A Separation

A Separation

I am a sucker for critical consensus. I try to check out anything that get universally good reviews. Usually this results in seeing something that's difficult and not really all that good, as a bunch of over-stimulated movie or music nerds decided that it was "Deep" and anyone who doesn't like it doesn't get it. So I rent the movie, watch the movie, and wonder why it was so praised.

A Separation is not that movie.

Do you root for the guy caring for his father, or the lady trying to give her daughter a better future?

Filmed in Iran, A Separation is the kind of movie that reminds you what art is. The film is bare, no music, no special effects, long single-camera shots dominate most scenes. But this only heightens the human drama that makes you ache for these people. At the center of the film is Nader and Simin, and man and a woman (the second Iranian woman I've had a crush on) who are getting divorced because she wants to emigrate and he feels bound to stay to care for his Alzheimer's stricken father. The opening conversation sets the tone for the whole movie as the two explain their reasons for the divorce. She says "He doesn't even know who you are." He only replies, "But I know who he is."

But as one critic put it, "To say A Separation is a movie about divorce is like saying The Wizard of Oz is about a pair of slippers." This movie is so good it hurts. As she leaves he hires a caretaker to watch for his father and eventually, through a string of plot developments and back-stories their lives are entwined with another couple's and they are put at odds. Through the movie you look for a bad guy but none appear. They are put into opposition by sad circumstance and you can see where everyone is coming from as they try to salvage their lives from this mess they're all in. People's lives all contain trials and we are shaped by them, we all have our reasons.

I don't know why I felt I needed to write about this, I'm no movie reviewer but I wanted to write something and since I just saw this movie I wrote about it. If this gets the three of you to go watch this film I'm glad I did.

(PS After I finished this post, my father changed the channel to the RedGreen show. The lesson, as always, nothing is better than the RedGreen show. Nothing. My review seems so silly now.)

Well how about that!

I have a Parrotlet on my shoulder. For the uninitiated that is a miniature parrot. I believe that makes me a miniature pirate. Yes. My brother and sister-in-law are out of town with the rest of my family so I'm now hanging out with Pina (the n should have a little ~ over it but I don't know how to do that so just know that it should have that, like Pina Colada.) As far as I can tell she is eating my shirt.

Why are they out of town and I'm not with them all? Well I have a job I just started. I'm an exterminator (pest control application technician, or P-Cat, bug murdere\\r, whichever you like). And they are out of town, to drop my baby brother (6'4" baby I know but whatever) at the MTC. He is going to Montreal Canada to turn french-speaking Canadians into testimony-speaking Mormons.

Neat huh?

Yeah that's pretty neat. So anyhow, in order to give a summation of my life over the past month (We'll go from the time I was dumped to about next week.) I'm gonna separate the rest of this post into two separate lists. One of complaints, which are a bad habit/talent that I can't seem to shake, and the other list is of Antonym of Complaint-s. So here we go. We'll actually make it one list just of alternating. Complaints are in Bold, Antonym of Complaint-s are in Italics. Seriously though, Google antonym of complaint. There aren't any. There are no direct antonyms to complaint. Find me one and I'll give you an unspecified gift that totally ups the ante on your search for an antonym of complaint. Here goes.

Gage's Current Life List:

I got dumped
I got dumped! Okay so it was an interesting experience. I went through all five stages of grief except for Denial, Anger, Bargaining, and Depression. In the end I learned a lot, had a lot of fun, and . I now have an ex. That's kinda cool, I've never had an ex before.

I got to go to McCall Idaho with my family. My family has a tradition. It's cooler than your family's tradition. We go jetskiing every year we can on Payette Lake

That's Payette Lake.

That's a jetski.

Anyhow, Jetskiing is the only thing I know of where getting thrown from the Vehicle at 50 m.p.h. is the highlight of your day. That combined with gorgeous Idaho mountains and golfing and the awesome cabin we rented and all 8 of us in the Family hanging out was just incredible.

