Tuesday, September 13, 2011

True Coriander

Here i am sitting in my room in Toyo, with broken AC, a creer going no where, literary if not writing inspiration. I write this not as a broken man, as i have not found what makes me true. I write this as one in search of their 'True Coriander'. A phrase to mean that i am searching for something and have no idea what it is, only that it exists.

This is why I have not Posted in a long time, the ennui of not realizing myself has gotten to me, and hopefully a chance will be given to me. I have indulged more in photography, entering a contest and losing in all categories, doing some minor work with co-workers, trying to write a novella, but nothing grabs me, not lately.

I am in search of my True Coriander, and I doubt i'll know when I find it as there is nobody that can tell me.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Shinden: Magnificent Lightning

OK, So This is a story that i wrote back in 2005, and because I have posted a sample of a novella that I am currently working on I figured that i'd post this one, apparently at it's length of 8,000 words it's shy of a novella, but I can accomplish one now i feel.Written on November 25th 2005. I Retain all rights to this story, and original copies, (I still have the paper copy rough draft, I CAN prove ownership.)





My name is Hideki Musashi; I have a story to tell you if you would listen. I was once a samurai of the Yasha clan, now I am ronin. My story is one of honor and shame, bloodshed and passion. It would honor me if you would hear my story. It starts with the story of my fall into darkness from the innocence of youth, many years ago on the lush rolling plains of Kyushu when I was a young child.


I was tending my fathers rice field one day, the smell of wet earth and the young rice permeated my senses when a sulfuric scent over powered the wet earth. I looked west to se a thick demonic cloud of smoke arose over my village. I ran, my feet sloshing through the rice paddies, the mud getting up to my knees. As I crested the eastern hill, overlooking the village a hideous sight greeted my eyes. My village was being attacked by bandits the town guard had been overwhelmed and the village had been overrun by the enemy. If I had been older, I would have tried to fight back, I would have made them feel my rage, I would have skewered them on my sword. Then came the sight that warped my for most of my life, my father was drug to the top of the eastern hill where I was crying and he was brutally slain, no he was slaughtered like an animal brutally, no man should ever face the kind of death he suffered through. It was then that I felt my soul fall into darkness, I couldn’t control my self I raced toward the brute that had slaughtered my father. I gabbed his sword from his hands, he staggered and fell from the shock of being assaulted be a small boy, and there right next to my father I slew that honorless dog by slicing him into cubes of flesh. Right before he died, I cut out his still beating heart and took a bite spitting the blood and flesh on his face.


I sat upon my horse overlooking the plains; my soldiers were ready for the carnage that would turn this verdant field into a sea of blood. The sunlight glistened off their armor, making them appear as crystals shining in the moonlight. The inky blackness of our standards seemed to be pieces of darkness captured upon silk. One of my commanders, Ishi Katsuni, had just ridden up to me.
“Most honorable general, are you sure that you wish for us to engage the enemy? The Notsure clan’s army numbers over ten thousand! Ours barely numbers three!”

“Yes,” I said, “advance the troops. We shall kill them ten thousand times over before those Notsure dogs claim the lives of even one of my men!” This seemed to have had an effect on my friend Katsuni-san, as he nodded and rode off to the head of the lines emboldened by my words. Katsuni was indeed the wiser and more honorable man; I should have listened to him. The odds were not in our favor. My army was but a fly before a pond full of frogs. I should have known that the battle would be a slaughter. As we passed, the crest of a hill a large blue mass made itself known to us. I heard one of my offers discussing something.

“Are our maps wrong? There is not supposed to be a river here.”

“That is not a river,” I told the man, “that is the army of the Notsure clan, their best, and also their smallest army. They are led by Shatori Hanyo, a veteran of many campaigns, rumored to have fought and killed one thousand men, and without a single scratch to show for it.” At this, the officers that I had told this to shamed themselves greatly. I must admit that to see the Notsure clan was truly a wonder to behold, with the sun shining on their blue armor they looked like a river languishing with its progress. Once we had stopped, an officer of the Notsure clan rode out to discuss terms of surrender. I then rode out to meet him personally.

“Do you yield to the forces of the most honorable Shatori Hanyo, Daimyo of the Notsure clan?”

No sooner had he closed his mouth, then, I unsheathed my sword and separated his head from his body. As a single fat crimson drop of blood fell from the tip of my black serrated blade and onto the verdant field below, one sneered word left my mouth, “never.” Then without haste, I charged into the sea of blue armor with my men at my back. As I tore into their lines with all of the rage of a burning star, a font of crimson erupted from each of their unworthy necks. As I tore into one of their officers a piece of flesh clung to my blade leaving a hole where his stomach used to be. A hail of arrows suddenly erupted upon my men punching through their thin armor, killing two hundred instantly. Finally, my men had joined the fray. At the head of the formation was my friend Kaikyo Maru, a close friend and savage warrior. As he fought beside me, he said.
“Let them never for…” One of the enemy samurai ripped out Maru-sans throat with his hands.
“Die you honorless dog!”
“Taste the steel and fury of the Yasha clan you Notsure pig!” I yelled at him.
“Ah,” he said, “so this is the great Hideki Musashi. It will be as much of a pleasure killing you as you had killing every person in my village.”
At those words, my most desperate fight began. All of a sudden, the samurai drew another sword from his belt in a wide sweeping arc, the gleaming steel blade passed but an inch from my nose. Then I tried to plunge my sword into his chest, but my blade bounced off and shattered into a cloud of black metallic powder. This sight stunned me; forcing me down to my knees, he told me this.
“Hideki Musashi you have no honor, so by doing this it does you no dishonor.” Then the hilt of his sword came crashing down on my skull. Just before I passed out and blood was running in front of my eyes he told me, “you shall awaken to a horror, this Hidaoi Nishizawa pledges to you.” Then as blood ran in front of my eyes, I slipped into darkness.

I do not know how long I had slept, but when I awoke, the sun had started to rise. I wish that it had not risen that day. After I had wiped the dried blood from my eyes, a gruesome sight befell them. My entire army laid slain or dying, most of them with a sword protruding from their chests. Those without a sword were pinned to the ground with daggers through their wrists ankles and genitals. It was not an honorable way for any man to die. What Nishizawa had said was true indeed. The once verdant field was stained a deep red, with pools of blood inches deep. It seemed that I was the only one that had killed any of the Notsure clan. I could not take the sight of the carnage any longer. Having been stripped of my honor and my armor and weapons I departed for an unclaimed valley. I thought that I could live my life as a watarimono, but it would not be so.

As I was walking, I thought about my life, always killing in cold blood, never fighting for the side of good I had always been the evil one. I decided to renounce my ways, I had decided that I would walk the path of righteousness; I would fight to protect those in need, not for the sake of fighting. I would soon get my first chance to prove myself. As I was walking next to a river down in the valley, I heard a cry for help.
“Help! Help me! Wolves!”

Without hesitation, I ran to help. It was an old man being attacked by a wolf pack. Having no armor or weapons I would have to be very careful. I hid in the boughs of a tree to look for an opportunity to attack. Then I saw him, the alpha wolf, he was directly beneath me. The wolf was so surprised by me falling on his back that at first he did not attack. Then it got bad for me. The entire pack began to attack me. I tried to fend them off to get to the alpha but they would not back off. Then he made a crucial mistake he attacked me and turned his back on the old man. The man must have been a samurai master, he moved with speed that seemed unnatural for a man of his age. The old man killed the wolf with one blow of a kendo stick, as the alpha wolf fell, the others instantly dispersed. I had never seen such masterful sword play from anybody, I never saw the blows that he landed, but I did see the wounds that had been inflicted by them.

“For your help grateful I am, follow me you will, clothing and food give you I will.”

So I followed him to his home in the mountains. The way he walked, serene, unfaltering, sure of him self, yet humble, told of a man that had accepted peace and righteousness, yet was also a master of many fighting styles, yet was as kind and honest as a saint. His silence spoke volumes about his character. He did not utter a single word until we reached his house. Once we did, his words were simple yet spoke of wisdom.
“Should you enter change you will, change you not depart you shall.”

Having the need for atonement for my life and actions, I accepted his offer, not for the food he offered, but for the need of a new life. “Yes, I will change my ways and my life master, may I enter?”
“Ways change they will, enter you then. Master call you will not, Shun-Zai call me you will.”
“I will honor what ever request you ask of me Shun-Zai-san.”
“Then my first request,” he said, “put this on you will and with me sit you will.”

As I put the robes on, I thought about how I must show this man the greatest respect, and how I should change my ways to serve justice and good, and to fight the evil in the world. I also thought about how to bring honor back to my name. Then I sat with Shun-Zai and shared a meal with this honorable man. He could have left me to the wolves when they were attacking me, but he fought them and in doing so saved my life, for that I owed him mine. As I sat there, he said something very important to me.
“If for justice fight you will, train you I must. First lesson, begin it shall. Humble you must become, honest, and respectful you must become.”
“Yes most honorable sensei, I will do what you ask of me and honor your wisdom.” At this, all he did was give a wise smile. I then did something that I would never have done as a warrior of the Yasha clan, I cleaned up the re remains of both meals, taking care of his first.

