Being Unique

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There are many people who struggle to fit in with the crowd, or make themselves become something they aren't. While the intentions may seem good - it is never a great idea to be anyone else than yourself. Walt Disney was known for many things: an inspirational leader, a boy of many talents, and a someone truly unique. There just will never be anyone like him. Know why? Because he strives for self-respect and integrity. This is something every single person should do.

I was never the type of person who fit in. I was often teased and picked on by other kids in school. I was the one who tried to fit in, but never really could. In all those years I finally learned to become something more than just a head in the crowd, but someone who loved himself. I became my own best friend and in doing so I've earned a bit of self-respect. It wasn't easy - not by a long shot - but I eventually came to terms with who I really was, a creative mind. I applied who I was by writing random stories in a notebook, poems that reflected the world I saw and how I felt about it, and pursued a degree in creative writing with hopes that I could share this fruitful knowledge with others. 

Don't ever fear the words of others. People will say mean and evil things, but words will only hurt if you let them bother you. Be strong willed and determinate in who you are. Accept the fact that others are always going to have a difference of opinion. Just because those people say something doesn't mean that it is true about you. The sooner you come to love who you are, and embrace who you are, the sooner you will realize that you'll be successful and happy. Everyone was made to be different and unique. No two people are ever the same - not completely. Be proud of who you are.

Vampires - Myth or Reality?

A vampire is a mythical being who subsists by feeding on the blood of living creatures. In folkloric tales, undead vampires often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deaths in the neighborhoods they inhabited when they were alive. They wore shrouds and were often described as bloated and of dark countenance, different from today's gaunt, pale vampire which dates from the early 1800s.

People are always wondering - "do vampires really exist?" It seems that no matter how much evidence there is to suggest they do or don't, most people are not satisfied without a good answer.

The causes of vampires to generate were several and varied in original folklore. In Slavic and Chinese traditions, any corpse that was jumped over by an animal, particularly a dog or a cat, was feared to become one of the undead. A body with a wound that had not been treated with boiling water was also at risk. In Russian folklore, vampires were said to have once been witches or people who had rebelled against the Russian Orthodox Church while they were still alive. In modern times, however, the vampire is generally held to be a fictitious entity, although belief in similar creatures such as the chupacabra still persists in some cultures. Early folkloric belief in vampires has been ascribed to the ignorance of the body's process of decomposition after death and how people in pre-industrial societies tried to rationalize this, creating the figure of the vampire to explain the mysteries of death. 

The 21st century brought more examples of vampire fiction, such as J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series, and other highly popular vampire books which appeal to teenagers and young adults. Such paranormal romance novels and allied occult detective stories are a remarkably popular and ever-expanding contemporary publishing phenomenon. Vampires in the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer ignore the effects of garlic and crosses and are not harmed by sunlight. Richelle Mead further deviates from traditional vampires in her Vampire Academy series, basing the novels on Romanian lore with two races of vampires, one good and one evil, as well as half-vampires.

Clinical vampirism, more commonly called Renfield's syndrome or Renfield syndrome, is an obsession with drinking blood.The earliest formal presentation of clinical vampirism to appear in the psychiatric literature, with the psychoanalytic interpretation of two cases, was contributed by Richard L. Vanden Bergh and John F. Kelley in 1964. As the authors point out, brief and sporadic reports of blood-drinking behaviors associated with sexual pleasure have appeared in the psychiatric literature at least since 1892 with the work of Austrian forensic psychiatrist Richard von Krafft-Ebing. Many medical publications concerning clinical vampirism can be found in the literature of forensic psychiatry, with the unusual behavior reported as one of many aspects of extraordinary violent crimes. 

Also read: 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/15/renfields-syndrome-vampirism_n_1765799.html

So, do vampires really exist? There have been reports from around the world over thousands of years of creatures like these. If vampires don't exist, then how do you explain all of these sightings and encounters? A jest is one thing, but the same jest being played continuously for thousands of years across different cultures is an entirely different matter. Hence, we have reason to believe they might exist because of these reports on clinical vampirism. It seems like the concept of vampirism has taken place in a modern and ghastly form.

Pride and Prejudice

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife."

Pride and Prejudice contains one of the most cherished love stories in English literature: the courtship between Darcy and Elizabeth. As in any good love story, the lovers must elude and overcome numerous stumbling blocks, beginning with the tensions caused by the lovers’ own personal qualities. Elizabeth’s pride makes her misjudge Darcy on the basis of a poor first impression, while Darcy’s prejudice against Elizabeth’s poor social standing blinds him, for a time, to her many virtues.

The novel depicts a society in which a woman’s reputation is of the utmost importance. A woman is expected to behave in certain ways. Stepping outside the social norms makes her vulnerable to ostracism. This theme appears in the novel, when Elizabeth walks to Netherfield and arrives with muddy skirts, to the shock of the reputation-conscious Miss Bingley and her friends. Austen pokes gentle fun at the snobs in these examples, but later in the novel, when Lydia elopes with Wickham and lives with him out of wedlock, the author treats reputation as a very serious matter.

