July 14, 2007
The Library
Assignment:
Describe the smells in one of these places: a church, a hospital waiting room, a public bathroom, a library. (In 3-4 paragraphs or 1 poem.)
Response:
Early in the morning
Enter the old building
Walls of stone and mortar
The lobby smells like a damp cave
Moving into the library itself
The odors of dust and paper waft through the air
The smells are mostly clean
A fragrance of a strong wood oil
On the freshly cleaned shelves
A familiar scent of old paper hits
Scents that only a library can produce
The building smells of knowledge and academia
The building smells black and white
Posted by curtis at 10:32 PM | Comments (0)
July 12, 2007
Epigraph Poem
Assignment:
Write a poem using one of the following quotes as an epigraph at the start of the poem:
“The World is Change; life is opinion” – Democritus
“Worlds are altered rather than destroyed”- Democritus
“What we call the beginning is often the end”-T. S. Eliot
“Love takes up where knowledge leaves off”-St. Thomas Aquinas
“Dreams pass into the reality of fiction“-Anais Nin
“Hope is a waking dream”-Aristotle
“It’s better to burn out than to fade away”-Kurt Cobain
Response:
[June 24, 2007]
The World is Change; life is opinion
Each life brought into the world anew
Sees the world with a different view
Every tyrant and evangelist has his minion
Nothing is ever the same
With technical enhancement
Or enemy army's advancement
This world is never the same ole game
Something as constant as the moon and stars
Not as fixed as we may think
Every object in the universe has a link
Even the missing water on Mars
Every life observes this change
Being humans as we are
We never find this method completely bizarre
The impact of each life has a variable range
Once there was fire
And then there was the electric oven
People of Salem feared the wrath of the coven
They felt no impact of the fall of the British empire
Modern children seem to stray from the tutor
Business people have no longer a need for books
There are new inventions that impact even the cooks
The most shocking invention of them all, the computer
Change happens all around
Life happens in a blink
Often recorded with ink
There have been attempts made with sound
Written word is by far our friend
In our archaeological findings
Ancient languages we have been unwinding
Without the linguists, there would be nothing of the past to mend
As things come together
The world has great movement
Sometimes with, sometimes without, improvement
The common link of opinion and change, is the weather
Posted by curtis at 9:31 PM | Comments (0)
Complex Activity
Assignment:
Write a conversation between two people who know each other very well. Have them involved in a complex activity, but they should not talk about the activity. Show how two people might think they know each other but really don't and at times don't listen to one another.
Response:
Before reading this piece:
[Please see DT post "Relationship via the Kitchen"] OR
[Please see GITI Education Item # 0922 and its associated Doc item] OR
[Please see Moodle Post: Story Exercise (due by July 10) » Story Exercise by me]
"No Eric, I've never considered adding meatballs to my sauce, I thought you liked it the way it is" Jon answered with a somewhat flat tone. Eric's face became still and confused as he contemplated how to better explain himself to his brother. "No, thats not what I mean, your sauce is great, I just think that something spicy could highlight the sauce a little more" he finally managed to blurt out in a single breath.
"Well... if you think so, then we should make some, but you will have to show me how, I've never done it" Jon stated as his face lightened up some and he reached into the refrigerator to get some meat to hand to his brother. Eric felt bad that he had made his brother feel insulted because of his suggestion. He decided to not say anymore about the sauce until dinner was ready. Eric took the meat from his brother, peeled back the plastic from the two pound lump of cold pale red beef and then asked Jon for a bowl to mix in.
Jon picked one of his favorite stoneware mixing bowls for his brother to use. The bowl was about twelve inches in diameter and about eight inches deep, with a white and blue glaze surface that reflected the glow of the gas range. Eric dumped the meat into the bowl on the counter-top. The silence bothered Eric, even though it seemed to not phase Jon. Eric resolved the silence by starting a conversation with Jon, "How did you learn to make your sauce?" Jon seemed a little agitated by the question, feeling as though it were just there to fill the air, but answered anyway "Oh, I sort of made it up after cooking a lot with grandma years ago. We used to make something similar for pizza. I liked the base flavor a lot, so I added my own adjustments to it." Eric seemed genuinely interested in the topic, and continued it "thats interesting, did you and grandma cook a lot together before I was born?" Eric broke up the meat and added spices. He also went rummaging to the cabinets looking for breadcrumbs, making a lot of noise. Once he located the breadcrumbs he opened the can and pointed to the eggs in a basket near Jon. Jon brought over two eggs while answering Eric's latest question. "We did cook a lot, but mostly desserts. Grandma loved chocolate."
Jon cracked the eggs into the bowl over the meat. Eric tried to control his feelings about Jon doing that, but couldn't stop himself "Jon, not the whole eggs, just the whites! I use the yolks for breading the balls only!" Jon turned bright red, he had been cooking all his life and had never heard of separating eggs for anything except cakes. Jon immediately began an apology for his culinary error "I'm sorry bro, I didn't know". Eric analyzed his brother's embarrassed face, and then boldly dove at the bowl with both hands and quickly removed the unbroken yolks from the rest of the albumen membrane, with one yolk in each hand. He laughed and commanded to his brother, "Get me a bowl for the yolks."
Posted by curtis at 9:23 PM | Comments (0)
Relationship via the Kitchen
Assignment:
Write a scene with two people in a kitchen. Describe the cookery, the food being prepared, and SHOW (not tell) us how all of this helps us to understand their relationship.
Response:
The kitchen smells of garlic and tomato, the smell penetrates the air and is the first thing noticed upon entering the house. The sauce has been cooking all day, Jon has been preparing for this dinner since he woke.
