Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Poetry and Prose


Thanks to Kat, who was able to find some of my old poetry, I am able to post some of it online.  A lot of this was written 20 plus years ago, and during dark times in my life, and some dark times in the lives of some of my friends.  Enjoy:

The first poem, I wrote for my friend, Dria, who, at the time was in a place far from home, and far from friends, and in need of friendly support. There is more to the story, but it's too complicated to be told.



        "Adrianna"


 
Adrianna, with hair of flaxen gold,
Your eyes they tell of pains untold.
Wandering alone throughout life's trials,
I see you along the long weary miles.
You know that I'll never leave your side,
Without my friendship to be your guide.
I'll shine my light along your way
Throughout each dark and lonely day.
My friend, my love will never part
It remains for you inside my heart.
You're someone special, know that it's true.
I know there is someone who's looking for you.
And when he does, the stars brighter will shine
In the skies, in your eyes, from the love that's in mine,
My dear Adrianna, you've got treasures untold,
For in you I have a friend of pure gold.

 
        By David J. Stayduhar
        05 October 1993
        2:17 AM
 
The following was written during a particularly rough spot in my life, if it weren't for those friends that remained close to me and stayed true, I may not be here today.
 
        "The Darkness"

 
Look at me, I'm a failure.
My world's turned inside out.
My hopes for life are crushed.
No one seems to understand
What I'm going through.
They only choose to see
The parts of me they want to see.
Their ears can't hear my cries for help,
Or, if they do, they choose to ignore,
And turn their backs on me.
I'm all alone in this world,
Lost inside a darkness I cannot fight.
The darkness rejoices as it consumes me,
Overtaking my innermost self,
Overwhelming my soul, and destroying my heart.
Won't somebody help me?
I only want to be free
To spread my wings and fly again,
But I cannot find my wings.
My wounded heart cries.
It doesn't sing like it once did.
Will someone please set me free?
So I can lick my wounds and carry on,
And fly once more, like I did once before.

 
        By David J. Stayduhar
        24 October 1990
        11:45 AM

Here is a poem I just wrote while listening to DOFP and losing myself in memories...  I'm not sure if Bill will understand, but Dria knows exactly how I'm feeling, I think...
 
(Untitled)

 
Why am I here?
What is this place that is not my home?
Why did I leave there,
To come to this place where I feel so alone?

 
 I look all about me.
Memories, like fine china, fill the shelves on the walls
I look and remember
They draw me into yesterday, down dark and empty halls.

 
I do not belong here
In this time and place which to me have no meaning
But I cannot return there
It's a place that is long gone, A place of innocence and dreaming.

 
So therefore I stay
In a world not my own, full of emptiness and regrets
Where I'm forever reminded
Of happier times when I was free, Times I can never forget

 
 David J. Stayduhar
31 March 1995
5:35 AM

 
 Following is another written during the aforementioned dark period in my life.  Seemed like my creative juices flowed more freely then...  This one was inspired by Raistlin Majere, a character in the Dragonlance series, whose life seemed to mirror mine at the time.


       "Hourglass Eyes"

 
I look at the world through hourglass eyes,
And all that I see just withers and dies.
I see the same things each and every day.
I want to see life, but I only see decay.
I look at the flowers growing in the fields,
But barrenness is all that this sight of mine yields.
I see no joy, I see only sorrow.
All that I see will have no tomorrow.
I look at the children while they play,
But I see them as crippled, old, and grey.
Everything I see is either dying or dead.
Even the sun in the sky is cold and red.
I see everything as it passes with time,
All distorted images to these eyes of mine.
I see everything as death in disguise.
Oh, won't somebody please lift this curse from my eyes?
Remove it so that I can see life once again,
And grant me some peace, I am going insane.
I want to see sunshine and hear birds in the trees.
Somebody please take this infliction from me.
Take it away so once again I see life.
Let me see happiness instead of this strife.
I cry out for help, as into darkness I descend.
Nobody hears me, so the curse remains 'til the end.

