blog title explained.

ok, so about the name of this humble little blog…it comes from a quote from the late, great Archimedes (the godfather of simple machines) in reference to the power of the lever…he said “give me a lever long enough and a place to stand [in space], and i can move the world.”

”wow,” you must be thinking, “how pretentious and cocky is THIS guy?” i could argue against such assumptions, but would it really change your opinion of me? furthermore, does it make THAT much of a difference to me? not really. nevertheless, i will oblige…

arrogantly boastful? no.

a bit naive? probably.

optimistic? definitely.

but optimism, in my experience with it, is a good thing. i teach high school kids english (a job which, in and of itself, is a case study in optimism…but we’ll save THAT for another day). i teach them about literature. i teach them about grammar. but most importantly, i teach them about life. i teach them that words are one of the most powerful currencies that they will ever possess. i teach them that, if they cannot put their thoughts into words and communicate them to others, they might as well be stripped of their ability to think.

call me a nerd, a bookworm, a softy…call me what you like, but the fact of the matter is this: i believe in the power of words. words can break people. words can build people up and give them meaning and purpose. words can hurt; they can just as easily heal. in our society, words are power. illiterate people do not call the shots on wall street, on capitol hill, in the news. the broader one’s experiences are, the larger his vocabulary…and his influence.

so, returning to my initial intent of explaining the purpose of this blog, i say this: this is simply a collection of words. words that i have gleaned from my experiences, from my life, from the lives of others. i realize that over the course of my life, i have been changed by the words of countless other people.

i encourage anyone reading this…do not be scared to be moved by words. do not be afraid to be changed by them. that is simply their nature. whether we’re talking about literary words; stupid, rambling, stream-of-consciousness blog entries; song lyrics; famous quotes; or the Word itself…words change lives.

and so my hope is this: that someone, somewhere will be touched, moved, encouraged, entertained, or maybe even changed by the words contained in these pages.

so here’s to optimism…and words.