Unmasked!

Last we left our intrepid splendiferous hero, Elliptical Man, skirmishing for food after successfully completing an important event to rekindle people's love for fine Jewish composers. Elliptical Man's family even sojourned to attend the event. During our hero's perilous search for a fine dining establishment, he notes the calm that has come over the city.

"Perhaps," he considers, "because I fed the Tubby Tabby her tuna tonight that the town has turned to such a peaceful state, or maybe it was a fantastic concert, either way, things seem to be at peace."

However, as he said these things aloud, gusts began to tussle the tree's branches. Knowing that the only reason wind

would suddenly kick up and possibly tamper with an otherwise good evening, it meant that the Pocatello Wind had heard him monologging...but then, he would have had to be in hearing distance, and withing the Perkin's Parking Lot, there was nobody but him and his family.

His father being hard of hearing was not a logical choice, his girlfriend had been with him many times, and never had the wind whipped when she was present. So it left only one option...that the Pocatello Wind must be... his own brother!

What will become of these shattered family values! How will the plot thicken? Whatever happened to that cop gocart thing? And will the Tubby Tabby ever shut up!? Find out in our next issue!

Every Thing on It

This blog post is dedicated to, and about, a life long hero of mine, Shel Silverstein. If you are not familiar with this man, he is an author and poet of children's literature, including such popular titles like The Giving Tree, Where the Sidewalk Ends, A Light in the Attic, and many other titles to his name.

His books were some of the first pieces of written art I have in living memory. My parents would always read to me and my brother before we could really read (and even a little while after), and my dad would usually select some poems from one of Shel's books. His unique illustrations and accessible children's poetry are iconic for me, as well as (dare I say) a great percentage of those from my generation.

Recently, his estate (or publishing company) decided to release a new book of his previously unpublished materials, titled Every Thing on It. I personally like to believe his estate allowed this, because to me it would be insulting to such a brilliant man's memory to just go ahead and capitalize on a dead man's B sides, which were unpublished for reasons. So if his estate deemed it was ok, then Shel probably wanted these snippits to improve, but ultimately his wish was for this art to make it to the public.

In any case, reading through this posthumous tome, I feel almost that Shel knew his end was coming, and had a sense of the weight his writings would have on so many people. The book feels more like it applies to my life now as a 20-something than even his children's books did when I was a child. To me it seems that Shel understood he was more than just a children's author, but that he himself was a writer for our generation. Admittedly, I am being a bit presumptous about his importance, but that is only because I only know what it is like to have him as such a huge influence. Nevertheless, when reading the collection, it feels like it wasn't written with children in mind, but how Mr. Silverstein envisioned those children he was writing for would grow up to be, the things they would need to hear, or the feelings they would need reminded of.

Generations X and Baby Boomers both had one Dr. Suess, another beloved author who not only had a unique poetic flavor, but also very unique illustrations and huge impact on a countless number of lives. It is well known that Seuss did write for all ages, his topics were very controversial, but also humbling, or just plain silly. His writing was ear marked, and a lot of posthumous material has fabricated over the decades since. And his material speaks to the generation he wrote for when he was just in it for the kids.

So please don't ever forget those that were able to move you as a child, teen, adult, or whenever. As artists, they understand the scope of what they are accomplishing, and hope that they can deliver it in the safest and clever manner available to them. So even in his death, Mr. Silverstein has been able to remind me of what it is in life that sometimes I forget, or need and want. And he is able to do this with just a few lines of silly, simple, lyrics.

I tip my hat to you, whatever plane you may be roaming Shel.

The 7 Year Itch

This isn't a post about the movie, or the subject the phrase is supposed to mean (being that after being in a relationship for 6 years it is a trial to not cheat in the 7th or something like that). No this is about the fact that I have been in my college town for 5 1/2 years. Before I leave, it will be a full 6 years of this town, and despite much incentive to stay more, I just couldn't do anything professionally or academically for a 7th year here. Not only is my #2 grad school choice doing a partial in state program here in the fall of '12, but I also have a shot at a full time job where I work that will pay me a professional wage. Both would be exceedingly tempting, if it were anywhere else in the world than where I live.

Why is it I have a hard time staying despite these obvious advantageous incentives?

1) I've never really lived in a town for longer than 6 years. I get an itch to just move someplace different where I am unfamiliar. The world is small, my life is short, I don't want to settle in a town until I'm ready to start a family.

2) This town has no soul. I have tried to make the best of it, but this town has nothing to offer. I just want a book store, someplace I could hang out, and something more than just going to the movies. Not to mention the populace of this town is generally uneducated, and don't support education, but also are completely uncultured and don't make a stab at it.

3) Ending my undergrad is a landmark in my life, seems like the perfect time for change. I'm willing to stick around this place for those few weeks that my classes are actually going on, but I don't want to stay here for another 2 years. I'd freaking kill myself (not really, but I wouldn't really progress as a person very much).

Now I understand the job market sucks. I understand that student loans are crippling. I am not an individual who lies down and takes what stupid things society says I "should" believe, or I "should" do. I intend to specialize in a technological field, a field that despite what the news wants you to believe, is still growing and needs more people to fill the ranks. My plans aren't to work in a library per se, but to program, alter, tweak, and design catalogs, web sites... Even then, this is just for a day job while I continue to compose and travel around the world, and try and make my music a full time job. No, this isn't delusions of grandeaur, I will work myself to the dirt to make this happen, because even though the world economy is tanking, I don't need to go down with it. Money is immaterial, it's imaginary, if I need more I will figure a way to get more. I can market my intelligence, I can learn new tricks to satisfy employers, I can work hard, and even do manual labor. But, if I want this lifestyle, I CANNOT STAY WHERE I AM. Funny when you live in a town where its GDP drops well above national rates (meaning local economy=impossibly poor) that a dream of making decent money, just isn't that realistic.

There are plenty of people my age that make 6 figure incomes, I WILL be one of them before I am 30, and I WILL have traveled to at least 3 continents at that point too. This will happen, but not so long as I live in this town.

So, I do have senioritis, I have an itch to get the hell out of this town, but that's because I want to do fun things, live the life I want, despite society telling me a lower middle class citizen should stay there.

I might sounds like an idealistic college student, but the only thing I have really learned in college is that to get anything you really want in life, you have to work at it. If there is one thing I believe I am good at, it's that I am a good worker.