My Death?

"Who says that I am dead knows naught at all." - Martin the Warrior (from the introduction of Brian Jacques' classic novel Redwall)

"Strike me down now and I shall become more powerful than you could ever imagine." - Obi-wan Kenobi (paraphrase by memory)

"Do you fear death?" - Davy Jones

"Only I can live forever." - Voldemort

"I'll be back." - The Terminator

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I don't expect to live forever. A nice, long, adventurous life is ideal for me. But sometimes I consider dying - not literally, don't worry - but dying in the sense of rebirth from my old self. Phoenixes come to mind. I don't intend to have a doppelganger or what-what, but an alter ego would be interesting. I suppose I am Winter here, but just the thought itself struck me about a half-hour ago: the death of my current self and the rise of a new me. How does it work in theory? No definite answers, I am afraid, but I fancy it would be something of a resolution - perhaps one similar to those made on New Year's Eve? Plots to do better, to be better? I intend to better myself, seeing as I have not done as much as I could have with my life (not whining, only acknowledging) and I fully mean to step up my game as I ascend to a greater status.

If one considers the thought, we are all dying. So is our world, even as it grows, but that's a different story. What I am saying is that each breath you take brings you closer to your inevitable demise. I may sound dark or cynical to some, but this is only the truth! Who wants to live for eternity and watch loved ones perish and crumble to dust, and if everyone is perpetual, the earth would no longer fit us all, considering the amount of infants born every moment. Bloody selfish humans "continuing lines" at the expense of the world.... Anyway, I'm glad we're all doomed, and I look forward to living my life instead of watching those of others. I suppose I already am, but I sometimes cannot wait to be a free man, writing for a living and scouting the globe. Even if am shot in Egypt, fall off of the Black Mountains of Germany, drown in the Amazon, or freeze to death observing polar bears (soon to be a rarity due to the bastards in charge of things), or if a Sumatran tiger rips out my throat and innards, I'd prefer it to staying in the States and dying naturally without having done anything.

Would you not agree?

To Death and the life before it!

- Lewis

On Sequels

"Call no man happy ... until he is dead." - Neil Gaiman, American Gods

"Obla di, obla dah, life goes on, bruh! La-lala-lala-la!" - The Beatles

Sometimes we accomplish something and feel great about our victory. Sometimes we lose something and despair. Never is it the end. That's what I like about the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and the novels of Brian Jacques: the adventures continue, as in life. Now I don't mean to contradict my older post "The Serial Killer" - Hollywood certainly does not know when to stop with sequels and remakes and so on - but if done properly, a second story and so on can be great. Not necessarily a continuation of where the last one left off; it can also be an entirely different story in the same universe.

I was very happy when I got out of middle school, but it was not the end. New adversities popped up, and t obe quite frank I am glad they do. Life's no fun without a bit of spice, and while the outcome might not always be favorable, if it was I'd get bored. Olivia posted a while back about the novel Things Fall Apart and how just because Okonkwo dies at the end, that doesn't make it less of a story. (Spoilers, sorry! Too late.) And I agree wholeheartedly.

Life does not end until death. And perhaps not even then.

All You Need is Love

“Don’t let hate control you. Let love control you.” – One of my friends in elementary school

“We hate hate. We hate it.” – Psychiatrist guy from Get Smart (the TV show)

“All you need is love!” – The Beatles

I’m writing this on MS Word, since last time I typed directly on Blogger it was deleted due to some stupid error. And yes, I stole the opening-with-a-quote thing from Olivia. First of all, I know it’s always a long time between posts. I keep saying I’ll try to make it more frequent, and not counting that last time (when my words went down the drain), I’ve done zilch. I wonder if I should make it a scheduled thing. Anyhow, here’s the point:

Happy Valentine’s Day!!! If you’re reading this, whether I know you or not, I love you. This is because I love all living things, and feel hate for none. In my eyes, hate does nothing but poison the world, and love is the cure. I’m not saying I love everyone equally; there are certain persons I dislike, but I still love them. I love different people to different extents, and in different ways: I have friends, family, and occasionally a friend who resembles family. I will accept a hug from practically anyone (as long as I trust them not to hurt me), including other dudes: I am straight, but I see nothing wrong with a guy-hug. And no, I am not homophobic: I don’t judge people for things like that. Remember, I love all!

I have had a couple of relationships in my life, but neither was very long-lived. I do hope to marry someday, and perhaps have a child (two at the most – too many people on Earth), but adopt more. That’s a long time from today, and for now, I am content with life as is.

