My Ongoing Exploration of Life
My Ongoing Exploration of Life
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This is a poem I wrote in 2012. I imagine all of my poetry set to music but I am rarely able to come up with my own tunes. This one I imagine set to the tune of Learning To Fly by Pink Floyd. Digging through relics Day after day How did they work? How did they play? Broken fossils Are all that's left Was the way they lived The cause of their death? Their names long lost Their dreams never done Nobody knows them No, not one Was she a peasant? Was he a scribe? Question is, did anyone Know them even when they were alive? If I was gone Would you miss my support; how I always tried to help? If I was gone Would you miss my insights; how I always saw through tricks? If I was gone Would you miss my jokes; how I always tried to entertain you? If I was gone Would you miss my attention; how I embraced your quirks? If I was gone If I was gone Would you ever wonder what went wrong? Would you think I was insane? Would you find someone to blame? If I was gone Friend of harlots Frauds and thieves A wino, a glutton Was this your creed? Enemy of the law Enemy of good Casting out demons by witchcraft Or misunderstood? Want us to rape you What does that mean? Did you marry for love? Why do you smell like a teen? Wise men say You were the king Do any remember The way your hips used to swing? If I was gone Would you remember the foods I liked? If I was gone Would you remember the books I read? If I was gone Would you remember my favorite dinosaur? If I was gone Would my catchphrase finally catch on? If I was gone If I was gone Would you ever wonder what went wrong? Would you think I was insane? Would you find someone to blame? If I was gone Would you ever wonder what went wrong? Would anyone find this song? Would anyone even notice? If I was gone Who would wonder why? If I was gone Would they look for clues? If I was gone Would they find my blog? If I was gone Would they find this song? If I was gone Would they buy my books? If I was gone Would they buy my shirts? If I was gone Would they search my notes? If I was gone Would they understand? If I was gone Would they find my lists of things with no description? Can they read my shorthand? If I was gone Would they understand? If I was gone Would they make theories? If I was gone Would they make interpretations? If I was gone Would they ever get it right? If I was gone Would they ever know? If I was gone Would they cut th...(uncomfortably abrupt ending)
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Exploring is tough. You might come home covered in sweat, mud, bug bites, sunburn, bramble scratches, and more. That means you’re doing it right. That means you accomplished something. You found out what was out there and you survived to tell the tale. It’s all part of the adventure! Exertion means you will truly appreciate your rest later. Sore feet make food taste better. Hot sun makes even plain water taste amazing. Injuries are a badge of bravery and prowess. I wear them proudly. Not much bothers me. Still, there are steps you can take to minimize your hardship.
Some Advice about Sunlight: I have found that no matter how well I think I have applied lotion sunscreen, there are always oddly-shaped spots that are missed. I have avoided this problem by using spray-on sunscreen. That always seems to work well. Some Advice about Mosquitoes: I have yet to find a fly repellent that works well for more than ten minutes. The worst brand I have ever worn was Bullfrog. It doesn’t seem to work at all. Off is much better. Unfortunately, bug spray dries out my skin, smells bad, and is an absolute pain to carry with me. The weight of the liquid swings back and forth in my pockets, smashing into and chafing my leg, slowly pulling my pants down. On long trips when I carry sunscreen, bug spray, and drinking water, it is just too much. I could always bring a backpack, but those only make my back sweat and slow me down. It would be worth it if they actually worked to keep the flies away, but I find that even when it keeps the flies from biting, it does not keep them from landing. They climb in my eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, making it hard to breathe or see where I’m going. I have to wave my arms so much that I scare all the other animals away. Sometimes I can outrun flies, but it doesn’t take them long to find me again. Some Advice about Horseflies: It seems that they have territories no more than 300 feet wide. If you can get past the edge of a fly’s territory, it will stop following you, though chances are that you will be walking into the territory of the next. Some Advice about Bees and Wasps: It is absolutely untrue that they will not bother you if you do not bother them. On more than one occasion I have been walking along minding my own business when one of them flew out of nowhere at top speed, stung me, and then flew away before I could have my revenge. Pigs, Raccoons, Skunks, and Snakes: Most animals will not mess with you and want nothing more than to put as much distance between you and them as possible. Just give them some space and you should be fine. Understand that snakes that open their mouths and turtles that growl are not in the mood to be pet. There are always rare exceptions, though. I once met an alligator still young enough to weigh less than a third what I weighed, yet that did not stop it from climbing the bank and approaching me. Humans: Humans are insidiously dangerous creatures. You can escape back home unharmed only to find out later that you are being sued or charged with some crime. They will pretend to be friends for years, only to betray you at the worst possible moment and often have the audacity to blame you for it. They will steal not only your supplies, but use legal documents to drive you from your territory, and put up fences so you cannot return. They can rape or torture you for the fun of it, or they can kill you in the name of religion. They can injure you from unfathomable distances while you are blissfully unaware of their presence. The best thing to do upon encountering humans is to shoot on sight, but make sure they are really dead before you run away or else they will track you. Stay safe out there! “And if another Christian is distressed by what you eat, you are not acting in love if you eat it. Don’t let your eating ruin someone for whom Christ died.” – Romans 14:15