I'm stuck in Boise with no friends. This actually isn't true. My main man Cody Nesbitt is in town temporarily before he moves in and starts his business career in Denver. Currently we Jam on his electric guitars and golf. A lot. I've never gotten better at something as fast as I've gotten better at golf. That's partially because I've never been as bad at anything as I was at Golf. Okay that's PRIMARILY why.

I'm back in Boise and it's awesome.
My Little brother is gone for two years
My Little brother is the 5th son out of five in my family to serve a full-time mission for the Lord, spreading the gospel. I don't know how to fully explain what this means to us. It's really a paradigm shift for our family. Our whole lives have been spent preparing for missions, now we've all gone. The last one to be a kid at home is now a missionary. He's not going to come back the same because no one does. I can't wait to see what the Lord makes out of him during the next two years, but heaven knows I'll have to. I'll miss Chase but hey, I'm glad he's gone.

Institute Choir Starts Tomorrow! Seriously this was the one thing that got me through the lameness of being stuck at home last year. And it starts tomorrow. Well technically Auditions are tomorrow but c'mon, its me. Not to be self centered but I'm the best singer in the Universe. I'll hang with mah boy Bro. Spjute and it's on like donkey kong.

Speaking of mah boys! With institute choir comes institute class and I'll be New Testamenting with the man, himself, Timothy Dopp. You don't know brother dopp but he's better than your institute teacher.

I need more to complain about.

Wow, talk about speaking too soon.

Mental note: Always knock on wood. Always.

I just had to publish for the first time that I was dating someone and they dumped me. The next day. Can I write that again? okay thanks. I just had to publish for the first time that I was dating someone and they dumped me. The next day. Thanks for that.

Anyhow, first things first I'm doing fine. I'm genuinely surprised at how little disappointment I feel. Maybe that'll change but honestly I've seen this coming for a few days now since there's been obviously something wrong, and I spent all day trying to get a hold of her so we could talk. But then she dropped the news and it's game over. I'm not going to complain, I don't have anything negative to write, this is just a new experience for me. I remember not very long ago saying that I wouldn't mind getting dumped because it meant I at least had someone give me enough of a relationship to dump me. I'm not sure if I should say mission accomplished but I feel that this was an overwhelmingly positive experience for me and I was able to be in some form of a relationship for awhile.


Also now, I might get to spend my off track in California with my main man Trenton's family. But remember, knock on wood.

Mr. Run-On to Short Statement.

Hey America (all three of you who read this) Oh man, it's time to shake the rust and dust off these writing fingers, it has been too long since I've blogged. Probably because I've been writing for the scroll and taking 17 credits this semester and pumping out papers galore for them, I'm just not usually in a blogging mood. But now I am. But man it's been busy. Elder's Quorum President stuff adds another layer to homework, job search, girl stuff,

Oh yeah, there's this girl...

She's pretty cool. We'll leave it at that. Talk to me since you're all close friends if you don't want me to leave it at that. But we'll leave it at that.

But yes, after 22 years on this planet (Twenty three next week), 19 of purposefully pushing away girls, 2 years of missionary-related celibacy, and a year and half of failed attempts with emotional states ranging from desperation to indifference, there is a woman in my life not named Tawna or Donna Olsen. (mom and gramma)

And that's pretty cool.

I've realized something about my writing. I have one thing that I milk more than any other technique, and more than almost any writer I know. (I don't know If I qualify as a "Writer" but I do write things, I just don't usually define myself as such.) I'm trying to decide how I feel about this distinctive style I have, I'm not sure if it's my signature or if it's really just my crutch. I've been aware of it for awhile now, but I've never thought about it being a liability before. It's difficult because it never fails to make me smile when it's used in a book I like. The crutch is this: I like to write wordy, long sentences and string them together in barely appropriate, and almost grammatically anathema, run-on, disjointed, stapled together sentences with lots of oxford commas (which I got from my mother who added 72% more commas to any paper I ever wrote that she edited in High School) and then follow said sentence up with a short, succinct, often sarcastic sentence.