Jon stood silently at the stove. He was stirring his sauce with a wood spoon in his large black metal pot. Light streams of steam poured out of the pot as he stirred. The doorbell rang, and before he could turn from his pot, his little brother Eric stormed in. Eric goes directly to the kitchen, passing his brother, nudging him out of the way to gain access to the pot containing the bright red sauce. Eric liked Jon's sauce at this state better than any other, pure red sauce, with some basil, oregano and garlic. Eric grabbed a small steel spoon from the drawer beside him. He dipped the spoon into the sauce and tasted it, satisfied with the taste, he turned to his brother and said "hello". Jon laughed at his little brother's behavior and grabbed two heavily worn wood cutting boards from the wall behind the stove. Eric grabbed two knives from the wooden block on the island, placing one on each of the cutting boards. The knife placed on Jon's cutting board was very old, with some light rusting on the rivets keeping the heavy steel blade firmly attached to the cracking dry wood handle. It was Jon's favorite knife. The knife in Eric's hand was much newer, the handle and body of the knife both made of steel, the blade shining from its recent honing, and the handle coated in a thin plastic for comfort. Eric grabbed a bell pepper from the basket in the corner. He picked one that was dark green with firm skin and a glossy appearance. The ridges were deep and perfectly curved. Jon selected an onion from the same basket. The onion he placed on his cutting board had a dull yellow skin, and a few brown hairs of root still left on the bottom.
Jon and Eric started preparing their vegetables. Jon peeled the onion, and then sliced it into 4 wide disks. Eric cut the bell pepper in half and used his hand to clean out the seeds. Jon lined up his disks of onion, then chopped them into several rows, and then turned the knife the other way and cut the columns. Eric mirrored the same behavior with the pepper, slicing it into strips, and then into small cubes. They finish at nearly the same time, and scrape the contents of their cutting boards into the pot with the back of their knives. The vegetables began to sink by themselves, but were quickly assisted by Eric using the wood spoon to stir them in completely. While Jon was slicing mushrooms very thin, Eric was watching him, looking as though he wanted to say something. After many moments of fidgeting and appearing anxious, Eric spoke up and asked "Jon, you ever thought of making meatballs to go with your sauce?"
Posted by curtis at 9:21 PM | Comments (0)
Everyday Actions
Assignment:
Try to observe one of the following everyday actions and describe it in as much sensory detail as possible in two-three paragraphs or more: A person peeling, unwrapping, mixing, or in some other way preparing food and then eating it; a person pumping gas from drive-up to drive-off; a person dressing for an athletic practice or event, or a date; ten to fifteen nonsleeping minutes in the life of a dog or cat.
Response:
[July 1, 2007]
He walked out of the house, across the yard. His feet sank into the ground as he walked across the dewy wet grass. He squished out across to the apple tree. The tree was green with many leaves, and bright red apples hanging from the branches. He approached the tree with great caution, circling, breathing in the sweet aroma of apples. He looked up and continued circling. He spotted the apple of his desire and flung himself at the base of the tree. With great struggling he climbed the tree and stretched his arm out as the other clung to the tree, the rough bark holding his skin firmly in place. Stretching his arm to its fullest reach, his gets a hold on his fruit. He plucks it from the tree and pulls it to himself, then jumps gently from the tree, almost losing his balance on the damp grass.
The apple is fresh, smelling strong of its parent tree. The moisture from the air is beading in droplets rolling down the side of its shiny red flesh. The vibrant fruit was held firmly in his hand as he walked back across the yard to prepare and consume his breakfast. Following along his footprints of compressed grass he returns to the house. He entered his home, walking into the kitchen, grabbing a sharp knife out of the wooden block on the island as he entered.
He doesn't like peeling his fruit. Normally he will eat the peel of his apples and eat his oranges directly from their rinds. The apple is rinsed gently under cool water, then tapped dry on a bright white terrycloth towel. The apple was placed on the wooden cutting board, and held firmly in place. He plucks the stem with his free, and tosses the ugly brown wood obstruction aside. The knife was raised above the apple, and pressed firmly into its flesh until it pops open and the knife penetrates the course texture of the meat of the apple. It is sliced in half, then quartered.
He places the first slice between his teeth, and bites down. The juice of the apple flows into his mouth as he chews. The smell of apple fills the air as a breeze blows off of the fan above where he sits eating. He is immersed in the experience of the apple. He is focused on the flowing cool juices and the increasing smoothness of the texture.
Posted by curtis at 9:18 PM | Comments (0)
Story Exercise
Assignment:
Write a story in which someone is snooping around in his or her ex-boyfriend/girlfriend's apartment.
The ex- comes home with his/her best friend and the person has to hide in the closet. Describe what he/she finds there and what happens.
Response:
[June 16, 2007]
Susan woke up to the sun coming through her bedroom window, the brilliant glow almost blinding. She had broken up with her boyfriend, Jake, several weeks ago in an argument she later herself declared to be stupid and juvenile. She had been doing well and not thinking of him most of the time they had been apart. This morning was different, it was Jake's birthday, and she remembered. She remembered his birthday, and missed him.
Susan laid in bed until she found a way to appease her emotions. She tossed many ideas around in her head. She thought of things like calling him and trying to be friends, or trying to apologize and maybe salvage the relationship. Both of those options seemed terrifying to Susan, the thought of facing Jake that way made her pull the covers over her head. Susan then had a memory, she remembered one of the last times she had hugged Jake, she remembered the smell of his shirt, a very faint scent of cologne, mixed with a slight vapor of sweat, which she found very pleasing. She began to cry, as suddenly all of her emotions of missing Jake came back to her stronger than they had before.
Susan finally got out of bed and got dressed. She ate breakfast and headed out of her house. She wondered if Jake would still be asleep or if he would be at the gym working out as he often does in the mornings. Susan decided to walk to Jake's house instead of driving, to give a little more time for Jake to be awake, and herself a little more time to think about what she was going to say to him. It was a thirty minute walk to Jake's house, when she arrived, she felt calm, relaxed and prepared to talk to him. She ran up the front steps with a great burst of energy, only to discover that he wasn't home. Disappointed, Susan turns around to leave, but halfway down the stairs, she remembers that Jake always keeps a spare key to get back into his house somewhere in the yard. Last time she saw him use the spare, it was attached to his basketball goal. She checked the goal, nothing there. She checked under his front mat, nothing there. She checked under the back mat, nothing there. She finally went to the front yard, and sat down under the small oak tree. She sat down and then looked up at the clouds, trying to give herself something to focus on while she waited for Jake. A breeze came through the tree, and she saw something above her head glowing gold in the light, dancing with the wind. It was the key, attached to a string and hanging from one of the lower branches. She tried to reach it, but was too short, she jumped, still too short. She looked at the tree and thought to herself "Jake always did say I needed to be more of an outdoors person". She thrust herself at the tree and climbed towards the branch. She was clinging to the trunk with one hand and trying to reach the key with the other. She grabbed the key, but then lost her hold on the branch and went flying to the ground with the key in her hand.
