All that AND a chicken box?!?

Going through the archives, I found an old poem I'd like to share. In the years since graduating school, my compulsion to write either stems from a confessional place, or one of pure gut/body viscera. This is more the latter.

on the vitriol I have that tastes like blood

I have a vitriol that tastes like blood.

I don’t puke it up on principle.

Instead, I watch it eat at my recollection,

dissolving it into a sadist’s sludge

that I rub on my skin like a salve.

It seeps down to more vital parts,

when I let it,

and the resulting fire kicks me like capsaicin;

full-body, heat sweats, caustic fumes like gasoline,

My putrid chemical spill with nerves

melted out to raw white tendrils twitching

in the naked air.

My body dances and writhes

-syncopated motion-

Like a worm on a hook.

Blessed, consuming, nirvana of pain.

A kiss of uncut deity.

All else reduced

to a minutia, grating obelisk of boredom with

moments -maddening- as minutes pass

like christmas morning.

Haiku of the Day:

The fruit flies gather

where the sweet foods go to rot.

Trap all dem' sucka's

Today's Drawing (inspired by the word "Chicken Box" texted by Ellen Ambrose)

Today's "365" Project (Make something with tea)
"Homage to the Tea-Totaler"

No Hiding from the Sun

Got a terrible sunburn, locked out of my apartment for a couple hours and read half of Ender's Game. Gorgeous. Have a few long days ahead with new rehearsals and work. As always I wish there was another day to do things...but chances are, it would get milked out and squandered like all the rest. May begin to do themes for weeks to keep blood in the water. We shall see. 

Haiku of the Day:

Sweating on the stoop

Should have remembered my keys

Apartment Lockout

Today's Drawing (inspired by the words "Juxtapositional Thundering" texted by David Chodos)

Today's "365" Project (Camouflage. Make something that blends in. I tried.)

Short Silly Post

Short post day. Went to an Orioles/Red Sox game at Fenway wearing O's gear. Very self-conscious but Emily helped me through it like a champ. I am very lucky. Only got accosted a couple times, all by drunk dudes. No big thing.

Haiku of the Day:

Flecks of spit on face

Dude screams through beer soaked lenses

I laugh quietly

Today's Drawing AND 365 Project (Do something with your non-dominant hand, inspired by the word "Shine" spoken by myself about three beers in)

Cartoons and 'Merica

Going through some old photo files for Fourth of July. Stumbled upon a few comics I had made a while back and I thought I would share them here. *DISCLAIMER!* The third comic contains profanity, so if you're sensitive to that sort of thing, please disregard the words of Obstinate Pigman.

"Vulture Sense"

"How it all unravels"

"Ass Sitter's Rebellion"

Haiku of the Day:

Given cashews and

swedish fish for my birthday.

No impulse control.

Today's Drawing (inspired by the word "Cereal" texted by Jacyln Burgess)

Today's 365 Project (Make something using only water)
"Land of the Free(ze)"

Storms

Rains unload on Boston as they evacuate their fireworks show and The Overture of 1812 blasts on the TV. Glad to be indoors. Reminded of summers in Michigan, watching storms from the garage with my father. Nothing like not knowing whether the flashes you're seeing outside are fireworks or lightning.

Haiku of the Day:

Forces collide in

wild pressure fluctuations

and the cool rains come

Today's Drawing (inspired by the word "Splendiferous" texted by Tymoteusz Kajstura)

Today's "365" Project (Do something with your breakfast before you eat it)

Check-In, Boozin', Beefin'

Here's where we're at as of yesterday:

Stats:
Running Mileage: 15.6
Push-ups: 115
Sit-ups: 125
Pages Read: 180
Books Completed: 1
Word Written: 2404

Fasts (Days without)
Internet: 0
TV: 7
Gaming: 6
Meat: 3
Junk: 1 (SHAME)
Booze: 0 (SHAME)
Duolingo: 4

I've managed to post, draw, haiku and project everyday of the first week. Looking forward to a fourth of July weekend full of little to do. I think I can manage at least two days without a drink, (mind you, it was my birthday weekend and most of those days it was only one drink.)  It's the junk internet sites that will be the death of me and all of us, if we're not careful.

I failed to mention I've sworn off ground beef. Every year I'm attempting to quit something, as I quit cigarettes for my 25th and energy drinks for my 26th. The ground beef embargo has many reasons tied to it:

• Pink Slime (YUK!)
• It's healthier to do without/pursue other options
• Forces me to quit copping out and choosing a burger in uncertain dining-out situations
• Better for the environment
• It affords me to opportunity to give up Taco Bell without having to give up the whole thing.
• There are substitutes (TURKEY) that I love just as much

I may have a stipulation in there that I can consume my own ground beef, as long can watch it being made. You know, in the off-chance of a ravenous burger craving. We'll see.

Here's to high hopes and the dreams of madmen!

Haiku of the Day:

Heat, thick with promise,

cascades the concrete city.

Torrents Immanent 

Today's Drawing (inspired by the word "Ponder" texted by Chris Hutchinson)

Today's "365" Project (Alter an old book)
"Stanley"

Wooo! 7 days complete!

Closing out the first week and I've already learned a great deal:

  -Fatigue of the will is very real. And with so much to be willful about, other aspects of the challenge and my day-to-day activities suffer. Especially those abstinence/fasting ones. Junk food consumption is at an all time high.

  -Anxiety about what to make is crippling if I let it take hold. The best content emerges when I don't think about planning and just trust that I'll be able to create something. The drawings are the best example of this, since they are done impromptu and loosely based off of the suggestion.

  -Posts might be delayed due to internet connection. I've already encountered a few instances of this, so I will do my best to post on time, but in the cases in which I cannot, I will simply post twice so you and I know that I completed my day's work. May take a phone picture with a newspaper or clock or something if that is required.

  -I'm thinking about the future...possibly opening up suggestions to those of you who have concerns or want to see something more in-particular? After all, this is on an internet platform, so interactivity is part of it. So if you want to suggest a word for the picture (noun, verb or adjective) or give me a thing to incorporate in my haiku or 365 project please do! Heck, I'm open to critiques on spelling and grammar, as I'm horrendous at both. I'd love to hear from whoever's reading, even if it's just my immediate family/friends, (you know who you are...and thank you!!)

Also, I never explained the 365 day challenge:

Last year Emily gave me a book by Noah Scalin that outlines a year of doing something creative every day. I meant to start it during Christmas last year, but the timing didn't work out. Each day spells out a inspiration for each project and encourages you to form a theme. I haven't yet figured out a theme, though I'm tossing around the idea of doing something with eyes. It's a decent through-line, and what I've got already supports it. Anyways, someday soon I'll be going through and labeling each with the corresponding encouraging statement to give it a touch more context.

Haiku of the Day:

Spent a day printing

and clipping payroll reports.

Fingers Paper-cut

Today's Drawing (inspired by the word "House" spoken by Mitch Roberts)

Today's "365" Project (Incorporate a stencil)
"The Moving Box Headboard Series - Stenc-o-lantern"