Heart of an Artist 2

Dedicated to my Notebook Brother.

Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

If I Had a Time Machine...

If I had a time machine, I'd go back in time to meet the following people:

1. Jesus
2. Leonardo da Vinci
3. Rod Sterling
4. Abraham Lincoln
5. C.S. Lewis
6. Nathaniel Hawthorne
7. St. Augustine
8. Dag Hammarskjold
9. Jack Kirby
10. Thomas Alva Edison

Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Sonic Verse: Favorite Music Releases of 2013

Artist	Title(s)
Masterplan	Novum Initium (Digipak Limited Edition)
Stryper	No More Hell to Pay
Celldweller	Soundtrack For The Voices In My Head Vol 03 Chapter 01 Zombie Killer (MP3 EP) Blackstar Act One: Purified Original Score (MP3 EP)
Queensrÿche	Queensrÿche (Deluxe)
James LaBrie	Impermanent Resonance (Digipak Limited Edition)
Abnormal Thought Patterns	Manipulation Under Anesthesia
Joe Satriani	Unstoppable Momentum
Fates Warning	Darkness in a Different Light (Limited Edition)

Honorable Mentions

• Anup Sastry, Ghost
• The Omega Experiment, The Omega Experiment

Favorite Albums Released Prior to 2013, but Purchased in 2013

• Masterplan, Aeronautics (Deluxe Edition) and Back for My Life (EP)
• Ark, Burn the Sun

Favorite Album Artwork (from titles in previous entries)

• Masterplan, Novum Initium
• Stryper, No More Hell to Pay
• Fates Warning, Darkness in a Different Light

Favorite Albums Rediscovered in 2013

• Overkill, From the Underground and Below
• Queensrÿche, The Warning
• Synaethesia, Desideratum

 

About

In the early to mid 1990s I wrote and edited an Internet-distributed music newsletter, called Sonic Verse™ (SV), which also included original creative writings.

Many years have passed since I put the newsletter on hold, but the time was right to resurrect SV and its spirit: to highlight the music, artists, and associated elements that I enjoy (e.g. album cover artwork).

Going forward, SV entries will crop-up at insilentpassage.com from time-to-time, along with a few twists and tendrils related to the concept of "sonic verse."

P.S. The seeds for the resurrection of SV were sown in the post, "In Mental Streams" (April 2009), and in posts containing the label "soundtrack."

Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Satyricon Vantas Immorti

Satyricon Vantas Immorti
A Study of Negative Space

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Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Another Today's Tendril...

When a unicorn farts, does it smell like cotton candy?

Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved. insilentpassage.com

Unsurprised

"It's the unsnowiest winter ever."

That's what I remember hearing. Or maybe overhearing. I don't actually remember when I heard it, where I heard it, or the context in which it was made, but I do remember hearing it—and thinking, "unsnowiest"? Really?!?

Here's hoping that an unusually cloudy and cool summer will prompt someone to say "it's the unsunniest summer e-ver."

Humans say the darnedest things.

I'm not surprised.

Or is that unsurprised?

8^)

Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

Q: How did we describe the shifts in emotional states before the advent of roller coasters? A: Pendulums. Tides. Spirits and superstitions.

Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Just for Fun 6: Onel (Christmas 2013)

Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Last Train to the North Pole

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Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

Q: What separates the defiant from the compliant? A: Tolerance. Complacency. Philosophy. Tenacity. Drive. Fear. Vision.

Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Theragon Tangelis

Theragon Tangelis A

Theragon Tangelis B

Theragon Tangelis C

Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

Clever is relative. Clueless is universal.

Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Prelude to Revelation

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Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

Gray Thursday. Black Friday. Cyber Monday. The marketeers and commercial elves (goblins?) are working overtime. The holiday season has become yellow and green, as in the yellow of greed and the green of money. Faith. Hope. Love. That's what it's all about—lest we forget and become consumed with consumption.

Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

Hashtag (#) — the new bulletin board. Who knew? Yea: #connectingpeopleplacesthingsonehashtagatatime Nay: #enoughwiththehashtagsalready

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

"Marginal success," "partial success," or "a little success" is just a failure with a really good PR team.

Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Characters Within (Interis Dieagolis) 2

"Details are fickle things," said the perfectionist.

"Only to the obsessive and the compulsive," replied the free spirit.

"You're both wrong," said the pendulum.

"Would all of you please pipe down? I'm working here," said the hand that writes.

Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

This text composition is a work of fiction. Names, places, institutions, events, incidents, characters, persons, locations, and/or organizations either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Full Creative Writing Disclaimer.

Three Tendrils for Today

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Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Tweaked 2013.11.04

A Letter to Elanor

Loveliest Elanor,

The moments we shared at the Autumn Festival were the happiest of my life.

We talked. We ate. We laughed. We danced. You smiled. I melted. Time vanished.

It broke my heart to leave you before we enjoyed the last dance of the evening, but I could not be within sight of you when the Harvest Moon reached the highest point in the sky.

And it is not the sight of you that caused me to disappear, for I could stare into your beauty for a thousand lifetimes.

I left because I am not the man you believe me to be and I could not bear to have you see me as I really am.

If all goes as I have planned, then I will return to you on All Hallows' Eve and we will be together again and always.

If not, then know that I did everything that I could to escape Abbot's Cornfield, but that its magic was stronger than what I—a lowly scarecrow given human form for a day—could break.

And if I never return to you in flesh and blood, then I pray that this letter, and my spirit, find their way to you...as the crow flies.

Eternally yours,

Solan

 

About

I imagined the crow in my visual composition, "As the Crow Flies," carrying a message to someone.

"A Letter to Elanor" is that message.

Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

This text composition is a work of fiction. Names, places, institutions, events, incidents, characters, persons, locations, and/or organizations either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Full Creative Writing Disclaimer.

Hallo'd Lore

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About

Dark things from the hangman's tree and a warning; a mental carving that tried to scream—Happy Halloween!

Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

As the Crow Flies

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Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

I Take My Leave

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Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

If your life is in constant need of a safety net, then you should reconsider your choice of activities and mental proclivities.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Through the Dark

Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

This text composition is a work of fiction. Names, places, institutions, events, incidents, characters, persons, locations, and/or organizations either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Full Creative Writing Disclaimer.

Voiceless

Without words I am voiceless,
     And my eyes can only take the conversation so far.

And if only the hand on your cheek were the hand on your heart,
     Then my touch would speak in a tongue only lovers understand.

These words, this paper, are all that remains of a conversation that I thought would never know an end.

All is now still.

My words have no refrain.

I am voiceless—and still.

And still I carry on...without you.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

This text composition is a work of fiction. Names, places, institutions, events, incidents, characters, persons, locations, and/or organizations either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Full Creative Writing Disclaimer.

Three Tendrils on Epiphany

Epiphany is usually a light in the dark.

Every once in a while, it's a dark cloud with a silver lining.

 

Epiphany is one part "I" and one part "any," as in: The I of any moment can bring about life changes—for better or for worse.

 

Brevity does not always bring clarity.

Sometimes the epiphany comes at the end of a long and complex journey through the jungle of verbosity, where vines of reason twist and entwine, and a machete clears the clutter of incremental logic.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Characters Within (Interis Dieagolis) 1

"I'm swimming in tears," said Regret.

"And well you should," said Conscience.

"I wasn't thinking, OK," snapped Regret.

"Sadly, you never do," quipped Conscience, a bit exasperated.

"Why is that? Why don't I take a breath or a pause and figure out how to be free from the grip of the here-and-now," said a demoralized Regret, with a clear indication that the question was rhetorical.

Nevertheless, Conscience replied, "You get that from the Impulse side of the family. That's why God included me as part of the human equation."

Conscience added, "If it helps, you may think of me as a ghost—the Ghost of Actions Past and Consequences Future."

"That doesn't help at all," sobbed Regret.

"Oh, it will. Trust me, it will. You just don't see it yet," said Conscience with a comforting smile.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

This text composition is a work of fiction. Names, places, institutions, events, incidents, characters, persons, locations, and/or organizations either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Full Creative Writing Disclaimer.

Today's Tendril...

Faith is not a fate, but a commitment. How you choose to live life determines your fate.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Up Close and Personal 1: The Warmth Revealed (Visual Remix)

 

About

In celebration to the start of Fall (Autumn), 2013, in my neck of the woods, I completed a fitting visual remix (fueled by a warm cup of hot chocolate).

Original version published Monday, July 1, 2013, and available at insilentpassage.com: Up Close and Personal: The Warmth Revealed.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

How do you find the perfect shade of blue? Wait for your mood to sour and it fill find you.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

Leadership is spelled with an "I."

