The Day of Magical Thinking

Once upon a time, Peter Pan thought "happy thoughts" and learned to fly. But is it just that easy, Peter? Can we all just do the same thing and fly to wherever we want to be, to some life or career we desire, or some kind of fulfillment found in everyday existence? It sounds great, though I worry by focusing too much on happiness people can become blind to the injustice and pain in the world. We can not be ignorant, but we also can not live in sadness and pain.

Perception is the key. There are positives and negatives in every life - even ones that seem perfect to an outsider. We can't choose that, it seems. What we can choose is to focus on joy and what we can bring to other people. Be careful, though, not everything that feels good ends well. Think outside the box of peer pressure and know that only something filled with love is worthwhile. You can make the best or the worst of it, they say, so make the best of it.

I have a simple challenge: Pick a day, and choose to not listen to yourself. Don't listen to the doubts, the fears, or the laziness inside. Listen for the part of you that says "Go for it." No, this is not like "Yes Man" or anything, I just want to test who've we become over the years and what we are blocking out of our lives. Talk to people, believe in what you say, and become Passionate for something, even if that means having the courage to say "no, that's not right." Try it, and maybe for a second, anything will seem possible in this muddled world of ours.

Girls - Lust for Life

An Excerpt: Last Dance

Lately, I have been trying to work on a novel/novella in my spare time. I started it around May but didn't get much of a chance to write over the summer. Lately, though, I have gotten some good opportunities to put some thought and ideas into the story line. Right now I am at about 5,000 words, with a goal of getting to at least 30,000.

The novel follows the life of 25 year old Marine Biology student Fisher living with his artist girlfriend in a New York City apartment. Life is good, that is, until vivid, unnerving dreams and random blackouts swirl his life into chaos. And that would be alright if he didn't have a mysterious local songwriter following him around, appearing in unusual spots and giving him ominous warnings. Will Fisher put the puzzle pieces together and figure it all out?

Here is an excerpt from the novel:

The night rolls on, the night rolls off. Fisher lies in bed and stares at the stars, sparkling down from above. What stars? You may ask. Because, of course, the fact that he is lying in bed INSIDE a building. And you would be right in that assumption, because the stars are not real stars, but glow-in-the-dark plastic ones that handily stick to any ceiling, furniture, or wall. Most people would probably consider these stars to be tacky and childish, but Fisher and Caroline like them. So stop judging,

Fisher seems troubled by the events at the concert. It felt so real to him, so sense-filling and tangible that fakeness seems a foreign concept. Despite this, he quickly drifts off to sleep under the sparkling star ways above. But this is only the beginning of Fisher’s adventure that night; for dreams may come that take his breath away.

The dream begins. But of course, Fisher’s mind doesn’t realize this, and believes it is still living real life. The day is soft and beautiful, and he finds himself somewhere in the European countryside, but he’s not sure what country or place to be exact. He is too distracted by the wind whipping his face as he rides in a pristine Ford Model T through a bright green field dotted with daisies and purples. It is a hot day, and the breeze feels absolutely wonderful. Framed by the vanilla sky, the car streaks like a mad bull across the landscape, while his friend John screams with delight as he pilots the car around bushes and other annoying obstacles.

“Slow down!” Fisher yells, keeping his fedora down with his right hand.

“I refuse! I know how bad you want to see her! Aha!” John responds with a unabashed fury.

As if cued by John’s words, a beautiful landscape appeared to them as they crested the last hill. But the landscape wasn’t the only beautiful thing. There she was, sitting in front of a large white tent, reading with a feather in her hair. Meadows, flowers, mountains, nothing compared to her. Fisher’s eyes lit up as he stood tall in the barreling vehicle, losing his hat and his inhibitions all at once. At first just one side of his mouth raised up, but the other side soon followed, forming a large smile on his face. And that wasn’t it, either. His eyes lit up, hands tense with anticipation as his heart threatened to beat out of his chest. The sun seemed to shine brighter in the distance as he raised his arms in joy and love, fighting the wind as the car whipped across the field. Strangely, the light didn’t come to a stop. It kept getting brighter and brighter. Brighter and brighter. Fisher didn’t get one more second to think as the light enveloped him and his consciousness.

