Absurd Evolution

What do you suppose the science fiction genre was like 900 years ago? Trick question: All science was fiction! Seriously though, if you think about the scientific dreamers of the Renaissance , like da vinci, then think about where we are today, one has to wonder what things we'll dream in 100 years when modern science fiction becomes fact. Will there still be room for imaginings, or will hard fact dispel all wonder from the universe? There will always be wonder and enchantment standing next to cynical irony, like angels and devils on our shoulders. The sheer scope of the universe guarantees this. I'm wondering what purpose the imagination serves. Clearly it helps us be creative, think abstractly, prepare for discussions we are about to have and even play chess. If we can't see where their pieces are going to be in several moves, how can we react appropriately. Where would we be today if we preconceived nothing? still poking sticks into holes and eating ants? We probably w

Love them or hate them, tests are everywhere. Whether you're walking up to a random girl, ordering a drink from a veteran bartender, or sitting in a class actually taking a test, you are probably being tested and there for, taking a test. This is because we are inquisitive, skeptical people, who want to know who we are talking to, whether they are worth our time, or for the less trusting among us, whether or not they mean to harm us. I understand that there is a potential that most people don't think this way, but this isn't for those people. They don't read, understand subtext and don't think about the situations they find themselves in tactically. I don't know most people, so I can't speak for them, nor have i taken the time to look for a study on this devilish advocacy, so I am going to continue under the assumption that most people do probe those around them, attempting to clean prejudice's grime from their perspective. We've all had that fee

Writing is often about inspiration, moments when words fall on the page in a way that seems perfect, like no other arrangement is could better describe a feeling, or thought. I think mostly this is about setting, and I recently found the perfect place to write and be inspired: A little greenhouse, nestled on the border of a forest and field. It's filled with hundred of plants, insects, and the hundreds of odds and ends that go into keeping diverse gardens lush.  My favorite part: the dirt that coats nearly every flat surface. I like it dirty. Sounds pretty distracting right? Well it is. When I wrote this, I spent more time looking at the living creatures around me than putting ink to paper, but I fully expect to find inspiration in the air these plants produce for me. Maybe too inspiration is carried on the water logged wings of the crane fly I rescued from certain doom in a puddle, who is presently still struggling for life, but will likely be eaten by the baby black snake w

I think I'm going to continue the trend of mysterious places and things for a while. Recently I ran into (I have no idea how, as is often then case on the internet) stories about a satanic cult that had supposedly taken up residence at an old abandoned Church in Hollis NC. You probably know that I'm not the type to believe in the super natural-- I've always thought ghost stories were dumb-- but I do believe in satanic cults. The story starts more than ten years ago on a dark, empty feeling night preceding Halloween in Hollis, when a local drove across a bridge that had been lined with the carcasses of several species of mammals. I probably wouldn't have the same reaction to this ("Oh, how artistic") as most people would, but if I'm living in a rural, undeveloped town of only about a thousand people, maybe, I'm going to be freaked out. My story will quickly spread to those around me. Who would do such a sordid thing? Clearly it was the satanic cult

Good morning readers, the few and proud. It's time for a break from science like topics for a while so I'm going to talk about some music today. If you know me, you probably also know that if I'm awake, I'm probably listening to music. New stuff, old stuff, folk, edm, rap, you name it and I probably listen to at least a little of it. I came across an album by happenstance tonight that I like enough to tell you it's story. Most things have stories: the pair of shoes with heavily worn soles, the fallow garden and even the toe nail that fall through the clippers. Most however don't have stories quite like the album the Frosted Ambassador, whose creators are  unknown. The album artwork is provided by William Cullen Hart, one of the founders of the record company the Elephant 6 collective. He also provided art for his own projects and several of the other E6 bands. I like it, it lacks traditional forms, like must of the album, but offers enough symbolism to ma

Well not really, but I'm sure the Norse god of lightning, thunder, storms, oaks and strength is at least in some part of the minds of the Norwegian engineers and scientists, who are presently testing Thorium in their experimental reactor. Their company is called Thor Energy and they are one of the few places in the world at which Thorium is actively being used to produce energy. Their five-year test seeks to determine which blend of elements produces the most stable and efficient reaction. Thorium isn't anything new(obviously, it's billions of years old), it was explored as nuclear fuel for civilian and military purposes during the cold war, but because of it's complicated reactor requirements, was put on the shelf for some 30 years-- in the United states that is. Several other countries have experimented with its use since the United States introduced the technology during the 60's: Germany, India, U.K., Norway, China, Japan and a few others grace that list. Cu

Jenna brushed some lint from the Shoulders of Jeremiah's navy blue suit, tightened his red tie and straightened the American flag pin on his lapel. One could tell just how fit he was, even in a suit and Jenna hoped that the audience would note this too. One of the strongest parts of his campaign were those on health and nutrition, and while the tub of lard from New Jersey wanted to jump on the healthy living band wagon, by doing a fat burning diet routine that lets America track his diet and wait loss, Jeremiah had been at the wheel for the majority of his adult life and was hoping he would avoid having to address this issue. "You look great, now go out there and be yourself" Jenna said, giving him encouragement that she knew he didn't need. He always looked so cool, even now before his first presidential debate. She knew that he did not need to worried at all, because she also knew just how much he had prepared for the debate. Jeremiah knew, that she knew both of

Today, class, I'd like to talk about a subject near and dear to my heart: Marijuana. Now Marijuana is on the rise. A plant once enslaved will soon be allowed to involuntarily spread across the United States, out doors that is. You see, right now Marijuana is getting a bad rap, and it should. Not for the usual reasons that you might expect. No I don't care about kids doing drugs, or the mental side effects, or addiction, or it often becoming a part of people's budgets when it shouldn't be. The only thing about marijuana that I care about is it's new found large effect on the environment. Whatchyou say? You heard it, Marijuana production is a disaster right now. Nearly all of it is grown indoors, meaning all of the energy that a plant normally needs and gets from the Sun and it's surrounding environment, for free, is being pulled of the grid. Lights you say? Yeah, those are pretty bad and are on nearly 16 hours a day average across a plants life time, which uses

What to write about? War, finance, corporate greed, nutrition, environmental disasters? Let's go with that last one. This isn't about anything new, but I wouldn't be surprised if many of the people (me) who read this have not heard of the Pacific Trash Vortex, a congregation of trash in the middle of the pacific ocean estimated by most to be at least the size of Texas. I'm not really sure I need to say much more, the idea speaks for itself. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is another giant example of just how much our institutionalized society cares about the environment: very little. Further supporting my cynical slander is the growth of the patch, which likely hasn't slowed since we discovered it in the 80's. It's sad. So what's being done? What can we do? We as in people reading this can do very little to solve this problem. We might start a social media campaign and get some news attention to the travesty, but that isn't doing any real work ot

At the end of this story, I die. That sort of ruins the surprise, right? Well if you're like me you don't find mAny things surprising and probably don't like them anyways. Well I suppose that's not entirely true as some surprises are good, like your team, the underdog, tackling the insurmountable giant, solidifying themselves as the proverbial Adam. I've always wondered why sports casters use Cinderella metaphors so often. I mean I understand that they get to go to the "big dance" but it just seems like a shoe that doesn't quite fit. There's a story coming, I promise, but as I'm dying, show a little and be patient: I like my introspection. I suppose this story starts with a lot of hard work, in a restaurant I won't name, but that most of us are fairly familiar with, because I don't have many nice things to say. screw what my mother says, bad comments need to be said just as much as positive ones, how else will we know where progress i