[I haven't done this in awhile, and I promised a re-telling of my dream from the other weekend ... so here is another super short sTROYie (and length is a relevant concept of course). In the spirit of Freytag's Pyramid ...]
A MID-WINTER NIGHT's DREAM
I. Exposition
I awoke in the cell with my head pressed flat against my pillow. Lying still, I advanced though stages of grogginess as shadows became clearer, surroundings became familiar, items came into view. My eye, now drawn to the unkempt pile of duotangs and trapper keepers and loose papers piled in the corner as if prepared for a bonfire, drank in the scene -- my brain processed the images one at a time as my memories slowly returned. Then, clarity as my grogginess lifted and as I fully accepted my awake-dream state. I was in jail for not having finished my homework. Task at hand now decided upon, I tried to begin my penance -- but instead I began to panic as my head refused to be lifted off of my prison issued pillow.
II. Rising Action
With all of the strength I could muster, I pried my noggin off of its resting place and quickly realized that in my deep sleep, wax had drained out of my ear throughout the time I had been sleeping (was it days? weeks?) and hardened into a glue like puddle as if a candy had melted and re-formed as it cooled. I yelled for help ... I clawed at the protrusion ... and eventually I pried it loose. It broke free from my skin -- tearing at my scalp and coming apart in my hands. I looked in the mirror and saw large areas of oozing raw bloody mush and skull pieces and knew something must be done. My jailer appeared and informed me that I must go to Walmart to get the cream that would heal me. He released me from the cell and sent me out to the parking lot, where work colleagues Beth W and Adam M were waiting. I crawled into the back seat, hiding my wounds from them and we drove off in silence -- on our way to the Walmart.
III. Climax
Silence. Darkness. Even the street lights were dim at best. I was unaware of the time, but sensed it was just before dawn (not that time mattered at Walmart). There was no traffic ... there were no passersby ... just us on an early morning mission to restore my head to its usual state. We stopped at a red light for what seemed like too long of a time, and the darkness seemed to double in strength or size or effect. In its totality, my other senses were heightened. I could hear someone coming .. someone walking around to the side of the car ... someone dragging his fingertips on paint as he neared the front. "Lock your doors! Run the light! This is the bad part of town!!" I startled Beth into action, and we sped through the intersection -- hearts pounding until we found a well lit gas station ahead. I knew I had to get out of the car. As they filled up with gas, I snuck away into the breaking dawn, comforted by the growing light and the knowledge that I had escaped certain misfortune.
IV. Falling Action
One obstacle remained before the Walmart. I turned down the alley and walked into a college dorm. I knew my travel would be fastest if I could get through the building, but there was a line of women blocking my path. I quickly realized that security was too tight, and I left the front desk area to find another way to my destination. Then, in the quad, a lagoon with a festival set up on its shores. Booths, huts, circus atmosphere -- all beckoned to me. Out of the lagoon mist -- high school classmate Fred F walked up to me and asked me if I was going to participate in the festivities. I declined ... and immediately set out for the far side of the lagoon as I could see the Walmart through the copse of trees. Suddenly, Rachel R nee M appeared, armed with a clipboard, ready to answer any question I had. I pointed to the Walmart and she stepped aside to show me a path through a wintry marshy boggy woods. I set out on my path, so close to my goal.
V. Dénouement
Feet soaked and frozen, I crawled up to the side of the road, just in time to see Chris L pulling over in his new hovercraft. I paused to wonder if it was a new hovercraft because he never had a hovercraft before or if it was simply a new hovercraft because he traded the old one in. The back was laden with bags of Walmart goodies ... and he misjudged the side of the road as the back end slid off into the woods from whence I had just come. I tried to push it back on the road ... scanning the items inside to see if he had picked up my cream. I pushed ... and pushed ... and pushed ... and pushed ... and I felt a pain in my depths. A pain that was driving me out of my dreamworld ...
[... a pain discussed in my post on 1/8/10 that was enough to jolt me from my sleep, leaving these story lines unfinished... and open to interpretation!]
FREYTAG's DRAMATIC STRUCTURE:
http://www.stageandscreenwriters.com/Freytag_s_Dramatic_Structur.html
DREAM DICTIONARY (AND IT INCLUDES EARWAX):
http://www.thecuriousdreamer.com/dreamdictionary/
ANOTHER STORY THAT BEGINS WITH WAKING UP IN JAIL:
http://hubpages.com/hub/beataddiction
January 20, 2011
January 19, 2011
Random Wordplay for Wednesday 1/19/11
Obsoledge.
