Seven legs against ceramic

Thursday, September 30, 2004

There he stands, poised on his elegant suspension frame. He’s a long way from the ground. He doesn’t know where he’s going, but he knows he must go straight up.

Up, up, up, as far as it goes, and then he will turn around and dive, streaming fine silk. Then he must do it again, laying another strand of the foundation for his future. And again, and again, until there’s enough framework to begin building in earnest. He’s a veteran. He’s been through this several times. His missing leg vouches for it.

But he doesn’t know what he’s up against this time. His versatile feet find no traction on the smooth ceramic. He struggles to find a grip to hoist himself with, flails wildly. The joints tire. He pauses, gathers his energy, heaves, releases another burst, but the surface still doesn’t yield.

He doesn’t understand what’s happening. This is supposed to be the easiest part. The hard work is yet to come. He can’t be losing already. Not after he’s gotten so far. Not after so much effort. He doesn’t realise that traction is easily found in the grooves, but to use them he has to take a step sideways for every step upwards. His adamant mind insists the only way to go is up.

And so he struggles, making painfully slow progress.

Maybe he’ll discover the trick to climbing this wall. Maybe he’ll give up and find another wall. The future is open-ended.

fus — Sep 30, 2004 9:24:30 AM — # ↩

the start of a journey
i like it, very much
- Kiran Jonnalagadda — Sep 30, 2004 11:32:05 AM — # ↩
  
  Not the start. The testing point. Go on or give up? Go on and discover it was pointless, or give up and set a precedent for never trying hard enough?
  - fus — Sep 30, 2004 2:02:11 PM — # ↩
    
    Go on, always go on, and then after the conquest, walk away
    there lies the thrill
    - fus — Sep 30, 2004 2:02:37 PM — # ↩
      
      because after the conquest is only stasis
      lesser beings can deal with that
    - Kiran Jonnalagadda — Sep 30, 2004 2:10:26 PM — # ↩
      
      The madam disagrees.
_deepu_ — Sep 30, 2004 9:29:29 AM — # ↩

Bruce and the Spider Part Deux :-)

Liked it...
- kingsly — Sep 30, 2004 10:30:42 AM — # ↩
  
  You stole my line!
  
  IAC it's Jace and the Spider!
kalyan — Sep 30, 2004 9:33:36 AM — # ↩

You need a macro lens dude.
- Kiran Jonnalagadda — Sep 30, 2004 9:36:51 AM — # ↩
  
  Yes, but my budget goes for more storage and a telephoto lens first.
  - kalyan — Sep 30, 2004 9:43:00 AM — # ↩
    
    Same here. :)
    - Kiran Jonnalagadda — Sep 30, 2004 9:50:09 AM — # ↩
      
      In other news, there is no budget... yet.
    - Kiran Jonnalagadda — Sep 30, 2004 11:25:27 AM — # ↩
      
      Did you see the sunset? I so wish I had a telephoto lens. Hope I managed a good picture anyway.
      - teamaker — Oct 1, 2004 1:47:13 AM — # ↩
        
        Yesterday's sunset was especially brilliant. In the last one or two weeks that I have been observing, this was the best sunset. (You can't compare two infinities, of course, but ...)
tariquesani — Sep 30, 2004 9:39:32 AM — # ↩

Nice prose!
- Kiran Jonnalagadda — Sep 30, 2004 9:49:42 AM — # ↩
  
  I think I should work in advertising.
  - swatisani — Sep 30, 2004 10:47:54 AM — # ↩
    
    except that it does not pay in advertising to really write creatively. You are paid to please the client and woo the consumer.... best of your work gets rejected and the worst is often selected.
jackol — Sep 30, 2004 11:10:50 AM — # ↩

Beautiful!
drkishoremurthy — Sep 30, 2004 1:56:43 PM — # ↩

I love the photograph, the softness, the reflection and the mood ...

It is damn good when coupled with writing like this ... way to go dude !!!
- Kiran Jonnalagadda — Sep 30, 2004 2:15:58 PM — # ↩
  
  It takes unusual events to be able to write like this. Unusual events that are best left unusual.
  
  The blur in the leg is because of the motion.
virtuallyundone — Sep 30, 2004 2:01:38 PM — # ↩

give up.
Fancy walls promise no future. It's slippery. Too much of a price to pay for glitz. And in the process of crawling up that smooth shiny nothingness, he only realizes he's lame.(note missing leg)
painful
and sad

go live up some warm bark of a fir tree..
- Kiran Jonnalagadda — Sep 30, 2004 2:21:39 PM — # ↩
  
  It takes extraordinary optimism to achieve extraordinary results. History is littered with people considered madmen in their time. (And yes, several times more failed and forgotten madmen, but who cares for them?)
latelyontime — Sep 30, 2004 2:30:37 PM — # ↩

Very tantalising. This is one of the few times when I appreciate photography, when one is able to show me motion captured...captured, not to a frozen staticity but to an anticipated movement.

And as for the writing, really thought provoking. But cant beat the nursery rhyme-
"Insy winsy spider
climbed the water spout,
Down came the rain
And washed the spider out.
Out came the sun
And dried up all the rain,
So Insy winsy spider,
climbed up again."

I feel like being in a land of nursery rhymes tonight...JLT!
- Kiran Jonnalagadda — Sep 30, 2004 2:37:11 PM — # ↩
  
  That's a lovely rhyme. And spiders are such optimists.
  - latelyontime — Sep 30, 2004 2:40:47 PM — # ↩
    
    yeah...I guess they are fascinating..except when they are not crawling up your arm. *shakes like a jelly bean at the thought of it*
ashweeta — Sep 30, 2004 3:54:11 PM — # ↩

Really nice photo and even nicer thoughts to go along with it.

Spiders and the struggle to get ahead reminded me of something I'd read a long time ago. Googled it for you :
"Experience is never limited, and it is never complete; it is an immense sensibility, a kind of huge spider-web of the finest silken threads suspended in the chamber of consciousness, and catching every air-borne particle in its tissue."
-Henry James

And so it doesnt matter if he climbs or if he falls, if he attempts or if he abandons - life is in the doing.
- noelladsa — Sep 30, 2004 4:12:16 PM — # ↩
  
  Thank you for that interpretation :)
- fus — Oct 1, 2004 4:18:33 AM — # ↩
  
  me likes that and your liking that
  the journey matters. the end is just a milestone on the highway.
  ride the highway snake
ravi — Sep 30, 2004 6:40:46 PM — # ↩

Wah!
arucard2 — Sep 30, 2004 11:01:05 PM — # ↩

speechless.
vinodkumarvc — Sep 30, 2004 11:33:51 PM — # ↩

neat post!
nome — Oct 8, 2004 2:36:39 PM — # ↩

Garfield!!
http://www.garfield.com/comics/comics_archives_strip.html?2004-ga040809