Its
been a little over a month since my last post. I know, I'm a
heathen. Hate me later though, because I've been so busy the
last month that when I did finally have a day to rest, I decided
to use it to sleep and play Oblivion instead of writing entries
in here. Actually, there were two entries that I typed up, both
having to do with graduating and moving on and being excited for
college, but they felt so mundane that I didn't have the heart
to post them. So instead, I'm speeding through that period of
time with a few simple sentences: I graduated. I partied. Now
its time to saddle up for college.
Although I still have about a month and a half before I leave,
so I'm going to mostly be working and taking a few vacations. I
leave next week for Lake Placid, and about a month after that
I'm going to Saranac lake. In-between I'm going to be working at
a counseling office filing paperwork and things like that.
Anyway, over the next few days there is going to be some
hardcore Independence day celebrations around town. It might
have something to do with living just a stone's throw away from
Philadelphia, but the whole area that I live in going just about
nuts near the fourth of July. So its going to be a full schedule
of parades, fireworks, barbeques, and sparklers. Have a great
holiday!
5.23.08
Not Sure
I take twenty minutes out of every day to walk around town.
I started doing this a week or so ago, when I had a lot of stuff
going on and I needed to get out of my house. When things get
slow I get jittery, like I need to move, and my nerves start to
frizz around the edges. Early on, the walks spanned for over
four hours, but began to even out a bit. Now my nerves aren't so
bad, and I can sit still for more then ten minutes at a time,
but I've grown to like the habit.
The walks were rain or shine, and usually around the same time.
Which meant that as the days went by, I got insight into the
lives of people who live around me. I always saw the same two
pre-teens skipping down one street, and I usually passed a
teacher and his son strolling down another. People were coming
home from work around the same time and the same people were
populating a local coffee shop. I know which outdoor cats belong
to which houses, and how many of those cats are friendly.
I've mentioned before how much I hate feeling like I'm missing
out on seasonal changes and nature. For the last few weeks I
feel like I'm getting back to a part of my life that I enjoy.
On a side note, I have a new music list for everyone to check
out, if they're interested.
Samson- Regina Spektor
White Houses- Vanessa Carlton
The World Spins Madly
On- The Weepies
Easy/Lucky/Free- Bright
eyes
Four Winds- Bright eyes
Emergency- Paramore
Dogs- Damien Rice
Listen, and be merry.
All my love,
Onyx
5.18.08
Some Honesty
Hey everyone, its been a long while since I've posted. Once
again, I have missed the anniversary of this website's
beginning, so onyxlunacy.com turned two without any recognition
at all. Sorry baby!
A lot has changed over the last two years, most of that change
occurring away from the eyes of the readers who have never met
me, and no thanks to the minimal amount of information about me
on the blog, many readers weren't let in on these changes. Many
people may not have noticed them at all.
I won't go in to what things were like when all of this began- I
was a different person then, not in a dramatic "I have since
made a miraculous turnaround" way, but in a "I hadn't yet formed
completely into who I am now" way. I was very young when this
all started, young and much more naive then I am now. Not saying
that I'm not naive now- I'm naive enough to pull a map out in
the middle of a city and not to tell off an obvious scammer in
the middle of a city- but I recognize the scams now (for the
most part). That was a digression, its a story for another day.
Basically what I've been working around is that while I was
changing and going through a lot of stuff in real life, I never
went out and shared these things on the website. This maintained
my privacy, yes, but I never really got the feeling of
self-expression I wanted, although I was at the time, happy with
how things were going. Because, while I joked about wanting
readers and comments and all those things, I was okay if I
didn't get visits. It made it all that more exciting when there
was a 5 second hit from Dubai.
But in a month I'm graduating from high school. I'm still not
going to say where, but I am leaving a huge chapter of my life
behind and heading up to the New York area to go to college.
This means I'm moving out of my home, leaving friends I've had
for almost 13 years, and being completely responsible for
myself. And I'm going to be honest here- I'm scared pretty much
shitless. As much as I want to have more freedom and become more
independent, there has always been a part of me who never
expected to get this far. I've always had a feeling like I would
just be a high school student perpetually. Like college was a
joke teachers told to get us to work harder, but really we would
never leave.
The last few weeks I've been having trouble sleeping, because my
dreams switch between the weeks prior to graduating high school
and the opening weeks of college. Even mentally I am stuck
between two very different realities. Its scary, but so
exciting. Right now I'm excited, a week ago I wanted to cry
whenever I thought about it. It changes a lot, and I expect it
will change again in a few days or maybe even an hour.
To close this up, I suppose I really just wanted to open up this
website to some huge events going on in my life, things that are
going to impact everything. I didn't want to continue to have to
hide certain things. So those of you who had an expectation
spoilt or unfounded, please continue on my journey with me
anyway. I'd love to have you.
All my love,
Onyx
4.16.08
Not A Very Long Week.
I know I haven't been posting anything of substance for the
last few months. I wish I could change that, but I haven't
stopped running around since school started in September (not to
mention the craziness from the summer before that) so the things
I used to do in my free time has taken a serious backseat to
everything else I have going on. Which is something we like to
call life, and that won't change. However, when I look out my
window and realize that the tree outside has flowers on it,
which means I missed almost a week of it being nearly in bloom,
I can't help feeling like I'm missing the world around me. I
miss the outdoors, being able to take part in the world that was
created for me to live in. So much of my time is spent in
man-built institutions that I can't help but to feel trapped
sometimes, as if too many hours are spent behind concrete
bricks.
On a separate note, I've become very uncomfortable with my
poetry lately, because I've studied poetry seriously for the
first time and I've come to realize that how I write is
different from the styles I've been seeing. Strangely enough, in
a class I have that acts almost as a counterpart to the class
that I'm studying poetry in, I am reading my poems and being
greeted with general approval. I only bring this up because I'll
probably clean out the poetry section some time soon, if not
remove it altogether while I try to figure out what's going on.
Sometimes my human brain can't decide which part of me to
believe.
Lastly, before I disappear for another two weeks, I wanted to
discuss my latest art project, which is different from all of
the ones I've ever done before. I am creating a large board,
which I hope to fill with love notes written from one person to
another. I'm opening this up to my friends first as a test,
asking them to write to their friends, boyfriend/girlfriends,
parents, siblings, or anyone they know who they love in some
way, romantically or otherwise. In a few days I want to open it
up to anyone who wants to be involved. (Which means if I have
any readers who are interested, feel free to drop an e-mail or a
comment in the Contact section). This project will be
displayed at a show through my school at the end of next month.
