It begins with a word. A word of truth. Truth with a twist. A twist of fate that causes us to create something we never expected to be connected.
That’s poetry.
Science, art, music and mathematics converge regularly in my life, fashioning a fantastic fabric that wraps around me and influences my writing. I believe it’s worth taking notice that recently this seems to be happening more and more.
Because I front loaded 2013 with many activities, it has been on my mind lately that I may need to shift my priorities a bit to make certain I can accomplish my goals and still have time for the things I enjoy the most. I enjoy the blogging community very much. Mine is not a mega blog. The ebb and flow of readers here is sufficient to keep me trying to write content that someone will find inspiring or at least mildly entertaining. Those who read between the lines honor me by “getting it.”
Your comments are golden.
The creativity converging here in the blogosphere is remarkable, a network of talent with incredible potential. Some bloggers are skilled at tapping into that, and those who do amaze and inspire me in ways I never expected.
Here’s where it gets interesting.
Yesterday, a song slipped into my mind because of a single word. Seventeen. I was watching an episode of Star Trek (I LOVE PATRICK STEWART), and in the dialogue, the word seventeen was used several times. I don’t know why, but the word began to slide around in my brain. The episode was about boys becoming men. My father became a father at seventeen, I thought. Then the word seventeen became…at seventeen. The next thing I knew, a song from the album Between the Lines, Janis Ian’s “At Seventeen” floated from my head and draped around my shoulders.
Today, cruising through some of my favorite blogs, there were two posts about the exact thing that has been on my mind lately about whether or not to continue blogging. One on The Write Transition and another on Sweet Mother. Next I came across a video on Ohm Sweet Ohm of a gifted young poet passionately talking about his experience of becoming a man. (watch this video) I laughed out loud at the beginning. My son, doing homework at the kitchen table, came to see what I was laughing about. I stopped and restarted the video and we watched it together.
Then he talked to me about his homework and showed me this cool graphing calculator website before proceeding to explain imaginary numbers to me. I did not know i to the 4th is 1, but he proved it to me on paper and now I will prove it to you.
I write what I know. I know myself. A topic today which I assure you was of no particular interest until connecting the imaginations of four bloggers to share one idea.
i to the 4th power = 1 Now that’s poetic.
Droid Blogger: You Do The Math
***photo credit*** A guy named Blaine
Honie Briggs 
Did I miss your math proof that i^4 = 1?
[[ i = sqrt(-1), therefore i^2 = sqrt(-1)*sqrt(-1) = -1, and i^4 = -1 * -1 = 1. QED 🙂 ]]
Oh, it was on the napkin under my soda can. But the proof was there…trust me. Actually, it’s kind of funny. My son sat here and proved it on paper, but then he rushed out to class. He’s freakin’ brilliant!
Napkins! Amazingly useful inventions!!
Please don’t stop blogging, Honie. I’m begging you! Also, who doesn’t love Patrick Stewart???
Dear Madame,
Not to worry. I’m boldly hanging in there!
I love spoken word poetry, that one left me humbled and stunned.
This was a wonderful way to tie everything together.
I agree. That young man is dynamic. Thanks Val.
Very cool post. Always liked that song…funny how things come together sometimes
it is funny, isn’t it?~~thanks
I saw Seventeen, which was interesting because my about-to-be-teenage daughter was reading Seventeen magazine yesterday, and I marveled over the cover topics (periods, fashion, TV), amazed that I have a daughter old enough to be into that stuff. I thought of how, at seventeen (there’s your phrase), I was in a serious relationship with a girl who would become my wife and give birth to the very child who is now reading Seventeen. The whole thing is a bit of a mindfuck, actually.
Yep. You said it. Our kids are 26 and 24. By the time I was twenty-four, I’d been militarized, married, mommied and divorced. By the time I was twenty-six, I was re-married and demilitarized. Seventeen was a distant memory. Man, we are old!
Synchronicity is an amazing thing. Thanks for all the tracks running through your post – I love “17” and I watched part of the video (shall watch the rest of it later, need some food to get my brain working better at the moment) which so far, is amazing.
I can’t get my head around the maths as I have dyscalculia and numbers don’t work for me at all, but I can imagine that it must be pretty cool if you’re into it.
Wow, dyscalculia is a real thing. I never heard of it so I looked it up. The maths are not easy for me, I do like the constancy of numbers, very much a part of music that swirls in my head, but I have no tangible math skills. I can however, spell out ‘hell’ on an old school calculator.
It’s the left-hemisphere (of the brain) equivelent of dyslexia. (I’m a bit dyslexic too, but nowhere near as bad as with numbers).
Spelling out hell on a calculator sounds like leet. Do you remember that? I didn’t use it myself but knew people younger than myself who did.
The 12 minutes (and 4 seconds) of poetry delivered by that young fellow changed me in some little way – like many blogs do – but this was so powerful it was like getting hit by a baseball bat, but in a good way. The lad is incredible! I have so many people I want to hear it. Thanks, Honie.
