ONE: 'You shall have no other gods before Me.'
TWO: 'You shall not make for yourself a carved image--any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.'
THREE: 'You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.'
FOUR: 'Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.'
FIVE: 'Honor your father and your mother.'
SIX: 'You shall not murder.'
SEVEN: 'You shall not commit adultery.'
EIGHT: 'You shall not steal.'
NINE: 'You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.'
TEN: 'You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.'
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Friday, September 11, 2009
"I command thee..."
Below I have comprised a short list of commandments. Not quite as good as God's I admit. He did in ten what I could not do in 34 (and counting). But since I am not submitting these for admittance into The Bible, I figured they would be ok for this little web-journal of mine.
Hope this helps.
01. Learn to enjoy the sound of music.
02. No matter what anyone tells you, quitting in the right situation does not mean you are a loser. It means you are smart.
03. It is better to make things happen than to have them happen to you.
04. Play with children.
05. Always tip.
06. Marrying for love is a very post-modern concept. Prior to this time period the majority of marriages were for wealth, admiration, or political gain. (secretly they still are).
07. Reconnect with friends over social networking sites. Those memories will carry you much further than you can imagine.
08. Your parents are invaluable. Their love, compassion, concern, and guidance will remain with you throughout your years.
09. Visit your mother's grave site.
10. Believe in God. I do not care which God you believe in, but believe that there is a higher power that placed you here and is concerned about your well being. The comfort will do you justice when you feel the world has failed you.
11. Do not let those who cannot find happiness in their own lives try and pass judgement on the happiness in yours.
12. There will time in life when you will be faced with great adversity. Furthermore, there will be time that you place a great deal of obstacles there yourself. Lock in, grit your teeth and fight through. You may take some bruises but you learn the value of a fight.
13. Let go when it is time to let.
14. Hold on to what's worth holding on to.
15. Take part in your children's lives. While you cannot totally shape their actions and decisions, your prescence in their lives can yield great outcomes.
16. Positivity. Have a plus sign everyday.
17. Always have an umbrella handy. It may rain.
18. You are not alone. In fact far from it. There are millions of people on this planet that are experiencing the same thing that you are. You may never find them, you may never know who they are, but there is a support group dedicated solely to you.
19. Attempt to learn another language.
20. Buy cheap potatoes chips, but splurge on the vodka.
21. Hang out with friends.
22. Do not underestimate the value of being broke.
23. Sit behind pretty girls in class. It will pay off. Everytime.
24. There are people who see the cup as half-full or half-empty. No matter which side of the fence you fall on, please find a way to fill the cup.
25. Read.
26. Enjoy art. There is something out there for everyone.
27. Do not make love. Let it make itself. It's better that way.
28. Let all of your crushes know that you liked them. Not for a chance to get a date, but for the confidence boost it provides.
29. Fight uphill battles full-steam.
30. There is no such thing as being overly optimistic. If you can believe it, with the right amount of hardwork and dedication, you can surely achieve it.
31. Increase your web-prescence.
32. Write and record at least one song before you die.
33. Always wear clean socks.
34. Express yourself every step of the way. If your name is John, then your shoes, shirt, pants, socks, underwear, house, career, etc. should say "I am John." Do not get lost in the shuffle of your own life.
Hope this helps.
01. Learn to enjoy the sound of music.
02. No matter what anyone tells you, quitting in the right situation does not mean you are a loser. It means you are smart.
03. It is better to make things happen than to have them happen to you.
04. Play with children.
05. Always tip.
06. Marrying for love is a very post-modern concept. Prior to this time period the majority of marriages were for wealth, admiration, or political gain. (secretly they still are).
07. Reconnect with friends over social networking sites. Those memories will carry you much further than you can imagine.
08. Your parents are invaluable. Their love, compassion, concern, and guidance will remain with you throughout your years.
09. Visit your mother's grave site.
10. Believe in God. I do not care which God you believe in, but believe that there is a higher power that placed you here and is concerned about your well being. The comfort will do you justice when you feel the world has failed you.