The notes can be written anonymously if it is wished, and the
person the note is directed to does not have to be written on
the note. When the project is finished, I'll try to post photos.
All my love,
-Onyx
P.S. I know for the last few years, since the
beginning actually, the penname Onyx has been signed to this
site, mostly for the purpose of maintaining anonymity. But I
feel a little bit like I'm able to hide too comfortably behind a
fake identity, and I may be changing the penname decision soon.
Time will tell, as I flip-flop on the decision continuously, as
I have for months.
4.13.08
Taking A Break
Nothing to post right now, look for me in a week or so!
3.27.08
100 Things I'd Like
To Do: Part 3
numbers 41-60
41. Watch every Lord of the Rings movie, in
order, without stopping.
42. make a chain of paper cranes
43. Publish a few of my poems somewhere as a
mini collection
44. Create a wall-sized collage
45. Find a creative purpose for the memory boxes
I've kept
46. Fill my bookshelves with books I want to
read
47. Write a letter on an old-fashioned
typewriter.
48. Make a sculpture taller then myself.
49. Throw a Great Gatsby themed party
50. Get my own Library card
51. Swing on a tire swing
52. Learn how to play Chinese checkers
53. Stand on every continent (the inhabitable
ones)
54. Make my own curtains
55. Live in South America for six months
56. Work disarming land mines in Cambodia
57. Finish one of my books
58. Write a screenplay
59. Learn how to change a tire
60. Go to SxSw
3.25.08
Eating Grenades
I wanted to post a poem I wrote last night up here for a
little while, before I retired it to the poetry section.
Eating Grenades.
Our fingernails scrape the dull, hapless ridges.
Dead skin left behind where the grooves fall and rise.
They’re eating grenades
Out where the watermelon and the cantaloupe won’t ripen,
And the seeds taste like
Coins scraped from the bottoms
Of
the fountain of youth.
We
have no youth,
Only shadows of role models,
Fall in where our leaders leave off,
Leaking bombastic garbage to the ones
Who save up to buy their lies
Printed on newsprint, printed.
Another tree wasted.
They’re eating grenades
Out in the dust and the gloom where the sun doesn’t shine,
Where a parasol covers the entire horizon,
And that parasol is black from the soot and deceit
That flows from our leaders like blood from the ones who are
Eating the grenades we throw at them.
We’re eating grenades,
Taking it all in without taking anything in at all.
Our two-fingered waves and winks fall short of the appropriate
greeting,
The way things should be done.
We’re just drinking it all in, asking for seconds in our hungry
culture,
Just glad we could lap up someone else’s lap cat.
They want us to be lap cats.
They’re feeding grenades,
Out there farther then we can see or hear or smell or taste,
Out there in the forgotten land,
Where our sun doesn’t shine
Where our newsprint ran out of ink and instead of hearing the
stories they live them,
Over and over again they live them and breathe them and choke on
our grenades.
Everyone is eating grenades,
Everyone is swallowing dust and teeth and lies.
No
one is safe from the range of the grenade,
No
amount of hiding and ducking and covering and praying will
Take away the affect of the grenade.
We
must all watch these grenades, will them to go away.
When will we learn,
To
throw the grenades back,
To
the one who makes them?
-Onyx
Please note all poems are protected under a
Creative Commons License, as seen at the bottom of the page.
3.24.08
Vacation (Updated!)
As I said before I left, I was going on a vacation to
Orlando a few weeks ago. While I was in Orlando, I hit the
traditional tourist stops; Disney World, Animal Kingdom, Epcot,
and Universal. Now imagine me jumping up and down repeatedly
like a little girl... that's how excited I was.
You see, I've never been to Disney World before. And because I'm
just so damn excited, I'm posting pictures.
Just a few pictures, though. Mostly because people I know
(myself included) are in all of the other ones, and posting them
would put a cork in that whole online safety thing.
All in all, I had a blast. Epcot was my favorite, even though it
down poured the entire time I was inside. I loved visiting each
of the countries and going through the shops. Japan and China
were my favorites, but France was definitely pretty cool too.
P.S. Pay close attention to the Sound Byte
sidebar, there are some big things going on!
P.P.S. I found this entry by
Sarah Brown to be intriguing:
-Onyx
3.23.08
Unfair
It feels unfair not to post for so long, and then to post
only two lists when I get home. Don't get used to this sort of
treatment, though. I'm a co-director for a local play, which
means I'm going to disappear for extended periods of time, yet
again. Honestly, how could anyone ever put up with me?
It has been really nice to be home though, to wake up with my
cat next to me and sun shining through my bedroom window. If you
get the chance, don't take that sort of thing for granted. The
things I tend to miss the most when I'm busy are the simplest
things; The weather, the news, and inner thought.
Its true; when I find myself running here and there more often
then I am in one place, thinking, I lose the really important
basics. The sun and rain become exact replicas of one another,
cold and hot bounce off my skin without a second thought, and
flowers bloom without me even noticing that the stalk was
beginning to bud. Suddenly, I am missing entire protests and
people are dying and I don't know it. My opinions take a back
seat to my robotic schedule, where to be and where to stand and
what my cues are. I'm busy with things that make me happy, but
miss the calm, the ability to breathe and write and process.
When everything is stripped bare, those are the things that are
important to me. My center, where I am mentally, that is more
important to me then any schedule. The World, The Earth, those
are extensions of myself, and they are more important then My
center, my self.
My goal from today on is to not forget these things again.
All my love,
Onyx
3.23.08
100 things I'd like
to do: Part 2
Number's 21-40
21. write an article for a newspaper
22. make my own mug
23. showcase a piece of artwork
24. collect 20+ pins/buttons
25. sketch bridges from foreign cities
26. Fly a kite
27. Shop in an antique store
28. participate in Free Hugs!
29. grow an herb garden
30. learn calligraphy
31. Keep a plant alive for over a year
32. solder a piece of jewelry
33. Work in a museum
34. Put my minimal knowledge of French to good
use
35. Celebrate a birthday in another country
36. light sparklers for the Near Year
37. Buy a fish and name it Meiko
38. pet a Giraffe (again!)