One of the most prominent features of the literary style of Jane Austen is her frequent use of irony. Darcy is not as humorless and sober as he appears on the surface. He may not laugh, but in his own way he is as attuned to irony and incongruity as Elizabeth is. Their conversation shows that his wit can be as ready as Elizabeth’s. For example, when Miss Bingley accuses Elizabeth of being ‘one of those young ladies who seek to recommend themselves to the other sex, by undervaluing their own,' Mr. Darcy’s ironic response that “there is meanness in all the arts which ladies sometimes condescend to employ for captivation” indicates that he sees through Miss Bingley’s own attempt to “recommend” herself to him by “undervaluing” Elizabeth.

This classic novel is my utmost favorite till date & had changed me in ways innumerable; difficult to explain. Recommended to all of you to read it atleast once in your lifetime.

Last Man On Earth... Not Really

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In case any of you haven't taken notice of this newer comedy series, you are missing out. The Last Man On Earth is perhaps one of the most unique and original shows that I've seen. It is about the life and adventures of the last man on earth, Phil Miller. The first couple episodes are genuinely about literally the last guy. There even is a tribute dedicated to Tom Hank's performance in Castaway. 

The only problem I have with this show is that Phil Miller isn't really the last man on Earth. As the episodes progress more and more characters are introduced, one of which being another man. Why would the director introduce another man into the mix? The show is called the last man on Earth. I suppose it is meant to cause strife among the community for Phil, but it kind of defeats the purpose. 

Perhaps Phil Miller isn't truly the last man after all. Maybe something will happen to this other man, or maybe something will happen to Phil. Only time will tell.

While there are plenty of societal jokes and strokes of mankind inevitable laughter, I'm still half impressed with this show. Even though I do enjoy watching it from time to time.

Layers

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Underneath seven layers of onion peels

The cold shoulders 

Like shivering mountains

The cumbersome delicacies 

Of one simple touch   

The luminescent flicker 

In one's wary eyes

And crawling serpents 

Upon swinging vines

The uneventful dreaming 

That never does sleep

The caressing smell of 

Flowers in the air

The sweet sorrowful shadows 

Lingering within there

If only underneath those seven layers to shed a tear.

Do I Dare?

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We are all familiar with the Ben Affleck and Jennifer Gardner fiasco of a movie, and now Marvel, ABC Studios, and Netflix, have partnered together in creating an original series. I will admit that I wholeheartedly loathed the Daredevil movie back in 2003, but I will also be the first of many to admit that this new reprisal is simply dark and delicious.

Marvel's Daredevil original series was released just a day ago, and it is already getting great reviews. For those of you who binge watched the entire series, like myself, you will know exactly why this show is getting those reviews. 

IMDb has given it a 9.4/10 rating! 

And if that wasn't enough to seal the deal. According to Henry Hanks at CNN, Rotten Tomatoes has given the show a 94% positive turnout. As we all know, Rotten Tomatoes doesn't simply give good reviews like that to anything unless its truly special. 

Here's the trailer. Just to give you all a little taste.

One of my favorite parts about this show (no spoilers here) is that the creators interpreted Matt Murdock's abilities exactly the way they were meant to be. None of that silly vibration and wavy bullshit that was in the movie, but instead real time enhanced senses. He can hear up to two blocks away, his sense of smell helps him track people, his sense of touch allows him to feel vibrations in the air whenever a slight movement is made, and all of these combined help him to interpret the world around him. Nothing made me more angry when director Mark Johnson made a blind vigilante-hero able to physically see. The character is frigging blind! Keep it that way. For that I give this new series all the props in the world. 

Secondly, we see more character development within this series than anything else (other than comic books). I can't stand watching a television show that revels in moving a story forward without revealing any characteristic intentions. It leaves the audience asking too many damn questions and ruins the experience. I like knowing the reasoning behind things, and discovering those little plot twists. It makes a show that much more interesting. For this I give the show even more props.

Lastly, the show does the comic books justice. Plain and simple. The show had so many connections with the comic books that I felt like I was seeing the Daredevil for the first time. 

If anyone is a fan of this Matt Murdock and his alter ego, then they will be extremely excited to watch this show. Thank you Marvel for not allowing this hero to be dressed up in pink overalls. 

Express Yourself

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Poetry has often been described as rhyming words  together in such a fashion that it creates a painting within a person's mind. Although poetry may consist of simple words with hidden meanings, and portray various points of view on a subject, the ultimate goal of a poem is to express one's self in a creative out-of-the-box way. This doesn't mean a poet needs to create something intentionally abstract and confusing (even though some poets do), but they need to feel free to write in whatever way they wish. Poetry is intended to be an art form unlike perfection and more like a story. It has a beginning, some content within the center, and an ending. 

Dumbstruck For Brains

We all know that zombies enjoy a brain sandwich just before mauling another victim. But why are zombies interpreted this way? Popular culture would have us believe zombies are nothing more than a mindless creature (horde) that pillages villages and cries out, "brains," in a dull and coarse voice. Just look at the barn scene in The Walking Dead television series for instance.



Sophia walks out of the barn looking exactly the way everyone would imagine. She has a pale complexion and rotting parts of flesh, glazed over eyes, a scraggly looking limp as she walks, dirty clothing with flies swarming around her corpse, and makes a hissing/moaning noise. There is one part of this scene that really irritates me though. A classical zombie isn't suppose to be intelligent at all. Yet the "zombified" Sophia must possess enough intelligence and motor functions to be able to step over the dead bodies lying in front of the barn. Wouldn't popular opinion demand that this zombie walk on top of the corpses, or trip over them due to the lack of fine motor skills? And.. gee, I don't know.. brains!