An Analogy of Rain

There’s something about driving in the rain.  I’m not sure what it is, maybe its just the grey of the sky, or the memories that flood in, but the wipers flick at a certain beat, and time seems like a vague concept.

I’ve lived a life that I cannot sometimes comprehend.  The way the moonlight shines through the trees, creating shadows at night fills me with a warmth I never expect.  A cold night wind takes that feeling away every time, but it WAS there, I FELT it.

Emerald Refection of the Future

There’s nothing quite like fumbling around with an online store front.  It can be a bit frustrating, but once you get the hang of it, it can just be a bit time consuming.  But in the end, its always worth it to have product out there for sale.

Ever since I got my very first camera, I’ve always wanted to use it for something.  For years I lived in one of the most beautiful places in the entire world, and I used the time there to learn to take some truly spectacular shots of nature.  Sunsets, flowers, and landscapes.  Every great now and then I’d get a girlfriend who’d stand in front of the camera, or a friend that would go hand out and bring along kids.

Artistic Work

I have never written so much in my entire life.  I can easily compare it all to my early adulthood, when I was writing 8 hours a day.  I spend so much time in front of the computer now, its crazy.  And I have nothing but a backlog of work.

Thing is, its not just the writing, it’s the photography, the blog’s promotion, the working with Lisa on her newest novel, brainstorming.  I’m completely shocked at how much there is to do now that I have absolutely nothing to do.

(poem) - Passing the Time Away

There is nothing
Like passing the time away

Reading books
Enjoying the hooks
Writing a novel
Can’t be that trivial

Singing a song
Under the rain
Can’t be wrong
Using the brain

Video game are a challenge
If you take the plunge
Experiencing a story
Told through allegory

There is nothing
Like passing the time away

Poetry and rhyming
Are much like breathing
You just start doing it
And never ever quit

Fame and fortune
May never arrive
But I live my life fun
This is for what I strive

Art flows from my fingers
Onto many, many papers
Words forming thoughts
Keeping my wit very taut

There is nothing
Like passing the time away

Jobless
But not homeless
I work for a bright future
Based on our love for each other

Nothing will keep us apart
The beauty of love brought us together
Every day we create amazing art
All the while, ignoring the weather

The climate of the entire world
Is trying to make our life unfurl
We will make it through this
For, together, we have nothing but time to pass

Fact is
There is nothing
Like passing the time away.

--Dan

--Want more Poetry?  Check out my Poetry Collection Page!

Rivers of Inspiration in our Home

There’s something rather insane about living in this house.  Mainly...its the people in it.  Everyone in this house is a artist of some sort.  It makes the conversations interesting, with never a dull moment to be had anywhere....

One of the main things that attracted me to Lisa was her being a published author.  Not a self-published mind you, a real published author.  You can see her books over on the right hand column.  They are quite imaginative, and an interesting read.

Lisa's Turning me Back into a Nerd

As I walk down the street now-a-days, something happens that hasn’t happened to me since the 90s.  People stop and tell me how cool my shirt is, ask me where I got my shirt, or go about telling me a memory sparked by the shirt.

Fact is, back in high school, I wore nerdy shirts.  From Wolverine to the house crests from the A Game of Thrones novels, I enjoyed sporting the shirts based in the books and comic books I read.  I would always sport some kind of shirt that meant something to me.  The last one I bought, before meeting Lisa, was from Princess Mononoke, a wonderful anime movie.

(poem) - Art is Not Defined as Being a Confusing Mess

It rained once
Inside my mind
Where all the dry stuff waits
Yet the humidity declined

It was an odd time
To be alive
When the boys there
Tried to strive

I don’t like random
With no conjunction
It makes no sense
Has no function

I’ll end the movie
Before it begins
So I won’t have to deal
With puzzling at the end.

Why do people try
To be all artsy fartsy
With out any real
Substance to their story?

