December Poem #1

Fresh.
Freshly fallen.
Freshly fallen snow. It's like the majesty of heaven laid out before us. A carpet of whiteness so pure as if to declare the coming of royalty. But not the vain kings & queens of ages past. Ones who clothed themselves in the richness of burgandy and velvet.

No, this is the Prince of Love. And so, he brings the light of life. So brightly blinding the world it covers seems somehow dim and drab by comparison.

Freshly fallen snow. Like angels on high they fill the sky. Slowly they dance through the black night air with the grace and elegance of little ballarinas.
Each flake a masterpiece of beauty.
Each flake a different story.

Each flake.
Each flake falls.
Each flake falls to the ground. The stories build upon each other into epic adventures of sledding down hills and then hot chocolate with marshamllows. The beauty grows until it seems the angels are making themselves in the snow! Each flake falls to the ground perfectly like each stoke of a master artisans brush across canvas.

All this... in each flake of freshly fallen snow.

December Poetry Challenge

So, a couple of my poet friends (Matthew & Alex) have put forth a challenge: to write something new for EVERY day of December and post it on their blogs.

Knowing it can only help me become a better writer I decided to accept the challenge based upon the proviso that I will be doing weekdays only.

Even that is quite scary. I'm not very good at making time for myself to write. but if my school years taught me anything... I either give up way too early... or the pressure makes me work better.

Please... PLEASE pray it's the latter.

What's The Point

Enough! I've had it! I'm so sick of myself. I'm nothing but another hypocirtical bullshit poser. You think I'm crazy don't ya? Calling myself out like this... out in front of all of you. But I can't do it anymore. I can't pretend to be frustrated and upset when I really don't give a shit.

Kids are starving in Africa? But what are we going to do? What are we REALLY going to do? Let's hold a benefit concert that costs 2/3 of what we raise, give only until our charitable tax benefit maxes out, and buy food to send overseas that is stolen by war lords before it even reaches the people in need. It makes the most optimistic optimist want to stand up and scream What's the FUCKING point?

The points are not the point, poetry is the point.
Then it must be poetic justice how pointless life seems.

Maybe it's money. Will it set me free!
First off, money won't grow on a tree.

There's no such thing as a free lunch, honey.
Even if there was, the time it takes costs money.

What if lightnning strikes twice and you win the lottery?
You get a car and a house, with a yard, and a tree.
But lotto tickets cost a dollar, sometimes even two or three.

Taken from your paycheque is income tax. The cost to make a living.
When you die there's probate tax. That's right, a tax on your giving.

When you live your life just to make money,
I don't see how you can call it "making a living"
When you die it's gone and can't go with you,
All that effort waisted on houses, cars, or bling.

Maybe it's fame?

Sure! Let's get a call back for the pilot of a brand new prime time syndicated sitcom series.
Only to have our surreal life cancelled for low ratings during sweeps.

As we hold on to reality by a string let's wind it up tight and pluck our luck with a pick.
We'll snort coke up our nose to feel like the real thing.
But we can't beat the fact that peppy and positive thinking,
Won't make this next generation what it's cracked up to be.

While driving under the influence of the lies we crash into a wall.
Truth & innocense? There were in the back seat.
But they didn't die on the scene.
No, they died years ago
When you pulled the plug on life support & let it go.

Turn to the drink! Aye that's the rub! Go out for a pint of ale down at the pub.
Or maybe some whiskey? Scotch, Irish, Bourbon or Rye.
But sonner or later the ale will fail, and your kidney will die.

Lasting 40 days in the clinic is your goal,
You check yourself in to rehabilitate your soul.
But it's a revolving door instead of a one way street,
And you can't help but feel beat.

This is just poem. Words made with ink.
But I hope it makes you take time to stop & think...
What's the point?

Prayer For Peace

Shalom

A traditional Jewish greeting
Which, in Hebrew, means peace or completeness
And for each of you here it's my deepest wish

For Jews use it as a greeting because it is was they want most.
To be free from war. The holy scriptures of Judaism: The Law & the Prophets chronicles a history of war, occupation, and exile.
Whether it was the Roman Empire occupying their homeland, persecution by Christians during the crusades or the genocide of the holocaust... they certainly have reason to desire it. So how do bombs and guns achieve it?

