The Musings of a Champ

Lincoln Tron

2012-01-23T18:11:00.000-05:00

Late for the Sky

2012-01-07T11:32:00.001-05:00

Family Archive

2012-01-05T20:19:00.002-05:00

I bought my parents a 35mm slide and negative scanner for Christmas this year. My parents have thousands of slides filled with images from all of our younger years (when they were starting a family and when my brothers and I were just entering the scene). The holiday season was filled with some great laughs and some just as great drama. In the days around Christmas, we would work together in the kitchen to make various dishes, play a music or boardgames. We would also field calls filled with complex and tragic news and converse about how to address the troubles our family is facing.

Meanwhile, up in a corner room churned a scanner that continued to unearth images of past seasons of youth and health--of family members that are no longer with us. The scanning project is important for our family. To have a record of our time together in a medium that allows us to preserve and share is invaluable. Yet, it’s bittersweet. I remember many of the moments in those pictures and the stories that came with them. Stories that would be told again and again and again. The moments saved were those that centered around holidays, birthdays, graduations, proms and summer vacations. What you would expect. But, though I have seen some of these images before, and I’ve heard all the stories, I’m still left speechless as I see my parents and relatives so much younger. Most shocking are the images of them at my current age... I’ll leave that for another day.

While it’s sad that these moments are gone, that not all of us are together, and that health has faded, it makes the moments we share today all the more important. Our family, has had its share of tragedy, it will no doubt revisit dark and difficult days. Yet, as complex as any family is, as difficult as the days to come may be it’s good to reflect on past days if only to draw attention to how important today is.

Self Portrait - Dec. 11

2011-12-28T18:43:00.001-05:00

Chance Encounter

2011-12-28T18:15:00.002-05:00

“Hi.”

“Hi”, I said.

“I saw you were coming and was hoping I’d see you, I’d thought about you for a while recently.”

“Really? Why?”

“I don’t know, I guess a number of things reminded me of you,” she said as she slightly looked away.

“We haven’t seen each other in over ten years, that’s amazing.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“In what context did you think about me -- good I hope?” I said.

“Oh yeah, of course, it was good. I’m not sure what you mean about by context, but I think it was when I was talking to my brother when we were planning to come back home for Thanksgiving.”

“Stranger things than that have triggered my memory.”

“So, what’s new?”

2011

2011-12-28T16:38:00.004-05:00

Analyze

Better

Candid

Dream

Everything

Forget

Give

Help

Imagine

Just

Kindness

Live

Many

Never

Open

Please

Question

Review

Surround

Teach

Utilize

Visit

Whistle

Xanadu

Yes

99% Complete

2011-12-21T15:49:00.000-05:00

Wardrobe Remix

2011-12-19T19:40:00.001-05:00

I'm in the process of redoing my "wardrobe" [if you can really call it that], thinning out a ton of stuff and getting the key items I've been putting off. It's a process to be sure. Much of what I bought never really fit right to begin with, it was cut large. Other items are either worn out or look pretty dated. Latest pickup, Dessert Boots.

Space

2011-12-17T13:48:00.000-05:00

He wasn’t the biggest guy, it was harder to fill the area around him. He tried to lean sideways in his seat to take up more space. It looked ridiculous, like he was pouring slowly to the floor. His already bad posture was accentuated. He also displayed what he hoped was an uninviting and cold face, but probably only came off as a slight smirk. The backpack that was packed that morning was placed on the seat next to him and the puffy jacket was strewn about. He hadn’t shaved in a couple days, though he had not planned for it, he thought that this would help his cause. An affable guy, this would be a test, could he project, with sheer mind power what he wanted? In short, could he bend the world his way. He puffed his chest, he was confident.

A couple had already boarded. He did not consider couples a challenge, in fact they played to his advantage. “The more the merrier”, he thought to himself. It was one of the rare times he would tolerate their public displays of affection and saccharine cooing. He considered reading or playing with his phone, but decided against it. This would take the full concentration, he couldn’t let his guard down, not for a second. More were coming in. Lots of couples, it was the holidays after all. He had selected a seat in the front, he felt that others rarely looked up until later down the aisle and by then the would have already passed him.

He reminded himself to not letup on his blank/menacing stare. He checked his reflection in one of the faintly tinted windows. He was pretty sure that he had nailed it. But, he would keep checking to make sure he didn’t lapse. He tried biting down on the front of his lower lip and curled it inward, like he was really in deep thought and could not be disturbed. He hoped those that viewed him would take a quick glance at him and instantly understand that what he was thinking on was for the benefit of all. As if he was moments away from solving the riddle of dark matter. He projected this thought outward as more people streamed past.

