#metaphor — Public Fediverse posts

Broken Chair

I rescued the chair from outside someone’s apartment with the hope of fixing it and having it become a welcome member of our family.

But, as often happens, it sat around in various places waiting for me to find the time to repair it.

Finally, I decided it was one more project I did not have time for, and so yesterday I put it out on the sidewalk in the hopes that someone would take it home.

It sat out there all through yesterday in the rain and the sun, lonely, awaiting a new friend. A few people paused to look but then drove away. Periodically I would look out my window to see it still sitting forlornly there.

Then this morning I noticed an older gentleman walking past who began to inspect the chair. He picked it up, put it on his back and walked away.

It is a beautiful chair. It just needs to be repaired, and I am sure its new owner will do just that.

I don’t know about you, but I feel a lot like that broken chair, waiting for the gentle hands of someone to put me back together again.

I wait, broken, with the hope that those hands will touch me, I will be healed, and I can have a purpose again.

July 10, 2015

Broken Chair

I rescued the chair from outside someone’s apartment with the hope of fixing it and having it become a welcome member of our family.

But, as often happens, it sat around in various places waiting for me to find the time to repair it.

Finally, I decided it was one more project I did not have time for, and so yesterday I put it out on the sidewalk in the hopes that someone would take it home.

It sat out there all through yesterday in the rain and the sun, lonely, awaiting a new friend. A few people paused to look but then drove away. Periodically I would look out my window to see it still sitting forlornly there.

Then this morning I noticed an older gentleman walking past who began to inspect the chair. He picked it up, put it on his back and walked away.

It is a beautiful chair. It just needs to be repaired, and I am sure its new owner will do just that.

I don’t know about you, but I feel a lot like that broken chair, waiting for the gentle hands of someone to put me back together again.

I wait, broken, with the hope that those hands will touch me, I will be healed, and I can have a purpose again.

July 10, 2015

Broken Chair

I rescued the chair from outside someone’s apartment with the hope of fixing it and having it become a welcome member of our family.

But, as often happens, it sat around in various places waiting for me to find the time to repair it.

Finally, I decided it was one more project I did not have time for, and so yesterday I put it out on the sidewalk in the hopes that someone would take it home.

It sat out there all through yesterday in the rain and the sun, lonely, awaiting a new friend. A few people paused to look but then drove away. Periodically I would look out my window to see it still sitting forlornly there.

Then this morning I noticed an older gentleman walking past who began to inspect the chair. He picked it up, put it on his back and walked away.

It is a beautiful chair. It just needs to be repaired, and I am sure its new owner will do just that.

I don’t know about you, but I feel a lot like that broken chair, waiting for the gentle hands of someone to put me back together again.

I wait, broken, with the hope that those hands will touch me, I will be healed, and I can have a purpose again.

July 10, 2015

Broken Chair

I rescued the chair from outside someone’s apartment with the hope of fixing it and having it become a welcome member of our family.

But, as often happens, it sat around in various places waiting for me to find the time to repair it.

Finally, I decided it was one more project I did not have time for, and so yesterday I put it out on the sidewalk in the hopes that someone would take it home.

It sat out there all through yesterday in the rain and the sun, lonely, awaiting a new friend. A few people paused to look but then drove away. Periodically I would look out my window to see it still sitting forlornly there.

Then this morning I noticed an older gentleman walking past who began to inspect the chair. He picked it up, put it on his back and walked away.

It is a beautiful chair. It just needs to be repaired, and I am sure its new owner will do just that.

I don’t know about you, but I feel a lot like that broken chair, waiting for the gentle hands of someone to put me back together again.

I wait, broken, with the hope that those hands will touch me, I will be healed, and I can have a purpose again.

July 10, 2015

Broken Chair

I rescued the chair from outside someone’s apartment with the hope of fixing it and having it become a welcome member of our family.

But, as often happens, it sat around in various places waiting for me to find the time to repair it.

Finally, I decided it was one more project I did not have time for, and so yesterday I put it out on the sidewalk in the hopes that someone would take it home.

It sat out there all through yesterday in the rain and the sun, lonely, awaiting a new friend. A few people paused to look but then drove away. Periodically I would look out my window to see it still sitting forlornly there.

Then this morning I noticed an older gentleman walking past who began to inspect the chair. He picked it up, put it on his back and walked away.

It is a beautiful chair. It just needs to be repaired, and I am sure its new owner will do just that.

I don’t know about you, but I feel a lot like that broken chair, waiting for the gentle hands of someone to put me back together again.

I wait, broken, with the hope that those hands will touch me, I will be healed, and I can have a purpose again.

July 10, 2015

Vincent, or: Theo

A Sijo

EPIGRAPH:

You don’t know how paralyzing it is, that stare from a blank canvas that says to the painter you can’t do anything.

