Lock up your daughter.

Tonight I was doing my weekly rounds on Youtube to check my subscriptions, and happen to fall on a video who’s title seemed to read “death of an emo.” Instead I found a link to a story that I had seen once on the news. On April 7th, 2007, Du’a Khalil Aswad was savagely murdered. This is not a run of the mill murder, though. This seventeen year old girl was killed for having fallen in love. Du’a was part of a family that practiced the Yezidi faith, Islam mixed in with some Persian religions. The boy she loved was a Sunni. These two tribes, coincidentally, despise each other. Du’a was brutally beaten because of her ties to her family’s religion. It is unfortunate to think that this girl believed she could love freely in a country that had finally been freed from dictatorial rule. With Saddam Hussein out of the picture, though, religious ceremonies sky-rocketed, and this included ceremonial killings.

For people who know me, or have read some of my previous articles, religion is not something I am a fan of. Contrarily, I believe it is a huge factor in the way that people are separated. Religion allows certain peoples to associate, but creates tension with people who do not share the same beliefs.

I just find it atrocious to see something that so many people buy into for hope, and guidance being used to kill freedom. This girl wanted to do nothing more than be with the person she loved, not with his family, not with his religion, and not with people who disagreed with their love. I don’t feel the need to post such a horrid video, but I believe that it is something that should be seen in order to show how freedom is nothing more than an illusion for so many young hearts.

Remember Du’a Khalil Aswad not as a girl who was just killed, she was a girl who was killed for loving someone. She was tortured for following her heart, and for having faith in this unreachable freedom that is so sought by everyone in this world.

I could not find the actual video, but this shows segments of this horrible tragedy:

Tell your wife that you love her, and make sure she believes you.

It has been quite a long time since I’ve posted. I was surprised to see that this was still being viewed, though. A lot has happened in the time that I haven’t posted, but I don’t think I’ll go into everything.

Recently, to my dismay, there has been a story about child pornography. I don’t wish to speak directly about it. I feel the media does that well enough. The idea is crazy, though. The person in question was to attend a conference in Atlanta. Map-wise the story shows an odd determination. From Atlanta, they went to Washington DC, and then headed to Alexandria by subway. Finally they hit a train to a small part of Virginia where he was to supposedly meet with a thirteen year old boy. This massive detour does not represent the logical thought of a human being. I am not interested in discussing the exact issue, but the media brings attention to a matter that is world-wide.

The bizarre attraction that adults feel towards children is very disturbing to me. It’s a phenomenon that no one would really think about normally unless the feeling resided in them or if they were affected (directly or indirectly) by it. I don’t actually understand how things like this can happen. I mean, I don’t believe it’s the same thing as sexual orientation. That’s decided, theoretically, when a child is born, they do not choose to be heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual. Several children suffer from post-trauma later in their lives because of abuse. They are not strong physically, and do not fully grasp the vast environment they live in. People who would even dare take advantage of something as a fragile of a young child’s mind is not what I would consider a human being.

These affairs, though, are grey matter. Not many people can understand the way this type of person thinks. It is unfortunate that we must come to know these twisted stories, but the awareness that they bring is very important. I hope that all those who are affected by this most recent story may find comfort in themselves, and in those who hold them dear. The earlier we learn that our world is truly imperfect, the better off we are. I am sure that I am not the only one who will be viewing this story closely, and please feel free to ask any questions you wish. I will try to answer them to the best of my ability.

Soon everything will be okay, and we can all go back to the way things were, but we don’t have a time machine.

On a lighter note, a friend of mine has started a new band. Please listen, and support the newest craze: The Courtship.

After a long night you should sleep.

Hey everyone, it’s been a real long time since I haven’t posted.  Accept my apologies.  As many know, vacation is over, and we are all back to what we dislike most.  Either way, so far everything is working out well.  Arizona was pretty dry, but I have to admit, it was a really incredible trip.  Seeing the Grand Canyon was probably the most incredible.  You think of it, and when you get there your completely blown away by how big it is.  Not just that, but it’s like 7, 300 feet deep.  There was snow there too which reminded me a lot of home.  In any case, I’m home.

Just today I talked to a kid on MSN who was about eleven or twelve years old.  A kid my sister knows, but who changed school.  I was just messing around with the kids brain out of boredom, and all of a sudden she starts whipping out words that I barely understood at her age.  The vulgarity was atrocious.  What was worse is that she didn’t even have intelligent responses.  She asked a question, and then said it to be rhetoric.  What’s the point of asking then?  Not a very important detail of my day, but it was certainly a shock to hear.  See actually.

