HERCULANEUM

So, this morning I'm convinced that the meaning of life is...

to enjoy it.

Don't ask me tomorrow, I may change my mind. But, I'm going to jump for now.

"I CAME TO GET DOWN
I CAME TO GET DOWN
SO GET OUT YOUR SEATS AND JUMP AROUND

JUMP AROUND

JUMP AROUND

JUMP AROUND

JUMP UP JUMP UP AND GET DOWN.

JUMP JUMP JUMP JUMP JUMP JUMP
JUMP JUMP JUMP JUMP JUMP JUMP
JUMP JUMP JUMP JUMP JUMP JUMP

I'LL SERVE YOUR ASS LIKE JOHN MACENROE
IF YOUR STEPS UP, I'M SMACKING THE HO
WORD TO YOUR MOMS I CAME TO DROP BOMBS
I GOT MORE RHYMES THAN THE BIBLE'S GOT PSALMS"

Enjoy it, bishes. Enjoy it today, because that's all we've really got. So, BE where you're at. And I have a feeling that if you can do that, you'll be happier than you think.

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So, the other day, Will and I took the pups for a walk around Wade Lagoon, which lies in front of The Cleveland Museum of Art and is only about 5 minutes from our home. Okay, maybe 7 minutes... Alright, maybe 8. But, NO MORE! Well... maybe sometimes 9, BUT THAT'S IT, DAMN IT!!

The Lagoon itself is gorgeous and surrounded by ornamental flowering trees, fountains

and sculptures.

This is "Night" passing the Earth to "Day", with the Museum of Art sitting proudly in the background.

Even the lamp-posts are fantastic and are art in and of themselves.

And then,

there's the Museum of Art itself.

A structure from another time...

From a period of grace in the pride of continuing classical architecture, which is indeed timeless, without the need to forge one's own design and masterbate one's own ego and piss all over something that we're going to consider atrocious in 30 years.

I guess you can probably tell how I feel about most modern architecture... I'm not a big fan.

Now don't get me wrong. I understand the psychology behind the attempt to be original. And I DO appreciate some contemporary architecture. And even the shitty stuff is a great contrast to the stunning works, providing perspective. I mean, how would we know what's good if we haven't seen what's bad, right?

Anyway, enough of my silly rant, here's the beauty settling in

at dusk.

And more dusk.

And slumbering peacefully at night.

Wade Lagoon is surrounded by other fantastic structures that make up what's called "University Circle".

Severance Hall, home of the Cleveland Orchestra.

And Severance Hall at night.

And then, the holy oil can church, as we like to call it.

With its stunning patina copper steeple.

And at night, shinning bright like a pale Aquamarine stone.

So, Will, the pups and myself continued our meandering around the serene lagoon. And we came across the Koi or, "Nishikigoi" (Living Jewels), as the Japanese also refer to them, but when speaking more formally. And when pronounced out loud, sounds more like a sneeze, I know.

Now, Will and I actually have a Koi pond with our new home. And it really is tranquil, SO meditative... I really never thought I actually WANTED a Koi pond, I guess I never thought one way or the other about it. But, now that we have one, I LOVE it. Will and I take our coffee out there in the mornings and it practically lulls me right back into bed. So, it's good for the soul, but maybe not so much for the productive end of life.

Well anyway, we were watching the rather large and in-charge Koi at Wade Lagoon when these kids of maybe 18 came bouncing and sauntering up. Their pants were barely hanging on and they had probably only been the proud owners of pubes for about 4 years now.

So, they walked up and were all, "DUDE! LOOK AT THAT BIG ASS GOLDFISH!"

And I should've just kept my mouth shut, but I didn't want them to be dumb, so I said, "Actually, it's a Koi."

And they all just turned their heads and stared at me as though I just asked, "Well, Hello there... What do you all say on the count of 3, we have a 20 minute session of sucking my balls? Who's first?"

So, convincing myself that they must have not heard me, I repeated myself, "They're not really 'Goldfish', they're called 'Koi.'"

Again, nothing. They all turned around ignoring me and kept looking at the big ass goldfish.

Had I only had a slide show presentation with me. I could've said, "This is a GOLDFISH, bishes."

A super fancy one at that.

Then, there's this one,

that makes my eyes hurt. Or my eyeLIDS hurt. Or my eyes, my eyelids AND my ears. Actually, it just makes my whole face hurt. And you KNOW that he's all, "Dude... Thanks a lot for breeding me to look like this. WTF? Real nice, bro. Reeaalll nice..."

Then, there's THIS one,

Black Goldfish (wouldn't it just be called "Blackfish"? Or... "Slightly Gray and Dull Blue Fish With Lots Of Fucked Up Shit on its head"?) from GuangZhou Zoo. It's also called "Black Lion". His roar tends to be a little muffled though... with a few bloops. And you KNOW that he's all, "HEY! WHERE YOU BE AT? DANG, I CAN'T SEES A THANG! THIS SHIT BE CCRRAAZZYY, YO!" (source)

We've named our Koi... Or rather, I'VE named our Koi. Which can be unfortunate when there's an f-ing Blue Heron that occasionally lands and STEALS our family membered fish from the pond for dinner. At a later date, I shall take some pics of them and post them with their names, if there are any left. But, in the meantime, we DO have a yellow/gold one like this kind

that I've named "Goldie Hawn". She's going to be a STAR, I just know it!

Now, this is some serious dedication to Koi, no?

And I haven't quite figured it out yet, whether or not his body art is suppose to be symbolizing that his ass BLEW that Koi and those water lillies out of there, or whether his hole is like a big drain and it's going to suck them up. I'm sure that it's one or the other.

So, Will and I are loving the Koi. Although, we know that they just love us for the food.

(source) But, at least we have an understanding.

It's crazy, you can hear the fish speaking Japanese! The translation, you ask? "I NEEDS ME SOME FOOD, BISH! AND KEEPS YOUR SLIMY SCALES OFF ME, SUCKA! DANG! ALL Y'ALL BE CRAMPIN' MY GAME!! shiiiitttt.."

You're probably wondering where I'm going with this post. Well, like a stroll, really no place in particular. And that's the point of it, I guess.

Will and I continued our walk with the pups around the park.

And I noticed that there weren't too many people on their cell phones talking, or texting, or facebooking. They were looking at the trees, the flowers and the bees. They were watching the "Big Ass Goldfish" and talking with one another...in person. And it was extraordinary in its simplicity.

And I thought it was worth writing about...

***The History of Koi***

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Cute Factor Times A FUCKING HUNDRED, BISHES!!

Huddled Beneath The Sky

Jump Around

The Fish Special

Take It Away, Mr. Dynamite...

Afternoon Thunderstorm