The Whole World Went Away [Featured Song]

As you likely know, I’m still a Nine Inch Nails fan. Not that I’m expressing favoritism as this as a first featured song, it just struck me as something I’d like to post. The name of the song is The Day The Whole World Went Away.

I actually have 4 versions of the song, all official recordings, I think. All of them quite good, The albums on which they occur are The CRC Sessions, The Fragile, The Day The World Went Away, and And All That Could Have Been.

The one I wanted to highlight, however, is the recording on And All That Could Have Been. It is a full piano rendition, with percussion and vocals of course. I find that it is difficult to put to words and elaborate on why it should be a Featured Song, but all I can say is that in the right mood, it is the best thing to listen to. Try it before going to sleep.

Getting Hit Because You're a Failure

Sitting under the tree, just gazing off aimlessly in the distance, I was hit by a small, undersized football. Taking it in stride, I picked up the ball and looked around.

Sure enough, a friend of mine stood there, a ways off, grinning. I just smiled and tossed the ball back to him. We started a game of catch, with me just happily sitting there, returning his throws.

In the middle of this, a girl sitting next to me took notice of our game.

“Do you always throw with your right hand?”

”Yeah, I guess so,” I responded.

”I’m right handed, but I learned how to throw with my left arm.”

”Oh, that’s interesting,” I throw the ball off again to my yelling comrade. “I should try it with my other arm.”

I got the ball back, and was putting my left-hand fingers over the laces. “I don’t know, I think when I throw with my left, it gets all wanky,” I regrettably said. Sure enough, I threw a rather wobbly shot, and the receiver had to run to pick it up. She laughed a bit, but it wasn’t with bad intention.

The ball came back to me, and I returned to using my right arm. The small talk continued until one pass, when my friend went out real far. Between us was a line of people, and a short chain link fence. I shrugged, wound up, and threw as hard as I could. It wasn’t hard enough.

I hit a guy standing in the line, squarely in the face. The reaction I got was not the first I’d expect. Of course there was first a moment of shock, but instead of turning to anger, I could see his eyes watering, and his face contorting into a frown.

Even though I hated leaving my seat under the tree, I separated myself from the conversation, and ran over to the victim of my throw. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to hit you, it was an accident.”

He was just sobbing and sobbing, I didn’t know what was wrong, why he was so down.

”Are you okay? I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean to hit you,” I pleaded again.

He just looked at me with mournful eyes and choked out, “No, its not you’re fault, I just get hit because I’m a failure.”

I didn’t know how to respond.

Not based on cognizant events.

Something Evil Comes This Way

Once in a while there comes a time when pure evil must come to exist. However, it is not necessarily always a bad thing.

We were running, trying to find a way to get away from something tormenting us. Not something evil, but something malevolent, something with the intent to hurt, to cause pain. At every turn it would be there, destroying, threatening. Anything that offered a chance of refuge, or a sign of hope, would be broken before there was a chance to use it. It was so difficult keeping track of everyone, making sure everyone was okay. It would’ve been easier if I was on my own.

I tried hiding things I found, so that I could bring everyone back, to make a stand, or to escape. I found a car with the supplies in the trunk. I drove it to an obscure place in a field nearby. I found a weapon of some sort, seemed as though it would help. I hid it in a vine-choked corner of the masonry. It seemed to be watching everywhere. I could visualize these things being found and destroyed, and along with it any hope we had of survival.

It was then that something even more evil animated it self. First it was the smallest speck of black. It then took on the shape of something more like a pointed fingernail, which eventually produced the hand behind it. The hand made its way to our assailant, and delivered a jab with its fingertip. The tormentor became the tormented, as it began to howl in pain. It clutched its side and fell prostrate, lying on its side, clutching its new wound. However, the hand didn’t stop there. It made its way towards the mottled face. Its fingers opened the shut eyelids, but with some fighting resistance, they closed tightly, still screaming on the ground. The eyelids were eventually wrenched open, and with another jab, it was rendered blind.

Copyright: Galerie Bernhard Knaus and Daniele Buetti

With these two locked in combat, it was our only chance to get away. Needless to say, we took a run for it, never looking back. There’s no way I’d ever return to that place, knowing what saved us, and knowing that it had the ability to do much worse.

Not based on cognizant events. Props to Ray Bradburry.

Another Interlude - Good Times & Hobbits [wmv]

Haha, this is hilarious, and well done. Brings back lots of memories. I love the music.

Hobbits to Isengard

Pff, Oops, Cops [Day 4]

We took off for the long, hot drive mid morning, and it all went pretty well, until a police truck coming the other direction started flashing its lights and pulled a U-turn behind our 2 car caravan. My mom was riding in the car with me driving. She told me to just keep driving, so I did just that. My dad was riding with a friend of ours in the car behind us, and they pulled over, and the cop did the whole interrogation on them.

They got significantly delayed and barely made it back here on time to leave for some opera they were going to in Central City.

This means I still haven’t ever been pulled over by a cop once during my speedy driving career, but its probably a sign that I’m still pushing my luck.

Anyway, we went to have dinner (sashimi!) at a great Japanese restaurant in Arvada. (Namiko’s) My mom knows the owner, so we go there quite often. In fact, The owner wanted to show us her brand-new custom built house, so we went to see it on Hackberry Hill.

It was amazing, and huge. Must’ve cost a fortune. They designed it all exactly the way they wanted it to be built. They must be rich folk. Sort of reminded me of a Japanese house though. A modern one, not one with tatami rooms unfortunately.