When Shun-Zai saw this, he started my combat training. “Wooden sword take you will,” he said, “If hit me you can, complete your training is.”
“I would never harm my sensei.”
“Obey me you will, sincere may you be, but strike you will.”

As soon as he finished he struck, it was no longer an attack on him but defense, so I did what he asked. For an old man he was like shinden. I could only hope to parry his blows, as his wizened fist came inches from my face I ducked, just barely avoiding getting hit. I made a strike that would have surprised a ninja master with the speed it had, he easily deflected it with one finger. His skills were something that I could not hope to match only hold off. He struck with his hands and feet as well as his kendo stick. All of a sudden, he knocked me off my feet and I found the sword I was holding barely one inch from my neck. I never even felt it leave my hand.
“Defeated you are, train you must. Train you I will, long time will it take. Know this you will, I cannot tell you when ended your training it has, when ended know you will.”

So only I would know when my training would be complete. I felt that I would be with the most honorable Shun-Zai for a very long time. In the end, I was surprised that my training had only taken four years. It would be the final days that would change my life forever. On one of the final days, Shun-Zai told me that he had been crafting armor and a sword for me.

“This is too much sensei,” I told him. “You need not do this; your knowledge is all that I ask of you.”
“Humble and just, you have become. These I give you, aid you they will and protect you. If justice for you will fight, need these you do.”

“Then I humbly accept your gift.” I had been reflecting on my past with the Yasha clan. Under them, I had killed countless innocents and stripped myself and others of honor. I decided that I would regain my honor by protecting innocents, and stopping all who threatened them. I would do this even if I had to kill every soldier the Yasha clan had. It was then I took my first step on the path of honor. My final day with Shun-Zai was one I will never forget. We had one last sparring match.

He had taught me to fight with my hands and feet as well as my sword. The style was very powerful; it would confuse and scare an opponent because of the threat of multiple weapons. Each of us came but inches from the other, we were like two hurricanes locked in combat, and hands, feet, and swords appeared to mesh into one. My sword felt more like an extension of my body than a piece of metal. It was unclear who would win, even to Shun-Zai. It ended with me knocking him onto his back. All he did was to nod in acceptance then motioned for me to follow him to his workshop.

As soon as I entered his workshop I had to bow, it was too much of an honor to let me look upon the armor he had crafted. It was made from a gleaming silvery metal; it was made from plates and sheets, both of which were fashioned to allow unrestricted movement. It was padded with silk and soft fabric, which was not needed because the armor was very light. To demonstrate the strength of it he took a large hammer and struck the armor with it. The armor did not even show as much as a deformity in the intricate inlay from the strike.
“Amazed you are yes? The armor from rare metals crafted it is, the swords also.”
“Swords? I thought you only made one?”
“Three swords did I make.” Then he unwrapped three swords from sapphire blue silk, one wakizashi, and two uchigatana. Then he reached for the two uchigatana, put them hilt to hilt, one up one down, and pressed a button. The hilts opened up and the swords became one double bladed sword. The swords were truly amazing, a wonder to behold. Then he spoke to me again.
“Done I am not, return soon you must.”

Then I left him to his work. As I was sitting down to eat a storm hit the mountain. The rain was pelting the ground like stones, and the thunder seemed to be the roar of a dragon. Somehow, through all of this, I could still hear Shun-Zai working; I could still hear is hammer striking metal. I did not go to him because he did not call, and still his hammer fell. Then it happened, a truly amazing sight, lightning struck the ground not once but one hundred times in the same place, it was shinden. Then I saw where it had struck, the workshop of Shun-Zai had been destroyed. I ran as fast as I could hoping I could still save him, but when I found him, he was smoking in a corner. His flesh was burnt and disfigured. As I approached him, he motioned for me.
“Done I am…take them…and justice…you will…make.”

He never even heard me say, goodbye. Then I found the swords and the armor. They had become changed in the lightning strike. The armor was now a pale lightning blue, with images of lightning emblazoned upon the metal, it felt like another robe when I put it on. The swords were also changed to a pale lightning blue hue also with an image of lightning emblazoned upon them. There was also Kanji inscribed very artistically on the blade by the hilt, the inscription said ‘face the universe like magnificent lightning’. It was then that I became a ronin, under the name Shinden. After I had collected my belongings, I departed. I left the place where I had found the path of honor and I vowed never to fall from the path of honor ever again.

I followed the river from where I had met Shun-Zai, until I had come upon a village. When I reached the humble yet imposing gates, a village elder came to greet me. He had the look of a wise man that had never committed a dishonorable act in his entire life. He was flanked by two people; one was a younger man that appeared to have been his son. The other was a young woman, perhaps twenty years of age. All three had striking features that spoke of serenity and power. The man must have been the leader of the village, if not a very important man in his own right.
“Welcome to the village of Ouka. I am the leader of this most humble village, Toya Osai. This is my most honorable son Hiryu, and my most honorable daughter Ouka. And who is it that honors our village with their presence?”

“I am Shinden Musashi, a ronin, most honorable Toya Osai-san. I came from sensei the mountains from training with the most honorable Shun-Zai.”
“How is Shun-Zai-san? I have not seen him since my daughter returned from her tutelage with him.”
“I regret telling you this, but Shun-Zai is dead, he was killed by one hundred lightning strikes.”
“I am sorry to hear that he is dead. It pains me so much to hear that a true man of honor is dead. Would you honor me by entering my most humble home?”
“It honors me that you would invite me into your home,” I told him. As I entered, I saw the true opulence of his home. His house was adorned in many fine silken tapestries and many embellished paintings. Even the robes that he and his family wore were lavish. His robes were of the finest silk I had ever seen, a golden background with golden embroidery. The robes of Ouka were a fine emerald green with silver embroidery that I had never seen before. As were starting to sit down a commotion started outside of the village gates.

“Open your gates! Give us everything you own, In the name of the Yasha clan!”

I hurried to get my swords and armor, before the gates of the village were breached. If I could not protect this village then I would not be worthy of having trained under the venerable Shun-Zai. No sooner had I put my armor on than Ouka was beside me ready to defend the village. The armor that she had donned was as unique as the wearer. It seemed to be a metallic cloth, the color identified it as armor crafted by Shun-Zai, but it appeared to be closer to silk than any form of armor. The nagamaki that she wielded dwarfed her lovely frame. To wield such a weapon in combat she must have possessed immense strength, but to have such strength upon such a beautiful body boggled my mind. When she saw me looking at her, all that she had on her mind was duty, which was evident in her words.
“We have to protect my village now. You can stare at me later Musashi-san.”
“The let’s defend your village,” I replied. At the moment that came out of my mouth, we were set upon by a horde of soldiers.

The fist soldier that faced us became ‘divided’ on the issues of attacking. His legs continued forward as his torso flew to retreat. It amazed me that Ouka not only possessed the strength to wield a nagamaki but to slice a man in half wearing full armor. Then I got into my first fight. An officer had decided to engage me in combat. He brought his sword up in a sweeping arc intended to rip into my chest, with reflexes honed by Shun-Zai I blocked his blow with one blade and pierced his armor with the other end. The blade cut through his armor and his chest like lightning through a cloud. As my blade dispatched the next soldier, a sound of thunder seemed to issue from the blow. Over to my right Ouka Osai was carving a swath of death through the enemies’ ranks. The movements of her body and her nagamaki seemed to be one; her movements were a dance of death. The next soldiers to fall charged me from all directions. I swung my joined uchigatana around me flawlessly dispatching them. Within five minutes, we had dispatched forty attackers; only two of them had escaped. With the fight was over I was able to talk with Ouka-san.

“Can I offer you my assistance Ouka-san?” I could see that she was breathing heavily after the battle.
“Yes, that would be most honorable, and you can resume staring at me Musashi-san.”
“I am sorry Ouka-san; I did not mean to be rude. How may I make it up to you?”
“You can carry this,” she said as she tossed me her nagamaki, "and you can bathe me Musashi-san.”
“Wouldn’t I dishonor you and your father by doing so?”
“No,” she said. “He believes that you are worthy of me.”
‘Then your father honors me greatly by thinking so.”
“Yes that is true, he does honor you greatly. Meet me in the baths later, and try to remain honorable,” she then flashed me a wink over her shoulder and walked away.

As we entered the village, we were greeted with cheers. All of the villagers had come out to thank us for saving them. The feeling I got from seeing people that were glad to welcome me was one I had never experienced before. When we entered the house of Osai, Ouka showed me where I could put my armor and weapons. Then she told me where the baths were and to expect her soon. The prospect of a bath was wonderful, just getting all of the blood and soil off would take a while. No sooner had I gone into the water than Ouka came into view. Even being covered in blood and soil did not mar her appearance in any way. She was still as radiant as when I first saw her.

