Chu The Cud

Albums are all encompassing.

What’s your all-time favorite album?

Albums are architecturally reminiscent rhythmic of times that are perpetual. Music of a time and place. Music has the power to transport us to different moments in our history and evoke strong emotions with just a few bars.

There was a time that one would enter the record store knowing what they wanted but still would find themselves memorized, grazing the rows of artwork that would engross those fingers flipping from one album to another, studying all of the compositions on the outside of album covers.

I still listen to digital albums that I first discovered and fell in love with on 8-Track. It immediately transcended me to the colors of that first time I heard the melodies. Dark paneling, shag carpet, glass sliding doors and colors of orange and brown.

In my younger times, I would also place the cassette recorder next to the television to record bands on variety shows or listen to the radio waiting to push record as the disc jockey spoke throughout the intro of the song.

As time went on I remember hearing a song like no other I have ever heard on college radio and went out and bought the album. A new sound that many would try to replicate. I instantly found my grove and became a lifelong fan seeing the artist perform live multiple time. I would wait at the record store for the delivery on the day the record was dropping.

As life progresses forward new artist and sounds emerge and it all begins again. Playing that album on loop. College and college bar jukeboxes stacked with all those memories of nickel beers, laughter and love on flashback every time they are played.

Later on Jazz found it’s way in my repertoire as I taught myself the trumpet and gobbled up as much as I could. Seeing live Jazz was a delight. Certain albums I still listen to and love.

Albums can shape our experiences and create lasting connections. It’s a reminder of the power of music to touch our hearts and become an integral part of our personal lives and histories.

I can’t point to anyone of the dozens of albums that I fell in love with in my life as my favorite one. Each album is a love affair of its own time and holds a special place in the album rack of my heart.

c 2023 Chu The Cud

To write or not to write, is not the question.

Some days you can try to conjure up a topic to write about, whether it is a passion or just something that passively irritates you. It’s not easy to just do it. And it can become very exasperating when the library of your mind is elusive or checked out.

It’s a force that has to come together naturally. It could be partly inspiration, influence added with a cocktail of knowledge and experience. And most importantly, free flowing semantics and their ability to capture the reader’s attention, imagination and thoughts. What are the keys that unlocks the flow?

One is to get out and explore so you can experience the differences between you and you now. The taste of a juicy orange showering exuberance to your senses as you can’t wait for the next bite. The dehydrated, non-malleable orange usually gets tossed after a couple bites. That’s only one type of fruit that can stimulate and motivate your senses in different ways.

Consistently exercise your brain on issues you agree and disagree on. Create conversations with people of dissimilarity to open your mind to other people’s ideas, perspectives and experiences. You don’t have to agree but it will help in your own personal growth and understanding of other’s circumstances and how it affects them and you.

Finding subject matter, that sizable, dense log that feeds the fire inside or a talking point that flames the fire, creating an intensity of thought, while calmly finishing through with the passionate contemplation of the talking point. Read books and articles daily on subjects that inspire and immerse you to sit and read.

As I develop my writing and its subject matter, there are moments when I wrap things up swiftly and other instances I need an extended period to digest, meditate and contemplate it thoroughly.

Even if you’re not a writer, these life experiences will help with, savoir faire and also ameliorating your lifelong journey.

c 2023 Chu The Cud

Just The Meat. Not The Gristle.

A lot of people ask me what the tag line, “Just the meat. No gristle” for Chu The Cud means. It’s a style of my writing.

Much of today’s writing comprises of 20 pages of fluff, colorful, flowery, adjective filler to tell you what they can and 1 to 2 pages. That’s the gristle. They stuff people really don’t want.

It reminds me of when we had to write an essay in school with a minimum number of words required. Adding numerous unnecessary “verys” and “ands”, while bypassing contractions.

I like to get right to the point and be concise, writing about the key points or “Just the meat” of the topic. If the reader becomes engrossed and wants to learn more about the topic, then they can go and do more research on the subject.

Brevity and focus can be quite refreshing and engaging than reading so much futile information in much of today’s disenchanting journalism.

c 2023 Chu The Cud

Cogito, ergo sum. I think, therefore I am.

“Cogito, ergo sum” is a Latin philosophical statement famously coined by René Descartes, which translates to “I think, therefore I am.” It expresses the idea that the act of thinking itself is proof of one’s existence. But is it possible to be thinking alone?

I believe it also comes down to our senses. This is how we truly know we are alive. From these senses, we experience life. To see, feel, taste, smell, hear and I would add balance to the list of senses.

Senses are an internal process also based on the external. They’re the conscious bridge or gateway that connect the two with the help of synapses and nerves which are the conveyors of our awareness and perceptions. They play a vital role in our ability to make informed decisions and perspectives in various aspects of our lives.

Senses bring in the raw data that allows the thinking process to analyze, interpret and understand, creating the reasoning for the decisions we make. Without the sensory input and processing, how can one come to an understanding of thinking, why or why not?

Pure thought without sensory input isn’t possible. The senses instruct the way one perceives itself, thoughts, the world and its inhabitants.

Joy and sadness are based on intelligence gathered by our senses, interpreted in our brain which creates our perception and how to deal with each.

If the body’s temperature increases too much, the senses inform the brain like a fire alarm, allowing the brain to adjust, release stress hormones, such as adrenaline, while shutting down certain parts of the body to cool it down.

