Injury update #479

I still can't write more than a few words because of the leg. If I had my old Sensa pen (with space pen ink), I could write while lying on my back, and then have my sister type it up, or at least have columns ready when I get better, but alas, I lost that pen in 1998. I still mourn her. (She was red, like my heart.)

What sucks is that lying here, when not in agonizing pain, I have all these great ideas. Oh well.

Don't know when I will be better. Maybe never.

The Soul's Expression

The Soul's Expression
by Elizabeth Barrett Browning


With stammering lips and insufficient sound
I strive and struggle to deliver right
That music of my nature, day and night
With dream and thought and feeling interwound
And only answering all the senses round
With octaves of a mystic depth and height
Which step out grandly to the infinite
From the dark edges of the sensual ground.
This song of soul I struggle to outbear
Through portals of the sense, sublime and whole,
And utter all myself into the air:
But if I did it, - as the thunder - roll
Breaks its own cloud, my flesh would perish there,
Before that dread apocalypse of soul.

Notice

[I sent out this email to my Notification List a few minutes ago:]




Tribe,

I had a plan to review both Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace last Friday. In addition, I was going to compare Casino Royale book vs. movie. I thought this would be interesting for you all, and I had done weeks of research preparing for the column.

Anyway, with my leg I was simply unable to do it. I tried all weekend, with similar lack of success.

I decided last Remembrance/Veterans' Day not to complain about injuries, but I thought I should explain what's going on. It has become apparent to me that I need to shut down the site until I can physically write a column. I have been trying to skate by with "classic" columns and picture-heavy columns that don't have much writing, but I am dissatisfied with that "product," as well as the response.

So, until I can actually write more than say, this email, the Hyperion Institute will be dormant. I will perhaps post on Monkey Barn (http://monkeybarn.blogspot.com) and my blog (http://hyperionjournal.blogspot.com) from time to time, mostly to update on my situation, and because that only takes a couple of minutes to do.

I will send out a notification if/when my leg improves to the point where I can write, and I am posting again. I have no idea when this might be. It might be tomorrow, and it could be next year, or later.

Anyway, that's what's going on. In the meantime, there are literally thousands of pages at the Hyperion Institute you haven't seen yet. Go through Movie Hype for great movie ideas, or Hyperion Chronicles for past columns.


Signing off for now,

Hyperion

Killing Everyone Under 50

So, I was thinking about asking one of the more powerful (and angry) gods I know to kill everyone but me under 50.

50 is just an arbitrary number. I'd be just as happy with 53; happier even (because of the "prime" status), as long as Sela Ward is up there. (Just found out she's 52. Better stick with 50.)

ANYWAY, I was thinking of asking Crom to kill everyone but me under 50, because I think that would be pretty cool. I would instantly be the youngest person in the world, by like a mile, which would make me pretty important, not to mention desirable. All the hot cougars would want me, not to mention the fact that as the world's youngest person, they would probably give me good healthcare, since I might be humankind's greatest hope. Maybe they'd even fix me, or at least maybe I'd get pain medicine that actually worked.

But I didn't do it, because you just know there's always a downside you don't see, and then once you figure it out it's like it's too late, ya know?

Still, it was a nice thought.

Injury/Election/Craving Update #&*

It's 7:59 am, EST, Monday Morning, and I still don't know who the next president will be. This may be the greatest thing I have ever done.

As far as injuries go, I am now seriously considering at what point a wheel chair will become my best option. It's a little ways away, but I can see it from there.

As for my 30 Days without "C," I gave up after 9 days. What can I do? Sometimes the heart wants what is wants.

Injury Update #whateverthehellnumberitis

As you might guess from the title, pain has been immense the last few days. The likely culprit is my voting day misadventure, which I realize I still haven't shared, but that's mostly due to pain and exhaustion. I only ran the Crichton thing because he deserved it. I figure next week is plenty early enough to talk about what happened when I tried to vote, who I voted for, and why I snarled with so much rage in my blog post yesterday.

Anyway, I'm done for now, but will update the blog all weekend. No one reads, but I prefer to think the great goddess Blogger does, so I will do it for her.

Craving Update

I mentioned the other day that as of November 1, I was giving up "C." It has been brutal. So far I have been strong, although Tuesday night I almost slipped. Temptation was right in front of me, and I so wanted to succumb.