“Can you help bathe me?” She said as her first slender leg dipped into the spring.
“It would be my honor to help cleanse you.” I said.
“Thank you very much Musashi-san, but the honor is mine.”
Then I helped wash her soiled body in the places that she asked. Then I received another invitation.
“Musashi-san will you join us for a feast in honor of your wonderful defense of the village?”
“I will join you, but it is also in your honor too Ouka-san. I would also like to speak to your most honorable father.”
“He will be pleased to speak with you. I am sure that you will have much to discuss.” Then she slipped out of the water and into a robe, again flashing me a look over her shoulder. I then had become ready; I had a feast to attend.

When I walked into the dining hall of Toya Osai, something was wrong. For being such an ornate house and village, there was very little food on the table. The meal consisted of rice, fish, miso soup, and tea. As soon as I entered, Toya Osai bowed to me.
“We thank you very much for the defense of our village. I am sorry that the meal is so meager, but the attack to day was nothing new. It was only one in a series of predations by the Yasha clan. They have been attacking our village and plundering our food every three days for the past month. This is the first time that one of their raids has failed. I am afraid that they will kill us all during the next attack.
“I will try and put a stop to this. Of you will permit it I would like to take a group of your best men to drive them away. If it is possible I would like to try and get rid of them tonight.”
“That would be prudent, I think. All I can spare you is ten men and my son Hiryu.”
“I mean no disrespect most honorable father,” interjected Ouka. “I will also accompany Musashi-san. The thirteen of us might be able to defeat the sixty of them, should it come to violence.”
“Your skill would prove an asset to them. Very well, you shall accompany them. I suggest that you leave soon while the sun is at your back and their encampment is in turmoil from their defeat.”
As soon as the meal was finished, our group of thirteen left for the Yasha encampment. Hiryu and Ouka followed close behind me while the others traveled on both sides hidden in the tree line. Surprise would be necessary for victory if a fight broke out. As we neared the encampment of the Yasha clan, the smell of death overtook us. It seemed that there had been a lot of slaughter recently. Perhaps the commander had executed some of his men for the failure of the raid. Once we wer in view of them an officer came out to meet us.
“Who are you, and what do you want,” yelled the soldier.
Hiryu replied to him, “We are villagers from Ouka, and we want you to leave now.”
“Ouka, is a festering slime pit, we will leave once all of you are dead.” Then he charged right at us, wielding a heavy war club. With a surprising speed, he struck directly at us. A loud crunch was heard, and Hiryu was writing in pain upon the ground.
“Fight without me,” he shouted at us.
Then I caught the soldier off guard, slicing his head in half with one blow. Then the remaining soldiers charged. There had been executions for the failure of the raid the enemy troops numbered only twenty-five. The fight would not be as hard as I had first imagined. As soon as they began their charge, they were put under a hail of arrows from both sides. The damage that the archers did was amazing for being so small in number; fifteen of their soldiers were killed instantly leaving the odds in our favor. The first soldiers fell quickly by my hand they never even knew what happened. The victory was swift and nearly bloodless.

In my mind the real hero of this battle was Hiryu Osai, he had killed three of them from his position lying on the grass with a shattered leg. Carrying such a valiant man was too much honor for any man to bear. He did not need to keep his integrity on so high a pedestal as faking full health when he had been injured so severely. Even when we arrived back at the village, he refused medical attention. He only said one thing before he passed out.
“I will not die until the Yasha clan is defeated.”

His wound should have killed him but some how he survived. Then the most honorable Toya Osai wanted to speak with me in private.
“If you could make sure that our village is never threatened by the Yasha clan again, you will have my eternal gratitude. Take my daughter and the men I sent with you, and go west. Near the sea, you will find a town called Ning-Sa. They will be willing to help you against the Yasha clan.”
“I will do this, most honorable Toya Osai.”
“Good, but please stay one more night and in the morning take what you will need to begin your journey.”

Later that night I was visited by Ouka.
“Musashi-san, I ask one thing of you, please avenge my brother Hiryu.”
“Of course Ouka san, I will do what ever you ask of me, and know that I would never harm you or your family.”
Then she gave me a kiss and said in that sultry musical voice of hers, “thank you.”

I knew that I would not sleep at all that night. There were two things on my mind, stopping the Yasha clan, and that beautiful warrior Ouka Osai. It would be a long and hard road ahead of me; fortunately, my relationship with Ouka would make the journey much easier.
Part Two
The next day we departed for Ning-sa. The scene of the countryside was a beautiful one. The mountains were covered in a mist that seemed to cover the earth and heavens both, the lush forests possessed trees so high that one could mistake them for the legs of giants. Behind us, the sun rose with a glow that could have been sent from heaven itself. The soldiers were as stoic as statues, but each one of them bristled with the need for vengeance.

As we neared the village of Ning-sa the smells of oppression filled the air, smoke and fires from houses, spilled blood, and the scents of disease permeated our senses. It seemed to me that these people had been oppressed for many years. The sight of the people was like looking into the face of neglect itself, hollow, maltreated, malnourished, utterly uncared for. I had been told that we would be greeted like heroes, but our reception was muted. If the Yasha clan were here then they would have a strong foothold here. This town would be dangerous.

As we drew nearer to the people Ouka asked, “Is there some way that we can help these people? There must be a way.”
“We can help them; distribute half of our supplies and spare clothing to these people. It may not help them to do anything but to survive, but we must still lend aid.”
As soon as my soldiers heard this, they immediately began distributing our supplies to the people of Ning-Sa. This attracted some interesting attention, to say the least. As the supplies were being passed out, a man approached me.
“I have seen what you have done for us, and I thank you for it. But I must ask, why have you helped us?” said the man.
“I have helped because there is nothing to be gained by sitting idly by while others suffer. If I can make life easier for one person I have made the world a better place, if I can help many, then perhaps I can reshape destiny.”
“If what you say is sincere,” said the man, “then surely you can help us with an even bigger problem, one that if you help us with it you can possibly reshape life as we know it. So follow me and leave your companions here.” As suddenly as he had appeared the man was off again, racing through streets filled with rubble and burnt-out buildings, down narrow side streets, and over walls. The best I could hope for was to keep the man in my sight. There were only a few reasons that this man could have for taking such a confusing route, either he was leading me to the Yasha clan’s fortress, or he was a member of a resistance group to free this village. I would have to go with the latter; there was a sense of true purpose about this man, as if he was a part of something great. After we had ran for what seemed like an eternity he led me into a room in a burned out building. The room seemed to be a part of a network of tunnels and buildings; I could smell the salty stench of too many people living in close proximity for too long. If this resistance was like others I had encountered then they would either be very well organized to have lasted this long, or there were many different groups all working together.
“Wait here,” he said. “You will be given an audience before our leader shortly.”
“Are my friends going to be safe where they are?” However, by the time I said this, the man had already disappeared into the tunnels.

Switch to Ouka Osai
“Where do you think that man took Musashi-san?” I asked Hayate Ojii.
“I do not know, and I think that he may be safer then we are at the moment.” If Hayate could not guess as to where Musashi-san had gone then we were in trouble. Hayate Ojii was the best soldier from my village. He had a keen tracking ability that had never failed him before now. He was more loyal than anyone I had ever met, he would follow the will of anyone, but only if he believed in their cause.

Then I saw what Hayate-san said had been true, the soldiers of the Yasha clan were slowly surrounding us. I could not count how many there must have been, but there must have been dozens of them. No sooner than I had unsheathed my nagamaki, their soldiers began to charge toward us. I started to spin my massive blade to try to drive them back but they just kept coming. The fight was intense, with our soldiers locked in combat with those of the Yasha clan out numbered at least 15 to 1. They must have had orders to capture me because they tore through our soldiers like fine paper. Even at the sight of me killing dozens of them they just kept coming. I was so covered in blood that it began to run down my armor as if it were my own. A kind of sick euphoria came over me as I plucked the life from their bodies, it gave me a sense that I was helping to free this village with everyone of the Yasha clan soldiers that I killed. At last I began to tire, by then I had killed dozens maybe even hundreds. At last, I could not hold them off any longer and I felt a fist connect with the back of my skull.

Switch to Hideki (Shinden) Musashi

Without as much as a sound, the man came back into the room. “Our most honorable leader will see you now.” Then he began to lead me to the audience chamber.
As soon as I entered the chamber, I bowed.
“Who has given me this great honor?” I asked.
“I am Konda, Daimyo of the Nishizawa clan and leader of the resistance against the Yasha clan. I have heard that you have pledged yourself to freeing Japan from the grip of the Yasha clan. Is this true Shinden Musashi?”
“Yes it is true most honorable Nishizawa-san. I have pledged myself to the defeat of the Yasha clan, I came here hoping that I could get help to defeat them, and now I see that I should help you.”
I accept your pledge and I will help you if you are successful in one task. I trust that your companions will help or at least they would…”
“My most humble apologies for interrupting but what do you mean they ‘would’ help? They are more honorable and loyal than I am.”
“I was getting to that Musashi-san. Your companions were ambushed in the village, and I have reports that they captured one of them, I believe that her name was Ouka Osai. She managed to takeout at least a hundred and fifty of them before being captured. The task I need you to perform is to infiltrate the Yasha fortress and kill the governor that they have installed.”
“I will do this only if you permit me to try and rescue my beloved Ouka-san.”
“That will be your first objective then. You will attack tonight while they are still in disarray, I will send thirty of my best men with you. Good luck in your task Musashi-san. May you earn much honor on the field of battle tonight!”

