List: Boxes- Recent Musings

"Consensus science- when a bunch of nerds get their arms twisted by a couple of tyrants." 

"'Serious' is sought by those who haven't been there yet."

"Create to get someone's mind thinking, or their heart beating."

"The purely creative will forever fling new tools into the toolbox of the expert."

"Never make decisions when you are moving slow." 

"Trying to type out how someone is stupid will engender a misspelling, making the whole endeavor backfire." 

"I knew there was an intelligent person beneath the popularity-driven politics!"

"What makes you more civilized than me is your care for others, and to a lesser degree, your ability to care for others..." -modern barbarian

"Politics? Sorry, I've been away exploring the depths of the human soul..." 

"The question here is which stereotype do you want to be?" 

"Sign of a failing civilization- when people choose to ignore the responsibilities and obligations that come before the pleasures..." 

"People don't look at your clothes, they look at what's underneath."

"People don't look at your writing, they look at what's underneath."

"It was just another "cooler than thou" tool of the times."

"Writers and journalists are taught to present the fresh and new. Unfortunately, all that seems to be left are the sick and twisted."

"If you abuse your freedom, you'll lose your freedom."

"Do not look toward academia for freshness, originality, heart, or exploration, but for dissection, analysis, classifying, and technical refinement."

"Another 'best thing not said': I don't know why you are putting all your literary eggs in that one stylistic basket- it won't save you from writing shallow tripe."

"The longer I stay, the more fragile the eggs become."

"When there is an unpleasant right thing to do, a certain segment of the population will conveniently doubt themselves into inaction."

"If you are creating with creativity in its rawest form, you will have a feeling that your are creating in a great void."

"I am not one to go around kicking down ancient pillars."

"Paraphrasing the Democratic Platform on Iraq: "We will end the war so our soldiers will not have to fight (evil where it exists)." What they are really thinking: "We are evil, so why should we be fighting it?" What they are really really thinking: "We'll create whatever platform that will get us elected, however mad it is.""

"Some people make a better 'was' than 'is'."

"Beware of kneejerk highbrow denials."

"That's funny- in a juvenile way."

"One way to improve your creative output: Surround yourself with nasty, selfish people who could care less what you do- until you succeed at it."

"Another way to improve your creative output: Surround yourself with people who are compulsively unpleasable for whatever nefarious ulterior motives."

"If you have something of value to say, say it clearly in order to be understood by the widest possible audience. If you just have a need to be cool or academic, then by all means create artful obscurity that is only good for generating envy."

"In the face of the ill-conceived, trouble is a GOOD thing..."

"If the pen is to be mightier than the sword, it must be sharp."

"Was that a forever kiss?"

"If a genre has devolved into a heirarchy of snobbery by the time that you get to it, give it its ultimate reward- ignore it."

"I leave to this world all my exhaled breath."

"It's a doll eat doll world."

"He is a typical smartass who gets his pleasures in the immediate."

"Be an artist in whom all previous artists are incarnate."

"By the light of a dark world..."

"The history of an art is the history of its intended audience."

"The Void is not so bad- it is where everyone meets..."

"I was just exploring the exotic, untame, undiscovered wilderness of everyday life."

"Art is consumed, hence the need for the next meal."

"Be a master in facing that frightening realm of 'new'."

"They are the beings who completely dismantled and reassembled their planet's crust searching for their past..."

"It will have a disasterous effect on the young and clueless who have not experienced why wrong is wrong yet..."

"I have to park my car under a tree; therefore birds have not wholly endeared themselves to me."

"The secret to life may lie in mascara."

"I have long since ceased to be fascinated by such dregs of society."

"There is more to art than the piece of art itself."

"Decide when you are going to get up when you turn-in the night before. Decide when you are going to turn-in when you get up in the morning."

"Lost Love- It is not the who but the what that is lost, so rekindle the what with any who, and all the better with an any who who has lost not just any what, but a what with a who without which being a who would have been whatless..." -wbiro 2007

"Philosopher- a person who likes to hear himself think..." -wbiro 2007

"Love- like fencing with boingy swords." -wbiro 2007

"Vulgarity and Shame- two words who's meaning seems to be missing from our dictionaries today..." -wbiro 2007

"Social Perspective: being lower working middle class isn't so bad anymore- new shoes no longer give me blisters, and winter clothes actually keep me warm!" -wbiro 2007

"Large numbers of anything will include that which is screwed-up..." -wbiro 2007

"Writing a Poem- it all begins with a feeling..." -wbiro 2007

"No matter what you're wearing, I'll look for your spirit first... but the primal apeman in me won't..." -wbiro 2007

"Whatever it is, it is slow, huge, bulky, and primitive by tomorrow's standards..." -wbiro 2007

"You will be remembered by your spirit long after your words are forgotten." -wbiro 2007

"You will earn your dream of being called a 'poet' only if you choose to be nothing else; but what kind of poet would you be then?" -wbiro 2007

"Marry for love? Ha! Leave love to the poets. If you are getting by on mutual tolerance, you are doing great right there!" -wbiro 2007

"Bugs are not allowed even one wrong decision in life..." -wbiro 2007.