The stairs were calling to her. She looked up to them, picked herself up and headed back to the door. She was a little nervous. She was worried that someone would see her going into his house, something she wasn't worried about when she was swinging from the branches of Jake's favorite tree. Susan slowly pressed the key into the door. The key clicked against the chamber of the lock cylinder. Susan's world fell silent. With a deep breath, she turned the key, until the click of the lock opening rang through her ears like thunder. She opened the door with a hiss and a squeak. She scurried inside and quickly closed the door behind her. She stood there, on the threshold to Jake's most private world. She looked out across his living room, she was shocked at she saw, it was spotless. Then, she noticed, on the far wall, there was something different. The very thing that she had been so unreasonable about that ended the relationship, a graphic movie poster for "Doom", was missing. In its place was a poster size copy of a picture that she had taken of a waterfall on a trip she took with Jake to the mountains. She hated the movie poster, but he thought it was "cool". During the argument, he refused to give it up and sacrifice his personality because she didn't like it. She asked herself out load "Why would he change that if it meant so much to him?". She worried that she had somehow ruined his self-esteem, or in some way managed to take away something he cared about. She walked around the room, and then wandered into his bedroom to find that it too was fairly clean, although, not as sterile as the living room.
The trance of awe that had overcome Susan was broken as she heard the sound of the front door opening. She heard the voice of Jake's friend Mike "Dude, You have to stop working yourself so hard at the gym, you are going to hurt yourself", then she heard Jake's reply "shut up, I have to do something to keep my mind off of Susan". Mike sighed and agreed that after such an abrupt end, things would be hard for him. Jake then reminded Mike of what he had planned weeks ago, "I was going to propose to her the next day at dinner, and then she lost her mind and went on a rampage about my tastes in things and the way I maintain my home". Susan was surprised, she didn't think that Jake was that serious. She heard Jake's footsteps getting closer to the bedroom, so she dove into Jake's large walk-in closet that she was so envious of. As she got in and closed the door she thought to herself "what does a guy need with so much closet space?". She was soon glad that he had so much space. Jake walked into his room with Mike following behind, he headed for his closet, he undressed himself, then opened the closet door and threw his clothes into the basket in the corner. Luckily, Susan was able to hide behind some of Jake's hanging clothes and the closet was dark. Susan reached for the clothes that Jake had just taken off, she picked up his shirt, and felt the warmth still contained in the shirt from being on Jake's torso.
Jake and Mike continued talking, primarily about the plans for Jake's party in the evening. Jake mentioned that he might be able to have a good time if he goes back to the gym for an afternoon workout to ensure his ability to clear his mind. Susan stood at the door of the closet, and peaked through the grate. Jake was still naked. She had never seen Jake naked before. After previously having a relationship based purely on physical infatuation, she swore she would never allow herself to see a man naked until she was certain she had emotions for him for the right reasons. Susan couldn't help herself, she admired Jake's body as he stood there and talked to Mike. She noticed how well defined his chest and abs were, the gentle sloping curves, and the visible tension in his abs from his morning workout. Chills went down her body as she analyzed his body, and realized that she had given up her dream of having both sides of what she wanted, someone to be emotionally attracted to as well as physically. She breathed deeply from Jake's shirt while she watched him put on his shorts and another t-shirt, both of which he had laid out on the bed before he left. Susan planned to leave Jake's house as soon as he was gone himself, and intended to wait in the closet until that time. She sat in the closet with Jake's shirt in her hands. She was reviewing everything that had occurred in her head, focusing so much on the thoughts that she didn't hear Jake announce that he was going into the closet to get a different pair of shoes. The door to the closet flung open and the light came on. Jake grabbed a pair of shoes from the shelf in the closet, beside where Susan was sitting, he then sat on his bed and put them on. He then looked up and asked, "Susan, are you planning to come to my party tonight?" Susan was stunned. She knew he had seen her, but she didn't expect him to be so calm. She didn't say anything, she just sat there stunned. Jake walked over to her, stood in front of her. At six feet and four inches tall, he towered above her as she looked up at him. He reached his hand down to her, she reached up to his hand, and he lifted her from the floor. Jake had a ridiculously happy smile on his face as he looked straight into Susan's eyes. "Well?" he said, "Are you going or not?". She responded, "Sure, I'll be there, that is, if you really want someone who is overly dramatic about neatness" He chuckled and sighed, "Of course I do".
Note: This is quite obviously the straight version of the story. I will consider re-writing it.
Posted by curtis at 9:13 PM | Comments (0)
Best Time of The Day
Assignment:
Describe the best time of the day.
Response:
The best time of the day is the night. The night is deep and dark, mysterious and quiet. I like the night. During the night I am the only person around, but yet I am not alone. In the night I am not disturbed by anyone and I can focus on everything I need to eliminate distractions from.
During the night it is quiet and calm outside. The area around me is dark, but the sky is full of light. I often pull out my telescope to gaze off into far off galaxies and imagine what life would be like in places other than Earth. Some nights I get away from the optical enhancement and lay on the ground, feeling the cold dampness of the grass on my back. One of my favorite things is laying on the ground and feeling the cool night air dancing over my body.