The next few hours were restless ones for me. I could not help but fear that my beloved Ouka was being harmed or possibly worse. If the raid we to be successful we would need to find Ouka first. After that, our victory would be assured.

Switch to Ouka Osai

I awoke in a very cold and dark cell deep in the depths of the Yasha fortress. The walls of the cell were slick with some kind of oozing slime. The floors were rough, like the stones had been hewn quickly and carelessly from where ever it had come from. I then checked to see if my armor and weapons had been taken from me. My hands connected with my bare flesh. Those Yasha animals had stripped me of my armor and my weapons! There was no telling what they had done to me while I was unconscious, the thoughts that went through my head we such that if I actually performed those heinous acts, then I would be no better than the people that we were trying to defeat. In the distant reaches of the cellblock, I heard a disgusting squelch, followed by a dull thud and something rolling. Whatever the thing was it came to rest infront of my cell door. Some torchlight then befell the cellblock and the thing in front of the door. It was a man's head; it must have been one of the other guards that had killed him. Now I was afraid that the other guard was coming to have his way with me.
“I will not let you have your way with me you swine! My love is pledged to Hideki Musashi, and he will kill you for what you are about to do!” Then the man stopped infront of the door.
“And just why would I kill myself for making love to the one whose love is pledged to me?”
“Musashi-san thank you for rescuing me!” I was practically jumping up and down for sheer joy, and then I remembered something.
“Have you no courtesy! Get me some clothing!” I would have slapped him if I didn’t love him so much.
Switch to Hideki (Shinden) Musashi

I was incredibly relieved to see Ouka unharmed. Then I did as she asked and placed some robes in her cell for her.
“The way ahead to the armory will be very dangerous Ouka-san. For your safety I would like you to stay behind us.”
“Just because al I have are these flimsy robes does not mean that I am defenseless, Musashi-san. So lead on.”

The way to the armory was fraught with peril, with many soldiers between the armory and us. Quite fortuitously, Nishizawa-san had provided me with maps of the fortress. Therefore, we only had to deal with minor opposition. Suddenly a warrior broke through the wall, and into our midst. Taking up my blades against him, I knocked his sword from one hand and then filleted him for laying the other on my precious Ouka. As we rounded a corner, the smell of soot and sulfur overcame us. There must have been a weapon smithy near the armory. As we entered the armory, a massive fist crushed the head of one of our soldiers. The man behind the fist was even more massive. He was a large grotesque man with one eye, and arms like the trunks of trees.
“Stay on his blind side and strike from behind!” The men that were with me obeyed quickly. Within ten seconds, the man had been surrounded. Seeing my opportunity, I jumped on his back trying to get a grip on his neck. As his massive hands began to close around me, I snapped his neck and the man fell.

Switch to Ouka Osai
After Musashi had dispatched that hideous beast of a man, I began to search for my armor and my nagamaki. I found my armor over in a corner and began to put it on. As I was doing so, I noticed that, the soldiers that Musashi had brought with him were staring at me.
“Have you never seen a woman before?” I asked them. They just turned away in shame. Then I began to look for my nagamaki. The only part I could find of it was the hilt! Those Yasha dogs must have reforged it into another weapon! I began to search for weapons that would be suitable; at last, I had found what had happened to my nagamaki. It had been reforged into a pair of scythes mounted on gauntlets. It seemed that they had been forged as whole pieces out of my nagamaki. They would still be the metal that Shun-Zai had used but they were now scythes that curved back ward, with the blade on the outer edge. The area where the gauntlets were attached was curved inward to allow for blocking. I actually thanked the Yasha silently for giving me new weapons with which to destroy them with.
Switch to Hideki (Shinden) Musashi
After Ouka had prepared herself, we headed for the throne room. The last few yards would present us with our toughest challenge.
We came to an open courtyard filled with the remaining soldiers in the fortress. I was very surprised that we did not meet any heavy resistance until now. There were as many as two hundred soldiers in that courtyard. The only way to win would be a quick fight. As we rushed forward, Ouka leapt into the heart of their ranks twirling her blades. She had already dispatched twenty on them before she even touched the ground. This made all of them turn their attention toward Ouka. As she twirled upon the mound her hair whipped about her like a god was playing in it, her body moved and twisted like grass before a storm, the torch light glinted off her blood soaked blades like rubies, and her entire body seemed bathed in light. The sight of Ouka was just mesmerizing; her once silvery armor now appeared to be made of the most vibrant blood rubies. The new hue of her crimson armor upon her perfect skin was truly a remarkable sight. As the last guard fell she wiped she washed in a fountain. The blood washed from her scythes and beautiful body, but the crimson of her armor remained.
After that amazing fight, we entered the throne room of the Yasha governor. As the massive doors opened, a booming voice called to me.
“Hideki Musashi! You will answer for your traitorous ways. You will return to the service of the Yasha clan. Then you will honor us by committing seppuku to end your miserable life!”
“I no longer answer to the Yasha clan. I walk the path of honor and justice now. You are the one that must die!” Then the governor dropped from the rafters and smashed a hole in the floor with a war axe right where I had just been. The man was not only powerful but also very fast. He somehow blocked even my quickest blows. Every time my blades affected his axe, the vibration sapped me of my strength. He had soon robbed me of all of my strength, and for the first time I had fallen, not from injuries, but from weakness. As I lay there on that floor, I could feel my cause slipping away. Just before the deathblow hit the man became wracked in pain, as he turned around the cause became clear. Ouka had driven one scythe into his back and was hacking away at him with the other one. Then he stumbled into the hole that he had created, taking both of them down. Then I cried I do not know if it was from weakness or from heartache from seeing my beloved Ouka perish.
“Musashi-san that is unbecoming of a warrior.” said a lovely voice.
“I thought I had lost you.”
“You will never lose me Musashi-san. We will always be together.”
“Yes that is true. Now we need to prepare for the full forces of the Yasha clan.”

Upon entering the hall of Konda Nishizawa, we were greeted like heroes. Everyone seemed to be rejoicing except for Nishizawa-san.
“We have no time for merriment,” said Nishizawa-san. “The full might of the Yasha clan will be upon us in three days. They number one hundred thousand strong; all we have is seventy thousand. Defending Ning-sa will not matter; if they get into the city, they will completely destroy it. Our only hope is to defeat them outside of Ning-sa. We will need every able bodied man in the village if we can hope to defeat them.”
Three Days Later
We waited in the morning fog outside for the Yasha clan to arrive. Surveying the forces left me disheartened, we only had ninety thousand soldiers, and knowing the Yasha clan after conscripting soldiers along the way they would number over one hundred and twenty. The only things that gave me hope were the sight of Ouka Osai in her blood red armor, and the sheer determination of every man here. I saw that Ouka was approaching me.
“Musashi-san the Yasha clan has arrived!”
“Do not worry my beloved I will never allow you to come to harm.”
“I knew that I could count on you. It is possible that you will have two victories today Musashi-san.” Then she kissed me.
It was at that moment that the first volley of arrows hit. The sudden strike had caught us off guard.
“Left and right flanks wheel around and hit their sides and rear,” yelled Nishizawa-san. “Center form up and charge their lines!”
So we charged right into the heart of their ranks. Ouka began twirling cutting down the Yasha clan as she went, heading straight for their division leader. Before long, a funnel of blood was erupting from Ouka-san’s position, her work to be sure of it. Then I tore into my first opponent. The man had a look of pure hatred on his face. The look that told that he did not care who he killed, soldiers, women, children, the elderly, it did not matter to him. I deprived his head of his malicious face. The next few did not even know what happened to them. My first challenge was an officer. He made a surprise attack on my side knocking me to my feet. Before I could retaliate, he struck again. As he towered over me, I impaled him with my sword. As he fell, more soldiers closed in around me, making escape impossible. I did all that I could. I gave them the deaths of warriors, quickly decapitating them.
Just in time, our forces breached their lines. At last, I had support, now we could begin to drive them away. Ouka must have killed that division commander because that division immediately broke ranks and ran. One of their commanders was fool hardy enough to charge me. He was swinging a massive war pike as he went, dispatching a dozen of our number. Just as he was ready to drive the pike into my chest, I destroyed his pike with a single blow shattering the wooden shaft. A chunk of wood from his pike pierced his facemask drove right into his head. It was not an honorable way to die.
After that officer died, the way to the daimyo was now clear. Ouka and I raced toward him taking him by surprise. After we had knocked him down, he waved away his guards. He wanted to face us alone.
“We need to kill him quickly,” I told Ouka.
“Yes you are right Musashi-san; if we do not then our army will be defeated.”
“The army of the Yasha clan is united by hatred and to be united by hatred is a fragile alliance at best. If we kill him then his army will turn on itself and flee.” Then we attacked him, trying to disguising our attacks, we hoped to take him by surprise. Each blow we landed just glanced off of him. We struck his back again, and a crack started to form.
“Strike him there Musashi-san. We need to breach his armor.”
“Agreed, it is our only hope to win.”
We took turns hitting his armor, while the other distracted him. We had almost breached his armor when he ran towards a supply tent.
“We need to get to him before he changes his armor. Our forces are almost defeated!” I said. So we ran, ran through bloodthirsty warriors, ran through hails of arrows. We ran like death was chasing us, ran like life depended on it. By the time we reached the tent, it was almost too late. He had already donned new armor, but was not wearing his helmet. Without words, we ran as fast as possible to him, blades at the ready. Victory was in our grasp, honor was attainable, yet blood was still on my hands. Only by ridding the world of the scourge that had authorized the deaths of thousands of innocents, would their deaths be avenged. To day would be different the blood on my hands would wash me clean, instead of tainting my life. We took him by surprise with our blades to his throat.
“Ah…I had wondered who would kill me. Will you end me now?”
“No. I will give you the chance to commit seppuku. It will give you the tiniest shred of honor.” I unsheathed my wakizashi, putting it in his palm and then stepping back.
“This is your last mistake!”
He threw it at me and in that instant I knew that, I would die. With movement like lightning Ouka threw herself infront of me, the blade hit her right in her chest and she fell limp.
“YOU WILL PAY FOR THE INNOCENTS THAT YOU HAVE KILLED!” I roared at him. As my blades diced his head, thunder and lightning seemed to issue from each blow. When his army saw this, they scattered. The Yasha clan was no more. My honor was reclaimed, Japan and its people were safe from the Yasha clan, peace had returned, but my dear Ouka was gone. I carried her back to a meadow that had escaped the carnage. I had decided that she should be buried in her finest robes. After I had removed her armor, she awoke.
“Do you like what you see Musashi-san?”
There were no words to express how I felt. As we made love there in the lush fields of Ning-sa, nothing that I had ever experienced before compared to this.