In other news, I recently attended my first wrock concert and met Lauren Fairweather, Matt-something from the Whomping Willows, and both of the Blibbering Humdingers, who are apparently from my hometown. It was awesome! Crud; I just lost the game. Anyhow, I got autographs from all four of them, and spoke to each one. In addition to that, I bought I wizard rock—literally a stone with the word “wizard” painted on it.

I have more to say, but I’m going to try to fit it in another post, since this is supposed to be about love.

Love,

Lewis

The Last Post of 2010

Probably. I could spontaneously have another thought and post again, but in theory, this is my last post of 2010. It has been a good year, I'll say that. I wrote and read plenty (although I probably could have read more), and met lots of cool people. Many awesome movies came out, so I suppose I'll list my favorite ten in no particular order:

• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1
• Toy Story 3
• Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
• The Sorcerer's Apprentice
• The Social Network
• Alice in Wonderland
• How to Train Your Dragon
• Clash of the Titans
• Iron Man 2
• Despicable Me
• Inception

Yeah, so that was eleven. Whatever. In other words, we had some good ones this time. I just realized that I missed Dinner for Schmucks, Tron: Legacy, Megamind, and Shrek Forever After, but I can't push it too much...can I? I also have yet to see some of them, such as True Grit and Gulliver's Travels. Either way, I enjoyed 2010 very much. I got a saltwater aquarium in the spring, which is still amazing (though we seem to have an invasive anemone on one of the rocks); we got my sister a dog (sister Laura, dog Launa - Laura's REALLY clever); I met Cory Doctorow, who was a really cool bloke; we went to Disney World in late September and stayed into early October; and I this year took up the name of L.M. Winter.

Overall, this was probably one of my favorite years. I probably ought to write a poem on the year, but this will be off the top of my head:

From eyelash wishes

To marine crabs and fishes,

From Health-class antics

To a scene from The Frantics,

From writing group

To picking up dog poop,

From reading Stephen King

To some other thing,

And I suppose while this lasts,

I'll mention Doctor Who podcasts,

The year is nearly gone,

So now my music's on

As I write these words

And time flies like birds

To the worlds beyond ours

And soon there will be flowers

Sprouting from the soil

And then the sun will boil

Even icy water.

And then Harry Potter

Will conclude its epic story -

Viewing will be mandatory -

Somewhere in July.

Time still will fly:

Death and birth will both occur,

Of that we can be sure.

Then Old Man Winter and his Young assistant

Will come ready and persistent

To sweep away daisies

Pushed up by old crazies

And the year along as well - 

We see that there is no hell

Or heaven in the end;

There is only death, and life to spend.

But this year has been great

And is now getting late.

We had great snows early

And again at the end: surely

There will be more?

I hope to open the door

Next year to a field of white

Which glimmers quite bright

In the sun, bouncing off crystals

As I put away pistols

To bring out a seasonable

Weapon, one more reasonable:

A ball of white snow

To hit my rivals before they know.

No matter what year,

There, then, now, here,

No matter what splinter

Of summer or winter

Or spring or autumn,

Top class or bottom,

We are alive

And should always strive

To make the very most

Of the moment, whether writing ghost

Tales or tales otherwise tall,

Or if you're not writing at all,

You must pay heed to time, and yet

You must not by any means get

Sucked into its void,

Whether it's ever toyed

With your concepts of progression

Or makes you think of regression.

Time is complex, but do not worry:

Just live your life, for there is no hurry.

Man, that went on for a while! Like I said, it was written just now, so it probably needs some work. But what I was trying to convey was that time may fly, but while the future needs planning to a certain extent, I choose to focus primarily on the present moment.

All in all, the year ends soon, but what is it but numbered dates? Life moves on at any rate. I plan to do many things still, such as complete my novel, improve my piano skills (I think a teacher at my elementary school might still be teaching), learn guitar and maybe join marching band with some other third instrument, take Drivers' Ed, learn about filmmaking, et cetera. I have plenty of things I plan to do, but now is now, and I'm blogging. But not for long: I think I'll check my email and then read my first Jane Yolen story. Oh, and speaking of firsts: I watched a small part of a Doctor Who today, called "Midnight." I think it was a newer one, and that just might have been this David Tennant everyone speaks of.

What a long post (mainly due to the "poem")!

Happy New Year!

Lewis M. Winter