Like this.

I'd been thinking about this earlier, but I honestly didn't think about it while I was doing it just 3 paragraphs ago until I re-read the "And that's pretty cool." Part. It comes automatically, it fits with the way I speak (especially when I'm soliloquizing, that's a reference, you know who you are.) I also use parenthesis more than any writer I've read outside of Rembert Browne, who writes on a sports blog I follow. But you know what? I'm not sorry. Maybe I should be but I'm gonna keep writing for myself and America, because that's what I do and that's who I am. Mr. Run-on to short statement.

And that's just fine with me.

How do I spell happy? G-R-A-T-I-T-U-D-E

"There is no such thing as gratitude unexpressed. If it is unexpressed it's plain old-fashioned ingratitude."

-Robert Brault


"I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents..."

I love the way the Book of Mormon opens. I've heard people joke so many times about re-reading 1st Nephi so many times, but if they do that, hopefully they'll at least learn to be grateful. It's remarkable that there are two distinct expressions of gratitude in the very first verse. I try my best to apply that lesson in my life: First, be grateful. It was also the first "Be" that Gordon B. Hinckley taught in his classic talk about the six be's. I've never believed that was an accident. I've written about this before but I have so much to be grateful for.

"...Having seen many afflictions during the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days..."

I don't know if I can claim to have had many afflictions, but I've seen a few, and I have to say that I have been highly favored of the Lord in all my days.

I am blessed to have the coolest quorum that anyone has gotten to serve as president of. Anecdote: As I'm walking to do my home teaching, I pass 6 of the brethren, "What's up guys?" I ask. "Just finished home teaching, now we're going to ward choir," they reply. I think my heart high-fived itself I was so happy. We've made home teaching our focus and it's already showing results. People need opportunities to serve, as much or more than people need the service itself, and I have such high hopes for this semester. We passed out home teaching assignments last Sunday, and my counselors and I decided to pass out the home teaching assignments Wednesday night to those that weren't there. I had to cancel because some things went up, but my counselors went and did it by themselves without me asking them to and gave a summary of the lesson we had. I am in awe of the willingness of so many men to serve in the Church. We may not be perfect, and we probably don't deserve the woman counterparts in our lives, but my brothers in Christ do alright when we've been called to serve. I'm grateful for the men that have set examples for me my whole life such as my father, grandfather, priesthood leaders, mission companions, and mission president.

Oh yeah, and my best friend Andy Cutler is marrying one of the most wonderful women in the world that I've ever met, Rebekah, this Saturday!. And I'm the best man. I even get to give a speech, I'd better get on the writing of said speech though. Dang. It's crazy to see my best friend grow up. He's in Pilot training, learning to do exactly what he's been planning to do for his entire life: fly Fighters in the United States Air Force. He's marrying a beautiful woman, and he's got a sweet SUV. His father (a man I love very much) passed away last year and I know he misses him like crazy but I can't imagine how proud of him he must be. I don't think Andy knows just how much I've always looked up to him.

Did I mention I love Rexburg in the spring? I might have fallen asleep under a tree with a good book this afternoon after church meetings. Just maybe.

Oh yeah, and I still love my mom and dad. Every time I call home I'm struck again with how goodly my parents really are. My Mom and Dad are so much cooler than they give themselves credit for. Thank you Nephi for teaching me a little bit.

Oh man, can't wait, next weekend, basketball with the bro's, hanging with my mom, wedding, more NBA basketball than I've already watched (which is way too much but not nearly enough), and more of what life's got coming next.

