The Crow (A Tribute to The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe)

Once during a late-night hour, I lounged austere and sour
Mulling over a musical piece of unusual score
And when my eyes did close, I heard a cry of interpose
At which I arose, and looked to the offending door
Mused I then, “This strange noise I must explore.
This will be all, and nothing more.”

With pertinence do I recall, the walk through the silent hall
The many dwindling candles spread throughout the room
A vivid song of pearl did in my mind a-swirl
As a mask for my lost girl; my dear long lost Lenore!
The beauty who all humanity did adore
She who had departed, forevermore.

The door's handle I did reach, but stay! I heard a screech
Muffled through the door's ancient oak
And at this I was certain, that at pulling the curtain
A horrendous beast would surely show—
So I looked: but it was only a crow.
A dim-witted bird, and nothing more.

So I opened the ingress to confront the distress
But before my astonished eyes did lie
The crazy-winged floppings amidst the many bird droppings
And sprinkling feathers ‘round: wherefore
I lurched and sneezed with quite a roar!
Chaos, chaos, all the more!

Before I understood this mess, the crow flew in (with no finesse)
All sprawling and sideways it did impend
And when it came a-landing, I just stood there standing
“Most surely this has happened before;
Possibly in some sort of old folklore?
“Yes, a forgotten poem, and nothing more.”

There it perched on the bust, of some Greek-god I trust
Cocking its head in a doleful manner.
It looked grossly dull upon that decorated skull
And I waited for it to say a word or four
But standing there became quite a bore
Yet I stayed-just to make sure!

I watched as my soul grew quiet, I wanted it to talk like parrot.
For I know I missed a companion
Which got me thinking, and led my heart to sinking
On the figure of my lost damsel Lenore!
The one who was christened Lenore!
Reminiscing thus, and nothing more.

Amidst my unruly thought, I heard! I noticed! I caught!
A sound from the awkward bird of ebony
Intelligible at best, but still I obsessed!
“You have completed the chore!
Now just a word or two – I implore!”
A noise it made, but nothing more.

In place of wanted talk, it merely let out a squawk.
Awhile my malice was slowly building
“Speak! You dumb bird! I thought I heard
A word emit from your beak for sure!
I won’t give up: this means war!
“A permanent battle forevermore!”

At this the crow flinched, and so stiffly it clinched
That the bust which it sat cracked right to the ground.
With the bird in the air, and my gaze with its stare
We met eye-to-eye: that crow and I bore
The burden of unadulterated, painful eyesore
A pathetic staring contest, and nothing more.

As I grabbed a bat, I swung and I swat
I swirled and twirled and mingled and mired
Until the bird I did hit, and with its wing split
It flew out the window; right into the snow
So I closed the shades as I foreswore
To teach that crow nevermore!

Zoodle's 1 year Anniversary

Has it been one year already? Well, considering exactly 365 days have passed since the blog's debut post, I guess that would make today its first year anniversary. I think now would be a good time to reflect on Zoodle's progress thus far...

1. We've managed to keep writing faithfully and not abandoning Zoodle altogether in the first place. It's an all-too-common tragedy that many-a-blog faces wherein an author becomes either too busy or lazy to write (or in this case, "zoodle"): we've managed to stay out of this rut! Let's hope it stays that way.

2. We've found our blog's color and themes that work and have stuck with them. Experimenting is always a good idea, but the switch from rainbow-colored letters in our logo to straight orange was definitely an improvement! Also the light green, orange and blue colors do well to give Zoodle its authentic edge.

3. We've added additional authors to write posts. Having five authors has made Zoodle all the more interesting and unique. I believe it's probably the most significant step this blog has taken to date. What's better than a person pursuing something thoughtfully? Several persons pursuing something thoughtfully!

4. The zoodle characters (creatures?) have given our blog a personality. Not only have they inspired the Resighk Man and The Incredible KayNein stories, but the zoodles have served as a vehicle for some of our posts of satire, and our innovation proclamation. How do you think Zoodle Inc. got started, anyway?

5. Zoodle has been read by a vast variety of audiences, from the indicative inquisitive individual, to the searching sheet-music specimen. An article from this blog has even been read aloud in a high school classroom. Many of these recipients have even contacted us!