Used in a sentence: "After fearing that I was adrift and unable to see my future or develop a personal five year plan, I now know that real possibilities await me as an obsoledge wrangler in the world ahead."
[First, how is it that I am only learning what a portmanteau word is today, after doing it so frequently since posting so regularly ("adjectify", anyone?).]
According to famous futurist (and there's another job to which I can aspire) Alvin Toffler (whose Future Shock turned 40 last year), all knowledge is on its way to obsolescence -- and the rate is accelerated in the post-modern world. I'm already an ace at useless trivia, and my capricious cognition collection is just an attempt to capture obsoledge at its base. Thank you, Alvin -- for I now have new long term goals!
THE TOFFLERS (AS THEY PREDICT THE FUTURE):
http://www.alvintoffler.net/
WE'RE DROWNING IN OBSOLEDGE:
http://passiontask.com/entry/obsoledge/
CHORTLE AND GALUMPH ALL YOU WANT AT MY PORTMANTEAU ATTEMPT:
http://users.tinyonline.co.uk/gswithenbank/portmant.htm
Used in a sentence: "After fearing that I was adrift and unable to see my future or develop a personal five year plan, I now know that real possibilities await me as an obsoledge wrangler in the world ahead."
[First, how is it that I am only learning what a portmanteau word is today, after doing it so frequently since posting so regularly ("adjectify", anyone?).]
According to famous futurist (and there's another job to which I can aspire) Alvin Toffler (whose Future Shock turned 40 last year), all knowledge is on its way to obsolescence -- and the rate is accelerated in the post-modern world. I'm already an ace at useless trivia, and my capricious cognition collection is just an attempt to capture obsoledge at its base. Thank you, Alvin -- for I now have new long term goals!
THE TOFFLERS (AS THEY PREDICT THE FUTURE):
http://www.alvintoffler.net/
WE'RE DROWNING IN OBSOLEDGE:
http://passiontask.com/entry/obsoledge/
CHORTLE AND GALUMPH ALL YOU WANT AT MY PORTMANTEAU ATTEMPT:
http://users.tinyonline.co.uk/gswithenbank/portmant.htm
January 18, 2011
Random Tune for Tuesday 1/18/11
With this post, I'm two dead celebrities into this year's tune trilogy honoring those who have passed on. I commented when she left us this spring very respectfully (see Memorial Monday on 4/12/10), and so I'll attempt to balance the snarkiness of today's introduction by choosing a little more reverent clip. Below, find the amazing Dixie Carter performing a soaring How Great Thou Art. [And now I'm two for two in this series with clips from classic TV shows around four strong women!]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLImJDf2PII
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLImJDf2PII
January 17, 2011
Random Memorial for Monday 1/17/11
Gone but not forgotten: my time with the youngsters I met in Detroit.
It's been two years now since I traveled to Motor City on a work trip to help provide testing to the Detroit Public Schoolers ... and I think of them this MLK Day as education is such a key part of getting us all closer to "[his] dream" (and no, just because Obama is prez., the importance of driving toward that dream hasn't abated). After being with the group of students all morning as they struggled through the standardized test, several of them came up afterwards to invite me to their school's bball game that evening. The subtext was as if they wanted me to see something at which they excelled. I was sad that I couldn't stay (I had a more important appointment with a scantron machine that afternoon) ... and I only hope that many of them stayed on with their schooling.
Demand leadership in education, support organizations that provide opportunities for inner city kids and help make a difference so that these futures won't be at-risk and that these individuals won't themselves end up ... missed.
DETROIT's GRADUATION RATE OF 32%!!:
http://www.bridges4kids.org/articles/3-08/DetroitNews2-25-08.html
PROJECT ZERO:
http://www.pz.harvard.edu/index.cfm
PRIVATE FUNDING FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS, ONLY FOR THE AFFLUENT?:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704875604575280422614633564.html
It's been two years now since I traveled to Motor City on a work trip to help provide testing to the Detroit Public Schoolers ... and I think of them this MLK Day as education is such a key part of getting us all closer to "[his] dream" (and no, just because Obama is prez., the importance of driving toward that dream hasn't abated). After being with the group of students all morning as they struggled through the standardized test, several of them came up afterwards to invite me to their school's bball game that evening. The subtext was as if they wanted me to see something at which they excelled. I was sad that I couldn't stay (I had a more important appointment with a scantron machine that afternoon) ... and I only hope that many of them stayed on with their schooling.
