Weaponry Fetish

I have always been fascinated with weapons. Guns, knives, swords, bows, bludgeons, staffs, anything with a blade, etc... I would never consider using one against anybody, but my inner child comes out when I see something with destructive capabilities (Naturally, I'm a fan of action movies.) If this isn't enough, My Dad, Brother and I all collect weapons of every type, so my inner child doesn't really ever stay "inner". In fact, as I look around my room, in plain sight, I can see six pocket knives, three sheath knives, a rusty machete, an Excalibur mini-replica, an ancient Chinese sword (also a replica), an empty(disarmed) grenade, and four BB guns (though three are air-soft).

Now, that inner child I was talking about is only a child as long as I'm not allowed to use said weapons... such as when there is a target in the backyard. Then, he becomes a warrior. Untrained and possibly lacking in necessary skill, but determined and a warrior nonetheless. (Ok, so maybe it's a little bit nerdy and narcissistic to call myself a warrior, but it's fun.)

I've just finished reading a book series that deals some with specific types of weaponry that are rarely brought up in modern society and media. Such as the guisarme (a spear-type weapon with a second blade curving perpendicular to the primary blade), the chakram (a circular projectile with blade all 360 degrees around the outside), and I'm pretty sure the Kanabo was in there somewhere.
Side Note: The book was OK, but was a little too mushy-talk-too-much-about-feelings for my taste. Plus it provoked no thought whatsoever, only action and story.

But weapons, however destructive (albeit incredibly amusing) can teach valuable lessons, which leads me to this next book that I've just started. One that I will mention and possibly quote more than once in later posts. It is called the Book of Five Rings, written in 1645 by Miyamoto Musashi. It is about battle strategy and the life of a Samurai warrior. He presents vast amounts of wisdom and life lessons through his "Way" of battle and living. ex. The way of the architect is someone who plans everything they do with "a true measure" and then carries it out. He then relates it to a military commander who goes into battle with a plan and executes it with perfection and success. One thing he writes that I thought was interesting, is when one fights, he should not use both hands for one sword, but rather a sword in each hand. It was interesting because although it was more strategy, it seemed he meant more for honor. If you died fighting with two swords, rather than one, at least you gave it everything and used absolutely all of your advantages. On that note, he suggests to the reader to train with two heavier swords (one in each hand) so that you can use normal swords easier during battle.

But for those who take the time to pay attention, you can learn a lot about yourself when you use weapons. Whether with the Bow and arrow or Sword, or Gun. When I am preparing to shoot bow and arrow, I think about technique and what's the best way to aim, etc... However, when I pull the string back, whatever plan I had goes out the window, and instinct kicks in. I don't actually think about what I'm doing, I just do it. The same goes with sword fighting (Usually with sticks, or Nerf's ingenious foam sword) There's no conscious strategy, just doing: dodge, slice, vertical block, sidestep, make your way around your opponent so the sun isn't in your eyes. What this tells me is that I am a person who, often times, I actually have somewhat of a plan, but most of the time, when it comes down to it, I go with instinct.

The only problem is, my instinct doesn't know how to write closing articles...
Amen?

iThink

Muse, Brood, Contemplate, Ponder, Analyze, Cerebrate, Cogitate, Ruminate, Meditate, Speculte, Reflect, Study, Stew, and last but not least "Put the ol' gears to use."

Thinking is something that most people do, some (and I can't name names) don't, and few act upon. That's why I love reading and writing blogs, people write out their thoughts, and I think it's fun to see what those are. I like to think about stuff, but I do have to be careful about what I let people know about. The stuff that I think is more interesting, I write down, because I don't remember all of my thoughts. But here's a few things that I did remember/write down that also are not embarrassing or offensive.

1. What if the color blue to me, is what I would consider pink to you?
2. What if this was a very minor side effect of eye color?
3. What if the elements could think?
4. What would they think?
5. How boring would it be to have that sort of existence?
6. What makes bones, trees, etc... fossilize?
7. If someone lived to be old enough, would/could they fossilize?
8. Why do our bodies need sleep? (Other than just to give us rest, more on a molecular level)
9. If our cells die and regenerate, how many have I gone through in my life?
10. If sound and light both travel in waves, how does smell travel?
11. How do our noses work to sense smells?
12. How do our brains work? (I know, something about electrical signals and each side of the brain works differently, bla bla bla. I mean thoughts and memories.)
13. If we supposedly use only about 10% of our brain or something like that, when/how do we get to use the other 90% of it?
14. What will we be capable of with that other 90%?

Anyway, I'd better stop now, I meant to stop at 10. But the last one made me wonder a little bit more. These are things where I don't have "The Answer" so if you do, feel free to share.

...I wonder how they make the "ship in a bottle"...