Hmm. So it seems this humble blog-the project that started a year ago-has turned out to be adequately decent. Of course it has many more roads to travel before it becomes amazing, but as long as we stay true to the generic theme of Zoodle, and follow the points of the innovation proclamation, perhaps one day this blog will be extraordinary!!

I guess you could say this is the first post of Zoodle's second generation. Wouldn't it be cool if I linked an annual post once every year to the year prior? Well, I guess we'll see what happens next year. For now, we wish you an upcoming Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year.

The ADVENTURES of Resighk Man! #33

Having read Resighk Man's proposal to make the world a greener place, I'm sure you'll all excited to read his first big adventure.

There was a lazy rustling in the wind in the sleepy town of Bloomsbury, Massachusetts one boring summer afternoon. As Lazy Billy rose from his comfy couch, he heard his stomach growling. Standing up, he slouched his way across his trash-ridden living room floor. There were piles of old pizza boxes, torn plastic bags and used aerosol cans. Upon opening his refrigerator (and hearing the corroded fridge door hinges groan) and reaching in past the ice cream, soda and firecrackers, and retrieved the coveted cream puffs.

Taking a handful from the family-size bag, he stuffed cream puffs into his mouth, letting some of the cream fly out at intermittent moments when he opened his mouth to yawn. Grabbing a nearby remote control and a random bag consisting of half of last night's popcorn, he turned on each of his TVs and flipped to his favorite shows: Happy Days, Leave it to Beaver, and Lazy Town.

All of a sudden he heard a loud crashing sound from outside. He rushed to the door (if you can call flopping rushing) and to his chagrin saw Fit Freddy on the pavement with a skinned knee beside a bowling ball with bits of asphalt stuck on it. Upon seeing the large dent in the side of his house, Lazy Billy screamed:
"What did you do?!"

"I'm sorry," replied Fit Freddy, "but it seems I have projected a bowling ball in the general direction of your house."

"And how did you come about doing so?" inquired Billy, with a sneer on his lip (and some cream).

"Well I was just planting some chrysanthemums in your garden when..."

"You were doing what?? Planting chrystalanthemums?"

"Chrysanthemums."

"Whatever! You know what I think about having a bit o' green in my garden!"

"I know...but your place seems so...environmentally unconscious."

"Well you might take a hint from the way I think about the environment!"

"Oh...I am not aware of this. What is your view of going green?"

"I think going green is just about as important as juggling a bowl of dog snot!" Billy bellowed. Poor Freddy was shocked as Billy continued, "And not only that, but as I see it, it's just as much of a time-waster as taking off each bristle on a toothbrush, dipping it in bleach, and replacing it! If the world was drowning in chicken noodle soup and green goers made a boat, I would sink! If a psychedelic folk song played "The root forms of Portuguese irregular verbs" and a book with that title was written by a pin-cushion manufacturer whose chairman had a dog who was featured in a "Go Green Daily" program, I would delete it off my iTunes!"

Freddy looked bewildered. "...I lost you at the noodle soup."

"Well whatever! You get the point. Now get off my property or I'll call the cops!"

"OK...fine," the Fit man consented. "Just understand that I'm going to do everything in my power to integrate green in your LIFE!" After subtly dropping another seed in Billy's garden, he was off in a jiffy.

"Heh. That'll teach him. But I'm still wondering how he got that skinned knee..." Lazy Billy snorted. But little did he know, Fit Freddy was truly intending to keep his word. Other than being the host of a show called "The Lazy E" (a show that tests the best green solutions - products and services - in real world situations.), he concealed a secret identity. After running in the street like Forest Gump, he stripped his coat and took to the sky. Fit Freddy is none other than green-going Resighk Man!!

TO BE CONTINUED...

For all of you interested in Fit Freddy's show "The Lazy E", here is quick excerpt of what's to come:

Why is Zoodle so much farther than the other blogs? The Innovation Proclamation #27

This is the most important part in creating a successful blog. We do our best to construct the most imaginative content possible. Sometimes, “zoodling” (meaning doodling in writing) sparks a fantastic idea, which leads to other incredible ideas, created a vicious cycle that encompasses a vast amount of imagination. This is the key to unlocking thoughtful pursuits.

