The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 2,200 times in 2015. If it were a cable car, it would take about 37 trips to carry that many people.
Click here to see the complete report.
“No, this is not the beginning of a new chapter in my life; this is the beginning of a new book! That first book is already closed, ended, and tossed into the seas; this new book is newly opened, has just begun! Look, it is the first page! And it is a beautiful one!”
― C. JoyBell C.
Everything we were and yet to be has reached its conclusion. I almost did not make it to this moment, a few more seconds and I would have been greeted by darkness and emptiness. Winter’s light soon disperses into night on the last day of a year’s twilight…
Sitting upon an old chair listening to my father as he slept seeing how his chest barely heaved during those deep shallow breaths. Doctors said that it is only a matter of hours until he dies. Everyone knew this day was coming for months however it became real the day after Christmas when his health rapidly deteriorated. Just before his collapse, he called for me to see him and when I arrived he had slipped into a deep sleep. My understanding is that this has been occurring periodically and I decided to wait for him to wake up, hoping not to miss my last opportunity to speak with him.
Day slowly returned to-night as he finally awoke. Looking towards my direction, he motioned for me to approach. As I got closer, I could see a faint smile on his face, ” you made it,” he whispered. Staring down at the face of a fading patriarch, “yes sir,” I replied. My father motioned for me to sit down next to the head of his bed, despite his weakened state there was something very important he wished to share with me.
“Son, I have lived a long and prosperous life,” turning his head to face the window, “by this time tomorrow night I will cease to be. Everything I have ever known, seen, touched, and savored will be no more.
“Father, I know this , we all have known that this day was approaching for months.”
“Let me finish son, all of my prosperity has been a result of lies, theft, and abuse. The world offered me everything and I treated her like a whore. But there is still time.”
“Time for what father?”
He never took his eyes away from the window, his gaze focused on the full moon just beyond the barren trees.
“All of my possessions, my knowledge, my wisdom, and my heart I no longer wish to horde. These things I obtained and kept from the world, I wish to give them back. I want her to have the things that never belonged to me. Will you help me son, please, this one last time?”
I did not know what to say, my mind was perplexed by the notion of charity from my father. In all the years I have known him this was the first time he has ever expressed regret. However, there was this part of me that felt concern for what he asked. The things he wanted to give back were part of my family’s inheritance, my future was about to be made a contribution to the destitute.
I gently turned his face towards mine, “Yes father, I will help you this one last time.”
My father smiled, for the first time and pointed to an envelope on his night stand, “Please take this for it has the instructions for carrying out my last wish.” I opened the envelope and read the contents. There appeared to be more than just instructions as I read towards the bottom of the note, three words written to both me and my mother that he has never once shared, until now.
…I cried and when I turned to thank him, he was gone.
Shadows of the past greet a fading patriarch sitting upon the fragile seat of the present.
A season void of exuberance leaving his “inner child” huddled beneath an undressed tree staring at the emptiness left by “disappointment”. Childhood abandoned upon paternity’s deathbed; seeking the comfort only “nostalgia” seems to offer. Moments of youth denied by the demands of adulthood.
Shadows of the future rebuking the bitterness the old heart embraces. Consuming sorrow from the cup of Grief; revealing Tomorrow, leaving her tears upon his withered cheek. Reflecting on the face of Love lost within a fog. Her poignant touch an old man is no longer able to feel realizing his unwillingness to change as Death performs last rites upon an old fleeting soul. Guided to the “other-side” by Eternity.
He is now a child set free becoming acquainted with joyful simplicity.
“Everyone is born creative; everyone is given a box of crayons in kindergarten. Then when you hit puberty they take the crayons away and replace them with dry, uninspiring books on algebra, history, etc. Being suddenly hit years later with the ‘creative bug’ is just a wee voice telling you, ‘I’d like my crayons back, please.”
– Hugh MacLeod
“There’s been an awakening. Have you felt it? The Dark side, and the Light.” – Supreme Leader Snoke
I finally watched Star Wars The Force Awakens; this movie is by far the best sequel to date. It is clear that a torch (or light saber) passes from one generation to the next as we reunite with historic legends. There are moments of nostalgia mixed with new beginnings; a journey along the trail of emotions as the search for Luke Skywalker does not disappoint.