"Gratitude is the art of painting an adversity into a lovely picture."
-Kak Sri

The Game of Life

Who here likes the game of life? (Gage raises hand) I'm in the library, just finished my religion homework. The lights are off and the theme from starwars is playing for some reason. They play music for the last fifteen minutes before they throw you out. It's 11:18 right now and so I've got 12 minutes to post a blog. My life is busy. Not impossible. Just busy. I'm writing three stories for the Scroll Newspaper right now. Finishing one tonight, one tomorrow, and one by Saturday. This is that first part of the game of life, where you decide to go left instead of right and that means go to college. The funny part is that your really not more likely to get more salary in the game if you go to college, you just get more life cards. That's what I'm in this for. Life cards. Hopefully the money will come but whatever. This college game can be rough. I'm taking 17 credits (and a workload of more because one of my 1 credit classes is much more work than it should be.) I'm writing for the scroll, and I got called to be the Elder's Quorum President of my ward last week. I got two counselors called who I don't know, but their names kept coming back to me and it felt right when I prayed about it. I try not to question the Lord so they're my counselors now. Steven Cheng and Taylor Lyman. I'm excited for the calling though. I have to make assignments for home teaching and then keep up on everyone's home teaching and other things, but I think it's going to be a wonderful opportunity for growth. Who knows, maybe I'll even make headway this semester on getting the pink figure into the car with me and make that long drive towards "Countryside Acres". That's been (as I'm way to vocal about) a frustrating point of my life, but I'm learning to trust the Lord's time table and enjoy the chase. I would be much more concerned if I hadn't listened closely to my setting apart by my stake president. He blessed me specifically to meet my academic goals (4.0), meet my ecclesiastical responsibilities, and find time for a fulfilling social life (friends are great, check; #1 goal for dating? Get past a second date, no Idea what happens after that but hopefully I'll figure it out) Luckily I've been blessed with great friends, 4 brothers, and one heckuva parentals set. I'm out of time, the girl just told me I have two minutes. So goodnight America. Hopefully I spin a 10.

It's like a jungle in this Habitat.

I spent four days last week trying not to quote Dr. Dre while working for Habitat for Humanity. It's it's a great example of how my brain works that working for a charity would prompt an entire week of "Forgot About Dre" being stuck in my head because the line "Where's all the mad rappers at? It's like a Jungle in this Habitat" because they happened to share one word.

But seriously, last week was like coming back to life for me. I had the opportunity to be a part of "Project Inspire" which was a service project put on by my school. For four days I got to help out Habitat for Humanity in Pocatello in a small way. Mostly lending muscle and shoulders to the effort to build affordable, quality housing, for low-income families. I got to meet the father of the family, Will, and work with him for a little bit when we were reinforcing the stairs. It was such a blessing to get to work and help out a genuinely good person who just needed a little bit of help. Getting to serve and work for awhile and not worry about the things that follow me around was the best thing possible for me.

I was able to make such good friends so fast in just four days I got 11 people more who have blessed my life. Everyone put up with the craziness and bad weather and my nicknames for them, and the week was a blast for everyone I think.

I feel ready now to take on this next semester in spite of the break not being as long as I would like. This time went way to fast, but it was way too good to complain. And as the song I'm listening to right now says, "Some things last a long time" (Covered by two of my favorite bands Built to Spill and Beach House)

I don't think I said anything interesting in this blog but man, it was such a great week for me.

Poem Session 2

So I'm still in Last Poet Standing, and I got 3 more poems for you America. The first poem my prompt was an old ugly tie (We were all given different items). The prompt for the second poem was Shel Silverstein, and the Third Poem was an open, no prompt week. Oh and the lines of the 3rd poem got screwed up but I'm too tired right now to fix it.

What's In An Acronym?

Last week there was Doorknobs, Toy cars, random assortments of Items and a Tie.
I’m the guy with the tie.
A Red, mothballed, frayed, out of date, medium width piece of threadbare neckwear.
With letters SSC
Not Boldly emblazoned and embroidered to embolden it’s wearer to do great things
Just plain SSC.
Sewn in like it’s a stain in the carpet and the family budget has no room for the cleaners
So what does it mean?
Google’s top two results say it stands for Shelby Super Cars, or South Suburban College
Cooler and Lamer than expected.

