Poetry Do We Allow Our Existence? Jon Hillenbrand, January 11, 2010December 30, 2015 Or are we merely the beneficiaries and victims of Existence, depending on the flap of the butterfly’s wings? Things happen. Shit happens. Life happens. Ups and downs and gutters and strikes. Why do things happen? Who knows why the vibrations among the atoms of the universe gang up on us or…
Photography Instruction Manual – Life – 2010 Jon Hillenbrand, January 1, 2010October 17, 2019 I don’t know about you, but I sometimes feel shortchanged by the instruction manual I received when I was born. Oh wait, there isn’t an instruction manual for Life. What the heck?! There are instruction manuals for everything, even chopsticks. The first time I saw those three Chinese pictures on…
Photography My Sound of Music Jon Hillenbrand, December 27, 2009October 17, 2019 The Von Trapp family was the Partridge Family of their day but without the annoying pastels and giant flowers randomly painted on walls. A string of silver-throated talents from old to young, this family did more to further my love of singing than any other early influence. I suspect I even subconsciously…
Poetry How do I love thee Jon Hillenbrand, December 25, 2009December 30, 2015 Man is a wonder. So full of possibility, so acutely a master of all things good and evil. Often we gather to push together, our efforts as one more powerful than the sum of the individuals. We chose to go to the moon, not because it was easy
Photography Duck! Jon Hillenbrand, December 10, 2009October 17, 2019 Ducks seem to have a lock on a lot of things in the human world. There’s the old saying, “Be calm on the surface and paddling like the dickens underneath,” duck analogy. Then there’s the, “If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck…,” analogy which is used…
Photography Vanilla petals melting on the ground before me Jon Hillenbrand, December 7, 2009October 17, 2019 I’m glad I’m not a writer, in the professional sense. Sure, I take photos, and sure, some people might think I’m putting myself out there with my “vision of the world”, but for me, my vision(s) of the world are literally snapshots in time, not labored over, heavily edited presentations…
Photography Scared for my liver Jon Hillenbrand, October 29, 2009October 17, 2019 If you’ve ever seen the movie, “Saving Private Ryan,” you might remember the death scene for “Doc” brilliantly acted out by Giovanni Ribisi. Ribisi is great because he has a darkness to him that’s offset by highlights of innocence. Well, in his final scene, shown from the point of view of…
Poetry List of Deeds Jon Hillenbrand, October 21, 2009December 30, 2015 The Truth will not reveal itself to the idle mind. We must sometimes engage in things which we might find uncomfortable, the least of which may be the admission that we were previously incorrect about something. Concurrently, this sometimes uncomfortable journey may bring us to a bridge we have to…
Photography What is the point of this plant Jon Hillenbrand, October 20, 2009October 17, 2019 I can look around at the little lives around me and see their purposes. The small black flies I kill in the bathroom are just trying to mate before they die. The spider I don’t want to kill is trying to catch those flies. Maybe the spider looks small and…
Poetry All You Need Is Love Jon Hillenbrand, October 18, 2009December 30, 2015 The most important parts of the most important concepts can sometimes be distilled down to just a few or one element of those grander schemes.
Photography Human Arrogance Jon Hillenbrand, October 12, 2009October 17, 2019 There’s a moth riding the inside of an invisible cylinder as fast as he can downstairs around the light near where I get my mail. These struggles seem minor to others, but to me they always pose a moral challenge. Should I show the moth where the door is? Beyond…
Photography The Dirty Little Secret Jon Hillenbrand, October 4, 2009October 17, 2019 “THE DIRTY LITTLE SECRET” OF THE HIGH COST OF HEALTHCARE or, “THE SYSTEM IS NOT BROKEN” by S. J. Hillenbrand, B.A., M.S. Doctors Cause the High Price of Healthcare It is widely accepted that the misdeeds of physicians are the reasons why so many people cannot receive…
Photography Carwash Jon Hillenbrand, August 7, 2009October 17, 2019 Getting my car washed is one of the larger joys in my life. Now that I am just two or less payments away from full ownership of my car, I strangely find myself wanting to trade. Maybe it’s because of a few possible large expenses coming up, but maybe it’s…
Photography What's the Boy Scout Motto Again? Jon Hillenbrand, August 4, 2009October 17, 2019 Continued from Motivation When you suddenly find yourself locked out of your car that is in drive and stuck in a snow drift, your options are somewhat limited. Your mind races. Possibilities that had not occurred to you just moments before, such as freezing to death while huddled around your…
Photography Motivation Jon Hillenbrand, June 24, 2009October 17, 2019 It’s funny how easy it is to do something when you have the proper motivation. I’m sure the military is well aware of this through the use of drill sergeants. Back when I was working out on a daily basis, my motivation wasn’t an inconsolably angry person in a smoky…