Finn, a former storm-trooper, breaks his “programming” and escapes the First Order. He wants to do the right thing and helps a resistance pilot named Poe Dameron complete his mission by getting the BB-8 droid (carried a map part divulging Luke Skywalker’s hidden place) to the resistance forces. Finn meets Rey and connects with her.
Rey is a gifted woman. She makes a living as a scavenger hunter and is an amazing engineer. We see her piloting skills during an evasion in the Millennium Falcon using some classic maneuvers. Her greatest strength is the force within her and she quickly adapts to it. She meets Han Solo and earns his respect.
Han Solo and Chewbacca show up to help Rey and Finn. Han’s days as a smuggler is far from over and we see the repercussions of a couple of deals gone horribly wrong. Their reunion with the Millennium Falcon was awesome. Han carries the weight of regret and his resolve leads to tragedy.
General Leia leads the Republic. Her reunion with Han Solo rekindles the mixed emotions of their estranged relationship. The path of their son towards the dark side and the threat of destruction by the First Order brings Leia and Han a little closer.
Kylo Ren is the son of Han Solo and Leia. He was a Jedi and trained by Luke Skywalker before Supreme Leader Snoke’s influence. Kylo Ren’s aspiration transcends that of his grand-father, Darth Vader. His ambition often succumbs to his tremendous temper tantrums. He wears a “vader” type of helmet to hide his face.
The story starts slowly allowing the introduction and development of the characters. There were supporting characters such as General Hux, Captain Phasma, and Maz Kanata whose interactions with the main characters delivered some incredible scenes.
If you want to read the full plot synopsis then please click here. The journey of Finn, Rey and Han started with avoidance of the inevitable and ended with them facing their fears. I thought J.J. Abrams direction of the film was excellent. It contained a decent mix of action and plucky humor. There were some points within the movie that I questioned but not enough to detract from the film.
This is a great film to go see whether you are a fan of Star Wars or not.
Gentle rain
Falling softly
To the ground;
Nature’s tears
Washing its wounds.
Father Time
Writes his last words;
Recounting his mistakes
Repeated
From his predecessor.
Looking at Mother Nature,
Sorrow in his eyes,
His last two words
“Forgive Me”.
His last embrace
Becomes vapors,
Fading
Into the distance
Forever.
He buries his heart
Beneath a bed of broken
Thorns feeling the autumn
Breeze becoming
Winter winds along a
Darkened sky.
Carrying tiny
Shards of reality along his
Emotions slicing the pages
From his mind’s diary made
Cynical by the freezing
December night.
As the year
Enters another twilight pressing
Against his recollections of her
Promise signed “Always & Forever”
One day, we shall speak again
not in the same manner as lovers
but in the manner of long lost friends
who missed each other deeply.
We will sit, face to face, reminiscing
about our youthful bliss; we will
relive the moment that
started it all.
We will let the sunset on an apology,
placing a consenting shadow on
the healing scars.
Finally, finding closure; thoughts
carried away upon the breeze of
a longing kiss goodbye.
I waited beneath the street lights;
Wanting to catch a glimpse of your shadow.
Giving me hope that you are somewhere,
Nearby.
“Huck“, by writer Mark Millar and artist Raphael Albuquerque; published by Image Comics, is a story about the people of small town living with a special gift, named Huck. We see Huck taking “super-human” action to recover something from the bottom of the lake…a small gold chain belonging to a woman named Diane. We learn that Huck, as a baby, was left outside the doorstep of an orphanage with a note that read, “Please love him.” This orphanage raised him to do a good everyday.
Huck always documented his good deed in a journal. His good deeds consisted of pulling a truck from a river, running to California delivering a Christmas card, helping remove a tree stump to clear space for someone’s new barn, buying lunch for everyone in the drive through line behind him (he wasn’t in a car) and taking out the trash for the entire town. Diane encounters Huck, in the middle of a road, late one night noticing his shoeless feet wearing wet socks. After a conversation the next day with her neighbor, Mrs. Tayler, Diane learns that Huck saved a missing fisherman. “Huck just likes making people happy.”