Normally I like
A really good art flick
But I do not want to be told
How to feel by some prick

Beautiful movies
Are true experiences
They are so rare to find
As they have to jump over so many fences

But some movies
Just get put out
Because people don’t understand
What its really about

And they think
“It must be art!”
When its really just
Not very smart....

But in the end
I completely digress
I must bet back to art
And looking at a lioness


For pain supercedes
The rainbow’s true love
Ravens come out of the sky
From the clouds above

And rain their love
Down upon the ocean
Where rocks float
Among the graves of the lemon.

--Dan

--Want more Poetry?  Check out my Poetry Collection Page!

Decadent Artistry

There are few things in this world as decadent and wonderful as chocolate.  I truly feel sorry for those that don’t like the stuff, because they are truly missing out.  Throughout my life, I’ve eaten quite a bit of chocolate.  I’ve even taken a class on how to eat chocolate with wine.

Being an amateur chef, I find flavors to be one of the greatest things about being human.  You can do so much with flavors and taste and spices...yeah, I can go on and on.  But when you find places that does such thing with chocolate, you know you’ve found an amazing place.

Emerald Reflection Photography, Open for Business

Most who know me, know I truly taking photos.  For those that were around for the wedding, they got to see me get my wedding present, and be the victim of it.  My knew Nikon D5200 is an amazing piece of technology, that I truly enjoy.

Me and My D5200
in a mirror.

When Lisa started talking about getting it for me for my wedding present, we sat down and really looked at what we both wanted me to have.  Lisa looked over my photos, listened to my vision, and made a big decision.

And that vision finally culminated in us making Emerald Reflection Photography.  Our missions is to run a photography business that will cater to those that need portraits, events, or special photos taking in an artistic and professional way.  This also includes all photo treatments I c
an achieve with Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom.  I also plan to offer interesting photo-manipulations in some packages.

Where Does Art Reside?

There is something beautiful about art, and something artistic about beauty.  I’ve always believed the two go hand in hand, yet I do know there are forms of art that shun beauty, yet have a beauty all their own.  I’m sure there’s tons of quotes putting the two together in some lyrical fashion, but, in the end, I feel that quotes do either that much good when they are combined.

On the wall, above my desk is a print of a painting.  Its called Dangerous Deception by L. Daniels.  It is probably the most beautiful portrayal of a Bengal Tiger I have ever seen.  I fully believe the Bengal is the second most beautiful creature that lives.  They are complete poetry in motion.

This Journey

What a journey.  Soon I shall pass the 1000 page view mark, and I couldn’t be more happy.  I know many people surpass this mark much faster than I have, I’m still very proud.  How could I not be?

Our blog here is definitely a little labor of love, and I’ve had so much fun doing it.  With The Ballad of the Emerald Bard up and running on Saturdays, I’ve become even more proud.  Just to know people are stopping by and enjoying what they read, and then coming back later for more is a true honor.

(poem) To Live.

When shame is the name of the game
Then how do you tell, what it is they sell?

It always seems as if people’s dreams
Do nothing but oppress instead of impress

This is a sad way to be, because you can never be free
From humanity itself, because there is no elf

Which is sad for me, because I love fantasy
To live in another world, found in books unfurled

But no, there is only this world I know
So the best way to deal, it to simply be real

And simply tell all the haters to go to hell
And live life the best you can, be you woman or man

Live with morals close to your heart....
Because truly Living, is an Art.

--Dan

--Want more Poetry?  Check out my Poetry Collection Page!

Science Fiction Fan

I enjoy science fiction.  I really don’t understand why some people can’t.  Einstein said that the “true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.”  To me that proclaims that what human’s can dream up, is close to what human’s have achieved.  It keeps us looking to a future that might be, and inspiring those who have the knowledge to put it all together.

Even if some of it is escapism, such as John Carter, it still has some significance.  The ability to sit back and enjoy someone else’s vision has such interesting artistic merit.  Star Trek was a great place to have people think about what the most promising theories now could look like in the future.