Demand leadership in education, support organizations that provide opportunities for inner city kids and help make a difference so that these futures won't be at-risk and that these individuals won't themselves end up ... missed.
DETROIT's GRADUATION RATE OF 32%!!:
http://www.bridges4kids.org/articles/3-08/DetroitNews2-25-08.html
PROJECT ZERO:
http://www.pz.harvard.edu/index.cfm
PRIVATE FUNDING FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS, ONLY FOR THE AFFLUENT?:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704875604575280422614633564.html
January 16, 2011
Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 1/16/11
What Chicago is NOT talking about this week:
Oddly enough, the Bears game (that is wrapping up as I type this) was not so much a topic of conversation. It's not that we're not excited about the post-season, it's just that today's game was pretty much already written off as a win. [And, to be fair, there was a random frat boy who yelled "Bear Down" in my direction when I left the apartment earlier on my way to Jewel. So ... there is at least one person keyed in to the game (or already drunk at 11:30 AM, which is just as likely a scenario in my 'hood.)]. I fully expect enthusiasm levels to soar as we look toward our destiny to join the Steelers in the Super Bowl this February (and we're not quite there yet).
RANDOM BODY-BUILDERS AGREE WITH THIS SUPER BOWL PREDICTION:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=130607203
EXCITMENT DOES NOT EQUAL TICKET SALES:
http://www.cltv.com/videobeta/28913091-373c-45aa-bdab-9e44531c9100/News/Bears-fans-preparing-for-big-game-on-Sunday
THREE WEEKS TO GO ...:
http://www.nfl.com/superbowl/45
Oddly enough, the Bears game (that is wrapping up as I type this) was not so much a topic of conversation. It's not that we're not excited about the post-season, it's just that today's game was pretty much already written off as a win. [And, to be fair, there was a random frat boy who yelled "Bear Down" in my direction when I left the apartment earlier on my way to Jewel. So ... there is at least one person keyed in to the game (or already drunk at 11:30 AM, which is just as likely a scenario in my 'hood.)]. I fully expect enthusiasm levels to soar as we look toward our destiny to join the Steelers in the Super Bowl this February (and we're not quite there yet).
RANDOM BODY-BUILDERS AGREE WITH THIS SUPER BOWL PREDICTION:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=130607203
EXCITMENT DOES NOT EQUAL TICKET SALES:
http://www.cltv.com/videobeta/28913091-373c-45aa-bdab-9e44531c9100/News/Bears-fans-preparing-for-big-game-on-Sunday
THREE WEEKS TO GO ...:
http://www.nfl.com/superbowl/45
January 15, 2011
Random Soapbox for Satuday 1/15/11
I don't mean to go off on a rant here, but ...
... when I said I would wait a week until I diatribed about the Tucson Tragedy, I can now say that I am most certainly glad I did. That dastardly 24 hour news cycle was interrupted earlier today to inform me that a Walgreens photo processor had found the shooter's film from before he went after Giffords and that it included a pic of him in a G-string dancing around with his weapon covering his privates, and my mind immediately went to the instability that was on display in "Silence of the Lambs". (Buffalo Bill dancing in the mirror with his tailored woman suit, anyone?) And not to start a new conspiracy theory, but was that other photo of him now well distributed -- the one after he shaved his head in jail -- was it photo-shopped so that he looked just a touch more ... well ... touched?
Even though we now understand that this was all a product of extreme mental instability of an individual committing an unpredictable act of personal terror, I still do think that there are valid lessons to be learned. Since this whole ranting concept is an homage to Dennis Miller's routines of the past, I guess I'll double up on my homaging, and include the following Foxworthy style commentary (and I don't want to push any grammarians over the edge, but be forewarned that I'm going to overuse ellipsis):
YOU MIGHT BE PART OF THE PROBLEM & NOT THE SOLUTION IF ...
**you insist on using labels instead of researching, encouraging and respecting individuality
if your day begins by inciting the "us against them" attitude, then you have culpability in the bitter partisanship that deadlocks our government ... everyone who owns a gun isn't a right wing nut, and everyone who lives in a big city is not an Obamafied liberal ... take some time to talk to those whose views appear to be different than yours and to find some consensus ... keep an open mind and develop a thirst to understand others ... and above all else, make sure that any use of "bleeding heart liberal" is meant as only an insult and not a call to action for any ears connected to unstable minds within your audience ...