39. make my own pair of gloves
40. Get a comment on one of my Flickr photos.
3.16.08
100 things I'd like
to do: Part 1
Number's 1-20 (no particular order)
1. Watch a sunrise
2. Carve my name into a tree
3. Have a Peacock-themed Christmas tree
4. See Damien Rice in concert
5. make a stuffed animal
6. Paint a mural in a public place
7. Own a coffee shop
8. Live in San Diego for a year
9. Design cover art for a CD
10. make a pin/button
11. Work tech on a movie set
12. learn a song to play on guitar
13. Write for a Zine
14. design a tattoo
15. Read in a park
16. Become good enough at spinning poi that I
can try it with fire
17. Read every book published by Jane Austen
18. Touch a pyramid
19. Go backpacking in Southeast Asia
20. finish my Altered Book
3.5.08
Planes
The day I grew up was the day that I heard a whirling sound
from outside my bedroom window, and I thought we were under
nuclear attack. I live on a flight route to a nearby airport, so
lights and sounds coming from the sky are not uncommon, but this
particular night sounded very realistic. Or at least, how I
would imagine it would sound.
I knew I had grown up when, instead of panicking, I took a few
moments to accept what was happening, and then rolled over in
bed, convinced that, since there was nothing else to do,
worrying was unnecessary. I decided, in a manner of seconds,
that I would wait a few minutes to see what would happen, and
then if I could, I would take whatever emergency instinct humans
develop in times of crisis and worry about survival when the
time came.
I pray every day that children won't grow up thinking that way.
It seems like younger children are maturing so much faster then
my peers and myself had to, and I'm not very far away from the
"growing up" stage. In fact, I remember clearly when I began to
think certain things about the world, when I began to notice the
"state of affairs" and lose my trust in most media. I hope that
despite all of the things happening in politics, in the economy,
and in the news, children will be able to get a few more years
out of innocence before they join the ranks among the rest of
us.
A teacher of mine says that with any luck, we all maintain a
small child inside of us. I believe that to be true. I also
believe that my generation is losing sight of that child sooner
then our parents did, and the children after us are losing those
inner kids even sooner then we did.
A lot of things worry me about the world, and for some reason,
even though I have no control over it, it is the cumulative loss
of innocence we seem to be experiencing as a society that
worries me the most on those nights when I do nothing but listen
to the planes overhead, wondering what is going on so many miles
above the surface.
-Onyx
3.2.08
Whoops
I'm Back! Sorry for the prolonged absence!
I've been really busy with a lot of stuff these last few weeks,
and as much as I wanted to post and tell the
World Wide Web all about them, I
also needed to find some time to sleep. So I'm well rested, but
this website's been neglected for nearly a month.
To be fair, I must add that posting is most likely going to be
lax for the next two weeks as well, because I am working on
Stage Crew for a local theatre until Saturday and then on Monday
night (i.e. Tuesday morning) I am supposed to be heading down to
Florida for a few days. Remember that you love me, and then put
the bricks down please.
In other, less offending, news; I've been doing a lot of reading
in the 10-15 minute spurts of downtime I've found hiding under
rocks and swept into crevices. I've read both
A Prayer for Owen Meany by
John Irving and The Bell Jar
by Sylvia Plath. I'd recommend them both. They are two vastly
different books, in both writing style, length, and plot, but if
you have the time, definitely give them a shot. Maybe when I
come back, I'll do a write-up about each of them.
2.12.08
Consistency, Please
Last week it was in the 60's, mildly sunny. The birds were
starting to make a re-appearance and the kids playing at the
playground across the street had more energy in their voices
then I've heard in a long time.
Today it was in the 30's with snow, sleet, ice, and rain.
Everything is gray, like ash, and no one has the time to look
around because we're all too busy trying to duck away from
nature's withering glare. I haven't seen anyone playing outside
today.
I could just scream.
2.4.08
Extending Your Music
Library
Seventeen songs you should check out if you haven't already:
1. Under The Milky Way- The Church
2. Oedipus- Regina Spektor
3. These Are The Nights- Making April
4. I Lose It All Inside- Spencerlane
5. Play Three Again- Backseat Goodbye
6. Saint John- Cold War Kids
7. Piano Song- Meiko
8. Arabian Love Song- The Slowest Train In The
World
9. Catch 22- Wine Stained Lips
10. Pantomime- Jade of Days
11. Jerusalem- Dan Bern
12. Let The Truth Sting- David Gray
13. Dogs- Damien Rice
14. Wa Winjigo Ero- Ayub Ogada
15. Eurydice- Sleepthief
16. Some Senseless Day- The Reputation
17. Leave The Light On- My Little Radio
Just thought they deserved to be revealed to the
knowledge of the public, if they haven't already. Enjoy!
P.S. Most of these songs can be found on
Purevolume, others on Youtube.
UPDATE! First ever Self Portrait
Challenge is up!
2.2.08
Hibernation: Over!
Thanks for sticking with my days of silence. I'm getting
better now, so we can return to our previously scheduled program
sans "The Weepies"
Today's list: inanimate objects I would have liked to have as
best friends (and why):
- My Black Converse (we could stay up all night telling jokes
about my clumsiness, fantasize about the different geographies
of far-off places, and discuss the fashions of shoelaces.)
- The Amethyst Ring I Inherited from my Grandmother ( S/he could
tell me stories about what it was like being an intimate part of
my grandmother's life, and we would have something close by to
talk about her whenever we needed to.)
- My Alarm Clock ( We could laugh about my half-asleep delusions
when he buzzes every morning, and we could spend the days
counting internals of eight, mimicking the snooze alarm.)
- A Pen I Took From Work ( She could inspire me with how
hardworking she's been, leaving trails bound to the wishes of
anyone who picks her up. She could tell me about the places
she's traveled, contracts she's signed and is bound to (she owns
seven houses and a pony she's never met) and how it feels to be
an advertising ploy for a drug company. Her story is a tale of
sadness, hope, and inspiration.)
1.27.08
The Sad List
I've been feeling sort of sad lately. Not the wallowing,
depressed, sort of sad, but a lingering sad that stems from more
of an accumulation of random things than anything else. But
because I have no where else to put it, I figured the internet
was probably the best place.
1. Over the summer I
agreed to watch a friend's fish for 6-7 month. I've grown pretty
attached to him, and I have to give him back sometime this week.
While I've already made arrangements to go out and buy another
fish, I know that it isn't going to be the same and I'm going to
miss the little guy.
2. Angelique's blog,
which is so well-written, funny, and touching.
3. The spring is no
closer to getting here then I want it to be. As I expressed
yesterday, I need to get out and walk around, but it really just
isn't as pleasant when your nose is numb and your eyeballs have
frozen into place.
4. I've begun to
realize that I'm not half as mature as I need to be for most of
the larger changes happening in my life, and I'm starting to
worry panic.
