the oldest story

ronin was a very happy boy.

ronin's mother bought him a shiny red balloon, and a tasty lollipop. the balloon floated through the skies on a string high above his head, and the lollipop was so very big his small mouth couldn't fit it at all.

ronin's friends played with him on the swings and in the sand. they teased him but he teased back. he knew they didn't mean the things they said and their ribbing was always good natured.

ronin's dog spot was the smartest dog on the whole planet. spot secretly spoke to him when no one else was looking, and he and spot went on marvelous adventures together through the wilderness of the backyard.

ronin met a girl named elenia. he knew that girls had cooties. he knew to stay away from girls. he'd even heard that if a boy were to have the misfortune of finding himself alone with a girl, she would show her true form as a vampire and suck the very life right out of your neck.

but there was something different about elenia.

ronin liked elenia a great deal, but she didn't feel the same way.

ronin, is a very sad boy.

huh. that's interesting.

http://www.russiatoday.ru/news/news/13304

wow...crazy stuff there. a mineral that absorbs radiation from liquids? apparently a lot of the spread of the nuclear waste in chernobyl was from irradiated water supplies, so in theory, having this mineral in use at the time could have prevented a lot of the destruction.

on the one hand this is incredibly cool, a new mineral, not to mention one that has such bizarre and immediately applicable uses is just...wow. but i can't help but wonder, what happens to the radiation...so the mineral absorbs it...but where does it go? is it neutralized? does the mineral in question perhaps have it's own form of radiation? i mean, the people who found this thing are way smarter than me but...you know, when scientists first started screwing around with nuclear materials and other irradiated materials they weren't aware of radiation sickness. just kinda worries me what this find might entail that we're not considering. what if though, what if it could neutralize radiation? what if they could apply it to energies in the atmosphere as well as those in water, nuclear waste would be a thing of the past.

holy crap.

well, anyway, that's about all, just wanted to keep you guys in the know.

i thought it was a cool article.

thanks

-loren

Posing a question

I've recently been attempting to entrench myself deeply into the indie/local music scene in every way I know how. The reasons for this are threefold; firstly, I want to conduct research into what other people trying to "make it" in the area are doing, secondly; I want to try and see if my sound is already too prevalent and whether it's even something people would like to listen to and thirdly, most indie music is freaking amazing, and a ton of the local bands I've seen are phenomenal as well.

The second issue is the one I'd like to put before you good people now. You see, I'm finding more and more as I go out that not only is the "guy with a guitar" thing really over done, it's often done a lot better than me by people who don't seem to be "making it" at all. Is my sound just going to be more white noise in a sea of clouds? Am I written off even before being heard just because I'm a "guy with a guitar"? When they hear me do people think "wow, he's really good, I want to learn more about him and maybe buy a cd" or do they think "huh, this isn't bad to listen to while i'm having conversation, but I'm not going to remember his name tomorrow"?

Damien Rice, Elliott Smith, Sam Beam (of Iron & Wine), Sufjan Stevens, Joshua Radin, Devandra Banhart, Connor Oberst, Ben Gibbard, Nick Drake, Colin Hay, frickin' Jack Johnson, the list goes on. I'm not comparing myself to these artists in any way, I know that'd be so stuck up it's ridiculous. I also know they're all a little bit unique, a little bit different. But they're all guys with guitars, writing acoustic folk songs about life and love and why. And this is just the tip of the ice berg. How many more brilliant artists in the same vein did I not list, have I not heard of yet, have not been discovered yet?

Is there a place in there for me?

My lyrics are immature, my presentation is lacking, my guitar playing is simple at best, downright insultingly plain at worst. My vocal talents (though improving) are still sub par, with poor pitch, poor vocal control, no extensive range, and no real loud/intense sound. Melodies once again fall under the heading of "simple" or "immature". I don't have any songs with a real hook, though some could be described loosely as "catchy".

I'm not even being crippled by one of my attacks of self doubt, I'm just being as objective as possible to try and see if I should even try. This is what I want to do, this is what I feel like I'm supposed to do....but if I'm not gonna make it I don't want to waste my life trying for something I can never have. I know I'll learn and experience things that will change me and change my music, I know I'll improve with practice and experience....but will it be enough?

Can I be enough?

I don't know. I'm not looking for reinforcement or a pat on the back or a "go git 'em tiger". I'm looking for honest opinions. Thanks everyone. I hope I can be better than I am, and that my best can be good enough.

-loren