Maybe it means Social Security is for Crooks? Suicidal Syrians are Coming?
A bit too Right-Wing
Or possibly it stands for Swim Scantily Clad, or Study Soley Clinton
Way too left-wing
What if it means Smoke Smoke you Children! Or Smack and Scorn Canadians
That’s be terrible!
It’d be fun if it was Sandwiches Stuffed with Chicken, or Sweetly Sauced Cakes
But I’m not that lucky
Hopefully it’s not Sariah’s Sorta Cranky or Save Sariah from Carnage!
I like Sariah
It just might stand for Sorry I Shot the Cat, or Still Stuck in California
But on a Tie?
I’m out of Ideas… Sorta Sandy Camels… or Sexy Senior Citizen?!
Bingo.

Questions
How does Captain Hook pick his nose?
How do you write poems on a giraffe’s neck while riding it?
How do you make a hippopotamus sandwich?
Could a turtle and a bagpipe have a long-term relationship?
Could you really let the garbage stack so high that the whole world would die?
Could a polar bear fit in my fridge?
What do sardines dream about when their stuck in the can?
What do you do to appease a trash talking reindeer?
And what in the world does one name his pet Brontosaurus?
Why doesn’t anyone care about Christmas… in March?
Why can’t you just plug a light bulb into the sun?
And why wouldn’t you this read book by my friend Shel
Who answered every question I’ve ever had.

Heat Lamp

If you reach out you can touch it.
The only warmth in this white January meadow somewhere in the Frank Church Wilderness
3 others in their mummy bags curled around the same sacred vicarious edifice.
The logs turned to carbon hours ago, as the conversation was gradually replaced by chattering teeth
The communal bonfire like our "Indian forebears" gathered round is now an orange light,
surrogate warmth umbilical cord for us quadruplets in our Polyethylene womb.
replacing the caveman’s most precious child other than his cave paintings
Curl your fingers around the grate though and you’ll be burned by what’s keeping us alive
Powered by propane, similar technology to what keeps your burgers warm at jack-in-the-box, making us into human burritos.
The cold empty death kept at bay by some layers of polyester and a heat lamp.
Joseph rolls one more time hoping to find that less bumpy spot he imagined
The slither and whoosh of plastic textiles reminds me I’m not the only human here
It’s hard for him because he’s only twelve and hasn’t grown that crusty shell we have
But his cocoon is as well built as anyone’s and he’ll save his breathe to keep warm
4 sleeping together in self-contained saran-wrapped bags. More like twinkies in a box than scouts in a tent
We don’t quite look like the kids they have in the handbook.

15 Minutes.

I have fifteen minutes until I go to bed. Time for a stream of consciousness post for 15 minutes. Chopped is a really good show. Like a really really good show. Like they have more drama in an hour long cooking show with 4 cooks working in their mystery ingredients than most Drama's can do in a season. Man, these people are trying to work in asparagus, quail egg, and rasberry cough drops into an appetizer.

My arms are tired. I lifted weights today. I like lifting weights. Or at least I did today. Admittedly it has been a LONG time since I have done it so its easy to like. I'm running a marathon this summer and I have NOT met my goals for weight loss but we've recommitted this week. 6 days a week plan and counting calories. I'm stoked to run this marathon, I really don't wanna mess this goal up.

Sometimes I feel extremely proud of myself when I clip my toenails. Not that I never do it, or that it's hard, but you always feel like you've accomplished something when your toenails are recently clipped. Very small step to improve your day.

I lost my right lens in my glasses today. That made me angry, I also got marked down on my speech today for applying what the guy at the presentation practice center (Which my professor RUNS!) into my speech. I can't remember my leg and my arms are still tired. But I digress, the speech incident made me mad also. Those thing's both happened before twelve and made me angry. But now I'm not angry because it was a nice day besides.