“Don’t eat meat or drink wine or do anything else if it might cause another Christian to stumble.” – Romans 14:21 “We may know that these things make no difference, but we cannot just go ahead and do them to please ourselves. We must be considerate of the doubts and fears of those who think these things are wrong.” – Romans 15:1 I’ve always struggled with these verses. On the one hand, I resent being told how to live. The restrictions some people place on their lives might work for them but would be inconvenient in the extreme for me. I know that I have freedom in Jesus and that most of the habits people see as sinful are actually harmless. Why should I bend to serve their will? Who are they to tell me what to do? On the other hand, love requires sacrifice and I certainly don’t want to be one of those that give people an excuse for not connecting with God. Insisting on living the way I want according to my desires is selfish. There is no greater joy than seeing those you love grow spiritually; I would hate to disrupt that just for some fleeting pleasure. On the other-other hand, isn’t the most loving thing I can do to be an example of how others could live if only they would embrace freedom? Shouldn’t we try to raise people up rather than stoop to their level? Shouldn’t we stand in solidarity with others who also live freely and take a stand against judgmental attitudes? It seems that true love compels me to engage with people, inviting them into a better life. One could argue that the verses only apply when we are directly in another’s presence and are not meant to apply to the privacy of our own home. The problem is that most of our life happens outside the home. If we share life with others, they are going to become familiar with our lifestyles. It is impossible for it to be otherwise. With social media especially, we post all about our meals, adventures, business operations, and meetups with our friends both Christian and non-Christian. Considering that there exist people out there somewhere against consuming pork, shellfish, beef, meat of any kind, alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, gambling, reading or writing fiction about witches, working on Sunday, wearing short skirts, tattoos, and supporting the “wrong” presidential candidates and it becomes impossible to post much of anything. There are those that think capitalism is wrong and those that think communism is wrong. How are we supposed to live, then? It’s impossible to please everybody. Did Jesus die to rescue us from sin only for us to tiptoe around it the rest of our lives? I would rather be a pleaser of God than a pleaser of men (Galatians 1:10). Jesus did not refrain from correcting others. He once told people it was not what entered a man that defiled him, but what came out of him. Another time, he basically argued it wasn’t wrong to work on the Sabbath. If Jesus argued for freedom, why can’t I? In a small way, that is what this blog is about: showing people a better way to live. I shine a spotlight on God’s creation to give him glory. This becomes hard to do when people consider some elements of his creation unworthy. Jesus came to bring life and abundance of life. This is what I want for you. I want to see you be free and expand your world. Do you really want to miss out on reading a beautiful story of good triumphing over evil just because it mentions witchcraft? Do you want to spend the rest of your life cringing when you hear a swear word or see a woman in a bikini? Bacon is delicious. Try it. If you don’t like the taste, that’s fine. If you avoid it for health reasons, that’s fine. If you avoid it temporarily as a sort of ritual that reminds you to focus on God and this helps you connect, that’s fine. There is nothing wrong with fasting for lent. There is nothing wrong with giving God a gesture of appreciation once in a while. Worship God in a way that works best for you. Just don’t avoid it because you think it would be a sin to eat or you think abstaining will keep you in God’s favor. That plays right into sin’s hands. God already favors you. I suspect these verses have either been misinterpreted or mistranslated.   I visited Robinson Preserve in Bradenton, Florida in October 2016 and was rewarded with beautiful sights of a variety of plants. There are trails for bicycling or hiking across wide fields, marshes, and small wooded areas. There is a quite tall observation tower next to one of the lagoons, which is where I took the photos above from. If you have good eyes, you can see the Skyway Bridge in the distance. The usual animals were around, including dragonflies, ospreys, ibises, fiddler crabs, and lizards. I also saw a rabbit. Something strange was going on that day with the bees. There were a lot of bees throughout the park everywhere that there were flowers. People say bees around the world are dying out, but I think they have just been hiding in Robinson Preserve. No matter where I went I could hear their distant roar. I did not know what I was hearing at first before I found them. I even saw a hive at the base of Tern Trail. I decided not to go that way. Another mysterious sound was an occasional bark I would hear throughout the park. It sounded like a cross between a honking goose, a very confused seal, and a human child screaming in mortal terror. I finally discovered that the ibises were making this noise. Every so often they would look up from poking in the mud and bark. I had never heard ibises make noise before. I have not heard them make noise since. This is a strange place. Along the northern edge of the park there are breaks in the vegetation separating the trail from the bay. These lead to small, secluded beaches. The water remains incredibly shallow far into the bay. I could see ibises and herons walking on the mirror-like surface of the sea as far as a hundred feet from shore. On the southern edge of the trail there is a narrow channel of water that connects the sea to the water bodies inside the park. This runs like a river when the tide comes in or goes out. I could see it branch as it cut through the trees into places where I wasn’t allowed to go. What goes on inside there? Here are some more pictures from my adventure:      This is a poem I wrote in 2010. I imagine all of my poetry to music though I am rarely able to come up with my own tunes. This poem I imagine set to the tune of Dancing In The Dark by Bruce Springsteen. Always busy with your studies Always busy with your plans To make lots of money You never had time for a man You're always so driven You're life's so full of haste To learn the world of finance How long can you keep up the pace? I thought I'd give you... I thought I'd give you that chance For fun and recreation And maybe just maybe romance Now you're still alone Baby, I'm lonely too Here's just an idea Maybe I could spend time with you You can make me think That's such a rare find To find a woman Who has more than half a mind You've got a nice figure I like your smile, I like your face I like the way you stand up And you put me in my place We could take over... Take over the whole God-Damn World I'd do the politics And you'd be my economics girl Now you're going nowhere Soon you'll have to go home and leave the states I'm not asking for commitment I'm just asking for one date We could just try it... Try it out and see what unfolds What better option But to leave each other in the cold? I know its hard When you've got so much on your plate I'm not asking for commitment I'm just asking for one date I'm just asking for one date I'm just asking for one date just asking for one date asking for one date Mmm-mm mm mm mmm A walk through the woods is never just a walk through the woods unless you let it be that way. How can you find interesting things? Here are some tips:
I never want to tell other people how to live, but I’ve had some ideas for a long time I thought deserved to be heard and thought through. Tell me what you think.