Inside the house is still and peaceful. Everyone sleeps except for me. Often it seems as though the others in the house think I am odd for my nocturnal behavior. What they do not realize is that I operate in the night because they aren't around. I can listen to music without interference, and I can work on anything I want to work on without interruption. I am the classic computer science cliche. I stay up late at night, drinking lots of caffeine and working on my code. I also like to write in the dark. Starting with a blank page, I let my mind roll. I do not plan, planning takes too much away from the process and my feelings toward writing.
At night I feel energetic. I feel completely and totally alive. Night seems to never make me tired, but excessive sunlight will always cause me to become exhausted. In the night I can make a list of tasks and complete them without a problem. I multitask and find ways to make logical sense of the most complicated problems during the night.
Night makes me alive. It is my time of the day.
Posted by curtis at 9:05 PM | Comments (0)
Exiting The Core
Assignment:
Journal Free Writing - A piece describing the detachment of a writer from his creative place as a result of a natural closing event in his life. In this circumstance, it would be the ending of an academic semester.
Response:
"Silence, Silence you beasts!" the writer cries out. Weeks ago the writer entered the sacred chamber, wishing to find the depths of the white hot core. At that time the place seemed mysterious and worthwhile, and as if only good things could come from it. Now the writer is plagued day and night by the characters who enter and exit The Zone freely. It was such a difficult task to open those doors, it took weeks of trying to convince the doors to open and day after day many attempts were made to practice opening them. Now it is as though the doors are permanently open. The enemy the writer wishes to silence are the voices in his own head, the forbidden world that was unleashed.
The writer's primary task in The Zone is finished, rapid access to the characters is no longer desirable, but they keep coming. The writer no longer visits the core, because the core comes to the writer. Day after day, night after night, anytime the writer is in the dark, or is in front of the liquid crystal glow, they come back. All of the characters that have been dug up from the core present themselves openly. For several days the writer has tried to silence the voices, and usher the beasts back to their cave, but they simply will not go.
The writer sits alone in the dark. A young French speaking gentleman with a Quebec dialect appears beside him, speaking phrases that the writer does not know how to translate, but yet understands with absolute clarity. The message seems to be "for silence, you must visit where the voices are loudest." The writer brushes off the advice of Jean-Pierre and continues sitting silently in the dark. Jean-Pierre sits too.
Out of the darkness behind the writer appears a sixteen-legged bug the size of a small dog, two brothers, a couple, and a character resembling himself, but very different. The writer doesn't notice the presence of the characters, until one of the brothers stands beside of him with a spoon of red sauce. The brother speaks to him, "hey, try this sauce." The writer knows the brother, and exclaims, "ERIC!" Eric jumps back near his brother. The writer turns around in his swiveling chair. He sees all of his characters assembled behind him, in an infinitely deep darkness packed in tight like molecules of diamond.
The writer looks to Jean-Pierre, the character still sitting beside him. He gives a thought to the advice given to him before. The writer ignores the characters and spins himself vigorously in the chair, back to his desk. The monitor before the writer glows brightly. Focus is obtained. The writer stares intently at the flashing cursor on the monitor and begins following the familiar path back to The Zone. The orchestra begins to play, and the characters follow the writer through the darkness and back into The Zone. The instant the writer sees the white hot core, the characters are mysteriously gone from behind him. The writer takes a deep breath and marches with a determined stride directly into the core, he is absorbed into the glow of the core.
The doors open immediately for the writer and a familiar voice announces "Welcome back, stranger". A moment of silence occurs. All is quiet for moments, then a hundred whispers can be heard. The hundred whispers grows in intensity to become a thousand conversations. The writer walks forward into the open white field. The voices become a million screams. The writer begins crying as he runs across the white space, searching for a way out, looking for a space to hide from the voices.
The writer stops running out of exhaustion and drops to his knees, then yells at the top of his lungs, into the white sky "PLEASE.... LET...ME... OUUUUTT". A bright flash of light distracts the writer as a tall woman appears in front of him and the voices all stop. The woman speaks to him "You wanted in here so badly and now you wish to exit?" the voice is familiar to the writer, the voice that has always greeted him when entering The Zone. The writer looks up and responds "Yes, I need out for a while". "I will warn you, it won't be easy once these doors close" threatens the woman. The writer thinks and then commits, "I accept that, but I can't handle the pressure of them being open anymore". The woman responds "Done."
The write finds himself back in his chair, in darkness and silence. He stands up, opens the curtain and exits the room, free from The Zone. He is protected from the excitement of the white hot core.
Posted by curtis at 9:03 PM | Comments (0)
Sexual Frustration
Assignment:
Journal Free Writing
Response:
Waking in the middle of the night
The room is dark
I am awake and I am sweating
My breathing is heavy
My thoughts are fuzzy
Thoughts that have been tossed around in a hurricane
I can't get back to sleep
The thoughts are spinning
My body will not allow me to sleep
I hate this feeling
A feeling reminding me that my body is in control
This is not about love
Pure hormone controlled desire is the fuel
Shouldn't an intelligent male be able to control the desire?
The room is cold, but I still sweat
Hot is the feeling of my body
I feel the heat in my face
A friend is asleep in the next room
If I could speak to my friend
I believe I would feel better
The embarrassment I feel prevents me
What if my friend thought it was strange?
My waking arousal makes me believe I am perverse
Posted by curtis at 9:01 PM | Comments (0)
The Database
Assignment:
Journal Free Writing
Response:
The database
Composed of similar information
Complimentary structures make it possible
The tables are fortified
The records are consistent
Keys provide fast access to the array
Transition between the technical and the logical
All tables must interact with grace
Relationships form
The server makes a cache
Queries are used for communication
SELECT will return all matching records
INSERT will tell the database something new
UPDATE makes it easy to adjust things
DELETE is a harsh instruction
Simple queries use a single table
With joins the power of the query is multiplied
Like an elephant a database never forgets
It is eukaryotic organism
The structures are modular
All components have a purpose
Each component makes an impact
Data goes in, data goes out
Logic and technology in the most complimentary relationship
The database
Posted by curtis at 9:00 PM | Comments (0)
My Boots
Assignment:
Journal Free Writing
Response:
My boots are leather
They are black and shiny
Standing one foot tall
From collar to heel
The surface is smooth
Leather near the toe is soft
Wrinkles along the forefoot
Showing their age
These boots have been with me
For several years
I've worn them for working
In the yard and in the garden
They have been with me
In my studio and out for a midnight walk
My boots are special to me
I wear them for most everything
Keeping my feet safe
Becoming so familiar
For what my boots do for me
I take care of them well
Once per month they are oiled
Once each week they are polished
When they are finally worn out
I will have them restored
I have several pairs of boots
But these are my favorite.