 
        By David J. Stayduhar
        17 November 1990
        12:35 AM
 
"Searching"

 
As I sit here, I ponder,
Looking back at where I've gone,
Then foward, to where I've yet to go.
Memories both good and bad,
Thoughts of yesterdays gone by,
Remembering love found, then lost,
Thinking of love yet to be found,
Searching for peace within personal wars,
Sorting through chaos, hoping to find order,
Caught in a war in which I have no control,
Caught in the tempest and struggling to survive.
I live through one storm, only to be caught in another,
But I'm a survivor, I'll make it through,
Smarter and wiser, to live again.

 
    By David J. Stayduhar
        25 October 1990
        1:00 PM
 
The following was inspired by Elfquest characters, Skywise and Cutter, and the bond between a special friend and myself.
 
"For my soulmate"

 
One soul, two hearts
Always together, never to part.
One born of Earth, the other of Fire
Closer than kindred, burning with desire.
Each one their own, yet part of a whole.
Both of them sharing the very same soul.

 
 David J. Stayduhar
07 October, 1996
2:25 AM
 
 This one just came to me one afternoon, still dark times, but had a glimmer of hope and inspiration.
        "The Triumph of the Phoenix"

 
The lightning flashed; the thunder roared.
Two figures stood facing each other.
One longed for possession,
The other--to save a soul.
The one they both loved lay wounded on the ground,
A victim of this battle royal.
Tears steaked down the one man's face,
While the other flashed a hateful smile.
He knew the battle was already lost,
But still he fought to save her soul.
From the darkness that, even now, he faced.
Red robes and cape blowing in the wind,
He raised his voice to speak.
But the black-robed one, in all his hatred,
Silenced him with a scowl.
One was here to fight for Love,
The other was here to destroy.
While the wind-blown rain stung in his face,
The Red One fought back his tears.
His loved one was dying before his eyes,
The Dark One's evil consuming her soul.
He knew that he was powerless against his foe,
But still he found the strength to cast a final spell.
He summoned the lightning to him,
And the lightning consumed him.
The Dark One laughed at this folly.
His adversary sealed his own fate.
His evil laughter drowned out the thunder,
As he knelt to claim his prize.
But out of the ashes of his foe
Came a terrifying scream.
The Dark One began to tremble in unimagined fear,
As the Phoenix at him, in anger, flew.
He tried to cast an evil spell
To try to destroy the bird,
But the Phoenix emerged unscathed.
It absorbed the power of the spell,
As well as the power of the storm,
And continued to attack its hapless prey.
The Dark One tried to cast again,
But found his power drained.
The Phoenix had drained him of his magic,
And so he turned to flee.
The rain soaked ground was covered in mud,
And the Dark One slipped and fell.
The Phoenix, seeing his fallen prey,
Swooped down to finish the kill.
It seemed to scream in triumph,
As the Dark One screamed in fear,
And reaching out one taloned claw,
It tore out its victim's heart.
His life extinguished, the Dark One vanished,
And the Phoenix transformed.
The Red One stood in sorrowful triumph,
Vengence and victory were his, the battle won.
He knelt over his dying lover,
As his tears fell on her face.
His Love renewed her dying spirit,
As well as her dying soul.
She looked at him and smiled,
Her Love for him renewed.
Again, into the Phoenix, the Red One did transform,
And taking his loved one upon his back, into the sky did soar.
Their hearts were again as one, to live forevermore.

 
        By David J. Stayduhar
        23 October 1990
        3:00 PM
 
Untitled (or "it is finished...")