Everyone has a psychological need to express themselves when experiencing surprise, pain, anger, or frustration. Often, the words “augh” or “ouch” suffice, but more extreme situations can call for harsher words. Culture decides what words these will be. Unfortunately, there are those that will not allow others to vent. Granted, there are those who drop the F-bomb in every other sentence. When this happens, the word begins to lose all meaning and no longer functions to express much of anything, but when used sparingly it can be quite useful. Swearing can get you into trouble. On television, it can get you fired or fined. In school, it can get you detention. At home, it can get you spanked or worse. In general, it gets you put down and called a bad influence. Swearing must be an awfully harmful thing in order to justify treating people this way, right? What’s wrong with it? No one has ever been able to explain it to me. Are some subjects simply too offensive to discuss? Certainly there is a time and place to discuss one’s bowel movements and the dinner table is not one of them, but society is very inconsistent in these standards. Discussing BMs might be frowned upon, but it doesn’t necessarily get you into trouble. Why is it that it is perfectly permissible to use the words pooh, poop, scat, feces, caacaa, manure, excrement, droppings, doodoo, and crap, yet not permissible to say shit? The meaning is exactly the same! If it were the meaning of the word that was the problem, this would not be. Of course, as often as not “shit” is used not to refer to fecal matter, but to express surprise and pain, such as when you hammer your thumb. Used this way, it is no different in meaning than saying “ouch.” If ouch is not a bad word, why is shit? Is it never okay to express displeasure with people? Sometimes it is considered permissible to be mean. When another is being a jerk, it’s usually acceptable to call them a jerk. Why is it unacceptable to call them an ass or a bitch? When another is being a liar, it’s usually acceptable to call out their lies. Why is it unacceptable to call out their bullshit? If a bully is just going around calling people names that don’t deserve it, the problem is the bully, not the names he uses. Are some combinations of sounds inherently offensive? Certainly running fingernails along a chalkboard is, but what about the word “damn?” Repeating this word in school can get you sent to the principal, yet its sound is identical to the word “dam,” meaning a structure to block the flow of liquid. Why is it permissible to say dam but not damn? If it were the sound that was the problem, this would not be. Why is bitch okay to use when referring to canines but not humans? Why is faggot okay to use when referring to cigarettes but not humans? It has nothing to do with the sound at all, does it? I used to use the expression of surprise “jeezum crow.” Then I was told that I was really referring to Jesus Christ, making this an example of using the lord’s name in vain, and therefore offensive. It had never occurred to me that there might be a connection. How can anybody mean something other than what they actually mean? Especially when they are unaware of it? Who decides what the “real” meanings of expressions are anyway? Holy cow! When you say “gosh darn it,” are you really saying “God damn it?” Of course not! If you call someone a pussy, are you really calling them a vagina? Is vagina a bad word now? How do you know you aren’t really calling them a cat? Is cat a bad word now? If pussy can refer to both cats and vaginas, why can’t it also refer to wimps? Is wimp a bad word now? If you call someone an ass, are you really calling them a bottom? Is bottom a bad word now? How do you know you aren’t really calling them a donkey? Is donkey a bad word now? If ass can refer to both bottoms and donkeys, why can’t it also refer to jerks? Is jerk a bad word now? If you tell someone they’re screwed, are you really telling them they have lost their virginity? Is that bad to say? How do you know you aren’t really saying they are being slowly impaled by a rotating object (like an actual screw)? If being screwed can refer to both sex and handiwork, why can’t it also refer to being in some sort of hopeless trouble? Is trouble a bad word now? What does it really mean to tell someone they are fucked? I once met a woman who actually tried to explain to me that “get your poop in a group” was wrong to say because it really meant “get your shit together.” What the heck? People tend to get really hung up on symbology without ever understanding the underlying meaning and this phenomenon extends well beyond swearing. I was actually told by a lady once that those who celebrate Christmas on December 25th are “really” worshipping the sun god because the date was set by the early church to compete with a pagan holiday around the same time. How is it possible for one to worship the sun god if they don’t believe in his existence and are completely unaware that historians don’t know for sure what time of year Jesus was born? If the rest of society celebrates Christmas on December 25th, and you don’t know any better than they do what the real date should be, isn’t the sensible thing to celebrate along with everyone else? I have also been told by more than one person that scientists have proven that the Earth circles the sun instead of the other way around, not understanding even after I have explained it that motion is relative. Modern scientists use the sun-centric model because it is mathematically simpler, not because it is more accurate. People are so easily offended. Tell one person merry Christmas and they will assume you are trying to proselytize them. Tell the next person in line happy holidays instead and they will assume you are part of a war against Christmas. Protest government policies that are distressing the country by holding a flag upside down (a sign of distress) and people assume you are anti-American. Proudly adopt America as your own by wearing clothing bearing the stars and stripes and people think it is in poor taste to touch the flag with your body. Wave the confederate flag around to celebrate your heritage and then watch people completely lose their minds. How does this happen? Could it be that teaching our kids young that some words and symbols are always bad – rather than having the potential to be used for good or harm like most words – creates in them a mindset allowing such strange ideas to flourish later in life? At the very least I think they would grow up as very confused people. Could regulating speech be more dangerous than the speech itself? Do you let your kids swear? This company will take your child’s wacky creature drawings and create large stuffed toys based on them. They can do the same for photos of your pets or people you know. It’s expensive, but a small price to pay to make your imaginary friends real and ensure your dolls and stuffed animals will be unique. This idea is too cool. I have got to do this someday.
 Deep in Lithia, Florida lie the 6312 acres of mostly forest that make up Alafia River State Park. This is a popular place for bicyclists. Off the sides of the mixed-use trail are countless bicycle trails. These trails are narrow, twisted, and very hilly due to the entire place having been used as a phosphate mine in the past. Mountains are a rarity in Florida and this is one place for mountain bikers to get their fix. They are rated as “epic” by the IMBA (International Mountain Bicycling Association).
I did not know any of this before I went and I don’t have a bike; I went for the extensive walking trails, which are shared by bicycles, horses, and also tortoises. Soon after leaving the trailhead, I rounded a corner and saw a tortoise coming from the other direction at a decent speed. Only when I got close did it take any notice of me and this was just to slow down a bit every time I moved. I also saw a navy-blue dragonfly. The trails were a bit confusing. Even though they are marked, they are not always marked at every intersection, and there are many side trails not on the map. Most of these are bicycle-only trails, but it is not always easy to tell. After getting lost several times over I found myself near where I started. Since I was more tired than I expected that day, I decided to leave early without seeing most of the park. On the way back to the parking lot, I saw two tortoises where before there had been one. Very cute. This is a poem I wrote in 2010. I imagine all of my poetry set to music but I am rarely able to come up with my own tunes. This one I imagine set to the tune of Hell’s Bells by AC/DC. Feel your blood flowin' through your veins How you feel you can't explain Life caught up with you livin it as a game Who never told you that's not okay? This morning you f-felt okay Should've known you'd go d-down t-today! You're stomach hurts you're turnin' white The world is spinnin' and your breathin's tight Instincts are screamin' fight or flight? Doesn't matter one bit once she has you in sight Doesn't matter if you w-win every f-fight Cassie'll getcha she'll getcha t-t-tonight!! Seeking the Golden Gloves it's on your face You've fought before and you like the taste Try to tell me you're one of the greats But you're still a member of the human race Cassie'll put you b-back in your p-place These Golden Gloves'll kn-kn-knock you t-to outer space!! It doesn't matter if you practice all night long It doesn't matter if you practice till dawn It doesn't matter what charms you have on Either way, in three seconds you'll be gone Makes no difference if-f you've done r-right or wrong You'll b-be on your back when the b-bell goes d-d-d-d-dong!!! Finding Adventure Close To Home:
Adventure can be found anywhere at any time. You do not have to go far looking for it. You do not have to be lucky enough for it to happen to you. You simply have to recognize that you are already surrounded by adventure. Even in your neighborhood, there are some places you have never gone. I used to take long walks from my house and cut behind businesses and walk along the railroad tracks. I found snakes, deer, turtles, and found the largest cache of blackberries I had ever seen in my life (and still to this day). This was where I saw for the first time a dragonfly catch a meal in flight. Finding Joy In Everyday Life: Even at work or around the home there are situations that have never happened before. There are little mysteries and challenges to be overcome. These can be adventures too. Not everyone is capable of this mindset. Some are depressed and are physically incapable of adventure even when it is pointed out to them. I’ve been there and I know there is nothing to say to make you feel better. Just know that it doesn’t last. Others simply lack the skills because no one has shown them where and how to look. That is what I hope to do on this blog: prove by example that adventure can be found anywhere and you don’t have to go far from home to find it. It just takes a little practice. Here are some tips:
What is the next adventure you will go on? I never want to tell other people how to live, but I’ve had some ideas for a long time I thought deserved to be heard and thought through. Tell me what you think.