It was near half capacity. “What was the capacity of this thing anyway?”, he thought. He gathered that this would be the last scramble. A man rose up the few steps and was in the aisle. Eye contact was made. He was sure that he had forgotten the menacing stare. Quickly, he rebounded and attempted project one part crazy, two parts indifferent. The mixture worked, the man passed him.

Of course, there was an aspect of profiling going on. Should an individual, perhaps a tall dark female, saunter up the steps his look would need to be remixed fast. He practiced this reaction in his mind to assure himself that should the opportunity present itself, he would be ready. No ladies fit this billing so far, well none that weren’t accompanied by some bumbling dude carrying a shared ration of Au Bon Pan and bottled water. Yet, the odds of finding such a lady were low, he’d rather take his chances with having more space to himself. She’d probably sleep the whole time anyway.

Things were going well, no confrontations, only a few pauses. All was ship shape. He had his share of adventure already, whenever one of the giants passed his way, he held his breath. The thought of being trapped, pinned really, with this other human’s being folding into his space like water cresting the levy was torture. It had happened before, it always seemed to happen. He checked the time on his phone, “should be locked in and set within seven minutes,” he thought to himself. It was crunch time.

The tension of the past forty-five minutes was letting up. There was still some space towards the back, he guessed. He was too nervous to turn around and check. He straddled the idea of being both visible and invisible at the same time. In a sense, highly unvisible.

The engines were idling now. It wouldn’t be long. The door was shut. He looked around, he wouldn’t let himself accept it just yet, couldn’t jinx it but he was growing ever more confident that he had succeeded in his mission. “Mission accomplished”, he chuckled to himself as he pictured standing on the deck of an aircraft carrier. He started to rearrange some of his items to settle in for the journey.

They started to move. He could feel calmness washing over him, he could breath. Wait. No. What was that? Some guy was running along the side of them, he could see him though the window. “It says we leave on the hour, it’s the hour”, he thought to himself. They couldn’t stop now, “if you stop for this guy you have to stop for everyone, where would we be if we stopped for everyone, we’d never get anywhere”, he argued to himself. “No exceptions, you should have been on time. I was”, he told himself. It was sheer panic-mode now. Certainly, they wouldn’t stop. They hadn’t slowed yet. He was pretty sure that others saw the man outside running and flailing for attention, but if they did they didn’t say anything either.

The driver saw him. “Shit,” he muttered under his breath. They slowed and the man came up the steps hurriedly exchanging words of apology and greetings intermixed with coughing and extreme wheezing. The man looked down the aisle for a place to land. He hadn’t noticed before from outside when the man was running, but he was a big one, a real 1.5 seater.

A glance was exchanged. His astonishment had evaporated his menacing look. How could this be happening, they had already left. The door was closed. It was after the time allotted for leaving. The man made his way down the aisle. Step by step he grew nearer, until, “is anybody sitting here?”.

“No,” I said as I began to gather my magazines, snacks and puffy coat together and repack my bag which was now under my legs. “No, nobody is sitting here.”

Limbo

2011-06-08T09:16:00.000-04:00

A picture painted.

2011-06-01T21:11:00.001-04:00

I was trying out a new music streaming service tonight, Rdio, and stumbled on the Tron soundtrack from last year. I had wanted to check it out for a while, since I felt the work Daft Punk did for the film was more effective than a lot of the other elements of the film. Anyway, the music seemed to paint the following picture for me . . .

It was dark and soggy, the sky in a perpetual phase of fast moving storm clouds which billowed outward then folded in on themselves as if kneading. Warm wind gusts screamed from the southeast and seemed to gain speed as they were propelled through the cavernous city walls. The light posts that did have working fixtures flickered or seemed to surge and fall in biological rhythm. The light reflected in so many different directions across the wet pavement and shorn metal in the streets but would then abruptly disappear into dark corners. It was hard to know whether firm ground was ahead. Chance cyclones swept debris forward along the empty streets.

It had been a week since the reactors had melted down. The power that was left came from renewable wave and wind sources and was carried on those lines that were spared from the destruction the explosion had caused.

I listened to the 2010 Michael Jackson release next. I'm still trying to figure out what that was all about.

Back at it

2011-04-02T15:32:00.000-04:00

Ready for Takeoff!