What's an anti-oxident? I know oxidizing can ruin metal but isn't oxygen good for you? I really have no Idea what an anti-oxident is but it seems to be associated with women walking through grassy blue skied hilly areas with their arms spread out and big smiles on their faces. That's what these commercials have shown me. I also really like the trident Layers fruity gum that they just advertised. It made me miss my two favorite kids that I used to drive at work a little bit. Gwen stefanie is still pretty when she has tons of makeup and good lighting and camera angles. I don't know if she's still pretty in real life. Considering she got big like almost 20 years ago in the 90's with no doubt I don't think she looks quite that good, but I guess working out eating right and plastic surgery can work wonders with people.

Hi mike, that's what I just said. Mikell my roommate looked at me very wierd when I said that.

I'm glad I sat at devotional with my friend Chelsea.

This is a picture of a giraffe.

Never ambush a man that's been in a chemical fire. Yes trenton you can borrow my car to take Angel home. I just gave him my keys. I think I'm gonna cut this blog out 2 minutes early america. Sorry. (Hint: to make you feel like your blog is much more important than it really is address your 5 readers as: AMERICA.)

Back in Black Boise

Well I hadn't been home for awhile, 2 of my roommates were heading back, and I had a three day weekend so I came home to Boise and I gotta tell you it was magical.

Reason 1. I have no friends here.

It's now official. I have 4 friends, but two were out of town and the other two are kind of marrying each other soon and didn't really make time to hang out until like, 11 o'clock saturday night. (But I'm not bitter) So Friday night I hung out with my parents, played some musical music on my guitar and generally sat around.

Reason 2. Sleeping In.

I don't sleep in at school. I have 7:45 class and soon possibly 4:30a.m. Janitor job. Therefore when I wake up in Boise when I feel like it in a queen-size bed, it's a lot better than an alarm squacking at 6:30 on my cinder-block upheld twin mattress in the Clarke Apartments. My house smells so good. I cannot beleive how good my house smells.

Reason 3. High Definition NBA Basketball. 'nuff said.

Reason 4. Ghost Rider 2: Spirit of Vengeance

This was the greatest movie I have seen in a long time. It had everything, Nicolas Cage, a firy demon riding a motorcycle, a blonde-long haired (male) zombie who makes everything decay, a Jerry Springer joke, and a Twinkie joke. It was complete with a. no sensible storyline b. no good characters and c. gratuitous flaming motorcycle/truck/tractor chase scenes. It was actually better than the first one. But that's kind of the problem, It wasn't AS laughably terrible as Ghost Rider 1. In all seriousness, it was awesome because my Dad got off work and we went to see a movie we knew would be terrible, payed too much for popcorn we knew we wouldn't finish and root-beer that would make us need to pee halfway through the movie. Some things are just worth it.

Reason 5. Actually good movies.

I also watched Warrior which was actually an amazing movie no sarcasm attached. It even had the suave English dude from Inception who impersonates the old dude in the dream, but in this one he's a (totally jacked, new man crush?) ex-marine who's in an MMA tournament to earn money to take care of his friend's family since he died in Iraq. And he fights his brother who's a near-bankrupt physics teacher trying to feed his family. And they have serious family issues with their alcoholic father. Seriously amazing movie. And that guy got way even more totally jacked and he's playing that freaky looking bad guy in "The Dark Knight Rises"

But I digress.

Reason 6. My awesome friends.

Despite being rather mad that my engaged friends stiffed me all day when we had been planning to hang out ALL WEEK, it was awesome to meet them at IHOP for some hot-cocoa and mozzerella sticks at 11 o'clock. (Their dating advice for me: dont' try and someone will magically fall out of the sky and you'll fall in love... Good plan.) Even if I only have two friends in Boise they're pretty cool friends. And I called their marriage back in September when they met, and I got her phone number and entered her as Miriam Wilson (Which is his last name) and I totally saved him on their first sorta date by talking to her more than he did while he was distracted with his other friends. I am the greatest wingmate ever.

