Just because the art may be simplistic to the viewer, does not mean it did not lack imagination by it's creator.~Mike Niemann
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
The Dark & Deep Lovely Woods
The Dark & Deep Lovely WoodsThey approach with caution,
The light glowing through the Birch.
The house looks ominous
Next to the black lake.
They have wondered,
For hours and days.
They feel the power,
Drawing them into the glow.
Does anybody live here,
Or is it just an illusion.
A figment of their hungered imagination,
The cold pushes them forward.
They know they'll find warmth,
Inside the ominous glow.
What else they might find,
Is an unknown factor.
But they press on,
Knowing they need to get out.
To get out of the open,
The open grasp of the Birch.
Their arms reaching,
In twisted motions towards them.
Snagging their capes,
As they press on through the dark.
They've walked so long,
Not knowing this place in the deep.
The deep & dark grabs hold,
Of their fears and anxiety.
They reach the pathway,
Only to find the shadow standing.
Standing before them,
With a grin of devilish playfulness.
The shadow makes no sound,
But beckons them inward.
Their apprehension gives way,
To the cold and hunger they have.
Looks of a fire,
Looks of food,
Looks of rest,
Within the glow of the ominous.
They are naive to what stands before them,
Moving by shear will.
The anxiety deepens in their brains,
The fear escalates higher.
But the hunger,
And the cold,
And the dark,
Shove them forward from the twisted arms.
They leer forward,
They glance at each other.
But the shadow beckons,
Beckons them to the warmth.
They step inside the ominous glow,
Enveloping them in it's warmth.
The warm can not be a bad place,
Warmth is a pleasant thing.
The cold is the horned goat,
That chases them through the Birch.
The warmth surrounds them,
Just like the shadow of one does.
The shadow closes them in,
Holding them to their anxiety.
It deepens as the shadow,
Blocks their way to freedom.
They have lost their way,
Through the twisted Birch.
Along the black lake,
Through the dark & deep lovely woods.
The light glowing through the Birch.
The house looks ominous
Next to the black lake.
They have wondered,
For hours and days.
They feel the power,
Drawing them into the glow.
Does anybody live here,
Or is it just an illusion.
A figment of their hungered imagination,
The cold pushes them forward.
They know they'll find warmth,
Inside the ominous glow.
What else they might find,
Is an unknown factor.
But they press on,
Knowing they need to get out.
To get out of the open,
The open grasp of the Birch.
Their arms reaching,
In twisted motions towards them.
Snagging their capes,
As they press on through the dark.
They've walked so long,
Not knowing this place in the deep.
The deep & dark grabs hold,
Of their fears and anxiety.
They reach the pathway,
Only to find the shadow standing.
Standing before them,
With a grin of devilish playfulness.
The shadow makes no sound,
But beckons them inward.
Their apprehension gives way,
To the cold and hunger they have.
Looks of a fire,
Looks of food,
Looks of rest,
Within the glow of the ominous.
They are naive to what stands before them,
Moving by shear will.
The anxiety deepens in their brains,
The fear escalates higher.
But the hunger,
And the cold,
And the dark,
Shove them forward from the twisted arms.
They leer forward,
They glance at each other.
But the shadow beckons,
Beckons them to the warmth.
They step inside the ominous glow,
Enveloping them in it's warmth.
The warm can not be a bad place,
Warmth is a pleasant thing.
The cold is the horned goat,
That chases them through the Birch.
The warmth surrounds them,
Just like the shadow of one does.
The shadow closes them in,
Holding them to their anxiety.
It deepens as the shadow,
Blocks their way to freedom.
They have lost their way,
Through the twisted Birch.
Along the black lake,
Through the dark & deep lovely woods.
Friday, August 14, 2009
SOAPBOX RANT - Kids Respect
Ok, let me first off say, I was a little prick when I was a kid. I would get in trouble, do stupid things that kids and teenagers do. I had been in fights with others, I had even started a couple, just because the other person was also a prick. These are things part of growing up. Don't get me wrong there were kids and are kids who for the most part are well behaved. with very moderate or no trouble, this is in part to what I understand as good parenting. The one thing I would not dare to do was talk back to what was an adult or my parents. Know, I did push this issue when I was a teenager, and I was disciplined for it. And let me tell you my mom was a small women, but she could put the fear in god in you if you stepped out of line. I'm not saying my mom was unreasonable in her punishments looking back, of course then she was just mean as hell.
