Black and Gold

The other night, my friend introduced me to a new song:

Apparently, this song is one of my friend's favorite songs of all time, and I gotta admit, I see where she's coming from. There's something about the song that makes it oh-so-delightful. It's got some sort of je ne sais quoi that seems to creep into your brain to caress the temporal lobes with is pulsating beat and delicious vamping. It is one of those songs that you can listen to sitting perfectly still, or reclined in a pleather sofa while party guests move in slow motion across an ultra-modern technologic penthouse. Heck, if you're up for it, you can even tear up the dance floor with this track and show the world what a good beat can do. In fact, my friend explained, that's exactly what happened when this song was played during one of the results shows of this season's Dancing With The Stars (September 30, 2008). However, this song is more than just a hot track. If you can get your ears past the techno beats and your legs past the urge to dance; if you can calm yourself and listen with all your heart to the lyrics, you might just find something very unexpected.

Need some help? Here are the lyrics:

If the fish swam
Out of the ocean
And grew legs
And they started walking
And the apes climbed down
From the trees
And grew tall
And they started talking

And the stars
Fell out of the sky
And my tears
Rolled into the ocean
Now I'm looking
For a reason why
You even set my world
Into motion

'cause if you're not
Really here
Then the stars
Don't even matter
Now I'm filled
To the top with fear
But it's all
Just a bunch of matter
'cause if you're not
Really here
Then I don't want
To be either
I wanna be next to you
Black and gold
Black and gold
Black and gold

I looked up
Into the night sky
And see a thousand eyes
Staring back
And all around
These golden beacons
I see nothing but black

I feel a way of something
Beyond them
I don't see
What I can feel
If vision
Is the only validation
Then most of my life
Isn't real

'cause if you're not
Really here
Then the stars
Don't even matter
Now I'm filled
To the top with fear
But it's all
Just a bunch of matter
'cause if you're not
Really here
Then i don't want
To be either
I wanna be next to you
Black and gold
Black and gold
Black and gold

{Sings quietly}
'cause if you're not
Really here
Then the stars
Don't even matter
Now I'm filled
To the top with fear
But it's all
Just a bunch of matter
'cause if you're not
Really here
Then i don't want
To be either
I wanna be next to you
Black and gold
Black and gold
Black and gold

See it yet?

According to some sources, this song was written during one the lowest points in Sam's musical career. His father was a minister as well as a recording artist himself, and for his son's training, brought him to a church to listen to the soulful music inside. Sam claims to believe in a higher power and considers himself to be a spiritual person who's not tied down to any one religion. Could this background be the influence that had led Sam to write a song about God? Could an openly gay man really be so spiritual that he would deny evolution, believe in the majesty of creation and seek a higher power that made it all? Could a dance beat really serve as a song of worship?

Honestly, I don't know.

These are just some questions that I left out to ponder over the weekend. Right now, I'm just enjoying this song and reveling in the fact that it contained such a heavy message... just hiding in plain sight.

Happy Sabbath, everyone!

Don't Worry, Be Happy!

"So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; "and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

~Matthew 6:28-29 (NKJV)













Don't worry about today. Give it to the One who holds tomorrow in His hands.

But first be concerned about God's kingdom and his righteousness, and all of these things will be provided for you as well.

~Matthew 6:33 (ISV)

Happy Sabbath!

A Toast

Here's to the union of my good friends: Antonio and Sharon Espinoza. A match made in Heaven, if Heaven were only a quiet suburb on the outskirts of Chicago's metropolis. Here's to the fond memories you two have made and cheers to the memories to come. Here's to seven years of adolescent dating and to the years that lay ahead.

Here's to that old and broken road, the one with detours and pitfalls and false leads, that had brought together the two of you.



Here's to the intimacy you two will share.





Here's to the idea of two becoming one: of one mind, one body, one soul. Here's to the fulfillment of "bone of my bone, flesh from my flesh." where they shall leave their mother and father, to become one.





Here's to the secret knowledge known only to the two of you, and to the exploration of the sacred beneath the blessed canopy of marriage.



Here's to the laughter and the dance.





