Mountain Lodge

sentinel- a person stationed to keep watch
dissever- to seperate
musker- street musician, performer
halcyon- undisturbed, peaceful
libation- the act of pouring liquid as a sacrifice
alfresco- outdoors
sui generis- unique
blackguard- scoundrel`zeitgeist- spirit of the time
peccadillo- small offense, misdemeanor

My nostrils, a constant sentinel, dissever from my eyes what i see and what i know to be. Those halcyon scents of swirling pine, alfresco of my wooden borders. Yet my fear of libation that would be sure to come from my woodland frolic, i blame the zeitgeist and the peccadillo becomes an anvil on my shoulders. The sweet allure of muskers and their flowing vibrations reveals an even greater siren. Sui generis situations. Frigid lovely. I sit a blackguard to nothingness, so i feel the forewarning of a cold door handle. A blur of green and ice, yet ever so deifinitive.

A Garden of Sound

Christopher John Cornell has lived a life centered around music, and has inspired millions to do the same. Known as one of the founding fathers of the grunge genre, Cornell's band Soundgarden was started in 1984 and from then forward he etched a name for himself in all popular media. Recognized for their hypnotic sound and eerie melodies, Soundgarden's new and influential sound took the mainstream happy go-lucky by storm, and created a following comparable to that of popular rap artists today. In 1988 the band signed with SST Records, and releashed their first album, "Ultramega OK," which received attention immediately, and the band was soon granted a grammy and a nomination for best metal performance in 1990. In 1991, Soundgarden released their most recognized album, "Badmotorfinger." The three top songs from the list were "Outshined" and "Rusty Cage," which would later be covered by Johnny Cash. These two along with "Jesus Christ Pose" topped the charts. However, it was the third that created the most controversay. The uprising against the song and it's graphic music video soon resulted in its cancellation from any kind of broadcast. Soon after, however, the band released their debut national album, "Superunknown," which gained immediate attention and was given a 4 of 5 stars in a rolling stones review. Cornell never let the sucess to his head, however, and strived to focus soley on his music. Soon sadly, he could no longer do this with Soundgarden, and in 1997, the band disbanded.

Having shaked the brooding tones of Grunge, Cornell soon started a solo project with a much more uplifting tone. His work was nominated for best male performance, but it left many confused with his sudden transition. Cornell's trouble with love may be the underlying causes of his moodiness, which reflects on to his musical style. Nevertheless, he was soon recruited to Audioslave. The guitarist, Tom Morello, had this to say of his first reaction to Cornell's voice: "He stepped to the microphone and sang the song and I couldn't believe it. It didn't just sound good. It didn't sound great. It sounded transcendent. And... when there is an irreplaceable chemistry from the first moment, you can't deny it." With a whole new crew, Cornell worked on a completely new sound, revealing another facet of his musical personality. Yet underneath all of the sucess, rumors arose of Cornell checking himself into a drug rehabilitation center, and band members reported that during the recording of the first album, he seemed like a completely different person. Stricked by extreme depression, his wife soon left him, and he fell into alcoholism.

But by the second album, just by listening to his music one could see things were getting better. Cornell verified that things were looking up, but critics reported that although he had a much stronger voice, his lyrics bordered the ridiculous. Compared to musicians of this day an age, however, Cornell's songwriting abilities would be widely accepted. This hints to his innate correspondence to music and exactly how much it can entail. His lyrics are described as haunting, existential poetry. They were characterized by a cryptic approach, and often referred to themes of existentialism, love, hedoism, spirituality, and Christianity.

Cornell's restlessness soon led to the disbanding of Audioslave, and soon he resorted back to his solo career, where he remains today. He is recognized as one of the most influential artists in the history of music, influencing bands such as Nirvana and Pearljam, while rubbing much of his distinctive sounds on many new artists today, primarily those described as punk, which holds its roots in the grunge genre Cornell had such a large hand in creating. Along with the creation of grunge, Cornell is also recognized as one of the few performers to ever hit a A5 above high C. All of this, coupled with his ranging musical abilities and profound lyrics, Chris Cornell has carved his name into the stone of popular culture.