If the body is injured, the senses will send sophisticated information to the brain and the brain will respond accordingly to stimulate the healing response and release pain relief as an emergency room trauma unit crew does.

The body relies on its senses for safety, survival, communication, enjoyment, and overall functionality. Without these sensory inputs, many essential aspects of human life would be compromised.

So, I will have to now make an adjustment to, René Descartes philosophical statement, “I sense, therefore I am.”

c 2023 Chu The Cud

I blog, therefore I am.

Why do you blog?

I blog to write. I blog to express thoughts, ideas, semantics and to exercise my brain’s right hemisphere.

I blog to put my thoughts down to reread, enabling me to dig deeper and activate art. Art-icles are small pieces of art. From this, I can imagine, create and undergo a metamorphosis from a postulation, that inspires a dopamine effect.

I blog to explore and capture my thoughts, create art through words, and preserve a moment in time.

I blog to celebrate my ability to think. Small burst of energy emitting knowledge from the unknown. A passionate convulsion producing a feeling of accomplishment and exhilaration.

I blog to illuminate, comprehend, acquire knowledge and pass time in a positive way.

I blog to document and capture the essence for a future reflection.

I blog for my children. I blog to leave them with the foundational framework of the psychological expositions flowing throughout my mind and body.

I blog for quiddity.

c 2023 Chu The Cud

Television Shows I watched as a kid.

What TV shows did you watch as a kid?

The TV shows I watched were Looney Tunes Cartoons, Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, Sid and Marty Croft shows, Fat Albert, The Three Stooges, The Monkees, Brady Bunch, The Partridge Family, All in the Family, Standford and Son, Good Times, What’s Happening, Gilligan’s Island, Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, The Incredible Hulk and The NFL.

That was easy.

c 2023 Chu The Cud.

Symbolism of the feather.

There are many definitions of what a feather symbolizes. Just google it. Protection, good fortune, bad luck, change, life, death, an omen and on and on. There are even in-depth interpretations dependent on the color of a feather.

Many of these interpretations are rooted in cultural beliefs or superstitions and often reflect the human tendency to attach significance to objects or symbols in order to make sense of the world.

The most interesting feather analysis I read was, a feather is symbolic to the journey of life. The shaft of the feather is thick at one end and dissipates at the other, allegorical with death as the thick end is representing the beginning of life.

The barbs attached to the shaft are illustrative to all the experiences we undergo on our journey of life and death. The barbs are longer at the thick end of the shaft and shrink in size as they get closer toward the thinner end of the shaft.

Each barb is a new circumstance or encounter, whether good or bad. It becomes a tale that makes sense as a narrative to use as lessons that can be implemented in a fruitful and colorful way. One can study the feather after hearing this analogy and make their own observations and conclusions.

Next time you stumble upon a feather, you just might be illuminated to your own journey of life.

c 2023 Chu The Cud

Learning while creating.

What do you enjoy most about writing?

What I enjoy most about writing is learning more about the topic I’m writing about while becoming better at storytelling.

When I write, I love to use a thesaurus and learn new ways to say the same thing. There are so many tools at our fingertips to take a subject so much farther than one can imagine.

When I write, I like to dig deeper and find gems and sew them together to make a beautiful bracelet with words. Exploring deeply, crafting and weaving together meaningful words of different colors to make a vivid and captivating painting in one’s mind.

Stumbling upon a pathway which can invigorate and take the writing in a different direction not previously thought of. Being open to a universe of thought and becoming a linguist by creating the pieces of the semantic puzzle and skillfully assembling them, piece by piece, to form a coherent and captivating complete masterpiece.

The synapse’s transmission fire with delight as the vocabulary neurons dance the dance of creativity and essence of tones, flushing out the symphony of expression, tingling the reader.

c 2023 Chu The Cud

California Love.

What do you love about where you live?

What do I love about where I live? Many things. The weather is almost always beautiful. I can go to the beach and saunter in the pacific ocean in December or to the mountains and walk in the snow after a rainy week.

I can drive east two hours to the high temperature desert and can be back home the same day minutes away from the cool air of the beach.

I can ride my motorcycle all year long.

When it rains, which isn’t very often, it’s incredible.

And I love that I live in a very culturally diverse environment. It’s never boring.

California is a beautiful state.

c 2023 Chu The Cud

The Aspiration of Intention.

How do you plan your goals?

Goals are a convoluted, intricate aspiration. They always can seem within reach but then some event or situation pops up, breaking the magnifying glass alluding to that perspective and suddenly the goals look to be far away.

The objective of goals being achieved is comparable to a staircase of steps ascending upwards toward the sun. Some broken and others not, some steps may be slippery and others missing. One must stay adaptable and meticulous when climbing towards their goals, learning from each step, representing growth. It could take years, even decades for most, depending on the goal. Frustration is part of the journey and one must be ready to embrace it all. Keep stepping.

If one doesn’t have a support network, then scheduling one’s time becomes instrumental to staying on track while having to provide for themselves or those dependent on them.

There are immediate goals and long term goals divided into the most important or ambitious objectives and priorities. Enjoy the journey and avoid the excessive distractions.

And remember to never forfeit your integrity for a short cut. Then you may detect the bridge is out, finding your situation irreversible and incapable of turning back.

I plan my goals with personal and mental growth, perseverance, and continuous progress while keeping up the positive attitude and determination!

C 2023 Chu The Cud