2011-04-01T21:11:00.000-04:00

Champ Turns Twenty-Eight, 4.54 billion Year-Old Earth Shrugs

2011-03-23T18:09:00.001-04:00

Tomorrow I turn twenty-eight years old. It's a crazy feeling. I remember when I was twelve or thirteen years old and the '96 Summer Olympics in Atlanta were in full swing. I was at my grandmother's house in East Hartford, likely to mow her lawn, and thinking on the fact that the next Olympics would be in four years and I would be sixteen years old. Sixteen years old! I thought I would be an old man by then, that childhood would be over. It felt a world away.

And here I am, on the eve of my twenty-eighth birthday. Twenty-eight laps around the sun. Twenty-eight distinct chapters in a life that continues to unfold and provide new adventures everyday. In my time on this planet I have had so many amazing people enter my life. I have also had so many wonderful people exit my life. Some would exit due to old age, others would exit by their own means, and still others would simply grow apart and change. Every exit has posed its own challenges. I am grateful for every person I've met and every experience we've shared.

Am I where I thought I would be at this stage in my life? In some ways, yes. In other ways, absolutely not. But here I am spinning round for another go, another round. I am excited for what is in store for me. There are many chapters yet unwritten. Each year I build and add onto my foundation. Each year reinforces the next.

Ah, but I was so much older then. I’m younger than that now.

The Bynars this past weekend in Pomfret, CT

2010-08-11T16:12:00.003-04:00

So it's been a while huh?

2010-08-11T16:05:00.003-04:00

It looks like my last post was in October 2009. Wow! What has happened since then? A lot. Graduation, travels, moves, new friends all sorts. I'm not going to try and capture all that has happened in the past year, but I will try to make an effort to more consistently update here on out.

Yesterday I moved to DC with more degrees than suitcases. Hopefully I can find the type of work I've put myself into debt for these past three years. Time will tell. I have an interview tomorrow. I am excited about the prospect of working, earning an income and making a future.

- Champ

Party All Nite!

2009-10-01T09:21:00.001-04:00

The Bynars - "Party All Nite" from Quarter Productions on Vimeo.

D'Zac Champ & The Bellvista Experience

2009-08-17T13:55:00.000-04:00

Greenday Tonight.

2009-07-29T18:51:00.002-04:00

So as far as acts that I've seen for free go, Greenday is #1. I last saw this reinvented rock group when they were touring on their "Rock Opera" at the Hartford Civic Center, now XL Center. The crowd mix was a bit odd, a ton of screaming tween girls, old drunk dudes and some stoner burn outs. It was entertaining.

Tonight I get to see them again. I expect a loud show with the band "projecting strength." Besides that I can't say. What do you think of Greenday these days? Aren't they like 50 or something?

Google Book Search discussion at Howard Univ. School of Law

2009-07-29T18:01:00.001-04:00

Mainly a praise party but privacy issues were spoken about. The technology has a great potential to equalize access to information. However, a lot remains to be seen regarding the buildout of broadband to rural and impoverished areas. Also, nothing was said regarding the business model and advertising. Also what does this do to help those that would like to be self-published, and would Google scan and offer even the most controversial books, or would it bend to interest groups if a title were "damning."

One and one-half wandering Cashew.

2009-07-28T10:43:00.000-04:00

Another summer in DC is coming to a close. It went by even faster than last year. I feel like just last week I was scrubbing my kitchen counters in Syracuse prepping the apartment for subletors and piling all my clothes into my luggage and launching south by way of MA, CT, RI, MA, NH, CT -> DC.

In DC I was hosted by friends, and stayed on their couch for almost three weeks, a combination of a Craigslist rental attempt gone bad, and extreme hospitality from my hosts. The majority of my time however was spent at my U-St apartment above a tattoo parlor. Odd I know.

And now it’s time to hit the road again. Everyone says this is a great journey, but Jesus it’s so tiring. As I’ve gotten older my orbit’s range has increased. Growing up it seemed like planning to go on vacation on the Cape, just over two hours away, took months of preparation. A trip like that is child’s play, pond hopping compared to these moves recently. It’ll be good to land.

We beat Rollo's blog was there any doubt? No.

2009-04-10T13:02:00.000-04:00

Well this is great.

2009-04-06T13:29:00.000-04:00

Selling our tickets...$300 each. That's 4 more screaming MSU fans for Monday. Good luck winning now UNC!

2009-04-05T21:07:00.000-04:00

Nice home win MSU...

2009-04-04T21:02:00.000-04:00

I guess our stay in Detroit has been cut short...now time to sell our
tickets for as much as possible and get the hell out of this place

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