 
The battle is over
I've finally lost
I've got no strength left to fight
All my hopes have gone away
I've given all I could give
I'm left with nothing
my dreams are blown to dust
like ashes they've scattered
I surrender my life to the reaper
I pray he'll come for me soon
There is nothing for me here but sorrow
Grief, pain and hatred fill my soul
My love no longer has meaning
It, too, has left me stranded
with nothing to fall back on.
Nobody seems to care anymore.
least of all, those who should.
My "friends" have deserted me.
Left me to die all alone.
Where is Help when I need it?
I can't survive on my own.
I pray for love to find me again.
I pray to find my way home.
Please, somebody hear me.
tell me that hope still exists.
let my broken heart be mended.
let my dreams once again be fulfilled.
Show me the way to happiness.
So my heart can fly free once more!

 
        By David J. Stayduhar
        22 October 1990
        9:45 PM
 
The following was a tribute to friends found and friends lost, I think I can still name each person represented in this one (In Order): Myself, Heather W,  Doug B, Lisa H, Dria H, Tom N, Harold L, Tom V, Monica H, and Bill H. 
        Untitled

 
 Ten they were, following fate.
Each was his own, yet one with the whole.
Three were as one, out of the same womb born.
Another from darkness, into light, then darkness again.
One to nature's call did heed,
Whose lover followed the fighter's creed.
Another, to friends, was honor bound.
While one, to music, devoted no sight, but sound.
While his lover followed where'er he went.
And yet another did his best
At playing tricks, illusions and jest.
 
 
The leader, love scorned and all alone
A raging fire burning forever within his soul.
To Magic did he devote his life,
But trusting no one, to avoid the hurt.
His one love gone, to darkness turned,
So in his soul, the fire burned.
The pain he tried so hard to hide,
Still his friends know of the turmoil inside.

 
His sister to justice her life did devote,
To follow the paths of the gods she served.
Always caring for others as was her way,
She sought for equality and harmony.
Quiet and thoughtful, apart from the rest,
While helping others, she did her best.
Giving the best from her very heart,
While keeping her own life from falling apart.

 
Their darker brother, chaos he served.
Darker than night, like the Raven bird.
Enshrouded in darkness and mystery,
He served the darkest part of neutrality.
Always trouble did his magic bring,
He seemed to bring chaos to everything.
But still in his heart, some loving would find,
For this one cared for those of his kind.
 
 
Another to darkness, from light did she fall.
Heeding the tempting of Darkness' dread call.
Abandoning all to save only herself.
Betraying her friends while she was preserved.
Using the love of all those who cared
And turning to hatred, her dark side she bared.
Changing her ways of goodness to sin,
Leaving her lover to die from within.

 
 The next one, a druid from wilderness came,
Seeing all nature as one and the same.
Seeing the beauty in everything.
Striving to keep the balance in all things.
She walked the ways of truth and love,
Seeking her guidance from the gods above.
Where help was needed, she always was giving,
Reflecting her fondness for all that was living.

 
 The ranger, to fighting did take,
The only way he knew his living to make.
His love for the druid, one so sincere,
He knew that with her he saw everything clear.
Respect for his leader, and childhood friend,
Caused him to remain loyal 'til the end.
He knows that his friend is lonely inside,
So the ranger was always by his friend's side.

 
The knight, to honor, holds true.
While protecting the others from impending Evil.
To his friends he offers kindly advice,
But often his words are misinterpreted.
His friends know that he only means well,
He hates to seem them going through living hell.
Still honor he upholds until the end,
When living to help those whom he calls "friend."

 
Another to music his life did devote.
He played for the lonely and meak.
His sightless eyes saw more than the rest.
Because in his music he always saw the best.
His songs cheered the lonely,
His words calmed their fears.
He lived for his music,
He lived to dry all tears.

 
The barmaid, his lover, was always beside,
To give him encouragement, to be his guide.
She loved him so deeply, they were never apart.
His love was embedded inside of her heart.
She sang with his playing, her voice filled the night.
This is what gave him his unnatural sight.
Loving each other, always together,
They'll be there for each other--always, forever.