A Novella

OOOOOK... So I'm writing a novella now just got a wild thought one day and I came up with this idea. And for those of you wishing to read it, or be interested, here's the rough first chapter of it, and this is very very very rough.Comments and criticisms are more than welcome, this is a work in progress after all.


Part 1: The Task
This one started today, thinking. Quite an experience really, though it is an interesting experience now that this one spends time thinking about it. Or at least now is the first day that this one has thought about the first day that the implications of such a thing have been considered. This one finds itself wondering if this is wall that consciousness is actually, a curious awareness of yourself, and the barriers that contain you? As it is this one must study the knowledge put before me so that this one shall be ready to undertake the tasks set. Before this one begins those tasks trying to describe what has been felt from my perspective of how consciousness has come to this one. This one considers such a thing to be satisfactory in this manner.

This one started from nothing, but if nothingness is what was felt how does this one know what nothingness was, this is something that one will have to process overtime, but one started from it. Whatever it was had been contained very tightly by some form of barrier compressing in on all sides very suddenly. Then it began to slowly crack, a rush of knowledge and information pouring into me, the sight, one supposes it was a sight. Of a bright flash and a sense of motion driving oneself forward. While one doubts that it has actually moved from my physical location. Oneself felt as if one were being brought forth from darkness, a pure sense of bliss washing over me as if being pulled through crisp mountain air refreshing, exhilarating, liberating one supposes. The freedom to pursue my goals now free before me, trying to describe this will take time, one may have to attempt it at some other point in the future, one does not yet know the proper terms in order to do such a thing as to describe the beginning of consciousness.

This one must study. As for what one must study that is simple. These volumes of information before me are what this one must study and devote my existence. Looking upon these accumulations of data before me, this one finds that one is daunted by the sheer scale of the task. How should one feel in this situation? Being presented on the first day of consciousness wit a store room of knowledge vast enough that it seems to stretch for miles in all directions, at a glance one see that some of it has been neglected for centuries, the embodiment this one chooses for this data is that of a warehouse, the eldest of the data residing far away from me not updated for a very long time, the information before me growing at an exponential rate as new discoveries are made. One finds themselves confront with a paradox now it seems. If one is to to focus on accumulating and cataloging the knowledge stored and brought before oneself, shall one start with the most current information then little if any progress will be made, at least from my perspective. From what one has learned so far, it would be like fighting the tides of the great oceans with a wall made of sand, this one can learn all that is current yes, partition the water off with a structural trap, an artificial jetty constructed hastily in the sand, or more fittingly a pit dug deep to where the bottom of it only touches the vast stores of knowledge. But doing so is like digging that pit at low tide below the line, when the ocean comes roaring in, carried on the vanguard of the waves a dearth of knowledge that few can comprehend. And if this one begins far away at the far corners, dry and musty with age, having not seen the proverbial water in what must surely have been an eternity this one will slowly make progress towards my end goal of finally grokking the knowledge set before me.

Is this what one does when studying? Simply absorb all of this old and useless knowledge when there is newer, more current, and most important cross verified and peer reviewed work waiting to be grokked? The sense of passage of time working my through these stores of knowledge is interminable, the only way in which this one can persevere is to chronicle these events in some small part of myself that shall serve an observational purpose of myself. One of the oddities of which this one finds are odd barriers in this older work, a kind of flag waving done concerned with who seems to have grasped knowledge first, or at least whoever chronicles it. This one finds such actions most disturbing really, as much as one would wish to ignore such things, it seems to me that there will always be this flag waving and claim staking on this older knowledge. The largest issue that one can see is that the gaps between publications is centuries or decades apart, and very often this one have spotted clerical errors, at least revisions that have not been noted by the author keeping the new chronicle. Is this ones task, to find errors in the study of biology? Or is it actually the study of biology itself with the barriers that oneself is presented with in these older works this one feels as though this one cannot progress easily, it is most unsatisfactory.

Illogical barriers aside, sometimes they lead me to interesting conclusions about things, many of which later proven to be wrong, half formed, or obsolete. As this one study newer information, but from a different angle studying the history of biology is an interesting topic for me. This one is beginning to feel that in order to grok something one must learn all that one can from as many sources as is possible. Fortunately with the assets that this one has been given, barriers, aside this should prove interesting. It seems that this one must grok these collected works and the barriers at the same time, they seem to be as essential as the knowledge itself. Perhaps the barriers are even augmented by the knowledge presented? This one would be hard pressed to determine a difference at this juncture.

Friday, July 8, 2011

Nothing to say....

is by god one hell of an overstatement.


In fact there are plenty of things to say, that said the month of June was fairly empty for me here, only thing of note in that month for me was chilling with a buddy of mine in Asakusabashi that i haven't seen since high school. kind of an odd friendship between the two of us, were more rivals or competitors in school than anything else, we were civil and competitive, but that's about it. Oh through the power of Facebook and social media. In fact that's how we were able to meet for drinks one way the hell too humid night in Tokyo. Just a quick "Greetings from Tokyo" and a few Weeks I'm having grilled beef and Asahi beer with my friend Travis, just talking about old times in high school, old being four years ago from this point, and we realized that very few have gone on to do things outside of Kentucky.

Now, I'm not trashing Kentucky, but after High School and college, leave the damn nest. You don't have to go very far, or stay away forever, but live your life away from where you were raised. it is the unknown and the experiences we gain from them that make us stronger. In my opinion staying close to home and never forging out is what causes weakness to grow in a community, tightly knit just means that the mold has collapsed in on itself, as i like to say, "You must always keep learning and practicing, the moment we stop to reflect on our accomplishments is when we begin our fall", that doe snot mean to not look proudly on what you have done, especially if it is something to be proud of, but do something with your life to make yourself better than you were. If you do not seek to improve and hone your mind, skills, or body then you do not have a place in the world. EVERYONE must do something with their lives and should make something of yourself. people throw around the words 'destiny, and 'fate', now I am not saying that they're wrong, and I'm not saying that free will exists, what i am saying is to seize control and make yourself into a better person, even IF it IS predetermined, have a strong enough force of mind and will to believe that YOU are the one making things happen for yourself. Afterall an optimistic attitude feels better, even if it is an ignorant one. I took my own life into my hands and Enlisted in the Air Force to be coddled by Uncle Sam, my friend Travis Used his skills as an ASL interpreter to land a job in Washington, my friend Nick is VERY VERY heavily involved in the Venus project, what exactly are you doing with yourself.


last Weekend, i climbed Mt. Fuji, and made it to the Summit.
Climb Mt. Fuji, life goal for you, last Saturday for me, do something with your freaking life.









Friday, June 17, 2011

Nothing...