5. I don't feel very
creative anymore, I need to rejuvenate my
writing/beading/painting zest but I can't figure out how.
I'm really hoping that
this is just a passing thing, and I've been trying very hard to
stay positive because all in all, most of this list consists of
small things that have very little (and in the case of #2,
nothing) to do with me, or things that are out of my control or
will pass in time. I suppose as the week goes by I'll just keep
thinking about moonlight and kittens and that plot outline
for my story that just needs a little tweaking and then will be
good to go.
-Onyx
1.26.08
Suddenly Out of It.
I only walked in my door ten minutes ago, and already I have
the need to wander. I want to wake up before the sun rises and
watch the sky, or watch as the stars fade with the light. I want
to study the moon while it dances from one side of the sky to
the other. I want to spend the night sitting outside, just
watching, not trapped by distractions. Just the cold, cold air
and the biggest field we have.
1.23.08
Me and Amazon, we're
tight.
I love ordering things off of Amazon.com. I do it often, and
more times then not I praise the Amazon gods when my shipment
arrives with amazing timing and pizzazz. But I have always tried
to buy things from Amazon itself, not from the independent
sellers on the site, because as far as internet shipping goes, I
am never sure where the trust level is for that sort of thing. I
can never tell if private Amazon stores are like, those tiny
stalls in the center of the mall where you can buy things that
you won't find in the other stores, or like those shady
jacket-salesmen trying to sell watches made of a wrench and a
broken paperclip. But I had a gift certificate, and I needed an
Ipod cover, so I went for it.
So far, so good. The shipment came in within a week, prolonged
by the holiday weekend, no doubt. I received precisely what was
in the photo, and all seems to be fair thus far.
1.22.08
5 Cool Things That
People Do...
To make me think that humanity may not be completely flawed.
1. Give patronage to private businesses instead of
corporations when its affordable.
2. Pay tolls for the random car behind them.
3. Teach other people a hobby of theirs because they're
eager to learn.
4. Show children patience and kindness.
5. Create art to produce positive thoughts about our
earth.
I hope that when the opportunities arise, I can/will contribute.
(ed. note) 6. Not kill me because I
tend to panic when my ducks forget why I lined them up in a row
oh-so-sweetly and I threaten death on other people's family
members. Its not so cool, and I should work on that.
1.21.08
Crummy Cramming.
I have exams this week. It isn't an incredibly stressful
schedule, but its always a bit of a challenge, cramming an
entire semester of information into an hour or so of testing.
I've gotten pretty used to exams at this point, so I usually
revert to the same typical actions when this week comes up; junk
food, comfy clothing, old music, random spurts of exercise-like
activity, caffeine binges, and other hermit-like activities. The
dashboard of my laptop becomes filled with reference-esque
websites such as dictionary.com, wikipedia, and google (plus,
you know, youtube) and my bed is covered with a semester's worth
of worksheets that I most likely never even looked at before
shoving them into that special hole in the wall I keep for
storing things like my sanity and the lyrics to "baby I love
your way".
Maybe I'll post again once I get my nose free from this book its
stuck it. We'll see.
-Onyx
1.17.08
Life After People
My Dad instilled a love of history into me when I was
growing up. As far back as I can remember, he would take my
brother and I into Philadelphia or Washington or New York on the
weekends and we would tour different museums. Sometimes we'd go
to a natural history museum, or a science museum, or an art
museum. But my favorites were always the history museums. I
loved learning about the different cultures, the people, and how
the world fit itself together and created a balance of so many
different elements. How we, as people, have manipulated nature
and tweaked the Earth to meet out needs has always seemed
intensely interesting.
Both my dad and myself are looking forward to a show the History
Channel is coming out with on Sunday; Life After People. It
shows what the world would be like if people were removed from
it (sort of like we blipped off the radar- no intense disaster
necessary). Its a perfect mixture of what People have
contributed to the planet, in juxtaposition to what we've taken
away and what will come back. My favorite scenes from the
previews are the ones that show animals living in the buildings
we created- manipulating our world to their needs, much like we
did to theirs so many years ago.
1.16.08
Five Items That Are Pretty
AND Amazing
If you take a little trip over to
Etsy.com, you'll find about a
million things people are making and selling that are absolutely
gorgeous. Sort of like a window shopper, I'm pointing out things
that I like and would buy, given that I actually had cash.
Head or Heart Anatomy Pins
Hand Painted Poppies Card
"Silver" Earrings
Fused Glass Pendant
Hand-bound Leather Journal
1.13.08
Realization
Towards the beginning of last week some of the most amazing
weather misted through my little town. Most of those days were
spent filming a video for a few friends, who needed extra actors
for a class grade. On the first of those days two of us weren't
needed for a few scenes, so we sat in a car with the windows
rolled down while the sun set and geese rested on a creek that
hadn't melted yet. It struck me how beautiful it was, in a place
that I have been a million times before. I've begun to realize
that everything has the power to be beautiful, so long as I'm
willing to take the time to notice it.
-Onyx
1.8.08
Mondo Beyondo List:
Part One
1. What do you want
to acknowledge yourself for in regard to
2007?
Last year I was finally able to find and
acknowledge God and the role that he played
in my life. When a family member died in
2002, I stopped believing in God and spent
the next 4-5 years convincing myself that
God didn't exist, that I was on my own and
the most I could do was love myself and
nature and others and try to get on with
life as best as I could. I'm not sure what
changed, but I was able to open myself up to
the possibility of religion and while I
still struggle with some concepts (previous
to my disbelief, I didn't have much
religious experience to begin with.) I'm
proud to at least be able to say that I was
able to find something to believe in. The
concept of faith may not be lost on me
completely, and I feel as if that may be a
small sort of accomplishment.
2.
What is there to
grieve about 2007?
2007 was a year of intense stress and
worry. My workload intensified
extraordinarily, and for the first time I
felt what stress was really like.
Simultaneously, my cousin was diagnosed with
Leukemia and spent the summer undergoing
chemo treatments while the family hung on to
every piece of news that we could
accumulate. I worry about him just
like everyone else. So I suppose I'm
grieving the negative energy of last year,
and I hope that this coming year proves to
be better in the health and happiness of my
family.
3. What else do
you need to say about the year to declare it
complete?
While a lot of the concerns and worries
that started in 2007 are carrying over into
2008, I think that 2007 being put to rest
will remove a lot of the bad energy, and
allow new energy to come into my life. 2007
was a year of growth, maturity, and many
learning experiences for me. I treasure
every one of the lessons that I learned, and
I look forward to applying those lessons to
my life in 2008 and beyond.
