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I know you can feel the magic. 

Turn the lights down. 

I mean, this is what you expected ain’t it? 

Shadowboxing

Writing about emotionally rich experiences is a spiritual tax I am blessed to pay. I make peace with painful memories before immortalizing them in pixels–discomfort is a nominal side effect of self-improvement. Solitary work encourages distance from community; my transition from athlete to academia and the arts exacerbated the distance between my known world and my future. The opportunity to spark knowledge lies in pain’s heart.

Disney revolutionized the comic medium by purchasing Marvel Comics. Characters like Iron Man, Spider-Man, and Captain America were among my favorites, yet comic-based blockbusters created a “Shiny Suit Era” of heroes–where ticket sales made millionaires in a can’t miss market. The low-hanging fruit of comic-lovers’ discontent with corporate initiatives sparked questions like, “Why does Captain America need to be Black?” and “Why is the Silver Surfer a woman? 

Money is green.

Elaborate storytelling and detailed worldbuilding exercise my imagination, and expose my mind to creative possibilities. As an unseasoned artist, I had unrealistic aims for developing my creative vision as a master of multiple mediums. Time is limited by nature, our environment, and access to capital. Few people have hours to construct meaning-laden universes without the pressure of hitting a first-at-bat homerun. I write now, almost exclusively. 

the holes money burns

“Build and they will come” is a hackneyed venture capitalist mantra used to fearmonger bright-eyed entrepreneurs to make products that people currently demand. Disruption is the goal of most start-up entrepreneurship, yet the danger of instability is unwelcome variance to a seasoned investor. Ideas spread easier to those with less to lose.  

Ambitious initiatives face psychic inertia. Delusion and genius bear novelty, and the audience - the correct audience - chooses champions in the court of public perception. Nonetheless, a brilliant mind without proper mentorship may not see the utility of unrewarded exceptionalism. 

ali vs. frazier

Each pen stroke yields the bearer a lesson; in this essay I recognize we are the captains of our knowledge systems. I prefer to freestyle, but quick wit in conversation is the result of deliberate practice in strategically constructed systems. With most tasks, an average person may learn how to be efficient enough to satisfy basic capability tests.  Innovation begets infusion of foreign information - or knowledge - into an operation. Novelty sprouts from newness, not sameness. Furthermore, a system may not prove refinement without external tests. 

Humans are susceptible to playing games - without knowing house rules - because a deck is being dispersed and a purse may be won. Gold, jewels, and acclaim are lullabies, dulling our critical thinking to ask questions like, “Who is giving the award?” and “Where did they get it from?”

My role is to be a connecting force between people. Each time I thrust myself into the hero’s role, I am reminded that the world only revolves around me when I choose to champion the proper people and causes.  

I don’t know if I’m talking to wolves, or not. Maybe this is important, or maybe I’m talking into a void. Time will tell. 

politics as usual

We wouldn’t bicker like the other fools–talk good game.

Never imagine all the disaster that one good reign could bring.

Should blame the game.

And I could. 

It’s kill or be killed. 

How could I refrain? 

And forever be in debt, and that’s never a good thing. 

The pressure for success can put a good strain

on a friend you call best, 

and yes 

it could bring

out the worst in every person, 

even the good & sane. 

Though we rehearsed, it just ain’t the same. 

When you put in the game at age 16. 

Then you mix things 

like cars, jewelry, & miss thing

Jealousy, ego, and pride

And this brings

It all to a head like a coin.

Cha-ching. 

The root of evil strikes again. 

This could sting. 

Now the team got beef between the post and the point. 

This puts the ring in jeopardy. 

Indefinitely. 

KTD, 

Apollo

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