"Whatever it is, Hollywood has corrupted it..." -wbiro 2007

"In a cosmic sense, there are an infinite number of causes for any one of our actions." -wbiro 2007

"A poet wears a three cornered hat- thoughts, emotions, and images. Over focus on one, and the others languish in the shallow and cliché." -wbiro 2007

"Poetic editing- entails going back and removing 6000 exclamation points, and leaving three..." -wbiro 2007

"When writing poetic encounters: look inside yourself and use your natural reaction, whatever it may be- for the you that is you is always more interesting than the you that you think you should be..." -wbiro 2007  

"A Lasting Relationship- two people on the ends of a bungee cord." -wbiro 2007

"YouTube- the latest candy store for that perpetually rotting section of our minds..." -wbiro 2007

"A Spontaneous Welcome to AP: Wellllllllllllllllll...? I am drumming my fingers impatiently waiting for your first 1000 poems... which will include 147 collaborations, 3 epic romances, 212 classic forms, 14 concrete poems, and the rest wild free verse that offers raw emotion, breathtaking imagery and groundbreaking philosophies all wrapped in a wry sense of humor and cutting perspective... nah, on second thought, just create, and throw ambition to the wind...!" -wbiro 2007

"You can see now how I get more out of the simple than the sophisticated." -wbiro 2007

"Here's to the world of poetry that is more about creating a self-image and being accepted into a crowd than anything else." -wbiro 2007

"Best thing I refrained from saying: "No, I'm not going to bend my writing to squeeze into your tiny world of glitzy adult cliché with unhealthy and destructive themes.""  -wbiro 2007

"We're so poor now we have to cook in the kitchen and drink tap water..." -wbiro 2008

"A piece of art is for others to love. "

"Behind every great person there are 1,073,741,824 great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great grandparents." (that's 2^30 power, or 30 generations for you non-math types!) -wbiro 2005 AD

"Becoming philosophical or poetic is many times at the happy sacrifice of a dull chore." -wbiro 2005 AD

"The Psychologist, the Philosopher, and the Poet:
The psychologist had an observation.
The philosopher passed by and said, "My dear Psychologist, few understand you. I will frame it on a general and broader plane to guide man.”
The poet passed by and said, “My dear Philosopher, your thoughts are in shades of gray. Allow me to give them vibrant colors and post them on allpoetry.com!”"
-wbiro 2005 AD

"The Young Man, the Old Man, and God:
"The young man said, "I am a poor fool, but I have hair and strength." God said, "Flaunt it!"
The old man said, "My hair is thin and my body weak, but I have wealth and wisdom." God said, "Flaunt it!"" -wbiro 2005 AD

"Have we grown in wisdom in 2400 years? Yea, I say nay, I say! What? Huh?" -wbiro 2005 AD

"In 50,000 years man will look at the stars and be annoyed that he hasn't reached them yet. Pettiness will continue to hold him back." -wbiro 2005 AD

"Did you realize we are creating, right now, with the help of our technical patrons who keep the Internet going, a certain 'age' in poetry that will be totally forgotten, or at best be an innacurate footnote, in ages to come?" -wbiro 2005 AD

"Your hands are not defined by the way they idly hang there looking stupid, but by what they're about to do next..." -wbiro 2005 AD

"A great work of art is measured by the number of people manipulated by it." -wbiro 2005 AD


"Though you may outshine even the most pompous professional writer of your time, here you are still just an amateur!" -wbiro 2005 AD

"I was once a liberal. Then 9/11 happened." -wbiro 2005 AD

"To me, anything beyond my driveway is 'exotic'." -wbiro 2005 AD

"Take your ugliest picture today, save it for four years, then look at it. Guaranteed you'll say 'I wish I still looked like THAT'!" -wbiro 2005 AD

"There is a bright side to everything... for those who want one." -wbiro 2005 AD

"An open mind is not always good... 'things' can get in there..." -wbiro 2005 AD



"It is not American to wait in line, but to get ahead." -wbiro 2005 AD

"Bodies are for the young." -wbiro 2005 AD

"Fame- a gingerbread cookie with the only gumdrop in the house." -wbiro 2005

"On 'Perspective': "Me. Private Eye." offended one AP poet, I suppose because it seemed 'vulgar'. I suggested she go read billyd and horus8, and then come back for a second assessment. After what seemed to be a curiously long time (maybe she read every poem, slowly?) she returned with her newly-gained perspective, and chided me for being such a 'choirboy' in comparison!" -wbiro 2005 AD

"A smart kid's a happy kid." -wbiro 2005 AD, upon being asked for an educational quote...

