Trekking in the Great Beyond

Hello my dear readers,

This is a short announcement I would like to make, but have no fear, I would shortly post something major.

I've just stumbled across this great travelling and trekking site, a sort of social network for hikers (think FaceBook without the annoying apps. and wearing a pair of boots), and I'd like to share it with you all.

It's http://www.trekcafe.com/ and even if you're not into taking a trip right away, you should still know about it, or at least have it in your favourites against the day you may need it.

Cheers for now.

Today's Top Issue: Philosophy

Alright, so the time may be slightly too devilish for philosophy (what's so devilish about 6+ AM? Oh, you poor sods, try not sleeping for a minute the night before...) but I will try and make an effort. Also, I'm typing this on my uncle's 800x600 resolution PC, which means everything is on a colossal scale, another hindrance.

So, today's question is simple enough - duties aside, what is our purpose in life?

Now I know, it's sounds simplistic, but think about it for a minute. In a very real sense we are born, go to all kinds of [pre]schools, sometimes the army, sometimes the university, and most of us who made it thus far would then go on to work, marry someone, raise some [not so] beautiful babies who will turn out to be (annoyingly enough) a better version of ourselves (or not, which is even worse), and hopefully die in our beds in the ripe age of seventy-eight (eighty-two for the females amongst us) having set our wills properly and having made sure we triple-signed it (on account of the Alzheimer, of course).

But why?

Most of us will not transcend to greatness, and for most of these it's better that way, but don't you see the futility of the exercise? We live, we die, and we have no impact. On the bottom line, we're statistics.

Now, don't go off calling me a Pessimist (I hate hearing the truth, you know...) but there has to be something more, right?

Lucky for us, there is. I won't go preaching about how every one of us has to live to his potential, because I don't know anything about that. I certainly don't seem to be on the fast lane to living up to mine's. That said, live is about... well, life. It has no goal, it has no purpose. I certainly never considered my goal in life to be rich or famous or even to save the world. All I want to do is learn new things, have fun, find someone I could love (and then another, and another...) and just... well... do it.

Oh, I'm also into writing a book. Big surprise there - I can see the shock on your faces.

So. Forget about life. There's no manual, and certainly no holy grail. Who cares about the 'why'?

Just do it.

My Latest Trick

Hi all,

It's such great fun to look at my Visit Counter and see it's around 55 (thus far). With the next to no publishing I do for the blog, there seem to be some visitors anyway. I would especially like to thank Yoni and Billy for visiting regularly and telling me what they think. Right Oh!

Anyway, I have an important update (!!). Some of you may have come across me at messenger and have tried to send me messages, to no avail. I knew that I was seen as logged in a lot while I wasn't actually in, but I couldn't figure out the problem. Well, I've been at my uncle's yesterday (he has a new baby - cheers!) and I discovered I must've logged in to messenger to check my messages a few months back when I visited him and did not log out before I closed the program. To make a long story short, it seemed that every time he logged in to the net, the messenger would log in as Me and he'd get my messages.

Well, problem solved! (I was actually so pissed off at that I deleted messenger from his PC altogether). From now on, every time you see me logged in to messenger, I am logged in!

Yehe!

______________________________

And to other news...

I was at class today (the last one this semester! Yeah!) and I was distracted, so I wrote a song. I think this is the platform to share it with you. Tell me what you think (do so in the replies too, not just personally - I'd like others to see what you think).

The Road to Acceptance \ Omer Hertz

It is in the seeing that we learn.

No harm is too severe for truth.

In the sense that we are growing,

There's a foundation of our rights,

That we are people and are equal,

On the earth and in the sky.

It is the hate that drives us to atrocity.

To block yourself from wisdom in violence.

If the time came for us to rise,

To stand for right and wrong,

We need to choose our sides,

Knowing that the roads ahead are equally long.

In time we will understand ourselves.

In time the others will pose no mystery.

But while we're being stung,

And flinching, we retaliate,

How can affirmation come to be,

How will clean hands cleanse the degenerate.

It is in the seeing that we learn.

No path's too long, no hill too high.

Find comfort in the others,

And acceptance in the stars.

___________________________

This song I wrote in a slightly different, experimental fashion, using two forms of writing, namely, statements (ending in periods) and continuations (ending in commas or a period for the last line in the stanza).

I also changed the tone and length of the last line to offer a sense of closure.

I haven't actually come up with music for the song, but anyone who wishes to compose something for it (or any of my others songs in the previous or future posts) is welcome. Just don't forget to send me a recording.

In the words of Bugs Bunny, "That's all for now, folks!"

See you later.