11. Do not let those who cannot find happiness in their own lives try and pass judgement on the happiness in yours.
12. There will time in life when you will be faced with great adversity. Furthermore, there will be time that you place a great deal of obstacles there yourself. Lock in, grit your teeth and fight through. You may take some bruises but you learn the value of a fight.
13. Let go when it is time to let.
14. Hold on to what's worth holding on to.
15. Take part in your children's lives. While you cannot totally shape their actions and decisions, your prescence in their lives can yield great outcomes.
16. Positivity. Have a plus sign everyday.
17. Always have an umbrella handy. It may rain.
18. You are not alone. In fact far from it. There are millions of people on this planet that are experiencing the same thing that you are. You may never find them, you may never know who they are, but there is a support group dedicated solely to you.
19. Attempt to learn another language.
20. Buy cheap potatoes chips, but splurge on the vodka.
21. Hang out with friends.
22. Do not underestimate the value of being broke.
23. Sit behind pretty girls in class. It will pay off. Everytime.
24. There are people who see the cup as half-full or half-empty. No matter which side of the fence you fall on, please find a way to fill the cup.
25. Read.
26. Enjoy art. There is something out there for everyone.
27. Do not make love. Let it make itself. It's better that way.
28. Let all of your crushes know that you liked them. Not for a chance to get a date, but for the confidence boost it provides.
29. Fight uphill battles full-steam.
30. There is no such thing as being overly optimistic. If you can believe it, with the right amount of hardwork and dedication, you can surely achieve it.
31. Increase your web-prescence.
32. Write and record at least one song before you die.
33. Always wear clean socks.
34. Express yourself every step of the way. If your name is John, then your shoes, shirt, pants, socks, underwear, house, career, etc. should say "I am John." Do not get lost in the shuffle of your own life.
If this doesn't make you smile. Pretend.
So I was doing my normal check of www.teganandsara.com and tripped across this. Straight from Sara's mouth, ermmm fingers..
Hello!
Tegan sent a telegram from the cruise ship, she’s pleased with my performance as Captain Correspondence, and I’ve been given permission to continue. The first order of business:
We’re happy to present the album covers and track listing for SAINTHOOD which will be released on Oct 27.
Front cover
Back cover
------------------------------------------------------
Me again.
And just like that I found a reason to smile again today.
".... and that should be just enough for an explosion."
If you are reading this. Thank you. Also you should know by now, this blog has nothing to do with Graphic Design.
My parents named me "Jamaal." It was their right to do so. I am not certain of the conversation that took place that caused them to land on this name. Nor am I sure what were the other potential names. I am certain that Keith Jr. was tossed around the conversation. It was in that moment that my father possibly did the best thing he could ever do for me. He said "No. I want him to be his own person." That is one thing I admire about my pops. While so many parents want carbon copies of themselves floating around, he wanted me to be an entity unto myself, fully equipped with my own thoughts, emotions, fears, aspirations, insecurities, and ideas about what life is. Jamaal it was.
And while I often wonder what exactly it is they had envisioned for me, I realize even more that I am the "Jamaal" they asked for. I am, like many of us, like you even, a lovable fuck-up. My mistakes are as frequent as highway mile markers. My hang-ups are many. Just ask anyone close to me, I shun any all ideas that many consider fun (try getting me into a club without a fight...it ain't happening). A friend of mine always tries to get me to see my accomplishments. I try but the truth is; I rarely feel as though I have accomplished anything. Roc says that I should be the face of all that we do. Sometimes I think that he believes my accomplishments overshadow his. He'll never realize that I have only made it this far by following in some of his better laid footsteps. And while I have a Bachelor's from a university I feel as though he has Mastered life. I look to that guy for so much. I chalk up a lot of what I am to what he always said we should be. So when he told me "We want more than the world has to give us." I listened. I adhered. I acted out.
I'm not certain it is ok for a man to be as sensitive as I am. Not sure where that come from. I used to think that I had my mom's sensitivity but then I thought about it. Mom was pretty fucking tough. I'm not "cry-baby" sensitve, though I will drop a couple if the situation calls for it.