We live in an oversexualized culture and sometimes I get tired of it. I’m tired of coworkers trying to make innuendos out of my innocent words while I’m trying to tell them something important. I’m tired of people giggling when I talk about the biology of invertebrates (apparently penis-fencing hermaphroditic flatworms are funny). I’m tired of preachers ruining movies for me by warning me of all the double entendres that I was happily unaware of. I’m tired of people telling me the intimate details of their encounters when such things are best enjoyed privately between two people. Sex is a small part of life, but most people focus on it unhealthily to the exclusion of all else, bringing up the subject all the time. Furthermore, we certainly do have a problem with some giving in to temptations to extramarital sex, divorce, rape, homosexuality, pedophilia, bestiality, and more. However, while sex is a small part of life, it is still a very important part of it. God created humans with the same basic physiology as other primates and clearly planned on us mating often. There is a certain minimum level of sexual awareness that allows us to be attracted to others in the first place and this awareness permeates every social situation. I know firsthand how abstinence can wear on a person and how torturous it sometimes is. We cannot fight sexual sins by fighting sex; we must do so by promoting the Christian marriage ideal and bringing people to Jesus. While not affecting as many people as promiscuity, abstinence is another evil that must be addressed. The human body and psyche is not designed for it, yet many people remain single for years until finally giving in to pornography or prostitution when they can’t take it anymore. It isn’t enough to simply tell people not to do wrong without giving them a way out because we are fighting against a powerful, God-given biological drive to be fruitful and multiply. If Christians really wanted to help these people, they would marry them. When people are starving, we don’t simply preach about the sins of theft. Instead we feed people and then train them how to become self-sufficient. Why don’t we do something similar with sex? Why don’t we offer matching services? We are so oversensitized to sex that we are quick to proscribe the harshest punishments for those who break the rules. Someone is accused of pedophilia or homosexuality and they are considered by the public guilty until proven innocent. Even teenagers can be convicted of a sex crime for urinating outdoors (something every guy (and several gals) I know has done at least once) or innocently suggesting that a ten-year-old take off her shirt (kids dare each other to do things all the time and are naturally curious about that which is normally kept hidden). Sex offenders are restricted in where they can live, what kind of jobs they can get, and in their internet use. All these things make it very difficult for them to find a spouse so they can finally enter into a healthy relationship and no longer be tempted. I’m not saying that their hardship in any way excuses recidivism, but so long as these hardships are placed on them by society, society should expect to be violated. We are so oversensitized to sex that we see it when it isn’t even there. When I read a news article about a man sucking women’s toes on a subway, I understood that he was weird and probably annoying but could not fathom why the police were calling it a sex crime. There is much that I find perfectly innocent that religious conservatives want to interpret as sexually deviant and make a big deal of. One has to admit that much of the increase in sexual deviancy in our culture might be an illusion and that talking so much about it only adds strife to the relationship of the church to the world it is trying to reach. I have heard of cases of possibly gay couples being asked not to return to church because they were seen holding hands, but in Saudi Arabia men hold hands all the time and the Muslims are less tolerant of homosexuality than we are. In France, one might greet another with a kiss rather than a handshake, but do this in America and you will be assaulted. Within America, so many people have different life experiences with subtly different cultural exposure that we can’t even agree on what is and isn’t a sexual signal. Is it possible that some see sex where it wasn’t intended and this is why we think the media is pushing it on us and our children even when they aren’t? I hear over and over that the media (especially advertising) sets a particular standard for feminine beauty that most cannot attain. This is only true if women take it that way. Just because a woman in an ad looks a particular way is no reason to expect that you have to. The problem is not the advertisers, but the attitude of the women at home viewing the ads. When it comes to sports, we celebrate talent without putting others down. When it comes to business, we pay extra for good talent. We celebrate musical, artistic, and scientific talent. Why then do we have such a hard time celebrating God-designed physical beauty? Should beautiful women be banned from advertising? Shouldn’t we instead share their beauty with the world to give glory to the one who created it? The problem is not only that Satan is using the media to push sexual sin on us; the problem is that we are so obsessed with sex that we see it everywhere and do Satan’s work for him. We fight sin but we still play by sin’s rules. I have heard it suggested that depicting Supergirl as a large-breasted woman sends the message that to be attractive one must have large breasts, making average women feel inadequate, yet no one suggests that Superman makes average men feel inadequate for lacking his large muscles or the ability to fly or fire heat rays from the eyes. Some women really do have large breasts and to put down Supergirl is to put down them as well. I have even heard of a case where a woman was told to cover up more than others because someone deemed her “too” attractive – but God made her that way! I hear about actresses and models being put down for being “too thin” and thus promoting unhealthy attitudes about food and how women are supposed to look – but some women are naturally thin and to put down the models is to put them down as well. God made them that way! The one biggest sexual symbol I hear talked about is nudity, but I have never thought of pure nudity as sexual. In fact, I have always believed that if we were all accustomed to experiencing nudity on a daily basis from birth onward, we would not and could not associate it with sex. If most people were naked most of the time, strip clubs would go right out of business. If you want to eradicate pornography, the obvious solution has been right there in Genesis 2:25 the whole time! As