Hiveless Mind

The interior was designed in the same mode as the exterior, Mikael noted, as he stepped into a...

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:15:42 -0500

The interior was designed in the same mode as the exterior, Mikael noted, as he stepped into a massive rotunda. The vaulted, domed ceiling was covered in a magnificently gaudy, heroically overwrought fresco. A team of chubby, rosy-cheeked cherubs frolicked in a celestial dance, bearing the alchemical symbols for the elements: the dot-in-circle of gold held hands with the angular calligraphy of Lead; the moon and sun of Platinum embraced by the arrow and ring of Iron and the three split arrows of Silver. From the highest peak of the ceiling descended the godlike hand of the Scientist, parting the clouds and exuding rays of light, plucking poor Zinc in his fingers. The fresco was entitled ‘The Crucible of the Heavens’, and was universally hated.

Her face pressed against the cold glass porthole, she could make out the flash and streak of...

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:12:48 -0500

Her face pressed against the cold glass porthole, she could make out the flash and streak of incendiary bullets through the night-blackened cloud layer, but whether they were Allied or German, she could hardly tell any more. Somewhere off in the distance, a zeppelin blossomed in flame and slowly tumbled into the ocean wreathed in tongues of incandescing hydrogen. Eliza marveled at how slowly it fell, and like a child, she was simultaneously enraptured in both the beauty and horror of the spectacle. Was it one of ours? One of theirs? She couldn’t tell, and she didn’t care.

It was a cold day, the air was crisp and fresh with the chill of autumn. The trees, all adorned in...

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:09:00 -0500

It was a cold day, the air was crisp and fresh with the chill of autumn. The trees, all adorned in their festive colors, overlooked the Atlantic ocean in a glorious display of reds, oranges, and yellows. A strange, spicy fall perfume wafted gently through the air and mingled with the scent of the sea, deep and still, barely disturbed by the morning breeze. It was quiet. Most folk were at church on a Sunday morning, and only the shouts of a few dockworkers who risked God’s wrath for extra pay broke the stillness.

National Novel Writing Months

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:08:00 -0500

Almost a month ago, I decided I was going to take a crack at this. Obviously, I failed. I failed horribly. I wrote about 4000 of the requisite 50,000 words. I wasn’t really even certain what I was writing, beyond that it was going to be some sort of alternate-historical-fiction-whatever. I don’t know, it had Nikola Tesla in it.

Apparently I was never cut out to be a novelist. But a few passages came out well, so I’ll be posting those few gems here. Stay tuned.

"They climbed the red-brown mountainside, into sunlight and purple artemisia, where wild dogs..."

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 17:49:34 -0500

“They climbed the red-brown mountainside, into sunlight and purple artemisia, where wild dogs wandered the roofless stones, till they were high enough to see, beneath the harsh radiance of the Good Friday sky, where cirrus clouds were blown to long, fine parallel streaks, the city below, spread east to west, stunned as if by mysterious rays to a silence even Frank and Ewball must honor - the passion of Christ, the windless hush … even the stamping mills were silent, even Silver itself taking its day of rest, as if to recognize the price Judas Iscariot received. Sunlight in the trees.”

- Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day.

(take your own tumblrshot) GPOYW. Why yes I am growing a guitar...

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:50:00 -0500

(take your own tumblrshot)

GPOYW. Why yes I am growing a guitar out of my shoulder thanks for asking.

I’ll Be Your Mirror ~ The Velvet Underground Longtime...

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:17:00 -0500

I’ll Be Your Mirror ~ The Velvet Underground

Longtime listeners will know I’m a huge fan of The Velvet Underground. Listening to The Velvet Underground is a unique experience - it’s like listening to The Beatles or Elvis, a fascinating peek into the history of modern music. The Velvet Underground have been said to have sparked the fire that eventually evolved into punk, and Lou Reed, in the liner notes to Metal Machine Music (which Rolling Stone compared to “the tubular groaning of a galactic refrigerator”), claimed to have invented the genre of heavy metal.

But even without the historical relevance, there are a huge amount of reasons to love The Velvet Underground. Lou Reed’s vocal style, more speaking then singing, contrasts wonderfully with Nico’s droning, almost choral efforts, and Maureen Tucker’s abbreviated, staccato percussion shines on songs like “Heroin” and “Sunday Morning”.

Also, Andy Warhol liked them, and that’s awesome.

A haiku

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:35:05 -0500

the early autumn.
soft skin, soft smiles, your soft voice
warm sunlight, warm heart

roomthily: very small array » Congress the u.s. house of...

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:01:40 -0500

roomthily:

very small array » Congress

the u.s. house of representatives in alphabetical order and represented by one pixel.

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2009-11-22)

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:22:18 -0500

My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2009-11-22):

Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz

Don’t Look Back.

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:59:57 -0500

Don’t Look Back.

ostermayer: lightlycaffeinated: Lipton Cartoon on tea research

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:39:21 -0500

ostermayer:

lightlycaffeinated:

Lipton Cartoon on tea research

Bright Eyes ~ Four Winds This is one of the first Bright Eyes...

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:39:08 -0500

Bright Eyes ~ Four Winds

This is one of the first Bright Eyes songs I heard, and while I may have other favourites now, it’ll always have a special place in my heart. I really savour the sort of occult feel to the lyrics.

Wired Science: Building a Better Alien-Calling Code

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:22:56 -0500

Wired Science: Building a Better Alien-Calling Code:

Headphones and long hair don’t get along too well. :(

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:16:02 -0500

Headphones and long hair don’t get along too well. :(

Bright Eyes ~ Road to Joy Okay, so I love this song. It’s...

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 20:38:26 -0500

Bright Eyes ~ Road to Joy

Okay, so I love this song. It’s easily my favorite song on this album. Too tired to write anything else. But it’s good.

“And so I hope I don’t sound to ungrateful / what history gave modern man / the telephone to talk to strangers / machine guns and the camera lens.”

If I had a nickel for every time I said “if I had a nickel for every time…”, then...

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 20:23:03 -0500

If I had a nickel for every time I said “if I had a nickel for every time…”, then I would have a nickel.

Just a thought.

Things I Did Today (a list)

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:47:00 -0500

Reskinned my blog
Made a pie
Learned to play “Wonderwall”
Broke my cheap capo playing “Wonderwall”
Started reading gstepl.

This Place is Not a Place of Honor

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:45:27 -0500

This Place is Not a Place of Honor:

faucet:

A few years old, but still very interesting: plans to mark nuclear waste deposits to warn future generations of the next 10,000 years.

Writing on myself, redux.

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 13:57:36 -0500

Remember a while back when I said I really want to start writing some pieces about myself? Right. Well, it’s evident (or at least I would hope) that I haven’t done so yet. Despite the fact that I’ve gathered quite a lot of advice from various Tumblr denizens, it’s a very daunting task and I’m still not even certain where I’m going to begin. I just don’t know where or how to start. We’ll see.