I sat on the hilltop looking down. Below I saw the silence of my town. Settled peacefully into a rut that only a few had any idea what mud had gotten into it, the wagon wheel of progress slowed to a halt, or more amusingly from up here, it spun in place, going back and back again to the same innovation. How on earth could stereo sound still impress so many people? But I guess that's the way of the world. I knew history repeated itself, but seriously, it was a bit of a letdown.

I smiled, though. I was done with them all. I had set out with exactly three apples and 15 copper coins in a knapsack and a kitchen knife in my hand. Also, I was wearing straight-up jeans, no metal armor or anything for me, and a t-shirt that was far too comfortable to pay the holes in it any heed. At that point I turned around and headed down the far side of the hill. The grass was sorta green, which was better than the dead grass I had left behind. I meandered down the grade and found myself in a valley with a nice little stream. Trees filtered the sunlight upon me and I knew it was time for a little break and one of those apples.

Crunching into the delicious cherry-red apple I looked around. A sudden chill came to me, and I knew then that my kitchen knife would be necessary in a few moments. Mountain lion, bear, something unknown was watching me. But I wasn't going to get all worried. I had protection.

So down I sat with my back against a tree and the knife laying safely next to me and my hand on the hilt. I waited. Moments turned into minutes as I waited for the beast to appear. Minutes lengthened into large amounts of minutes. Still, I knew the beast would appear. Then I would kill and harvest the meat and make better protective clothing for myself, with an added bonus of such hides making me more stealthy.

All was going to plan as I waited for the beast.

phew

I spent the past 3 months working nonstop on an animation project for my senior animation class at Northeastern. It was an intense process and indeed I'm glad I did it. I directed a team of 4 others and we attempted to create a realistic city block and composite a live actor into the cg world. In many ways I think we very much succeeded. There are gorgeous shots and the overall story seemed to be represented well.

I was the main camera and timing guy in addition to running the team, and it was spending those hours just running over the edit that I had the most fun. Really looking at what was important, what we didn't need, and just how it all flowed together. At a reasonably fast pace we were able to establish a character, a dilemma, and build it all up to a climax and a resolution. It was awesome!

So the story goes: this guy is walking along when he discovers he's walking along a glowing blue line. He tries to step off of it but the world rotates so that his step away from the line is now back on it. Confused and rattled, he tries again, but again the world responds, so that every time he tries to move away from the line it twists the world just so he's back onto the darn thing. Well now he's just gone loopy and going to have himself a ball. And he does, until suddenly a pot falls and almost takes him out. Flustered and fearful he takes off, only to discover that he's arrived at the end of the line where a glowing blue X awaits. He hesitates only to have the world tilt him forward. Bam! A girl runs into him and they fall to the ground. He looks up and- love! The end!

And that's my call to sleep.

p.s. urge me to write more, people. I love writing, I just don't do it often enough because I seem to think other things are more important. (and they're not)

If a server goes down in the computer lab, does anyone survive? These are the questions we ask ourselves in the precious times when all that is near and dear crumbles under the fact that it is a collection of ones and zeros.

Sanity, my friends, that is what I'm losing. Madness, I am gaining. And now I'm hungry. Dinnertime!

Nerve endings
Dissolving
Dissolution
And salutations to you proud nations
With crumbling numbers
As colors crunch.
Fading leaves and tattered
While light dissipates
My blood accumulates in white cells
Where poetry dissolves back into energy.
Potential resolutions gone
And hoped for.
Fall, I fall
I whisper softly to my fate
While the heart yearns through years and sees nothing
But fading light
Burning brighter and brighter into the reversing night.