Lists
1. Top Ten List of the topics, moments, and subjects you've always wanted to write about, but thought was impossible or too scary to actually write about.
(1) An alternate ending to World War II
(2) Future society (non-fiction, projection)
(3) Future world (science fiction)
(4) ‘Measuring Life’ – key metrics for healthy living
(5) Social commentary
(6) Patterns in human history
(7) Fixing injustices
(8) The simple, real story on the relativistic twin paradox for the layperson
(9) Genetics gone wild (fiction)
(10) Satirical essays of past and current events
2. Top Ten List of meals you've made with love for someone or were made with love, for you.
(1) Lobster and shrimp red sauce with fusili pasta
(2) “Super Taco” salad (meatless)
(3) Fried steak, mushrooms, onions, and garlic in olive oil
(4) “Super fruit” salad
(5) Mushroom venison stew
(6) Baked scallops, bread crumbs, wine, and butter
(7) Post surgery scrambled eggs with pork chops
(8) “Walford” salad
(9) Jarlsberg fondue
(10) Chestnut soup, polenta torte with roasted squash, peppered Brussels sprouts with grapes, soybean croquettes with cranberry orange and red wine sauce, salad of fresh herbs and greens, apple pie and pumpkin cheese cake with caramelized walnut and ginger sauce (vegetarian Thanksgiving meal)
3. Top Ten List of Significant Moments (big or small, life-changing, epiphany, or slight shifts in the way you see the world) in your Life
(1) Signing up for military service
(2) Getting married
(3) Deciding to go to Tufts vice MIT
(4) Changing majors and colleges at Tufts (Engineering to Liberal Arts)
(5) Reading H. G. Wells’ Outline of History
(6) Taking command of a military unit
(7) Starting the practice of yoga
(8) Completing a marathon
(9) Teaching public junior high school
(10) Attending my parents’ funerals
4. Top Ten Most Significant Conversations in Your Life
(1) “Should we get married?”
(2) “Do I leave military service now?”
(3) “Pros and cons of buying one house over another?”
(4) “Should we have children?”
(5) Foreign travel choices
(6) Talks with my mentor, George Yount
(7) Childhood sociopolitical discussions with my brother-in-law Pat
(8) Spend or save discussions (and how much)
(9) “Who is God?” conversations with my Reverend uncle
(10) Talking to my father about his prejudices
5. Top Ten Things You Love The Most in This World and One Reason Why
(1) Moderate to difficult physical activity, preferably outdoors, because it clears my mind and releases stress
(2) Having extreme thirst quenched by cool, clear water because it satisfies the most fundamental survival urge a human can experience
(3) Self-planned foreign travel involving staying in people’s homes as much as possible because it provides an opportunity to better understand the culture
(4) Apple pie, because it reminds me of my mother
(5) Al Stewart’s music and lyrics because his lyrics are thought-provoking and often include interesting historical figures and/or events and the music powerfully fits the lyrics
(6) Practicing yoga because it keeps me in touch with how my body is responding to what I’m doing to it
(7) Solving any type of problem (involving people or puzzles, for example) because it gives me a sense of accomplishment
(8) A competitive chess game against an equally-skilled player because it challenges my mind
(9) Seeing justice carried out because life is not always fair so it’s good to see humans not contributing to unreasonable outcomes
(10) Beethoven’s symphonies and similar pieces of art, music, science, or other constructive creativity because it reminds me just how good humanity can be
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Assignment #1
Hands
There’s a story in these hands, with their nearly identical dislocated small fingers and strongly curved left index finger tip. They have survived work, play, exposure, and medical indifference. Unlike the fingers, the thumbs cannot curl in upon themselves and stop at an inward right-angle bend. The long, lean fingers end in short, shiny nails. Though the nails were never gnawed, jagged cuticles visibly fill the nail-skin interface. Dirt residue occupies the hard-to-reach crevices in and around the nails. The backs of the hands carry a flesh-toned tan lightly accentuated by abundant short, brown hairs and a few elevated veins. As fists form, prominent wrinkles on the knuckles transform into smooth, rounded knobs on each finger. Then, as the forearm twists and the fists open to expose the palms, only an oar-induced callus by the thin gold band on the left ring finger mar an otherwise ordinary skin surface. Soft lines separate the thenar, palmar, and phalanx regions of each palm and fingers. These lines are neither magical nor encoded, for the story in these hands is held by their holder.
There’s a story in these hands, with their nearly identical dislocated small fingers and strongly curved left index finger tip. They have survived work, play, exposure, and medical indifference. Unlike the fingers, the thumbs cannot curl in upon themselves and stop at an inward right-angle bend. The long, lean fingers end in short, shiny nails. Though the nails were never gnawed, jagged cuticles visibly fill the nail-skin interface. Dirt residue occupies the hard-to-reach crevices in and around the nails. The backs of the hands carry a flesh-toned tan lightly accentuated by abundant short, brown hairs and a few elevated veins. As fists form, prominent wrinkles on the knuckles transform into smooth, rounded knobs on each finger. Then, as the forearm twists and the fists open to expose the palms, only an oar-induced callus by the thin gold band on the left ring finger mar an otherwise ordinary skin surface. Soft lines separate the thenar, palmar, and phalanx regions of each palm and fingers. These lines are neither magical nor encoded, for the story in these hands is held by their holder.
Monday, September 17, 2007
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