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The triptych, no:53
The stone and brick, no:47
The walking lesson, no:35
acrylic, canvas, 64.8 x 73 cm, no.:4481
Pearl Harbour, 2006, acrylic, canvas, 50 x 61 cm, no.:9159
Brontosaurus civitas, no:12
Underwater commotion, 2003, pastel, paper, 47 x 59.5 cm, no.:4656
Pocket jungle - Bathroom, 2003, pastel, paper, 48 x 60 cm, no.:4538
Autumn, no:8
NEW AGE MANHATTAN, 2004, pastel, paper, 47.5 x 59 cm, no.:9187
Fantastic barn, 1999, pastel, paper, 46.8 x 58.5 cm, no.:5317
Praire House, 2005, pastel, paper, 47 x 59 cm, no.:7637
I will sometimes observe the contents
of that cup,
curiously holding it up to the sun--swishing the
liquids into a
whirlpool.
And at the end of the day, when I have
nothing left to do,
I
will often wonder at
what
it means--
what
the
fluid actually represents.
It seems the only things I do know anymore, is that,
when I step
underground, I am proud--
that, when I pour water into a glass,
I am happy,
and that when I shower in the evening, with the idea of
another day
before
me,
I will think of the fountain,
and smile.
Perplexis lives at three-o-nine
West Chiltonberry way
with her seven older brothers
who do nothing everyday.
(Now, for all of those unaware of
how a 'nothing' is defined,
it's really just a synonym
for life without surprise.
--and, if surprise is what we use
to keep our lives intriguing,
then nothing's just a state of mind
where something's always fleeting.)
So, everyday Perplexis walks
to school and then to work,
where her mind is always busy
and her brothers do not lurk.
For, though she loves her brothers
more than anyone could know...
--with every inch they sink to waste
it tears apart her soul.
It seems each passing moment
strikes a thousand listless hours.
As Lexis watches helpless as
her brothers' minds go sour.
So, walking home from school one day,
consumed with riotous anger
Perplexis formulates a plan
to free them all from danger.
--and on the morn of Halloween
with jacket-bundled-tightly
She gives away her precious things
and sets upon the highway.
For waiting round with 'hopeful' thoughts
has worn away her patience.
Thus Lexis now has set upon
the trek to reparation.
Fashion:
[re-presented with permission]
with thanks to Skybreak for introducing me
Updates:
[2010.06.24] - Updated "Perplexis", turning it into an excerpt to better fit the many different versions of the poem. Old audio player died. Updated and added the new Zero vs. Prime track.
[2009.03.29] - Massive image losses due to ImageShack expiration. Migrated "Scar", "Successica", "HF Metropolis" and "Perplex" to Picasa and backed them up. The majority of all other images were lost. Added excerpt from "Yards". Reduced Custom Ink images to two shirts. Updated links. Updated audio player.
[2008.05.19] - "Successica" and "Scar" added to the visual works. With thanks to Kyrie for taking the foto of "Successica"... and to Chadwick for painting it just to remind the rest of us who the real frakking genius is here.
Images & video contained herein are copyrighted trademarks of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved. Property of Fox.
Death is the road to awe.
There was a story... a story of a man and a woman in a garden...
Given the chance, I would thank Darren Aronofsky with all my heart for writing and directing this movie. Given enough time to express my gratitude, it would overflow next upon Clint Mansell, who scored the soundtrack that I played for a month straight after seeing the movie. I would gladly extend my thanks to Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz, Ellen Burstyn and all those who had a hand in weaving the motions of this love story through three different time periods.
First, however, my thanks to Aronofsky. Entering into this, he had to know ahead of time that nearly none would understand nor appreciate this movie. The story he had wanted to express via the medium of cinema for six-years has finally been told. Nearly anyone can appreciate the audio and video of the movie. For these alone, I suggest this movie to anyone. I do so, however, without any expectation that it will strike them as powerfully as it did myself.
While Aronofsky has worked on more than two movies, it was "Pi" and "Requiem for a Dream" that launched him into success. Both of these were advertised almost entirely through word of mouth. The only difference with "The Fountain" is the release of a trailer that has seen play in many theaters. Add to this the incredible ability he has to create an obsessive fan base, and you have one interesting advertising campaign. It's part of the culture surrounding these movies.
Clint Mansell, the mastermind behind the striking score to "Requiem for a Dream", returned to score "The Fountain". Brief glimpses into this new score, along with the trailer and a synopsis, can all be found at the official website. For months, the website had only moving images and music.
Hugh Jackman ("X-Men", "Swordfish") plays the male protagonist, and Rachel Weisz ("Constantine", "The Mummy") plays the female protagonist. The story is the ancient quest for the Fountain--the sap from the Tree of Life that gives any who drink from it everlasting life. Weisz (as Queen of Spain) sends Jackman into the New World in search of Eden where (as a conquistador) he is naturally pitted against the native guardians of Eden. The chief of these guardians wields the Flaming Sword and introduces one of the movies central themes: "death is the road to awe". This is only one stage out of three that the movie plays out upon, though the quest remains the same... until the end of time.
On a closing note, this is a work of art. Many have warned not to go into this expecting a movie. Although it uses the medium of cinema, it is more an artistic expression than a movie. The level of sensory input, combined with the quality, is on a level reminiscent of opera. Both a strong intellect and strong intuition are highly suggested to appreciate the grandeur of this story, to empathize with its characters and take the initiative to answer the questions Aronofsky will never answer for you.
