just that, a concept. It's nothing more than a colabaration of human thoughts and ideas to form the structure of time that is generally excepted by most all of society. The only real reason we have time is because humans, or more specifically, the human mind, looks for patterns and repittions to understand things. A good guess at why we originally developed time was to explain the turning of the seasons, the patterns of day and night, moon and sun. And while the subject is currently resting on the bossom of time, lets talk about the Mayans.
Now before you start screaming that "the end is neigh" and that the world is going to end, please realize that they didn't at any point predict the end of the world. All the Mayans did really was study the stars and study time. They obsereved the cycles of the moon and the stars, and made calendars. Lots and lots of calendars. The Mayan long calendar, which ends on December 21st, 2012, doesn't signify some catastrophe that is the end of all humanity. What it does mean, is that a cycle is restarting. If every year, at the end of my calendar, I started saying that the world is going to end, then you would just think that I was completely insane, and propably should be committed to an insane asylum.

So, unless you think that the end of the yearly calendar is the end of the world, then go nuts. Maybe you'll just die off and rid the world of your stupidity. That's what the end of the world will be. To parphrase T.S. Eliot, this is the way the world ends, not with a prophecized date, but with the stupid rabble that thinks it will.

Time (the beginning)

2012-06-13T13:19:00.001-07:00

I feel like I've been beating around the bush a little bit with this subject. I love things that are related to time. Time travel, time machines, wristwatches, wall clocks, sundial, and of course Tom Baker (if you don't know what/who that is, look it up). But I approach the topic of time with much precaution. I've been wanting to write one for as long as I've been writing these, but never known where or how to start. If I were to do several different posts on time, which aspect should I choose first amongst a plethora of concepts. So I thought I'd waste your time, say that I'm going to start talking about time, say nothing at all that really amounts to anything, and then hope I don't lose my pen and paper.

Camping with JD - part 5

2012-06-11T15:44:00.001-07:00

Can I just say that the hiking technique called Caterpillar is The Makers gift to humanity? The way it works is the person at the front of your group stops, and then next person in line continues for, let's say 10 paces. Upon reaching the distance of ten paces, that person stops, and so on and so forth. When te last person in line reaches the second person to stop, the one who stopped first starts up again. If the whole process is done properly, then your group should be ascending the mountain like a kindred soul ascends I to heaven. Meaning that you'll eventually hit an impenetrable layer of cloud that will result in your plummet into hell. Sorry, but you should have bought a parachute.

Realty Check

2012-06-08T07:22:00.001-07:00

Today, I was heading back to school. He's I know that my school is now out for the summer, but I had to turn in books and stuff. On the way there, I saw three people (women) walking with baby carriages. Now normally, this wouldn't be news worthy, except for the fact that each baby carriage was the same exact type. Three women walking down the sidewalk, each pushing an identical three seaters baby carriages (all filled with babies)! What on earth is wrong with my life?

Academic Achievement

2012-06-05T20:42:00.001-07:00

It bothers me that "C" is average. It's considered "normal" to be 25% wrong! Now, I'm not going to get started on the fact that there is a huge problem with grades and testing in the first place, but I digress; the C average. RAGE! Seething, blazing hot rage! The biggest problem with setting the standard at 75% right is that it's teaching kids to both not expect to do well and to not try to improve. By saying that you're doing fine in a class when you're missing a fourth of the questions is like saying you're doing fine when your arm just got chopped off! But I want to say that setting the standard at 90-100% is also destructive. It means that if a student (around 10 or so) gets 1 question wrong on a five question quiz, they would emotionally tear themselves asunder for it. And image how bad it would be in High School, when parents are stressing good grades, the work has transformed from a rivulet to rapids, and the other components of high school life are dragged into the equation. I do believe that a C should still be a passing grade the same way that a D is a failing (that being the intermediate grade that is merely a transition to either a C or an F). So reader, tell me what you think: is the standard to high? Or is it to low?

Ham

2012-06-04T15:41:00.001-07:00

Histrionics
1. Behavior or speech for effect, as insincere or exaggerated expression of an emotion. 2. Dramatic representation; theatricals; acting.
"celeb magazines are nothing but histrionic junk and pointless gossip"
No, this post is not about the meat that is a cut of pork and is often served with cow mold (cheese) and yeast grass (bread). What I'm talking about is the type of actor as seen here:
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shatner
A ham actor is someone who overreacts to everything, While they're acting at least. Ham actors are often found amongst amateur and understudies (if you don't know what that is, then look it up), due mainly to the fact that they get very little stage time. And I know that everybody knows someone who is a ham actor, so the next time you see yours, acl them for me. Thanks!

Final Exams

2012-06-03T18:14:00.001-07:00

So, the last couple weeks of my life have been spent preparing for two things:
1) Philmont (but I'll get into that later) and
2) Finals.
Now, I'm not daunted by the finals, but I'm slightly bothered by the concept. The whole thing is that our entire class, everything that we learn, isn't designed for real world application. Oh no, it's all for passing a final exam. The problem with that is we're only learning what we'll need for the finals, and nothing else. I am deeply bothered by that fact. Also, since my teachers generally know what is going to be on the test, the tell us what we need to study, not just everything that we learned in the class. That just makes a lot of class time feel like a waste of time. But I haven't taken my finals at this point in time, so I speak with pretty much no experience on the subject, so if you have taken finals, tell me what they're like, and If you haven't, tell me what you think they're going to be like.

Rain

2012-06-01T11:36:00.001-07:00

So high schools take tornado warnings pretty seriously. So seriously that they don't even let people leave the school. I have spent the last hour sitting in a wet hall way because the sky have decided to take a really long sob fest. Just my luck.

Poetry with JD - Tears

2012-05-30T14:37:00.001-07:00

This is for anyone who cried today

Why do you hold tears in you eyes?
They ripple and warp your beautiful gaze
Why is sorrow carved on you lips?
Without the light of your smile, I shan't see for days
Why do you speak no more?
Without your voice, I'm lost with no hope

Please bring back the sun
Bring back the moon, the stars
Or just help me find them
Wherever they are

I'll seek them out
Searching day and night
Going where I must go
Fighting off all your frights

For if there's one thing I truly fear
It's to see you, see you sad
And that's a sight I can't stand
So bring back the joy I know you once had

So please, no more pain
No hiding from fears
Proudly face the world
And she'd no more tears

Fin

Attention Duelists! (Nathan)

2012-05-30T13:09:00.001-07:00

Did you know that whenever there's a website the allows people to communicate with each other, you often find that a community (hmm, communicate, community, wonder how that works?) is formed. And after five months of doing this blogging thing, I have assimilated into the Blogger community. And now to the topic of my rant. I have a friend named Nathan, who has his own blog on this site. And now a link to said blog.
nlpsblog.blogspot.com
Enjoy.

What Should I Be Writing?

2012-05-29T17:57:00.000-07:00

So i have no idea of which it is im going to speak of tonight, but that simoly because I have nothing all to important to say. Ever wonder why the most of the cutlery that i find in stores are poorly balanced knifes? Im not the only one who believe that if you can throw a knife, its not a good knife? Think about this: if you dont have a well balanced knife, then you'll have some problems with the precision of your cut. See? That's not all that interesting! And I want to write interesting things! So, I have come with a solution. I want you guys, yes you, in the back row with the face and the body (unless you don't have either of those, which can't be good), to tell me what you think I should write about. For example, I've been wanting to do a science mini series, but I'm not sure what to start with. So, it's up to you.