Christians, we are right with God and should feel no shame over that which is “fearfully and wonderfully made.” We instead have freedom to be what God created us to be and saw “was good.” What kind of world do we live in where the victims of clothing theft have to feel more ashamed than the thieves? This happens with no other kind of theft. What kind of world do we live in where I have to worry about a visit from the police for simply trying to keep cool on a hot day? We all have bodies and so every one of us is vulnerable and lives in constant fear. I have always believed that it is psychologically and sociologically unhealthy to both hide our bodies from others and to shield our eyes from the sight of others’ bodies. Do not call unclean what God has made clean! We live in an upside-down world where every sitcom can include dialogue implicitly and explicitly referring to sex (including perversions), bedroom scenes with characters writhing under the sheets, breast-grabbing, and scenes of kissing – and no one thinks anything of it, but if a mother breastfeeds her baby in public, we call for censorship! We want to battle the oversexualization of our culture, but we do so by attacking the human body. This is like banning airplanes because terrorists might use them, banning guns because criminals might use them, banning cars or alcohol because somebody might drive drunk, or banning soda because somebody might get fat. We especially go bananas over children seeing nudity, but no child in history has ever been hurt seeing nudity that wasn’t first taught that they were supposed to be hurt. We certainly aren’t born with the knowledge of the existence of clothes. I remember a case wherein a man was naked in his own home, not visible from the street or the neighbor’s homes, but only visible from one spot on the edge of his yard where a mother and daughter were walking by for some reason. The mother complained not that she was offended, but that her daughter was “having nightmares.” My thought was immediately that the mother must have filled her daughter’s mind with her own fears and prejudices and that this was child abuse! The man didn’t abuse anybody simply by being himself, but the mother did abuse her daughter by teaching her there was something so wrong with seeing bodies that they should always be covered. What kind of message does that send the daughter about her own body? No wonder we have eating disorders in America! Swimsuits make especially little sense to me. For me, by covering certain parts, they only bring special attention to those parts. To divert the focus, one should either be fully dressed or fully naked. Swimsuits represent a sort of reverse psychology. By conspicuously covering something, I notice things that could otherwise hide in plain sight. One might even think that swimsuits are designed to call special attention to the body. In fact, they are; swimsuit designers openly admit this! It annoys me that not only do I have to cover up, but I have to help perpetuate the idea that certain parts of the anatomy are sexually special by what I wear. This is a free speech issue. I do not want to be party to perpetuating such falsehoods. I do not think it appropriate to force others to discuss which parts they find most attractive. That’s a private thing. It is because sex is private that I reject the idea of covering special parts based on one person’s biased ideas of which parts are sexual. I don’t want to know what others consider the “sexual parts.” To be clear, I firmly believe that sex is a special, private thing shared between committed romantic partners not to be shared with others. When one is romantically entangled, they want to make the partner feel uniquely entitled to receive their affections. That’s what makes it romantic. I do not want to talk about my sex life, I don’t want to hear about the sex life of others, and I don’t find that romance or pornography make good entertainment. I dislike porn. It cheapens the sacred, but modern culture does this all the time and it isn’t even thought of as porn. Society praises those that dress up to show off the body and look pretty (and therefore sexually attractive) but puts down those that are pretty without dressing up. Putting in extra effort to dress (including makeup and jewelry) to attract a mate is just normal, but being oneself as God made them is somehow sexual and must be censored? Seriously? In America, people are even having sex even as young as Junior High. I agree that this is a problem, but why is this a problem? Did God err when he arranged for sexual feelings to enter the mind during puberty? Why would he have put those feelings there if he did not intend us to act on them in some way? In hunter-gatherer societies, members of the tribe are married off between the ages of 13 and 16. Their resulting children are watched by the whole tribe, sharing the burden. Social support is available to prevent divorce. The problem with Jr. High kids having sex is that in American society, we lack the social support structure to enforce commitment and it is nearly impossible to raise a family and make a living by hunting. We require so much education just to navigate our institutions and to get a decent job (and have laws against child labor and age restrictions on entering legal contracts) that it becomes extremely risky to get pregnant before 18 – even riskier if the father doesn’t stick around. Due to the instability of the economy many couples are putting off having children until much later in life. I find this very sad. The problem isn’t as much the sex, but the lack of love, commitment, and economic opportunity for the young. In conclusion, I see that the only way to fight those obsessed with promoting sex is not to become obsessed with fighting sex, but rather to stop being obsessed with sex at all. The deepest human drive is to commune with God. When God is put first, every lesser drive will fall into place.  My favorite thing about Hammock Park in Dunedin, Florida is the covered platform I can watch the boardwalk from. There are also several trails, a small playground, a butterfly garden, restrooms, and disk golf available. The day I went to the park the butterfly garden was still flooded from the recent storm so I can’t say much about that, though I did see a couple butterflies elsewhere in the park. From the boardwalk itself one can look down and see fiddler crabs and turtles. The playground features a pyramid of ropes that shifts around as you climb it. You haven’t lived until you’ve climbed something that moves as much as you do. The gravel fill below it I discovered was strangely bouncy. Upon closer examination I determined it was made of little bits of rubber tires. I suppose it makes for a softer landing when you inevitably fall off the ropes.
