patrick deviney

ramblings from inside my head.

  • Swing.

    He had been swinging for the past 30 minutes. The swing was fashioned by his father from the big oak tree outside his house. It was hung from a humongous branch at the top of the tree. When the boy took a swing, it felt as if he was stepping across an entire continent. He leaned back and used his legs to propel himself further forward. He felt the air brush briskly against his back as the swing returned him to starting position. He leaned into it, preparing for his biggest push yet. Just as his feet were about to swing forward, ready to fly him across the world, the rope of the swing snapped. He fell. He fell further and further. Falling for what felt like an eternity. A hole just beneath the swing had enveloped him, a hole that didn’t seem to ever end. He grew used to the feeling of freefall. Surrounded by darkness in a never ending descent, he could do nothing but feel himself falling.

  • Canon Duck.

    The duck was very lucky. He was lucky in regards to the fact that he had always known what he wanted to do with his life. Unlike most other ducks at this stage in life, he had a steady vision and was willing to do what it took to make it a reality. He was going to become a canon duck in the traveling circus. He had always dreamt about soaring through the air, the blast of the canon, and the thrill in finding the target. This was his calling. Unfortunately, he had no knowledge of what it actually took to become a canon duck. His skills were practically non-existent, and he could barely imagine the feeling of the force of the canon. Therefore, he made the choice, like any reasonable duck of his age and economic standing (upper middle class), to enroll in college as a canon duck major. For four years he devoted his studies to the craft, learning everything it would take to become a real life canon duck. After years of hard work and dedication, he graduated. He was ready to embark on his dream career. Unfortunately, after months of scouring the local circuses, and even circuses far away, he could not find any that were keen to training a new canon duck. Reluctantly, he decided to take a job as an accountant. He worked hard at this job for years, all while keeping his canon duck spark alive. “One day”, he thought, “I know I will be able to do it”.

  • One last thing.

    Marvin had created a new goal for himself. His goal was that he would only purchase one more thing. Marvin was growing old of the consumerist economy that he felt plagued the country he lived in. Marvin was completely content with everything he had. Why should he need anything else? He no longer wanted to fall into the purchasing pitfall that so many consumerists spend their lives trapped in. Therefore, he would purchase only one more quality thing. If he found himself wanting anything additional beyond this, he would learn a way to make it from things he already had. Not enough people knew skills like this anymore, he thought. Marvin thought the people around him were too comfortable making spending choices for mere convenience. “People are just too obsessed with living in comfort”, Marvin thought too himself. He imagined people would be much happier and healthier if they learnt to accept that comfort and convenience weren’t necessary to living a fulfilling life. This is why he would only be purchasing one more unnecessary expensive thing.

  • Complex book.

    The book he was reading was a pretty complex one. It was introspective and philosophical and dug deep into the complexities of the human condition. It was also silly and ironic and perhaps a bit dramatic. The author himself may not have even understood exactly what he had written. The man reading the book on the train loved this. It was know that the book he was reading was complex and eccentric. He made sure the cover was just enough visible to noticed by his fellow passengers. He always got so excited looking at the pages of this book. The man was currently looking at page number 5. In fact, he had been looking at this page for the past half hour. It was indeed a very complex book. After leading his eyes to page number 6, he closed the book and set it down. “What an awesome book to be reading”, he thought to himself. He had thoroughly enjoyed his book experience on the train. He hoped someone had noticed his pleasure with the book. He reached his stop and floated off the train, lost deep in complex thought about how this book could change his life. The book sat silently on the seat where he had left it. It rode the train with a certain mystery to it, waiting patiently for a passerby to notice it and think to themselves how intellectual its reader must have been. The man floated higher.

  • Tourism.

    Recent trend forecasting shows that dog tourism is continuing on a steady decline. Experts attribute this to increased domestication and kennel holding rates in more recent years. Once popular tourist destinations for dogs, such as the Eiffel Tower, Machu Pichu, and the Ozarks, now rarely see an independent travelers. It is noted however, that areas such as Africa, India, and Haiti have seen steady, if not increased levels in local dog tourism. Do more developed countries have something to learn from these areas that seem to specialize in dog independence? Experts have mixed feelings about the morality of this question. It’s hard to say exactly how these trends will continue into the near and distant future, but we expect them to either change or stay the same depending on societal progress.

  • People who walk in the night.

