Surrealism

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love surrealist art, mainly Salvador Dali.

So I was pretty happy to find out about this Russian artist named Vladimir Kush. Here is a link to his personal website.

He has some really cool paintings and scupltures.

Incredibly imaginative, strange, colorful ...

An opinion ...

Here is an opinion piece by Peggy Noonan for the Wall Street Journal.

It relates to my previous posting and clarifies what I was trying to say ...

a random thought

I want a beer ...

The times seem to require it. The madness of the world seems to be imploding on itself. The Virginia Tech Massacre, a horrible rape in New York city, endless discussions about some idiot DJ. ... it's as though everything is coming to a head. Just scanning the Drudge Report on any given day, gives everyone a look at the evil of man, and truth be told it becomes tiresome.

Everything seems to be on the brink of something, and yet ... here i sit in a blissful state of ignorance. No ... it's not ignorance because I understand the implications and the consequences. Maybe it's somewhere between indifference and a deep concern masked by passivity.

Perhaps this is what they meant by the "ME" generation. A large and general "I don't give a f*ck!" to anyone within earshot or to anyone who cares to listen. Like that will justify the individual in their existence, in their beliefs, in them. The same indifference is what propagates the problem. It furthers it along its path, making the severity of the crimes worse, and allowing people to accept anything less than the extreme. The next time something happens people will say "Well at least it's not as bad as ..."

Who knows ... but with the ever endless coverage of all the evil things we do to ourselves, one can't help but feel somewhat detached.

OR ... maybe I'm just rambling ... i tend to do that.

half a$$ing my way through the day ...

I've recently been experimenting with the idea of just not planning. I had reached a point where I felt like everything was always planned, there was always a schedule, always someone to meet, something to do ... and after awhile it felt like a prison. I was constricted by what my little calendar was telling me I had to be doing.

To say it was frustrating would be an understatement. All these other exciting possibilities had to be pushed to the way side as I was forced to focus on some predetermined event that had been scheduled 3 weeks ago. For lack of a better word, it sucked.

I'm not saying that planning ahead is for losers ... but I am saying that when everyone keeps planning event after event ad nauseam, well after awhile you start wishing that there you didn't have as many friends. Either that or your friends weren't so insistent that you attend.

You know what I'm talking about ... it's that friend who rarely comes out, but suddenly they have some special engagement and because of that they guilt you into showing up ... meanwhile you would rather be doing about a million other things, but out of a sense of loyalty you show up anyways. That's ok when it happens once in a blue moon, but when it happens weekend after weekend ... well it starts to wear on you.

So what's the point of all of this? Recently I've adopted a new attitude and so far it seems to be working wonders. In general I just choose specific days not to plan a thing, these days mainly fall on the weekends ... and so far so good. There is a lot to be said for being able to wake up on a Saturday morning ... debate whether or not to go for breakfast or whatever, and then just haphazardly plan your day. I've found that I'm able to somehow tumble into random invites to hockey games, dinners, parties just by going about whatever it is that I wanted to do. On the rare occasions that nothing happens I just go off and do something that I enjoy and that I can do by myself (but that seems to be a rare occurrence).

Anyways ... I guess I just wanted to say that it is possible to fall ass backwards through a semblance of a life with no plans, schedules or appointments, and I for one am glad ... it takes the decision out of indecision ;)

Ramble on Life

Things just seem to work out the way they should. It's not a fatalistic point of view, but I do believe that everything happens the way they were meant to happen. It doesn't absolve anyone of their personal responsibilities, but in a sense no one should get upset when the proverbial sh*t hits the fan.

I think a person's attitude towards life in general will dictate how deeply something will affect them. Regardless of what they appear to be on the outside, their inner disposition will manifest itself in thoughts and actions. Therefore a person's general beliefs, etc. will help to determine how events unfold. Does that make sense? Basically if a person believes in karma, and that by doing good they tip the scales in their favor, then they unconsciously place themselves in situations that would bring about positive results.

For example someone who deals drugs is engaging in negative behavior. By placing themselves in this situation they've automatically increased the likelihood of something bad happening. Therefore when something eventually happens, a person can look at the law of karma and say "Well they deserved it."

This does not mean that bad things don't happen to good people, but I sincerely believe that good people will react to these bad things differently. Everyone is different. Some people will see a challenge whereas some will see loss and despair. Two people will have two distinct reactions to the same negative event.

So why all the philosophizing? No point really, just events and circumstance that sometimes get the mind working ... I guess the way things unfold aren't always what one hopes for, but it is as it should be ... to what might have been and could have been ... but not necessarily should have been.

Either that or this is just a late night ramble brought on by some conversation ... tomorrow can always be a brighter today if you let it.

... and I ramble on ...

my heart ...

... goes out to a friend's family who lost an addition to their family yesterday ... while another continues to fight on tucked away in the sterilized environment of the ICU not knowing or maybe knowing how many people are pulling for him to beat the odds.

... goes out to my friend who sounded so emotionally distraught and was struggling with the idea of not having a niece, and perhaps not even having a nephew ... or being an uncle.

... goes out to my friend's sister who has wanted nothing more to be a mother for as long as I can remember. Who has had so much trouble, and felt so blessed and ... happy ... to be having not one but two children to call her own. Only a few weeks ago she beamed with the joy of an expectant mother. Now she sits in a hospital being the rock that her family can lean on.

People find strength at the strangest of times while others crumble believing all hope is lost.

In the grand scheme of things it's a sobering reminder that nothing in life is a given and that we should truly appreciate all that we have while we have it, and not after the fact ...