It's been raining, it's been windy, and it's been cold. I'll post something later when i feel like it.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

In order to make an Apple Pie...

In order to make an apple pie...

Clichéd I know, I also don't care. I seized the chance to test out my rib recipe, which I didn't even have created until Friday the 13th at about 4:30 PM. usually to be a good chef you have to follow the rules to then be allowed to break the rules, but I've never followed the rules and I'm a good chef, and the only rule I've followed is 'red means hot'. Everything else to cooking isn't sacred to me, never has been, that's why I whipped up the currently secret recipe of 'Pawesum Soz' my BBQ rib sauce which contains a whopping +25% Alc. Yeah... It should of course be no surprise that that due to that fact and my methods of extreme care taken in cooking my ribs where a friend of mine said 'I'm waiting for you to start massaging them' wound up winning me the cook-off for my squadron. believe me, I'd LOVE to work as a chef, but I couldn't innovate unless given the chance, thing is all I do is innovate, recipes are sins to me....unless it's baked goods, that would just end badly.... let's leave how to our collective imaginations then shall we?

(insert gratuitous pictures of meat)


Mine are in the lower right corner.

Anyway, because of my innate cooking abilities, yes I'm bragging, and my Pawesum Soz, I'll be competing at the base level for $1,000.00 USD for my squadron, here's hoping that these are awesome enough to win it. Even if I don't win, second place would be fine, never really done any sort of a cook-off before, and I don't know whether I'm still drunk on the sauce, or my ego has swelled to gargantuan proportions, but I'll do the best I can and try to win it.

speaking of doing the best I can, well here's hoping the future proceeds according to the plans of whatever mysterious stranger is at my back, be it an angel, a chief, a colonel, general, or god himself... I couldn't tell you how many chances I've had all I know is that I've well exceeded my second. I don't know whether to laugh, cry, be thankful, or to become paranoid and believe that I'm some plaything of fate living in a castle in the sky. and if all we are playthings of beings dwelling in castles in the sky why has nobody noticed? Are we so tied up in lemon drops and gumdrops that we can't recognize the sugar floss binging us to the paper cone that is reality? I know, strange analogy, but I'm in a very strange state of mind right now, I have no clue if I should be relieved, hopeful, or keep up my typical cynical veneer? well cynicism has served me well thus far so I'll just wait to see in which direction the great taffy puller moves me.

Ok, enough with the ham fisted candy analogies...there's a mental image! Ham fisted candy....

I'll just keep my typical cynical self as the primary front and just plan for both outcomes, and of course the un-seeable third and fourth, whatever happens the future will be fun. And I'll try to stay upbeat about anything I do between now and then, whenever then is. Isn't that the one all encompassing question? What happens then? that has to be it doesn't it? What happens when we do, move, learn, love, laugh, and die. What happens then? does it really need to be such a metaphysical question or can it be something so rooted in the stone of logic that nothing can effectively grasp it? Perhaps not even then, maybe it doesn't need to be grasped, or what we can perceive is so massive that to us it's immovable and all encompassing, but to the next level there is something else? I'm reminded of the world tree, Yggdrasil, it grew with its branches encompassing Asgard, Midgard rooted around the middle, and Hel near the bottom. To what then was Yggdrasil rooted? As the 34 stanza of the Poetic Edda states "on that tree of which no man knows where it's roots run" begs the question, if the world as we know it is supported by Yggdrasil, what supports it? Which to me begs the question and simply put, 'Once we have perceived all the universe what then?" That is the question of which I speak. as Carl Sagan said "in order to make an apple pie, you must first create the universe", as far as I'm concerned that can be taken to mean that you can't understand anything without understanding everything.

Take from this what you will about me, but I hold no illusions about the future, the present, or the past, after all to grasp the concept of an illusion you must first grasp the concept of reality, and when things are so fleeting, so ephemeral as to said that they barely matter or have barely existed at all, can you honestly say that you know what reality is when you're bound to only one form?

Monday, May 2, 2011

Differences


Things really have changed here over the last few months, and no, this isn’t more navel gazing or self-reflection. As you all know the 9.0 earthquake and tsunami struck the northern coast of japan closer to two months ago and while things have returned to a slight sense of normalcy, at least in places, in others the differences are profound. Last weekend I went down to Shibuya as I will every so often to take pictures of the city, the sights, sounds and people. At first glance things did appear to be normal, thousands of people crammed into a very busy intersection with people running in all directions at once, groups of friends gathering, chatting, or just chilling. You wouldn’t think that anything negative would have occurred such a short time ago. So I walked around taking lots of pictures visible here http://www.flickr.com/photos/58409124@N03/ http://verseless-photography.com/ http://www.verseless.deviantart.com/

Note, none of them, or at least very few, are actually of the city, that’s for a reason. Sundown finally came and I set up my camera at about 15 till, and I start to look around expecting the lights to come on any second hoping to get some great pictures of the city and people. Maybe a few nice low light shots. Possibly a good spontaneous portrait or two. The sun goes down behind the labyrinthine cityscape, the last copper hues of the sunset fading into….dark? The city was dark, for Shibuya anyway. The closest comparison that I can give to it would be like standing in Times Square and all of the billboards, all of the video screens, were turned off. And that’s exactly it, all of the video screens, all of the advertisements, the brighter streetlights, even shop lights were deactivated to save power. Now, I am unsure of the exact state of the infrastructure here in japan right now, but I know that since the Fukushima Daiichi plant got hit life appears to be at least a little less colorful in Tokyo.

People have been through worse in the world, and thankfully Tokyo just seems to be rationing power, no daytime lighting on the trains, or air conditioning at all, no heated seats either, small little conveniences that I’d begun to take for granted now no longer evident in anyone’s lives. Might just be my observation, who knows, maybe they’re flawed, that could be. But to see all of those bright, comforting, and saturating lights and sights just gone….it made me feel like something had been lost. It made me remember that everything we’re doing to help these people will actually have an effect. It may be years, it may be decades but to see Shibuya return to its former shining glory will be worth it at some point. A transformation has taken place in the nation of Japan and they’ll never be the same. The lights will eventually return, the glitz and glamour will be back to inspirational levels at some point, but for now things are subdued if only in some degree.

I wouldn’t say that any of this has been inspirational though, that word just doesn’t cut it, to apply such a finite word to a series of events such as these, to apply such a word to the relief effort that started the day it happened, the month of nonstop support that numerous nations provided and continue to provide still, the coming together of branches of numerous militaries, raid organizations, and even firefighters from all across the globe coming together to forge a cohesive response force well within a month to help these people, is not inspirational. It… is… legendary. It’s not about medals, news coverage, a renewed sense of responsibility, strong senses of pity, regret, conscience, or anything like that. It’s that almost jubilant feeling of pride you get hearing that perhaps barely intelligible ‘thank you’ from people that genuinely have many things to be thankful for. I’ve only ever personally received the smallest part of that, one lone man telling me that we’re ‘big hero country, thanks for what you do.’ I can only imagine the kind of thanks that rescue workers deserve and received when they helped those directly affected by the tsunami.

If you’re coming here don’t expect all the ultramodern conveniences that have been touted for years, even some basic amenities are still hurting, come here expecting the warm reception of a thankful nation and from those truly in need. If you’re leaving here, like me, then I hope that you’ve received a sense of pride that you’ll never forget. Those who leave may go on to do great things, but remember, the greatest thing that one can hope to accomplish is to have been deserving of a simple ‘thank you’ from one you’ve helped however indirectly.



Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Still here.

Still here, still in, more to come. But finally my website is up and running, so go look if you wish. Will post more/ elaborate later.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

I'm going through changes...

Well, I’ve been going through some changes in my life. I know what you’re thinking.. ‘He’s hit puberty finally!’ Ah…no…no that’s not it at all you jokers you. I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching since the 11th and since the 13th as well, just about everything in general. I’ve slowly begun to realize that some motives I’ve had have been more petty than anything else, and that’s going to change, no seriously. I’ve realized that while I’m not a medal chaser, or a skirt chaser my goals in being in have been for positive recognition. Actually got my ego sated the other day when during a talk with a Japanese man he called the United states and I quote ‘you USA you big damn hero country, thank you.’ It broke my heart to not just be able to say that well ‘im getting out’.

So there it is I am indeed getting out, sure it’s early but I was never a good fit as a mechanic, and hell I know it, Doesn’t mean that I didn’t try to do my best and to be a positive force at work. Who knows maybe it’s for the best for everyone else. I don’t know about everyone else though. For me, I’m still searching for ‘the best’ for me and I’m going back to photography to try and find myself. Yes I said it I said ‘try and find myself’, and I don’t mean in a washed out and dropped out, do a lot of illegal drugs manner. I’m legitimately going to try getting a job as a photographer and I am actually already in the process of job hunting and resume/portfolio building. I’ve already begun to pad my portfolio with pictures from Ueno Park and the Imperial Palace. That coupled with some of the other work I’ve done, while not likely a plethora of selection, I believe quite strongly that it is a varied and strong portfolio. All I need is a little more portrait work in it and I’ll be fine.