I spent New Years Eve out with a group of friends in a local
coffee house. Ten minutes to midnight, we each made a Bucket
List- a group of things we wanted to do before we died.
Here's mine:
1. Go to Kenya, India, or Cambodia
2. Knit a Scarf
3. Learn Thai
4. Take a roadtrip
5. Live in a city
6. Live in a foreign country
7. Make something I can feel proud of
8. Get a college degree
9. Find the meaning of life!*
10. See a wonder of the world
11. Go to the Sundance film festival.
12. Go to South by Southwest
13. Send a PostSecret!
14. Be a vegetarian
15. Learn to cook with tofu
16. write a positive poem
* I wrote this down
as a joke to myself- the meaning of life is a personal decision,
whose definition is defined by the reaching of that decision and
what is done with the decision once you've come to it. I found
the meaning of my life as I live it right now... but if that
changes, my goal is to find the courage to be able to
understand, comprehend, and accept the new meaning, even if the
changes I'll have to make are inconvenient.
12.29.07
Its almost impossible to believe that 2008 is right around
the corner. I'd say that 2007 went by So!
Fast! and it's just Unbelievable!
but honestly, this may have been the busiest year of my life,
and I'm a little bit ready to put it to the past. For starters,
this was the year of my first-ever internship, which ate my
entire summer in a whirlwind of self-help and information. I
absolutely loved the entire experience, but I didn't actually
catch a break until the end of November, around Thanksgiving, so
I was pretty much ready for that
curl-up-into-a-ball-and-cry, thing. November was also the
month of a million papers, applications, and
planning-for-the-rest-of-my-life.
Honestly, I'm not exactly ready to stamp out an answer every
time someone asks me what I want to do with my life.
Which brings us to December, the month of not knowing what I
wanted to do anymore, doubting my choices, and pretty much
preparing to quit this whole school business, join a band of
traveling circus clowns, and going through life by the seat of
my pants, which would have been great pair with the
hyperventilation when I realized that I probably couldn't make a
to-do list for that sort of thing.
So, with a new year coming, even though I don't entirely believe
in the "New Year, New Person" philosophy that seems to be
adopted around this time of year, I'm going to take a deep
breath. 2008 is not going to mean change in my personality, I'm
not going to cure world hunger or find a new species of beetle
under my couch. But I'm trying to remind myself, that as the
years pass I do get older, and with age comes a larger
responsibility towards keeping the grip on reality that I tend
to loose what I get freaked out.
I mean, when someone asks what I want to do with my life, it's
easy to just give the answer that has been programmed into my
head; "I want to go into _________, so that I can do
__________."
But how terrible would it be if one day I just said that I
didn't know? That I have an entire lifetime ahead of me, and
that I want to do as many things as I possibly can with my time?
Sure, I want to get X degree and
work in Y field, but I also want to
do other things like open a beading, book, or coffee shop. Or
write a book even if it can't get published, or learn how to
spin poi and finally pull over onto the side of that highway and
photograph the way the smoke from the oil refinery catches the
sunset and creates a really cool perspective, even though it
hurts the environment. I want to do so much, and I think it
should be okay that the course of the rest of my life isn't
describable in a single complex sentence that includes my
profession at the end.
12.9.07
Creative Development?
I can't seem to be able to trust my inner self right now.
The peace that I once felt has begun to ebb away recently, and
I'm afraid of how long it will be gone. Its frustrating, trying
to unite yourself while still outwardly reflecting a
self-awareness that barely exists.
But at the same time, I've found happiness in finding the
ability to just go with things. I have found a group of people
who I love and trust and feel safe being around. I am happy
surrounding myself with them and the people who have made me
unhappy for so long are now so far from my life that I can
barely consider them any sort of threat anymore.
Maybe this is all a part of these intense changes I feel
happening in my life; my life's direction is changing and my
focus is shifting. Perhaps all that I need is to accept that
things are changing, that I am changing, and figure out how to
enjoy those changes.
-Onyx
12.4.07
Predicting A Warning
I have become the filter through which drama is poured,
weeded out, and decided upon. Despite my own dramatic
personality, my respect for intricate conflict, I continue to be
the place where is drama is fed. People want answers, and more
often then not, I am expected to have them.
Subsequently, many days pass where I feel disconnected.
Everyone is their story. She is upset because of this,
show her comfort. He needs to be held, his own world
can't contain him anymore, help him find his way. I feel blessed
that I am looked to, but when my own world has entered flux, I
realize that I am merely a portal, a filter, a place for the
drama to go until it can be passed on.
To protect my senses, to keep them from dulling into those
pencil tips abandoned in the tin trash bins at the fringes of
classrooms, I ignore the subtle. They are noticed, those looks
of frustration, the lack of directness. The bubble around me,
smaller but with an increased density, only obliges the loud
cries; things of outrage and spite.
There is an excellent chance that this entry makes no sense. But
I am not here to tell a story, only relate to you the emotions
behind the story. I get the feeling now that it is not the plot
that is important, as its the development of the character that
the reader will bring home and cherish against their pillow
cases at the end of a long day.
It has been a long day.
-Onyx
P.S. I will
try to promise a much more lucid entry for you soon.
12.2.07
Why A Makeover May Have Been A Bad Idea
Last week I updated my favorites list of blogs on my laptop.
Part of this process entailed the checking of every website in
order to find the ones that still existed, or had at least
posted once since the day I had found it(over a year ago, in
many cases). This went along for a good twenty minutes, sans
shenanigans. But that is not the story I'm telling. The story
I'm going to tell involves sadness, crushed dreams, and internet
cruelty. Until the end, that is. The end isn't so bad. But,
without further ado, the story (technically, you were reading
the prologue!):
Miguel By Onyx
When I originally started to blog, there was a wonderfully
charming blog about a guy who was getting ready to propose to
his girlfriend. He kept the site up through the proposal, photos
of the ring, and designs for the house they were building
together. Then something happened, I'm not sure what, but my
computer couldn't get onto the site anymore. I shrugged it off,
and forgot about it until my cleaning the other week. I clicked
the link, because the forthcoming apocalypse was unbeknownst to
my person. Upon clicking the link, my internet went into a
frazzled seizure, and then promptly shut down, freezing every
other program I had opened and then vomited on my cat. It was
unpleasant, and sort of mean.
So the next day, after summing up the courage to not only
re-open the internet but to actually allow my mouse cursor to
rest above the offending link, I tried to delete the site
from my files.
