Category: Creative

Photography: As done by an Amateur

“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” – Harriet Tubman

So far, the reception to my photography has been wonderful. I go out, take photos, and then share them. As far as content goes, photography has been a blast and affords me a post where I can sit back and simply chat.

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So these photos were actually taken early August. Instead of the most obvious photos, I opted to wander and try and notice the little things; subjects that you wouldn’t think make great photos.

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Of course, my favorite subject is pathways and I really don’t think people appreciate them nearly enough. It’s fascinating to find walking trails and realize that most, naturally form over time, as one individual pushes forward and others follow. I often wonder why, when wandering through the woods, some areas have trails while others do not.

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There is something beyond peaceful about forests. In this shot, it was later in the day. As you can tell, the lighting is intense and gorgeous for a walk. I might have to start playing around with taking photos at different times throughout the day and seeing what my favorite hour for taking photos is.

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I never thought much of dandelions until I had a proper camera in hand. A weed to some, an object of beauty to others. While not the most interesting shot, I thought it was still worth adding.

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As you might’ve noticed, there is a lot more variety in this post. However, eventually I will need to venture further and plan photography trips to capture the photos I want; retreading the same ground only gets you so far.

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And that’s it! Until next time!

Funds to send Mike to Mars

I love producing content. As I grow as an individual, so does my content. What was once acceptable now isn’t. As such, more time is spent working on each post. I do all edits, research, and content creation. Whether it’s taking photos for a post one day to writing poetry the next, my blog is keeping me busy. Donations are appreciated and are used to invest in creative pursuits whether that be writing classes, art lessons, and anything in-between.

$1.00

Distant Dreams, I know not where: A short poem by Mike Cole

Distant dreams, I know not where

Shadows crept, turning meadows grey

Day faded and night came.

 

He walked, searching, calling and echoes cried back

The darkness hungered and enjoyed the snack.

 

Fragmented memories, stitched together.

A tapestry, constantly unwoven and rewoven,

yet never complete

 

He closed his eyes and remembered.

The sun beat on his face and warmth filled the air.

Whatever darkness, he dared not care.

 

And so he stitched his tapestry with gold,

remembering his tale was yet to be told.

Funds to send Mike to Mars

I love producing content. As I grow as an individual, so does my content. What was once acceptable now isn’t. As such, more time is spent working on each post. I do all edits, research, and content creation. Whether it’s taking photos for a post one day to writing poetry the next, my blog is keeping me busy. Donations are appreciated and are used to invest in creative pursuits whether that be writing classes, art lessons, and anything in-between.

$1.00

New Horizon: a short story by Mike Cole

He woke to the sound of sirens. Red flashing lights. How long had he been out? He checked his forehead, and felt the crusted blood in his finger tips. The airlock had sealed and he was alone.

The New Horizon was humanity’s last hope. The greatest minds Earth had to offer came together in one last ditch effort to save the planet. And they failed. Generations of neglect left the world barren and the burden was too much for one generation to bear. The station was a prototype terraformer and the team had been there about a month. The station had launched right before the collapse of the Western Union and while the East,  Midwest, and Southern Unions still held, he knew not for how long.

He checked the blinking screen. Sector A1 had been ejected due to a breach in quarantine. Sector B2 was damaged but still intact. Sectors D4 and E5 appeared to be operational. He tried to remember where he was. What was his name? He tried to concentrate; his vision began to blur and he stumbled a little. How hard had he hit his head? Where were the others? And with those thoughts swirling his head, his vision began to darken and he hit the ground once again with a thump.

When he was a child, he was born into a world where he was  unwanted and what resources were left, he would never own. The population had reached 20 billion and had plateaued. Hundreds of thousands were dying every day due to starvation and poor living conditions; even the rich were beginning to suffer. First, there was the orbital drilling. What was once excitement turned to disdain. Meteoroids were mined initially and the materials harvested were used to create vertical farms and diverse bio-domes with the richest nutrients. Then came the moon mining. Once scientists realized they could refine the moon soil to accelerate plant growth, they without hesitation began to do so.

“Henry?”

*static*

“Henry, do you copy?”

*bzzz* *bzzz*

“The others, they didn’t make it. Fred and Charlie were in sector A1 when the quarantine protocol was enacted. They didn’t even have time to react.”

“Laurie was killed when life support blew up. I knew it was a bad idea to build the station so Damn close to the moon!”

*warning, life support is offline. Oxygen reserves at 68%. Warning, please proceed to the shuttle bay.*

Henry drifted in and out of consciousness.