I don't know what brings me before you tonight. The usual I guess. A war about nothing. You would think I'd learn by now. I haven't. Sorry.
Monday, March 2, 2009
The Unveiling
I have decided it best to tackle a collection of short stories first. The sole purpose for this is that at this stage of my life I am realizing more and more that life, both mine and yours, is not a concealed within a nice plot sequence. Instead the plot is episodic. All things in life do fit together to create one narrative. Everyday we converse with one another and we engage in story-telling. The act of telling a story creates a story. So in realizing that, I have to ask myself "What's more interesting, the mirror on the wall, or the one in thousands of fragments on the floor?" They both reflect whats before them. The mirror reflecting one single image, whilst the fragments reflects numerous angles and distortions of the same image.
I am partial to the fragments
and it is that reasoning that causes me to title my first collection of stories "Fragments: Individual stories. Universal life."
The cover, depicts the four seasons of one year, and one's life.
It's going to be fun
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Program start
So I just decided that I would jump into this as if you have all been reading it for months. Ok, I'll throw you a bone.
...yadda yadda... was going be a design blog...yadda yadda...whatever the fuck that means...yadda yadda... changed mind blah blah...working on novel. Thank you for understanding.
Today's question: How damaged are you?
Setting: Griffin, GA
Time: Between now and then.
Scenario: He always had it. The ability to listen. I mean as a kid it was almost all that he did. You know how most people hear things? Trivial things that we take no notice of, the sound of a dog bark, or wind blowing through the trees. Well this kid would actually listen. Attentively. He'd listen to the cars traveling past his home, going about their way. He would always think that they were off to do some important grown up work no doubt. He'd listen to the cracks of thunder which gave the clouds a a deep rumbling voice. Was he afraid? Sure, as most kids are. But instead of placing his head under a pillow in attempt to drown out the sound he would sit with his eyes fixed in a gaze reflecting a contemplation much wiser than his young face could then contain, his back erect, and listen. And tremble. And he'd listen to his father snoring. He heard his mother doing that thing that women do; that light breathing that is just barely audible. It's not enough to wake you from your sleep but it was enough to let you know they weren't dead. Yet. It's not quite a snore or maybe it is but either way you would still take it home from the bar and sleep with it because it was coming from a woman. In these moments the sounds were his parents. Teaching him things about the world, the symphony around us that if you weren't listening to, you wouldn't hear. The thunder had taking on the form of his father. And his father was pissed. "Boom!" it exclaimed, attempting command the attention of everyone in range but falling solely on the ears of the listening boy. "Should I go wake dad" he'd think. "Boom!" "I should go and sleep with them tonight." "Boom!" "I am alone."
So it should come as no surprise to know that chatter of others would find its way in. He wasn't much of a looker back then. If he was he didn't know it at least. He was too young to define himself. So like the majority of us, like you even, he would allow the things that he heard about him define him. His father, a large man both in stature and influence was his earliest source of inspiration. He would say to his son, "I am proud of you. You are a handsome little rascal." If this was said on a Tuesday, then the kid felt good on Tuesday.
But of course, everyday can't be Tuesday.
Mean little bastards. He did not posses the words yet to describe them but you could see them. School kids with that heir of importance, that "na-na I'm better than you because my mommy drives a Benz and your mommy drives a Corolla." Little shits, too young to realize that the success and affluence of their parents would not carry them much past high school. You know that group of guys that go out to lunch together at your job? They stand around the water cooler, and laugh about the same shit that you watched on television last night, but the instant that you chime in and comment on the latest episode of "Lost" or some shit like that they stare at you as if you just admitted that you like butt play? (It's ok if you do, just everything isn't to be said around the water cooler) Those are the same guys who sat at lunch together in college, high school, junior high, and elementary school. Sure they are not the exact same people and over the years some have come and gone, but if you were to exchange a Tyler for a Todd you'd have the same assholes. I guess what I am trying to say is that our early years create that in us. The need to belong, the need to connect to something larger than ourselves, the need to feel as if we are part of something more impor...it's bullshit isn't it? Kids do not need to feel as tho they are a part of Green Peace. No, kids need to feel as if they are not out casted and picked on and treated like meaningless shit that adults know they are but are too soft and afraid to tell them. I'm sorry David, but your ability to eat the most flies does not qualify you as being important. Don't cry, it does not make you any less important either. It doesn't make you anything. The only things that matter in life are the things that cause you to be alive and the things that will eventually cause you to die.
