The Portrait of Zool

(Conversion Confusion, this is actually the second post in this thread) Another excellent poem Wyv. I am impressed. ~Zool~ Ancient, The Pen is Mightier than the Sword. Bard of Terra, Patron Saint of Aspiring Bards. Master of Magic and Mayhem, The Moonlit Realm Elder than dirt, more foolish than a jester, able to trip over the smallest logic in a single step. It's... Oh, you know.

Thanks for letting me know where you're coming from Wyv. I appreciate that. ~Zool~ Ancient, The Pen is Mightier than the Sword. Bard of Terra, Patron Saint of Aspiring Bards. Master of Magic and Mayhem, The Moonlit Realm Elder than dirt, more foolish than a jester, able to trip over the smallest logic in a single step. It's... Oh, you know.

Perhaps Xelnega, you should first consider if you will accept us. We have unwittingly already upset you once, and that is completely not our intent. We would like to feel that by your application you would be willing to believe in us, that we are YOUR compatriots and supporters, just as much as we are to accept you as ours by your acceptance into the Pen. If you have already thought this over, then GREAT! We are very happy to see your app. But if you have any doubt, do take a lil time to think it over and get that straight in your mind. Thanks for the second lyrics/poem, that's the kind of comeback we like to see! ~Zool~ Ancient, The Pen is Mightier than the Sword. Bard of Terra, Patron Saint of Aspiring Bards. Master of Magic and Mayhem, The Moonlit Realm Elder than dirt, more foolish than a jester, able to trip over the smallest logic in a single step. It's... Oh, you know.

Humanism a load of crap??? Yah, power to the people there Wyv. ~Zool~ Ancient, The Pen is Mightier than the Sword. Bard of Terra, Patron Saint of Aspiring Bards. Master of Magic and Mayhem, The Moonlit Realm Elder than dirt, more foolish than a jester, able to trip over the smallest logic in a single step. It's... Oh, you know.

Don't forget Alfred North Whitehead - I love his ideas, though his language is of necessity rather abstract. Yeah, thinking about it, my guess is the draw of 'motorcycle' is simply the cool name. I mean, the title implies that somebody actually got something useful out of all that eastern philosophy stuff. It's like, motorcycles are cool, Zen is cool, and fixing stuff yourself is cool - and then there's a whole book about it - hard physical evidence that all this stuff actually has something to do with each other! I did enjoy "Zen in the Art of Archery". It was a true western account of one man's growth through eastern means, which I guess is sort of what 'motorcycle' does, but much more succinctly - plus I love the part in the book where the master splits his arrow - in the dark! There's nowhere in 'motorcycle' where some ancient japanese sage rebuilds a motorcycle - not even in the light. I do remember one deep discussion about a fender. ;p

LOL! Q doesn't even recognize me in #thepen room... Does this mean I should quit? Also, I'm with X on the whole 10% of the brain thing, in fact his whole post. Using electroshock is like trying to hit a pot hole in the road to knock your wheels INTO alignment. Why does humanity find care so abhorrant? Some day we will start to INVEST in societies wreckage, not simply search for a convenient way to keep them out of sight. Some day. I will have to check out the sequel to 'motorcycle' Reverie - that might be interesting. ~Zool~ Ancient, The Pen is Mightier than the Sword. Bard of Terra, Patron Saint of Aspiring Bards. Master of Magic and Mayhem, The Moonlit Realm Elder than dirt, more foolish than a jester, able to trip over the smallest logic in a single step. It's... Oh, you know. Edited by: Zool47 at: 7/8/02 5:12:57 am

I read 'motorcycle maintenace' many years ago. Sorry, but I was bored to tears. A better one might be Pema Chodron's "When Things Fall Apart" or "The Prophet" by Kahlil Gibran. I have been rather mystified why 'motorcycle' has continued to sell all these years. It must just be me - the public has spoken. ~Zool~ Ancient, The Pen is Mightier than the Sword. Bard of Terra, Patron Saint of Aspiring Bards. Master of Magic and Mayhem, The Moonlit Realm Elder than dirt, more foolish than a jester, able to trip over the smallest logic in a single step. It's... Oh, you know.

How is your name pronounced?

Actually, it's so rich in stream of consciousness, if read with a discerning eye it could be quite inspirational. I enjoy reading things like this.

