oppressionINob

Local oppression on humanity, restrictions on freedoms we once had, and humanity's opinion thrown back in their face.


Governmental oppression on humanity, restricting our decisions to go a certain way, and instead telling us to proceed "to the left."


Natural oppression by humanity, leaving traces after every step.

GrounDEAD

evidence of things unseen by SIMEN JOHAN

Its eerily serene now, the little house by the lake. It sits alone, and far from any other house in that part of the valley, except for the farmer's field in the next acre over.

They lived alone, Jonathan and Beth. Their mother had died giving birth to him, and their father and had up and left them just a week ago, not even saying a word. Jonathan, only seven and suffering from mental retardation from his problematic birth, blamed his sister Beth for everything. She was only seventeen but to him she was the source of which all evil emanated.

His red-headed sister never did anything wrong, nor treated him poorly. Quite the opposite happened after they were left alone; Beth tried to be the perfect sister and was patient with his disabilities. But she could see in his eyes, underneath his condition into his soul. Through his irises she could see a dark emotion lurking, waiting for her to come close enough to spring into action. It terrified her, and though she did love him, she was scared to be around him, scared that the shadow would emerge from his eyes and consume her.

Beth packed up their things that night, but not everything. When she was done she took Jonathan up to bed and didn't wake up until seven hours had passed.

4:19 am.

Her eyes shot open viewing the dark ceiling above her. The bed was cold and empty, sheets torn away from the spot where Jonathan had been asleep. A breath drew out to the right of her, and as she slowly turned towards the noise, she froze in shock. A pale face glared back at her with eyes she knew, the eyes that terrified her every second they were on her.

He had done this to her nights before. Beth's breath calmed down when she realized it was just Jonathan's sleep walks. She reached out a hand to him to help him back in bed when she saw a light fly, a reflection off metal he held in his hand. The knife dripped red, and as she heard the crimson drop fall and splatter to the floor, a pain shot through her abdomen. Beth clenched her jaw and reached her hand to her stomach and felt it wet. The terrifying dream that had always woven through her mind because of the fear her brother instilled in her was finally playing out before her.

Beth's eyes closed as she tried to scream out in pain. She did not see that Jonathan had raised his hand and ran the knife through her skin like butter. Cut after cut after cut. She was choking now, drowning in her own fluids, but alive enough to feel the pain.

Jonathan grabbed handfuls of her red locks and pulled her out of the bed, onto the floor, and down the short flight of stairs. His strength was unbelievably impossible for his youth, but through madness anything is possible.

Out the door, he continued to pull her onward and out towards the forest. Beth did not know, but while she had packed, he was planning his own packing. Beth felt her body fall below and land, crushed in an awkward position on her neck and shoulders. Jonathan stood above looking down, and by the look of his face, you could tell he could hear the last short breath his sister took slip away from her.

He pushed the dirt carefully over the hole, not bothered by the roaches and worms that had come along during the upturning of the soil. Sitting on his knees, he looked down over the hill and caught a glimpse of Mr. Hamilton, the farmer who owned the field next to his house. He had been spotted, and Mr. Hamilton was making his way up the hill.

And as the light began to rise up and away from the horizon, Jonathan grabbed a nearby twig and began poking at the newly formed pile of dirt, hoping, as the farmer approached, that he would not notices the few red tufts of hair escaping up out of the dark soil...

Barder and the Flying Turban: Creative Writing

His only want, escape

His only desire, freedom

To get away from all thought, and all cares

Far too much, he knew, for such a young mind

Such troubles should never afflict children as he

But with Barder everything was gone

And nothing else mattered

He was his only campanion, but the only one he'd ever need

And with his turban of orange

He knew he could go anywhere

Anywhere in his mind

And with that he set off

Flying with Barder into the sky

The only thing left to see

Were the stars of the boy's dreams

wordART²ˆ² + voCAB11

Art4


sitting quietly in her garden of present realities
she slowly covers the seeds of life
and pulls up the weeds of sorrow
but one thing she cannot be rid of
through her peaceful, organic rehabilitation
is her violent, vehement dreams of war
in her younger years, it was a different time
the world was raging
and guns were put in the tender hands of their youth
as the planes flew over, humming madly
they knew not of right and wrong
though she knew she could forgive
she could never forget