One morning, Huck watches a television news report of two-hundred schoolgirls kidnapped in North Africa. Hitching a ride on the outside of a passenger plane, Huck finds the kidnapped schoolgirls and conducts a rescue. He gives them candy in exchange for the favor of keeping his identity a secret. Diane, watching a television news report of the rescue, deduces that Huck saved them. The next morning, Huck wakes to a crowd of reporters outside of his home. The continuation is in “Huck” issue two.
I enjoyed reading the first issue. The story is simplistically conveyed and the art is eye-catching. Image comics released this issue in November and the second issue is out now. It is a different take on a “Superman” type of story and it does a great job of selling the premise that the gift of happiness is in the little things we do.
Cold winds killing the breath of life;
Lands saturated with the bones of the dead.
Pondering the meaning of so much destruction;
Touching the spirits of mindful watchers
Gazing at the signs.
Thieves waiting for the house to empty.
Words buried beneath poignant sensations
Hidden from the living;
Wishing to resurrect sentiments to share
With the deceased.
Death promised the caterpillar its wings.
Sleep stolen in the midst of regrets;
Situations ferried by the unexplained
Within the fog of nightmares.
Remembering her spirit
Leaving without saying “goodbye”.
My brief synopsis and opinion of Marvel’s Secret Wars 2015 comic book series. This series had a lot of potential however, the inability to meet its intended schedule caused the hype to fizzle out.
She ponders
The bewilderment
He left at her doorstep.
Poignant recollections…
Noticing him
Staring at desire
With a cynical glare.
Refusing to notice
Its exquisiteness
Darkened by that which hides
The light.
Her subtle beauty,
Too late to behold.
Feeling him
Lacking the sensitivity
To experience
That which rest below.
The surface of emotions
Pressed against cold reflections.
His tender heart,
Too late to touch.
Refusing to savor
the sweetness
Of adoration upon
Soft lips
Losing that which tantalize
The soul.
Her sweet affection
Too late to enjoy.
The love-offerings rejected and
Discarded upon the doorstep
Leaving sanity plagued by perplexity.
Goodnight kisses placed upon the flesh of eager anticipation; a morning bouquet of roses found withering along the murky farewell. They are not forgotten, because these memories hold the lost souls of poignant emotions. Their tears drip honey upon the core’s sentiment. Breathing into the darkness, the cold sensations becoming the objects of desire; sorrow beckons the hope of amnesia to erase an eternity. Those feelings never go away nor can they be easily discarded; once the heart is stained by love it carries the mark like a scarlet letter.
The patter of rain
Resonates the quietness
Within the darkened room.
Adoration surrendered
To the silence.
She whispered his name,
In the middle of the night,
Hoping to arouse his inclination
From its eternal slumber.
His sulky incarnation finds her
Dancing in the rain.
Her eyes reveal invitation, his longing
Fingers pattern casual touches
Along her soft strands of hair;
Catching that feeling of kindness,
Gentleness, inconspicuous caress.
Breath drawn towards parted lips,
Connecting the taste of wine.
Notions stirred beneath
The layers of a kiss,
Rationale sacrificed,
Flesh made transparent.
Their naked desire exposed,
His secluded heart devoured.
Faint words of familiar sentiments falling
upon my heart and mind; the language
conjured spirits from my past.
I looked for the bottle
but all I could find was regret.
So much confusion within the chaos;
my flesh burns from the sting of scorpions,
they cannot understand what I’ve been through
nor will they understand what I am
putting them through.
It’s beginning to feel like winter.
I yield;
the metronome has lost
it’s pulse.
Too much time vested
in the unending complexity.
Expectations laid the foundation;
the checkered board confounding
our movements.
Maybe we were the wrong players;
maybe I never understood the rules.
Those moments never wasted
because the lessons unabated
revealed the weakness
in my strategy to love you.
The rapid procession of seasons;
the dripping beads of morning dew
upon the fall leaves.
The breath of Winter on my back;
the late evening shadows waiting
to taunt me.
Staring at the sunset; amber puffs sailing
across the indigo sky. The memories
hanging like stars, waiting to fall
within the night.
Write Now and Later 
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