–Vincent van Gogh (1853 – 1890)

the life we painted—over;
blank linen upon my easel;
this choice feels almost sacred;
one false first stroke would skew my course;
still, memory steadies my hand;
old lessons guide the brush I raise

Sijo?

A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

Vincent, or: Theo

A Sijo

EPIGRAPH:

You don’t know how paralyzing it is, that stare from a blank canvas that says to the painter you can’t do anything.

–Vincent van Gogh (1853 – 1890)

the life we painted—over;
blank linen upon my easel;
this choice feels almost sacred;
one false first stroke would skew my course;
still, memory steadies my hand;
old lessons guide the brush I raise

Sijo?

A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

🐟🕶️ Ah yes, because comparing a Fortune 500 company to a blind cavefish is the perfect #metaphor for corporate strategy. Apparently, once you're successful, you should stop seeing where you're going—it's the latest trend in business innovation! 🙈#CorporateWisdom
https://ianreppel.org/how-successful-companies-go-blind/ #CorporateStrategy #BusinessInnovation #BlindCavefish #Fortune500 #HackerNews #ngated

🐟🕶️ Ah yes, because comparing a Fortune 500 company to a blind cavefish is the perfect #metaphor for corporate strategy. Apparently, once you're successful, you should stop seeing where you're going—it's the latest trend in business innovation! 🙈#CorporateWisdom
https://ianreppel.org/how-successful-companies-go-blind/ #CorporateStrategy #BusinessInnovation #BlindCavefish #Fortune500 #HackerNews #ngated

🐟🕶️ Ah yes, because comparing a Fortune 500 company to a blind cavefish is the perfect #metaphor for corporate strategy. Apparently, once you're successful, you should stop seeing where you're going—it's the latest trend in business innovation! 🙈#CorporateWisdom
https://ianreppel.org/how-successful-companies-go-blind/ #CorporateStrategy #BusinessInnovation #BlindCavefish #Fortune500 #HackerNews #ngated

🐟🕶️ Ah yes, because comparing a Fortune 500 company to a blind cavefish is the perfect #metaphor for corporate strategy. Apparently, once you're successful, you should stop seeing where you're going—it's the latest trend in business innovation! 🙈#CorporateWisdom
https://ianreppel.org/how-successful-companies-go-blind/ #CorporateStrategy #BusinessInnovation #BlindCavefish #Fortune500 #HackerNews #ngated

🐟🕶️ Ah yes, because comparing a Fortune 500 company to a blind cavefish is the perfect #metaphor for corporate strategy. Apparently, once you're successful, you should stop seeing where you're going—it's the latest trend in business innovation! 🙈#CorporateWisdom
https://ianreppel.org/how-successful-companies-go-blind/ #CorporateStrategy #BusinessInnovation #BlindCavefish #Fortune500 #HackerNews #ngated

#Explaining #AI #fake #videos to your #parents is the new telling a #toddler there's no Easter Bunny.

#meme #technology #education #teaching #metaphor #nerd #humor #just4fun #lmao #lol #rotfl #fun #funny #illusion #children #kids #believe #reality #digital #propaganda

#Explaining #AI #fake #videos to your #parents is the new telling a #toddler there's no Easter Bunny.

#meme #technology #education #teaching #metaphor #nerd #humor #just4fun #lmao #lol #rotfl #fun #funny #illusion #children #kids #believe #reality #digital #propaganda

#Explaining #AI #fake #videos to your #parents is the new telling a #toddler there's no Easter Bunny.

#meme #technology #education #teaching #metaphor #nerd #humor #just4fun #lmao #lol #rotfl #fun #funny #illusion #children #kids #believe #reality #digital #propaganda

#Explaining #AI #fake #videos to your #parents is the new telling a #toddler there's no Easter Bunny.

#meme #technology #education #teaching #metaphor #nerd #humor #just4fun #lmao #lol #rotfl #fun #funny #illusion #children #kids #believe #reality #digital #propaganda

#Explaining #AI #fake #videos to your #parents is the new telling a #toddler there's no Easter Bunny.

#meme #technology #education #teaching #metaphor #nerd #humor #just4fun #lmao #lol #rotfl #fun #funny #illusion #children #kids #believe #reality #digital #propaganda

Sexual Metaphors Across The Centuries

Sexual Metaphors Across The Centuries

Uncurl, or: Unanswered

A Sijo

I plant my unanswered questions 
hoping spring knows what to do; 
yearning tendrils spread outward 
straining to find some purchase; 
crisp, green vowels uncurl softly 
beside bright consonant foliage  

W3 poetry prompt

For Sally’s W3 prompt last week, she invites us to explore what lies beneath the surface—whether in gardens, nature, or ourselves—through the images of soil, roots, weeds, and hidden growth.

