The following pieces have been reproduced with their formatting as close to the originals as possible.
Title (Day.Month.Year)
Current Location, Current Mood, Current Music
the Jack cave, bewildered, Grace, Too (live) - The Tragically Hip
there's nothing here
the Jack cave, frustrated, the squeaking of synthetic leather
Ebb.
The sun sets, again. Pink and rose in the Western sky.
It's noon for her. Used to meet for lunch, sometimes. Glass towers; obscenely impractical, like her shoes. Sexual.
The luxuries. Yes, they are missed.
the Jack cave, awake, dawn's 5-tone songbirds
A flat wooden drawer. Rows of butterflies, pinned.
Ugly accessories designed for beauty, they smell of dust and age.
Never used to worry about getting old, but I suppose I am.
the Jack cave, ex-animate, Radiohead - 2+2=5 (The Lukewarm)
If my life is someone else's dream, it's most likely that I'm a
man
ifestation
of their frustration.
the Jack cave, contemplative, a distant crow
Words.
"They're only words." So flip, pretending like there was no meaning.
Now I can't touch her
and
words
are all we have.
the Jack cave, cold, VAST - I Don't Have Anything
Don't want to sing these melancholy songs,
Just want to dance in the sun with you,
Really.
And you know this is a lie
as we sleep together
inside these walls.
My secrets
are your secrets.
the Jack cave, indifferent, Madness - Our House
Now you're happy
because you have to be.
the Jack cave, goo goo gajoob ga goo goo gajoo, Jim Carrey - The Walrus
The song is there
right there
on the tip of the tongue
dancing, teasing, pushing against the ivory gates.
Held back by cautious glances and
fear.
PC Lab 1, optimistic, random conversation
Like, dislike.
Some things are for you, others are not.
Even if the creation lives only for the enjoyment of a single person, it is valid.
"There are other worlds than this." - Jake, Stephen King's "The Gunslinger"
the Jack cave, frustrated, Alone Together - Tango Jointz
Don't be alarmed
or concerned.
If I keep you at arm's length
it's only because
any closer
and I would
combust.
the deck of the Normandy, cynical, Ned's Atomic Dustbin - Happy
incandescent, a soft glow
encased in glass
so fragile yet
alive.
the Jack cave, numb, random thumping from the walls
I see your lives
as an archaeologist must see
the stratum
in the stone.
From the green vegetation
to the ossified bone,
tracing back
and forward
through these
vicarious
images.
the Jack cave, bemused, Jesus Jones - Info Freako
Some of them may be friends, but the rest of them are just people you know who use the same social networking software.
FD PC Lab 2, apathetic, tapping keys and clicking buttons
"Everything passing by is not coming back." - Jon Crosby
the Jack cave, sleepy, tires on concrete
"It's not a competition,"
he whispers
as he crosses the finish line
in first place.
the Jack cave, calm, Michael Jackson - The Way You Make Me Feel
People die. This has been happening for as long as there's been people.
The difference with people dying today is that we know about it almost as it's happening, and those of use privileged enough to have access to the great global information information network can vent our opinions on these deaths, and myriad other things great and mundane.
Resoundingly, a qualitative analysis of such responses has yielded the following result: the majority of people are ignorant and self-serving.
Nothing new. This has been happening for as long as there's been people.
the Jack cave, apathetic, U2 - Party Girl
A moment of repentance will not make up for a lifetime of evil, but
if you're very lucky
a lifetime of repentance may make up for a moment of evil.
I can see
right
through
you.
the Jack cave, horny, Our Lady Peace - Naveed
Tight jeans that no longer
grip,
Dull teeth that no longer
no longer.
Justify where it's been
and where it's going
again
what was that?
Sorry it's not coming through
very clearly
through this overcast
foggy
mist
surrounding whatever sense
of sensibility
we may have once had.
Style beats soul
fashion over form
material
material
material
for the making.
I'm sorry
but
this is just not good enough
for me.
the Jack cave, energetic, Gossip - Vertical Rhythm
Hey!
Photo-taker!
Can you make me look
beautiful?
Can you make me look
young again?
Can you make me look
crystal clear
in the glare
of this burning spotlight?