Anyway, that's the excerpt. If you have any criticisms/ideas/praise for the novel, please let me know. It would be much appreciated.

David Benoit - Sailing Through the City

T. Summerlin: A new, EXCITING author

Bonjour. Today I happened to stumble upon a writer that has evaded my reading scope for a long time, T. Summerlin. And now that I have read some of his stuff, I am hooked like a bass in fishing season. Apparently, this guy has been on the writing scene for years now, but no one has really picked up on his stuff. Hopefully he'll get recognized soon, because he deserves it.

To go along with his writing life, he also seems to be quite the adventurer, globe-trotting and involving himself in some interesting stories. Here's an example: I found some odd news reports from Thailand about an incident involving a writer named Summerlin (must be him, right?). Anyway, he supposedly fell asleep in a tube out in the ocean and got netted by a group of fisherman at night. When they discovered their prey, a scuffle broke out and the boat ended up crashing onto the shore. No one seems to know what happened on board, and Summerlin refused to comment on the incident. Nothing else ever came out about the strange event. ? ?

Who is this guy? And why can't I find many of his so-called books? I am determined to find out more.

Here is an excerpt from one of his first novels: The Outlier Vision

Slowly the light shifted; white to cream, cream to beige. The evanescense of his surroundings caused the automatic lights to flick on, bathing the room in an unnatural light, soft and alien to the man's face. He was starting to cry, realizing he was losing the miraculous sunset before his eyes, never to be seen again. This is how it was every night, though, sitting before the gigantic window and trying to hold on, knowing it never lasts. He would try to dry his tears but his arms were binded by the straightjacket confining his body. But, as the doctor said, it was for his own safety. His own DAMNED safety...

I hope you enjoyed the excerpt. See you next week!

Back, But I'm Not Bringing Sexy With Me

Oh hi.

Yes, I'm back after a long hiatus and I've decided to get back into the whole blog scene and stuff. It had been so long that I forgot I ever did a post called "Sonic You Snowboarding Champ". I definitely laughed when I saw that. Hope you did.

Anyway, I just got done working as a Ridge Leader at good 'ole Sanborn Western Camps for the Summer and now I'm back in Tennessee for a wedding. Yah. Today I got a smoothie from McDonald's (Who knew?), went to goodwill and bought a vintage golf polo and George Benson CD, and attempted to thwart evil and all that while I played some video game from the deepest darkest recesses of my youth. Am I weird?

And by the way, I have a moustache now. It's black... thanks genetics.

I am trying to learn French now to go along nicely with my 'stache, so I will hopefully make an attempt to do a blog post in French one day. Oui. Tres bien.

Song of the Day: George Benson - Weekend in L.A.

The New Post

Sonic you Snowboarding Champ

Hi

Ha

Song of the Day: Alvin Band - Vanilla Dome

Been a while. A long while. I have just returned to Knoxville from a place called Aspen, CO where I spent the last 3 and a half months. Heard of it? Quite a trip. Snow. Boards. Hot Tubs. Mountains. These were all included, and somewhat enjoyed. But that's another story. The one I have to tell today is a novella I have been working on starting approximately 11 hours ago. Though it may have never have the joy of being finished or subsequently reviewed, here at least is an excerpt from what I have so far:

You are floating. I am floating. He is floating. Floating in some undefined cosmic space, some result of an expanding universe or black holes and event horizons or whatever the top thinkers of our age enjoy talking about nowadays. No light. All he knows is infinite darkness, and no theory can describe to you what that’s like. No hope. No point. No fluffy animals. Just floating.