You are correct, he is incredible. His presentation is funny, passionate and worth sharing. I love your description, “like getting hit by a baseball bat, but in a good way.” Exactly!
I love that Jan Ian song. She is a very talented artist. I always loved math. Loved calculus at university. It was a challenge for me but I loved it. It was a puzzle to figure out. I was seventeen then.
Oh, seventeen! I would not go back to that time for anything, but it’s nice to look at it from here.
What’s the saying we’re all separated by six degrees of separation? Enjoyed the way you connected everything — you mind is complicated in a very cool and dramatic way. I think we all think about quitting the blogging thing. I do too. There’s been times when I think I’m just going to delete it! But then I guess I think we are doing what we are doing — for a reason — one that feels right, right now so I just go with it until it doesn’t feel right anymore. Great post, Honie — thanks!
Your blog is one I appreciate every time I visit and it’s like a getting a hug when you comment here. My mind isn’t really complicated, it’s mostly in a strange state of confusion – six degrees separating cupcakes and crocodiles. Thank you Brigitte.
Enjoyed this. 🙂
Nice to hear it! 😀
Hi Honie. Now that song- At Seventeen- takes me back to a time – so loooonnnngg ago. Not just when I was that age, but when Janis Ian’s hit first came out. Now that is stuck in my head. It is a great song, but I think I prefer the upbeat ‘Wouldn’t it be Bloggerly?’ as it puts me in a better head space. Thanks for the post Honie. As always, look forward to your posts. 😃
There is a sweet sadness about that song, but a vindication of sorts, I think, when she says:
So remember those who win the game
Lose the love they sought to gain
In debitures of quality and dubious integrity
Their small-town eyes will gape at you
In dull surprise when payment due
Exceeds accounts received at seventeen…
Very Bloggerly Helen~Thanks 🙂
I was here hours ago, Honie. I read your post, and as soon as you mentioned Seventeen, I had Janis Ian’s song running through my mind, and then you provided it for my listening pleasure. You mentioned Carrie Rubin, so I dashed over to her blog to see what was the matter, and while I read her post and listened to Janis Ian, our power went out. For hours! Here it is 3:00 a.m., but I wasn’t going to bed until I managed to get my comment in at Carrie’s, and get back over here to babble a bit (which I tend to do in the middle of the night).
I love synchronicity moments. I like the way you put this together today, and your son is definitely a genius. I went over and played with that calculator a bit, and I didn’t come up with anything at all.
Hey there Maddie. The last time the power went out around here we wished it would happen more often. We’re weird like that. You can read why here. https://honiebriggs.com/2012/07/21/what-happened-when-the-power-went-out/ Thanks hardly seems enough for your kind compliments…Thank you very much.
I read your post about your power going out and enjoyed it very much. There are no longer options for comments there, so I popped back over here. You reminded me of when Hurricane Ike actually traveled far enough inland to impact Ohio. We had amazing, constant winds like we had never seen before, and the power was out for the entire village. Even with trees cracking, branches falling, and wires coming down, everyone was out of their homes, walking around and talking with one another. At nightfall, we all scurried back into our houses never to gather again. I agree with you … the power should go out more often. 🙂
Now that post was poetic! Love that Janis Ian song, love Patrick Stewart, love the way each point connected in the post, don’t love maths that much. Were we separated at birth?
Hello there, you’re spreadin’ a lot of love around. Except for those poor maths.Nice to see you, it’s been a long time since we were born. Where’ve ya been? You missed all the fun!
If there’s one thing I do well, it’s spread the love. Just yell if you need more!!
We heard Janis Ian often growing up. She is one of my mom’s favorite artists. Thanks.
Her voice has a clarity like John Denver’s.
🙂
I love the way you see things. Very cool to tie all this together (even if I don’t understand the math–well, I could, I always loved math, but I’m just too tired right now…). And I LOVED Janis Ian’s “At Seventeen.” I used to play that song on the piano and sing my heart out to it when I was younger. (Sorry, TMI? 😉 ) It came on my satellite radio the other day, and I just had to listen to it. My teenage son didn’t share my enthusiasm…
Thanks so much for the mention! I hope you find your zen. Then you can help me find mine. 🙂
Math is not my thing either. My son is a great teacher, but really what I got from this, once again, is that he is waaaay smarter than me. The graphing calculator is cool though. I like the way the factors on the side created that image. There’s a math whiz with some time on his hands. HA!
You at the piano belting out that tune. Too funny! Carrie and Honie – zen hunters! 😉
I actually love math. I was on my way to switching over to statistics and research when I got sidetracked by writing. Guess that’s where my zen hunting left me. 🙂
Oops, LED me, not left me. Told you I was tired…
Well, lucky for your readers is all I can say. I like the practical applications of math: How many peanut M&Ms I can eat before I start to feel sick. How long it will take to get motivated to write another chapter if I watch one more episode of NCIS – stuff like that.
M&Ms? Did someone say M&Ms?…
Did you call me?
Well, they ARE the perfect treat. Tiny but full of flavor. 🙂
Now I have pieces of “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” from The Sound of Music stuck in my head. Argh!
Awesome!