Oh, how long has it been???  Welcome to the days of slack… I sit stoned.  A thought of length sits quietly after a week of brain exertion.  The writing experience that grows with soul is one that I need nurture.  To what end, we have no foresight.  And to what beginning, we can never remember.  On with the cycle of life, to fulfill what dreams condense.

As a spark creates anew the world on piety

My future is born from passion of spontaneity.

These dreams they teach, and haunt the waking

Until all is brought to the hour of our making.

Then bright we blaze, as the hour passes

And stretch our soul to the indignant masses.

For whose merit is gleamed, by naught our fate

But by the meaning of propagate.

And short we pass the hour’s toll

To the sudden end of one stone’s roll.

When all that is and will ever be

Bares the essence of what is me.

location: Comfy chair mood: stoned music: none

So I had this idea…  what if I posted what I write for the book that I’m working on, as I’m working on it?  What would that mean as a writer?  As someone who would like to publish (and sell) a book someday?  How would it affect my writing?  How would the world receive it?  Well, it would make me a better writer, I’m all about freedom of information, and some will like it and some will not- so it goes.  Why not?

I would also love to build a presence or identity on the web.  That desire is a part of the same one that brings me back to blogging periodically.  There is something so spectacular about a community of humans who know each other only through written thoughts and ideas.  I would love to be again a part of that.

This idea popped into my head after I wrote the following earlier tonight.  The book I wish to complete takes place towards the end of the second paragraph.  Please comment.

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It begins as a sound- one that erupts from nothingness to burst the seams of its confines with immensity.  A pin drop that echoes through the Grand Canyon.  Then the momentum gathers as the universe vibrates in response.  This vibration eventually disharmonizes the whole, and objects transform with the release of their potential energy.  Then the energy expands to incite the release of more energy, and more vibrations emanate from the resulting transformations.  These forces spread across our universe, turning the gears of change at an ever more rapid pace, until all evidence of causality is blurred, and we find ourselves inexplicably exactly where we are... lost.

Then we work.  We build, learn, teach, expand, conquer, discover, and… progress.  The world is our oyster- one whose origins are uncertain, but whose properties and potentials are becoming known- and we struggle to make it our pearl.  Many questions are answered, and many more are asked.  But progress is made, and knowledge grows.  We discover physics, mathematics, astronomy, biology, chemistry, and thermodynamics.  And we use this knowledge to create technology.  The technology allows us to learn more and grow faster.  With this tool and the foundation built before us, we begin to answer questions like: What is gravity?  What is out there?  What are we ultimately made of?  What is time?  What is the human experience?  How did the whole thing begin?  What are we capable of?  What is God? 

Then we become something other than human- something beyond what we once were.  And we hear the gentle rumblings of a deep sound… 

-Augustin Bralley

location: At home in comfy chair mood: accomplished music: none

It's been a few days since last I accessed this handy Live Journal... did you wonder if I'd given it all up?  I toyed with the thought... I won't lie.  But the overwhelming sense that this could be better, that this could be the end of false starts and failed blogging attempts, prevailed in the end.  So, here I am.  Back for another go. 

I'd like to begin by saying hello to the few who took the time to comment.  Some of you I know as friends, and some of you I know as just obscure photos and writings in a virtual world.  Pieces of what I read so far lead me to believe that you're all quite interesting.  Kudos to you for taking the time to put the inner workings of the 'infinite mind' down on, eh, paper.  Perhaps we'll all gain something from each other in this network of ideas.  I once said that everyone should write a book.  That way we'd build such a resource of knowledge and wisdom.  But then a more-embittered/less-optimistic elder chided me saying that most people would write about uninteresting bullshit, and they'd do it very poorly.  True, I suppose, generally...  but I like to believe that everyone has at least one thing of interest to the world, one idea or insight that can change our world.  And if it takes volumes to record that simple change, then it is well worth it.  I believe this not only for the sake of others and my interaction with you, but for my sake... someday there will be a word of insight in these digital lines that changes the world.   Well... I remain optimistic.

I've spent a great portion of my last week or so thinking about the big journey ahead.  The excitement and apprehension pull on my brain until all attention is diverted... the promise of wisdom, and the risk of disaster... life was never meant to be easy.  But it is the stress that gets us to do things, and it is the stress that breaks us down.  Love it or hate it, we have to learn to deal with it... but what the hell am I saying?  What have I really got to worry about?  Isn't my life priviledged and fortunate?  Haven't I had it easier that 99% of the rest of the world?  yeah.  But couldn't I still lose it all?

For those of you I haven't bored to death about my upcoming escapades, here's a brief synopsis of my goals in the coming years:  
My wonderful girlfriend and I are going to travel around central and south america.  We don't know where, how, or for how long.  But we do know that we want to do it for a while.  I had an idea that sounded perfect at the time, but has since been greatly revised.  We were planning on buying a van here in the states, fixiing it up and welding security features into the chassis, and pimping it out for a long car journey through Mexico, Central America, and on down to the southern tip of Argentina.  Sounds cool right?  Well, this probably isn't the best option for a number of reasons.  The current plan is to fly to Chile, travel for a bit, then buy a car and get a local mechanic to do the custom welding for me.  After ruminating on that one for a day, I feel pretty good about it.  If anyone has any ideas, suggestions, or constructive criticism of this loose plan... let me know.  I'm very interested.

Well, the night is getting late for my working man ass... 11:21PM.  I need my brain sleep for tomorrow's 8 hours of mental exercise.  Heh, that is 8 minus the time spent on the toilet or staring into space while touching my weener.

Have a pleasant night.

-Augustin

location: In a comfy recliner in my room mood: all is well music: silence...

We all know that life is a series of ups and downs, pleasures and pains, hardships and accomplishments.  If there's anything that I've learned in my recent endeavors, it's that writing is no different.  Every time I sit down with the objective of translating something of importance, interest, novelty, or ingenuity to paper, I am subservient to the current of life- and I cross my fingers that it takes me for a pleasant ride.  I need to remind myself every so often that failure is a huge part of it, and to pick up the pieces of misguided ranting, amateur storytelling, or lame insight, and rediscover my inspiration and try again.  Besides, if my life as a writer is any reflection of my life in general, then I need remain optimistic.

I've already said that keeping a blog has been a dream of mine since back in 2001 (I think) when I became aware of the whole blogging phenomena on the world wide web.  But something like this requires dedication- something that's often a struggle for me.  However, lately, I've begun to write more often and even incorporated it into some form of haphazard routine.  This effort is almost entirely directed at a book I'd like to publish one day.  I might use this as a forum for molding some ideas on it.  We'll see.  In any case, I hope my friends can find something of interest in these pages, and I find something in theirs (the later half most certainly won't be a problem.)

Well, there it is, my first real entry in Live Journal... a bit short, right?  So it goes... until next time.

location: Home in Alphytown mood: Think think think music: Neil Young (Schmeeves!!)

I don't mean to sound apathetic, but I have a hard time believing that I'll put more energy into LiveJournal than I have any of the other dozen blogs I've started. I'm what you call a blog browser.

But you never know, sometimes it takes 12 failed starts to actually get up and running. We'll see.