eclectika

A Little About A Lot By Nabih Saliba To know a lot about a little Or a little about a lot Is a thing we should consider But in practice often not If a lot about a little Then an expert you will be Of the few things you have studied Or have done repeatedly Should you choose a lighter focus For the things that you can learn Then your interests will be wider With all details no concern If an expert on a subject Or someone who knows a lot Be it narrow or unfocused Make the most of what you’ve got In the end it only matters If you help your fellow man Use what knowledge you’ve been given To help us be the best we can To know a lot about a little Or a little about a lot Is not the thing that matters But in practice means a lot.

by Nabih Saliba If she should smile, the Sun would shine and all the world would flourish for I am hers and she is mine to love, to hold and cherish. If she should dream, the sky would ring as all the angels cheer it then I would sing so I could bring the way that she might hear it. If she could share, she’d know we care about the world she lives in then we could bare our feelings there so she could know where we’ve been. If she should fear, she’d stop in fright––the world would shrink and bind her so I will come to bring a light and in the darkness find her. If she would cry, the stars would fall and weigh her soul with sorrow then I shall peel away the sky and bring about tomorrow. If she would love, life opens up––a realm without a border for then the world makes sense to me, the universe in order. If I could say how much she means to me and those around her then maybe she might step aside and let the world astound her. ...

Connection By Nabih Saliba To reach out in the darkness and think that we’re alone Is very often scary and chills us to the bone Yet in a world of sorrow, deep despair and solitude One simple thing connects us be it clothed or in the nude: That thing which makes us human, the quiet spark that we call life It’s the hope that we keep burning when we’re faced with pain and strife So in our isolation there is something we condone A flicker in the shadow, a thing remembered and well known It’s always all around us–far away and in our home Each friendship, love and partner that we dare to call our own Our lives are short and simple in the larger scheme of things And yet we waste time flirting with all that hatred brings Rise up and shout, “I’ve had it! I will play this game no more!” Then pull back on the curtains and unlock your brave heart’s door To build a real connection with another human soul Could be no truer purpose, or a mission or a goal For w...

Prologue The Ingrams He remained frozen in place. The small form at his feet was barely moving but he knew nothing would be the same no matter what he chose to do next. Whether it was primal instinct or basic fear that motivated the man, Frank bent down and scooped the young child up in his arms. Holding the fragile form close to his chest, he slowly and steadily picked his way across the field toward a small shed where his wife was absorbed in mending a saddle. The old farmer could feel heat radiating off the small boy pressed against his shoulder. Fevers like this rarely ended well. He picked up his pace and finished crossing the field. Frank Ingram was a simple man. Life had always been governed by the steady rhythm of routine and he liked it that way. When some of the younger men in the town would begin to wax philosophical and debate the meaning of life or ponder the true origins of the relics strewn around the countryside, Frank would usually shrug his shoulders and ...

I've enjoyed becoming a member of  The Writer's Community on Google+. There, I've found a wonderful group of people in various stages of writing careers. One of them ( Gabriela Gotay ) shared a great post about the playlist she used for inspiration when writing her book, " The Forever Maybe ." This got me thinking about the influence of sound and music on one's writing and I thought I'd begin a series of posts titled, " Sound Advice " that essentially aims to make musical recommendations around a subject or genre of writing. The posts will provide links to the music on Amazon and brief commentary on what imagery or concepts the music conjures in my mind. Hopefully there's something that sparks the imagination along the way. Today's Sound Advice  is going to tackle "The Future." Whether this is a utopian, dystopian, near, far, alternate or projected future may influence certain aspects of the following list but all tracks e...

A single recognizer moves quietly down a forgotten corridor of structs–its destination a brightly lit gate floating 200 kilocycles ahead. Inside, a program makes the proper calculations to halt the craft before virus detection scanners pick up their presence.  Once in the right place, this program sends a signal to its user. From a terminal in San Francisco, Edward transmits an electronic address and a new mission.  Several years ago, he would not have needed to sneak around and break into a system like this.  Back then, he would just have the Master Control Program do it for him. Things are different today. No longer are the resources of Encom–one of the most infamous names in the valley–at his disposal.  Today, he's lucky his parole officer even allows him to have access to a terminal at all. Dillinger is name all but forgotten now and today that suits his purposes just fine. The recognizer remains motionless as its program finishes probing the system to...

The thing you need to know about flying is that it takes less effort than you might think. Just like swimming, most of the work is done by the stuff all around you. In a pool, that stuff is the water that holds you up if you want it to. When you're flying, the stuff you float in is air. Danny had just discovered this secret to flying not more than five minutes ago. At first, he tried to fly by flapping his arms as fast as he could. If you think the sight of a seven year old boy flapping his arms up and down is funny, you're not alone. All of the people who noticed Danny would stop and watch for a moment, giggle and then walk off to wherever they needed to be. It wasn't going very well. Tired and feeling very silly, Danny was about to give up when he heard a quiet voice say, "Don't fight the air. Maybe you should make friends with it instead?" Danny spun around to find the owner of the voice but there was no one standing there. "Make friends with the air...

Not long ago, a good friend of mine had me over for dinner. He kept going on and on about a better way to cook meat and how I had to try it. I'll admit that I had serious doubts that he could boil  me a great steak. I stepped back from him waiting for the gods of beef to strike him dead where he stood. I cringed further when he showed me the amazing cuts he had procured for our culinary adventure. My friend was trying to convince me that sous-vide, a method of cooking vacuum-sealed foods in a vat of temperature-controlled water, would be worth the wait. I decided to look it up to see if it's legit: First discovered in the late 19th century, the sous-vide (pronounced "soo veed") really became popular in the mid 1970's when a restaurant in Roanne, France began preparing foie gras with the technique. Later in Virginia, the chief scientist of Cuisine Solutions conducted a series of experiments to determine the ideal temperatures at which to prepare different ...