Well what do you know! Satan apparently had big plans for the
link, because instead of right-clicking, my hand mysteriously
slid onto the left-button-clicker, and the apocalypse re-hashed
itself in all of it's former glory. I gave up with tears of
frustration, and then ran off to hide my cat. She's frightened
and smelly, but overall okay.
Finally, tonight, I took advantage of it being within a half
hour of the holiest day of the week and attempted to delete the
link for a third time. It finally worked, and I must say, it was
quite nice to hear the virtual sigh from my computer as well as
the simultaneous reappearance of my cat.
The End.
-Onyx
12.1.07
Days
I have to change my calendar today. I have to give this new
set of days a different title; an order of un-sameness tucked
away from the rest. But The Rest comes in other increments, so
"the rest" can barely be categorized together.
We number our days so they can feel separate. If we didn't, how
often would we just be repeating the same patterns, over and
over? The difference between Tuesday and Wednesday is nothing
more then the names their given, maybe the weather. But those
patterns don't change, the patterns that I used to fight before
I became too weary to try and examine them.
I'm fighting a new fight now, the fight against allowing myself
to get caught up in the patterns. Every day is different, and
its one day less that I have. Even something so small as
realizing the wind is brushing the trees aside to a different
direction, a different place; or even the leaves on a tree were
a shade darker the day before, and now sunlight has brightened
them. I need to notice these things more often then I am. I need
to take the next step in observation, and stop noticing things
when I choose to see them, and begin to recognize where the
pattern ends naturally.
For the first time in my life, I have a new years resolution
before the year has ended.
-Onyx
11.25.07
Routine
This morning I decided to go through all of the files in my
internet favorites dedicated to blogs. There are quite a few,
you see, more than I've ever blogged about. There are about one
hundred blogs filed away on my laptop; most of which I don't
read anymore.
They were categorized in a pretty terrible way; 5 star, 4 star,
3 star, 2 star, 1 star, extra. This actually had nothing to do
with how good the blogs were, just how often I read them. For
example: PostSecret, which I think is one of the most amazing
blogs ever, is under 4 stars, because I only read the site once
or twice a week. But what ended up happening, was I began to
only read blogs in the 5 star and 4 star category. Not even all
of them, I have reached the point where on a daily basis I read
three blogs from 5 star and two from 4, merely because of time.
Lately, I have been thinking about my life and how dependant
I've become on routine. My new routines have covered up the old
ones, creating subsystems I can't recognize because I don't pay
enough attention to them. My CD player is a pivotal part of my
bedroom, because I balance a lot of my stuff around it. But I've
only used it once or twice in the last six months, because I
don't have CDs of my music, its all mpeg4 on itunes, or stuck in
youtube. So I've gotten used to coming to my laptop for music,
and last night when I decided to use the CD player, I realized
that I could barely make the remote function.
Every time I log online, I check certain websites in a
particular order and then re-check them in an order similar to
the first. My life is ordered and categorized into necessity.
This weekend was a long weekend, I had nowhere that I had to be,
and I was nearly bored out of my mind because I didn't have any
structure to follow. This is upsetting to me, because I don't
want to live like a robot, some drone going from point A to
point B because that's where the footprints from the day before
are heading.
So I think I'm going to start a new project; creativity. I know
that I am a creative person, I'm not going to pretend that I am
not. I am creative, sensitive, slightly pretentious, and growing
tired of the way that I've been doing things. The time has come
for me to re-evaluate some things. I need to put more
energy into living creatively and uninhibited, while spending
less time allowing myself to fall into a subconsciously laid
routine.
I guess I'll let you know how it goes,
-Onyx
11.19.07
Stimulation
Looking back, it's interesting recalling this website's ups
and downs.
Last year I
started the website up again after a two month break, inspired
by a recent relationship disaster that I mentioned but tried not
to make too public. It had been the worst breakup I'd ever
experienced, and I didn't know how to handle it. Luckily my
"creative" side has always been stronger then my weepy side, so
blogging was pretty consistent for awhile. I met another guy,
dated him for bit- he was mentioned on the site, I'm sure. He
was an avid reader- but when we broke up, I didn't write for a
few weeks to be fair to him. I didn't want my feelings popping
up on something he could come across and be hurt by. So I
decided to give it some time before I wrote again. I was ready
to start posting by Mid- May. Until my computer broke, that is.
That kept me away until October.
Now up until this point I was under the impression that I had no
readers- that my website was pretty much skimmed while people
were looking for something crazy like a black necklace or a
loony bin to store a really old uncle or two. This was actually,
and still is, true for the most part. But around July or August
I got a single comment in my comment box. Someone was voicing
their disappointment in the site, saying that they expected more
from me. Now, my first reaction went something like this-
"$%@@#@#%@$*&@*$%$!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
and then I thought about it for a few minutes, and I changed my
mind. I realized that to be disappointed, there had to have been
expectations to begin with! Someone had expected something from
this website! How exciting! Of course, I had completely
annihilated that expectation when about 101 teeny, tiny viruses
multiplied inside my computer, resulting in literally having to
wipe everything off of the hard drive. But the realization that
at one point, someone had come to the site and liked it, (unless
of course, it was just a random joke, that's totally possible)
was pretty satisfying.
So I'm not going to say that I'm trying to build readership back
up. Not that it wouldn't be nice, having someone to read this,
because for right now the site averages about 9 hits a day,
including me and some friends. So for the four of you out there
who are popping by and possibly even liking what you see- do me
a favor? Let me know. Don't tell me until I've disappointed you
that you're here. Not only does it make me a sad panda, but that
makes you one interesting lurker
reader. But anyway, I digress. My
point was that I'm not going to start commenting random myspaces
telling them to check the site, because above all this is a
creative space. I've used it after breakups, through
frustrations, and moments of pure happiness. I may get
frustrated that it feels as if this is going unnoticed, but
everyone has to start somewhere. What's important is that I have
an outlet. These upcoming months, while busy, will hopefully be
full of posts and maybe some more poetry or photography.
So if you're a reader, or a lurker, or even just looking for a
place for uncle Mcmurphy, I hope your enjoying yourself. I'm
having a good time with all of this, I hope you all are too.
-Onyx
11.18.07
Relief
I've written before about my complete lack of time when it
comes to this little thing I like to call life. Things
have nearly begun to slow down- not quite, but slow enough- and
for the first weekend in many weeks, I have found myself able to
take a deep breath and relax.