Here's to the moments of joy and the smiles that exists for all to see...



...as well as the ones that exist for just the two of you.



Here's to dancing to the song of life and never forgetting that the road you travel will always be wider with your friends, your family, and your God by your side.



So, congratulations to the two of you! May God pour out an overabundance of his blessing for you both and bless you richly as you begin your new life together.

Lethargy

I really can't push myself to write in this thing anymore. It's sad, but it's true. The light is slowly burning out and my pen is running empty. My pencil is down to a nubbin and my eraser is cracked and dry. My source of inspiration is gone, I have distractions galore and I can't seem to pull together enough motivation to sit at my desk and type. Oh, don't get me wrong, it's not like I don't have anything to write about. Personal thoughts and memories of the last few weeks have given me enough material to last me for days. No, writer's block is the least of my worries. Rather, I just don't have a reason to write anymore. Well, hopefully this post will get me going, and maybe I can find the reason of why I started this project in the first place.

Five Down

July 13 marked the day that the fifth member of my high school graduating class stepped into the shoes of matrimonial bliss. I consider that quite the feat since out of those five, four of them were still single when the diplomas were being handed out.

Sweet mercy, how time flies.

Every time something happens that results in a bunch of my old classmates getting together, I always feel a need to take stock and try to figure out what's changed since 2002. It's not as easy as it seems, because even though it was a small class, it was very easy to lose touch with everybody. So far as I know, five have been married with one of them already with a kid. Two others are engaged (not to each other) and are getting hitched later this year. The majority of those that went to college have already graduated. One is entering his third year in medical school. One is going into his second year in dental school. One is working as a mechanical engineer for Boeing. Three have finished nursing degrees with another one finishing up soon enough. A couple of them are working in business, one works in IT, a couple are working in the maintenance field and another is in meteorology. Two have joined the armed forces (Navy, Air Force) and are still serving. I've got classmates living in Hawaii, California, Iowa, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Seattle, Michigan, North Carolina and of course Illinois.

It has been a little over six years since we were all last seen together. Some things have changed, some things stayed the same, but so far, it seems everyone has done well for themselves. Despite all that has happened in the world and all the personal experiences we each had, we all appear to be moving along with our lives fairly well. God has kept us so far and has shows His great mercy on us all.

This fall, my old high school will be celebrating the first graduating class's ten-year reunion, and with me being part of alumni association this year, I get to be part of the planning of this milestone. So far, it seems that many members from the class of 1998 will be flying in from all over the country for this weekend. Who knows how much they've changed as individuals over the years? Depending on how you look at it, ten years can either feel like eons or flash right in front of you in a matter of minutes.

Four years from now, I myself will be celebrating my own class's ten-year reunion. So much has already changed in six years that it really makes me wonder what the next four will be like. How much more will my friends change? Who's going to be living where, or with whom for that matter? Who's going have a kid? Who's going to get married? Will the ones that are married still be married? Who is still going be alive? These are questions that I don't know the answers to, and I am pretty relieved that I can't answer. But get back to me in four years, and I'm pretty sure I can tell you the answers then.

As for my own stock? I'm a single, 24 year old with a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and less than a tiny clue of what I'm going to be doing with my life. I work as a temporary lab technician for an oil company and I am still living at home. I might be going back to school this fall to try to finish up some classes to pursue a masters degree, or I might try to get into pharmacy school. Like I said, I really don't know what to do with my life. What I do know, however, is that like the rest of my class, God has kept me so far and continues to bless me on a daily basis. I can only live on with the hope that God has somethings special in the works for me, and that His plan for me is so much more than I can ever imagine. So, let's see where the next four years will take me.


Class of 2002 graduate Krissy and her dad.

The Watcher 1

Candid, street photography.















Taking good pictures of total strangers in public without getting called a creep, getting punched in the face or getting your camera broken? Yes, I'll take that challenge.