she has a secret
locked behind sealed pink lips
she walks along the way with it
slowly... silently
no one notices
though you can feel it on the air
but until someone asks her
she won't let it roll off her tongue
and until someone finds her
she'll remain discreetly among the orchid flowers


gather up the tiny pieces
...different colors
...different pictures
...different people
...different cultures
gather up the factoids and
place them all together
they all fit,
connected perfectly
and you'll see from the greater vantange
the insignificant
creates the significant


there are always two sides,
two points to everything
everything in the world
we're all the same but
adversely the same
and through this similar difference
we find the border between opposites
finding peace on the thin glass
passing it from hand to hand


Words11

subtle: faint or delicate in quality, and therefore difficult to describe or explain

vehement: marked by extreme intensity of emotions or convictions; inclined to react violently

zealous: ardently active, devoted, or diligent

adverse: opposite; confronting

averse: strongly disinclined

blatant: brazenly obvious

alleged: doubtful; suspect; supposed

aggravate: to make worse or more severe

discreet: modestly unobtrusive; unostentatious

factoid: an insignificant or trivial fact

flout: a disdainful, scornful, or contemptuous remark or insult

forte: a strong point, as of a person; that in which one excels

disinterested: unbiased by personal interest, indifferent

Current Event: NOV 28

SB 777

SB 777 (Amended May 10) is a bill that Mandates Radical Changes to all School Textbooks, Instructional Materials, and School Sponsored Activities in California Public Schools for Children as Young as Kindergarten, Without Parental Consent. It will be put into effect starting January 2008 in all public schools in the state of California.

The main purpose behind amending this bill is to ensure that there is no discriminatory bias towards homosexuality, bisexuality, and transexuality by teachers in the instruction they give or in any other school related activities. This bill futhermore would redefine "gender" as 'sex, and includes a person's gender identity and gender related appearance and behavior whether or not stereotipically associated with the person's assigned gender at birth,' therefore implimenting an "anything-goes" definition of transexuality and sex change, bisexuality and homosexuality into the California Education Code, and deletes the true definition of sex, which is the "biological condition or quality or being a male or female human being."

The acceptance and tolerance of homosexuals, transexuals, and bisexuals should be encouraged in schools, but the way the Gay Party is bringing it about violates the rest of our, the Heterosexual Party's, rights. Our definition of gender shouldn't be compromised to give special treatment to an exclusive party. In a way, they are actually forcing their lifestyle choices on our young and vulnerable children's minds. Implimenting this into the education system and teaching this way to children as young as kindergarten without the consent of parents violates the child's and their parent's rights. Schools should not teach about sexual orientation. This would cause the school's focus to stray away from the more important aspects of what school should be about, the education of their students in math, science and humanities.

In order to abide by the amendment, schools would have to create a new system to erase all forms of gender such as new bathroom/locker room rules. Who goes where depending on what they "feel" their "gender" is? This "solution," as the Gay Party most likely sees this amendment as, would in fact create more friction and problems within the school system between school officials, teachers, students and parents.

To read more about what exactly is being amended to the SB 777 bill, click the link.
http://www.savecalifornia.com/SB777_051707flooralert.pdf

There are many ways in which these changes would be abused, such as bathroom regulations. But, in your opinion, is this right? Should a child, as young as kindergarten aged children, be exposed to this sort of anything goes gender environment? Can you really choose to be male, female, or even something in between? What do you think, should this amendment be passed or vetoed?

Leave comments!

Peace.

wordART³

in the times today
there are signs to be followed
and laws to be obeyed
existing for all of us who live the day
but in life there will always be
those who rebel and do not agree
but what the nihilists can't see
can hurt them
and what will we be then
when all is rejected
all is lost
and we all stop caring?



things happen all the time
the ones we do but never see
they pass us by like simple breaths
you weren't aware until you read
the word that i let down
but that is life
and how it works
just living on
and waiting for none
so open your eyes and catch the wind
and stop letting your quotidian moments go
unnoticed



the leaves on the trees dance feverishly
shuffling loudly as the winds begin to run
your nose drawn up picking up the scent of rain
eyes lost and hypnotized by the gray swirling sky
arms extended and hands open to receive
patience is rewarded as the drops begin to fall
though you know you shouldn't
you sit and lay back on the now soaked field
washed over by relief
enjoying the tempestuous moments life has thrown your way

wordART²

Accord
Everything exists
Or so we believe it to, in our minds
Everything exists together as one
Black and white ying yang twins
But in our minds we begin to create
Problems in the world
Why can't we see that things can't be
Unless they work
Harmoniously?



