Murdock Memories- Stillwater Runs Deep, Archimedes

Stillwater Runs Deep
Does It Not, Archimedes
Run Silent, Run Deep 

 

If you had but one singular opportunity to take hold of all the things you ever wanted, in a single moment, would you ever take the leap to seize it?  

What if you falter?
What if you fail?
What if the duck was actually a quail?

Let us say, I am an introvert. It is my identity. It is who I am. But am I an introvert? Okay. Storytime. Once upon a time, in a land far far away, there lived a boy. The boy who lived in the east, which is really to the west of where I currently live, but it is east of the prime meridian running through Greenwich, yet not too far east. It is sort of in the middle between then and there. Sort of in the middle east, one could say. 

The need to know oneself drives the need for an identity. Much like a wand that chooses its owner, the essence of one’s nature reveals itself. Or so I was led to believe. The romanticization of a coming-of-age is just as bad as the unrealistic standards of a sitcom from the 90s. Thus, what is one to do when an identity does not present itself? What do you do if a wand does not choose you? The need to know oneself drives the need for an identity.  

So, now I am an introvert. Like a child who has willed the wings to sprout out from their responsibility-less, sore back because they wanted nothing more than to soar higher than that one time that they saw a sacrificial chicken escape the coop, I wanted to be an introvert. An unperturbed surface of water waiting for the perfect stone to skip a miraculous 24 times. Nobody tells you that still waters could also be knee deep.  

If you did what you liked for a living, you never have to work a day in your life. I liked being a storyteller. I liked telling stories. I liked selling stories. I liked selling ideas. I liked the ideas I was selling. Therefore, I became an idea that I was selling. In the end, we are all salespeople bartering versions of ourself to other people within acceptable exchange rates for a stipulated period of undefined time in the name of a relationship.  

Then it must be perfect else it is not worth doing at all /s. If you had but one singular opportunity to take hold of all the things you ever wanted, in a single moment, would you ever take the leap to seize it, even if you thought it might not be perfect? Leaps of faith are to be done unto bales of hay. Everyone knows that. How to be flawless on the very first attempt. It has been a while since the last mushroom and the princess is always in another castle. Who knows how many lives we had left. The foolhardy die but once for it is the cautious that live to see another dawn.  

There are not any corners on Earth where one can run and hide. However, silent running is an art well-learnt at the hands of the stepping stones to success. But this golden opportunity offers another avenue. The sensibility to listen is a virtue few possess, and even fewer cherish. Certainly, actions speak louder than words, yet sometimes thoughts are deafening. Sometimes you want to shine but the prospect of imperfection is blinding. What is the perfect first step? 

That is quite simple. Taking the first step is the first step. Breakdancing looks like three missteps with two left feet. That does not make the flailing of arms to a rhythmic beat any less entertaining to perform. Sometimes you learn to fly by failing to fall. As long as you do what you want to do, just do it.

What if you excuse
What voice you hear?
What is the string of the puppeteer?

Carpe diem. Quam minimum credula postero.

 

To Be Or Not To Be
That Freedom Is My Liberty
There Are No Strings On Me

Samosas, Secrets, and Stereo

The day began as calm as the beach at high tide. Nothing unexpected or out of the ordinary. The regular waves of people walking in and out. To the world, today was a day of celebration, a day of joy, and a day to remember. For two people it was the best day of their lives. It was the day they were about to meet each other. 

Fate has a wonderful way of revealing itself to those it was ordained to affect. The fated are barely aware of the circumstances surrounding the manifestation of the hand played by Fate. 

I do not speak of those that were given a sworn ring tied with three strands of hair. She knows what’s coming.
I do not speak of the man that pulls the rabbit out of a hat for a living. He knows what’s coming.
I speak of the girl that walks into a room and knows that the eyes of all those within will look towards her dazzling personality. I speak of the boy that struts into a room and looks past the longing gaze of the occupants of the room. 