Instead of running around like a nut, today I woke up at eleven
thirty, barely able to believe that I had slept so long. My cat
was sleeping next to me, her tiny head in my right hand. She
snores. I find it endearing; her tiny kitty-cat snores sound
just like a small child in a peaceful sleep. Instead of waking
her I watched the morning light on my wall, deciding what I
needed to do. Only a small bit of things- clean some fish tanks
and tidy this or that- otherwise, I was free to spend my day
reading.
Tonight I went to a local cafe. Now, I am not anti-starbucks.
Not anymore, at least. Once they begin to pay the farmers that
they bought their coffee from a livable wage, I was much more
willing to give them my patronage. But this cafe is only a few
blocks away, and it's a nice place. Perhaps a tad masculine for
my personal tastes, but since it's owned by two men, it
shouldn't be much of a shock. What matters is that
the...barista? (I'm not sure) is one of the nicest, friendliest
people on the face of this planet. She has remembered my order
from the previous week every time I've gone in, as well as the
people I was with and what had been going on that night. She
chit-chats about the cafe events and sometimes she'll joke with
me and my friend about one thing or another. She's chatty, and I
absolutely love that. It throws me off guard sometimes, because
truth be told I can be less then amiable in public- people make
me hideously nervous- but its nice that there's a person around
that has the time to be nice.
So I ordered a latte, sat
with two friends, and listened to amazing music while flipping
through some magazines. I must admit, they were political
magazines, and my friends found me to be completely geeky, but
what can I really do? We stayed until closing, tidied our
messes, and went home.
The television at home was
left unused, and unwilling to let it remain lonely, I popped in
a movie. Something senseless, because I wasn't about to disturb
my inner peace by watching another mind-twister like Waking
Life, which was life-altering and amazing, but not a very good
'daily grind' sort of film. Instead, I watched Casino Royale,
probably one of the better 007's, in my limited opinion. But
then again, I'm not really a James Bond fanatic, so my opinion
means pretty much zilch.
While today was wonderful,
glorious even, but I can hear the scraping footsteps of life
creeping its way to my door. Tomorrow will most likely be just
as busy as yesterday, and it is very probable that the insanity
will not stop until after the holidays. But I will have today to
look back on, and maybe that can drag me through until after
christmas.
-Onyx
11.11.07
Music Is My Boyfriend
It's pretty easy to assume that you've all seen those
commercials. Commercials pose an interesting conundrum for me;
they take up a lot of time contributing to capitalism in
general, and I'm not huge into the system of capitalism, as
wonderful as America is. But the mentality behind them; get into
the heads of the viewers, make them think how you think, and
then convince them to approve of what you're selling... it seems
nearly poisonous to me.
But then look around; how much in life mimics the idea presented
in a commercial? After all, isn't education itself partly
centered in subliminal thinking? Group exercises, topic-related
videos, and projects are all ways to put information into
someone's head while meanwhile using a flashy distraction. And
then there's the impossibility of wandering down a road without
coming across a product. I yearn for a moment when I can go for
a walk, and not find a manufactured item. But the closest I
would have to look would be my own feet, or my wristwatch.
Consumerism is inescapable, we've just morphed the process from
necessity to desire. I don't need a wristwatch that is leather
with studs and a silver face; it tells the time just like any
other clock, but I was willing to pay an extra nine dollars for
that watch, because it looked prettier.
It drives me crazy that I have allowed myself to feed into
consumerism.
Almost as crazy as my inability to keep a working wristwatch.
-Onyx
10.31.07
The Hellish Wait.
I decided to spend halloween at a church. In retrospect,
this was a silly idea. But at the time, I had a pretty short
list of plusses:
1. It was free
2. It was called "Halloween Hell House", which had to be
something good-right?
3. I had nothing better to do.
So as you've probably already guessed, one of the 7 churches in
my town decided to host a Halloween "hell house" in celebration
of this joyous holiday. Which seemed cool. And, it was free. Did
I mention the free? Because that was definitely it's largest
draw.
I didn't know that by "Hell House", they meant "Step through the
doors to this house and we'll tell you all the different ways
you can go to hell! And then we'll show you how much it'll
suck!"
But that's totally what it meant. It also meant a 2 hour wait,
some smelly fellow line-waiters, and a 7 foot tall cross with
Jesus and the voice of god speaking to me from a stereo system.
Honestly, I can't think of any better way to spend my Halloween.
10.26.07
Hmmm....
Wow, I'm already neglecting the website. That didn't take very
long now, did it?
It's been pretty dismal around here. A lot of rain
and wind and cloudiness.... the hems of my jeans may never dry.
It would probably be peaceful, if I had the time to stop and pay
attention to the sounds, the smells. I used to love the rain. I
would go for walks in it; flip-flops and jeans and maybe a
sweatshirt if it was cold. The rain would drip from my hair and
linger on the collar of my shirt, off my nose and onto the
cement. There's a basketball court across the street; I would
stand in the thunderstorms and watch the lightening streak
across the sky, not minding that I had made myself a living
target. In my room, the rain seems to come at me from all sides;
particularly from the glass on the windowpane. Instead of the
sound putting me to sleep, I would feel alive. My writing would
clarify and suddenly I could see what I needed to see.
I want the time to notice all of those things again.
10.15.07
A
conflict of Interests.
As I've mentioned before, I am a member of an anti-tobacco
organization which promotes the healthy lifestyle choice of
being smoke-free. This group has been incredibly active in
making the state I live in "Smoke-free". This means no smoking
in restaurants, bars, and soon enough, casinos. Now, I'm also a
follower of the ACLU's activities, and I put a lot of faith in
the American constitution. So when the anti-tobacco organization
presented an interest in making it illegal to smoke in a car
with a minor under the age of 16 inside, I was more then a
little unsure. Surely telling an individual that they cannot use
a legal product they own, inside of another product they own,
because of the presence of another individual, is
unconstitutional through the interpretation of Amendment I? Not
to mention, Amendment IV states that we as citizens have the
right "to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and
effects against unreasonable searched and seizures, shall not be
violated, and no Warrants shall issue." A.k.a. you cannot go
somewhere looking for one item, and then persecute the
individual if you find another in their search. So if this
pending law becomes a secondhand offense, meaning you can be
ticketed for a traffic violation and then further fined for
smoking with a minor in the vehicle, then the reason for being
pulled over will have little to do with the other violation in
motion.