Sidenote: Anyone interested in alchemy will find symbolism enough to last the promise of forever. The Reality Principle (Circle within a Triangle within a Circle) may as well be the movie's key symbol. It's found throughout the movie along with the well-told mythos of the Trinity.
Together we will live forever.
Updates:
- [2010.07.25] - Removed section on "The Fountain Remixed". Site is down. Updated layout. Changed "Death Is the Road to Awe" video to official trailer. I'm not sure how many times I can update this post. I'm well aware that I can never get it "right" enough for myself, but working on it usually means obsessing for hours over content and words only to find a day has passed. The movie means a lot to me. It changed my life. That's about all that needs to be said... that and "thank you" to every last creature who even delivered coffee to the set of this movie in order to get it made. So "thank you". Frakking thank you.
- [2009.03.29] - Removed Amazon video widget; enlarged book cover image; migrated ending press image; updated copyright/trademark info per Fox; updated links; changed ending video; updated links to open in a new window/tab; new review is pending.
- [2008.04.27] - Book cover added to beginning. Cleanup in Amazon Widget HTML.
- [2008.03.03] - Fountain Remix Project section added. Corrected link in YouTube to this entry. Removed "there's a cure" quote.
- [2007.09.21] - Press release images put in place of non-sourced images. Copyright and trademark information included. Amazon widget added to play trailer and link to DVD. Format cleanup.
"Zero" falls into a very narrow category of books that can be considered a work of art. From the cover to the interesting last name of the author (near to that of Cypher) to the chapter titles to the way that each consecutive chapter integrates with its predecessors. Do not be fooled by the deceptive size of this book, as the thoughts it inspires may fill your notebooks and empty the ink from your pens.
The book centers on the twins--Zero and Infinity. These two heretics are abhorred by nature, yet have been sirens to many of the greatest minds this world has ever known. It begins with the chapter "Null and Void", where the implosive power of Zero disables the USS Yorktown. Once the book has opened with such a display of power, it immediately travels backwards in time to when mortals first discovered these two forces. It then follows a trail paved with lunatics who dared seek the twins.
Even the non-numerically oriented should find inspiration and insight buried between the lines and diagrams of this book. The admixture of mathematics, physics and philosophy--even alchemy--leaves open this book's audience to varied membership.
On a closing note, I've worked with high school drop-outs who are trying to get their GED but have difficulty with the math. I've used this book on multiple occasions to get them interested and burning for math so that they want to gobble up every number. It really is an amazing turnaround for an unnecessarily dry subject.
I haven't read the graphic novel. I expect this lends a great deal to why, for me, this movie was bloody soul-striking.
I'm a revolutionary, not an anarchist. Given the choice between statism and anarchy, however, I'd take anarchy in a heartbeat. "V for Vendetta" is the tale of one man's vengeance with the ultimate aim to liberate a nation, running in tandem with the existential journey of the woman who is forced to take his side. They are V and Evey.
Incorrectly marketed as an action movie, this is more a drama and an obvious political commentary on the state of the world. To me, the most important aspect of this story is the journey of Evey, who begins the movie living a life of fear. Her journey begins with a flight out of terror, until she is forced the face her fear and, eventually, her death.
When at last she is given death, the growing parallels throughout the movie combine, until the visions of V's breaking and Evey's breaking unite in fire, in water, in screams and in tears. In this moment, I knew that I loved this movie.
Others will follow what is purported as the main story until its end, marked by its own inspirational terror and beauty. The price of blood is blood, and the character V is one of flesh and blood. Knowing this, the end is apparent.
To revolutionaries, anarchists and all those who have ever broken entirely only to find something "else" just behind the curtains of life--this movie is waiting. To those seeking an action movie with car chases and bullets firing in every other scene, this movie will disappoint.
When my friends introduced me to this book, I thought it must be a work of humor written to make light of the world we now live in. Instead, I've come to the conclusion that this is one of the few books that have survived the trials of history, written long before the zombies and their vampire overlords left the shadows and engulfed the globe.
These pages include extensive information on zombies. The author covers the virus that consumes a human brain, kills the host's consciousness and (shortly after the body passes) re-animates it into a ghoul--they who are the children of Nzambi. It includes ways to survive, areas to avoid and how to defend against the living dead. It even includes ways to hunt them, giving lengthy details all combined with a sense of humor that can only have preceded "The Rise".
To all those who still live, don't pass up the chance to read this book. It may make all the difference between life... and my machete thru your skull.
What is no-mind? Everything! It is the one no-thing above "things" that matters. So simple and small a thing, yet what an integral shift as to be irreversible. This singularity of an event within the self--this alone--is enlightenment.
McKenna sets out to draw the line between mysticism and enlightenment, continually journaling multiple experiences that serve to calibrate the reader to this perspective. Those attached to any belief that is not based on paradox or balance should either steer clear or enter into this reading prepared to break.
For fellow epiphany junkies, cook up the needle and crack this baggy open. This is one of the best batches I've injected in or out of rehab clinics. The choice phrase of "The First Step" I have already adopted to describe just that--a person's first step outside of themselves, beyond attachment and into an awareness of the absolute.
Jed does not directly comment on the last gate ("last" because there are no doors beyond it that cannot be opened). He does, however, mention the experience of returning only to find his discarded ego where he'd left it. Putting it back on is like taking on the part of a character in a play, except those who've not passed through the gate believe the play to be reality.
It is, again, as if you are simply wearing your own skin.
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