More than a desire or a wish it's a prayer. Prayers for peace ring out around the world but fall on deaf ears. Deafened by greed, ignorance, hate... worst of all.. indifference. Whether it's the war in Afghanistan, civil war in Somalia, the war on drugs, or gang wars.

The world knows little of what it means to live in peace.


Peace be with you

A traditional Christian greeting.
Used by Jesus himself to greet his disciples after raising from the dead.
Once again, more than a trite greeting it was a mission. In a time when professing to be a follower of Jesus meant you could be fed to lions or used as a human torch it would be easy to go on the attack. In a world of hate and jealously (especially amongst the relious elite) we were challenged to be agents of change. Like a lighthouse shining out to warn the ships on the sea Christians are called to be ambassadors of peace. When was the last time you spoke with a so-called Christian and you left with even a semblance of peace?

Whether it's being lonely in a room full of friends, living in poverty in a rich nation like Canada, or abused by the hands of man who should have been protecting you we rarely catch even a glimpse of peace in our lives, let alone experience it.

As-Salamu Alaykum

A traditional Muslim greeting
Which, in Arabic, means "peace be upon you"
We ALL struggle for peace. In fact, Mohammed himself said that the Greater Jihad is the inner struggle we face against ourselves. The fact that we struggle to what is right even when we know what it is.

Couldn't we all use a little more peace?

KRS-One once said that "whether peace by war or peace by peace the reality of peace is scary." I think he was right. Despite being our greatest hope and what we strive to achieve it's the last thing we DO.

Martin Luther King had a dream. The time has come to make it a reality. To put aside our tears and fears. Forgive the debt of vengance owed to you and instead be an ambassador of peace. Experience a little bit of heaven here & now.

So no matter how you say it: Shalom, As-Salamu Alaykum, or whatever... My prayer, for you and for me, is for peace.

I my secret addiction is...

.. watching Big Brother with my wife.

Now, don't judge me! I never used to watch these reality shows. But it's one of her favourite shows and there isn't really much on TV during the summer. So when we first started dating I started watching it. Each season I get more & more into it; guessing who is going to be HoH, who are they going to put up for eviction, who will win the PoV, will they use it, & how will people vote. Then there is all the drama, scheming & double crossing.

2 things are always a constant:
1. The person I want to win always gets backdoored.
2. The person I despise the most makes it to the final 2.

That being said this year is driving me nuts. It's being ran by Jessie/Natalie. They are pulling everybodies strings. And the only person who noticed it was Casey. Next thing you know Casey is gone. It seems like Russell may have been the only one to notice this. So he put Ronnie on the block. Unfortunately this put a wedge between him and the Jessie/Natalie/Chima/Ronnie camp. But really? How long can that crew last before the trust starts to crumble?

Sure Russell is more paranoid than a teenager smoking pot for the 1st time. But he has reason to be. Russell is a competitor and this makes him a target. He also has an explosive personality. He has to know that he has big huge targets on his back. And it's getting to the point in the game where weird stuff starts happening.

Russell made an alliance with Jeff not to put him & Jordan on the block. He kept his word by putting Ronnie & Lydia on the block. This put a bit of a rift between him and the Jessie/Natalie/Chima crew. But it helped him establish trust with the rest of the house guests. During that week Michele was the swing vote in the middle. She had all the power and did the right thing by putting 'sour grapes' Ronnie out of the house.

This week Chima won HoH and put Russell and Lydia up on the block. I think Jessie/Natalie/Chima are going to try to make Russell think he's safe and then backdoor him at the end. If he wins POV they boot off Lydia (who won't win because she doesn't EVER compete). They might not be rid of Russell but they'll have enough voting power that it doesn't matter if he's not on their side.