    You and I are in the dark. We see signs, but never could fully understand. This is how they prefer it. Maybe their goal is to confuse. Possibly to enrage. It could be that they are seeking agreeance or validation. Their message is unclear. We create our own premonitions – internally, sometimes externally, about who these people are and why they do what they do. My interest in them is vague, but constantly pestering. I need to know more. I need to feel the thoughts of theirs. I need to see what they see. I want to act as they do. These people could be anyone. How could I possibly find them if they don’t seem to want to be found. They slink around at night, and seeming disappear during the day. My questions for them are endless. Maybe they don’t sleep at all. Maybe they sleep for days on end. Their places of work are curious, allowing them to do what they do. Their work seems simple, but could be outrageously complex. They exist in a world in which I see no obvious entry. A world I yearn to be apart of.

  • Muffins.

    Muffins are unable to conjure hypotheticals. They lack the ability to critical think in a way that gives them the ability to imagine themselves as something that they morally disagree with. This is, in a way, honorable. They have a relative morality so strong that they cannot even think about deviating from it. Unfortunately, muffins lack the subjective thinking that could allow them to possess any forms of tactical empathy necessary for a success through nuance. A muffin could never become an economist.

  • A metaphor about the news.

    In some ways, frogs are similar to humans. They enjoy exploring national parks. At least, the outdoor savvy ones do. The average frog visits approximately 0 national parks of the course of their lifetime. Some though, are very lucky. A good number of frogs reside inside national parks and are lucky enough to explore the park every day. Another population of frogs reside very close to national park borders, and are occasionally able to save up enough for a pass to visit the park they live so close to. Frogs who live in the park do not need passes.

    Of course, the national parks of the frog world are much smaller than what we humans get to experience. We would probably feel slightly cramped in a frog national park. The frogs however, get to feel the vastness of many national parks just as we humans do in ours, just at a different scale. Except for Gateway Arch National Park. Frogs often find this park small, but the experience still extraordinary. Do to the sizes of their parks, and the vastness of the country (this does not change for frogs), national parks for frogs are spread out much too far to realistically travel between. Most frogs cannot drive or fly. Therefore, even the lucky ones who live in or near a park will never get to see another one in their lifetime. This is a crisis. Because visiting national parks is a sign of education, prosperity, and freedom, it would be reasonable to assume that most frogs are closer to the bottom of the socio-economic hierarchy. The wealth distribution in the frog community is clearly disproportional. How can we solve this crisis? I think a good start would be to expand the borders of national parks, allowing more frogs to reside inside or close to them. Thusly making them more accessible and available to underrepresented frog communities. Tickets prices will of course stay the same.

  • New Game.

    I’ve invented a new game. The game consists of two players, the first player being myself, the second player being the magical mysterious force that lies behind the motions of life itself. Game play consists of head to head matches between player one and player two, where both players simultaneously present a subject to each other, called “throwing”. Depending on the subjects presented and the rules I will begin to lay out, a winner is chosen. This makes one round. Rounds are played over and over again, indefinitely.

    The three important pieces of the game are the subjects. They are as follows: 1. Sleep. 2. The Motions. 3. Creativity.

    When “Sleep” is thrown, this represents a minimum of 7 hours of shut eye that player one should be getting every day. If Sleep is thrown by each player, at any time, it results in a win and will defeat any other subject. If both players throw Sleep, it results in a dual win. Sleep beats The Motions and Creativity.

    When “The Motions” are thrown, this represents the aspects of player one’s life that must be carried out on a repetitive schedule – apart from sleep. This includes work, household chores such as dishes and laundry, car maintenance, visiting family, and grocery shopping. When The Motions are thrown by either player, unless the other player throws Sleep, this results in a win. If both players throw The Motions, it results in a tie. The Motions loses to Sleep, but beats Creativity.

    When “Creativity” is thrown, this represents writing, sketching, filming, 3D modeling, building, or any other interesting aspect of life that player one would prefer to prioritize in his life. When Creativity is thrown, it always loses. Unless the other player also throws Creativity, which results in a tie. This happens way less than you may expect. Creativity loses to Sleep and The Motions.

    This is my game. If you play, I hope you enjoy.

  • Poem?.

    Nor four or tour more to door. An man ran began or fan with tan. Cards hard to shard but lard makes guard for the jarred. If you who, then Sue knew through too do its Lou. When feet meet street, seat neat and repeat. Trunk gunk flunk in bunk sunk to a flunk hunk monk.