Rain: 11:28 PM

Last night, I stared up at the sky and snapped picture after picture of the blackness, waiting for an elusive burst of lighting that I knew was inevitable but I still wasn't sure would ever come.

I wasn't disappointed.

Saturation Test

I'm going to post some reader pictures, so email me your good photos. I'll put up the ones I like.

I Have Attractive Friends VII

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

-Robert Frost, "Fire and Ice"

Un Soir dans Paris II

It was hot, and things were changing.

The Impasse de Caillous had been quiet for some time now, so the police sniper at the end of the street had relaxed. His gun was leaned up against the edge of his bulletproof cube, and he was enjoying a croissant.

Down on the street, Felix was less at ease.

The ancient rifle he held felt unnatural in his hands. He had never fired a weapon before. The sweat that dripped down his face was not the usual sweat that accompanied the ever-present sweltering heat of the city.

This sweat was cold. This sweat was of fear.

He breathed in and leaned out from behind the dumpster, prone on the dirty cement. He looked up through the iron sights of his weapon at his target.

He knew he would never hit it. The probability of shooting through the tiny hole in the bulletproof window was astronomically small; even if he was an excellent shooter, the weapon he was using was not at all accurate.

And he was not an excellent shooter.

He breathed in and out, trying his best to calm his nerves. Three shots, he thought, I just need to take three shots and then I can go back underground. Three shots and she will love me. Three shots and I will be the hero of the resistance without harming a soul.

He hugged his rifle tight to his shoulder and took brief aim.

"Merde!" the sniper screamed as the bullet hit the glass, burying itself deep into the thick shield that stood between him and anarchy. He scrambled for his rifle as Felix reloaded.

Their hearts pounded as one.

The sniper was still frantically scanning the street below him when Felix took his second shot. This one missed the glass cube altogether.

This time, though, the sniper had seen where the shot had come from. He had calmed down. He was in control now. He knew his job.

Felix had his back against the dumpster, swearing under his breath as he pried the jammed shell out of his rifle and shoved one last round in. He issued a little prayer and leaned out of cover.

A final shot rang out, and then the streets of Paris were quiet once again.

I Have Attractive Friends VI

It was cold on the day that they discovered that everyone on earth had a parasite living in his head.

The "Disdain the Brain Campaign" followed shortly after that, and, with only a mild amount of resistance from so-called "scientists" , the government educated the public on the horrors of the parasite that was human brain.

"Imagine," said one politician, "the physical feats we could accomplish without this huge mass of useless grey spaghetti sucking all of our blood!"

Many went further than that. The brain, it turned out, had long controlled the thoughts and actions of mankind, acting as an overlord to the entire human body. The deadly act of "thinking" often led to violence, hate, and the questioning of those in charge.

People were outraged. The public demanded to know how this obviously dangerous presence could have existed in our body without being discovered.

Luckily, the government was quick to act. It flooded the media with literally mind-numbing songs and discouraged news outlets from providing any sort of useful news. "If we don't feed it," many reasoned, "it will die."

As the election grew near, the anti-intellectualist party announced that its candidate would be receiving a frontal lobotomy, "at least," the candidate announced to a screaming croud, "until we can figure out a way to get the blasted thing out of the back of my head too."

Soon lobotomies became commonplace. Those who had the operation gained popularity; the fact that they lacked the mental capacity to realize it just made them more appealing. Those who had attended what were previously thought to be "top" colleges went to reeducation classes to understand the mistakes they had made, and to seek comfort. “It is not your fault,” they were told. “Your body is just more susceptible to the parasite than others.”

By the end, humanity was truly free of its life-long captors.

People don't say much anymore, but it's kind of a nice change.

The Meadow II

Today, I talked with a friend about life and mortality, about whether we waste our time learning or about whether we learn so we don't waste our time, about whether there was any point in living or if we should just try to enjoy the ride.

Then he had to leave to study for finals.

Life's a Beach II

Why did the heavy beat the scout to the point?

Because he was RUSHIN'!

I Have Attractive Friends IV

I'm running short on pictures. I think you guys aren't as attractive as I first suspected.

Creo que ustedes no son tan bonitos como yo acabo de creer.

I Have Attractive Friends III

I want my last words to be something really awesome, but I have the distinct feeling I could never top Giles Corey.

I Have Attractive Friends II

Everywhere I go, damn, there I am.

I Have Attractive Friends

It's morning, and he's walking to the bus-stop.

It's morning, and she's walking to the bus-stop.

It's morning, and they're both walking to the bus-stop. He stops for coffee. She beats him there by about two minutes. She gets on the wrong bus because she's new here.

He gets on the right bus.

It's morning, and he's walking to the bus-stop, and she's not going to make the same mistake again, but her alarm clock doesn't go off and she misses the bus.

It's morning, and he's running to the bus but he misses it and she doesn't notice him running behind it.

It's morning, and she stopped because there was a homeless person that was lying in the middle of the sidewalk who wasn't moving, so she called the cops and they sent someone, and he gets on the bus.

It's morning, and they get on the same bus but he's intrigued by an article about genetic engineering in The Atlantic Monthly.

It's morning, and she's talking on the phone and he's just vaguely annoyed.

It's morning, and the guy at the coffee place in line in front of him spilled coffee on him and he had to go back.

It's morning, but it's Saturday, so she doesn't take the bus.

It's morning, and he got up just a little bit late so he didn't have time to stop for coffee or The Atlantic Monthly and she got up on time and her cell phone is out of batteries and that homeless guy went to a shelter and they both get on the right bus and they sit next to each other.

And it's kind of nice, even though neither of them expected it.

Life's a Beach

I wanted to make it so the ocean kind of fades in to the sky so it looks really foggy. Anyone interested in shopping it like that?

Also I should've moved the raft.

Also it's too hot. Seriously.

The Meadow

Sometimes I think I have a lot to say, but then I realize I'm wrong.

Closer Than They Appear

I've changed my blog URL. I figure this one will be easier to tell people if they want to see it.

Also click on this picture to see it big. It's better that way.

Purple

Sometimes I think about how much our lives are in other people's hands and at the same time I think about the people who post comments on youtube and I get really really scared.