Art

Poems, I just don't get. Surely I can't be the only one who just will never be able to truly appreciate them, or what is more likely the case, am I the only one to see they're actually not an art form at all? I was going to write one down here to propose what I'm saying, but figured I might put a load of people off by writing up some poetry at the start of this entry!

I've got to tread very carefully here, I know a bunch of my friends write poetry. They are also very good apparently, as one of my friends at least has had quite a few of theirs published. Something bugs me about them though, and it will need a very quick but thorough history. Bear with me, it won't be long.

Poems started off at a basic level I guess. Again, I don't quote this as the truth, but they must have started off like that as nearly everything has to begin at a starting point. Anyway, so you have the general rhyming pattern which is simple: aabb. Meaning the first line ends with a word that rhymes with a word that ends the second line. The same goes for the third and fourth line too. So for example, here's a poem I found off the internet:

The lizard is a timid thing

That cannot dance or fly or sing;

He hunts for bugs beneath the floor

And longs to be a dinosaur.

Funny ain't it? Well, that to me is a great poem, because it makes logical sense to me, and it is spoken quite nicely too. Something to do with the rhythm I think. What do I know though? (I just found out it's called a quatrain. There you go, I learned something!)

Moving on though, you get all sorts of different rhyming patterns. abba, ababcdab, abcdabcdefef, abacus, barbbq... etc you get the idea. While some of them of course make sense like the first one does, they then just go off the wall. But, at least in some distant logical manner, I guess you could still see them, as there is a rhyme there, though they sound nowhere near as nice. Then...

Oh god, I don't even know its name, but then it goes all KER-azy and things that flying out the window, things such as logic and form and RHYTHM! There are pentameters crying in their sleep, and sonnets jumping off cliffs over this stuff! Here is an example, off some random google search:

NOT MY POEM, THIS ISN'T MINE I FOUND IT ON THE INTERNET

Sometimes,
often these days
I feel like I am totally,
utterly
alone.

I am alone in a room
filled with people
chatting
greeting
saying hi

I am alone
unloved
unwanted
by any
save maybe...
[Continues on for miles]

I don't even get that, not at all. If you want to find that poem, here it is. As I was saying though, there's nothing about that poem I liked at all, and this is purely because because I do Maths, which means my brain is formed to do logical stuff and while I do have the capacity to be creative (I actually secretly feel it is one of my strengths, my imagination that is :) ) I can't see anything in these poems. However, I do have a wild theory regarding these things.

SUDOKU's for the logical are like POEM's for the illogical.

What I mean is that whereas the logical population like Sudoku's, because they have a logical answer, poem's exist purely so that budding poet's can 'apply' their own meanings to them. Take the lizard poem up there, and read it through again. Here's an example of a poet analysing it:

"Well, clearly the lizard has a longing to be a dinosaur, because of the superiority of the species. It feels like as it currently exists, the lizard has no recognition and is ashamed of itself. However, to become a dinosaur would bring about some meaning in its life, where people would look to it in fear and.."

See? And that's coming from somebody who knows nothing about analysing. So I think I have proven my point, and come to the conclusion that whereas some poem's are perfectly acceptable as a creative art, others... just aren't. Now, if anybody knows any good limerick, please do pass them on. Yes, I do love a good limerick and I AM aware of the funny rhyming pattern in them...

Vacation

Moving completely on from my previous subject, comes a brand new entry into the Story of Russell.

That's untrue, this is simply another concoction of tales and thoughts, and couldn't really be considered part of a story. This is just me nit picking, cos it's what I do.

I was talking to a friend earlier on MSN (I've got to stop being so mysterious on this thing, it drives me insane to read back things and find I never ever refer to people by their names, rather choosing to call them all under the generic title 'friends'). Let's start this again. I was talking to Phil earlier on, about something the people we both know aka Cat, Sam, Chloe, Shaun, Khalid, etc were also considering for Easter break. That being, a holiday. I've been away with friends recently, but only as far as London. I've been for school trips to Paris and Disneyland with friends but only for a couple of days and it was when I was young. And of course, I have been for a completely brilliant holiday, all the way to America for three and a half weeks, but completely alone (It was still awesome, some of the best times I've had, but I'll have to share them in another entry). Is it quite sad that I've never been for a proper holiday to somewhere nice, for more than a couple of days, with friends?

Thus, this year is going to be different. I don't think anything out there can quite make or break a friendship or a relationship like a holiday can. Such disasters usually occur with couples though. It's completely obvious when you think about it, you're stranded with them. You might as well be marooned on a desert island the size of, well, a very small island (There are no obviously small islands to my recollection, and I SUCK at Geography). Why do people do it? Of course, because it can work greatly. I think there has to be some certain rules about how you do it though, you know, not being too pushy about things, being willing to go somewhere and do some things you don't really want to for the sake of the group. In fact, the more people you factor into the equation, the more likely you'll end up with a relationship ending style fight between friends. Somebody is always going to push it too far or not be able to take it any longer, and flip out. Other rules could be to make sure you think carefully about sleeping arrangements, and book according to what you can handle. Can the light sleepers handle the heavy sleepers snoring? Can you really share with the opposite sex? Girls do make a lot of mess in their rooms, trust me. And guys, probably the same, but a different kind of mess. (Ok, that wasn't funny, just quite gross. Strike that from the record) But yes, pretty much, you have to be very careful about going on holiday. It is only when you consider the bad sides as well as the obvious good sides that you realise it's best not to go into it with a false sense of excitement. And for the record, I am an easygoing guy, and could quite handle anything, but even myself on holiday could be a different person! Which leads me to question whether I really want to go on holiday anymore. That whole month of not doing anything here except sleeping in and playing video games is starting to look quite good right about now...

Sorry

If you are reading this, and you know me but I either haven't been in touch with you for a while or you have tried to contact me but with no luck, then this is the blog for you.

It's official, I have become a really awful friend to lots of you out there. The worst thing is, it started out so well this year. However, some minor personal issues that I have shied away from dealing with (Nothing medical or gross, just mental anguish is what I would most accurately compare it to, should I have to) and thus has led me to become a recluse for the majority of the term so far. I really have to sort my life out, at the moment I am behind on everything but this years modules, so I just wanted to say a big sorry to you all. And also a big thank you to those who have dealt with me. I promise I will get myself fixed up properly in the next few days.