So... Where's the coherancy?? ~Zool~ Ancient, The Pen is Mightier than the Sword. Bard of Terra, Patron Saint of Aspiring Bards. Master of Magic and Mayhem, The Moonlit Realm Elder than dirt, more foolish than a jester, able to trip over the smallest logic in a single step. It's... Oh, you know.

Acknowledging living a lie for someone else is a worthy rant. ~Zool~ Ancient, The Pen is Mightier than the Sword. Bard of Terra, Patron Saint of Aspiring Bards. Elder than dirt, more foolish than a jester, able to trip over the smallest logic in a single step. It's... Oh, you know.

Did you go by 'Jojo' in the days of Archmage? If so - remember me? ~Zool~ Ancient, The Pen is Mightier than the Sword. Bard of Terra, Patron Saint of Aspiring Bards. Elder than dirt, more foolish than a jester, able to trip over the smallest logic in a single step. It's... Oh, you know.

I think X it makes you think of classic mythology because of the Hubris displayed in the last stanza. It does me. To me the poem is really about nothing more than disillusionment, and more illusion. It is a tantrum of heroic proportions. Disillusionment, from the first stanza, where he looks up in the sky and 'reminsces' of the valor and splendor he once found there. The sky is the sky, and what could have changed since 'those days long past', except the observer? He once believed in something, and now it is gone, and so the subject feels, irrecoverably, in his heart. Then, like a child who has been shown his imaginary friend doesn't exist, he answers groundlessness with spite. The irony is, though he overtly states his desire for valor and splendor, he manifests disgust and violence at the revelation of the 'skies' as they really are. Further, he fights in 'renewed' disgust. Has he felt the gods were against him always? The poem does not elaborate on that, only the tenuousness of our illusions, and the anger with which we defend them even after they are gone.

That's fantastic! The wooly rappin' Wyv rolls another frenetic love poetic! I like your style. ~Zool~ Ancient, The Pen is Mightier than the Sword. Bard of Terra, Patron Saint of Aspiring Bards. Elder than dirt, more foolish than a jester, able to trip over the smallest logic in a single step. It's... Oh, you know.

*chuckle*

Score card? What an odd choice of words. Perhaps a summer project would be to edit this into a novel. It would sell. ~Zool~ Ancient, The Pen is Mightier than the Sword. Bard of Terra, Patron Saint of Aspiring Bards. Elder than dirt, more foolish than a jester, able to trip over the smallest logic in a single step. It's... Oh, you know.

Finely wrought sadness Frustration, dead wood, dull eyes A right of passage ~Zool~ Ancient, The Pen is Mightier than the Sword. Bard of Terra, Patron Saint of Aspiring Bards. Elder than dirt, more foolish than a jester, able to trip over the smallest logic in a single step. It's... Oh, you know.

Zool observed the growing mana storm and felt the wall he is mounted on shudder at the forces whirling into the room, funneling into the Dreamer. He felt the snapping connections light one by one in rapid succession along the ley lines woven by the god slayers ancient magicks, and something else... Though trapped in a dimensional twilight, this also gave Zool a sensitivity to certain underlaying forces that are ordinarily too subtle to be detected. These are the basic forces that underlay the very existance of space and time, from which three dimensionality springs, which has always been the source of Zool's magic while trapped in his portrait. Right now, with the return of the Dreamer, Zool was feeling some very odd currents. As the whirling forces met their draw and were consumed Zool felt something else he hadn't felt in a while. The rubber chicken stirred from his resting place in his black leather jacket and slowly peeked around his lapel down to the room below and the maelstrom of forces. Yes, rubber chicken felt it too. As the Dreamer stalked out, Zool looked around at the many eyes in the room, of those who had spoken and those who had not, and he smiled. All those forces now collected, with the addition of the Dreamers presence and his restored tapestry of power, was forming into an alchemy the likes of which Zool had not seen in a long time. He did not know what was coming, but he felt the storm too. He felt it bearing down on the Pen like a speeding freight train - and they were all standing right on the tracks. ~Zool~ Ancient, The Pen is Mightier than the Sword. Bard of Terra, Patron Saint of Aspiring Bards. Elder than dirt, more foolish than a jester, able to trip over the smallest logic in a single step. It's... Oh, you know.