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

Rains, west, ungodly.

Flowers fold willingly.

Placid sadness grows.


© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

We Come in Peace

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About

If I had an alien Metal band, then this is what it would look like. (That's me in the middle.)

 

Soundtrack

• Ghost, Anup Sastry
• The Space Between, Intervals
• Epicloud (Deluxe Edition) (disc 2), Devin Townsend Project
• Plains of Oblivion, Jeff Loomis
• Engines of Creation, Joe Satriani
• Soundtrack for the Voices in My Head, Vol. 01, Celldweller

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

Even the sea of tranquility gets a storm now and then.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Ibis Goliae Araneidae

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

The Faces of Silence

The many "faces" of silence:

• As acquiescence and acceptance
• As a barrier
• As an act of dissention
• As punishment
• As a means to an end
• The mask of bewilderment
• A bed of feathers for introspection
• The opposite of "the squeaky wheel"
• The space between lovers when they have nothing left to say
• As dramatic...pause
• The medium for the voice of God

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

Terra forming is an arrogance of man.

Reshape to satisfy a vision (artistic or commercial matters not).

Fitting, then, that the earth reclaims man at the end: from dust to dust, the sequence goes unchanged.

Today's Tendril...

Human by design.
Fallible by nature.
Happy by choice.
Creativity—a blessing...and a danger.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

The Fact Remains

This new cat is good. Very good. Silent. Fast. Patient. Agile.

A perfect feline ninja.

Ah, but no matter how good the cat, and no matter how many cats the owners bring into the house, the fact remains: no flesh and blood kitty can ever catch a ghost mouse.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Just for Fun 5: Sketchy (at Best)

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About

A doodle with wings.

A little pen-and-paper fun.

Sketchy, at best. 8^)

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

The Great Machine

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About

Inspired by, and part homage to, the Book of Revelations and Firefox's "about:mozilla" Easter Egg.

Full title: "The Great Machine" - from The Book of Tendrils (The Lost Chapters)

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril... Perspective

      "Ah, to be young and naive again, instead of old and wise," said the oak tree to the acorn.

      "At least you're not in the shadow of someone else," replied the acorn.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

What IT Has Taught Me

What IT has taught me:

• Fast is never fast enough
• Update, upgrade, patch, and fix are four letter words
• There's no such thing as too much data
• We want everything to be intuitive, as long as it's our view of intuitive
• Obsolescence happens (then becomes nostalgia)
• There's no shortage of good ideas (or bad implementations)
• Ones and zeros are stepping stones
• Always connected is too wired
• State-of-the-art is relative to the here-and-now
• Footprints, fingerprints, and breadcrumbs last "forever"

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

Happiness - A possibility.
Pain - A probability.
Death - An inevitability.
Hope - An opportunity. (Always.)

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

Never say never, except to sin,    stupidity,       malice,          and hate.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

Life is always "in flight," even when we're sleeping (and especially when we're dreaming).

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

Cast a shadow only as long as you're willing to fall.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

Emotional refinement is like the weathering of stone on a shoreline — it takes time.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

A philosophy conceived in the myopia of anger, coiled in the vines of self-pity, and spewed from a geyser of hate, is nothing but a syringe of lies in search of veins—the veins of the willing; the vulnerable; the disenfranchised.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Good Morning

     "Time to wake up the birds," said the Moon to the Sun. "I like to listen to them as I drift off to sleep."

     "Certainly," said the Sun. "Anything else?"

     "Yes. Would you let the dew last a little longer today? The glistening dew drops are my fireflies," said the Moon.

     "Consider it done," said the Sun. "Anything else?"

     "No, I'm all set," said the Moon. "Thank you."

     "You're welcome," said the Sun. "Have a good day's sleep, my friend. Dream of rivers and waterfalls; clouds and trees, and snow-capped mountains."

     "Looks like it's going to be a beautiful day," said the sleepy Moon.

     "It will be," said the smiling Sun. "It most certainly will be."

     The End

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

There's a lot of wiggle room between "not now" and "never again."

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

The sky is never falling, until it lands on your head.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

Three - Three in one and one three.

Two - Choices: Heaven or Hell.

One - Life. Love. God.

Zero - Tolerance for indecision.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Up Close and Personal 1: The Warmth Revealed

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To Jill, for warmth beyond words.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

Temptation on the left.       Resistance on the right. A choice that hangs between,       And a prayer to see The Light.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

Hate is a welcome mat for the Devil.

