Monday's 5

Karen has given me 5 words and she wants me to share my thoughts on them. After you’ve read my comments, if you feel inclined to play along, say so in the comments and I will send you five words of my choosing.

Utopia – Sir Thomas More was definitely smoking something when he wrote the book on this topic. My thoughts on this range, I mean, is it truly possible? No, at least not on earth and I don’t mean us visiting some far off planet in hopes of developing a whole new society. Don’t buy into the Hollywood version of crap they want to sell us. So, why you ask? One, we are not mentally evolved enough to accept a perfect society. Oh don’t lie to yourself, you wouldn’t make it. You are too cynical, to close minded, to over educated, to imbalanced in thinking through the processes that really matter. We tend think that if we become more intelligent, we can conquer all the things that are wrong in this world. Well, the best we can do is put a bandage on it. We are hemorrhaging all of this hate, distrust, contempt, jealousy, and vanity and just out right lying to ourselves in everything we do. It has polluted our minds and our thinking. Utopian society is simplistic in thinking. It is child like. So if you can think like a child, maybe Utopia will have a chance. Oh, BTW, I never read the book.

Magazine – When I first think of the word magazine, my mind images a periodical the details stories related to news topics or human interest. I could be about food, health, clothing or just life in general. They cover all ages and variously anything we do from computers to flying airplanes. Some much information, so much interest, so much life is stored in a magazine but then on the other hand, it also represents the delivery of a cold hard death. It spews from the fire of a barrel the hot lead of our discontent. Our hatred ravishing and taking so many lives on a scale unknown. If Nobel had any ideal that his invention of dynamite could yield destruction and devastation from such a simple word, he would have never got out of bed that day.

Cyclone – Growing up in the Midwest, this word takes on a more physical state as a weaker but just as devastating version of a tornado. At a younger age, I experienced the effects of a cyclone on several occasions while living on the Island of Okinawa. As a musician, the Cyclone is a modified version of the Fender Mustang. As a nerd, I know it as a programming language. It is also the name of a rollercoaster located in Texas and one of my favorite places to go when I was a kid, Coney Island. I even think the vacuum cleaner industry is using the term for its method of picking up dirt.

Egg Roll – My ex use to term the egg roll as a garbage roll. I laughed at her. Maybe that’s one of the reason she’s an ex now. Not my fault. I thought it was funny. She was always one for a good joke but it was always at my expense.

Somewhat of a mystery of how it came to be but I am quite sure Ming was sitting around his palace wanting something hot and quick to eat and all he had was cabbage, some rice flour wrappers and duck sauce.

So goes the story. He called for his chefs to make a portable quick meal of these items or they would loose their collective heads. Knowing only Dim Sum, the came up with a steamed version but it was too heavy for the wrapper and it fell apart. They schemed and calculated how much stuffing could be supported by wrapper and came up with a perfect size. They prepared all the rolls they had supplies for and where taking them to the steamer. The cook’s assistant tripped and the whole tray of wrapper flew into the air. The cook looked in disgust knowing he would lose his head for this blunder. Still twirling in the air the rolls headed for a big vat of oil that was being heated to cook the emperor’s other favorite dish, Peking duck.

The cook yelled to the assistant stand in the way of the flying rolls to duck. He turned just in time to see the rolls flying towards him and dropped to the floor, the rolls all landing in the hot oil. The cook screamed in disgust, “Arrggh! What am I going to do? The emperor’s dish is ruined.” At that time, the emperor called for his meal. The cook having nothing prepared to replace this disaster gathered the egg rolls from the hot oil and placed them on another platter. Embraced to show his face, he sent the assistant to present the dish to the emperor thinking the emperor would cut off the assistant’s head first and give him some time to come up with another dish.

The assistant shaking and sweating profusely as he bowed presented the dish to the emperor. The emperor looked at the odd looking rolls and dipped one in his duck sauce. He was delighted, he called for the cook. The cook came running knowing his head was to be cut off. He entered the emperor dining chamber and bowed and prepared his head for the ultimate decision. Ming called for him to rise and he offered the cook one of the tasty treats, so the egg roll was born. You should hear my stories about Cashew and General Tso’s Chicken.

Playful – I have always been told that I have a very playful sense of humor. I have to have something to balance the more serious side of me. The business side that most people see is always masking a more sinister playful person in me. I let him out every now and then but it usually takes a beer or two to coax him out to come and play. Sir Arthor Conan Doyle suggested, “You know how easily and suddenly these things happen, beginning in playful teasing and ending in something a little warmer than friendship. You squeeze the slender arm which is passed through yours, you venture to take the little gloved hand, you say good night at absurd length in the shadow of the door. It is innocent and very interesting; love trying his wings in a first little flutter.”

I love the playful teasing music of Scheherazade as well as how the story blends a playful story line on so many levels. No writer today writes in such a playful manner on such a serious subject that cover all manner of human devices. Amazing that in the story that the King had killed over three thousand women before Scheherazade presented her story. So compelled by her wit and playfulness, he made her queen at the end of one thousand nights hence the book One Thousand Arabian Nights which was the collection of stories the she told the king.