Then Zool took on a thoughtful look, and said, "There has been much joy here at the Pen, and lately, tragedy." Looking again at the Dreamer he said solemnly, "I hope your travails have been less... final."

In the shadows above the fireplace the tall portrait's painted eyes moved to look toward the bar, then blinked. He surveyed the newly returned Dreamer for a moment before slowly turning his visage to face him. The illusion was complete, showing correct two dimensional perspective no matter where in the room one was standing to look at him. The painted face formed into a cold ironic smile, and spoke. "Promises? Heh. Promises are never in short supply, and thus are generally worthless. If you mean fulfilling the promise of a stories beginning, that would be sad indeed, for your story has been long in telling here at the Pen, and I feel there is still plenty of 'promise' to go." Then the portrait gave a wink, and smiled broadly, which had the effect of lighting the picture up considerably. "Zadown!" he said, with genuine warmth in his face and his voice. "How are ye man?! It is good to see you. Barkeep, put that Archangel blood on my tab." Zool reached his hand over to the edge of his portrait, so that it appeared to go behind the ornate gilt frame, and when he drew his hand back into the picture it held a huge frosty crystal stein filled with a dark ruby beer, a frothy head just spilling over the top. He held it up in salute, addressing the room. "To the return of the Dreamer. May he stay a while, and find some respite from his troubles in our halls and in our company!" After the cheers and other toasts have died down he drinks deeply, draining half of the massive stein in one long drink. "So what has been happening?" repeats Zool of Zadown's question. "Ah, there are several good stories running now, I'm sure you will see them. Our membership has grown a bit, we are gaining respect as a place to bring a quill and share a story or two. I myself have been fairly preoocupied, but I am hoping to do a thing or two... We shall see." And with that Zool gave another wink, and lifting the stein to his lips took another drink. ~Zool~ Ancient, The Pen is Mightier than the Sword. Bard of Terra, Patron Saint of Aspiring Bards. Elder than dirt, more foolish than a jester, able to trip over the smallest logic in a single step. It's... Oh, you know.

That's okay FW, I won't charge you this time. ~Zool~ Ancient, The Pen is Mightier than the Sword. Bard of Terra, Patron Saint of Aspiring Bards. Elder than dirt, more foolish than a jester, able to trip over the smallest logic in a single step. It's... Oh, you know.

Cool! Being in the subject line, according to the fine print in our contract, we can take the extra letter and put it in out letter bank for future drafts. Now, where is that administrator? Thanks Wyv, I didn't even see that! Sometimes I think your reputation of greed and self-centeredness is just another nasty rumor. But then again... ;p ~Zool~ Ancient, The Pen is Mightier than the Sword. Bard of Terra, Patron Saint of Aspiring Bards. Elder than dirt, more foolish than a jester, able to trip over the smallest logic in a single step. It's... Oh, you know.

So that's how you say your name! And to think all this time I've been pronouncing it 'Fred'. Hey! You ARE one sexy man! *Shouts* Orlan, you got competition! Of course, Orlan is 'sexy sexy', while you are just 'sexy'. Still... *Zool just stands and stares in amazement at the manliness before him.* By the way, have you seen my thing? It's got a lot of mileage, but it still has plenty of pep! Here, take a look... *Zool produces a picture of a battered multicolored volkswagon.* Boom-tish! ;p ~Zool~ Ancient, The Pen is Mightier than the Sword. Bard of Terra, Patron Saint of Aspiring Bards. Elder than dirt, more foolish than a jester, able to trip over the smallest logic in a single step. It's... Oh, you know.

Actually if he gave us all the letters, he told us he'd have to start charging more for his 'services', so we've agreed to do without. ~Zool~ Ancient, The Pen is Mightier than the Sword. Bard of Terra, Patron Saint of Aspiring Bards. Elder than dirt, more foolish than a jester, able to trip over the smallest logic in a single step. It's... Oh, you know.

That is great! True storytelling in the spirit of the Iliad or other poetic stories. I've tried to do this and I know how difficult it is to pull off. That is quite a talent you have there. ~Zool~ Ancient, The Pen is Mightier than the Sword. Bard of Terra, Patron Saint of Aspiring Bards. Elder than dirt, more foolish than a jester, able to trip over the smallest logic in a single step. It's... Oh, you know.