As-Salaamu Wa-Alakium

This is addressed to everyone who thinks being purposely offensive to someone’s beliefs is oh, so funny.

It isn’t. You don’t seem cool. You don’t look witty. You just end up looking like a complete arse.

It’s really sad when the person creating the offense is just ignorant and thinks screaming the words “Allah!!!  BOOM!!” is a legitimate term that Muslims use in their everyday lives. Truly, ignorance is a sad, depressing thing. But when someone KNOWS what they’re saying is completely false and is being a jerk for the sake of being a jerk, well, that’s worse than sad. It’s pretty pathetic, actually. It just shows the kind of person you really are. One who does.  Not. Care. And wow, let me tell you, it takes a lot for someone to just really get under my skin and get me PO’d, but those type of people do the trick.

This is short and (sweet?) and I just had to get it off my chest. I guess my final message is, please, for the sake of all that’s good and holy, don’t be ignorant. And if you aren’t ignorant and you DO know better, than act like it.

My goodness…

As-Salaamu Wa-Alaikum = Peace Be With You

Are you excited? ‘Cause I’m excited.

I’ve been reading an awful lot of blogs lately and said to myself “Self…I should start blogging again, too.”

Because usually when I want to rant/get my thoughts out I just talk to somebody and then it’s over. However, perhaps I should channel all that negative energy into blogging. Why do I hate so easily? (Not people…but like books and movies and celebrities. Things you’re “allowed” to hate. ;D) I was seriously contemplating this yesterday as I realised that I just loved hating things. My theory is that it’s because I ‘m so a freakishly bubbly and happy person in real life and am almost never seriously angry about anything so my douse of hate/anger  has to go SOMEWHERE. I think it’s kind of the same reason as to why I love depressing films. I’m never sad about anything in real life because there’s positivity everywhere, and so to get my douse of SAD EMOTIONS, I must watch depressing movies and read depressing books. And I guess that’s why I cry so easily during movies-

RAMBLE ATTACK! Sorry! Caught myself there. No more RAMBLING!

So the next three posts (to make up for lost time?) I’m actually going to have a subject. This is just to let people know I’m going to be semi-active again, Inshaallah.

I want to state that first of all, that whole skit nearly moved me to tears. It was so strong and powerful in the message it was trying to convey! Then, as the crowd rises and applause for the little deaf girl who could, the PANTENE logo jumps out at you and the commercial fades with the tag “You can shine.”

Excuse me?! Did you really just tug at my heart-strings for a shampoo commercial?!?!

….

Anyway. That’s not the point.

The theme of this story is the classic “hero doing the impossible” bit. When all the world seems against the heroine of the story, she rises triumphant, and proves everyone wrong!

 I’m afraid I don’t do so well with reading East-Asian authnecities, but I’m going to guess that this story took place somewhere in China. (double guess: In the city of Beijing!) There is an obvious external conflict between Ing (What I named our protagonist) and Ming (the antagonist and bully. Name given by me again.). Ing is deaf, and because of the external taunts that she suffers from, she believes she is completely incapable of playing music. In this case, incapable of playing the violin (That instrument is HARD!) This is her internal conflict.

That is, until she meets up with Xuan (name curtosy of Ayat and the Chinese Republic), an elderly man who plays the violin like a dream! But here’s the kicker; he’s deaf, too! Being deaf doesn’t have to be a handicap when it comes to playing music is the message she gets through to her.

Throughout the video you see Ing practicing, driven by her motivation to prove herself.

You also see  Ming practicing, driven by her motivation to show off and to prove herself superior to Ing.

You also see Xuan and Ing get beat up in the streets (It was all I could do to keep myself from screaming, thanks) and that is yet, again, another external conflict that Ing has to face.

Then the climax comes. Ming has just gotten done showing off her awesome, mad skills on the piano when Ing steps out, broken violin in hand. She plays. She plays that sucker like there is no tomorrow (With her hair whipping around for dramatic effect!) and then you see a butterfly coming out of it’s cocoon.

This, of course, symbolised Ing coming out of her own “shell” of disbelief in her self. And she “bloomed” (get it?) into something beautiful! Like butterflies. You don’t think they’re anything special until they come out of their cocoon.

I believe the irony was just the fact that a deaf girl conquered over someone who could clearly hear at music; something that the majority of people rely on their ears to perfect.

 What can be considered even more ironic is the fact that this is a shampoo commercial and not some video to try to encourage everyone that “YOU CAN DO IT! NO MATTER WHAT THEY SAY!”

Grr….so angry.

…

Commercial!

Arguably one of the most miraculous things I’ve ever seen! That was, perhaps, the first thought that ran through my mind whilst watching the Lyrebird video. It got especially comical when the bird began to mimic sounds of camera shutters and film rolling! (I have to get one! Oh, we’d have SO MUCH FUN!)

Then things turned sour. I found myself frowning and shaking my head as the bird began to mimic the sounds of chain saws and machinery of trees being demolished and cleared. It’s ironic to think that the bird sings out these sounds for a mate so that an offspring may be born to carry out the species, and yet he sings what may ultimately kill him.