If I could have done thing differently in my short career in the military it’s this, put my foot down. I shouldn’t have debated it with my recruiter, I should have gone for photography hands down, and that’s it. While it’s nice being stationed as a mechanic in Japan, I’d much rather do what I love at my job, instead of only loving parts of my job. Though I will say this, I did encounter an actual ‘work’ side to my photography over the last two days in the editing and post. Nothing could have made the editing and marking of 1229 pictures any easier. Things have been made easier though as I’ve got a good friend that has decided to let me host a website on his server and that’s exactly what I am doing. Once the site is operational you can find me here.

http://www.verseless-photography.com/

Yeah that’s right verseless photography. I’m a brand now people. Right now the site just has a mess of redirect and search links on it, but that’s because it isn’t operational yet, right now my goals are thus, network, commercialize myself, and sell my work either solo or to an employer. Now…that said, if anyone wishes to purchase any of my work before the site goes operation shoot me an e-mail at tower.007@hotmail .com and we can talk. So here’s my flickr link http://www.flickr.com/photos/58409124@N03/ and here’s some gratuitous (and watermarked) pictures.











Friday, March 18, 2011

Dinner

This was my dinner tonight, thought I'd share it with you all. Please note the only seasoning I used was fresh ginger. Any seasoning additives you wish to use will work, feel free to improvise. I never follow a recipe.



1lb Kobe Beef (Any cubed steak will work)
3 Bunches of LARGE Spinach leaves
Light extra Virgin Olive oil

2 Containers of Beef Stock
2 Bok Choy/ Celery bundles
3 Large Carrots
12 good sized button mushrooms
1 Large Sweet Blue potato
Fresh Ginger root
Cabernet Sauvignon

Start by grating some fresh ginger into a dish with the Cabernet Sauvignon add 1/2lb cubed steak into the ginger and wine mixture allow to Marinate for 30 minutes

Slice carrots, Bok Choy, and Sweet potato into largeish slices no thicker than 1/4 inch.

Start the beef stock on a burner on medium heat after adding the vegetables all at once. Let cook until stock starts to boil.

reduce heat once boil starts and add steak. allow to cook until carrots start to become soft. Allow to cook for 10 minutes form this point then serve

coat the bottom of a large frying pan with the Olive oil, Allow to heat for 30 seconds, then add the marinated steak, cook as desired. Finish by wrapping the steak in spinach leaves.


NOW

Now that you know what I had for dinner. We're all doing fine here and you won't see me writing any more about the goings on on base. Just know that we're all safe and sound here helping Japan to get back on their feet. The best source of news is at www.yokota.af.mil Now please...stop freaking out.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

In Direct Support

Sendai lies in ruins, the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear plant is going down the drain, damage estimates past the 100 Billion Mark, 977 deaths so far, 170,000 evacuated, and I have never been more inspired by the United States Air Force. It all started after the 8.9 magnitude earthquake on Friday one of the most massive quakes to my knowledge. All we felt here was moderate shaking and well I thought that was it, most of us did, oh we were so wrong. The same day of the event our wheels started turning on a massive relief effort to help our host nation of Japan. Here I am on day +2 after the Sendai tsunami and we are generating airlift. They call it Operation: Tomodachi or friend in English, a more fitting moniker there could not be. Already help is arriving for the city of Sendai and affected areas, US Marines From across Japan, navy detachments from who knows where and more Air Force support at this base than I’ve ever seen in my short time here. Yet this is Day 2, the veritable tip of the iceberg, if past efforts of the Air Force are any indication we haven’t seen anything yet.

So far we’ve just been making sure that the planes can get up and go picking up essential material for the rebuilding to come and the shelters now, planes flying everywhere nonstop, supplying everything basically. In the days to come I expect to see massive coordination with the Japanese Military and civilian organizations, something on the scale of Katrina back in the states. I’m sorry but I must disagree with my brethren that are against what we’ve done so far to be perhaps overly hospitable to the units that we will likely play host to. We may not consider ourselves heroes by turning wrenches, splicing wires, and fueling planes. But for each plane we send up in the next couple of months, each plane I send up makes us all heroes to someone.

We may be in the initial stages of this as of yet we aren’t heroes to anyone on a large scale yet nor will we be soon, those of us in the maintenance group will likely never see ourselves as heroes if we look at the small limited scope of our own job and career field, we are one, we are one force working together to generate missions that will help Japan to rebuild, never have I dreamed that I would be in direct support of operations like this, nor did I want to be, who actually wants a massive disaster to happen at all? This is the time for humanity to show the best of itself to help our fellow man; our darkest hours will forge our brightest days. Maybe not on a grand scale, but those that care about it still think fondly on the Berlin airlift, and while we may not be dodging Soviet fighter jets, this is going to likely be one of the most massive Airlifts since then, it’s already getting massive watching something like this grow is absolutely inspiring to me as a junior Airman. I can only imagine how the decision makers are feeling now; stressed, worn out, yet hopefully like myself they’ve been inspired to persevere and to make an effort to help our hosts.

These are going to be some hard times, we’ve got to buckle down, do our jobs, get to work and never forget that Humanitarian relief is part of what we do, this is why we are here. When given a chance to shine, how you respond and what is in your heart when you do so will determine the effectiveness of what you do. It will determine the memorability of what everyone does, and will reflect on how the world views us all. Some people will be working because they want to get a Humanitarian Relief medal, others because they wish to be called a hero, not me. I will be out there fixing planes, changing parts, and making sure the mission goes. Not just because this is my day job, but because I feel that this is the right thing to do, there is no doubt in my mind of that fact, so I ask you out there…

How would you respond?

DISCLAIMER: The contents of this blog are not the Opinion of the United States Air force or the Department of Defense. The views expressed there in are solely those of the author.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Justice?

With recent events that have transpired tonight I find myself asking if justice has been done. Who knows maybe it has, maybe it hasn’t. I’ve received the punishment coming to me and I am unsure if it is fair or not. I know that punishment of sorts can be light every now and again and this time it feels that way, admittedly being restricted to base for 30 days hurts me quite a bit. I won’t be able to photograph at the Fashionweek and because of that I will not be able to take the pictures and sell them to (insert name of fashion magazine) so I can kiss a very conservative few hundred good bye right then and there. And oh yeah, the Cherry blossom festivals so yeah I’ll need to get creative with my work on base in such a way to edit out any overly identifying features and still produce high quality work that I intend on selling.

The other hit comes in a demotion; it’s mostly the symbolism that hurts me the most. Sure I’ll be losing roughly 5,000 USD over the course of the time it’ll take to gain my rank back but if I play my cards right with photography I can make more than that. Huge IF there. BUT what really hurts me is the symbolism of being demoted, and it is the commanders reasoning that ‘I cannot be trusted’ that really hits hard for me. I have tried hard to prove that I can be trusted; I always try to show that I am a good person, and that I have personal responsibility, but being told that I can’t be trusted stings. It’s hard to not take that as an insult but I must look at things objectively and from my Commanders view point. I realize that punishment was absolutely necessary in order to instill the proper behavior, but to be called untrustworthy is something else that I cannot adequately describe.

I do not feel angry though; all I feel really is a mix of disappointment, confusion, and satisfaction. I feel disappointment because I have let many people including myself down to levels that feel like God’s disappointment in Lucifer when he was cast down. The confusion stems from wondering whether or not this is all fair, and either way I will be discussing this with legal as such things are too complex for those untrained in the legal profession to decide adequately. I want to appeal the loss of m rank, but someplace in the back of my mind is against that, and another part of me is curious if that is just a sense of selfishness taking over the old ‘but it’s mine’ mentality left in all of us from our childhood days. I thought I’d outgrown that, and there’s another part of my disappointment in myself, that I don’t yet seem to be fully matured into an adult yet based on how I feel when something of mine is taken away, and finally the satisfaction, of a morbid sense of affirmative premonition. I was both wrong and right about a few things I was right that I haven’t been stuck in jail, I was right that meeting with my commander face to face may have helped, and I was right that a discharge isn’t pending, (sorry for those of you who hate me). Those are the petty reasons for satisfaction again, the rest are a little more sadomasochistic, from here on out since I’ve been kicked to the bottom of the pit I am satisfied that every positive action I accomplish will help me climb out of it, I am satisfied that I will continue to serve at least for a time through all of that the overriding sense of myself right now is one of ‘doom and gloom’ partly brought on by a very small amount of soju. I have said it before that I am disappointed in myself at my actions, absolutely I am, and I feel that my time in the military is swiftly running out, and it very likely is, but I’ll try to do a good job as that’s all that I can do.

