the slightly more frequent bon mot

Wherein we close a chapter... · 59 days ago

...and open one anew.

Where to begin? I finished my Master’s degree and shot my first wedding in May. Today was my last day at work for the Writing Center at UTSA, and next week I go to orientation for law school at St. Mary’s University.

Things are happening. And I’m not spending much time documenting them, neither with words nor photos. That should change.

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Dear Pennsylvania... · 174 days ago

We’re looking at you.

Don’t fuck this up.

We’re serious.

Sincerely,

The rest of the country

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This seems appropriate · 194 days ago

Muppet music videos.

Happy April Fool’s Day, everybody.

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Accidental poetry · 200 days ago

From a conversation with Pete:

i should go east one day
a long road trip in a big caddy convertible
that runs on dreams

edit: Pete’s words, not mine.

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Sometimes... · 222 days ago

...when I start to get optimistic about the future of this country, the voting populace has to go and squelch that.

Sometimes, I worry about you all. I really do.

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...and we're back · 235 days ago

Sort of.

Maybe.

Possibly?

I don’t know.

For some reason, though, I have the itch to write. It’s only a small itch, but one nonetheless.

Perhaps I have been holding back, even if only a little.

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poem · 307 days ago

“Opinion About Most Things” by Carl Solomon

I think it’s a goddam shame.

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So... · 760 days ago

Somehow in the last few months, blogging hasn’t seemed like such a great idea anymore. There’s no obvious reason for my abandonment; I guess I realized that I don’t have much to say right now.

Don’t expect any updates anytime soon. Except maybe on my flickr account.

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This is The Colonel · 864 days ago

The Colonel is home.

His master's voice

(Click the picture for different sizes and such.)

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"Solidarity" · 899 days ago

“Are you happy?”

“Huh?”

“Are you happy doing what you’re doing?”

“What do you mean?”

“How long have you been working today?”

“I dunno. It’s always so dark in here.”

“And you haven’t had a break today, right?”

“No, thank god. The last one took six months to heal.”

“No, I mean, you haven’t had any time off from work today, right?”

“Time off? You mean, time not working?”

“Right.”

“Fuck no! What are you talking about?”

“Have you ever wondered why we spend all day in this pit, hammering out swords, getting paid in horse-flesh?”

“No.”

“You haven’t?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because Vlog will fucking feed me to the Uruk-hai if I don’t meet my production quota this week.”

“That’s exactly it!”

“What do you mean?”

“Why should we do what Vlog says?”

“Because he’s one of the fucking Uruk-hai, too.”

“So? There’s like a million of us down here.”

“And?”

“And there’s only a couple hundred Uruk-hai.”

“Yeah, but they’re the fucking Uruk-hai.”

“So?”

“So you didn’t see the demonstration last week? Those guys are hardcore.”

“But what do they do?”

“They tore that goddamned troll apart!”

“Yeah, but when they’re not out in battle, all they do is boss us around.”

“What’re you getting at?”

“We control the means of production. Without us, Isengard is nothing. It’s just a fucking tower with an old, crusty white guy at the top, twirling his beard.”

“Oh, god.”

“What do you mean, ‘Oh, god’?”

“Look, I don’t want any trouble, ok? Just leave me out of this.”

“But that’s exactly it, too. You’re in trouble whether you like it or not. Why do you think we’re hammering out all these swords? In the last week, you and I alone have hammered out enough to equip all the Uruk-hai in this place. They’re not all for the Uruk-hai. And I’m sure as shit Saruman’s not about to go into battle.”

“Man, I’ll worry about that when it happens, OK?”

“Yeah, and then it’ll be too fucking late. Now is the time.”

“Man, just leave me the fuck alone.”

“Think about it. The only reason why the Uruk-hai are worth a damn is because they’ve got our numbers backing them up. The Uruk-hai alone aren’t worth shit. And Saruman? How would he stop an uprising?”

“Well, he is a fucking wizard.”

“Yeah, and he’s already conjured up this illusion of powerlessness for us. Oooooh, we’re so helpless. The orcs can’t do anything for themselves. Shit, you know I hear that the Dwarves in Moria get bonuses based on their collective profits? That’s everybody, not just the bosses.”

“Fuck.”

“Yeah. Exactly. They don’t work more than eight hours a day. They get holidays off. And they’re paid in real money, so they can get whatever food they want. They’re not content just eating the same rancid horse-flesh all the time.”

“Yeah, but that’s Moria.”

“So? We could have the same thing here! There’s no reason why we couldn’t have a revolution here.”

“Yeah? And what then?”

“Then we’re making goods that aren’t just going straight into the war machine. Hell, maybe we could start trading with the Dwarves. Increase the standard of living around here. Not go to war and get my ass handed to me by some fucking human.”

“Yeah, but we’re at war.”

“Pfff. Whose war?”

“Ours.”

“Not ours. Theirs.”

“What do you mean?”

“What the fuck do we get out of running off and fighting a bunch of men and elves? It’s not like my life is about to get any better if all the men are wiped out from Middle Earth.”

“Yeah, but they hate us.”

“Yeah, they do, but whose fault is that?”

“What do you mean?”

“They hate us because they fear us. They fear our power. We have the numbers. And it’s not like we’re doing anything to stop it. Those fucking elves are spreading all that propaganda, like we’re all evil and want to eat everybody.”

“You’ve never tasted man-flesh, have you?”

“No, it’s good. I’m not disputing that, but it’s not like we’re eating them all the time.”

“Not out of choice, though. Can you imagine eating man-steaks every night?”

“That’s not the point! That doesn’t mean we should be at war with them!”

“Are you kidding? They say we’ll get man-flesh.”

“Yeah, but when? After all the Uruk-hai have had their fill. We’ll be lucky to be eating their horses.”

“But we’re already paid in horse-flesh.”

“Exactly! Things aren’t about to get any better for us under this system.”

“HEY, YOU TWO! GET BACK TO WORK!”

“Fuck.”

“WHAT’RE YOU TWO TALKING ABOUT?”

“Uh, nothing.”

“GET BACK TO WORK!”

“Damn, man. You see what happens? I told you I didn’t want any part of this.”

“You see, though? They have to use fear and violence to keep us down. It’s inherent in the system.”

(Copyright 2006 by Clayton Hackett. All rights reserved.)

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