But what happens when the both happen at the very same moment?

The stereo that played in the electronic store stopped playing.
The secrets gossiped in canteens were being hushed.
The samosa served found themselves being ignored. 
And they all waited until the two passed by oblivious to each other while being the centers of their own world. It was the day they were about to meet each other, but they never did. It was the best day of their lives.

The Monk and the Priest.3.- The Memoirs of Zeno

Something went wrong the last time this happened. Clearly, something was bound to go wrong for it could go wrong. However, I do not feel that it was completely wrong. In order to be completely wrong, it had to have been half wrong. Dis is one half. Press any key to continue. In order for it to be half wrong, it had to be a fourth wrong, and so on. Basically, it is broken. How do I know that it is true?

I know it is to be true for the mistake was in its rightful place. The mistake was where it was meant to be at that instant and was not meant to be elsewhere at the same instant. However, if the mistake was not present at the very next instant, then the instant that holds that instant is in fact not present at that instant. The instant in which it was supposed to be present was present at the instant where it was to be present.

[rap]
“Tense? Present?
Dense? Persistent?
Rap that line first with a pant
In a loose pant and a skiing mask.
Now that is what I call a supertask.
Supertask? Is that what you accomplish?
Answer this. Why do you feel so astonished?
Or is this something out of tune?
Pretense? Swoon?
How do I know that it is true?”
[wrap]

I know it is to be true for the Man in the Moon told me. The Man in the Moon told me many tales. He told me a tale of how he once stole a sheep from the Man who had Infinite Sheep. To the Man who had Infinite Sheep, from whom the Man in the Moon stole from, one sheep was nothing. Hence, all the subsequent sheep he stole were all many nothings to the Man who had Infinite Sheep. However, the man had a sheep whose fleece was black as coal. It was a black sheep that went moo. It was actually a cow. What does a fox say? How do I know that it is true?

That is not the truth but it is how I like to look at it. The way I look at it, the entire episode is an excuse to be lazy and defend it with a logical paradox. What if I did not want to make the mistake in the earlier episode? I could have written a non-self-referential explanation of what I wanted to say. I like to think I can paint portraits of fiction, sometimes to cope, sometimes to escape, and sometimes just because it makes me happier to constantly think about a bunch of crazy made-up shit. Logos. Pathos. Ethos. That is the truth. That is how you reach a destination. Thank you for flying CSS, have I told you the story about the monk and the priest?

Murdock Memories- The Potato Eaters

What is a good day to start doing something new? A Friday is a good day to start something new. The activity would encompass the weekend and there would be ample time to engage in the activity. Maybe a Monday is a good day to start something new. It is the beginning of the week and it is always a good day to start doing something. How about a date? The first of the month is a good date to start something new. The ides of a month are an auspicious time of the month to go to the senate. Isn’t it?

Does starting something on a “good day” implicate a good start to what one is about to do? One must certainly need the skills to do what they are trying to do. A “good day” is not going to grant them those skills magically. Or does the induced psychological motivation from knowing that one has started to do something on a “good day” give them mental strength to achieve what they are trying to do, even skills lacking?

The ability to question is a good place to start. To ensure that all necessary information is available is the only way someone makes an informed decision. Literally, I would be impossible to do so otherwise. However, one must also learn and know to question one’s ability to question. One must know when one must question others.

Fox that was lame said unto the Cat who was blind that the boy was fragile. The Fox that was lame said unto the Cat who was blind that they could lead the boy astray for a fool who knew not the difference between the stars so far away and a fire from a village nearby would surely succumb to doubt. Self-doubt is an extreme form of questioning oneself. Self-doubt is pure evil; doubt is necessary evil. The Learned Wise One always said that one must doubt self-doubt. Do I dare doubt myself again? Do I dare doubt doubt?