It seemed boring at first. When I first arrived, I took the trails around the eastern perimeter of the park. There were benches named after various people. There were numerous puddles and muddy spots that slowed me down. These puddles had tiny tadpoles! The larger puddles had larger tadpoles! This redeemed what was otherwise a boring area. A drier trail was completely blocked by fallen trees. I climbed around and over the first two only to be utterly defeated by the third. The only redeeming feature there was the patch of plants I found with touch-sensitive leaves. The sun was hot and there was less shade than I like. I was starting to think the park might be a dud. I was very wrong.  that dam bird Returning the way I came I saw an egret guarding the dam. While I walked along the brook, two jays shrieked and chased each other at high speed. They did the same when I returned that way later and the same again when I passed a third time. Then I discovered the boardwalk and the platform overlooking it. A short ways along a bridge spans a waterway. A very loud duck-like bird flew over the short bridge just as I passed, clearing the railing by inches. I was very thirsty by this time and thought of returning to the car for my water, crackers, and sunscreen so I could sit there and read (I had a book, too). Unfortunately, there was a trail heading the other way and I had to know where it went. I stood there for almost a minute trying to decide which way to go. The struggle is real! When I did finally make it back to the platform I ended up talking with a pretty lady who had the same exact idea I did. She soon left and I decided to finish exploring. Beyond the boardwalk were some paved trails and beyond those another boardwalk nestled among tall mangroves. There I saw six mangrove crabs on a trunk facing each other in a circle. Were they having a conference? Was it about me? I’m probably just being paranoid, but they scattered when they saw me coming. I’ve never seen such behavior before. I also saw a dark beetle and later observed a woodpecker from only twelve feet away. It eventually figured out I was behind it and kept turning its head sideways to look at me. I saw so many things I can’t fit them all in one post. Below are only the highlights:  a dark beetle
 pretty flower  pretty tree  I guess I'm not the only fan of echinoderms. This is a poem I wrote in 2010. I imagine all of my poetry set to music but I am rarely able to come up with tunes of my own. This one I imagine set to the tune of Barracuda by Heart. run, run, as fast as you can you can't catch me i'm the gingerbread man i'm hunted in daytime i'm hunted at night i'm hunted by smell i'm hunted by sight i run as hard as i can until i ache to the core i turn the corner only to find fifteen more winged demons from hell bring kisses of death relentless pursuers tracking the warmth of my breath riding my back they bring me down all the while singing with that distinctive sound Aaaaaaaaaaah-Mosquito! candles can't stop them neither can sprays one hundred preists can't make them go away finally swat one there's two more in its place they're tricky and sneaky make you swat your own face they won't give up until you're totally dry they won't give up until you finally die it doesn't take much of a spine they don't need one to make you lose your mind Aaaaaaaaaaah-Mosquito! Aaaaaaaaaaah-Mosquito! Even though I live in a country where I have access to television, movies, theaters, and books that those elsewhere can only dream of, I still sometimes get the impression that I have lived a relatively boring and sheltered life. There are many activities I have never done that others I know have. This is my bucket list. Watch a Meteor Shower: One day I’d like to curl up with someone special and watch a meteor shower. I’ve never had the chance. I used to work the night shift. Every time I heard that one was coming, I was dead tired and had no one willing to go with me. It was almost always cloudy and I would have had to drive far from home to get away from the light pollution of the city. I was also never sure where to park that trees would not obstruct my view and that the police or property owners would not harass me and ask why I was skulking around their fields at night. Watch an Aurora: I’ve never had a chance to see an aurora either and for a lot of the same reasons. It would also be too long and too expensive a trip to make my way far enough north (or south) to see one. I’d like to maybe watch one during my Alaska trip. Eat Crickets: Apparently crickets and moths are not only edible, but good for you. I have always wondered what they taste like. Since they are hard to catch and I don’t want to get the wrong kind if there is such a thing, I prefer them professionally prepared in a gourmet dish. I am also curious about the fried sea cucumbers (distant relatives of starfish) they eat in some Mediterranean towns. Skydiving/Hang-Gliding: This is something I definitely want to do eventually, but I am in no rush. It is also expensive. Skiing: I’ve never even been skiing. Nobody has ever invited me and I don’t know what to expect. Where do I go? Can I rent skis at the slope? How much will it cost just to practice so that I actually get in one good run that day? Some questions can be learned with Google, but without someone actually guiding me through it the first time, I will still feel kind of lost. Canoeing: I actually did finally go canoeing once, but only for an hour and it was on a lake. I’d like very much to take someone exploring in a canoe down a long creek all afternoon. I’ve never had the chance. Hunting: Why on Earth would I spend money and time on a hunting license, guns, and equipment when I don’t yet know what I want to hunt, where to do it, when to do it, how to do it successfully, and whether I will like it? Where do I even go to learn the applicable regulations? This is something virtually impossible to get into alone. I’ve never had anyone invite me. Fishing: Fishing is much like hunting, only with less walking. I’m sure if I tried it on my own, I would be doing it wrong and never know otherwise. Language: I have been so busy exploring nature, reading fiction and non-fiction, drawing pictures of aliens, and writing blogs and books that I have never had time to learn a second language. I expect that doing so will show me new ways of thinking, better help me understand others, and expand the pool of literature I could read. I want to learn but I don’t know when I’ll have the time. I still have a list of books I plan on buying when I have the money and several books I want to write. I also don’t know which language to learn first. Since I already know a little Spanish and a little German, it will probably be easiest to learn those. I’ve also thought of learning Braille and sign language. Any suggestions? Things I've DoneAt least I got a few things off my bucket list already.
Alcohol: I know the average person sneaks alcohol even before they turn twenty-one, and Catholics take real wine during Eucharist (I knew it as communion in Baptist churches), but I never had much interest. When I grew up I only encountered two types of people: those who either never drank or at least never talked with me about it, and those who drank very much for the purpose of becoming so drunk that they would throw up, pass out, and forget the good time they had. That never appealed to me. It was only when I turned twenty-five that I met responsible drinkers who actually invited me to bars or over to their houses. Beer and wine are disgusting, but I now like cider and mixed drinks. I like the taste of rum. I have never been drunk, but getting a little buzzed can be intriguing. The greatest benefit of drinking is that it gives other people an excuse to laugh at my jokes and treat me with respect rather than be the uptight characters with no tolerance for silliness that they are normally. Shooting Range: I have always believed in the second amendment and spoken in favor of our rights, but it wasn’t until I was twenty-seven that I realized I was not doing my part. My family was never into guns and I grew up in a semi-urban area where they weren’t part of the culture. I wasn’t sure what type of gun to buy or where to buy it. Finally, I stopped in a gun shop by myself and bought a used revolver for three hundred dollars. It was very loud. Then I made a friend who liked to go out in the woods with his .22 rifle and do target practice with me. It can be a lot of fun. Clothing-Optional Beach: Ever since I was a child and was scolded for playing indoors in my underwear, I have always had a fascination with nudity and the inexplicable psychology behind its censorship. That it is so infrequent only makes it more intriguing. Growing up, I never met anyone who expressed any interest in nudity except in the form of pornography, which I have always felt is a type of perversion that cheapens the sacred. Somehow I made it to age twenty-nine without ever seeing another adult naked in person, whether male or female. Finally, I made an internet search for something called nude beaches, which I had heard about on television. That was how I found a clothing-optional beach just two hours from my house. It was a poor excuse for a beach. It was too rocky, steep, overgrown, and crowded. Still, the opportunity to feel the air and wind on my skin without distracting breaks in continuity was almost worth it. I notice that the less I have on, the more that last little bit bothers me. Why aren’t there more of these places? What is on your bucket list? What normal, common activity have you never tried? Go out and do them! I bought this book in the hope that I would understand how certain political ideas are spread enough so that I might sabotage some of them and spread some of my own ideas. Unfortunately, very little in the way of marketing advice can be found in these pages. Written in 2005 by David Kupelian, The Marketing Of Evil is more about what he considers evil than about how evil is marketed. He covers topics such as the ineptitude of our educational system, fraud in the Kinsey Report, the long-term effects of no-fault divorce policies on society, and tax evasion in abortion clinics.