My above sijo was inspired by this limerick I wrote for a d’Verse community prompt back in 2021:

Crisp, or: Fresh

I sow d'Verse prompts in my garden
But I feel that I must beg your pardon.
For my rows are of keys
That yield green abc's
Though my gardenin's really quite ardent.

Sijo?

A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

Relieving song, or: Rising steam

A Sijo

my pot begins to murmur
beneath its plain, faithful cap;
every heartbeat finds less room
inside the thick, waiting steel;
then comes the valve's relieving song
each stanza lifts with rising steam

d’Verse: Ars poetica revisited

At d’Verse, we are encouraged to write an Ars Poetica that reveals our relationship with poetry through imagery, symbolism, or personification, showing our writing process rather than simply explaining it.

Sijo?

A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

Relieving song, or: Rising steam

A Sijo

my pot begins to murmur
beneath its plain, faithful cap;
every heartbeat finds less room
inside the thick, waiting steel;
then comes the valve's relieving song
each stanza lifts with rising steam

d’Verse: Ars poetica revisited

At d’Verse, we are encouraged to write an Ars Poetica that reveals our relationship with poetry through imagery, symbolism, or personification, showing our writing process rather than simply explaining it.

Sijo?

A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!

I explain my path through metaphors of ontological grammar with examples.

👉 https://open.substack.com/pub/brywillis634737/p/ontological-grammar-and-metaphor?r=pvxh5&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

#philosophy #substack #blog #podcast #optics #lenses #water #refraction #software #firmware #ontology #judgment #metaphor #grammar #ontologicalgrammar #perspective #physics

I explain my path through metaphors of ontological grammar with examples.

👉 https://open.substack.com/pub/brywillis634737/p/ontological-grammar-and-metaphor?r=pvxh5&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

#philosophy #substack #blog #podcast #optics #lenses #water #refraction #software #firmware #ontology #judgment #metaphor #grammar #ontologicalgrammar #perspective #physics

Don't worry, there are #distros for eye candy too ...

#meme #bloatware #linux #os #eyecandy #desktop #gui #interface #software #foss #floss #gnu #gpl #user #nerd #humor #bathroom #just4fun #metaphor #sink

Don't worry, there are #distros for eye candy too ...

#meme #bloatware #linux #os #eyecandy #desktop #gui #interface #software #foss #floss #gnu #gpl #user #nerd #humor #bathroom #just4fun #metaphor #sink

Don't worry, there are #distros for eye candy too ...

#meme #bloatware #linux #os #eyecandy #desktop #gui #interface #software #foss #floss #gnu #gpl #user #nerd #humor #bathroom #just4fun #metaphor #sink

There's A Reason Zombies Are Everywhere This Decade (Someone's Getting Rich)

https://youtu.be/-XgCFn6Vbnw?si=ZpDFEfCuEtvebmdZ

#AttentionEconomy #BarrysEconomics #economics #Inequality #SocialJustice #BehaviouralEconomics #shorttermism #research #neuroscience #VideoEssay #doomscrolling #metaphor #Zombies

There's A Reason Zombies Are Everywhere This Decade (Someone's Getting Rich)

https://youtu.be/-XgCFn6Vbnw?si=ZpDFEfCuEtvebmdZ

#AttentionEconomy #BarrysEconomics #economics #Inequality #SocialJustice #BehaviouralEconomics #shorttermism #research #neuroscience #VideoEssay #doomscrolling #metaphor #Zombies

✮ As Water ✮

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✮ As Water ✮

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✮ As Water ✮

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✮ As Water ✮

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✮ As Water ✮

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A Little Duck (1856) by Charles H. Bennett, from Shadows.

Source: Harvard University

https://pdimagearchive.org/images/3083aecd-ff2f-429a-a456-178c045d2a68

#metaphor #shadows #victorian #physiognomy #ducks #art #publicdomain

A Little Duck (1856) by Charles H. Bennett, from Shadows.