Fisher wakes up. No longer floating in the traditional sense, now floating in covers and blankets and unusual stuffed animals possessing a strange resemblance to Ewoks. He hugs one cause he feels lonely, but the Ewok doesn’t hug back. He hopes one day it will. That would be nice. Ewok hug.

Deep in the cavernous blanket cavern he hears a vibration. Have the Ewoks come alive? No. it’s a cell phone, the ring tone a fanciful MIDI interpretation of some Burt Bacharach song from 2,000 years ago or something like that. With no rush in mind, he dives under the covers in a desperate attempt to locate the phone, fumbling his hand around in little nooks and crannies only cell phones have the ability to find. Quicker than usual, his fingers grasp the metal receptor. He quickly hit’s the talk button and raises it to his ear. Trained Dog.

“Hello”

“Fisher, hey…”

Images and ideas flash through his brain. Caroline. Green eyes. Stars. Penguins… Girlfriend.

“Hey Caroline.”

There she is. She’s pretty, isn’t she? Dark hair, curly. No, wavy. You could get lost in it. Fisher hopes there are no poor Ewoks lost in her hair. What else? Pretty smile, full set of teeth. Caroline.

“Are you at home Fisher? I left some paint I needed there, bring it to me?” She might as well have batted her eyelashes over the phone. Nice eyelashes too, if you’re into that.

“Uh..” For a second, he has the strangest sense that he’s out of place, a foreign man in a foreign land. Gypsy. Traveling Salesman. Buy this stranger!… Composure. “Of course, but only if the Ewoks aren’t using it.”

“Ewoks?”

“Uh, never mind.”

“I’m assuming that’s a yes.”

“Yes.”

“See you soon then.”

“See you in 31.8 minutes, you know, the approximate time it takes to deliver explosive paint.”

“Its not explosive.”

“I’m not taking any chances.”

“In that case, be careful, and hurry.”

Click. What a strange conversation. Fisher wonders if they have always had strange conversations. Oh well. Then he thinks about the paint. Caroline, artist, creator extraordinaire. Canvases fill the bedroom, explode out the closet, fall on the cat, etc… Some people think the Mona Lisa is a fine work of art. Fisher thinks Caroline is a fine work of art.

And End.

A Blogging Holiday

It's been over a month since I've done a post, so I thought it was about time I brushed the dust off the laptop and racked the contents of my brain for my blogger password and did something productive for once. Now the only problem is that I need to find something to blog about. I mean, when it's been this long, you just get out of the groove, and it's about time I got back into it.

Here's what I've accomplished since the last blog:

Graduated from college

Moved out of my apartment

Wrote a couple songs

Bowled terribly

Established dominance at chess

And now it's 2011. A New Year.

What will the tide bring in?

By the way: Check out Jeremy Fisher and his songs Kiss the Moon and Scar that Never Heals

and Magnetic Fields

That is all.

Songs For the Lonely Road

The following contains a list of songs for the solo drive, when it's just you, the open road, and the thoughts inside your own head. There has always been a big difference between listening to music alone and with other people. When no one else is around, all that exists is the music you love, whether you prefer singing along or just getting lost in the melody. Here is a list of some songs I have been experiencing recently....

Phoenix - Love for Granted


Of Montreal - 1st Time High (acoustic version of "An Eluardian Instance".


Billy Joel - You're My Home


Vampire Weekend - I Think UR a Contra


Boz Scaggs - Georgia


Eric Clapton - Reptile - also check out "Modern Girl"


Kings of Convenience - Misread


Phoenix - Alphabetical


Thin Lizzy - Fight or Fall


Bruce Springsteen - New York City Serenade


Joni Mitchell - Both Sides Now


All of these songs are some of my favorites. I recommend not only feeling the mood of the music, but also paying attention to the beautiful lyrics that weave in and out of the melodies. Just today I listened to both "alphabetical" and "love for granted" by Phoenix on the way to school and will surely listen to a couple more by the end of the day.

At least these songs will come in handy until you go somewhere where "we don't need roads."

Anyway, hope you enjoy and see you next post. Maybe.