As horrible as the thought is, I expected much worse after receiving a warning that the video was “sad.” I was anticipating the bird being attacked!

I believe the message presented in this case is clearly the sad reality in which these animals live through. It’s almost sickening to realise that machinery is what some of these animals hear on a daily basis. It simply has no room in the wild. Such sounds should not be around to be heard by the exposed ears of the animals. Just think! What should remain foreign to a lyrebird will soon be as natural as water running through a rainforest.

And, again, he, as well as several of the other animals in that particular rainforest and all over the world, are exposed to the things that will ultimately lead to his destruction.

…

And remember, you are a pirate!

I’ll warn you ahead of time that I’d never consider poetry to be a talent of mine. But, when I was sitting at my desk today, I was playing the first two verses of the song, “Is She Weird?” (By the Pixies, for the few who may be wondering) again and again in my head. Then I made up a verse after that and liked it so much that I typed it up on my computer. Then another verse came to me, and then another, until 20 minutes later when I looked at my screen and realised I had a poem.

I sincerely hope you enjoy it.

Oh! Please ask me before trying to showing this to someone else! (Showing as in copying and pasting onto another website) and please give credit where credit it due!!  Thank you very much!

Creeper

Is she weird?
Is she white?
Does she wander through the night?
With a snare in her smile,
She makes dreams an awful while!

Is she near?
Has she come?
Steps light as the tap of a drum?
With a glare in her eyes,
She seeks lonely mortal lives!

Will you be
Unprepared
When she’s creeping up your stairs?
Plans of murder in her heart?
Come to rip your soul apart?

Are you ready?
Will you fight
Odds of death this coming night?
She grows close, she grows near,
She can smell your swelling fear!

Oh, my Lord!
She has come!
Steps as loud as a beating drum!
Seek no mercy, she has naught.
She has come to make you rot!

She is weird!
She is white!
She has wandered through this night!
Awful snare in her smile,
Made this dream a dire while!

There’s no use.
You can’t fight
The witch that chance brings you tonight!
Oh, how gruesome to be host
To a putrid, loathsome ghost!

Have you ever sat down one evening, turned your t.v. to the news, heard a report on a teen suicide, and saw an ad featuring a size two to zero model selling anything from toothpaste to bra cups? It’s so very eerie to think how closely related that teen suicide and ad might be.

We are taught from a very young age that a huge part of our self-worth is how we look, starting with the Barbie dolls that many of us had played with as children. Barbie is the perfect representation of what most women (based on a study) perceive as being the perfect woman. She’s tall, skinny, big-chested, obtains an hour-glass shaped body, has long blonde hair, is blue-eyed, and Caucasian. Then there’s G.I. Joe, who is also tall, Caucasian, and has muscles bulging left and right.

Perhaps growing up with these ideal body figures is why studies show that 4 out of 5 ten year old girls are afraid of becoming fat. Already the pressure to lose weight is on, and at such a young age!

As we get older, and our comprehension of things is better, we feel even more pressured to meet a certain image, because through the media, whether it be ads, t.v. shows, or movies, we’re taught that those images is what beauty is. We are taught that it’s the skinny girl with the big boobs and the perfect hair that gets the guy. Otherwise, you’re fat, unclean, and will more than likely end up unhappy. We are rarely ever advertised anything relating to personality and character (which are really the things that count), or see a beauty commercial with a woman that could easily be your next-door-neighbour.

What this causes is a strive among women and men alike to reach this nearly impossible ideal image (only 5% of girls born in the world will naturally grow up with the ‘ideal’ body with regular meals and exercise.) When reality hits, and people begin to realise that they can’t look like the people in the magazines, leading to a spike in depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts.

So why doesn’t the media stop portraying this false image? Why aren’t we told that it’s okay to look the way the average women should? Because if we did, the beauty industry would lose billions. People would stop believing that buying a Victoria Secret bra will magically transform you into Adriana Lima. That a stroke of a mascara brush will give you miracle lashes. That if you put on a product, you’ll look exactly like the model advertising it. In the fight between self-esteem vs. money, money wins.

Isn’t sad how money always seem to win in this society? No, in the world in general?

Note: I lost the address to the website that I’ve been getting most of my information from. I’ve been looking for it all day, but I think one of my brothers must of snuck onto my computer and cleared part of the history (how silly I was not to bookmark it!) So, instead, I’m posting the second most helpful site. Thank you!

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/25236/the_media_and_influence_on_body_image.html?cat=51

Whilst I’m sure that I’m going to have some sort of nightmare relating to this rather odd (but, admittingly, genius) video, I have to say, I enjoyed it very much. It reminded me so much of every Tim Burton film I’ve ever seen (for your information, I absolutely adore the man), because it consists of that very dark, comedic irony that goes right along with his films and projects.