Say, if everything is the world has its own place, then does place also have its place? If I as one make no sound in the sea of doubt, do all of the nothingness in me screaming out make a sound? If I continue to as of questions, do I reach the intended answer I seek? I am always doing what I can't do yet in order to learn how to do it. So I was, so I am, and so I shall be.

Barbershop Rhapsody

Is this the real life?

Is this just fantasy?

Caught with a growth so wild

No escape from masculinity.

Open your eyes,

Look up to your face and see,

I’m just a bearded boy, I need no trims you see

Because I’m lazy now, I’m lazy for

A little trim, or a little more.

Anyway the beard grows, doesn’t really matter to me,

To me.

Mama, just cut my hair,

Put a trimmer to my head,

Just shaved the hair off my head,

Mama, I just begun to groom,

And now I’ve gone and thrown it all away.

Mama, *OoooOoOoo*

Didn’t mean to make you tongue tied,

It’s not gonna be good by this time tomorrow,

So carry on, carry on, as if nothing really matters.

Too late, its time had come,

Sent shivers down my spine,

Head was aching all the time,

Goodbye my frizzy – I’ve let you go

Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth,

Mama, *Oooooooo* *Anyway the wind blows*

I don’t wanna dye,

Sometime I wish I’d never go bald at all!

*guitar riff*

I see a little stubble of a hair,

Scar or mush, Scar or mush, will I look all fandango,

Scissor, blade, and shaving cream – very very frightening me,

Gallileo, Gallileo, Gallileo, Gallileo, Gallileo figure out a different do-do- do-do-do- do.

But it was a poor choice and nobody likes it,

He made a poor choice for a poor philosophy,

Spare him his life from this monstrosity,

Easy come easy go – will you let this go?

Why should I? NO – We will not let this go

Let this go

Why should I? – We will not let this go

Let this go

Why should I? – We will not let this go

Let this go

Will not let this go – Let me go

Never let this go – Let me go

Never let this go *OooOooo*

No, no, no, no, no, no, no –

Oh mama mia, mama mia, mama mia let me go,

The barber guy said he can put me back together, but could he?

Could he?

Could he??

*more legendary guitar riff*

So you think you can cut and trim me outright?

So you think you can love me yet let the barber’s knife

Slay me – can’t do this to me baby,

Just gotta get out – just gotta get growing again.

Oooooh yeah, ooh yeah,

Nothing really matters,

Anyone can see,

That no matter how you lather, nothing really matters to me.

System of a Down

Curiosity killed the cat. I wonder how inquisitive the cat must have been to have died nine times to Curiosity. The world used to be a big place with a lot in it. Now everyone just says that the world is not enough. Everyone thinks that the world has become a smaller place. Everyone is sorely mistaken. What Everyone does not know is that the world never became any smaller. There is just less in it. Yet, the world is not enough. Nothing should never be enough. Enough is enough, but Nothing is never enough. Nothing is better than something. Something never changes. Yet for the lack of a better word, something is good because something works. Good for nothing is not great. Great expectations never get do us any good. Not that it did any good. Great expectations however did teach us about the System. The System by which we all live by. A System which will never change. A System that, no matter how broken it is, we will never break away from. 

So, before I start talking about the System, let us ask some basic questions about the System. What is the System? The System is a pattern of ordered chaos in space that is seemingly random, but is interconnected with Everyone. Who created this System? The System was created by the System itself. Which will bring us to the existential dichotomy of which came first, the System or the System? As dichotomies go, the answer to that question will also answer the question of how the System was created. Where can we find this System? The System is all around us.  The System is the reason you dream of things that could be with your eyes closed and have your eyes wide shut to reality. The System is the reason education serves to be an end and not the means to an end. The System is the reason you probably don’t understand what in potatoless pranzo is written here. The System is also the reason you probably understand what in potatoless pranzo is written here. This also begs us to the most important question about the System. Why does the System exist? Also, what on earth is potatoless pranzo?