Posted by curtis at 8:58 PM | Comments (0)
The Workout
Assignment:
Journal Free Writing
Response:
Laying on the floor
Abs are tensed
The muscles are on fire
Hundred reps feel like an hour
Sweat rolling off my body
Abs, chest and biceps glistening
The more crunches I do,
The more the feeling builds
Somewhere between excruciating pain
And absolute ecstasy
Feeling of accomplishment with every new rep
Ignoring my body's resistance to movement
Overcoming my mental limits for this type of pain
Pressing forward towards my goal
I must accomplish this
For myself I must persist
Through all of the sweat, tears, pain and even blood
I am the only one who can accomplish this goal for me
Posted by curtis at 8:57 PM | Comments (0)
Walking Through The Garden
Assignment:
Journal Free Writing - Experience In The Garden
Response:
Beginning of July
Everything is so green
The garden is a sea of green
Green leaves are everywhere
The smell is definitely of tomato
Though none of the familiar red berries are near
Overgrown bushes overpower the garden fragrance
Bright yellow blossoms give promise of fruit to come
Cucumbers are growing long and firm
Hanging on the garden fence
Immature vegetables are thin and prickly
If plucked, they would be very bitter
Zucchini and yellow squash
Carrots and Peppers
All growing so well
Okra trees, six feet tall
Nothing in the garden is ready
Just the cucumbers
I have cucumbers up to my ears
I hate cucumbers!
Posted by curtis at 8:55 PM | Comments (0)
Drawing
Assignment:
Journal Free Writing - Poem for the frustrations of beginning drawing student
Response:
Pencil in hand
Pencil to paper
Image in mind
Image to paper
Delicately textured is the paper
Fibers catch the graphite
Or the coal
Oils also apply well here
Long, slow smooth strokes
These provide an outline of a shape
Short, quick almost erratic strokes
Those provide texture and shadow
Images do not match
Eraser to paper
Line do not connect
Paper to wastebasket
Posted by curtis at 8:52 PM | Comments (0)
June 30, 2007
Note: Re: Creative Writing
A lot of the things I have posted recently are things taken from my writing journal. For the journal, I am supposed to use about one page of space (sometimes more, sometimes less) to complete the assignment. There are four to be completed each week (sometimes I don't do that many, because I write a lot in some). The writing journals can be either from a set topics list, assignments from the text or they can just be things of observations, or other experiments with writing. When I place an assignment as "Journal - Free Assignment: %something else here%", the "%something else here%" portion indicates a self assigned topic.
Posted by curtis at 12:25 AM | Comments (0)
Day and Night
Assignment:
Journal Free Assignment - Comparing Day and Night
Response:
The day is hot and filled with energy
There are kids playing and lots of events occurring
The sun rises to its peak at about noon
At noon the ground and the air heat
Sweat is shed during the events of the day
Through athletic events and outdoor work
Looking to the sky reveals a glowing ball of gas
The sight bringing with it glare and spots
Day is focused on activity and on getting things done
Everything is rush, rush, rush
The elapsing of time is very present
Every moment the sun is giving us light is precious
The sign of a well used day is the coming of a relaxed night
The night is cool and the world is calm
Children are asleep and events slow to a dull roar
The sun has set but the moon glows vividly in the sky
During the night the air is still warm, but not very hot
At night the occasional chill moves through the air
Causing a goosebump here or there
Laying on the ground, staring at the sky
Planets, stars and the moon, all reflecting a delicate light
Night is the cession of day, it is a time for emotion
Emotions flow freely at night and people companion each other
The time seems to go on endlessly, the clocks go unwatched
While abundant, the time of darkness is special and not to be wasted
The sign of a well used night is the rising of the sun and a new day
/*
feels a bit unfinished and needing work. Symbols aren't coming through with the level of emotion I want. I feel like I have no structure, and no place to go with the work.
*/
Posted by curtis at 12:24 AM | Comments (0)
Programming and Logic
Assignment:
Journal Free Assignment - Computer Science poem
Response:
If, then, else
For, while, do
Variables are set
Constants are too
While is very free
While For is limited to three
If helps you decide
Go this way or that
If the value is true
This option we do
If the value is false
Follow the else, it requires no halt
With Do there is no ifs
Operations happen now, no matter the result
Infinite loops are no fun
They start and they never know when they are done
Increment your counter
Check the counter twice
Upon successful completion
Place the loop on ice
Brackets, semicolons and the like
Found prevalent in the code
When it comes to the language of English
These devices do not hold the mode
With the semicolon we end a line
Concatination with the period is not far behind
The symbol of equal evaluates nothing in this land
If you use two, then you can
For operations we frequent
A functions must be written
Special data type situations may exist
A class will serve to fix em
Lines of code are composed
Then lines of code are compiled
For this to happen, we wait a while
If all went as it should, then the program will run real good
Posted by curtis at 12:22 AM | Comments (0)
Poem Modification
Assignment:
Select a famous poem and rewrite enough of it to spoil the original
Response:
Stopping by Woods on A Snowy Evening (Frost)
Whose moods these are I think I know.
His thoughts are in his head, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his moods fill up with snow.
My little psychiatrist must think it's queer
To stop without a pharmacy near
Between the moods and frozen lake
The darkest situation of the year.
He gives his Diagnostic and Statistical Manual a shake
To ask if there's some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The moods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
--
A Dream (Poe)
In visions of the dark knight
I have dreamed of war departed
But a waking dream of chivalry and right
Hath left me broken-hearted.
