Vi Veri Veniversum Vivus Vici.

Today, Saturday the nineteenth day in May in the year of our lord two thousand and twelve, I have decided to do another post of things that inspire me. My last post like this was all about art, brought on by the beautiful novel My Name Is Asher Lev (Which, I've just learned, has a sequel). But today I decided to go a little broader than just art, although I might mention some beautiful artists again. So let's begin shall we?

First, poetry. As a writer I find poetry to be completely brilliant. I admire people that can take a simple thing like a river, or a bird, and twist words around so it has some great deeper meaning. What I really admire about poetry is that even if you can't understand what the underlying layers of the poem are, you can still feel it. Subconsciously you understand what the poet is trying to say and you have a very real emotional reaction to it. The heart understands poetry in a way that the mind doesn't. The mind needs to be trained to find the meaning in poetry, to understand all it's symbols and beauty, but the heart doesn't. The heart just knows. This concepts of the heart knows what the mind can't comprehend applies to many things (Like V for Vendetta which I watched with The Brother's Orton, their sister and brother-in-law, and Nancy Waldren last night.) like paintings, music and Love.

Here are a list of a few of my favorite poems. Some are short enough to write all of it here, some are very long and only excerpts are given. (All colored lines are things I would get tattooed on my body) I suggest everyone reads the poems in their entirety.

Invictus by William Ernest Henley: "In the fell clutch of circumstance/ I have not winced nor cried aloud/ Under the bludgenings of chance/ My head is bloody but unbowed." 


Suicide's Note by Langston Hughes: "The calm,/ Cool face of the river/ Asked me for a kiss." (yes, that's the entire poem.) 


Emily Dickinson in general, but a few specifically: "If I can stop one heart from breaking I shall not live in vain"


Stopping By a Wood on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost (Emily's favorite as well): "And miles to go before I sleep/And miles to go before I sleep" 


The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe; "Quoth the Raven, Nevermore." 

So that's the poetry that Inspires me.

Writers often inspire me. These people have done what I hope to do. Every time I read a good book I think "I'm going to do that someday. I'm going to make someone feel what I'm feeling right now." They have mastered the art of emotion and imagery using only words. Here are a few writers that I want to emulate.

Jay Asher: "Everything ...affects everything."

Charles Dickens: "It is a far far better thing that I do now than I have ever done." 
Robert Jordan: "Let the lord of chaos rule!" 
Melina Marchetta: "Be prepared for the worst my love, for it lives next door to the best."
Fyodor Dostoevsky: Nothing in this world is harder than speaking the truth, nothing easier than flattery.
Markus Zusak: "I am the Message." 
William Shakespeare: "For in that sleep of death what dreams may come?" 
Victor Frankl: “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” 
To name a few. It's really an endless list. 


Music often inspires me as well, although not being a very musical person I don't know why. My mind has been trained to understand the beauty in words, but my heart is still the only part of me that knows why Music is so beautiful. I can say that music says things that no words never can. It has a way of wrapping around your soul and pulling out the most pure pieces of you. Some music I like:
Paramore
Mumford and Sons
Goo Goo Dolls
Lord of the Ring's composer Howard Shore
The Fray
And an eclectic mix of many others.

I could mention many other things that inspire me, like Movies and Art (again), but since this post is already filled with many things I will just skip over those things, because if you read my blog faithfully those things should be obvious. So let's move on to people. There are people who inspire me to be myself, to love, to defy society, to be better. All these people, I love though I only know a few personally.

My Mother: raised four kids, often on her own, and still standing strong.
My Angel Grandmother: Raised four wonderful women and never let the world knock her down.
Natalie Portman: she shaved her head for art. Anyone that can pull that off is awesome.
P!nk: never afraid to be her own person without going to the extremes for attention like Lady Gaga
Emily Juchau: I've read her book and was privileged to be part of the creation process. She's going to do great things.
Van Gogh: beautiful painter, beautiful man
Girls with short hair: cause we're awesome. (including this chick)
Doug Neilson: He never gives up on anyone, even if he'd like to.
J.P. Lilly: He founded B.A.C.A. If you don't know what that is, look it up. He's amazing. He blessed my life.
(Seaman doesn't make the list. He was a weird therapist other than my others)
Everyone in Group Therapy: Joseph, Angela, Chandler, Drew, Brian, Abby, Krissy, and everyone else who I won't name. You guys are the reason I am happy again. You inspire me to write.