Throughout the book, he also bemoans marketing techniques that appeal to our subconscious emotions, claiming that such techniques treat people like animals without souls and breed attitudes of contempt for human dignity. He forgets that such techniques could not work if humans were purely rational agents and that marketers would not use these techniques if there were known a better way to sell products. The truth is that in many ways humans are like other animals and appeals to reason often do not work. The way to fight evil being marketed is not to complain about the marketing techniques, but to market good, and market it better than the competition markets evil. Any ideas? How does money work? What causes inflation? Why are things so expensive? Do we really need a central banking system? If currency enters the economic system only by being lent at interest, and society pays all of the money back it borrowed, where does the money come from to pay off the interest? If newly printed money is not earned, what justifies it being given only to a select few? Louis Even explains things in very simple terms so that anybody can understand and offers an alternative to the debt-money systems used by most countries. It’s an interesting and thought-provoking read.
 Five Galleries: The Dunedin Fine Art Center boasts five galleries, a gift shop, the Palm Café, and a lounge area in the central lobby complete with art books, couches, and a piano. It is located on Michigan Avenue in Dunedin, Florida. There is good parking. By one entrance is the alien machinery pictured above. By the other entrance is a long tile mural built over the course of several years by many children of different ages from different schools in the area. The center is open seven days a week and paid for by donations.
Thought-Provoking Exhibits: Of course, it’s what’s inside that counts. I caught them on a transition day when only two of the five galleries were open. The Entel Family Gallery hosted an exhibit called Dignity: Tribes In Transition. It was a collection of photographs of indigenous people from around the world, often in a mixture of traditional and modern dress. Pictures of people are interesting because unlike landscapes or abstract sculptures, people have dreams, thoughts, goals, aspirations, and can interact in their environments in complex ways. What were they thinking? I could not tell. There were several plaques on the walls explaining what the project was about. They referenced a UN declaration in the seventies to protect the rights of indigenous people, though I question what else the declaration might have had in it since the four nations to vote against it (New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and the United States) are not exactly known for human-rights abuses (relatively speaking). Another plaque stressed the importance of learning the culture of our ancestors. It suggested that in order to know where we are going, we must know where we come from. I’m not sure I buy that argument. Since the past can only influence the future through the present, why isn’t it good enough to just know where we are now? Another plaque suggested that trees feel pain and that Africans have somehow known this all along. Hmmm. The jury is still out on that. The exhibit certainly got me thinking, which I’m guessing was the point. Pretty Pictures: The second exhibit (Harmonic Divergence) featured works inspired by music. There are two paintings that stand out to me now. At first glance, it looked like a swirl of color probably representing music was escaping from a trumpet or horn of some kind. A drum and harp floated nearby. Upon closer examination, I decided it looked more like the horn was escaping from the swirl. Do instruments make music or does the potential for music encourage the invention of instruments? I’m probably thinking too much. The other painting I liked was a borderline impressionistic scene of a man with a guitar-like object and four women in hats. There were large flowers in the background and fruit on the table. The women appeared to have their eyes closed, probably enjoying the music. It was all very colorful. The instrument itself had several regions of different colors on it. There was just enough consistency in the highlighting to discern the direction of illumination. I liked it. This is a poem I wrote in 2010. I imagine all my poetry set to music but I am rarely able to come up with tunes of my own. This one I imagine set to the tune of Know Your Enemy by Green Day. I was going through some things then and rather than help, people at church just kept telling me to give thanks even when I didn’t mean it. Note: Due to our hypersensitive and intellectually stunted society, I feel compelled to point out that where the poem thanks God that I'm not a Jew or a woman, this in no way reflects my actual feelings; it is a direct reference to the Pharisee mentioned in the gospels who thanked God he wasn't a gentile or a woman. It's silly on purpose. Thank you God for our home and our family and that no one's sick and for my new bike and for dogs and cats and horses and butterflies and for Jesus...oh, and for chocolate too. Amen. i thank God for freedom and for good times rejoice in the lord always this is the day he has made i thank god for sunlight and this gorgeous weather i thank god for this picnic and all this delicious food i thank god for skateboards and for iphones i thank god for cookies and vanilla ice cream i thank god for cartoons and for pencils and i thank god i passed my test yesterday i thank god for liberty another word for freedom which i thanked him for already earlier in this song i thank god for verbs and for consonants and for syllables and for sentences i thank god grampa got his scooter to get around with even though he wouldn't need it if he was young instead i thank god i'm young enough to outrun grampa though it wouldn't matter if instead i left my sister alone i thank god for oxygen so we can breathe it although if there was no oxygen we'd never ever know it i thank god for anaerobic microbes that don't use oxygen i thank god i'm not anaerobic though i have no idea why i thank god for aliens that don't use oxygen assuming god created aliens instead of leaving the skies for us i thank god for the friends that i know i'll have someday and for the friends i used to have though they left me all today i thank god for my new bike even though i can't ride it because i was just paralyzed in a car crash yesterday i thank god i'm paralyzed and that i'm going blind i thank god for sympathy berry pies though my mouth is wired shut i thank god for a hill to sled on even though there's no snow and my sled is missing and gramma says the hill blocks her view i thank god i'm not always thankful like when i'm depressed and can't enjoy anything or else have nothing to enjoy i thank god for sunlight again even though it gave me sunburn yes, i thank god for sunburn and i thank god for my frostbite i thank god for beer yee-hay-yeah!!!! even though it was the beer that made me crash my car i thank god for this song that i wrote myself and i thank god for this shed i built by the sweat of my brow i thank god i wasn't born a jew or a woman thank god i'm not like the Pharisees or those no good Sadduceees i thank god for fractals and for mathematics i thank god one and one is two and