Aside from all this?  There is not very much happening.  Different projects, the elections, the friends, the football, the love, and of course the writing.  If any of you feel like it, please check my DA page because I updated.  I plan on writing more later, but for now I must be back to work…not to mention dinner is on its way.   Comment on your breaks if you wish.  No one is stopping you.

Merry christmas.

Good day to all from Phoenix, Arizona.  It is Christmas day, and I wanted to wish all of my readers a very merry Christmas.  I have found Internet in the desert, and it is free.  To all, I hope your day is filled with great joy because so far mine is.  I cannot hog the Starbuck’s computer for very long so this post must be a little short unfortunately.  Take care of yourselves, and I will try to post again on January 1st of the year 2019.  I mean 2008.

If you don’t love, don’t hate.

Arizona tomorrow.  Should be good times.  One transfer flight in New Jersey, and then barren desert.  Right now I’m not feeling so good.  Stuff happens, and you know you’re a moron or a bastard, but people still rub it in your face.  Shit happens to good people.  Either way, I may have the heart to write another post, but right now I just can’t accept some parts of me.  See everybody in two weeks.  Happy holidays everyone!

Entertainment for the sick minded.

Okay, this has just been brought to my utmost attention.  There are videos circulating on the Internet that contain some really, really graphic images.  Videos like “2 Girls 1 Cup,” or “4 Girls Finger Painting” should just NOT be put on the Internet.  These videos were brought to my attention by a friend of mine.  It’s sick to think that people would enjoy this stuff.

There are, nevertheless, people who watch this shit.  I mean, I watched it, but I did not enjoy it at all.  Seems pretty idiotic.  I would imagine that this stuff is fake.  The “BME Paint Olympics,” though, seems like way too much.  Way too disgusting.  I had nightmares about that stuff for a long time.  Dirty to imagine that people actually made these videos.

On a higher note, Alexisonfire was a great show.  The Bled didn’t make it, which sucked, but Saosin, and Alexisonfire was good enough.  February’s another big show month with Protest The Hero, Devil Wears Prada, and Thrice.  All is good in the hood.

Here’s a video that got my head moving:

A bug, a martyr, and a misundertood kid.

After today, I see Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis in a different light.  I had read it in French, but now that I’ve read it in English, and really studied it, it seems much better.  The religious aspect is kind of obvious with the apples representing temptation.  The character is portrayed as a martyr too, and he is eventually killed by an apple lodged inside his back.  The wound becomes infected, and it eventually kills him.  There is speculation throughout the entire book that Gregor, the guy who transforms into a bug, is actually still a human.  As a human being he undergoes many psychological issues, which may create his parents worry.  He maybe only feels as low as an insect, and loses all his self-esteem.  All in all, it’s a worthwhile read. 

Now, I am feeling really bored, and really tired.  This morning I slept a little too long.  Instead of waking up at 6:30am I woke up at 6:55am.  It felt nice to sleep in, but I had also woken up at 5am.  The day has been okay.  As I said I feel tired.  I feel hungry. 

Starting the 23rd of December I will be away on vacation.  To the Grand Canyon, and all.  I will try to post a little bit, but there is no guarantee of whether or not I will have access to the Internet down there.  Just a warning. 

This Saturday is Alexisonfire, Saosin, Anti-Flag, and The Bled.  I’m getting pretty stoked.  Have to also go do some Christmas shopping.  Have a lot to do.  Might go back to the SAKE/ANTONIO KEL MH5 exhibit again to meet the man himself, and get a little trinket. 

Lunch soon.  Please tak a look at the short piece I’ve written entitled “No Use Hiding From Providence.”  I would really appreciate some feedback about it.  You can read it here.  Enjoy.

I will post as much as possible in the next week, but it will be extremely busy.  I will try, I promise.

Street legends in-street.

Yesterday I had the incline to go see the SAKE/ANTONIO KEL 5MH exhibit.  SAKE is a graffiti artist who is originally from here, and can be seen just about everywhere in the city by his many throw-ups and burners.  KEL on the other hand is from Brooklyn, and has a few things up in Montréal.  Both are part of the 5MH crew along with many other graff artists.  For those of you who want to see the exhibit, you get out at Rosemont metro station.  I had to call a buddy for directions, but you go down on Rosemont (the street) until you hit St-André.  From there you turn right, and walk down the street until you hit a miniature museum.  The place is filled with tags up on the wall, and all the pieces are for sale.  I have a lot of pictures so if you leave your e-mail address I’d be glad to send them to you.  I enjoyed the exhibit a lot, and will hopefully be able to get a picture that I saw there. 