In my eyes
Indisposed
In disguise
As no one knows
Hides the face
Lies the snake
The sun
In my disgrace
Boiling heat
Summer stench
neath the black
The sky looks dead
Call my name
Through the cream
And Ill hear you
Scream again

Black hole sun
Wont you come
And wash away the rain
Black hole sun
Wont you come
Wont you come

Stuttering
Cold and damp
Steal the warm wind
Tired friend
Times are gone
For honest men
And sometimes
Far too long
For snakes
In my shoes
A walking sleep
And my youth
I pray to keep
Heaven send
Hell away
No one sings
Like you
Anymore

Hang my head
Drown my fear
Till you all just
Disappear

"To be different is to be lonely." This morose phrase of unfortunate truth plays on the sarcastic tone of Brave New World while still keeping the sound of a common adage. It's eerily true message is meant to disturb and disgruntle it's reader, working on their own insecurity that comes with a sense of not belonging. Yet it also questions if conformity is what human nature truly calls for, but if its possible that it's own misguided sense of rebellion prevents it from ever giving itself that liberty. In the world of twisted freedom within Brave New World, this quote seems to be all too acceptable. But what the real question is, how does it sit in our society?

Cleansing

I will make sheep of them
Those who stand around
Not knowing what to believe

I will mold their minds
Reveal the truth
Hate leaves none empty

I am knowledgeable
I am strong
And I will teach you

You have been waiting for me
Reich will rise again
3rd will be first

I am a guardian
And I will build our fence
But shelter is for some

Hygiene is mine
See my image
Learn to cleanse as I

Jews

Clog in our sprockets
Weight on our shoulders
Coal for my flame

Burn, burn, burn
See my eyes
Brimstone brings the deepest clean

I have seen struggle
I know thy enemy
I am not a politician

I do not stand and watch
I march and strike
Yours is mein kampf

Jews

Try to hide
Crawl into your hovels
Your church is no refuge

Germany is not yours
You are our weakness
You deserve nothing

You are nothing

I will extend my limbs
Fist to squeeze
Legs to stomp
Eyes to see, know, hear, everything

My greatest art
Your blood on the walls
No, yours is not blood

Jews

I hate you
I loathe you
You pain me

Your existence
Hell's last hurrah
But I will bring it to you

Gas may singe my eyes
But poison will run through your veins
I am the needle

Stones will not stand in our way
We will not stumble
The hammer will teach

I have seen war
War must have motivation
I will provide for my people

Painter, no
Architect, no
But I will build from your bones and smear your tears

Do not stagger my Germany
They are not human
Do not be swayed by red eyes

Jews

Mein Kampf, my people, my motivation
I will be your crutch, and I will be your axe
Germany I am your groom

Listen to my every word
Follow my every commmand
For the wolf has come

His howl will ring loud
Echo through every dark corner
And draw out the splinter

Germany, my struggle

-A. Hitler

Allusiophile

Robert Penn Warren's influential novel All the King's Men does not only relate to the day it was written in, or the future, but it also holds value in the past, as it alludes to many recognizable figures in Greek mythology. Two of the most prominent, Telemachus of The Odyssey and Cassandra of famous literature, make noticeable references within the work. Telemachus, made famous through his trials in his search for his true father, almost directly symbolizes Jack Burden, who shares the same motivation and methods. Through tests of morality and research, Jack combs through his "suitors" to locate a figure to call his father. Telemachus on the other hand, works to eliminate actual suitors and sits in wait for his one true father. What they both share, however, is a true father they both discover, and whom they realize is the most righteous of all. Sadly, Jack does not uncover his soon enough, and only his father's death unveils his true identity. Jack also crosses with another mythical figure, Cassandra, as he flips through his ancestor's journal. Cursed by a god, his unrequited love became a burden on her that she could not withstand. Blemished with insight, yet never given any heed. Cass Mastern, Jack's late ancestor, also possesses this gift, but in a less literal sense. His writing's bring light to Jack's future, yet as the Greek people to Cassandra, Jack does not not heed the warnings. Yet, perhaps it was more than ignorance that prompted Jack's misconception. “Or perhaps he laid aside the journal of Cass Mastern not because he could not understand, but because he was afraid to understand for what might be understood there was a reproach to him.” But whatever the reason, Cass Mastern and his premonitions for the doomed Jack directly relate to Cassandra and her future-sight. Including this allusion, Warren succesfully relates back to Greek mythology through both Telemachus and Cassandra, and in this way spreads the influence of All the King's Men to the present, future, and past.

