Interesting Images

Going Places

A candle whispers out, wick coughing up its last ashy remnants
which rise, single file formation, drifting east.
Fog finds cracks between peaks,
a slow-motion avalanche wiping entire valleys from view.
There are baby toys and a crib in the front yard
almost unused, still colorful, never loved.
An ocean of bricks rises up overnight to shelter those less fortunate
than millionaires, but more fortunate than community college kids
in that they get to pay more for their bricks, and their basketball teams
don't always suck.

A decrepit professor retires finally, walks out of the building;
loafers on the too-elaborate brick staircase one last time.
Class debates eschewed political correctness for content.
Clarity before courtesy - he doesn't look back.

Bushes burgeoning with robins fling squawks of spring
at fenced-in, sandboxed children waiting to be told they can resume
their studies and put down their shovels and empty their pants,
though the damage has been done. They won't sit comfortably
until they have a cure for cancer.

A low-pressure area over Nebraska dictates where air
I intended on breathing is going. I watch it depart
taking with it the smell of smoke
from the cigarette the weird bearded guy is smoking
as we wait for the east-bound bus.

Poem:
It's Friday, and I mentioned Dean Young's poetry yesterday, so here was a shot at imitating his style. It's a rather poor attempt. As far as I can tell, he relies on image impression as a way of conveying feeling to his reader, so I put most of my effort into images. I'm not sure if anyone not privy to my brain will think they're related at all.

Observation:
I found this during my extensive browsing of the internets and thought it was interesting enough to pass on:



If you want a more offensive, less to-the-point version, you can watch this (I think the only decent part is at the four minute mark):



Basically, it shows why all the people who by a Prius because they care about the environment should really do their research. The nickel that goes into the batteries is way worse than burning some extra gas.

Exercise:
You are in a waiting room (doctor's office, job interview, etc.). People are sitting more or less in a circle. Describe several of them -- focusing only on their feet! Type of shoes, cleanliness and condition of shoes, toes if they show, how they let their feet rest. Are they quiet or do the feet move? What can you tell about the person from the feet?

I'm not the sort of person to stare at other people. Nor am I the sort of person to feign interest in waiting room reading material. However, I am the curious sort. The combination of these three traits is what led to me with my eyes half-closed and pretending to ignore the people around me, all the while studiously regarding the bits of them I could see: their feet. Immediately across from me slender calves disappeared into faux-fur-lined, black suede boots, which of course looked like they had never been used to traverse anything deeper than the layer of dust on the floor. The laces were tied in a loopy bow, as though the wearer knew any detail of footwear could come under scrutiny at a moment's notice. To her (I felt safe assuming it was a her) left was her contrapositive. Hairy calves drooped into dirty white tennis shoes, their soles almost attached, and releasing water gradually into the carpet. Where he had managed to find a puddle capable of imparting that quantity of water was a bit of a mystery, so I could only assume he was the sort who couldn't be bothered to deviate from his course enough to avoid the snow's last watery remnants. And then there were the optimistic, leg-bouncing, open-toed heels. They gracefully wound their way around a solid ankle, not the sort of ankle to take no for an answer, but not pudgy either. The toenails were trimmed, but unpainted. All business.

Me:
Today was a pretty good day. I played handball at 11:00 in lieu of class (which was cancelled), and spent the rest of my free time on my iPad. I found larger versions of the apps I like on my phone, and was stunned by the amazing picture quality while watching video. After my afternoon class I ate a salad and a quesadilla before getting on my bike and heading into the wind. I went west, and the wind was from the southwest. By the time I was halfway to my destination it had shifted to a straight headwind, but I pressed on. I had the foolish idea I was going to do sixty miles. It turns out that that actually requires some amount of time. And it also turns out that if you leave in the late afternoon, the sun tends to not give you that amount of time. On a related note, it gets cold. So I made it about twenty miles before realizing it was getting dark and cooling off rapidly. I turned around, realized the tailwind was actually rather strong, and hightailed it home. It was thoroughly enjoyable. When I stopped for traffic, the street signs were rattling. The wind was whipping plant material into a frenzy, and I'm pretty sure I averaged over 28 mph on the way back. Upon my arrival, I manufactured some pasta for a post-ride binge (the best time to eat is within 20-30 minutes of concluding a workout), hauled myself upstairs, and passed out in front of the internet. I woke up some time later and had one of those instants where you don't know whether the clock means AM or PM. I think that feeling of complete temporal disorientation is fascinating. Like when you go into the movie theater in the broad daylight and come out to darkness. It's such a strange feeling. Awesome. So that's why this is getting posted at four in the morning. I've already slept a bunch, and I'm not really that tired. What a start to spring break.