First of all you see this very thin, very fragile looking girl with long, dark hair. This is very common in the horror genre, so already I had the sense that this film was going to be eerie, and dark. She was wandering around with what looked like a piece of bark, and her clothes look faded and dingy, so then I could assume she was both lonely and poor (probably homeless), which provokes melancholy within me.

Then came along Pencil Face.

It’s ridiculiosly wide smile and ever staring eyes brought a sense of humour, as well as suspicion. Lord knows I’d never feel comfortable (or safe) staring into such a face. The girl, who either had nothing to lose anyway or was just very curious, draws with the pencil, and as a end result she gets cake. After she throws the pencil aside and starts to dive straight into the cake, I  realised this girl was probably starving, and I, as well as the girl, both realise at the same time that this pencil, no matter how creepy it seems, would give her hope and some happiness. But even then, I was still weary of the thing, and was waiting for the whole thing to go down the drain from that point on.

As I watched the video, I noticed that the pencil seemed to be encouraging the girl to draw with visions of happy things, such as the kite. Another reason to give suspicion and to expect bad things to come. When the girl was finally swallowed by the dark hole she was tricked into drawing, I was initially shocked! But then, after a moment of taking all of what had just happened, I chuckled. Thinking about it, the whole situation was tragically hilarious.

If someone told me to guess the moral to this film, I’d tell them that greed will lead to your own destruction. But you have to give sympathy to the poor girl, she was starving and poor and lonely. With Pencil Face she found a friend that supplied her with food and fun. So my real moral would be not to trust something that’s too good to be true.

If I were to encounter Pencil Face, I’d turn the other way around and head for the hills, but if I had to opportunity to draw anything, wow, I really don’t know. I guess I’d draw a character from a novel I’m working on. And then I’d sit her down and interview her, to save me the trouble of coming up with her background story. (Oh, how wonderful would that be!) Next, I’d draw the next character, and then the next (except the villains). From that point all, I suppose I’d draw every little creation that pops up in my head.

I’d live rather happily after that point, I believe. For the world would be full and alive, all with my creations.

I guess you can say that I’ve always defined raced by the colour of ones skin. At least, that would always be my first clue. If I can guess a race by ones colour, that’s when I take in consideration the shape of the nose, the fullness of the lips, and then the eyes. This was my formula for solving race. So, going into the “Sorting People” quiz, I thought the test would be rather easy. I was wrong, miserably wrong, and have a final of five to prove it.

During the quiz, I found myself asking how light or dark someone looked, seeing, and putting, colour first. I wouldn’t even consider anyone to be Hispanic/Latino, Indian American, or Black if they had light skin. The same goes for the Whites, and the Asians, whom I wouldn’t consider so if they were dark-skinned. This, I believe, was my most fatal mistake. To depend solely on skin appearance.

As to whether or not this something important to realise about ourselves, I think it is. I felt like hypocrite after taking that quiz, for I’m always complaining about the times when someone mistakes me for an Arab, solely based on my appearance. Because I wear hijab, I must come from the Middle East, right?  

I’ve learned now that appearance truly isn’t everything.

Cool quiz, by the way!

Hello, all!

It’s been such a long time since I’ve been on this site! To tell you the truth, and I hadn’t much to say. I finished Fahrenheit 451 about a week ago, and let me tell you, that book did NOT disappoint. Ray Bradbury’s way of writing in unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. It was just so…unique! I absolutely loved it. I’ve got the library copy, but I plan on buying my own personal copy. My only heartbreak throughout the entire book was the sudden absence of a certain someone. I don’t want to ruin anything for those who’ve yet to read it, but those who have, you know who I mean.

So after finishing up Huck and Fahrenheit, work and all, I decided to take a little time off away from the summer reading and just relax a bit. I ventured outside a few days ago and took some pictures of good ol’ nature, which are shown below. The pictures are anything special, but it felt nice to walk around and enjoy nature and life for a while.

Bee shot

One of my favourite trees

Mysterious marks. o_O?

My sister and her daughter had come over for a visit 2 Sundays ago. I never see my niece enough for her to know that I’m “family” (She’s only about 2) so I had to bribe her into liking me, and letting her know that I’m at least “friendly” . So, because we didn’t have any little girl toys, I offered to let her draw on my whiteboard. It worked! I quickly became somewhat of a “favourite” of hers, and she trusted me enough not to stare me down with that confused “Who are you and why are you holding me?” look whenever I held her. But, I paid for my bride, for she was always wanting to draw, and for her to reach the whiteboard, I had to be carrying her. So you can imagine how tired and sore my arms grew.

But seeing that adorable little smile of hers was completely worth it.

This picture that you’re seeing here was one of countless creations she made, but this was my favourite, because I think it looks like a horse. What do you think?

So, I’ll well rested and relaxed and I’m ready to start working on my third book, which is going to be McTeague. I think is going to be reasonably easy to complete, since it’s all about keeping a journal, and writing down my thoughts, which sounds like a lot of fun to me. I don’t know, I just love the idea. I just love writing in general, and especially in these circumstances where I have the freedom to say what I think. Yay!

Enough about me, how has your summer been?