What Happens Next

This afternoon, while searching my usual indi film festival movies I came across a video entitled "The Goblin Man of Norway". Its really underground, to the point where it not even on youtube yet. I have a hard time even describing to you this video, only that it is absolutely tantalizing. Please do yourself a favor and watch the first part of this documentary; I am positive it will leave you asking for more.


Director Howard Byrackk has pushed his unique form of storytelling to a new extreme in his latest documentary film. “The Goblin Man of Norway” explores the possible Norse connections to the controversial ‘Goblin Man’, discovered in northern Norway. Byrackk gained access to exclusive interviews with the key figures behind the discovery, and gives viewers an inside look at the controversy surrounding the Goblin Man.


Follow the link "The Goblin Man of Norway: Part I"

Journey to the Center of the Mind

I want you to think for a bit? What did you do today? Undoubtedly you went to some type of work be it school or kind that you actually get money for, or you had to clean the house. How long did you do them was it an 8 to 5 day or did you get up at o dark thirty to commute to work. What did you do when you got home, throw a Swanson into the microwave and turn on CSI Las Vegas only to find yourself dozing off right when the miniature killer has struck again?

In today’s world of multi tasking its not uncommon for anyone of us to have our mental to do list full at any given moment. Finish one thing and immediately you have 5 more to do. Of course what I am really talking about is stress, and just as the saying goes too much of even a good thing is always bad. So what is our preverbal "big brothers" answer to stress in this green and yellow light world of today, Vacations?

Wait, am I making vacations sound like a bad thing, who doesn't like vacations right. Here is the problem with vacations. They end, and where are you back to after your 5 vacation days end? Right back to the same old environment most likely behind in work and now you have to work extra hard to catch back up. So what am I getting to here?

In today’s world we do stuff, our minds have become accustomed to always doing something, rarely do we ever lock yourself in a room, turn the TV off, and think about just how the hell were spending our lives.

Try something for me now.

First, if you can, sit straight back in you computer chair, no cheating now an actual 90 degree angle between your back and your legs, now put your feet together side by side. Got it, now below there is a yotube movie, were going to try 5 minutes of basic meditation. After clicking on the movie below close your eyes and place your hands palm up on your thighs, sitting straight up, and take deep slow breaths for the duration of the song. For meditation to work you must focus on one thing and only one thing during the period of reflection, keeping it simple I am going to suggest maybe the four seasons of a flower or possibly snow melting. A bit more complicated but something I now do often is think about prayer (whomever your god) doesn’t actually pray but think about what prayer means. Let’s see if you can do it for a measly five minutes out of your life.



Did you do it, no matter, if you did not quite make it the entire time, who cares it was only 5 mins of your life, its much harder then you would think. While I am no Zen Monk but I continue to get better at meditation. I have come now to find meditating twice a day for fifteen minutes has a very calming and stress relieving effect on my mind, in the morning I take a more traditional approach going all out with the japanese techniques with incence and the whole nine yards, but in the evening I change over to a relatively new form of meditation. Christian meditation.

If you are at all interested in this form of Christian meditation head on over to the world community for christian meditation at http://www.wccm.org. You can also watch this short video which briefly talks about some of the techniques we use.





At the request of a friend of mine I am working on a post about scotch whiskey. It might take me a few days to do as any post about scotch must be worthy of the angles share.

Spring Break Booty

I would like everyone to take a trip back to March 2006, for what I consider to be SyNONYM’s shining month. A new post almost every day, maybe it was about close encounters of the homosexual kind, maybe it capped some of the most painful experiences of my life, or even a midterm paper for one of the only white teachers I have ever had. SyNONYM always had something new to offer. During my time of reflection of last week’s Spring break I began reminiscing the past year, how I have made a wide variety of changes in my life many in regards simply to the way I spend my relaxation time, a weekend over at Wurstfest, attending the Houston Opera, Meditation, or even more recently Gambling. But what occurred to me is how much I enjoyed writing for SyNONYM even when the old life was in the preverbal porcelain throne, SyNONYM was a way to think about the day, turn the cell phone off and reflect on whatever it was that day that was on my mind.



The Pelicans swooped ever closer to the fantail of the Texas Treasure Cruise Ship with each pass praying the twin propellers of the 420ft ship to churn up a tasty morsel for dinner. The Texas sun glowing on the horizon as the aromatic smolder of a Don Thomas Connecticut SE Cigar permeated thick sea salt air. On the aged deck table lay a sin, a neat Glenlivet in a clear plastic cup vibrating along with engines. Somewhere in the distance a Gulf Coast supertanker blows her horn.



There is a young just married couple snuggling over towards the stairs to the upper level obviously not shy about one another. A brief flash goes through my mind of a jackpot light and the sound of thousands of nickels hitting that metal pan, “CLICK” reality set in as over the 1MC (speakers) the captain starts blaring about the safety aboard ship “oh yeah can tune that one out”. More Connecticut mild leaf soars through the air as the Texas Treasure sails past the breakwater of Port Aransas.




“Ladies and Gentleman, the Casino will be open in approximately fifteen minutes”. A barbecue stained napkin the only trace of three trips to the buffet and one smaller one for some cheesecake.

“Do do do do Ching Ching Ching” five watermelons find their way to the top row of my “ Reel um in video slot machine” “ding ding ding” the counter rings out at 300 credits wind upwards. Three Fishing lures here some oranges there. “I’ll have a whiskey and coke please”, “Scotch and Soda”, “Brandy and Seven”…………. “Attention ladies and Gentleman please congratulate Illane who has just on one thousand fourteen dollars and fifty cents in the showroom casino”. “Rum and Coke if you would”. Ding Ding chink chink chink, the hours of indulgence passed by the sounds of Dealers shouting Place your bets” and hundreds of slot machines whirling their mystifying chants. “Ladies and Gentleman we are now exiting International Waters the Casino will be closing in five minutes”.



Who knew that many hours of playing nickels and quarters turns your fingertips a shade of respectable blue that would make any Andorian proud. Thud…..Thud… Two large buckets of nickels rattle their way up to the cash redeemer. “That’s thirty four and forty five cents”. Not bad for my first night out gambling made four bux, grandma would be proud, oh if I had only stopped with those five watermelons.

A Famous Nicaraguan 2000 radiated is red glow to the dimly lighted aft section of the ship, which at one point during the evening been a happy tropical cabana bar. Far too cold for any Texan the sea gifted me with a comfortable sixty degrees, a cloudless night, a bright half moon, and nothing to distract me during our hour ride back into port. Other than that last dram of Scotch waiting ever so patiently to prove to me why twelve years is better…….. I’ll do better tomorrow. “A brief flash goes through my mind of a jackpot light and the sound of thousands of nickels hitting that metal pan”….



Its about time SyNONYM be resurrected I know how many people enjoyed reading my strange antics and cursing the Fond du Lac School District for ever “”teching me how to spel using Foniks””. Hopefully I can get a few posts out a week While SyNONYM may not get updated every day “College and all” I have a year of stories to tell and oh boy do I have some good ones.

Until the next Story
Brian

If any one knows of a certain tale which they wish would be retold in print drop me a line, who knows I might have forgotten a few over the years.