But I was a kid what the hell did I know. Now I have children of my own. I believe in my heart and soul that my wife and I do right by them instilling in them respect for their elders. Of course, as they are children, they slip now and then. This is where I believe as a parent and you step in and correct them. There is no asking them, you simply put things in perspective in a firm voice that shows them what they did wrong and how to corect their behavior. That way when they are older you hope they will be upstanding people. This what I believe parenting is about. It about love, admiration, and showing them how to be good people.
They more and more I see parents taking a soft attitude towards raising their children, and their children have no respect for others. Let me give you 3 examples of what I mean by lax or soft parenting:
#1 - Several years ago I was standing in line at the register at a grocery store waiting to pay for my stuff. The lines were pretty backed up, so I was out in the main aisle. I could see the people to the right and left of me waiting in line at their registers. The one to my left caught my attention. The women was trying to put the grorceries on the conveyor. Her child what I assumed to be about 5 or 6 years old was grabbing things off the racks and either throwing them on the ground, putting them in the cart, and totally ignoring his mom. The reason why, she was not firm and telling him not to do that. She had a soft voice, and was merely asking him, " please don't do that." At this point who is the boss, the mom or the child? In my time as a child, my mother would have threaten to leave the groceries where they were, and take a visit to the bathroom. This shut me up quick. I would have been yelled at like nobodies business, plus their would have been the embarassment of having to go into the ladies room. I think this worked miracles for my up bringing. I believe a parent has to be a parent first, and a friend later.
#2 - I work at a golf course to help bring in some what of a steady paycheck. The job does not pay well, but it's better than nothing and what I do is not rocket science. I sit in a shack and check that golfers have paid by checking their receipts and have them sign the rental agreement for the cart. That's it. Now the course is in a well to do neighborhood, so a lot of high school age kids come out to play. They even offer a jr rate to walk the front 9 for $10. Now I'm checking in golfers left and right, checking and taking their receipts. I notice that 3 junior golfers had walked up to the practice putting green that is just before the tee. Several golfers had checked i. and they continued to putt. When it died down they grabbed their bags ad headed for the tee. I asked to see their receipts, at this point one of them smarts off to me and rells me why? you didn't check anyone elses. I told them I had. And once again questions me. I tell him has to check in with the pro shop before they come out and bring a receipt. One of them smarts off to me and tries to hand me another receipt and says heres a receipt from a sporting goods store, theirs a receipt for you. I tell him not to get smart with me. "Why it's not like we paid a lot, we pay $10 to walk the f***ing course." WTF! Did i just have some snot nose kid swear at me? Needless to say I kicked them off the course. But come on. If it were when I was their age I would have been in seriuos trouble. I would have never thought to swear at an adult, much less drop the F bomb. I chalk this up to kids not being with in ear shot of their parents, and their parent not taking a firm strict stand with them, but a soft parenting attitude. Once again, parents not raising their kids.
#3 - I know of a small non-profit group ran by a wonderful women who collects toys for the less fortunate so that at least a few kids can have something to open for Christmas. This women who signs up every year for her kids, does not work. So she is home to watch after her children no matter what. But doesn't. Her boy has ran away, disappeared for days at a time, has ended up in and out of juvenile hall several times. Ad the mother does nothing. One time the boy didn't come home for 4 days. She didn't ask for help to find him for almost 2 days. And didn't look for him herself. But wanted other people to look for him, including the cops.
Once again let someone else to the parenting.
It seems more and more parents are spiting out kids and pawning them off on someone else to raise them. It seems that I meet parents who geuinuely care about raising their children. But seems that more and more these parents are becoming a rare commodity. I seee young adults going to jail for robbery, rape, murder and other crimes. What happen to these people. I realy think it went wrong with their parents. Now, there are times when a person is just a bad apple. And no matter what, their going to turn out bad. But come on, raise your kids to be good people. Otherwise our world will just take a turn for the worst. It already has enough troubles wothout parents unleashing their problems with raising their kids.