Ah! what is not a dream by day
To him whose eyes are cast
On things around him with a ray
Turned back upon the past?
That noble dream - that noble dream,
While all the world were chiding,
Hath cheered me as a lovely beam
A lonely joust guiding.
What though that knight, thro' storm and night,
So trembled from afar
What could there be more purely bright
In Truth's day-star?
Posted by curtis at 12:21 AM | Comments (0)
Obsessions
Assignment:
List and describe your obsessions
Response:
Obsessions, Obsessions
Cared for deep and with impulsions
Often ignoring other emotions
One of my most obsessive is paper
Paper of thin and wispy is not my fancy
Paper in colours of creame and ivory do not suit my taste
Words stand out on sheets that are bright white and heavy
My paper must be at least thirty-two pounds per ream
And shine with no less than one-hundred eight lumen
In recent days, I have strayed
No longer the purist
Now using heavy parchment
Paper made from compressed exotic materials as well
Even as I stray, I still demand only quality of high
Laser printed text stands boldly against the white
Text printed the darkest of blacks
Crisp laser letters never bleed on the page
A difference of night and day
The appearance of the letters is half the message
Paper with clean printed text
Or with neat calligraphy
Weighted with strong resilient fibers
Documents of integrity require obsession
Posted by curtis at 12:20 AM | Comments (0)
Dream
Assignment:
Journal - Describe a dream
Response:
Spinning downward, flashes of light
I can't determine which directions are left or right
The smell in the wind blowing fast
Seems to be from my past
My grandmother's bread-pudding
I land on my feet running
The surface upon which I land
Is no land at all
I am on the moon
Near a spacecraft that is unmanned
I walk out across the plane
Dust flies around as I stroll
There seems to be no where to go
As I stand on the pole
I stare down at the globe below
The planet is so round and blue
The oceans are a very pleasing hue
Clouds circle the ball today
I become suddenly scared of the height
I can see down, afraid of a fall
But where would I go?
Which way is up? Which way is down?
The floating station comes by for its daily pass
It is much bigger to me than Earth
I reassure myself that the truth is in mass
Once I find a way away from here, there will be a return of the girth
I wake up quite suddenly to the sun, realizing gravity again
I feel almost as though I am floating to the bathroom
There is a spewing of rhymes, couplets and things
Oh why did I fall asleep reading Butler last night?
The things that man says just are not right
I am physically back in my world
However, Butler's words still take a toll
My mind still has not had a chance to become un-twirled
Varying parts of self remember their role
I remember little of the world I have just visited
Though experiences of that magnitude tend to stay in my head
Notes:
Butler refers to Robert Olen Butler, the author of "From Where You Dream", a textbook for the course
Posted by curtis at 12:17 AM | Comments (0)
Exploring the White Hot Core
Assignment:
Free journal assignment. Reinterpreting textbook concepts into a story form.
Response:
[Journal] - June 6, 2007
Exploring the White Hot Core
The room is quiet and dark, the air cool and dry. For a brief moment that is all that exists. The click of a button press resonates throughout the room and then a dull glow violates the darkness. The glow is emanating from a soft liquid crystal display. The host body takes its seat in front of the display, as both the conductor as well as the audience for tonight's performance. Upon the host body taking its seat, the orchestra begins to play. A very soft melody reaches out across the room and fills the space with life. Trumpets, violins, the cello and the piano, all singing their own way to be part of the whole. The slow waltz feels the room, but there are no dancers to be seen out here in this vast space. To find the dancers we must dive deeper into this experience.
Follow the music until it reaches the space where it ceases to be vibration and is instead turned into electrical signal. Follow that canal deeper and deeper into the mass. Halt! Ahead there is a massive storm, an electrical cloud, this is our stop, the main event is about to begin. The world outside these walls is irrelevant. The outside world contains logic, details and a lot of opinion. In here is the world of yearning, of characters and most importantly, the world of the dreamer.
You are here for one reason, to try your key in the lock on the front gate of the subconscious. There will be no time to take notes if that door does open, the thoughts fly free and fast, catch a dream if you can, ride it to its heart and never look back. The storm is slowing and the environment in this space is becoming very still, so absolutely still that motion seems eminent. The space goes dark for a moment, then a spotlight comes to point out the front gate to the subconscious. A confident, deep female voice with enough authority to be a self proclaimed deity speaks "Approach the gate and its subordinate channels, attempt your key, dreamer." You move slowly to the main gate, and press your hand to the plate, nothing happens, all is silent. You move to the first subordinate passage and place your hand on its door, same result, you are denied entry. You attempt the second subordinate entrance, the entire door shakes and a trumpet fanfare rings throughout the space. The door is gone, replaced by a blinding yellow-white light, radiating from within the chamber to your mind's eye. Stepping through the passage, your body shakes with anticipation of events to come.
Inside the chamber you see things you've never seen before. Creatures that do not exist in the world of the normal and the rational. A bright red mustang with hooves of gold, and a mane of the finest silk. A turtle with a shell of steel and skin of velvet. Anything is possible in this world. You begin to think of the impossibility of it all, and the light in the room grows dim. You feel as though your access to this special place is being threatened, and you focus really hard to eliminate the thoughts of the logical. You circle the thoughts in red and blink twice, the thoughts are removed and the illumination restored to the room. When the lights come back up, the room has changed, different impossibilities exist here now. Rivers are running from floor to ceiling, boats are too. You see a young woman across the forest, she waves to you and then signals you to come to her. She made no visual signal, but you know she signaled for you. Her face is fair and even, her hair straight and blond. Her physical features are so perfectly proportioned, more so than anything you have ever seen in that other world. You look into her perfectly blended blue-green eyes and realize immediately that she isn't a whole person, she is just the most beautiful shell you have ever seen. She has no name, she has no purpose, she doesn't even have emotion. As you think that last thought, she creature has emotion, you willed it upon her. She has received your sadness for the situation she is in, and she blames you for not giving her a name or a purpose. She yearns to have revenge upon you for this horrible thing you have done. How could you not give this being a purpose in your plot? You begin to feel guilty for not thinking to give her depth, or a family or even a lover. You look around the room for more inspiration, you see the boats going up the river. Her clothes change, she is in a white uniform with a white hat. A glossy name badge appears on her chest, "Captain Jane Nautical". She introduces herself "Hello, I'm captain Nautical, but my crew calls me Captain Jane". She aspires to command a large naval vessel and make her mark on history by traversing the seas.