But even though I won that battle, I can't stop thinking about it. My urges are stronger than ever; they permeate my thoughts. How on earth do people ever give stuff up?

Election Update

Right now it is 7:27 on Friday morning. I STILL don't know who was elected. It's a silly thing, but I find myself more proud of this accomplishment than anything I have done in awhile.

My parents found out I didn't know and my mom got upset. She held up newspapers all night trying to catch me off guard. I know there is no way it will last, but I feel like Kramer in that episode where he wanted to see how far below "E" the car could go.

I'm just along for the ride.

Still Ignorant

It is 6:06 am Thursday morning, and I have somehow still managed to stay unaware of who the president-elect is. At this point it's like a game. How much TV do I have to avoid? I thought ESPN would be safe, but no. I have stuck to TNT and USA mostly. Comedy Central is out, and the Music Channels are too dangerous as well. I feel like I'm going to win some sort of prize if I stay ignorant the longest.

I got several emails questioning my strategy, and otherwise calling me Fool. For the record, I have nothing personal against either major candidate. However, I don't think either is the one for the job, and I don't support either. I think I would be much better, and any election that ends up without me as a winner is very sad. Why would I want to watch that?

As for the "history" factor, what a bunch of bullshit. I'm not saying whatever happened is not historical. Whether Obama won, making him the first half African American (Halfrican American? probably not) to win, or McCain shocked everyone, defied the polls, and became the oldest person elected, it was historical.

But here is the thing: elections are ALWAYS historical. How damned arrogant are we to continually think we're the fulcrum of history? Every generation has immense struggles, and they care (and don't care) in equal measures. Whoever they are electing, it's as important to their lives as ours. Just because we don't remember the elections as important doesn't mean they weren't.

I will prove what I am saying: the election of 1876 is easily one of the three most important elections in American history. Ten bucks for ANYONE who can tell me without looking it up who ran, what the outcome was, and why that was all significant.

Don't lecture me, you troglodytes, unless you want a can of historical whoopass opened up on ya.

Maybe you get my point. Every election is important, or not important, however you're looking at them. Things always change, or they don't. I am a student of history, and I want to know the essentials of every election.

But watching the Pageant of the Transmundane we call Election Night Coverage is not the way to do that. Either way it will be verbal masturbation, with pundits falling all over themselves to proclaim what "this" or "that" means, waxing eloquent about Change or ranting about racism. Why would I wan that?


Two months from now I will know more about this election than you do, and I don't say that arrogantly, but as a reflection of how much time and energy I will pour into researching every angle, covered or not. But equally helpful will be the fact that I didn't watch it live.

Unless everything I know about the world is wrong, I'm guessing no one got above 55% or below 45%. That doesn't make me a genius; it almost never happens. Understand what that means:

Let's say for argument that Candidate A got 55%, the outer limit of what I think is imaginable. This means that OVER HALF THE PEOPLE ARE DISAPPOINTED. How do I get those numbers, you ask?

Well, everyone who voted for the other guy is less than thrilled, and you absolutely know that upwards of a quarter of the people vote for the lesser of evils, in their minds. QED.

It's the same every election. Most people end up unhappy, but life goes on. You rally around the new guy for a short time, then all hell breaks loose again.

But that's not what we'll hear. No matter what happens, I guarantee you we'll hear about "mandates." Horseshit. The "mandate" is the victory itself, the right to become president, which all winners get, no matter how they go there. As for the "will" of the electorate, go back up a few paragraphs.

Of the people who voted for the winner, they did so for their own reasons. Each of them, which is totally cool. Voting is always an individual thing. The idea of voting for the country is mostly propaganda, since no one can say with any certainty who would be better. You vote the guy you want who you think will help your life, and even then it's a crapshoot.

(I know some of you are agog at the idea that you don't vote with the country in mind. Fair enough. Give me a few days and we'll have a big discussion. I will take on any and all comers who are willing to put time into it and render a thoughtful opinion.)

I feel myself getting angrier, and definitely going afield, so let me return to my central point. I am not disinterested in the election. I am passionately interested in politics, in the "best" sense of the word: ideas for shaping our future.

But I know what is real and what isn't, and Coverage the other night was anything but real. As the inauguration is ten weeks away I have plenty of time. For now, I am just enjoying the quiet.