That's what I've got for now. Stay Excellent my friends.

Mellow Jazz? Bongo Drums? A Big Bag of Weed?

Best Week ever? I think so! and it's only Monday! Why you may ask? Well audience I'll tell you!

First I saw Avengers at Midnight! It. Was. Awesome! If you haven't seen it yet you're probably a noob and asking for it to be ruined for you by all your rude friends, but I'm not that rude friend, but you need to see it! cause. it's. AWESOME! If Barney Stinson made a movie just so it could epitomize awesomeness, this would be it. Only he would be in it and not Robin.

Next! Not so awesome, but I did lunges and my thighs are killing me, but the good pain. The kind TJ's stupid quote "Pain is weakness leaving the body" is about. (not the getting beaten to death by Tom Cruise kind of pain that he seems to think the quote applies to. It doesn't, in case you were wondering.)

Then: I discovered on Friday and Sunday that I am aquainted with two very attractive 14 year old boys. one looks like Alex Pettyfer. (below)
                                    The other kind of like a younger, more redheaded version of Spencer Reid (but better hair. see below)  Who knew I had spontaneous Pedophilia? Also Cabe Starr, but he hardly counts.








* Cabe Starr in himself just makes any week better. Here's a little proof as to why "Screw you Darwin!" "I feel like I need a pregnancy test." "I made my friend snort Midol." "If I was a prostitute would you vote for me?" "I've seen Marks naked body more than my own." And that's only the stuff I wrote down or remember. This kind is priceless. sadly I can't date him, cause Cami beat me at Rock Paper Scissors. and she has the Triforce on her wrist. I can't compete with that.

I got a B+ on my 10 page research paper that I was sure I'd bomb! I'm totally ecstatic.

Today, I saw Avengers again, with my Brothers and Angela and Kylee. Fact: My brothers rock. McKay basically is The Hulk (and Bruce Banner for anyone that is confused) and Matthew is which ever Avenger he wants to be cause he's the fastest, smartest, and coolest 10 year old ever (and because he can't decide which one he wants to be cause he loves all of them).

So, the high light of the day and to prove Matthew's Avenger-ness, while I was diligently trying to do my Seminary make up homework, Matthew asked me to move to the other room so he could watch TV. Being the responsible babysitter that I am, I said no because he'd spent the last three hours catching up on Pokemon. I insisted he read a book. He got the remote from me, so I threatened his life and chased him. Because I am in pain from my lunges and can't walk fast, he hid before I could find him. So I found his squirt gun and patrolled the house and his usual hiding spots. After a thorough search I found him buried under my little sisters blankets. So, rationally, I sat on him (I can still do that, but someday he will be bigger than me). He screamed at the top of his lungs, a pitch that could make a dolphin cringe, and I got off. He began to cry and buried his face in the blankets. I was very concerned so I tried to console him and ask him what was wrong. He insisted that everything was fine and that I should leave him alone. This is a normal routine when Matthew is upset so I insisted he tell me. After continuous attempts on his part to bury himself in the sheets, I pulled his hands from his face. What should I discover but dimples deep as the grand canyon and the most devious smile you've ever seen.
It was all a trick!
He dashed out the front door while I was still scrambling to retrieve my fully loaded watergun and ran down the street to hide behind the neighbors fence. 20 minutes of trying to chase him through the neighborhood and lock him out of the house (I may be bigger but he's still faster) I called my mother and she told me to get him ready for bed. Quick as a flash I concocted my revenge plan. I called him in, emptied my weapon and went into the house before him. Before he could get in the door, I found my squirt bottle in the bathroom. Stealthily hidden on a kitchen chair I urged him inside and insisted he brush his teeth. Just when he thought he was safe I shot him in the head! Water was everywhere, and my revenge was sweet. He is faster, but I'm still smarter!

A photo of the soon to be only black Avenger

So yeah, my life is great. My brother is the next Avenger, and someday I'm going to pay for these little battles of ours. But all in all a great week! We'll see how the rest of it goes.