A Little Bit o' Cubism, A Little Bit o' Panel Art

I wanted to print out this daisy picture to hang in my house somewhere (bathroom), but overall, I felt bored with the concept of staring at just a flower while I brushed my teeth. However, while I was messing around with it, I got inspiration to model the portrait after the style of the British artist, David Hockney. By basing the concept on his work, and using the techniques I had used on my diptych picture, I was able to make this:

This picture is cropped from a larger shot with more background, but the same foreground subject. I had used nine picture layers: eight frames with a base layer. For hardware, I used a Canon EOS 40D with a 70-200mm f4 L IS USM lens and Photoshop CS3 to render it all. To print, I had used a Canon Pixma Pro9000 inkjet printer with Canon 13"x19" Photo Paper Plus Semi-gloss.

This picture was designed to look three-dimensional with eight pictures contributing smaller portions to one large picture. I was tempted to make it look a little more realistic, more Hockney, by placing each frame a little off kilter to make the entire picture just a little bit more cubic... but whatever. I'm happy with how it turned out =)

How Bored Am I? Bored Enough To Write This

While sitting at my desk pondering the best way to prove Einstein by forcefully speeding up time three hours to quitting time, I suddenly had remembered a web blurb about the hysterical customer reviews on Amazon.com concerning the Bic ballpoint pen. For those who need a quick refresher, Amazon created the site to act as a virtual mall, and a massive one at that. Nearly any commercial product that has ever been produced can be purchased with just a few clicks of a mouse from this online warehouse. The browsing experience can be quite rewarding as well because not only can a stock photo of the item be viewed, but each item has its own outline of specifications, descriptions, user photos, technical details, promotions and referrals. The product site can also be somewhat interactive: registered users can offer product reviews as well as provide photos of the product themselves. Since all the products listed follow a similar web template, each product gets the same treatment.

Even the ubiquitous ballpoint pen.

But let's be real. Who wants to make or read a freaking review of a ballpoint pen? It's a pen! And therein lays the joke, because people will make reviews, if just for the sake of making a mockery out of the whole system.

Yeah, good times =)

All the reviews were creative and unique in their own right, though some were more creative and unique than others. They ranged from the My-god-I-think-this-review-was-actually-serious...

All right by me !!!

It seems as if I've always used these very good black ink pens by Bic; I remember writing many a paper for college using pens like these before computers came along. Bic calls these pens "medium point" but the ink is quite clear on the page. The black ink lasts for months--unless you write a lot with these every day in which case they will last a shorter amount of time.

The pens are compact and easy to carry with you; this makes them easy to carry because they are so lightweight. The pens are made of plastic with a see through ink tube inside them. The advantage of the see through ink tube is that you can tell when the pen is running low on ink--a great feature!

As nerdy as it sounds, gentlemen can easily carry one or two in their shirt pockets. I would keep the cap on, of course.

Actually, I would keep the cap on at all times when not using this pen. The ink still inside the pen can dry out rather quickly without the cap being on them. Moreover, you don't want ink to leak out of the pen and make nasty ink stains.

Overall, if you want an inexpensive pen that still gives you high quality writing ink, you can't go wrong with these pens by Bic. I have used them for decades with great satisfaction.

I highly recommend these pens for anyone wanting an inexpensive but good quality black ink pen.

~ Matthew G. Sherwin

...to the I-think-this-girl-was-totally-up-in-smoke-when-she-wrote-this.

Carried me across the universe and back

When I decided to run away from home and catch a ride on a falling star, I never knew how handy my BIC Pen would come in. I landed somewhere near the Puonfain Distric in the Saund Galaxy, and without the proper currency I had to get a job.

I filled out the application with my pen, worked for several months until I met a local delivery man. He gave me a ride on his star cruiser to another planet, which I happily explored.

I spent the next 5 years traveling across the universe, hitchhiking, bumming rides off Gorlocks and Pinds, and writing about my adventures with my handy BIC pen.

I also used my pen on occasion to defend myself against attackers, pry open circuit breakers and other obstacles, fix a few things, and amaze a Loiukian who had never seen a pen before.

Then, I fell in love. A kind Murgol with sandy blonde hair stole my heart, and I used my pen to write him a long love letter. He worked hard to save enough money for us to get married, and we both used the pen to write our nuptials and sign our names on the Gorgin Wedding Certificate.