Too bad my best friend Andy's Fiance Rebekah wasn't in town but... she's in Texas visiting him at Pilot training so I'm glad she wasn't there. And I found out that they're getting married in May, not December. Which is exciting, and I get to give a best man speech.

Poetry

Okay so I got into this poetry competition by accident (I wrote the poem in the entry form in 10 minutes and didn't proofread and then I got accepted) and now I'm headed into the 4th week of competition. Here's the Poems from the 1st three weeks for those of you that missed them. Oh and note: We have prompts after the 1st week. The prompt for "7 Miles Outside Maricopa, Arizona" was What Inspires You? The prompt for "Jacob" Was that we all had to draw a building on campus out of a hat and write a poem on it. I drew the Jacob Spori Building which is where I have 4 of my 6 classes this semester. And dont' try and read rhythm in the last one even though it rhymes because the rhythm is heard when I read it verbally, I'm not sure how it translates to paper.


Stuck in the Living Room


Don't call it a comeback!




I'm not ll cool J.
White guilt coming out of my ears
white noise, TV teaches
what it takes if you want to be black.
Blue carpet rubbing knees
raw, blue light dark room shines in my eyes
Stains clean out the prejudice.
Red seeing DJ's counting green clout
read in between the lines but
I'm still not ll cool J.




So please, don't call it a comeback.


7 Miles Outside Maricopa, Arizona

The Associated Press Handbook says the wind has to
be 30 MPH for it to count. On my bike in the desert I
saw it probably 20 miles away but it took only 7
minutes to catch up to me. I have not done the math.
Pedaling at speeds I still only dream of I hit the point
where the pedals just spin and you’re going as fast as
the A.T.P. in your thighs can propel you. But Mother
Nature is under no such restrictions. As grains of
kamikazes stung the back of my ears, my arms raised
to the crucifix and cycling became sailing. Sailing
inside a coffin because you can’t see but I’m flying
down Honeycutt road and for once in Arizona the
midday sun is dim as I’m trying to get to shelter. The
back of my hands bleed as my sail arms now steer
instead of handlebars. As they lift me higher into this
dry hurricane the crunch in my shoes, ears, eyelids,
and collar becomes inspiration and know I’m rising
with Elijah with the sandstorm as my Chariot.

Precipitation has a way of bringing us back to Earth.
Mud in my shoes, ears, eyelids, and collar as the
blood on my hands sheepishly smears and is gone.
The drenching deluge hits and I feel a bit like Noah
must have when he realized he was right but
everyone had to die. Eventually my arms drop and the
pedals have to push me forward like everybody else.
But memory of rain drips through my brain tissue as I
remember my arms spread and hands lifted feeling
raindrops like soaking grey skydivers committing
suicide on my fingerprints.

Jacob

IT’s a big gray box.
No really! It’s a big gray box.
I don’t wanna go to class in a box
I don’t want to go to class with a fox
I don’t want to go to school in the Spori
I don’t care if Dr. Seuss Wrote this story!

This is home to the department of communication
That’s my major, so let me vent my frustration
I’ve got 4 classes there, So I’m stuck there all day
Poems about prison are never okay
I have to write a poem about the stalest place in the world
The art department’s here but it looks like they hurled
Onto a canvas and then called it expression
We’re supposed to analyze it “oh that means depression”
It’s so obvious as we wear our berets
You just don’t get it, our artistic ways
The splatter and smudges of complete random color
Is a post-modern interpretation of a neo-classical shutter
I don’t
Understand
The words
Coming out
Of your mouth.

Spori’s the hipster capital of this town
So Put on some big glasses, get rid of that frown
Ironic t-shirts and moustaches abound
Can you hear that? It’s only the sound
Of that band everyone knew when they were still underground
The joys of this building can’t be spread around
It’s only the Spori where the hipsters are found.