The System exists to bind us. The System exist to guide us too. Humans are a race that won the race for the survival of the fittest. He survived the System. He rose above the System. He changed the System. Today, the System is many things. Survival of the fittest is one thing that it is primarily not. It is the survival of the smartest. This System is also not what the future will hold. Mankind must rise, and rise he does. But who are those who rise above a System? A System defines boundaries and clearly draws a broad line between who is Good and who is Bad. The System, however, is also perspective and its definition of right and wrong is not the same as the difference between who is good and who is bad. He who breaks free of the System is invariably doing the right thing but it is not good. When the bad tries to rise above the System by doing the right thing, the good in the System pulls him down. The good proceeds to pull down everyone who tries to rise above the System as in their perception, it is what is right. But Good breaks out of the System by going what is right, and Good becomes the watcher who watches over the watchers.

The System is br0xk3n. That is an incorrect conclusion. The System is many things. The System is oppressive. The System is suppressive. The System is depressive. But, the System is not broken. That is how the System is meant to be. It is supposed to be so broken that being broken is its purpose. The System’s purpose is to be broken enough for people to break free from being just another brick in the wall. The System is not broken in its purpose to teach us to break out of its clutches. Man must learn that the shackle that bound him from birth have not changed. Man must learn that the shackles that once bound him are no longer strong enough to bind him. But if Man isn’t mentally strong enough to realize it then he will not see the true purpose of the System and he will blame it and eventually be suppressed, oppressed, and depressed. He who breaks free from the System realizes that the System that binds him exists to teach him to break free. Man is selfish and this is not the System he deserves but this is the System he needs. 

That being said, Man must learn about the System on him own. Man must learn from his own experience about the System. Not everyone is the One. Not everyone has Morpheus giving us the red pill. Well, even Morpheus gave Neo the choice to either learn about the System or continue being a part of it. Man must learn from his mistakes. Of course, in course of a single life time, Man cannot make all the mistakes possible, so Man must learn from others mistakes as well. That is not what the System makes you do. That is what you do. That is one of the first steps of breaking out of the Systems shackles. Remember how to System remains the same as we grow? That is by design the most coolest thing that makes the System awesome. As we grow older, the System unlocks achievements like a preloaded DLC for which you pay with each passing year. This unlocks doubt, fear, regret, and other manifestations of the Seven Deadly Sins. At about this point in one’s life is when the System becomes unbreakable. As you stand on your feet stagnant as another fundamental block of dried clay in a continuous vertical structure that contributes abundantly to enclose many more generations to come, ask yourself this, “What if the System I find unbreakable is just a maze?” The answer is as simple as it can get; you figure it out and outrun the ever changing maze. 

The System has another pressing issue which no one wants to address. The System presents us with questions. It presents us with problems. It presents us obstacles. It never tells us what these are, nor how do we figure them out once we have found them. They do send signs that remind us how frustrating it is to be remind of problems. They do send signs that sting us in the face like a Giant Sparrow Bee.  - .... . -.-- / -.. --- / ... . -. -.. / ..- ... / ... .. --. -. ... / .-- . / -.-. .- -. .----. - / .-. . .- -.. .-.-.- But yet, there are those who have broken free. There are however the most mistaken Humans on earth. They are the Immature. They fight against the System spreading the gospels of potato to everyone. Being freed from the System as an adult is highly risky as the System will find you. All the Agent Smiths of the world are blind to the Immature for they are pure of mind. The Immature tainted by Mischief toy with the System. “It is the Immature who embody Curiosity, break away from Everyone, and bring downfall to the virtues of Nothing for it is in their innocence that the world dreams on”, Enough said.

Someone scoffed. Innocence is a myth said Someone. Naivety is what we mistake for Innocence said Someone. We all hope that Innocence, who is brilliance, will stay and make a moment perfect; but if something is perfect then the dimensions of the System are transcended beyond the likes of a circle we draw and call life. *Imbube imbube* 

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