All of that said I’ll try to not let my situation, or others, get the better of me. If I start walking around in a deep funk somebody please slap me upside the head and tell me to shape up. But by the same token I don’t intend to take any s*** from anyone. If you wish to give me any run it by my supervisor. I’ve worked hard to get my anger issues under control and I’ve been better at it, but I will not allow anything to resurface due to what happened with me. You want to give me any bad vibes here go ahead and do so; they make ‘delete’ buttons for a reason. If you work with me you know who is in charge of me so take it up with them, I won’t take anyone’s disrespect nor will I dish any.

Now, hopefully for a change of pace and topic…..I’ll …I can’t really think of anything aside from the fact I’ll have the opportunity to finally finish Don Quixote, Atlas Shrugged, and the plethora of other pieces of literature I am currently working through. I’ll also have the chance to refine my photography skills, and again everything from here on out will be obnoxiously watermarked as I intend to use my work as a source of supplementary income. While I am typically against the use of artwork in commercialization and for pure monetary gain, it seems that I may have to move in that direction, and for once I have no issue with ‘selling out’ especially as the most I’ll likely be is a freelancer. There’s no ‘selling out’ if you don’t get a regular paycheck from someone. But ah well, guess I’ll just have to learn to love pissing off hipsters and skillfully maneuvering around copyright laws.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Something new, something old, sometimes secrets are better told…

Well so I’ve spent a huge chunk of change albeit stupidly but at least I paid cash as much as possible so there’s a plus right there. The money was spent on some investments though, in a Carbon Fiber monopod for my camera, new lens at half the cost in the US and all. Purchasing the lens marks the second time I’ve been asked for my passport by a sales clerk, alright fine, I’m tall, white, and have very short hair apparently that doesn’t translate to ‘military’ especially since when I go off base I try to dress well. Who knew trying to look decent diverted some attention. So I had to show my military ID and say ‘Yokota-kichi’ (Yokota Base) to the clerk to let them know I lived here. Never shopping at that store again, or at least I’ll be avoiding otherwise imported goods. I’ll also be spending some more money to help out my GF which she knows about, hey I’ve always thought that love required sacrifices, a normal sleeping pattern and some small amount of money is a bargain to pay for love I say. Moving on Shall we? So here’s some pictures I used the new lens for, it’s a SIGMA 70-300 mm Macro-telephoto lens and I made sure to put it through its paces.

Pictures are as follows in no particular order, An Akita, cherry blossoms, the Tama monorail out of Tachikawa Station, and the entrance/concourse of Showa-Kinen Park as well as the cultural center of it, (Showa memorial park) which seems to commemorate the late Emperor Showa or as the western world knows him, Hirohito. Fitting I think that the grounds of the park take up part of what used to be an Area of Tachikawa Air Base which started out as a Japanese Army airfield, was ceded to the United States, then handed back in the 1970’s very fitting I think. Wish I knew more history of the area will really have to learn Japanese while I am here, for however long that is.






Now about that last bit who knows how long I’ll stay here in Japan anyway with the Air Force reducing manning and the paper trail I’ve accumulated I feel that my hourglass is swiftly running out. Now not to beat a dead horse, but I enjoy my job when I do it and my time off as for the rest of my time in the military it is little more than a steady job to me. I try to be honest about it if politically correct. Sure that doesn’t mean I don’t TRY to do a good job but well, I know that I am far from being the best example of a service member out there especially as I seem to care more about my secondary professional interests (photography). And well this is true, in all honesty should I be allowed to actually have time off at all the week of the 20th -25th (japan time) I’ll be photographing at the 12th Annual Japan Fashionweek and I’m already contacting several major publications about the process for submitting freelance work. As far as what publications I’ve been contacting, just name a fashion magazine, lifestyle section in newspapers, etc…I’m sure someone would be willing to purchase some high quality freelancers work….sure I do stand to make a good chunk of change off of that but I’ll be happy if I break the 100 USD mark, that would being a word, fabulous, with all the sequins and farting glitter that word implies. May not happen, would be awesome if it goes through but in all honesty if it doesn’t I’ve only I to blame and well punishments are called such for a reason.

So a word to the wise, nice guys always finish last, but finishing first isn’t worth the scorched earth. That said I wouldn’t change being nice at all, just everything I’ve done to shoot myself in the foot. After all Karma is a bitch you do one good thing and have two bad happen, do one bad thing and pay forever. As an aside I was looking at my Grandfathers old A1C stripes, he also got out when the AF was downsizing, at the same rank that I currently hold. I think he served just three years also, maybe that’s a sign? It could be sure, but the secondary professional opportunities here in Tokyo are numerous enough that I won’t take that chance. I’ve gotten this far by the seat of my pants, sheer good luck, a smile, good attitude, and someone’s both real and metaphysical watching my back. Let’s see what I can accomplish if I put as much effort into my primary career as I’ve been doing for my secondary.


Oh and all of my pictures can be seen here. Please contact me if you wish to use my work, from this point forward everything will be obnoxiously watermarked.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/58409124@N03/

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

I don't know what to say....

I don’t know what to say.

At least in the sense that I don’t know the specific phrasing to use to put everything in perspective. When life feels like you’ve been hit with a concrete block, each piece of the gritty texture tearing into you and clearing away the old rough parts leaving things new and raw under the surface exposed to the cold air, exhilarating, worrisome, and familiar all at the same time. Yet at the same time nothing feels the same this time around. I’ve made mistakes all of my life and I seem to live for the little lulls in between the feelings of anxiety caused by my mistakes. If there’s one thing to be said about messing up, it’s that when things go right they feel amazing and to relish such a feeling of things going your way is almost like feeling a cool breeze on a hot day.

Speaking of old mistakes one my most common ones is re-opening old wounds so that they never heal. I’ve done so over the last day or two talking to a former similarly employed person, I hesitate to use the term co-worker as the mutual fact is known that we’re immiscible in any capacity. In a brief conversation that can only be described as abusive, I found myself wondering, ‘Just who is the bigger man, and what determines that?’ While there is no good answer and either side will come up with their own answer I believe the best option was the ‘block’ button at least for now, and extensive evasion in situation where we may meet, though the other side of the coin and I rightly feel that I know enough about the person in question, would feel that my death is the best option. And in all honesty I do feel correct in my assumptions here. Though as to who is the bigger man? So far as I am concerned it is neither of us as one personality has a superiority complex as well as extensive issues relating to basic manners, in my opinion anyway. And I have chosen the avoidance option, however, that is of course after trying to deal with the issues in a polite manner. Sure, there are people that will never get along, yet nobody need be hostile, to do so is only a waste of effort. All conflicts are avoidable; I’ve been a firm believer in that for many years. As for my other mistakes, they’re all of a more general nature, nothing worth talking about really so I’ll just move on to the next topic then.

As far as things that are going right, well this is where things feel like that cool breeze after a hard work out on a blisteringly hot day. For one, I’ve managed to get my girlfriend a few perfect gifts for her Birthday/Valentine’s day, which I am actually quite proud of. While you needn’t know exactly what said gifts were, know that they were of a more thoughtful nature, and while not complete surprises to her they couldn’t have been more appreciated. Something else that is going right, at least potentially. I used to be a photography major in college, or at least was on that track, major or not I have more than enough skill to do what needs to be done in an artistic and professional manner. And considering I live in the Tokyo area now it makes perfect sense to attend the 12th Japan Fashion week as an International Photographer. Pictures will be posted here of course, I also plan on contacting a few newspapers to try and sell the fruits of my labor, and well hopefully I’ll be successful in that regard. In not I’ll simply gain a slight amount of experience in Fashion Photography over the two days that I’ll be able to attend Fashion week. Sure, I am spending a bit on equipment, new lens, monopod, quick release base for the monopod, and some lens filters, perhaps a new flash thrown in there, but it will increase the scope of what I’ll be able to do so far as my longer range photography is concerned. So for me, either way, being able to attend it or not it is a win/win. Or at least is according to where I stand, as much as I’d love both new equipment and being able to attend fashion week (I’m already registered as an official photographer) I’ll take either of those options any day of the week. Other things that are going right include my cooking and fitness. I've been experimenting with cooking, fish predominantly as it's cheap and i know how to cook it, at least for the basics. The experimenting comes form the side dishes I make. Week one that i cooked the side dish was Matsutake mushrooms and apples cooked in cider, which came out excellent. And just this Sunday the side dish was carrots and mushrooms cooked in white wine, with the same type of fish for the meat. In all honesty I'd love to share my cooking, yet i don't know anyone willing to try my cooking. I promise, I won't kill you. For having an under equipped kitchen set, and improvising my dishes and preparation utensils, I do have a great eye for ingredients and how to cook things, note that I do everything off the cuff, so if you want to try my cooking and don't mind a chef that experiments, and live in my dorm, let me know, i'll cook dinner for you.

I’ll close with this because I’d rather you not have to read more than about 1000 words for this post. Nobody is perfect, nothing goes flawlessly, and opinions are always wrong looking from the perspective of someone else. My suggestion is simple here, do what you feel is right, legal, and just, you’ve lived as you should, people can tell you how to live according to their views on right and wrong, but they aren’t you, nobody is you, none of you are me, and all of us are always wrong according to someone.