During your journey through the chamber you meet many other characters. Some are characters you know from your past, some are characters belonging to other dreamers who you know, some are characters you don't know, but yet seem oddly familiar and others are characters that are foreign to you, who you will get to know in time.
In the middle of the festivities and fun, the sound of an antique clock striking its hour rings through the chamber. The voice returns, "Dreamer, your time is up, you must now leave, but if you return promptly at the same time tomorrow, I will show you more of my world". You are swept as if by a great wind from the chamber, back to the 'lobby' and finally, like a blast of air from a trumpet you are blasted from the canal. You are back in the dark room. The liquid crystal contains a large amount of text, none of it yet making sense to you. The music ends and the lights of the room turn on slowly. You rise from your seat and exit the room, remembering the promise of the great voice, with the words "return tomorrow" staying most clearly in your mind.
You survived your first trip to the core, tomorrow is another day and you must rest for your return. Awaken dreamer, you are ready to begin.
Posted by curtis at 12:15 AM | Comments (0)
Thrown Vessel
Assignment: Journal free assignment - Poem about ceramics, without using the words "clay", "vessel" or "wheel"
Response:
Cold, damp, firm
Spinning faster, and faster yet
Hands wet, touch it
Smooth, creamy to the touch
Press in hard, it reacts
It bends to the will of the hands
Press in, its tall
Press down, its fat
The reactions are exact
The movement is fluid
As if pushing water,
Captured without gravity
Only two dimensions
Height and Width
Up and Out
What one side does
The other respects
Press the thumb into the center
Pull towards you
The space opens
Negative space is created
Thumb and index finger together
Pinch a lump from the bottom
Unroll the lump up the wall
Feel it stretch beneath the fingers
Swift, smooth motions
Graceful pulls
Gentle curves
Easy touch on
Easy release off
Open further
Shiny surface
Glistening body
Stretching further
Almost about to burst
Standing rigid with soft tension
One more pull will collapse
No more spinning
Curves like rolling hills
Color of light chocolate
Standing tall and wide
Smooth rounded lip
The work is done
Strike below on the steel head
Fingers beneath the foot
Twist and lift
The world holds its breath
No machine creates that reaction
Throwing lines are still visible
A million finger prints
Identifying creator of this bowl
Posted by curtis at 12:10 AM | Comments (0)
June 8, 2007
Poetry Concepts Exercise
Assignment:
Write a poem using 4 of the following: A simile, metaphor, personification, metonymy, 2 symbols, a paradoxical statement, or hyperbole.
Response:
A single candle
Lit with the intensity of a thousand suns
The flame jumps and dances
Quietly speaking to anyone who will listen
Like a quiet mourner in the night
But the existence of the flame is life, not death
The flame persists throughout the night
As the glow of morning approaches, the candle is short
The dew falls, the flame grows weak
As the sun rises, a new life gives birth to death
Posted by curtis at 5:45 AM | Comments (0)
An Interesting Recipe
Assignment:
Write an interesting version of an existing recipe
Response:
Today, my young student, you will learn to make a special lasagna. It has four major parts, the red sauce, the bechamel (white sauce), a ricotta filling and then the structural components.
You will need a small bundle of lasagna noodles, two large handfuls of a ground red meat of your choice, a palm of chopped allium cepa, three bulbs allium sativum, a few dribbles of olive oil, three medium love apples (peeled and chopped), a generous pinch of sodium chloride, a small pinch of basil and oregano and a few cracks of ripe peppercorns.
Place the pasta into a pot of dihydrogen monoxide once it has reached 374 degrees kelvin if you are at one atmosphere of pressure. If you are in a situation that causes you to have an irregular pressure, please calculate your proper boiling point based on the assumption that dihydrogen monoxide will boil at the temperature at which the vapor pressure is equal to the relative atmospheric pressure1. At this point you may include sodium chloride in the dihydrogen monoxide if desired. Remove the pasta from the dihydrogen monoxide and sodium chloride compound, and immediately submerge it in dihydrogen monoxide at a temperature near 277 degrees kelvin until all of the other steps have been completed. Preparing the pasta first ensures that all other required compounds remain stable until they can be cooked.
Cook meat, allium cepa and allium sativum in a saute pan until the red pigments fade away, but do not allow the meat to begin turning brown. Use an osmosis process to remove fat. You will then add the remaining ingredients and cook quickly until the sauce is thick. This should take about thirty to forty-five minutes. Preheat baking apparatus to 477 degrees kelvin.
Next you will prepare the bechamel. You will need 118 CC homogenized churned fermented cream, one small hand of ground wheat grain powder, enough bovine lactic fluid to fill a 10cm by 2.5cm cylinder, an equal amount of fowl broth, one cube of fowl bouillon, and an additional small pinch of sodium chloride.
Heat the churned cream slowly until it de-coagulates, then add the wheat powder. Agitate briefly with wire instrument for one minute. Slowly add bovine lactic fluid, fowl broth. Heat to the appropriate point of boil for your atmospheric pressure. Continue agitation with the before mentioned instrument. Perform an oral examination of bechamel, and add boullion and/or sodium chloride if needed.
The final sauce is the ricotta filling. For this filling, you will need the egg of one chicken, 473 CC curdled dairy whey, 225 CC grana curdled cream and a pinch of sodium chloride. Open the egg, and empty its contents into a bowl, agitate briskly. Add the remaining ingredients and agitate slowly.