Keeping You Updated

My dear readers (which are nonexistant, actually), I have stumbled across a massive revelation, one that shakes my whole system of belief. Sitting here in my Dorm room and desperately trying to find something interesting over the net (and with spaghetti on the stove) it suddenly hit me -

!Life is BORING

Coincidence? I don't think so

It has been brought to my attention by my friend Rafi (who studies Japanese) that an interesting incident exists between Japanese Katakana (which is the language for foreign words) and Hebrew:

the word for "America" (as in USA) in Katakana is: アメリカ .

Incidently, the Hebrew word for "Maniac" is: מניאק .

Coincidence? I don't think so!

Making Proper Coffee: A Chart

Use this chart to make a proper coffee:

Just something I stumbled upon and was a must-have for a coffeefiliac like me.

Just click to Enlarge.

Singing in the Rain

To kick things off, I've decided to post a few songs I wrote in my original blog (which I will abandon because it is in Hebrew and I want to try the English approach).

Thankfully enough, I usually do my literary writing in English, so no translation was necessary. I hope you enjoy the fruits of my labour as much as I did writing them... or more.

An interesting point, though: While a great part of the songs are my own fault, some of them actually wrote themselves in part, and as such I take no responsibility for them... Which is to say, I don't even remotely like some of the lines in my OWN songs... Go figure.

The first song is my "popiest" creation, I think, which is not a genre I usually dab in, but occasionally things can go wrong - for one, what the hell was I thinking naming the song as I did?

Love of Song \ Omer Hertz

Oh brother, the song remains the same,
Oh mother, I don't know how it came,
Oh father, the words keep spilling out,
Oh sister, no place in me for doubt.

The day it came, the day it brought,
A sunshine – and a lover's thought,
I'll drink to never-ending care like this.

But broken up and tilted down,
The way it seemed to go around,
No solace in the dreams I dream of you.

So singing clears my head anew,
No jumble, nor the noises too,
The song remains the same,
But I am different.

And what I felt, and what I knew,
The seem to bind themselves anew,
But that's okay, my love,
I will not hold back.

Love me like a wind in storm,
A power from the great beyond,
And keep the rhyming running in my mind.

Its worth to have all loves,
Its worth to hear all songs,
Its worth to stick around,
The disbelief is gone.
Wait for me,
Where the rainbow meets –
The water.

'Cause… the song remains the same,
And I don't know how it came,
Yes, the words keep spilling out,
And there's no place in me…

For doubt.

This next song I wrote because I had the title deeply imprinted in my mind for some time and decided to get rid of it:

Romantic In A Different Way / Omer Hertz

When she cried on my breast
I thought I would shatter
It's been so long since the last time I cried
I guess I'm just romantic in a different way

When the sun came up the morning after
I knew it was all for nothing
I could not stop her from saying 'goodbye'
I guess I'm just romantic in a different way

When I sailed in my long boat
On a sea so white and blue
I've tried telling myself I had tried
I guess I'm just romantic in a different way

But the fact of the matter remains the same
I did not do it all, or tried my best
I was caught up, thrown up, washed onto the shore
I guess I'm just romantic in a different way

But then again I wonder why
Why crying is a sentiment so high
Why goodbyes are forever and hellos are for naught
I guess I'm just romantic in a different way

So sail on, my boy, sail on
You will never know if she will meet you on the shore
Not until you're there and you can look for yourself
I guess I'm just romantic in a different way.

This last one I like the best, actually, though perhaps it is not my best work ever - the thing is, it tells a subtle story which I like about it. See if you can guess the story:

Darlin' \ Omer Hertz

Oh darlin', the song doesn't matter,
It beckons me back, but I ain't biting.
Piano chords and guitar break the night,
But the jigsaw in my mind keeps humming.
And it rained hard when you fell from the sky,
But to tell you the truth -
I wasn't around.

Cigarette smoke torches my throat,
I bark out lyrics like there's no tomorrow.
And you signal me with a hand and a kiss,
But forget it, pretty, it ain't gonna change.
And it rained even harder when you washed on the tarmac,
Like flotsam, jetsam, you call it what you like -
But I'm asking you, darlin',
Who gives a fuck?

Oh darlin', I forgot about music,
It's all about the voices and the laughter and the cries,
But then again I've fallen to old habits,
Sweatin', near faintin', under tall neon lights.
And you lay there broken, in a pool of your life,
Sipping away like I'm snorting my white -
But hey, then again, I don't know why,
I feel all this pity in the hole in my side,
And then again, darlin', that's what I like.

So the instruments are ripping through my mind like a drug,
I'm drowned in the sound of my own cries.
To hell with world and all that are down,
You better believe me, the music is gone.
Lift up, my baby; shake a fist at the clouds,
There's nothing like death to make the blood run wild -
So sear on, angel, I'm quitting the act,
This song is all broken, twisted and crank.
Goodbye, my poor darlin',
You've just had no luck.

Well, that's it for the first time. The next time I'm around we'll really get down to business.