that i can't divide by zero i thank god for god and that there's not no god and i thank god for the universe and the passage of time i thank god for everything you know he made everything i thank him for everything and that i'm thanking him now I thank him for evil and for satan i thank god for sin and i thank him for doubt i thank god for everything you know he made everything i thank him for everything and that i'm thanking him now i thank god for everything you know he made everything i thank him for everything and that i'm thanking him now Right now I’m stuck in Florida with no money and no one who wants to go with me, but one day there are other places I would like to explore. New England: Since 2007 (if not before) I have wanted to take a road trip across New England. I grew up in New Hampshire and have seen enough of it to know I want to go back and finish exploring. I have a dream to take a road trip across New England and camp in every state park, walk every trail, climb every mountain, and visit every beach in New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. I may even visit a museum or two. Since they have similar climates and terrain, I would also like to explore New York, Oregon, and Washington. Flatness bores me. I like to see mountains. I like to see waterfalls and rapids. I like to scramble over lichen-covered boulders. I like to turn over stones to look for salamanders. I love the smell of decaying autumn leaves. It smells like home. New England more than any other place is where I want to go. California: I have also thought of stopping in California to see the redwoods in person. Those trees are just awesome. If I can find a safe and environmentally responsible way to do it, I would also be open to climbing up to the canopy and just immersing myself in the isolation and scale of the place. I’d like to see the rare epiphytes that live up there. While staying in California, I might also visit the kelp forests offshore. Those are cool too. New Zealand: It is no secret that New Zealand has some great scenery. I’d also like to meet a kea, the only carnivorous, alpine parrot in the world. I’d also like to see a kiwi. Ecuador: Cloud forests intrigue me. These are rainforests so high in elevation that they are enveloped by clouds. I have always loved the mist. It is simultaneously calming and mysterious. It was in the uninhabited cloud forest of Papua New Guinea that new species of marsupials and monotremes were discovered not too long ago. I probably won’t be allowed there, but my sister visited a cloud forest in Ecuador that sounded interesting. Peru: Peru has more archaeological oddities than anyplace I know. There is a wall somewhere made of stones cut with as great precision as anything we can do today. There are gigantic figures across the fields visible only from the air. There is an amazingly beautiful mountain city. I have too many other interests to put in the time necessary for training in order to spot and identify items of archaeological significance, but it would be nice to perhaps assist the professionals for a while and be part of the next discovery. In any case, I’d still like to see those giants. Peru has geological oddities as well, such as the Rainbow Mountains. Antarctica: Honestly, I mostly want to visit Antarctica so that I can tell people I’ve been there, but I also like icebergs and penguins. Hawaii: I’ve only seen active volcanoes on television and I want to see one in person. Afterwards, I want to relax on someone’s porch to the sounds of birds. Yellowstone: Everyone wants to see Yellowstone. I want to see the geysers and pretty salt-sulfur deposits. Virgin Islands: I’ve never been snorkeling and I’ve never seen a coral reef. The Virgin Islands sound like the place to do both. Underground: Caves are always interesting places, though they can be dangerous. Still, the more danger, the better the story to tell. Appalachian Trail: Walking from Tennessee to New England through the mountains is a more ambitious and physically strenuous version of the big New England trip. I would probably do this in a later year after getting into shape running around Oregon. Alaska: Snow on anything is beautiful. Only planetary nebulae come close to this beauty and only women surpass it. I’m not sure whether I would live there or not, but Alaska would be a great place to visit. Another idea is to visit the Kamchatka peninsula in Russia. In addition to bears even larger than the grizzlies of Alaska, they also have hot springs where monkeys bathe. The British Isles: There is a lot to love about Scotland, Ireland, and England. I love the accents, the climate, and the scenery. I love the history and culture. Any society that can produce Rowan Atkinson, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, J. K. Rowling, C. S. Lewis, Isaac Newton, Adam Smith, John Locke, Eric Idle, John Cleese, Tom Baker, Peter Capaldi, Arthur Conan Doyle, Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare, and so many other favorites must be doing something right. I’d probably visit the Sherlock Holmes/ Doctor Who theme park. Other Places I Maybe Want To VisitSome places I want to visit I know would be too dangerous, far too expensive, much of the time would actually be rather boring, and worst of all would take too long to get there and back to be worth it. They are fun to think about, though.
Mars: The red planet has enormous canyons and mountains, massive dust storms, and roughly half the surface gravity of Earth. It has the most Earth-like climate of any other world in our solar system, meaning it is possible that especially hardy strains of bacteria or lichen might survive. It is possible that liquid water exists deep underground. Someday I’d like to watch a sunset over the Martian desert. Io: Where else can you watch great plumes of molten sulfur shoot out of the ground many miles into space and drift back to the surface as multi-colored snow except Jupiter’s moon Io? Where else can you watch volcanoes in low-gravity against the backdrop of the planet Jupiter? The Rings of Saturn: Who wouldn’t want to explore this practically endless sea of ice boulders? Who wouldn’t want to hop from one boulder to another and look for signs of life? What might be hiding among the debris? Saturn’s rings are also the solar system’s largest piece of public art. Nereid: Lava is supposed to be hot, but the volcanoes of Neptune’s moon Nereid ooze liquid nitrogen, rapidly freezing into ice on the surface. What sorts of shapes might form in the low gravity? At this distance from the sun, it is perpetually night. The sun is merely the brightest star in the sky. Sedna: If you thought Nereid was cooler than being cool, Sedna is ice cold. More than twice as far away as Neptune at its closest, Sedna traces an elliptical orbit taking twelve thousand years to complete one revolution. Sunlight is so weak there that not even methane will sublimate. Radio messages from Earth that take fifteen minutes to reach Mars and eight hours to reach Nereid can take more than five days to reach Sedna. It is the novelty of the place that draws me. It is our sun’s loneliest outpost (so far discovered). Where are some places you want to go? |
AuthorMy name is Dan. I am an author, artist, explorer, and contemplator of subjects large and small. Archives
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