This is jus my opinion, I step off the soap box for now.
Thanks for reading.
But I was a kid what the hell did I know. Now I have children of my own. I believe in my heart and soul that my wife and I do right by them instilling in them respect for their elders. Of course, as they are children, they slip now and then. This is where I believe as a parent and you step in and correct them. There is no asking them, you simply put things in perspective in a firm voice that shows them what they did wrong and how to corect their behavior. That way when they are older you hope they will be upstanding people. This what I believe parenting is about. It about love, admiration, and showing them how to be good people.
They more and more I see parents taking a soft attitude towards raising their children, and their children have no respect for others. Let me give you 3 examples of what I mean by lax or soft parenting:
#1 - Several years ago I was standing in line at the register at a grocery store waiting to pay for my stuff. The lines were pretty backed up, so I was out in the main aisle. I could see the people to the right and left of me waiting in line at their registers. The one to my left caught my attention. The women was trying to put the grorceries on the conveyor. Her child what I assumed to be about 5 or 6 years old was grabbing things off the racks and either throwing them on the ground, putting them in the cart, and totally ignoring his mom. The reason why, she was not firm and telling him not to do that. She had a soft voice, and was merely asking him, " please don't do that." At this point who is the boss, the mom or the child? In my time as a child, my mother would have threaten to leave the groceries where they were, and take a visit to the bathroom. This shut me up quick. I would have been yelled at like nobodies business, plus their would have been the embarassment of having to go into the ladies room. I think this worked miracles for my up bringing. I believe a parent has to be a parent first, and a friend later.
#2 - I work at a golf course to help bring in some what of a steady paycheck. The job does not pay well, but it's better than nothing and what I do is not rocket science. I sit in a shack and check that golfers have paid by checking their receipts and have them sign the rental agreement for the cart. That's it. Now the course is in a well to do neighborhood, so a lot of high school age kids come out to play. They even offer a jr rate to walk the front 9 for $10. Now I'm checking in golfers left and right, checking and taking their receipts. I notice that 3 junior golfers had walked up to the practice putting green that is just before the tee. Several golfers had checked i. and they continued to putt. When it died down they grabbed their bags ad headed for the tee. I asked to see their receipts, at this point one of them smarts off to me and rells me why? you didn't check anyone elses. I told them I had. And once again questions me. I tell him has to check in with the pro shop before they come out and bring a receipt. One of them smarts off to me and tries to hand me another receipt and says heres a receipt from a sporting goods store, theirs a receipt for you. I tell him not to get smart with me. "Why it's not like we paid a lot, we pay $10 to walk the f***ing course." WTF! Did i just have some snot nose kid swear at me? Needless to say I kicked them off the course. But come on. If it were when I was their age I would have been in seriuos trouble. I would have never thought to swear at an adult, much less drop the F bomb. I chalk this up to kids not being with in ear shot of their parents, and their parent not taking a firm strict stand with them, but a soft parenting attitude. Once again, parents not raising their kids.
#3 - I know of a small non-profit group ran by a wonderful women who collects toys for the less fortunate so that at least a few kids can have something to open for Christmas. This women who signs up every year for her kids, does not work. So she is home to watch after her children no matter what. But doesn't. Her boy has ran away, disappeared for days at a time, has ended up in and out of juvenile hall several times. Ad the mother does nothing. One time the boy didn't come home for 4 days. She didn't ask for help to find him for almost 2 days. And didn't look for him herself. But wanted other people to look for him, including the cops.
Once again let someone else to the parenting.
It seems more and more parents are spiting out kids and pawning them off on someone else to raise them. It seems that I meet parents who geuinuely care about raising their children. But seems that more and more these parents are becoming a rare commodity. I seee young adults going to jail for robbery, rape, murder and other crimes. What happen to these people. I realy think it went wrong with their parents. Now, there are times when a person is just a bad apple. And no matter what, their going to turn out bad. But come on, raise your kids to be good people. Otherwise our world will just take a turn for the worst. It already has enough troubles wothout parents unleashing their problems with raising their kids.
This is jus my opinion, I step off the soap box for now.