© 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

To Be

I am becoming—
    Befuddled,
    Bemused,
    Bemoaned,
    Beleaguered,
    Bewitched,
    Bedeviled,
    Begotten.

I am between question and answers,
    Between actions and words,
        Between beginnings and ends.

I am becoming my worst enemy,
    Or so the mirror claims.

So I'll drape the mirror with a black veil,
    And trap the ghosts and demons beneath,
    Then let it fall to the floor
        To become the pieces of nevermore.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

This text composition is a work of fiction. Names, places, institutions, events, incidents, characters, persons, locations, and/or organizations either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Full Creative Writing Disclaimer.

A Lot in Life

      On a hot summer day, atop a fresh pile of steaming dung, a swarm of flies were having lunch, when one fly suddenly stopped, turned to its neighbor, and said, "Are you happy?"

      "Yes," replied the neighbor, without a moment of hesitation and without a hint of sarcasm.

      "Why," asked the first fly.

      "Because life is too short," replied the neighbor.

      The first fly pondered this for a bit, then upon reaching a conclusion, returned to its meal.

      The End

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Leadership (Upon Reflection)

What makes a "good" leader?

• Honed skills
• Real world experiences
• Credible and dependable
• Trusts, but verifies
• Many tendrils
• Few confidants
• Sensitive in the soul
• Tough love as necessary
• Knows when to listen and knows when to bark
• Smiles as a matter of course, but will bare teeth as a matter of recourse
• When a decision must be made, or a final vote cast, the following is clear to all:
  • One voice
  • One vision
  • One line in the sand

Re-titled on 2020.08.03

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

Looking for the clues of continuity,      Even though their footprints and breadcrumbs,           Vanish with the perception of the fleeting moment.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

We become our misery when our rainbows are painted in shades of gray.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

When there's nothing left to hold on to, hold on to your principles.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

To be courageous or to be incorrigible — the choice is up to you.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Heaven and Hell (A Beginning)

I am less alone than you think.

But more alone than I feel.

To be caught between Heaven and Hell,
    Is a struggle
       All too real.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Four Tendrils on Fairness

Fairness is a lie, an illusion, a yoke.

It's the prospect of fairness that blinds everyone to the reality of its emptiness.

 

Fairness is tantalizing and alluring because we believe that it "levels the playing field."

The reality, however, is that there are those among us that choose to play the game by their own rules.

 

Fairness is like sun bathing on a cool summer's day — you feel comfortable, maybe even a bit chilly, but you don't realize that you're still getting burned.

 

Competition. Subjectiveness. Wants and desires. Striving to be head-and-shoulders among—and above—the rest. Survival of the fittest.

All of these (and more) are at odds with fairness.

 

About

At the earliest stages of our lives we're told to "play fair."

But then as we get older, we're constantly reminded that "life isn't fair."

The mind is caught between the obedience of childhood lessons and the sting of cold reality.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

ISP I

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

To the casual observer, delirium looks a lot like optimism.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

Facts are cold. Faith is warm. People need both.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril... Bureaucracy

What is bureaucracy?

• A glacier (most of the time)
• An avalanche (once in a while)
• A dam (waiting to break)
• A damn (as in, another damn thing to get in the way)

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

May the penguin of complacency never waddle into your life.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

You can be honest without being harsh.

You can make a point without poking.

You can reveal without having to rip.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

An Inevitable Path

Failure is inevitable,
    Because we are flawed,
       Because our logic is in conflict with our emotions,
          Because we can only walk one path at a time,
          And that path
          Is marred and marked
          By our footprints
          Forward,
          Backward,
          And sideward.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

The heaviest hammer of them all is the hammer of reality.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Fall Kite

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

In knowledge we swim. In ignorance we drown.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

Hate is a quicksand of the heart.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

A Prayer, of Sorts

Dear God,

The S.S. My Life hit an iceberg of uncertainty and now I'm drowning in doubt. (Cold, dark doubt.)

I think to myself, I'm a fish out of water, but that doesn't make any sense, because I'm drowning. Or maybe I'm not. It's hard to tell which end is up when you believe that you're sinking like a rock.

So would I recognize the life preserver if it hit me in the head?

Or would I be too consumed with flailing and gasping to have the presence of mind to reach for it?

Uh-oh, I think I see the sharks starting to circle.