**you know that the vitriolic shoes fit and you can't bear to throw them out
a small part of me was unhappy that America overdosed on the word vitriol this past week ... [I liked to keep that word in my quiver with "whilst" and "fortnight" to use every now and then when I want to remind people that I have a lot of student debt] ... but having a discussion about incendiary language and hate speech couldn't be a more welcome outcome of this unfortunate event ... and it's easy to spew venom and vitriol when you group folks into labels instead of valuing their individuality ...
**you can't speak two sentences without focusing on "you" in its plural sense
check yourself ... are your conversations (in whatever medium) full of commentary about you people, you guys, you'ns, y'all, youse ... I can only express this concept a certain number of ways, but if you people are all worried about what the other you-plural group has done to you, you need to kick the paranoia habit and embrace some good old fashioned American individuality ...
**your instability causes you to embellish common phrases
the phrase is "contact" your representative ... it is not "shoot your representative at close contact" ... there's a difference ... and while I'm inappropriately referencing mental illness, let's be clear that we all do have an obligation to our neighbors, but there's an unpredictability to that disease and I'd rather have resources spent on beefing up the support we provide those who are mentally ill than task each citizen with performing psychiatric checks on each of their neighbors ... [and hey, I'm self aware enough to know that they may just a bit of self-preservation, since I fully embrace my own kind of crazy] ...
**you've conveniently forgotten that section of 1st Corinthians
"and the greatest of these is love" ... can't really improve on that sentiment, eh? ... when it comes to religious intolerance, let's keep those words front and center ... please?!? ...
**you make bad choices when it comes to graphics (even if only re-posting)
I actually have grown to like Sarah Palin, with qualification ... I like her as a tour guide of Alaska on TLC's "reality" travel show ... I like her as a mother to her family that fully embraces her ideals and values ... I like her this way so much that I hope TLC gives her a five season renewal so that she continues to focus her energies on these tasks ... I don't like her interfering in national politics, I don't like her playing the victim card, and I don't like her refusing to have accountability for "endorsing" the graphics that have been called into question ... there is an approval implied when you make visible to the masses a series of crosshairs on targets that are too obviously translated to real live people ...
**you prefer placing blame and pointing fingers to progress
It's the last midnight (Into the Woods reference) ... and in this period of crisis, there's still more being said about who must be at fault than about how we move toward progress ... "No of course what really matters is the blame, somebody to blame ... Fine, if that's the thing you enjoy ... placing the blame ... If that's the aim ... Give [out] the blame"... You may never have seen that musical, but rest assured that placing the blame is not the way out of the woods ...
**you don't vote
I was tempted to end with the thought that if you don't participate in the democratic process, then you should "get off my post" ... but then I wouldn't be heeding my own advice ... so, if you've felt the need to complain and bitch and moan and chastise and blame BUT you haven't actually performed your duty and fulfilled your election obligation, then make plans now to register to vote (it's hella easy these days) and to actually go to the polls on the next election day (or before -- that's hella easy too nowadays) to have your voice heard in the way that matters most ...
... BE A PART OF THE SOLUTION.
BAD OFFICIALS ARE ELECTED BY GOOD CITIZENS WHO DO NOT VOTE:
http://www.register-vote.com/
THE GREATEST OF THESE IS LOVE:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+13&version=NIV
ALASKA IS BEAUTIFUL AND PALIN IS A PERSON:
http://tlc.discovery.com/tv/sarah-palin-alaska/
... when I said I would wait a week until I diatribed about the Tucson Tragedy, I can now say that I am most certainly glad I did. That dastardly 24 hour news cycle was interrupted earlier today to inform me that a Walgreens photo processor had found the shooter's film from before he went after Giffords and that it included a pic of him in a G-string dancing around with his weapon covering his privates, and my mind immediately went to the instability that was on display in "Silence of the Lambs". (Buffalo Bill dancing in the mirror with his tailored woman suit, anyone?) And not to start a new conspiracy theory, but was that other photo of him now well distributed -- the one after he shaved his head in jail -- was it photo-shopped so that he looked just a touch more ... well ... touched?
Even though we now understand that this was all a product of extreme mental instability of an individual committing an unpredictable act of personal terror, I still do think that there are valid lessons to be learned. Since this whole ranting concept is an homage to Dennis Miller's routines of the past, I guess I'll double up on my homaging, and include the following Foxworthy style commentary (and I don't want to push any grammarians over the edge, but be forewarned that I'm going to overuse ellipsis):
YOU MIGHT BE PART OF THE PROBLEM & NOT THE SOLUTION IF ...
