no devil lived on

A New Beginning ...

Well since, this is the first substantive post in my new blog, perhaps I should set the stage and give you some insight into the character who is in control of this world.

For all intents and purposes, my name is Chris, last name are inconsequential in this medium. My blog username is one of a few of my internet pseudonyms. If you're wondering what or who in the hell bumbletbw is, and where it came from, most of you probably think it is some sort of bee reference if you have never asked me before. That however, is not at all the case. The name properly capitalized when things are case sensitive is BumbleTBW. TBW is shorthand for the Boy Wonder. This is a reference to a film that I once had a great affinity for in high school, and my infatuation with the film and its director have slowly declined over the years.

Though the origins of the name are a moot point, the meaning that particular moniker conveys, remains as true as ever. It basically means I am a "fuck up" to use the vernacular. I seem to have this extraordinary ability to blow up the simplest and easiest of situations. I earned this name in part to my lumbering stature in high school I was roughly 6 foot 3 inches (1.9 meters) tall and weighed somewhere in the vicinity of 330 pounds (150 kilos). I would hit, bend, knock over and break a lot of things that everyone else seemed to be able to avoid with ease. I am a veritable bull in a china shop. As if that were not bad enough, I have a tendency to fumble things: phones, decks of cards, cups, mugs, bowls, etc. If you can name it, odds are I can drop it especially if I am not trying to. It may not be that I am so much clumsier than everyone else, as I just seem to always be the one noticeably afflicted.

Now, that obstacle hurdled, we can now move on to more pressing matters of character. For starters I am a young, white, protestant, heterosexual male. To translate that into more contemporary terms, I am responsible for all of the great injustices in modern world history. All joking aside, I am the model for our generation. Raised on politically correct rhetoric, at the ass-end of the 60s and 70s civil rights movements. I do not typically hold anything against people of different skin colors, nor do I have anything against people of higher or lower socio-economic status. I try to judge a person on their individual character alone, however one does break down from time to time and jump to conclusions without actually getting to know that person. I also became cognizant at an early age that politically correct and honest were not the same. I believe in people that see themselves as individuals, but at the same time do not think they are above any other person in their group. I believe in individual free will, limited only by a handful of parameters in place to maintain order.

I grew up as a middle-middle class boy in a small town that spans the gap between the extremely poor and very well-to-do, in a state that has not recovered from the rust-bust of the 70s and early 80s. It has affected greatly how I view my country and those in charge. I know people that can't scrape by, and a few with a million or two in the bank. Even in my tiny little microcosm, I know blacks, whites, Asians, Africans, Hispanics, straights, gays, you name it, we've got at least a few of them (ok, maybe not full-blooded Injuns, but they were here until we pushed 'em out West).

So, at this time I would to dispel the popular sentiments that white folks from the hills of West Virginia are inbred, racist, isolated and ignorant. Odds are in my favor that I have a higher IQ than you, and if not, I went to high school with someone that does. Though standardized tests are not always the best gauge of one's intellectual capacities, they do give a sense of where you are starting. Sorry about that, but I have a little chip on my shoulder about West Virginian stereotypes.

Generally I am a laid back person. Though it is not in my nature to get flustered over things, school and relationships over the past 8 years have conditioned me otherwise. But, after all is said and done, I can usually have a good laugh at it.

Laughing, and humor are a central part of my philosophie de vivre. I adore wit of all kinds. I love it all, from high-concept, to low-brow. From British philosophical humor, to Canadian beatnik inspired comedy, to fart jokes, I wholly believe that many things in life can be solved or relieved by having a good chuckle every now and again. I fancy a good sense of humor in everyone I meet.

I am serious, sincere and competitive. I love many sports, but mostly hockey and baseball, with a little basketball and golf here and there, and occasionally a dash of football. Outside of sports I also thoroughly enjoy other competitive games. Card games, board games, video games, etc. You name it, I want to win it, and if I can't I will try my hardest until I do.

I am also in love with the arts. My favorites are a toss-up between music and film. I also enjoy the theatre arts, and other types of performances. I have been playing guitar for a little over two years, and I was also in all-state choir. As far as artistry goes, I sketch and doodle every now and again, but I never had the opportunity or the desire to become very proficient at it. My best work is heavily superhero and comic-strip influenced. My appreciation of modern art is nearly non-existent, but I make a conscious effort not to bash it TOO, too much.

Well, for now I think I've set the stage for my next few entries. They of course will be exposes on my favorite subject: myself. I will be exploring politics, popular social conditioning and geographic circumstances that, to the best of my knowledge, are what compose the foundation of my worldview. However, where this blog may travel is unknown even to me outside of the near future. Perhaps a short-story here, an of-ed piece there, and a serial in between. We will not know until we get there.

If you are interested enough in reading, by all means stay tuned and if you would kindly pass my word onto those who you think will also be interested. At this point, I'm not exactly sure who will be reading this web log, but I hope that it is not just me.

posted by bumbletbw @ 10:45 PM 0 comments