Rite a Riff

      

  I chose this particular entry mainly because I had so much fun writing it. The nonsensical logic I think lends itself to the piece because it puts more emphasis on the sayings that I chose to weave together. I hope it is as much fun to read as it was to create.

When writing about keeping your ducks in a row, one must not judge a book by its cover but rather hit the nail on the head while reading between the lines and seeing the big picture in shades of gray. Now, I'm not talking about the ins and outs but the application of the situation that so burdens the smaller man. You can’t be caught counting your chickens before they hatch or carrying all your eggs in one basket. You must tackle the situation head on and with feverish intent so not to fall between the cracks or wander from the path. You must also keep in mind that no two people are the same and what really separates us is the way we perceive a situation and react. Because when Bob’s your uncle, you’re the shining star of intuition and boldness. And when your life is ship shape and the wind is at your back, it’s all down hill from there. When you’re Johnny on the spot and prepared with a witty rebuttal, the world is your oyster as God is your witness, whether you’re telling your colleagues verbatim about an arbitrary topic you read about in Modern Science as though it was a creation of your own cranium. You’re corning the system, sticking it to the man, and screwing the pooch. If you’re lost in a sea of confusion, you only have to ask yourself in a Derek Zoolander voice, “Who am I?”

Read a Riff

 

        I chose this poem because it captures how I feel sometimes when I’m alone in the woods. The repetition and rhyming really lend themselves to a sensual connection to nature that one only finds in solitude. In addition to this, I also was drawn to the last two lines; they sum up the poem is an extraordinarily eloquent way. “And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep,” keeps resonating in your head even after you stop reading, which is what I enjoyed most about this piece.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
Robert Frost


Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.


My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.


He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.


The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Blog Reviews

The Word of Dave is a blog that appeals to your sensual and charismatic side while at the same time lighting a flame of rebellion inside you. The writings served in this blog will keep you pining for more, whether it’s poetry or opinion. Deepvalleydave speaks through his original literature like a wise Jedi would counsel a young padawan. The Word of Dave will not disappoint!

Billy's Blog combines an uncanny organizational display with content that is obviously very near and dear to its creator, which is what I like most about this blog; Billy’s style of telling you what he thinks and not sugar coating it. That’s refreshing.

Pensamientos is a fun visit, however the humor’s a little dark, but that’s my favorite part! In conjunction with the playful writing, the layout is esthetically pleasing and creates great depth. I’ll definitely be following up on this blog.

Remember

      In this poem by Analissa Range she uses repetition of the line “to remember the fallen” to make the reader associate the line with something that they remember in a special way. I chose this poem as a token of remembrance in honor of Veterans Day as it is very appropriate to remember the fallen. To remember the fallen in the words of Range is to remember the very essence of someone and how they should not be forgotten.

To Remember the Fallen

to remember the fallen
is not to remember how they fell
but to remember why and for what

to remember the fallen
is not only to remember their actions
but to remember the dream for which they fought

to remember the fallen
is not to remember how they fought
but to remember who they fought for

to remember the fallen
is to remember their reason
to remember their dreams
and to remember those they fought to save

to remember the fallen
we continue their fight
we carry their dreams
and we finish what they start

Analissa Range

So it begins...

I'm going to start this blog on a note of conservation; something that is near and dear to my heart....

             The state of the environment is a major contributor to poverty and conflict in the world. All of us would love to stamp out poverty and see to it that everyone has enough food to eat and adequate shelter to live in. However, without environmental protections, our ability to produce food decreases, creating a wider gap between those who “have” and those who “have not”. Even with adequate environmental protections our exploding human population may be the root of the problem.    

            Currently, nothing is done without first weighing the pros and cons. By this I mean how much money is it going to take? This distorted view is causing more problems than it is solving. As a nation, and even as a world, when a problem arises, we just throw some “funds” at it like applying a band aid. We also try to inject our own values and cultural views into an entirely different system. Applying this tactic to third world countries has been especially ineffective. They don’t have money problems. They have life and death problems such as: not enough food, not enough water, AIDS epidemics, etc. In fact, there are too many people and not enough resources to sustain them.

Not many third world countries can sustain a food source indefinitely for two reasons. One, a growing population requires more resources, thus taking a toll on the environment. Two, the worsening environment lessens food production. Climate change is and will continue to be one of the major factors in the creation of poverty. There are only so many resources and they are dwindling. This is an example of exceeding the carrying capacity of a particular region.

            By mid-century the world population is expected to increase from the current 6.7 billion to 9.1 billion people. At this rate, the world’s population will exceed the planet’s estimated carrying capacity of 25 billion by 2150. Because of this rise, people are being pushed out of productive food producing regions by expanding urbanization. With this growing population, the food production in the world must also rise 70% over the next 40 years. How can we do this if we are paving and destroying the productive land that is left? How can we justify saving people if we will run out of the resources to feed them or should I say us? A real solution, although not a very compassionate one, is to let a portion of the global population die off; trimming the fat so to speak. We must also realize that the safety of our food crops depends on maintaining biodiversity. If we lose that, where will we go when some disease wipes out what we have produced?

Climate change needs to be addressed because of its devastating effect on our ability to feed ourselves. However, as our population explodes and food production drops, poverty continues to rise, in spite of all the money thrown at it. You can’t eat money. Climate change has defined the history of the earth. To think that the changes we are witnessing today are anything new is ignorant thinking. What is scaring everyone is the idea that the huge population increases are reducing our ability to adapt as we always have before. More people competing for fewer resources is a recipe for disaster. Who is to say that what is happening in the highly populated, poor, developing parts of the world will not happen in our own “Garden of Eden” in North America? Poverty is the result of too many people and not enough resources. 

If we as a species followed this manifesto I would be credited with solving the majority of this worlds conflicts. Just saying...