Vader

Shining hood of a hallowed existence
Eyes red but tearless
Stare into the face of your executioner
Twisted pride yields no tears

Ideal perfection, yet by the hands of another
His eyes wild, yet theirs staring heavily
I tried to do the right thing
But only smiled in a chilly way

Now breath made a labored sound
Pushed and shoved through the struggling mechanics
Like most things
Made of machine

Spun metal woven and coiled
Steam dynamo of complex design
But if so detailed, why so obvious
In this world, where everything happened

Forged by more than ebony steel
Created through a sun-dazzled world
Sit down, you all, so he can stand
Lifeless to the pull of strings

A Long Life's Journey Into Hell

Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Night unifies a plebian family of struggling hopefuls through the wrenching conflicts tied to past mistakes they constantly weigh one another down with. Their entire existence is just one large stalemate; neither member willing to let up their guard. That isn’t to say the Tyrone’s don’t speak the truth to one another, but the truth they spread is a scarring burning one, meant not to relieve but to intensify their pain. The family feeds off this pain, they believe it resolves their own personal insecurities, but in reality it only amplifies it. They believe that if they blow out their loved one’s candle, theirs will glow brighter. It is this assumption that fuels their conflict, and leads to bitter feuds within the family lines. One of the more prominent conflicts, the elder against the younger, provides a strong starting point for other quarrels.

Perhaps the most prominent within the work is the constant conflict between James Tyrone and his first-born son, Jamie. O’Neill hints at James’s intentions by giving his son his own name, and through this reveals the idea of family legacy. It is this idea that the father knows best, and because of this is horribly distressed to see his son turn the opposite direction. Jamie sees his father’s disapproval as motivation for rebellion, and pushes himself even further from his father’s shadow. James, who had been a hard-working youth, must stand before his own son and see worthlessness. It is always the people most similar to us that threaten us most (Gale), and James cannot look into the shattered mirror. He pursues other options, yet each are vain and end in only further conflict. He sends out his wealth to Jamie, yet only becomes angered by his loose-pockets. Jamie does not comprehend the importance of money in his father’s eyes, and so his spending leads to further conflict. A flawed act of love only responded to with harsh disparity.

If this was not enough, O’Neill also provides further conflict through Mary and Edmund, the mother and youngest son. Internal turmoil runs abound between the shared relationships of these two characters, as Mary looks to her son as a replacement, the second model of her first baby boy. Although Edmund only receives the best treatment from his mother, he holds a grudge of hurt emotions, knowing that her love spurts only from the grave of his lost brother. This misdirected affection leads to emotional outbreaks in the play, propelling Edmund forward as more than just the younger sibling. Through all of Mary’s care, he only feels obligated to revolt and speak from his inner thoughts to express his unrequited feelings of false love and relayed affection. He feels he is receiving what he does not deserve or request, and this leads to increased conflict among the two traditional roles of loving mother and nurtured child.

These open and internal conflicts between what should be loving guides and their hopeful youth leads to emotional distress within the Tyrone family, and motivates them even further down the stubborn path of unmoving subjugation. Even if any member moved to requite the feelings of another, by this time their relative would not know how to respond. These grudges have been forged on their minds and have become the guidelines to their everyday lives. They only see their own faults, but the only solution they can muster is blame. This vicious cycle of family degradation keeps the Tyrone’s from ever moving forward; forgive and forget is unheard of, and so they must squander their days in unrelenting night. Because the Tyrones will not forgive each other, and will not even forgive themselves, for their past faults, they forge for themselves a miserable present (Gale). The constant warring of an obstinate family leaves the individuals involved with a sense of unfelt affection, lost direction, and constant darkness. No one family member will pay their due, and so the loved one’s at their side must pay the price. Eugene O’Neill forms for the Tyrones a constant shroud, a self-induced cloud of spite that never ceases to reprieve their suffering.

Bibliography:
Wren, Celia. "All in the family: 'long day's journey into night'. (Stage)." Commonweal. 130.11 (June 6, 2003): p20. Literature Resource Center. Gale. LEE COUNTY LIBRARY SYSTEM. 21 Sept. 2008

Curtain

Flowing folds of shadowy shades
Creasing lines to reach the tile
Intertwined and woven-deep
Crooked work of hailed style

Masquerade the lights on high
blind the lost and lead the wise
spread the linen wings to show
the hidden deapth where sun resides

So cut the ties of posh decor
unearth the passe stylings of old
rekindle light and restore
push aside the tattered folds