Thanks for reading.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Burning Embers
Burning EmbersThrough the haze,
the fog,
the smog.
Through the mud,
the muck,
the crud.
The mindless sensation,
Realization,
Of what we ingest,
Inject the stereotypical,
To the powers that be.
That you are not a drone,
A slave to their endless shopping spree.
Blue lights flicker,
On every window pane.
Pushing you, pulling you,
Images of the week minded and insane.
Commercializing,
Merchandising,
Profiteering,
On the demand of short supply.
The abundance overflowing,
Of needless materials.
As we wake to the souring,
Tastes that are left in our mouth.
Trying to stand for something,
All the time.
Monetary compensation,
For our hopeless circumstance.
Green lights flashing
Red lights beep.
Go, Stop, Go, Stop
Cutting through to skin deep.
An endless traffic jam,
Of mindless drivel.
Spewing forth like the fountain,
Of eternal youth.
Their message plastered on your mind,
Glowing through your retinas.
Burning straight through,
Right to the the embers of your soul.
Protect yourself,
From their constant onslaught.
Keep yourself true,
To the burning embers deep below.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
The Hum
The Hum
Through the muck and the mud,
Through the darkness we crawl.
Casting aside the doubts,
Of what evil doers do.
Through the changing of the seasons,
Through the haze we stammer.
Not knowing who or what,
We will become because of our actions.
The techno babble,
Screams in our ears.
Wiring us, jacking us, plugging us,
And srcrews us into the great motherboard.
Personal space and personal time,
Has become no personality.
Anti-Social attributes,
And waste driven greed.
Has given us no history,
Tear down the shades.
The shades that hide,
The neon glow of the nuclear family.
Shhh, quiet, can you hear it,
Hear the hum.
The machine sings to us,
Carresses are frontal lobe.
Shhh, quiet,
It's trying to tell us,
The next great thing,
That thing we just have to have.
Shhhhhhhh, quiet,
The machine tells us,
When to sleep, eat, talk, walk,
The machine tells us.
Hear the hum,
Hear the soft hum.
Caressing us,
The hum of the machine.
Through the muck and the mud,
Through the darkness we crawl.
Casting aside the doubts,
Of what evil doers do.
Through the changing of the seasons,
Through the haze we stammer.
Not knowing who or what,
We will become because of our actions.
The techno babble,
Screams in our ears.
Wiring us, jacking us, plugging us,
And srcrews us into the great motherboard.
Personal space and personal time,
Has become no personality.
Anti-Social attributes,
And waste driven greed.
Has given us no history,
Tear down the shades.
The shades that hide,
The neon glow of the nuclear family.
Shhh, quiet, can you hear it,
Hear the hum.
The machine sings to us,
Carresses are frontal lobe.
Shhh, quiet,
It's trying to tell us,
The next great thing,
That thing we just have to have.
Shhhhhhhh, quiet,
The machine tells us,
When to sleep, eat, talk, walk,
The machine tells us.
Hear the hum,
Hear the soft hum.
Caressing us,
The hum of the machine.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
At Winter's Edge - Art & Poetry
At Winter's Edge
When the light dawn's
Over the snowy ridge.
As sea foam settles on
The Icy shores of the edge.
When the snow falls
Over the land and sea.
We are reminded,
Of something greater than you and I.
The land is ours to explore
And to cultivate to show it's beauty.
To show the real beauty
That lies beneath the construction.
That lies beneath the destruction
That lies beneath the haze
That lies beneath the filth
The beauty will shine through.
Here where the light begins
And here where it also ends.
Here where the cold burns
Here at winter's edge.
When the light dawn's
Over the snowy ridge.
As sea foam settles on
The Icy shores of the edge.
When the snow falls
Over the land and sea.
We are reminded,
Of something greater than you and I.
The land is ours to explore
And to cultivate to show it's beauty.
To show the real beauty
That lies beneath the construction.
That lies beneath the destruction
That lies beneath the haze
That lies beneath the filth
The beauty will shine through.
Here where the light begins
And here where it also ends.
Here where the cold burns
Here at winter's edge.
*This print is only available at my deviant art site www.captain-nemo.deviantart.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)