I don’t mean to complain, it’s not been all bad
It’s where I met my friend Chelsea, no it’s not like that
So please understand what I’m trying to say
My rhymes are in couplets, and that’s here to stay
The Spori’s not just a building, it’s a magical place,
The only building on campus without brown as its face
So if you live in the Spori cause of your major like me
Please stop and say hi, I’ll be going crazy.

The Forty-Niners.

I can explain... I sat down to start watching this football game at about 1:20. Kickoff is at 2:30. I didn't want to miss the start of the PRE-game show. Why? The 49ers are playing their first playoff game in a decade. To explain this whole thing though I have to go back even further, and to a basketball game.

In 1998 The Utah Jazz were playing the Chicago Bulls at home. It was game 6 and the Jazz had to win the game to extend the series to 7. They had lost the year before to the Bulls in the Finals but looked to have a better team than the year before and a real chance to beat Chicago. The Jazz had two of the top 50 players of all time, John Stockton and Karl Malone, who are arguably the 2nd greatest tag team in NBA history probably my greatest sports heroes ever at the time. Not to mention the fact that they had a solid supporting cast for the only real stretch of their career. They led for most the game and had a real chance to win it and possibly get a championship.

There was just one problem. The other side had the greatest player ever, and he played one of the greatest game ever, by anyone, in any sport. Battling the Flu Michael Jordan posted 45 points (which is what a lot of High School teams score in a game) in 44 minutes and dominated the game in a way no one ever had.

To end the game, favorite player number 1 (Karl Malone) let the ball get stolen from him, setting up an absolutely iconic shot in NBA history when Michael Jordan pushed off Bryon Russell and drained a fade away jumper to put the Bulls up. Then favorite player number 2 (John Stockton) missed a three pointer to seal the victory for the Bulls.

Since then It's been awfully hard for me to root for the favorite.

That was the same year that Steve Young played his last good year in the NFL before concussions knocked him out for good. A few years later the star Wide Reciever, Quarterback, and Coach for the 49ers (Terrell Owens, Jeff Garcia and Steve Mariucci respectively) feuded and fought and prompted the 49ers owners to get rid of all of them and rebuild the franchise. Since then the 49ers have been "rebuilding" which is the code in sports for "not very good."

The 49ers despite being one of the NFL's most recognized and respected franchises became a model of incompetency. They drafted poorly, the hired coaches who's tenures always ended as the end of jokes on espn, from perennial loser Dennis Erickson, to smooth talking but useless coaching Mike Nolan, to "I'm gonna pull down my pants and mock my team to motivate them" Mike Singletary. Not exactly the cast you're looking for to win a Super Bowl. Oh and they drafted Alex Smith.

Alex Smith was taken #1 overall in the 2005 NFL Draft. A #1 pick of a quarterback is supposed to be the great hope of any franchise. Later in the Draft Aaron Rodgers was picked by the Packers after sliding much farther than anyone had predicted for him. Alex Smith went on to throw more interceptions than touchdowns while playing behind a HORRIBLE offensive line, and never had any good throwing weapons until Vernon Davis finally got it together in 2009. The thing was though, the 49ers couldn't find anyone better, and he became the official symbol for the lost decade of San Francisco football. Never good enough to get to the playoffs, but never bad enough to replace the quarterback that had played so poorly. Rodgers, conversely, won a Superbowl, broke several passing records, and won a Superbowl and NFL MVP.

But then 2011 came around. Jim Harbaugh took the team over and instantly changed the losing culture. The defense, which had been steadily getting better the last 3 years stepped it up a huge notch to become the best in the league in Rushing Yards and Turnovers, and 2nd best overall. Alex Smith threw only 5 interceptions (least in the league) 17 touchdowns and posted career high yards and completion percentage. The Running game went for almost 2000 yards and smashed every team they played in the mouth.

And now we're in the playoffs, It's 2:35 and the kickoff comes any minute now. Win or Lose, the symbol of failure and continued losing is over.

It's game time baby.