Zoodle tries to appeal to all audiences. The means Zoodle is family friendly. The blog is squeaky clean of all profanity or explicit content of any kind. We boast both a somewhat mature, dignified perspective and also possess an explorative, youthful perspective as well. We also attempt to unearth good morals and humor in our short stories, when we can.

Surprising our readers with new, exciting content has them on the edge of their seat for what’s next. Who knows if we will critique a Starbucks drink, find a new way to protect the environment, or update you on the newest accomplishments in the Zoodle Factory. There are no limitations for what we post, except what we can’t put on a computer screen.

Need sheet music we commercialize? Require assistance finding a picture we mention? Appreciate a source link from our current event? We do our best to cite and direct our content’s sources so we don’t leave you wondering where we picked up that interesting story from. And if we happen to not provide a source, feel free to ask for one!

Although this blog is on a variety of topics, there is an unmistakable style to this blog. Style is one of the key features needed in having a blog stick out. With pleasing colors, consistent zoodle themes, and a simple layout, the Zoodle blog is like none-other. Having a cool header, sidebar for useful and interesting content and a footer for information and fun, the layout is both compact and extensive.

What a better way to show you care by going green. Protecting the environment is important to us, seeing as without trees we wouldn’t have paper or furniture or houses or picture frames or axe handles or anything like that. Also, since going green is predominantly hip, we have a foot hold on popular culture’s interests, thus attracting vast audiences. Since we feel this way, Resighk Man-the hero in green-has agreed to heavily endorse this blog. With this Repsycolution in place, blog and man will try and make the world a healthier, greener place.

These 6 unique features are, without a doubt, the reason for our blog’s success. Engaging these endeavors has resulted in international popularity from around the world, global acknowledgment from on the planet, and intrigue from the internet on the whole world wide web. Redundancy invokes repetition.

--

This ends the Zoodle Inc. press conference. Thank you for listening. Stay tuned for more!

Do Zoodles Really Care About the Environment? #22

I've gotten so many questions as to whether or not zoodles really care about the environment. I decided to settle this controversy RIGHT away. OF COURSE they do! Well...mainly the green zoodles, anyway.
If you couldn't conclude that in a particular prior post, the green zoodles want EVERYONE to know they go green. Whether it means placing a hand on a wood-cutters shoulder to kindly remind them to cease their tree-killing, or lobbing a hand-grenade at a kitty who might tear the shrubbery on the sidewalk. They encourage you to do the same.
They also hope to start a Repsycolution (REE-SI-COH-LOO-SHON)! This means a recycling, psycho revolution! EVERY time you want to throw something in the trash, STOP and think. Is it recyclable in some way? Maybe that rotten apple still has that paper sticker on it. RECYCLABLE! Do you know how many trees you could save by recycling one thing every day? Probably a WHOLE FOREST!

But who can remind us? Who can keep us all in line? Why none other than...
Resighk Man!!! Dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dunnnnnnn-dunnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn! He's out to make the world a greener place. He heavily endorses recycling, and warns all to refrain from eating yellow snow. He also advises, "By the time you finish reading this sentence, you have used up who knows HOW much electricity powering your computer. Shut your computer off this instant or switch to fuel-efficient computers."

Although all of this is fantastic, one can't help but wonder if there are maybe one or two literary devices used here. What are so special about those fuel-efficient cars, anyway? I'm glad the green-goers can at least maintain consistency in their views. Go green zoodles! YEAWW!

...And School Starts Again. Invigorating. #19

Well isn't that just riveting. How captivating. How uncontrollably stimulating.

School.

I've just started again and I'm having no problem making the transition from vacation to school. No sirree. Hmm...I wonder how I'll do on Wednesday's test.

(Now you must consider whether or not my previous comments have been sincere, or sarcastic. You pick. It's whatever you want it to be. Don't you love these interactive posts?)

That's right folks, there is a possibility of satire arriving to Zoodle. This means that it's going to have both sincere and sarcasm in it's posts. This time, this is no "debut." Maybe I've used sarcasm in previous posts...?