Source: Harvard University

https://pdimagearchive.org/images/3083aecd-ff2f-429a-a456-178c045d2a68

#metaphor #shadows #victorian #physiognomy #ducks #art #publicdomain

Matt Taibbi Loses His Vexatious SLAPP Suit As Judge Explains What A ‘Metaphor’ Means

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.techdirt.com/2026/05/06/matt-taibbi-loses-his-vexatious-slapp-suit-as-judge-explains-what-a-metaphor-means/

Language is not the bridge. I respond to another Substack post – one I agree with 85 % – but the missing portion is key.

https://brywillis634737.substack.com/p/language-is-not-the-bridge?r=pvxh5

#philosophy #language #bridges #communication #ontology #systems #ontologicalgrammar #languageinsufficiency #artificialintelligence #knowledgegraphs #metadata #infrastructucture #systems #semantics #substack #blog #podcast #essay #writing #metaphor #model #schema #protocol

Language is not the bridge. I respond to another Substack post – one I agree with 85 % – but the missing portion is key.

https://brywillis634737.substack.com/p/language-is-not-the-bridge?r=pvxh5

#philosophy #language #bridges #communication #ontology #systems #ontologicalgrammar #languageinsufficiency #artificialintelligence #knowledgegraphs #metadata #infrastructucture #systems #semantics #substack #blog #podcast #essay #writing #metaphor #model #schema #protocol

Language is not the bridge. I respond to another Substack post – one I agree with 85 % – but the missing portion is key.

https://brywillis634737.substack.com/p/language-is-not-the-bridge?r=pvxh5

#philosophy #language #bridges #communication #ontology #systems #ontologicalgrammar #languageinsufficiency #artificialintelligence #knowledgegraphs #metadata #infrastructucture #systems #semantics #substack #blog #podcast #essay #writing #metaphor #model #schema #protocol

Language is not the bridge. I respond to another Substack post – one I agree with 85 % – but the missing portion is key.

https://brywillis634737.substack.com/p/language-is-not-the-bridge?r=pvxh5

#philosophy #language #bridges #communication #ontology #systems #ontologicalgrammar #languageinsufficiency #artificialintelligence #knowledgegraphs #metadata #infrastructucture #systems #semantics #substack #blog #podcast #essay #writing #metaphor #model #schema #protocol

Language is not the bridge. I respond to another Substack post – one I agree with 85 % – but the missing portion is key.

https://brywillis634737.substack.com/p/language-is-not-the-bridge?r=pvxh5

#philosophy #language #bridges #communication #ontology #systems #ontologicalgrammar #languageinsufficiency #artificialintelligence #knowledgegraphs #metadata #infrastructucture #systems #semantics #substack #blog #podcast #essay #writing #metaphor #model #schema #protocol

The Syntax of Dreams 📜✨💭
La sintassi dei sogni

#symbolism #imagery #codes #multimedia #languages #youtube #videolessons #dreaminterpretation #metaphor #syntax #connections #mindset

https://youtube.com/watch?v=MRYLjKIloi8&is=iLpTmhkFEBEcMVcK

The Syntax of Dreams 📜✨💭
La sintassi dei sogni

#symbolism #imagery #codes #multimedia #languages #youtube #videolessons #dreaminterpretation #metaphor #syntax #connections #mindset

https://youtube.com/watch?v=MRYLjKIloi8&is=iLpTmhkFEBEcMVcK

#Theology #Apologia Perhaps-slippery #Metaphor #Peace #ProsePoem
Yet more Joubert, transl Auster:
"The staircase that leads us to God. What does it matter if it is makae-beleivfe, if we really climb it/ What difference does it make who builds it, or if it is mader of marble or wood, of brick, stone, or mud? The essential thing is that it be solid and that in climbing it we feel the peace that is inaccessible to thoser who do not climb it."

#Theology #Apologia Perhaps-slippery #Metaphor #Peace #ProsePoem
Yet more Joubert, transl Auster:
"The staircase that leads us to God. What does it matter if it is makae-beleivfe, if we really climb it/ What difference does it make who builds it, or if it is mader of marble or wood, of brick, stone, or mud? The essential thing is that it be solid and that in climbing it we feel the peace that is inaccessible to thoser who do not climb it."

Distinct, Not Distant

https://getawaywithhamza.wordpress.com/2026/04/27/distinct-not-distant/

Distinct, Not Distant

https://getawaywithhamza.wordpress.com/2026/04/27/distinct-not-distant/

I’d like to share a NotebookLM summary of an early draft of Chapter 1, which serves as an introductory chapter: Authoring Displacement and the Cake Grammar or some such. Have a listen.

https://philosophics.blog/2026/04/25/the-architecture-of-willing-an-early-peek/?utm_source=masto&utm_medium=social

#philosophy #language #will #cake #analog #spotify #blog #podcast #book #monograph #critique #metaphor #perspective #ego #subjectivity

I’d like to share a NotebookLM summary of an early draft of Chapter 1, which serves as an introductory chapter: Authoring Displacement and the Cake Grammar or some such. Have a listen.

https://philosophics.blog/2026/04/25/the-architecture-of-willing-an-early-peek/?utm_source=masto&utm_medium=social

#philosophy #language #will #cake #analog #spotify #blog #podcast #book #monograph #critique #metaphor #perspective #ego #subjectivity