INCOGNITO
In life, sometimes, its hard
Difficult to be someone, your own element
Pressures, poking and proding you
Molding you into something you're really not
Painful assimilation
Present day surroundings and styles form your current disguise
And as you realize that all along it was you
Your decision to hide yourself away
You slowly pull down the fan
And there YOU are in the world



empathy
You know them, you've seen them
They're the ones all alone
Sitting quietly alone, pondering
Emotional and physical pain that everyone goes through
But they are different, uncared for
They're not invisble, plain as day in fact
But with the lack of attention they receive, they just might as well be
They have no one there to help them through
So they continue on their way
Hoping for just one
Will you be that one to help,
And be the empathetic one?

Ingrid Anne Nicholson

Photo used from Bill Sullivan's Turnstile Photography Project.

This is a fictional story written about the lady photographed above by Bill Sullivan, and what her life was like surrounding the time this picture was taken.

Do you know this lady? No, no I'm sorry. Of course you don't! And I think I can make a pretty good assumption that she doesn't know you either. I'd introduce you to her more formally, but she wouldn't be so kind as to stop and shake your hand at the moment. Time is not always on her side! This is Ingrid Anne Nicholson; mother of three, and unknowingly, soon to be the ex-wife of Michael Roberts. She is a plain, sad woman with just enough money to make ends meet. The stressful life that she leads is beginning to show on her face as well.
On this day, her youngest child, Anthony, who turned thirteen last Thursday, forgot his gym bag at home that he would need later that afternoon for his basketball game. Having started his teen years, his mother believed he would become more mature and responsible. This, however, was the fifth time in two weeks that he’s forgotten his gym bag.
Ingrid’s middle child, Abigail-Lynn is fourteen years old, but in her eyes, she is still a seven year old child. The maturation of her daughter both scares and depresses her. Through these feelings, Ingrid feels the need to shelter her to keep her young, and finds that she accomplishes this through shopping for her, buying her things like faerie figurines and butterfly sheets. If you were to walk into her room, you’d surely drown in a sea of pink ruffles. Abigail hated this of her mother, and avoided being with her at all costs. This only made Ingrid’s desire to be closer to her daughter stronger, and on this particular day she decided to visit one of her favorite “little girl stores,” as Abby calls them, called Rainbow. Ingrid usually only stops there for her annual Christmas shopping, but when she walked past the street window, she saw the most adorable ballerina outfit that would be perfect for Halloween, and she simply could not pass it up. She was sure that Abby would just love her for it!
After her little shopping excursion, Ingrid received a call from her twenty-one year old son, Sam, who is currently attending college. He apologized to her about not being able to make it to the traditional Friday night sit-down-with-the-family dinner because he had a date with his new girlfriend. This put a damper on her already not-so-exciting day and she yelled at him for planning dates on days he knew were “off-limits.” She was not one for change in her life and hated when she wasn’t able to control things. The last thing she wanted was for her close relationship with her oldest son to be broken over some tall, blonde college peer of his. She wouldn’t have it!
On her second to last stop of the day on the subway, her phone rang. It was Michael, and as she began to explain to him that Sam wasn’t going to make it to dinner that night, he cut her short. He confessed that he was not going to make it to dinner either, for he too had a date, but with someone who was unknown to her. And as he began to admit to what he had done to her, Ingrid’s breath fell short. With her son’s black gym bag over her shoulder, and her daughter’s under-aged present in her hands, she slowly pulled her cell phone away from her ear and closed it, as she walked through the subway’s exit-ways. Which brings us back to the photo above. This is Ingrid Anne Nicholson. It’s been a pleasure being your porthole for this evening. Have a nice day.