Blood Gods

C.S. Lewis once asked: "Why are holy places always dark places?" The temples of our many human gods have always been places shrouded in mystery, secrets and of course darkness. Do the gods hide from us in the shadows for a reason? Are they shy? Are they too terrible for the eyes of man to view? Maybe the gods are just simply something that the average person could not understand if they were to look upon them.

The Literature of Video Games

It is my honest opinion that someday people will consider some video games' writing and writers on the same level as many of their contemporary novels and novelists. This may not be something that happens in the near future, but it is something that I would personally abdicate. The main reason people are so skeptical of video game literature is that most people don't realize that there are hundreds of genres of video game. They are not all Call of Duty, Mario, and World of Warcraft.

Bushido and Chivalry

I grew up in two different cultures. Now when most people say this they are in fact referring to how one of their parents was white and the other was some other race, but not so for me. Both of my parents are white. I simply was exposed to something that is well outside of the traditional western values my parents associate themselves with. I almost don't know if to this day they fully realize how much of a profound impact on my personal philosophy studying martial arts in the very traditional school I attended had on me.

The Death of the Martial Artist

There are some people that when you meet them you cannot help but think to yourself: if this man were to die the world would have lost something irreplaceable. This man that I have the pleasure of knowing is not famous, though that is mostly of his own choice. His teaching and actions have shaped a large part of my life and shaped my understanding of many things from the body, art, philosophy, combat, respect, integrity, and discipline. I owe this man much of what I am today.

An Interpretation of Mythology

I sometimes wonder if all the gods anyone has ever heard of really do exist. I doubt they are all exactly as we are told they are supposed to be. Sometimes I wonder if all the gods we've heard of aren't Christianities demons masquerading as deities to trick people into doing their bidding. If nothing else they could make people break the first commandment. I cannot prove this, but it seems as good an answer as any.

Instruments of the Kitchen

I am no stranger to the dishes. I have long since been the family member who donned the enormous yellow gloves, wielding the purging sponge to make dishes clean enough to eat off of. I have long contemplated the meaning and symbolism of these various items as I spent hours of my curious and imaginative youth in the kitchen with the pots and pans. And after careful thought there is one particular piece in my parents kitchen that defines me better than any of the others.

It was a small brown glass pot with a handle. This was my favorite piece of glassware in the world while living at home with my parents. It was just large enough to make enough food to appease my appetites. I would fill this pot with a pair of ramen noodles packets and macaroni and cheese just for me.

I used to use this pot almost every day. I would come home from school and the first thing I would do was throw on a pot of water to boil so I could eat my pasta dish before I had to go to work as a lifeguard, which was the job I did all through high school and into the first year of college. Ramen was about the only thing I would eat during those days. I'm not really so sure why I enjoyed those simple noodles so much in those days, but for some reason I loved them back then. They got me through the day.

It was also nice to be able to make food only for one. I have always been a loner my whole life. The only change that has ever come about to this has been when I got married, but before that I was almost always perfectly content with just sitting alone to read, write or play a video game by my lonesome. This is why the single serving nature of this pot is so perfect for me. It was as content as being alone as I was. It was sufficient on its own to make meals and I was content to eat that small portion alone.