God, please send me a life preserver.

And be certain that it hits me in the head.

Amen.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

The butterfly has no agenda.

The crow only comes when skies are gray.

The seed cannot help but germinate (and penetrate).

The cow is a jacket waiting to happen.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Memories of MoMA

Random thoughts as I walked through MoMA with my wifema.

• Abstract representational theology
• Lost amid the thinking of ourselves
• Opulent disparity and broken continuity
• Ghosts upon horses
• Study and consume
• Spit and hurl?
• No flight. No fancy. No forgiveness
• Held tightly; dreamt loosely
• Sorry, but a "spec" on an otherwise empty wall is not art, nor a profound social statement (no matter how much you stand there and rationalize it)
• The notebooks of Tim Burton — yet another example that the pages of notebooks contain nuggets of gold
• Just turn around and walk at full speed, as if the place were empty

P.S. This is all true, especially about the inconsiderate knobs referenced in the last bullet.

MoMA = Museum of Modern Art (NYC)

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

Love is a road to hate, if and only if you travel the road alone.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

When God gives you a wake-up call, you don't go back to sleep.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

Into the pandemonium I willingly go, thinks a soldier.

"For the glory of the republic for which I stand," whispers another soldier.

And somewhere near the front-line, in a foxhole, a soldier asks, "God, please forgive me for what I'm about to do, but I'll not let the enemy take my freedom away."

The first casualty of war isn't the truth—it's the spirit.

Dedicated to the men and women of the U.S. armed forces that fight everyday to protect the freedoms that I enjoy. I can only imagine the struggles that you face (physically, mentally, spiritually). Thank you.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

Love is a road to hate,    when you:       Harden your heart;       Stop listening;       Make every moment about "me" rather than "we."

Updated 20220724

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

Truth should never be used as a battering ram.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

Ripeness — good for food, bad for people (especially for people in close quarters).

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

"I only grow gray flowers," said Melancholy. "That is because you've forgotten how to smile," said Rainbow. The silence that followed became the chasm that divided them.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

The Line Reclaimed

Allow the hate to open wide,
     And all you've done is die inside.

Take the time to try to care,
     And you'll destroy the dark despair.

Force yourself to laugh out loud,
     And you'll become a silver cloud.

The less you think the more you'll feel,
     And hopes and dreams become like steel.

So push away the wicked voices,
     And give in to your sacred choices.

Take a breath and stop and say,
     "I have the might to seize the day!"

I am the line in the sand.

I am my sanity reclaimed!

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Always There

...always there...right behind every thought...waiting...smiling...with open arms and a shoulder to cry on...always there...a part of me is a part of you, given freely...a part of you is a part of me, held deeply...friends...lovers...a union...always...in all ways...never forsaken...never taken for granted...never far...always there...

To Pink, who's always there.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

Sentimental value has the best value.

Alternate Version

Sentimental value never loses its value.

Updated 20220724

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

The heart of war beats in the bosom of man. And then drums across the Earth.

Updated 20220724

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Valentine's Day 2013

Hope your VD is extra red today!

 

About

Sent this to a friend today (as a text message).

I thought it was funny.

My friend thought it was funny.

Truth is, there's nothing funny about VD.

Still, it was a pretty funny text message.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

Q: What are you giving up for Lent? A: Giving up things for Lent.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

The right thing to do — always easier said (or thought) than done.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

How do you make the Devil laugh?

Tell him that he has no power.

How do you make the Devil fly into a rage?

Tell him that he has already lost and will end up in the lake of fire—for all eternity.

How do you make the Devil cry?

Tell him that in spite of everything, God still loves him.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

Brain dumps can either clarify or cloudify.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

No stone skips itself across a pond.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Never to Believe

Things that I will never believe:

• That life upon this planet was a matter of chance
• That the bottom line is all that matters
• That hope, prayer, and a kind word have no power in everyday life

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Another Today's Tendril...

The detritus of the mind can be reclaimed and transformed into something that transcends the sum of its parts.

The above is the original version of the following Today's Tendril...: July 21, 2012.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

God doesn't keep secrets from the universe. God is the secret to the universe.

Alternate Version

God doesn't keep secrets.

Only man keeps secrets—and covets them.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.

Today's Tendril...

Fragile — a word, a state, an edge.

© Copyright 2013 Christopher V. DeRobertis. All rights reserved.