Me right now.

I've probably become a ghost to most people. Just an internet screen name, or a name that is dropped during a story beginning with "Remember the time..."

I'm coming back to life again. A resurrection of some sorts. I am finished school for the year and am focusing on freelancing and volunteering. I sent some samples of my writing to a place which shall remain nameless, and I'm hoping that will work out. I'm really questioning grad school. Although it will get me a job, I kind of want that challenge of handing out my resume to 4998589 different places. Still got a year. We will see.

less talk

more action.

4 people, 8 seats.

I love how weird normative behaviour is. We are all so detached from each other and we would have it no other way. I mean, imagine a man sits next to you on the bus and starts talking about what he's doing this weekend. How dare he sit next to you. Clearly you need that empty seat beside you. Clearly he should know the unsaid rule of two seats per person until you have absolutely no other choice. You'll probably politely smile or awkwardly reply, but in your mind you will be counting down the minutes till he will shut up and leave you alone.
That's really what our ipods, books, cellphones, and magazines are for. They are introverted technologies which allow us to disconnect from what is going around behind us, beside us, and in front of us. We put in those little ear buds and feel a sense of security. Those small sound emitters protect us from outsiders.

"You can't talk to me because I can't hear you."

See, that's the problem half of the time--we simply don't hear (let alone listen to) anyone.

Summer

-Jimmy Eat World and Paramore
-Constantines
-Islands
-Deathcab
-Vegas/L.A./Boston/NYC (at least one locale)
-Germany
-Wild Water Works
-Wonderland
-Darien Lake
-Summer Silhouette Issues
-Freelance
-Biking/Jogging
-Smoothies
-Picnics
-BBQs and Pool Parties

-more TBA

This is not peace.

Today I wrote an exam for Conflict Transformation. It's a Peace Studies class, and completely unlike anything I have ever taken. To be honest, I took the course knowing it would boost my average, as it seemed straight-forward and my friend was the T.A.

The exam was supposed to place us in a position of a conflict worker, and after watching a film about the Israeli-Palestinian war, we were responsible for writing a conflict analysis, creating a conflict map, and proposing various strategies for peace. While watching the film, I was blown away by what I was seeing. It was a series of interviews with children from both Israel and Palestine, and it was disheartening to see and hear their thoughts on this territorial (and now religious) war. These kids were perhaps the only chance for change, yet they were so violent.

This one Palestinian boy, Faraj, made a big impact on me. He explained that he was fighting for for Allah, and he used the Qu'ran as a justification for his actions. While the Israeli's (who are allies of the U.S.) had advanced weaponry, Faraj and his friends were still willing to defend their land. He held a rock in his hand and explained that this was all he had.

I think that rock acts as a symbol for this all. That rock represents the unequal distribution of power that none of us care about as long as we aren't the ones getting short-handed. Why does one side always have shiny new grenades, while the other can only act by throwing the debris of their bombed houses? Their walls are crumbling, yet they are throwing the rocks instead of rebuilding.

"How could you, Mrs. Dick?"

This is the intro of one of my favourite essays I wrote this year. It's not a literature essay, but rather an elective law course I took. Mr. John Dick's body was found just a short walk from my house.
--------------------------------

On March 16, 1946, a group of school children made one of the most gruesome discoveries in Hamilton’s history. A headless, limbless torso was found cast aside on the Hamilton Mountain, which was soon identified to be the remains of Hamilton Street Railway worker, John Dick. Recently separated from his wife, Evelyn, if one were to judge by appearance, nobody would ever think the 26 year old woman would be capable of being a part of such a grizzly murder, however, after having a preliminary hearing, His Worship Magistrate Henry A. Burbidge committed Evelyn Dick along with William Bohuzuk and her father, Donald Maclean, for the trial of the murder of John Dick. Unsurprisingly, the jury found Evelyn guilty of murder, and it seemed inevitable that she would be executed. Not only was there an abundance of evidence proving she was a part of the crime, but there were also statements and confessions given to the police that led them to believe beyond a reasonable doubt that she had killed her husband. Known as one of the most famous, sensationalized cases in Canadian history, the trial of Evelyn Dick captivated the nation. Initially found guilty of murder, Evelyn Dick was at jeopardy of execution, and it still puzzles many people how she was able to win an appeal. Through the evidence presented, the Canadian legal system proves that as long as the defence is able to argue misdirection or wrongful admission of evidence, then there are indisputable grounds for a new trial, and in this case, Mrs. Dick really did get away with murder.

Aesthetic.

I seem to have an inherent problem with art. At least, I have a problem with the conventions of it. Art is a bourgeousie construct, and yet it's supposed to be avant-garde? I know there are different types, and I'm essentializing, but what the hell is the purpose of being graded on it, or selling it to middle-upper class white people? It's adhering to everything it tries to avoid. Another capitalist commodity coming out of the cultural shitter.

I was studying Dada recently, hoping to relate to something that classifies itself as 'anti-art.' But when I re-read that sentence, I used the word 'classify.' Even Dadaism cannot escape a dreaded label and at the end of the day, I would rather hang a cubist painting on my wall rather than a portrait of a dirty urinal.

Without the 'X'

New leaf.