In other news, I am extremely tired, and have not slept very much in the past week.  It has been quite busy.  Wrote a little story that I’m pretty proud of, and I might have it up on my DeviantArt page sometime soon.  I just restarted using it. 

Ah…Sunday’s always seem very relaxing.  Daft Punk is playing, and I have the entire house to myself.  All I need to write, and draw.  Either way, here are some of the pictures from the exhibit, you should go take a look for yourselves, it’s worth it, and it’s free.

Wave goodbye; degeneration.

For the past while, I have thought a lot about the future of some kids.  I don’t say that just like that.  I have a younger sister who I care for dearly.  I’d do anything to keep her out of harms way.  She’s a lot like me, though, she’s a smart kid.  I see stuff, though, nowadays especially in kids younger than me.  I never tried drugs or smoking, and I stopped drinking over a year ago, but it’s rough to see these kids who are experimenting with this stuff.  I drank heavily, but I got to a point where it was really boring, and all.  I have nothing against drinking, but I have a lot of beef with drugs, and cigarettes. 

Point is, why are kids doing this kind of stuff?  They’ve got to learn sooner or later, no doubt about it, but what’s the attraction to it?  Getting smashed is seriously not cool considering how shitty the groggy morning is.  There are a shitload of things these kids can do aside from all that.  Things that are maybe not safer, but that at least shield them from permanently scarring.  Let me tell you one thing, if my sister has to deal with anyone in those cases, it’ll be me, not my folks. 

I know that now the club scene’s gotten real popular with underage kids, but I don’t get the jist of it.  I’ve been in clubs, and bars.  They aren’t all that great.  Clubs drain you out.  Well, they drained me out.  Bars would get depressing depending where you went.  I’ve been finding a lot more interesting things to do.  Things that can be done sober or smashed. 

It just saddens me to see crudeness rising in the next few years of kids.  Not all of them are like that, but I mean still.  I just think of this as degeneration, but who knows what can happen.  Maybe we can help them out when they’ll need?  Maybe by getting it over with sooner, they will learn quicker, and understand better than we did.

I don’t know how much of what I just wrote made sense.  To me it’s an issue that’s not so pressing right now, but can rise to creating quite a troublesome group of miscreants.  Not that I’m not a little similar.  Not that any of us are saints. 

This bitter cold brings us warmth, and peace of mind.

So here I am, writing this post instead of doing what needs to be done for tomorrow.  Last night ended on a good note.  I stayed up quite late.  Talked to my girlfriend, who went to bed early enough, then got a text message from another buddy of mine.  We stayed up quite a while talking about our own lives, and how frutrating it was to have no snow.  At around 12:30am we parted ways, and actually hit the hay.  I had not done an ounce of work, which I still haven’t done if I may add.

I woke up to the sound of the telephone at exactly 6:08am.  I remember because I was a little upset.  I then noticed that outside my window it was snowing.  I also noticed that I could not see across the old port. This could have only meant one thing: A snow day.

As I stayed in bed I started to hear shouting of glee from my sisters room, followed by my dad literally jumping on me to inform me of the snow day.  It hurt, but it felt good to know that I could sleep in without any worries in the world.  I could enjoy the snow-white scenery from my window without any problem as I awoke again at 10am.  I enjoyed my snow day, and I’m sure a whole heck of a lot of people did too.

I’m sorry I took so long for this post.  Now I have some more to say.  Some deeper ideas I suppose.

Why should a person be subject to judgement based on their associations?  If I know people who lie, and cheat for a living, does it mean that I am prone to lying, and cheating too?  I do not mean to say that I am a saint, I do lie.  I lie well too.  I don’t think it’s fair, though, to put someone in that boat.  Especially when you know the person well-enough. 

Why should I meddle with other people’s problems too?  I like to be helpful, but shouldn’t people resolve their own issues amongst themselves without dragging innocent bystanders in?  I am tired of taking shit for that kind of stuff.  I should tell the person they’re annoying: No.  It’s not up to me, I don’t care what happens.  It’s between the respected parties to settle the matters. 

Anyways, I’m tired, and that’s what is going on my head.  Pictures should be up soon.  Alexisonfire on December 15th, really psyched out. 

I will try writing more often now that my schedule is freeing up a lot more.

I hope she calls back.