"I combine deep with passionate with light-hearted for people with three eyes." -wbiro 2005 AD

"Dear wbiro:
I'm seventeen and freaking out about life.. What should I do?
signed: freaking out about life.
Dear Freaking Out About Life:
I'd say only worry about a few things:
How?: Now at 17 the biggest question in life to many things is 'how'- and that's where the adults in your life will shine or die- They maybe tickled you asked them- it may even turn them into decent people. If they stress higher education, and they want to pay for it- take the offer. If not, find a means of income!
Income: Once you have this, everything else falls into place, like food/shelter/health/transportation etc. etc. Of course, the more income you have, the more choices you have about all these other things! To increase your income, you need opportunities.
Opportunities: You want to create opportunities in your life. To create opportunities (which begets happiness) you need to take care of yourself, you know, all those 'proper' things a doctor would tell you about eating/sleeping/exercize.
Love: As for the opposite sex- finding happiness is a matter of preference and luck. Remember, if you take care of yourself, more opportunities present themselves in that area of life, too. If you drown your sorrows in Samoa cookies, your opportunities will diminish somewhat...
Relationships: According to my 'Theory of Social Relativity' you're mainly defined by who you're around, so have a variety of relationships so there are many different 'you's' to maintain your perspective about who you are." -wbiro 2005 AD to Torn Chakra

"Now if I only took my own good advice..." -wbiro 2005 AD to self!

"People don't come to America to sit on their ass." -wbiro 2005 AD

"My age? I'm more the '30+20' type than the '50' type." -wbiro 2005 AD

"My favorites list began as a list of great poets. They are being bumped for a list of great friends." -wbiro 2005 AD

"I have an AP family!" -wbiro 2005 AD

"It's funny, for me AP is a just a recent page in the novel of my life, but for you it's in chapter one, and will be in many more, unless you outgrow it!" -wbiro 2005 AD, to lavender shadows

"Here in the virtual world we can heal one another's minds and hearts. Bodies? Bad!" -wbiro 2005 AD

" 'Love is madness', so the intellect would say; but what does the intellect know?" -wbiro 2005 AD

"Perfect marriage vow: 'You, mmmmmmmmmm, I, uuhhhhhhhhhhhh'!" -wbiro 2005 AD, in collaboration with vinillalace (oh, the scandal!)

"Friendship- is when I have to be straight so you can be stupid. Then we switch!" -wbiro 2005 AD

"A retard can only fool another retard." -wbiro 2005 AD

"We may strive to bring out each other's hearts, but it would be painful." -wbiro 2005 AD (to Lyrical Soul)

"I have enough energy left today for 15 intellectual writes, 37 humorous writes, or one emotional write." -wbiro 2005 AD

"Do not hate the surface bullshit, for you will surely be in error. Do not stop at the surface bullshit, for you will not find love." -wbiro 2005 AD

"You will understand life better if you look at it through the eyes of an amoeba." -wbiro 2005 AD

"Love is a dunce cap."
-wbiro AD 2005 (I just discovered (autodidactically!) that this is the proper way to do AD!

"Can't Escape the Circle of Ridicule- no matter who you are making fun of, there is someone behind you making fun of you, too..."
-observation on life, -wbiro AD 2006

"How did you develop such a fine sense of humor?"
"Simple. I look at myself in the mirror every morning!"

If, in a moment of weakness, you stop loving yourself, take heart, there is always humor...!

"The lack of response from others to your arguments does not make you right, just self-deluded."

The Law of Sticky Randomness: "An adhesive product will stick to every surface at random before sticking to that surface to which it was intended."

"Do you want him to plant the seed of life in you, or are you just a slut?" Conversely: "Are you going to commit to her and your offspring, or are you just a scumbag?"

"Today's rebel is straight and narrow."

"Look out ahead, life is coming..."

"If you die a virgin, you'll only be raped in Heaven with 23 other virgins by the mutilated remains of a suicide bomber celebrated in certain Muslim countries."

"Lamore di uni ultimi di poeta in un cuore per sempre. E per sempre il wbiro sara una parte di vini, e vini sara una parte di wbiro"
from the "Life and Love on AP" collection

"Wise words are often anticlimactic, and then only the wise are listening."
-wbiro AD 2006

"Latest Wise, Insightful, Helpful Revealing Quote: Woman: "How do you feel about this?" Man: "You should know I don't go by my feelings like you do! But I will think about it..."
-wbiro AD 2006

"...for interspersed with all the fun I've found time to help members deal with abuse, drugs, suicide, death, heartache, love, homework, depression, uncertainty, fear, surviving to adulthood and what waits for them there... and many other not-so-heavy things, including... writing (well, what do you know!)... do not be blind to the serious beneath the smiles..." -wbiro AD 2006

"Do not pass up a real person for me, for though my love is real, I am just a living vapor that passes through your heart... and a shadow in your dreams..." -wbiro AD 2005

to my sis Rowan Tree: "Love is like ice cream, too much and 'pop'! So you shouldn't be eating it 24/7... it's more like a fine wine (too much of that and 'bwarf'!) Here, have a popsicle." -wbiro AD 2005

"Today I am a butterfly yesterday a dragonfly I'm the type where 'Who am I' is not beholden to the eye!" -wbiro AD 2005

"My invisible person gives his regards to your invisible person." -wbiro AD 2006

"Go not only where your feet take you, but where your creative heart takes you." -wbiro AD 2006

"If you want 'normal', you must marry the person in the mirror." -wbiro AD 2006

"With all the daily problems that annoy you now, none could add up to the trouble you'd be in if you had listened to him." wbiro AD 2006 to a certain AP niece confronted with a certain situation...