Sonnet

I haven't been posting as much stuff from poetry class as I thought I would but I just finished writing my (first?) sonnet and I thought I'd share it. This is probably a first draft but sonnets are hard and it's my first go at it so I'm sort of proud of it hee hee ^^

No Theorem

She decided not to take my offer
and live to tell the tale of deep regret
take the road that steers the clearest of her
and given time my mind will soon forget
I will hold the memory of loving
and she will pay a ransom for her time
ring in hand I'll stop the hate from growing
and try to find a prison for this crime

bursting thoughts in rationale and justice
endless testing spinning process reason
this rejection taken swiftly caused this
not a man but shadows for a season

love in one direction as a vector
magnitude in vain with no reflector

© 2008 Emilio Gandara

Poetry

I'm taking a poetry class this quarter. I'm pretty excited about it and today was the first day. I was pretty nervous coz it's something that matters to me but it was pretty fun. Actually, at the end we were tasked with a little exercise: to write a sample poem. Basically we had to write 5 lyrics or catch phrases, anything that we could think of, from whatever artist or media. I was actually called upon to read it. My heart was pounding so hard you'd think I'd laid eyes on the love of my life for the first time. So here it is, I'm going to italicize the parts I sampled and leave the guessing to you guys :D

I'm not ready for you to go
I don't know how I'll feel tomorrow
but if you stay with me a while
give me an hour and I'll give you your dream

I heard you say you wished I'd die
and I thought "only if He'll bring me back a dog in the next life"
take a second and think of it
the implication of your imposition

where were you a week ago
when we sang and our song shook the ground
that's when I wished you'd never die
and you said "I'll be a better me tomorrow"

© Emilio Gandara 2008

Have fun guessing! I know cris will know one right away coz it's sort of an inside joke of ours ;)

Haiku otw 3/9 I

Late again, but I won't bother myself with the details, hehe.

I long to move so:
Further Up and Further In
just to see the Light

Just finished reading The Chronicles of Narnia. Amazing is a gross understatement in describing what a work the Lord has blessed C. S. Lewis with. Enjoyed every bit of it!

WotW March 09 I

Hey all, I'm on time again, hooray! And so, the word will be...

concupiscence -
strong desire, especially sexual desire (in other words, a fancy word for lust)

Used in a sentence: Rather than being fought, concupiscence is best defeated through escape.

Reason: Saw it written in my Bible :)

[edit - I was actually early! I just can't get it right, can I? haha]

Late WotW and Haiku! (Feb 09 IV)

Hey all, here's a double-whammy late edition but because in the span of an hour I've received both the word and haiku so instead of skipping a week I decided to post both.

Lackadaisical -
lacking life, spirit, or zest

Used in a sentence: Upon quitting his long-drawn pursuit of existential knowledge, a cold wind was breathed and a lackadaisical sigh was exhaled.

Reason: I saw in twitter that it is my friend Jen's new favorite word.

Aaaaand the haiku is thus, inspired by The Watchmen:

teleportation
requires a deep knowledge
of things temporal

:D

Late Haiku! 2 (Feb 09 III)

So uhhhhh, yeah....

雪が降る
そして病気だ
不公平

So another random japanese haiku. And a rather loose translation.

it snows once again
and I am struck with illness
is it not unfair?

Yes, loose, quite loose. Literally what I said in japanese is

it snows
and I'm sick
unfair

so yeah... lacking... syllables! hehe

Word of the Week (Feb 09 III)

Nonplus - (MW and from here on out, unless otherwise mentioned, this will be the reference)
to cause to be at a loss as to what to say, think, or do

Used in a sentence: She dropped the knife and for an instant stood nonplussed.

Reason: From when I first saw the word I really liked it, not only because it had eluded me for so long but because of what it meant. I like the idea of being hit with such a strong realization that you cannot even muster a reaction. Which is almost what I felt when I failed an important test today but my reaction was clearly to sulk until I reasoned myself into not feeling too bad about it. :)

Late Haiku!

I'm not moving it down another day, I was just late again! Sorry, gomen gomen!

maybe for the cold
chilling the air to stillness
did this come so late

and there you have it, an apology AND a haiku ^^ and here's a bonus holiday Haiku.

take your love in hand
and clench your fist to crush it
now share it with all

<3 love y'all~ Happy Valentine's Day :D <3

Word of the Week (Feb 09 II)

Nihilism - (MW)
a viewpoint that traditional values and beliefs are unfounded and that existence is senseless and useless b: a doctrine that denies any objective ground of truth and especially of moral truths

Used in a sentence: Your not going to give your pokemon a nickname is so nihilistic.

Reason: Bucky's writing a paper on ethic nihilism and it totally reminded me of the fact that in Pokemon Diamond/Pearl if you don't nickname your pokemon it'll say it's a nihilistic thing to do. wwwww

random Tech Transfer paper

I recently wrote a short paper for a class called Technology Transfer. I probably didn't have to write half as much as I did but I kinda went on about things and ended up with a short paper instead of four short answers. So for whatever reason, I'm publishing it here.

Technologically speaking, I don't think a lot has really changed in the past few years. To be sure, computers have gotten better, faster and for the most part, cheaper, but what was true then is just as true now. Because of that, the question of whether we are headed in the right direction may be just as important as the matter of the speed in which we are traveling. That is, just how long will making bigger hard drives and faster processors really go for before technological advances change in their nature? If that is the “right direction” then regardless of the speed at which these developments occur, we are undoubtedly headed in it. However, if computerizing every single thing in our lives is the “wrong direction” then we may soon find ourselves in a bad place we can't easily turn back from.

Technology has become nigh ubiquitous in our daily lives and, as all things, brings with it positive and negative consequences. It makes a lot of things in our lives much easier compared to having to do things manually. For instance, paperwork in just about every field has been drastically reduced because of computers. That, in and of itself, has a consequent result, which is that it helps the environment. The opposite side of the same coin, however, is that as computers are manufactured by the millions, the efforts to recycle them, once people begin to throw them away with each upgrade, become more and more impaired. Again, as the article plainly shows, as computers continue to replace certain processes in our lives, while in many instances they often maximize our effectivity, they may also hinder us in ways that the non-computerized way would not. The woman in Houston with the “smart house” would never have to “restart” her house previous to its computerization, and the 8 hour process of her doing so is surely a bother, but because of said technology, she may be saving electricity, water and have added security.

Ultimately, the degree to which we use technology will not only be a case by case basis, but in general terms come down to each individual's decision to adopt or not. While there are certain technological advances that are practically inescapable, like this year's switch to digital transmissions, most technologies are opted into. For example, the article starts out recounting the story of Nancy as she “joined an elite group” when she purchased her car. Certainly, there have to be cautious, sound minds calculating the possible outcomes of technologies that are developed. The government will always have a certain amount of control over the process of policing technology but I think when it all comes down to it, the consumer is the one that determines what stays and what goes and that is you and I. So in the end, a degree of constraint is all but necessary as with technology's awesome potential for good, is inextricably connected to the power to harm.

©2008 Emilio Gándara