Voting

So, I voted. It was a fucking nightmare, not because of anyone, just the way the day unfolded.

I am going to wait until I have healed a little before writing about it, but suffice it to say, I have easily set myself back two weeks.

In other news, it is 6:10 am e.s.t., and I still don't know who the president-elect is. For several reasons,** I wanted nothing to do with the coverage last night, and elected for complete avoidance. I I ended up having a movie night with my sister. Initially we watched the Simpsons Halloween Special, and then we were supposed to see JFK, but I talked her into FIGHT CLUB.

By avoiding most TV and all pernicious internet I can leave it alone for awhile longer.

I was going to write a big post-mortem on the election and various other political things, but frankly, I want to see how long I can go without knowing.


** Just in case you were wondering: I'm skipping coverage because I cannot stand cable news, particularly in something like this. I would rather have elected Maxine Waters than suffer any of the Talking Heads last night.

More importantly (at least to me), it saddens me that I am not in charge. Call me crazy, but I seriously doubt I got more than a few votes, and in ways I will never be able to describe to you, I weep for the world whenever power changes hands and mine is not one of them.

Oh the fuck well. Boo hoo for me, right?

At least I can get a few more hours of peace. With luck I can avoid knowledge at least one more day.

Injury Update #475

The "going over at 6:30 to vote" plan has been jetissoned, partly because I didn't get my post up, and partly because I have to take my sister, and she didn't get over until after 3.

The new plan calls for going at 9:30, after decent people have hopefully gone to work. I have a lot of pain from last night's library trip, but so far I'm still planning this debacle.

Injury Update #474

Went to the library tonight. I didn't actually go in (my sister did that), but I drove there and back.

The driving itself wasn't too horrible, but sitting and waiting in the car, it was rather painful. I think I can sit for about twenty minutes before it really starts becoming unbearable.

We went by the polling place on the way home. A good sign that no one was lined up already.

My current plan is to go half an hour before they open, and if there's already a line, come back at mid-morning.

Crom as my witness, at least SOMEONE will vote for Hyperion this year.

Craving "C"

I decided to give something up as of November. Let's call it "C." I didn't want to give this up, but I looked at my life and realized I had to do something. My thought process is that if I can go 30 days without it, I won't need it any more, and could handle it in moderation.

Problem: Absolute craving of C. I don't remember wanting C this much last week. I guess that's how it works, huh? Once you give something up, you want it even more.

I have no idea if I can make it the whole thirty days, but I'm going to give it my best shot.

[Shudders]

Injury Update #473

I decided to start numbering these injury updates, more for my own grim amusement than any reader value.

It's been something like 17 days since this current cycle of crippledness. I am beyond hoping it will be a quick thing, and am now praying for the 4-6 week length, which I have had before. (Worse is the 3-4 month length. I cannot handle that.)

The worse part is that one day I will think it's getting good enough to almost walk, but then the next day the pain is through the roof. At this point the swelling on the outside is gone. The only physical remains are what feels like a bruise on the inside half of the upper foot/ankle, and of course the ever-present pain.

Why is this important? Well, about three days in I managed to take a 20 minute car ride, but since then I have not left the house. Countless books at the library have come and gone. I waited sometimes months for these books, but they only give you five days. But that's not the most important thing.

Voting.

If only I'd known, I'd have asked for a paper ballot, but I think you had to ask by October 6, and I never have any clue this is coming. Anyway, my parents have both early voted, and reported 90 minute wait times. That doesn't look promising, but still, I may go by the courthouse (or wherever it is) and see.

If not, that leaves Tuesday.

Here's the problem. Waiting in line. I can hobble, more of less, though I will pay a price for it. I'm pretty sure I can get to the car, and probably drive over there. (It's my sister's first time voting, so she's going with me.)

Once there, though, there may be a wait. Standing more than a minute is pretty much unbearable, and sitting is not much better. I can probably sit for ten minutes with my legs down, but after that.....

What makes matters more complicated is that our voting area has a lot of older people, who might want a chair as much as I. Plus, most of our area is Black. I mention this only because the prediction is record turnout in the Black community. Which could mean gigantic wait times to vote. Which means this could become a very dangerous matter for me.

Even more complicated is my need for a paper ballot, but we can talk about that another time.