The last part is the assembly. For this you will need all of the compounds you have composed in the previous steps as well as an additional 1000 CC of grana curdled cream and 473 CC curdled whole bovine milk. Obtain and lubricate a 33cm by 23cm baking dish. Place some meat sauce into the bottom of the dish, just enough to hold the pasta in place. Lay half of the noodles on the sauce, and half of the remaining meat sauce, half of the bechamel, half of the grana curdled cream, half of the curdled whole bovine milk, and half of the ricotta filling. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.
From room temperature, bake at 477 degrees kelvin, uncovered, for 30 minutes or more, until bubbly.
Posted by curtis at 5:41 AM | Comments (0)
The Ugly Duckling
Assignment:
Rewrite a fairy tale into a poem.
Response:
-The Ugly Duckling-
Why must I be so different from the others?
Outcast, Shamed and Insulted
Fearing what life might bring with its next day
Disappointment, strange looks and degradation
Hiding myself more and more each day to adapt
Can't let the outside world see the real me
Now things have changed
I know myself now
Is it safe to come out to the world?
Will the torment from my past cease?
I know myself
I know I am a beautiful person
Posted by curtis at 5:37 AM | Comments (0)
Sestina
Assignment:
A sestina has 6 six-line stanzas and concludes with a final three-line stanza. In addition, each of the 6 stanzas uses the same words at the end of each line (but not in the same order). And, the last three-line stanza must make use of those same (6) words. Your Task: Write a Sestina.
Response:
Chocolate!
Warm, delicious chocolate from a dream
It seems as though I never have time
I need that chocolate in my blood
Oh how I crave a taste
I must be good, for now I will have water
I lack satisfaction from water
I need my cure, pure, sweet chocolate
All I need is a taste
Please don't ruin my dream
I will give my blood
To have chocolate all the time
Boiling is my blood
Sweet is my chocolate
Bland is water
Chocolate is the dream
I need time
Time to taste
When I sleep coco is in my dream
I awake craving a taste
As soon as my alarm goes off, it is chocolate time
I splash my face with water
Cooling is the effect on my blood
But I still want CHOCOLATE
Why can we not all find the time?
Doesn't everyone crave chocolate?
They must, for it is much sweeter than a young bull's blood
The healthiest treat on Earth is water
Water can never parallel the chocolate taste
Oceans, lakes and waterfalls of chocolate fill my dream
The confection has a rich texture and taste
Lets not make haste in making the delicacy of chocolate
Antioxidants? There are none in water
Chocolate is good for the blood
Remember the benefits of chocolate at snack time
Remember chocolate for the sweetest dream
Dreams of chocolate
They taste sweet all the time
Chocolate is thicker than blood and water
Posted by curtis at 5:33 AM | Comments (0)
A Found Poem
Assignment:
Assemble a poem from various lines of a tour book, website, or other travel companion/resource
Response:
- A Cruise to Remember -
God himself could not sink this ship!
We place absolute confidence in the Titanic
Southhampton, Cherbourg, New York
Sails from New York 20 April 1912
Onboard swimming pool, a gymnasium
Turkish bath, libraries
Fastest, and the most luxurious ship afloat
Owned by the White Star Line
Titanic is unsinkable
*lines collected from varying Titanic resources and White Star Lines leaflets.
Posted by curtis at 5:29 AM | Comments (0)
Character Exercise
Assignment:
Imagine a person who uses public space as if it were private space. Write a description of this person in any form you chose, describing his/her actions.
Response:
He stood there, in the cookware section of the department store, staring intently into the bottom of one of the finest polished steel skillets in the store. His hair was neatly styled into rows of spikes held in place with gel. His muscular arms sprouted from his tight tshirt like tree branches, glistening in the artificial light above him. The shirt clung firmly to his muscular chest and well-formed abs. The rest of his clothing, just a simple pair of running shorts and athletic shoes to accent his two trunks. His face still staring into the pan, his blue eyes fixed on the object of his glance. He reaches down into the two quart saucepan beside him and pulls up his razor. He pulls the blade quickly through the layer of foam on his face, once, then again and again until his face is clear of the foam. He returns his razor to the saucepan, then opens the lid of the roasting pan on the shelf below where his skillet hangs. A small cloud of steam rises from the roasting pan. He reaches in and pulls out a small cloth, which his then uses to wipe his face. He returns the cloth to the pan and then turns to leave. When turning he is confronted by a young woman with golden hair. She inquires to him "Sir, what are you doing?" his cleanly shaven face turns bright shades of red before he responds "Ma'am, I am running late, as I often do, and neglected to shave, and this spot seemed as good a choice as any". The woman smiled and nodded, and the embarrassed gentleman excused himself and dashed off to his station at the sporting goods section of the store.
Posted by curtis at 5:27 AM | Comments (0)
My Hummingbird
Assignment:
The task is to write a ten-line poem. This poem must include a proverb, saying, or familiar phrase (examples: as fast as greased lightening, one foot in the grave, the whole nine yards) that you have changed in some way. This poem should also include five of the following words in it:
cliff, blackberry, needle, cloud, voice, whir, lick, mother
Response:
My dear hummingbird, you visit me every spring
You leave me every fall
You mother your young so near the needle of the pine tree
I spy you grabbing sweet nectar from the blackberry blossom
That is a taste we share, as when the berries are ready, I too will get a lick
You seem to have no voice, only great speeds with which to communicate
When I lay on the lawn to watch the clouds, you zip by, with not even a sound
I wish I too could move at your speed, but in the summers, I prefer to read
Your presence makes me happy hummingbird, you are my friend
Look before you whir my dear hummingbird, for my window is a rather steep cliff
Posted by curtis at 5:25 AM | Comments (0)
New Category: Creative Writing
New Category: Hobbies > Academic > Creative Writing
http://www.disturbingthoughts.net/archives/hobbies/academic/creative_writin/
Under this heading I will post things I've been working on this semester in my Creative Writing course at CPCC. The posts will be in the format of Assignment as assigned and then my response to the assignment.
Assignments that are particularly long may be linked to in an entry as a separate file.
Posted by curtis at 4:33 AM | Comments (0)