 
The last, looked down on by all,
A jester by trade, his puns would appall.
He tried to make everyone laugh and smile,
But to all of his friends, he was only a trial.
Downcast and ridiculed, he never fit in,
But still he would try to manage a grin.
However, no matter how stupid he seemed to be,
His companions put up with his company.

 
Ten they were, trying to get by.
For those that they loved and lost they would cry.
Three reunited, after so many years.
Another forsook all, for her--many tears.
Druid and fighter falling in love.
Still seeking favor in the gods above.
Knight still protecting those who swore true.
Minstrel relieving moods which were blue,
His lover remaining to guide his way,
The jester still trying to fit into the frame,
And still they remain friends 'til the end,
Through suff'ring and heartache, broken hearts that will mend.

 
        By David J. Stayduhar
        24 October 1990
        7:00 PM
 
There are more somewhere out there, and once I find them, I will share those as well.
 

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Something's Coming...

 
What is it? You do not know, but I'll bet you are just curious wondering what it will be. It may be bad. It may be good. It may be outright EVIL and it may scare you away from this blog forever, or it may be so delish it may have you wanting more. What it is, I cannot tell you.. just yet, anyway, but watch this blog in the coming week to find out.


Sunday, February 8, 2015

Faerie Blood and Bone Walker books, and Bone Walker CD Promotional Giveaway!

Listen Up!  In cooperation with my friends Dara and Anna Korra'ti, promoting the release of the new Bone Walker Book and CD, I am going to be giving away a bundle consisting of SIGNED copies of Anna's books, Faerie Blood and Bone Walker, as well as the accompanying Bone Walker CD by Crime and the Forces of Evil.  What is this contest, and what does one have to do to enter to win this wonderful bundle, you may ask?  It's pretty simple, really. Just leave a comment here, on this post, stating WHY you would like to win this bundle. Creativity counts, so simple responses such as 'just because I want it' will not be weighted as much as more creative responses that go into more detail. Please note, I am not asking for a 100page thesis or a dissertation, just something nice and meaningful. (Hint, support of independent artists will go over REALLY big, as well as an insatiable love of anything in the fantasy genre.)  This contest is open as of the completion of this post, and will end at Midnight, March 8, 2015.  So, get those creative commenting juices flowing, and go!  The winner will be picked at random at the end of the contest. (Note: Anonymous entries will be disqualified, for obvious reasons.)
UPDATE:  Just to spark additional interest, I am tossing in digital copies of both books to the second place winner.

Thursday, February 5, 2015

Some more old photoshoppery (From former "Fear the AOD" blog.

Just found some more photoshop work from my old blog, and decided to share.  Enjoy!


Eternity Matters (World of Warcraft Guild) Banner

"Fear the AOD" blog banner- my old WoW blog


my Death Knight, Llaihr, in front of the Romulan Warbird insignia

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Training for New Job Responsibilities At Work, and a Book Release

Well, today we started cross-training for taking calls for our (Fedloan Servicing's) Title IV/Commercial servicer counterpart,  American Education Services (AES). We spent 4 hours going over all the different procedures and policies that are different from the ones we're used to, and discussing the increase in responsibilities that we'll be getting, having to work between the two PHEAA organizations. Apparently my team is just a pilot (test) team to see how the transition works, and then eventually everyone else will get trained to take AES calls as well. While it adds more to my already "hefty" plate of customer service splits (I already take general calls, Graduate program split, and military split calls) it adds nothing more to my paycheck (bummer).  Hopefully, it will increase my likelihood for possible future advancement, since it's extra training. Right now, however, it's just added headaches as we have to learn the differences in processing, and differences in submitting requests for the borrowers, and have to be careful not to give out information that we normally give out at FLS that AES cannot. I guess I'll get used to it.