I don't need no make-up artist
to cover up my lines.
I don't need no pulp-fiction writer
to cover up my lines.
I see through the lens
that tries so hard to see through me
and what do I see?
I see you
I see you
I see you
hiding there.
the Jack cave, enlivened, Pure - Spiritual Pollution
Soft brown curves
and the smell of coconut oil
sliding down
all your
cracks.
I could just
go
insane.
before the forge, wanting, the baying of fell creatures
And these
individuals
we once worshiped as gods
become as insignificant
as motes
obliterated by he rising
of our own stars.
the Jack cave, exhausted, Jesus Jones - Getaway Car
In order to grow and flourish in this world, under these conditions, we must be
everywhere
at all times.
If we can't handle that, we must prepare for a life
mundane
and free from choice.
the Jack cave, drained, cries of ecstasy
If death is oblivion,
people like
Romeo and Juliet
are the luckiest.
the Jack cave, drained, Tool - You Lied
There is a world where
everything is the flesh
and material
and so help me
if I don't wanna live there.
the Jack cave, sick, Mr. Dub FX
To sleep,
to dream,
perchance to wake
as someone else.
the Jack cave, geeky, Kutiman - Thru You
Not where we were then
or where we are going to
but where we are now.
the Jack cave, accomplished, The Tragically Hip - The Dark Canuck
I dreamed I was smoke
(the white kind, clean)
and I drifted up into a pale blue sky,
escaping the dry yellow grass below,
to eventually wreathe the stars.
In my dream I dreamed you
looking up from that parched earth
where you lay, white dress collecting burrs and dusty pieces of ground.
You were smiling, and I like to think it was because you saw me
and imagined me as something else.
the Jack cave, lonely
Waiting for the transient heart.
the Jack cave, calm, Kutiman - Wait for Me
Rip it from me. Need to feel those fingers inside, under the surface,
probing.
The coffee's all drunk up, and there's that same old debate again:
Another cup?
Palm covering the rim and a polite smile ends the discussion.
Behind the glass, fog rises with the interest and obscures only half as much as the desire
to be desired.
It's there
in the technology,
in the mire
of wires
and signals,
in the corrupted and compressed notes
streamed live into the senses,
absorbed and consumed.
Just want something sweet before I sleep.
It's a long dark hallway that I walk down
heading to the yellow light that glints
like an eye slit, slitted eye
in the gap between the floor and the door.
And I press my face
press my cheek
hard
against the carpet and
it's scratching my skin
as I try to peer into that yellow light.
I see dust-bunnies hopping along a hardwood floor
and the wood's all brown and old and scratched.
Is that a collection of pocks, put there at a party by a beautiful woman wearing a pair of stiletto heels?
Is that the gouge where the angry brother stumbled
a screwdriver
or maybe a knife
in his left hand
as he chased the innocent to one of his rooms?
And I can smell
must
musty air that blows full of motes
all bromide-colored and cloudy in the senses
blooming like a splash of dried blood
as the bleach hits it
from the spray-bottle
of sanity.
Sanitize these places
these well-lit rooms that keep me out
only letting me peep through holes
and under doors.
the Jack cave, nostalgic
How long
will you have
this
terrible
anxiety?
How many times
can I tell you
I love you
until you believe it?
Perhaps
it's the nature
of our language.
Or maybe
it's the way
of the world.
Until the world ends
until this life is over
I want to keep telling you
I love you
I love you
I love you
and maybe
one day
you'll really believe me.
the Jack cave, nostalgic
You knew how this would end
even before it was begun
but you went along anyway
hoping to have some fun.
Even though he told you
what he thought about love
you went along.
Even after endless evenings left spent and empty
you went along.
After countless times ignored
and all those second-guessed,
you went along.
Now he tells you to go along
bu you hang around
and continue to ask your
empty questions
to yourself.
Since you know the answers
why ask?
Remember his iron rule:
when your influence becomes a negative drag
he will give you a single chance
to redeem yourself
but if you continue to get in his way
he will turn you into a non-person.
So go along.
the Jack cave, nostalgic
I saw the photos.
I saw the people.
It's ice now,
ice and cold,
with no promise of snow.