After my 6 year journey, I am pleased to say I am back home on Earth with my Husband, and am expecting my first child. I've published my book, Memoirs of a Celestial BIC Pen, and it's a big seller.

Thanks to this pen, I was able to write my book, several job applications, a few minor notes, some misc. writings, and best of all, it never ran out of ink. Thanks BIC, and my Husband says, in his language, "Bo' Du "Hava Locing." (Goodbye, and thanks for all the fish)

~ E. Jackson

And from the eloquent...

Excellence

Sunlight dancing off crystal angles.
Protective cap glistens, silky, substantial.

Black ink flows to paper
As Medium Point ball glides effortlessly.

Remaining box of eleven rest, haunted,
Awaiting their destiny.

~Jeffrey D. Bowman

...to the crass.

3 to 5 and still alive!

I've been in and out of prison most of my life and I specialize the in fine art of prison tattooing. Now, I've tried many types of pens, Pilots, Sanfords, Paper Mates, and others. But for the sheer consistency of color, permeability, and aesthetic character, I use only BIC(R) Cristal(R) Ballpoint Pens.

When you try to get the ink to adhere to a sharpened paper clip, you instantly can tell the difference in workability with a Bic. The fine line work required in realistically rendering a flaming serpent wrapping the bare breasts of a nymph straddling a crucifix would be nearly impossible with any other pen.

Clients can be picky. So when I aim to please I trust on BIC(R) Cristal(R) Ballpoint Pens.

~Ralph A.

Complete with another user's comment!

It appears this review is actually about the quality of the ink in the BIC(R) Pen and not the pen itself. While ink quality is certainly important, I would have liked to hear more about other vital pen characteristics. For instance, how difficult is it to make a "shiv" or sharpened knife-like instrument used in prison fights with the plastic barrel of the pen? Does the "Cristal" pen barrel lend itself to sharpening without breaking? How well does it penetrate flesh once it has been fashioned into a man-killing weapon? Is it difficult to hide this pen in your rectum during the all-too-frequent prison strip searches? Although the description of the bare-breasted nymphomaniac was shall we say, interesting, it would have been nice to see a more comprehensive review of the use of the BIC(R) Pen in our correctional institutions.

~Mark Morris

Now, you might be thinking, "Don, you're at work. Shouldn't you be working instead of reading fake reviews about ballpoint pens?" and yes, you may have a point. But I would like to tell you, my reader, that in the few moments I had experienced reading and writing this blog, time had just jumped ahead one hour, thereby proving Einstein! This must be how Hiro must have felt!* And if proving one of the greatest minds in a scientific institution isn't cause for a pat on the back, then I don't know what is.

By the way, this is only a third of the reviews on the site, so if you would like to read more about how a Bic pen can be mistaken for a thermometer, a weapon, or a PC, please click here.

*For an explanation of this pop reference, please consult your local "Heroes" nut.

Diptych - First Attempt

A few weeks ago, I was reading about a photography technique called the triptych. A triptych, and the subsequent diptych and polyptych, is a form of art that utilizes multiple frames and panels to create one piece of art. The individual frames are often related to one subject matter, however, they don't necessarily have to follow a common template. The number of frames in the picture determine the prefix of the -tych: diptych contains two frames and a triptych contains three frames and four or more panels are designated a polyptych.

Polyptychical art has its roots in ancient tradition with the movement still being used in the modern age. Traditional polyptich art was typically a wood or an ivory carving with each panel connected with a hinge for connectivity and ease of transport, but with the arrival of pigment and the canvas medium, the painted polyptych became more and more popular. Many different types of polyptychs have emerged over the years, some achieving a very popular or cult-like status. During the Renaissance, many polyptychs were created, oftentimes with a religious subject. In the Chinese culture, multiple examples of the polyptych can be seen in their ancient art. In the 1960s, the artist Andy Warhol created the Marilyn Diptych. Polyptychs can even be found by turning to the comic section of any daily newspaper.

