Vows

I've been asked to officiate my good friends' wedding.
Becoming ordained: 2 minutes.
Writing vows: more than 2 minutes.
Reciting vows: Like thirty bucks probably, maybe forty. Depends if the caviar is from Belarus...


Dearly beloved,

We are gathered here today to unite these two souls in matrimony.

As you are sitting here, we ask that you also be here in the moment...

We ask that you quiet the constant voices of yesterday and listen to the voices of now.

We ask that you consider the importance of this day, the importance of this moment in time.

We ask that you quietly consider that in time, ...with time, ...and at one time or another, we have all had our moments.


This moment is here and now.
This moment is for these two people.
This moment is for Norianne and Tommy.

When you see them together, several things become apparent:

The flirtatious glances are obvious, the love is sincere, and the happiness is infectious.

With a combination of strength and discipline, these are people we look upon - that society looks upon - with respect and admiration.

We celebrate this union (today). We celebrate this time of clarity. We celebrate this moment together with them.

With the bond we create today, we not only strengthen their future, we strengthen our appreciation of life.

(ring, ring, kiss)

Goood morning facebook stalkersss!

Oh, alas, another day of sporadic addiction. Should I check, did I check? When did I visit last? The plethora of reticent scrolling, guffawing, ogling...

Should I Like that? What are the ramifications of doing so? Repercussions? *hover...hover...* Wait, should I comment? I have something quirky to say.

Should I hit Enter? That's a big step... This reef is so cozy, the water so warm...and my little eel head can recoil so quickly, away, to safety in the corals behind the wall of intangible others.

Ooh! A birthday! Hmmm, what to say...

Ha, that's funny...'Pen is broken, please use finger'. Do I like that? What does it mean? Did someone actually miss the joke? Do I know everyone here on this little branch of sea kelp well enough to risk it? My entire reputation hangs in the balance. *sigh* Oh, what a conundrum...

Whoa, what just happened? I thought that person was dead. Now they have the audacity to Like something I was going to Like ?! The nerve...

Oh well. It's probably for the best... *scroll, scroll, scroll*

Epiphany

Uncertainty certainly fills the air,
Of what, for whom, and often where,
The tide rolls low or heavens break,
The rain arrives, abrupt, awake.

At last it shines for you, or yours,
A simple glimpse of what affords,
The tiny wonder, ever once,
Behold the jest, he laughs as much,

And wait for time, and times to be,
As what, or how, you wish to see,
Yes live and live, alive, alive,
You have but one thing to survive.

Your mind, your heart, your soul of sorts,
It rains, it pours, the plenty stores,
Of mighty power grows within you,
Changing paths where none direct to,

The way, the truth, the sum of parts,
Of how you might, and should be smart,
The best of you, the best of me,
Comes sprightly in epiphany.

Utterly backwards

It's astonishing to take a step back and see how utterly backwards things have become - in most areas of just about everything - and for how long this unbridled regression has endured. Sure, there have been some accomplishments, technologically for the most part... But as an overall society, one has to be disappointed at the overall scope of impractical ignorance and apathy.

Speaking about the USA, quality of life and general sentiment has plummeted since I was in college. Tuitions are exorbitant, health care is not a guarantee, housing has crashed, banks have arrogantly given our hard-earned tax dollars as bonuses for "good performance," and wages have hardly kept up with inflation. Add to that the personal liberty issues that seem to have bubbled up to the surface, a 'major in minor things' mentality as I coin it, along with religious zealots who stoke their political campaigns on those platforms, and we are left scratching our heads.

When the very first episode of MTV's 'Real World' aired in the mid-90s, I sighed to myself and thought, nay knew, that this was the exact moment when everything had changed...permanently...for the worse.

Glorifying the average. A race to the bottom. Majoring in minor things. Watching people doing things so mundane, yet so self-aggrandizing, that we are literally standing on the bar. Even the news is absurd. Most of us will happily admit we get most of our news from John Stewart, a satirist. We need to feel entertained in order to feel anything about anything. When and why did this happen? I don't have an answer unfortunately...

While one acre of hemp yields as much as four acres of trees, we focus on casual marijuana use.
While those who are proponents of drug testing for welfare recipients haven't a fucking clue that welfare consists of more than just food stamps, they are one pink slip away from seeking Unemployment Insurance benefits - a part of the welfare system.
While this country was founded on the principle of separation of church and state, political hopefuls insult us with moral attacks.
While people worry about who will be elected President, lobbyists and corporations have a monopoly on our government, who by the way should be ashamed of itself for its absolute impending dissolution.
While Israel urges the USA to back its efforts to invade Iran, we propagandize it in our media to that end. What about the coup d'etat in 1953? What about this country supplying arms to Iran during Iran-Contra? what about falsely accusing them of supplying weapons to Iraq and Syria? 

Face value is not fact. Face value is opinion, of a writer, to an editor, distributed in soundbites to you...while you watch any number of MTV's 'Real World' iterations, microwave your Monsanto meal, and escape the reality that things are utterly backwards.

Singularity

I find it fascinating that we are on our way to Singularity - the point at which computers will surpass human knowledge. We've recently begun using devices which make communication easier. But in doing so, our collective proclivity is toward aversion.

By that I mean we prefer to type/text rather than talk. Will we one day have no use for our vocal chords?