**you insist on using labels instead of researching, encouraging and respecting individuality
if your day begins by inciting the "us against them" attitude, then you have culpability in the bitter partisanship that deadlocks our government ... everyone who owns a gun isn't a right wing nut, and everyone who lives in a big city is not an Obamafied liberal ... take some time to talk to those whose views appear to be different than yours and to find some consensus ... keep an open mind and develop a thirst to understand others ... and above all else, make sure that any use of "bleeding heart liberal" is meant as only an insult and not a call to action for any ears connected to unstable minds within your audience ...
**you know that the vitriolic shoes fit and you can't bear to throw them out
a small part of me was unhappy that America overdosed on the word vitriol this past week ... [I liked to keep that word in my quiver with "whilst" and "fortnight" to use every now and then when I want to remind people that I have a lot of student debt] ... but having a discussion about incendiary language and hate speech couldn't be a more welcome outcome of this unfortunate event ... and it's easy to spew venom and vitriol when you group folks into labels instead of valuing their individuality ...
**you can't speak two sentences without focusing on "you" in its plural sense
check yourself ... are your conversations (in whatever medium) full of commentary about you people, you guys, you'ns, y'all, youse ... I can only express this concept a certain number of ways, but if you people are all worried about what the other you-plural group has done to you, you need to kick the paranoia habit and embrace some good old fashioned American individuality ...
**your instability causes you to embellish common phrases
the phrase is "contact" your representative ... it is not "shoot your representative at close contact" ... there's a difference ... and while I'm inappropriately referencing mental illness, let's be clear that we all do have an obligation to our neighbors, but there's an unpredictability to that disease and I'd rather have resources spent on beefing up the support we provide those who are mentally ill than task each citizen with performing psychiatric checks on each of their neighbors ... [and hey, I'm self aware enough to know that they may just a bit of self-preservation, since I fully embrace my own kind of crazy] ...
**you've conveniently forgotten that section of 1st Corinthians
"and the greatest of these is love" ... can't really improve on that sentiment, eh? ... when it comes to religious intolerance, let's keep those words front and center ... please?!? ...
**you make bad choices when it comes to graphics (even if only re-posting)
I actually have grown to like Sarah Palin, with qualification ... I like her as a tour guide of Alaska on TLC's "reality" travel show ... I like her as a mother to her family that fully embraces her ideals and values ... I like her this way so much that I hope TLC gives her a five season renewal so that she continues to focus her energies on these tasks ... I don't like her interfering in national politics, I don't like her playing the victim card, and I don't like her refusing to have accountability for "endorsing" the graphics that have been called into question ... there is an approval implied when you make visible to the masses a series of crosshairs on targets that are too obviously translated to real live people ...
**you prefer placing blame and pointing fingers to progress
It's the last midnight (Into the Woods reference) ... and in this period of crisis, there's still more being said about who must be at fault than about how we move toward progress ... "No of course what really matters is the blame, somebody to blame ... Fine, if that's the thing you enjoy ... placing the blame ... If that's the aim ... Give [out] the blame"... You may never have seen that musical, but rest assured that placing the blame is not the way out of the woods ...
**you don't vote
I was tempted to end with the thought that if you don't participate in the democratic process, then you should "get off my post" ... but then I wouldn't be heeding my own advice ... so, if you've felt the need to complain and bitch and moan and chastise and blame BUT you haven't actually performed your duty and fulfilled your election obligation, then make plans now to register to vote (it's hella easy these days) and to actually go to the polls on the next election day (or before -- that's hella easy too nowadays) to have your voice heard in the way that matters most ...
... BE A PART OF THE SOLUTION.
BAD OFFICIALS ARE ELECTED BY GOOD CITIZENS WHO DO NOT VOTE:
http://www.register-vote.com/
THE GREATEST OF THESE IS LOVE:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+13&version=NIV
ALASKA IS BEAUTIFUL AND PALIN IS A PERSON:
http://tlc.discovery.com/tv/sarah-palin-alaska/
January 14, 2011
Random Flashback for Friday 1/14/11
Winter Retreat! As Hebron Church played such a key role in my formative years (and, as you may recall, my formative years were just a smidge delayed), I was pleased to be able to "pay it forward" years before the little boy from Sixth Sense told me to ... by returning to church camp twenty years ago. If you look closely, you'll notice yellow and blue bandannas in the shot -- I'm assuming that was part of some team building activity and not Methodist gang-banger training (I mean proselytizer preparation). I said this last year when I posted Retreat pics in the 1990 album -- but most of these kids probably have kids of their own!! Time marches on ...
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