All things beautiful
live in their neutral-grays
here.
Hibernation
While they sleep, we work.
We work in silence.
We work in darkness.
It's night now,
black and calm,
with no promise of dawn.
All things beautiful
shine with natural light
here.
Compensation.
I saw the photos.
I saw the people.
I was
satisfied.
the Jack cave, nostalgic
I'll cut the lines, I'll cut the lines
to this telephone
to this Internet
to this can-and-string, string-and-can
I'll cut the lines.
We knew it all along
but we fooled ourselves.
We shouted it down
with our cries of ecstasy.
Try to rationalize
try to explain
try to exorcise these concepts
right out your brain.
And we are fading
fading
fading photographs
we are
fading
fading
fading photographs.
Lines
receding
into the distance
all disappearing
at the
vanishing point.
So I'll cut the lines, I'll cut the lines.
It's what we've always wanted.
the Jack cave, nostalgic
Like something traced in light
traced with light
traced by light.
Photon-collision.
Sine wave synopsis hammers the drums
in your ears.
Constant conclusions begging for decisions but receiving none.
Fields of force
force.
Pushing invisible fingers
gently cradling
and strumming
invisible strings.
Across an empty cosmos
filled with light
filled by light
my signals reach
like hungry hands
seeking yours
again.
the Jack cave, frustrated, Gorillaz - Rhinestone Eyes
And then comes the realization, after years of concerted effort:
"Shit, I'm not the only one doing this."
It is then that all the photographs and stories begin to make sense, and in fact the legend of
you
is the legend of
everyone.
the Past, nostalgic
How many missed messages
how many mis
interpretations
how many mis
sives dropping into in-boxes that just
go out
with-out
warning?
How can we
(you and
I)
look it in the eye
and smile
honestly
don't know
any
more.
Tracing implied lines
down the center of
an
implied
high
way
and
we're racing headlong with our mouths.
GD223, recumbent
Concrete dust on black suede
some great pulsing
something
causing such a stir.
The very air vibrates.
Colors, normally intangible, become visible.
Auras mingle and produce a melange of melodies.
"Tell me your story, here. I swear I'm listening."
But she didn't hear me askin'.
She didn't hear me askin', no.
Didn't hear me askin'.
the Past, nostalgic
I melt, bend, bristle, and burr.
My edges glow red-hot within her oven, and I am given the briefest respite as her wind billows me open, and I'm opening with her every breath, my petals spreading like dewy butterfly wings.
I am cut free, and I fall to the sandy floor. I am crushed in a glassy cacophony beneath her knifing boot-heel, and I return to my base materials.
I am atomic, and she fuses me. I am fused, and she atomizes me.
And so it goes.
the Jack cave, geeky, some guy playing guitar badly
There's that smell in the air and
things seem brighter as my
attention
gets diverted.
It gets so hard to see the sun
in here.
the Jack cave, accomplished, Pearl Jam - Better Man
To those I've shunned
and someday it will be you
on the outside again.
I've only set you free.
Free from me.
the Dark Acre, melancholy, TRASH_TOSS00.flp
I swallow lives whole
one public photo album at a time.
How many unaware
that they've left themselves bare
on these great data channels?
the Dark Acre, full, Boards of Canada - Dayvan Cowboy
The more wondrous achievements we as human beings put under our collective belt
the less wondrous life becomes.
Where we used to say "that's impossible" we now say "I'm not surprised".
Perhaps life isn't so special after all?
the Jack cave, cannibalistic, Yonderboi - Before You Snap
Got a lot of heart
got a lot of soul
but haven't you heard?
Didn't you know?
It's the money
The filthy, dirty money
that makes the world go.
the Dark Acre, lonely
Pointed shoes,
such a pretty
painted face.
Your dress is your attitude
insofar as it's light
and dirty.
I might like to know you,
I could be your shining star.
If only I was free
to be
half of what you think you are.
-
sent to myself by mobile phone from the Yamanote Line
4/9/05 Japan
the Dark Acre, curious, the dusty whir of computer fans
And this ground
a Man came and told us we were trespassing
that the land was His
Praw-poor-tee
but how can they own that which was never theirs to begin with?