The Keys to my Success

It's been a while since I posted a blog entry. It's summer, so I have a lot of time on my hands. I think I'll just write something every day for one year. The date is May 21.

To start the day I wake up. Now for some people this might seem an easy task. It merely....

You know, I started out wanting to write this. I have decided to give it a royal f-you.

Goodnight.

Fridays

I just don't know what I think about Fridays.

See the sad things is that as you get older you realize that Saturdays, which come directly after Fridays, aren't really as amazing as once you thought.

Yet somewhere in your head you can't shake that child like whimsy you feel for Fridays simply because they will be followed by Saturdays.

Then there's the true ominousness in knowing that your weekend will be followed by another week.

What a strange world.

To make me feel better, Here's a picture of a puppy:



He's really really cute. He's so cute that it's making me forget about the ominous nature of the weekend.

Damn, now I'm thinking about it again.

Ooh, look the puppy's back.

Time to end this before the endless cycle continues.

Something to make you smile....

Logorama from Marc Altshuler - Human Music on Vimeo.

I thought this was super creative.

Tweeting SOS

We've come a long way since the field coverage of the Vietnam war. We used to live in a world where people gave a touching performance before a camera bigger than all of their heads. These days, the way events are covered is very different. We have a multitude of mediums to cover any kind of event imaginable. We live in a world where news is as easily caught as the flu. You needn't look any further than Twitter to see a developing trend. We have become a nation of reporters. Through a passive system we’ve all become active interpreters of today’s big events. One of the most pertinent examples of mass and diverse coverage came in 2010 with the Earthquake in Haiti.
When the Earthquake hit Haiti in January 2010, the world was quick to begin aid. Everyone jumped on the opportunity to aid this developing and impoverished country. News spread quickly. Death tolls and figures on the starving began to take front seat with figures on the war in Iraq. This kind of rapid news coverage would not have been possible without the internet. When looking at any news story it’s impossible not take into account the ever growing popularity of social networking sites and their growing use as news media.
Twitter allows a user to make a quick blurb in regards to any given situation in 140 characters. In the case of Haiti, those working on the ground could use Twitter to give updates as they arose about the situation and its progress. It’s not hard to see why this is becoming one of the fastest growing sources of news for a generation. This is a generation of chipmunks; at least we have the attention span of chipmunks. For those without the attention span to watch the 6 o’clock news every night this is the next best option. Twitter is everywhere. If the user has an iPhone than they can receive constant updates about events, celebrities, and even the president.
It would be fun to sit here and argue that the existence of twitter is destroying a generation of news watchers. While fun it would also be impossible. I personally don’t use Twitter. However I can see that what Twitter is creating is a great opportunity for those with tight schedules to get their quick news updates. It’s good to see that those without “the time” for news or world events are finally choosing to be aware of the changing world around them. In time, many other forms of news program will be outsourced and Twitter and the like will take over. Twitter is hardly to blame. We are looking at a future where news has to be quick or else it will be ill attended. In this case, the quick bird gets the tweet.

Goin' To a Meetin'

This Monday I missed the meeting I always go to. That meeting was for Umaine Paranormal Investigation Club. In a moment of curiosity I wondered what I was going to do. I thought and thought and finally came to the realization that I had another engagement that I could write about.
On Wednesday I had a rehearsal for the acapella singing group which I'm part of. It's called Mixed Nuts. Mixed Nuts is a mixed part singing group that performs in the area. We perform a mix of songs which include such rousing hits as Love Stoned by Justin Timberlake and Happy Ending by Mika.

Most people don't know what acapella is. Acapella is a form of choral singing that relies on no accompanying instruments. Any of the instrumental sound you hear comes from a member of the group called the vocal percussionist.

This week we started the rehearsal by doing warm-ups and then led into learning a song by Dispatch called The General. A few of our members were absent but we still managed to breeze through most of the song in the hour and a half alotted to us. Overall a very productive meeting.

Hmm...

I look around each day with a clean-slate on my mind. I force myself to look at things, regardless of whether I have learned a lesson about such situations, with a tinted lens of newness.

I don't really know if there's more to that thought than that. I think it was just a thought and now it's gone. Thoughts tend to flee like that.

All That's Known....

It's impossible to ever really know what we're doing. Usually we're sitting, carefully perched on one leg, sitting on a couch looking out at the world and challenging it to look back, or endlessly moving without a real knowledge of what we're doing but that it will bring us new meaning. That is, in the end, the summation of our friendship.

Peter Rimkunas is a product of Gorham, Maine. His family consists of five of the most rambunctious people that you'll ever meet. Never having met his parents, instead hearing tales of jumpsuits and singing, to name a few, I have had the pleasure of meeting only his siblings. Peter is unlike either of his siblings but instead a summation of their parts. His brother Jonas is an outgoing and outrageous guy who pounces around a lot with no worry or care. His sister, Miriam, is much more on the quiet and reserved side. Her power stems from her ability to wield words like a finely honed blade. Peter on the other hand is much like Winnie the Pooh in that he is always jumpy and fun but when the situation calls for it he can be serious and extremely thoughtful, saying nothing but really saying everything. Peter is one of those people who you can't help but like. His aura is always colorful. He is always willing to say something that will cheer you up. Most of the time he does it unintentionally.

Sean Edwards is a very different ball of wax. To meet Sean is to meet your everyman. Sean too was born in Gorham, Maine. His parents are divorced and live in two very different worlds. To listen to him talk is almost to see the shots of a finely aimed rifle. He never keeps a thought to himself but saves the really good ones for just the right moment. A scholar of letters, typed no less but still letters, who reads life like an old book. The best thing about Sean is that he knows how to speak. Not really speak in the general but to speak eloquently and know what to say. It could easily be said that his word and personality are comforting in their simplicity but always hide more than you expect them to.

Then there's me. I am only me. I can be nothing else. Peter, Sean and I compliment each other so that you can only hope to say nothing and say more. I have been forever changed by my relationship with these two guys.

The goal of this assignment was to write a character profile. Character profiles are usually about one person but at the same time sometimes you get the inkling to write wildly about that giant pink elephant in the room. In my life I've had the pleasure of meeting so many people . Yet rarely do I feel the urge to do things by the book. I chose to do this assignment not on one person, that's too normal, instead. I opted for a profile of a friendship. That's what life is. To deny such a fact is to deny life itself. I never feel like doing things by the book. This assignment is no different. If I should fail, I accept such a fact. Failure too is part of life. In the end I had to do a profile of the most important thing in my life: my friendship with two of the best people I've ever met. In the end, the air in any room that we inhabit is a character unto itself.