Of course, let me clarify myself in saying that I disagree with
smoking in a vehicle with children inside. Cigarette smoke has
always bothered my throat and eyes, particularly in an enclosed
environment. So I understand where this legislation is coming
from, but I still feel that in implementing it, we are bypassing
parts of our constitution. Of course, we are being governed by
an administration which shows little respect for the
constitution as it is, so this issue is small beans compared to
our sanctions on torture and the continued suspension of
Habeas Corpus. But it's still something. You can take a
hammer and break away at a wall, or you can take a thumbtack and
do the same thing. Maybe the damage doesn't look the same from
far away, but damage is being done. And maybe if we stopped
ignoring the tinier inconsistencies, the larger ones wouldn't
leak through in alarming occurrences.
Perhaps we should re-evaluate ourselves before that whole idea
of freedom we put so much faith into gets ripped out from under
us, and the only thing we can think to do is wonder what that
bump we tripped over on the way down the hall was.
10.14.07
Afterwards we made a Code and
shot a monkey
Have I mentioned yet
that I am a relatively new driver? This has little to do with my
age and much more to do with the fact that I took my good ol'
time getting behind the wheel. But there's a license in my
wallet now, and it says that as long as I stick to the roads and
on my side of the white line, I can navigate the state (between
my previously state-sanctioned hours, of course). Granted, I
don't own a car just yet, so my driving time is pretty much late
afternoon into night with the use of my mother's car. The other
option is a rather large, rather bulky conversion van. It's sort
of like a wooly mammoth, except it doesn't shed and it only
excretes ozone-layer damage in the stead of
other....unsatisfactory things. But alas, I digress.
So Saturday I had made plans with my friend Edward to grab some
Chinese and hit the seasonal Halloween store. It rolls around
towards the end of August and stays until a few weeks after
Halloween selling things for the general price of an old toenail
clipping. After waiting an extra eternity for Edward to primp
and get himself over to the house, we piled into the mammoth and
he watched as I navigated to lunch. It wasn't too awful, until I
had to park.
The area nearest to the Chinese food restaurant was densest in
terms of parking. Tiny Hondas (which I could have crushed like
ants if I so desired) crowded every other space, while work
trucks more talented then I squeezed into the spots left over. I
quickly weighed the risks, particularly since I've already done
some vehicular damage due to poor parking judgment. My solution?
To park as far away from the crowded spaces as possible...a
place we like to call Sweden.
Of course, the act of parking involved Edward getting out of the
van and signaling as if he worked for air traffic control until
I managed to get into the spot. Three inches one way, two inches
the other, a millisecond into the future, you get the picture.
It only took a few minutes, despite the feeling of tedium.
However, the feeling of success was pretty great after we
finally maneuvered the best correctly. Although this feeling
faded somewhat when we realized we still had a twenty minute
walk to actually get to our destination.
Book of the Week
( I read a lot, Book
of the Month seemed a little silly. So we're gonna do Book of
the Week. The Book of the Week is a book (duh) that I've come
across which is completely amazing and therefore deemed worth
your while by Onyx. )
I picked this book up off
the new releases in Barnes and Noble last night. I was drawn to
picking it up off the shelf for three main reasons-
A. Its bright orange and was
sitting in-between two black books and a white one. It was
pretty eye-popping. Plus, the cover art was pretty awesome (yes,
I understand the implications of cover-judging and that most
authors have no control over the covers).
B. It said "a novel" on the cover- this meant the
odds of it being part of a 15 book multi-series (which I do not
have the space or money to buy after spending a collective
million dollars on the Harry Potter series) were pretty
slim. C. the words Gossip
Girl did not appear anywhere on the cover, which had been
the theme of this particular Barnes & Noble teen section(They
were everywhere! Spaced by only books by Meg Cabot and
gimmick-ridden Vampire novels looking to reap the success
accumulating between Anne Rice and Stephenie Meyer).
Anyway, I picked it up and prepared myself for a story that was
probably about high school rebellion against mean teachers and
the "popular kids". I must say, I was pleasantly surprised. No-
more then that, I was ecstatic to realize that this book was a
dystopian novel! About real rebellion- the kind that had
more to do with civil rights and government sanctions and
underground movements. I was addicted. Even the orange cover, a
tone that I had never seen in advertising before but enjoyed
immensely, seemed significant in the book's overall message. It
was supposed to stand out! The book grew on me
immediately, and I had trouble putting it down from the moment I
opened it.
I finished it a few hours ago, and I've immediately started to
read it again- to experience the novel without the rush of
figuring out what happens to the characters. Its a good way to
pick up on all of the amazing details. Anyway, I highly
recommend this book. Buy it, read it, and then learn the back
story. This book represents true occurrences, and an important
part of human history. Don't miss out! "You have no right to be
silenced!" (back cover).
Oh, and I'd probably buy as many installments DeVita came out
with, 15 book multi-series or not.
-Onyx
10.13.07
Wow. Hello Everyone! How long has it been? Almost
seven months since my last post. I understand many of you were
frustrated, particularly with the techorati profile mess
virtually vomiting across your monitor. Let me offer a small
explanation for this unfortunate event;
My laptop died.
Not only did it die, but it
threatened to take every file, downloaded song, and photograph
with it. Among the hostages? This website. I managed to save
everything, but much of my laptop had to be re-created after
"blowing away" everything. This included the "hookup" between
where this site is edited and where it appears online.
Well...this hookup couldn't be found once it was lost. But hey!
Seven months later the scavenge has ended with much thanks to my
dad, who put everything back together with the pixie dust he
keeps on the back shelf. To appease the absence, I included a
complete re-model of the site to be a tad less of an eye-sore.
I'm still making these changes, but I should be done soon!
After I finish playing with
the site, I'll update with some of my life's goings-ons. Until
then, if you have any questions/comments, hit the "Reach Out"
section.
-Onyx
Sound Byte!
5.18.08
Tonight is the
celebration of Vesak, a holiday held on the first full moon of
the fourth month of the Chinese calendar. This holiday is
devoted to the birth, teachings, and the passing of Gautama
Buddha.
3.24.08
Ten members of the Save
Darfur Coalition found their computers under surveillance by
China-based hackers. The Save Darfur Coalition has been putting
pressure on China to crack down on Sudan about the Genocide.
China has a position of power in Sudan, as it is the country's
highest oil export.
It seems e-mail
monitoring is an international sport these days.
If you want to be a part
of pressuring China into doing its part to end the Genocide,
click here.
3.23.08
Ten days ago, a story was
released covering Charles Taylor's war crimes trial. The
atrocities at the hand of this man seem endless, and this
disturbing news article is a mere example.