As sea levels continued to rise, so did conflict. War broke out over the dying crops in what came to be known as the ten year war. Europe was all but gone and the United States had been repaved with the collapse of the Federal Government. New Horizon, what a joke. After the dust settled, those who survived only then thought it necessary to work together. A mission to save the world yet there was no world left to save…

*warning, oxygen reserves at 27%*

Shit, how long have I been out? It was getting warm and Henry could feel the sweat trickle down his face. He checked the temperature gauge. 30 Degrees Celsius. In the distance, an explosion. Going to the window, he sees what looks to be the shuttle bay, or at least, what was. Shit. The hull begins to creak and Henry looks up just as a metal comes to greet him squarely on the top of his head.

*warning, 10 kilometers to impact*

Yes, that’s right, I have finally gotten around to writing another short story. The exciting part is, unlike the others, this story is to be continued. I will not go into spoilers and will have more in the coming months. Next week will be about gaming and all viewers are welcome. And the week after will be an article about photography with photos I took during the 4th of July. Hope you enjoyed the content and feel free to comment below!

Funds to send Mike to Mars

I love producing content. As I grow as an individual, so does my content. What was once acceptable now isn’t. As such, more time is spent working on each post. I do all edits, research, and content creation. Whether it’s taking photos for a post one day to writing poetry the next, my blog is keeping me busy. Donations are appreciated and are used to invest in creative pursuits whether that be writing classes, art lessons, and anything in-between.

$1.00

A thought experiment: Reaching into the void

So I had this idea late at night, went to bed, and still thought it was a great idea when I woke up. Does that make it a great idea? Not at all, but let’s give it a try. So for the last few months I’ve wrote quite a bit but believe it or not, many of my posts have not seen the light of day. So instead of simply discarding the drafts into the trash, I wanted to make a post instead. I took the best lines from each and simply posted them. A few snips here and there and we have a glimpse into my mysterious mind. This is very much what you make of it. The quotes are posted in reverse chronological order so if you want this to be a story, it can. Read it bottom-up or top-down. Or do you find it to be more poetry than story? Really, it’s up to you to decide. I personally am very pleased with how this turned out. so without further ado, enjoy.

As I said earlier, my last week has been nothing but Netflix and chilling. Usually at this point cabin fever starts to set in and the sane start to become insane.  People get guilt tripped into thinking they’re wasting their time. While some experiences may be a waste of time, it all comes down to perspective and how we draw information.

So I’ve been doing some soul searching for the last few months. A lot of big questions with few answers. This idea of knowing who we are, who we will be.

Time. Once gone, it cannot be replaced. No amount of money in the world will buy you more time, another day on this planet. From the day we are born till the day we die we are racing against time.

This is a post about fear, vulnerability, and the future. I am currently unemployed, alone, and still searching for happiness. Happiness can come from fulfilling work, meaningful relationships or any reason in-between.

When I was growing up, the portable cellphone was a novelty and house phones were all too common. That was 1993. Remember floppy disks, then the Walkman, then Zune? The birth of CD’s, the internet as a source of entertainment? Hard to believe that’s all been within the two decades that I’ve been alive.

So I’ve been stumped about a topic for the last week. I keep writing drafts and then shelving those ideas to continue my Netflix spree. I have been home for the last two weeks and forget that my brother and I are yin and yang.

For most of my life it has felt as though something has been missing and every once in a while I’ll get a taste, a flutter of the heart and then an emptiness as the moment passes.

I was terrified of almost everything. Perhaps most so, my future. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what we fear and in the end, how much of a relief it is to face them. I spent a lifetime running from my fears. The one emotion I haven’t been able to conquer is love. Relationships are messy, complicated, and to be honest, don’t seem to be worth the hassle. People are terrified. Do people love because they care or because they are afraid of dying alone?

It’s time to talk about the voice inside the back of our head. The one that leaves words unsaid and gives doubt a field day. Yes, I’m talking about ourselves! As the old adage goes, we are our own worst enemies. We can spend years perfecting who we are only to have our little voice tell us our work isn’t good enough.

Life is made up of little moments and it is in these little moments that we hold our future.

As much as I like to think of myself as a man who has freed himself of his problems, that I have not. For some reason, when life is good, I simply can’t appreciate it. This year I learned to live in the present moment, to appreciate life as it comes. I wanted to be better, so I worked on being vulnerable.

A man of two worlds; the old and the new.

If you like what I write, feel free to share with your friends. And please let me know what you think! The last few months I’ve been playing around with lots of different ideas and so far the reception has been overwhelmingly positive! If you have an idea, comment! And who knows, I might write a post about it. As always, thanks for reading!