The awesome part is that Jeff has the Coup D'etat power. This means that right before this weeks vote he can replace 1 or 2 of the people on the block. Kinda like a secret HoH. He laid low this week because it made sense. Everyone wanted Ronnie gone and it weakened the Jessie/Natalie/Chima/Russell/Ronnie group. But he has to realize that without winning any competition puts him & Jordan at risk of going home. His his best allie would be Russell. His biggest threat is Jessie/Natalie/Chima.

Jeff should quietly try to raise support that whoever wins HoH next week put Jessie & Natalie on the block and vote Jessie out. Then when the eviction ceremony happens put them up and say "Let's fast forward a week". He should be able to get Russell without a problem and he has Jordan's support no matter what. So he only needs 1 more vote to get rid of Jessie. Lydia might be an issue because she would want to vote for Natalie. Kevin would play smart though.

With Jessie gone the house will be a level playing field. Natalie & Chima will no longer be able to ride on Jessie's coattails. The real powers will be with the Russell & Jeff (plus Jordan) team. Michele will always be an unknown. She's smart and is a proven PoV winner but she lacks the social skills to form any REAL alliance.

So I'd like to see Jessie & Natalie go up and Jessie go home. After that I like to see it go like this Natalie, Chima, Michele, Kevin, Lydia, Jordan, Jeff, with Russell winning it.

Natalie is weak but she is a schemer. Chima is two faced yet easily believed by most people. Michele being an unknown is too much of a risk. Kevin is a relatively weak player. Lydia seems to have given up her spirit is broken more & more each time she goes on the block. Jordan because she is as dumb as a brick. Jeff because he's a nice guy but not as compatitive as Russell.

Since I want Russell to win and Jessie to be gone then in all likelyhood they will end up at the final 2. I think Jeff's strategy is to lay low. So as much as it pains me to say it, Jeff likely won't use his 'wizard' power. In the end his lay low strategy will be his downfall because people don't think you earned it.

Life, Metered Verse, and Everything

So lately I've been thinking of putting my poetry (both page & stage) into a formal chapbook. I made my first extremely limited chapbook (only 1 issued) a few months ago. Basically I got tired of carrying my poems to poetry slams as a bunch of loose pages in my back pocket. A friend of mine made his own chapbook and it inspired me to do the same. So I made a couple copies of my poetry collection to date and gave it to my mom and wife.

I've been very honoured to actually have people tell me they have a favourite poem. I've even had someone request a piece. The main thing holding me back from making my own actual chapbook (for sale & everything) is that my poetry doesn't really have a theme to it. I can group them a little bit. But not enough for each group to have it's own chapbook.

When I mentioned this on my FaceBook status a few days ago I got some suggestions. But today (out of nowhere) I got inspired. As a fan of Douglas Adam's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series I've decided to call my chapbook "Life, Metered Verse, and Everything". I hope to get some help with some graphics. Maybe something to go along with the Green Smiley face on one of the Hitchhiker books.

Google Chrome OS? Why bother?

So accroding to the official Google blog the company is going to be doing what we have all suspected they'd be doing for some time: taking on Microsoft head-to-head. Basically they are going to use a Linux base to run their plethora of cloud computing services.

But my question is "Why bother?". Sure, Google offers LOTS of great products. In fact, I use them regualry and have a personalized iGoogle homepage. I love being able to take my bookmarks, documents, and email with me wherever I go. I can even look up my own web history in case I forgot to bookmark the page.

But many people DON'T like Google. Mainly because they track and monetize user activity. How much will they track with their own OS? Will they track keystrokes? It's getting a little scary if you ask me.

The funny part is there is already an OS that already does this without all the risk: Good OS. Since it's Linux based you don't have to worry about Microsoft and all the viruses, worms, and trojans associated with it. Desktop icons for all of Googles great gadgets are preloaded in a very intuitive manner. Best of all, it runs Firefox instead of Chrome. So it keeps Googles' user activity tracking at more of an arms length.

So keep your money from corporate Microsoft and your data from the prying eyes of big brother Google and get a Good Operating System. because free is ALWAYS good!