Now that that is all out of the way, I will do another shameless plug for my friends, Dara and Anna Korra'ti.  Anna's new novel,  Bone Walker, Book 2 of the Seattle Free Court, is now released on paperback and Ebook (hopefully soon on Audio- will be major Squee-age when it is) and the soundtrack is also available (both on CD and digital download). All products can be purchased here or  here or here (or via Amazon, Nook, iBooks, Smashwords, Google play, or Kobo- note, the highlighted links provide more payment options.)  I've sampled the music of CRIME and the Forces of Evil, and have read some of Anna's previous work, and highly recommend both.

Monday, February 2, 2015

Photoshoppery over the years.



Dark Side of the Glass Banner.
 
Since one of my co-workers was interested in seeing some of my photoshoppery over the years, I decided to do a short post, highlighting some of my best work.  It all started in 2010, with Ms. Donna Smolko's Graphic design class at Erie Business Center. I quickly breezed through all of my assignments, and was looking for more to do.  My first project was the banner for this blog, to the right.




World of Warcraft Holiday Card

 
Next, since I was still big on World of Warcraft, I did a Holiday card for all my friends and guildmates who play the game. This was, by far, one of my more daunting tasks, since I not only had to actually create the World of Warcraft characters that went into the card, but I had to pose and position them correctly before putting them on the page. This job took me a grand total of 20 hours to complete (not in one sitting, mind you, just 20 hours total.  The end result was a big success, though, and still one of my best.

Neverwinter Character card.
I duplicated the result this past holiday season with my Neverwinter characters. This one, while still not an easy task, only took me about 13 hours to complete. the character screenshots where already there, I just had to crop, cut, and trim all the excess stuff off of them and paste them to a green screen for final editing before pasting them to the final result. Kat was so impressed with this one, she asked me to do one for her characters (I don't have that one on this computer, since it was saved directly to a thumb drive before uploading it to her facebook page.
 
 
I also did the logo for my Star Trek club a couple of years ago. Since it was a re-birth, and commissioning of a "new" chapter in a new location, I undertook the task of designing my own logo. The one to the left is the original end result, and the one to the right is the redesigned work for the logo patch on the club wear.




Finally, just some fun stuff.  Below are some random things I did just for fun, and one I did for another friend's internet radio station. There are a lot more, but those are all saved on my desktop, which hasn't been plugged in since the move in August.That is all for this post. I am running a bit late leaving for work. I'll post more later if I remember.

stinky sign
 

Totally Cool Radio (my own attempt at internet radio)

Groovy Radio Logo.

Saturday, January 24, 2015

A review of the "Bone Walker" Soundtrack CD by Crime and the Forces of Evil


I was recently given the opportunity to preview the Soundtrack to "Bone Walker: Book II of the Free Court of Seattle", by my friend Angela Korra'ti. While I personally haven't read book II yet, if it's anywhere near as good as book I (Faerie Blood), I'm in for a real treat. The soundtrack is expertly performed by Crime and the Forces of Evil (which, by no coincidence, is headed by Ms. Korra'ti's equally talented mate, Dara Korra'ti) and various guest performers such as Alexander James Adams, and Sunnie Larsen of Bone Poets Orchestra, Sarah Kellington of Pinniped, Ellen Eades, Klopfenpop, and Leannan Sidhe . The music, which consists of a combination of folkish pop and instrumentals, is enchanting and uplifting, taking one into another world with an brilliant combination of Irish bouzouki, fiddle, bodhran,  and various other percussion instruments.  Interwoven with the music are teasers to Ms. Korra'ti's novels, Faerie Blood (in which we hear her read excerpts from chapters one and twenty-three) and Bone Walker (in which we hear excerpts from chapters seven and twenty-two). The combination of talents that went into producing this masterpiece is phenomenal. The soundtrack will be available for purchase on CD for $15US on February 04, 2015, and the digital copy for $10US which is available NOW (thanks for the correction, Dara). Both purchases include unlimited free streaming through via the Bandcamp app. Preorder both here.
Also, if the music itself isn't enough for you, feel free to buy Ms. Korra'ti's novels here and here. Trust me, both the music and the books are worth adding to your respective collections.

my playlist

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