With such a longstanding and colorful history, I decided to give this form or art a try, and here's what I came up with



This picture is a diptych taken from paneling one large picture. To capture the image, I had used a Canon EOS 40D with the EF 50mm f1.8 lens. Digital editing was done using Photoshop CS3. I had used four layers, one editing layer, one background layer, and the two color layers on the left and on the right.

This form of the diptych was not of the traditional sense. I'm hoping to create more of these things with a different composition and layout, but for now, I'm pretty happy with how this thing turned out.

On Da Scene Wid Da LVB

One of the perks for having Chicago as my back yard is that I have access to all the city has to offer without having to actually deal with the city itself. For me, going downtown is almost like having a little vacation, and with the summer mounted and ready to get into full swing, my little city will turn into quite the prime vacation spot. People from all walks of life, some wearing as little clothing as possible, will make their way to the streets of Chicago to bathe in the glass, iron and concrete that has been hidden behind the walls of winter snow.

Like Cancun but with less sand; more rocks.

June 11 marked the start of the Grant Park Concert series that will run until some time in August. The series features performances at various locations at both Millennium and Grant Park, though the biggest performances are usually reserved for the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park. The "house band" is the Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus with the Grant Park Jazz Orchestra making their debut later on. The series also features verious orchestral and vocal soloists as well as a smorgasbord of different styles of music from all over the world. And each performance is free.

For a cheapskate like me, that's music to my ears.

Last Saturday, my family and I decided to attend one of the first concerts of this year. The selection for the day was Ludwig Van Beethoven's Missa Solemnis performed by the Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus with soloists Erin Wall, Soprano; Anita Krause, Mezzo Soprano; James Taylor, Tenor; Nathan Berg, Bass. The program said it was his crowning achievement, and seeing as how Beethoven has written some of the best work to come out of the classical period, this opus has got to have some bad assery from another level.

Apparently, hundreds of other people had the same idea.

The pavilion was packed by the time my family and I got there. The prime seats were all taken as well as nearly every square inch of the lawn. The crowd had even spilled over to the surrounding railings and lawns around the pavilion. The only places left to sit were these concrete steps separating the seats from the picnic lawn, and because I didn't feel like standing after traveling forty or so minutes to get here, I quickly planted myself on one of the steps. So, Beethoven's opus mass began, and even though I could not see, my auditory sense was set liberated. The orchestral melodies combined with the soloists who were accompanied by the mass choir created a cacophony of incredible sound that was only amplified by the grandeur of the open park. The music hung in the air and surrounded me in an embrace that permeated my entire being to warm my heart and to touch my very soul.

Now, if I could only get rid of all the people walking around in front of me and figure out where that ubiquitous smell of mustard was coming from...

Needless to say, my family and I didn't stay for the whole thing. We were unprepared. Unlike the veterans who took full advantage of this event and took the time to plan in advance, my family and I found ourselves shuffling out early to grab a bite to eat. If only we were like the couple who brought lawn chairs, a table, candles, wine and Pepperidge Farm cookies or this group of well dressed socialites who brought miniature cross tables covered with table cloth, wine, hors d' oeuvres, and a patio umbrella complete with pink lanterns. Or even the other couple who had brought a simple blanket to lay out in. No. My family and I had chosen speed over substance and all we had brought was a bottle of tepid water.

Luckily, we were in the City of Broad Shoulders and sustenance wasn't very far away. For dinner, we decided to check out the Park Grill where I had heard, from my friend Zab, had one of the best burgers in town.

Damn, was he right.

This bad boy was a half pound of choice beef, spiced and grilled to absolute perfection, covered in white cheddar, onions, lettuce and tomato, sandwiched between an incredibly soft sesame and poppy seed bun. We all ordered the same burger. Yes, even my family-history-of-heart-disease-and-diabetic dad ordered a burger and Sprite. I had to admit, that was a very good move, because if it was my last meal, I would've died with a big, beefy smile on my face.

So good, in fact, that I didn't even bother taking a picture, I was too busy eating.

And that ended our day in Chicago. I had fun. My sister and my dad had fun. And even though my mom got stuck paying for parking and the food, I'm pretty sure she had fun too.