...yadda yadda... was going be a design blog...yadda yadda...whatever the fuck that means...yadda yadda... changed mind blah blah...working on novel. Thank you for understanding.
Today's question: How damaged are you?
Setting: Griffin, GA
Time: Between now and then.
Scenario: He always had it. The ability to listen. I mean as a kid it was almost all that he did. You know how most people hear things? Trivial things that we take no notice of, the sound of a dog bark, or wind blowing through the trees. Well this kid would actually listen. Attentively. He'd listen to the cars traveling past his home, going about their way. He would always think that they were off to do some important grown up work no doubt. He'd listen to the cracks of thunder which gave the clouds a a deep rumbling voice. Was he afraid? Sure, as most kids are. But instead of placing his head under a pillow in attempt to drown out the sound he would sit with his eyes fixed in a gaze reflecting a contemplation much wiser than his young face could then contain, his back erect, and listen. And tremble. And he'd listen to his father snoring. He heard his mother doing that thing that women do; that light breathing that is just barely audible. It's not enough to wake you from your sleep but it was enough to let you know they weren't dead. Yet. It's not quite a snore or maybe it is but either way you would still take it home from the bar and sleep with it because it was coming from a woman. In these moments the sounds were his parents. Teaching him things about the world, the symphony around us that if you weren't listening to, you wouldn't hear. The thunder had taking on the form of his father. And his father was pissed. "Boom!" it exclaimed, attempting command the attention of everyone in range but falling solely on the ears of the listening boy. "Should I go wake dad" he'd think. "Boom!" "I should go and sleep with them tonight." "Boom!" "I am alone."
So it should come as no surprise to know that chatter of others would find its way in. He wasn't much of a looker back then. If he was he didn't know it at least. He was too young to define himself. So like the majority of us, like you even, he would allow the things that he heard about him define him. His father, a large man both in stature and influence was his earliest source of inspiration. He would say to his son, "I am proud of you. You are a handsome little rascal." If this was said on a Tuesday, then the kid felt good on Tuesday.
But of course, everyday can't be Tuesday.
Mean little bastards. He did not posses the words yet to describe them but you could see them. School kids with that heir of importance, that "na-na I'm better than you because my mommy drives a Benz and your mommy drives a Corolla." Little shits, too young to realize that the success and affluence of their parents would not carry them much past high school. You know that group of guys that go out to lunch together at your job? They stand around the water cooler, and laugh about the same shit that you watched on television last night, but the instant that you chime in and comment on the latest episode of "Lost" or some shit like that they stare at you as if you just admitted that you like butt play? (It's ok if you do, just everything isn't to be said around the water cooler) Those are the same guys who sat at lunch together in college, high school, junior high, and elementary school. Sure they are not the exact same people and over the years some have come and gone, but if you were to exchange a Tyler for a Todd you'd have the same assholes. I guess what I am trying to say is that our early years create that in us. The need to belong, the need to connect to something larger than ourselves, the need to feel as if we are part of something more impor...it's bullshit isn't it? Kids do not need to feel as tho they are a part of Green Peace. No, kids need to feel as if they are not out casted and picked on and treated like meaningless shit that adults know they are but are too soft and afraid to tell them. I'm sorry David, but your ability to eat the most flies does not qualify you as being important. Don't cry, it does not make you any less important either. It doesn't make you anything. The only things that matter in life are the things that cause you to be alive and the things that will eventually cause you to die.
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