Trapped By "Politically Correct"

          I go on Facebook or just look something up for a class on Google and I see all sorts of advertisements.  I'm sure you've seen them. 

"Like if you believe that women should be have the right to health care birth control no matter where they work!"

"I believe in an America where EVERYONE is free to marry who they love!"

"Stop Republicans from taking away our First Amendment rights!"

          These are only a couple of examples.  But they effectively muzzle those of us who tend to disagree with these kind of statements.  Why?  Because we have been taught to fear speaking out.
 
          In these sad times, every where you go, people are encouraged to stand up for what they believe in.  To be outspoken against injustices and to feel free to be who they are.  However, one of the things that has become the greatest unofficial crime in this country is being "politically incorrect".  Basically, that phrase boils down to, People mustn't verbalize or act on opinions that contradict what the government/majority has deemed "correct".  It is a great contradiction that many people choose to ignore IS contradictory at all! 

          This creates a fear among those who would have spoken out peacefully with differing opinions on the same subjects.  They are terrified of being labeled "politically incorrect".  We've come to fear it above committing real crimes.  A stalker or a pedophile may receive some hate mail if their crime is portrayed in the news.  Yet, their stories quail in comparison to the huge media uproar and truck loads of hate mail that a person receives if they dare to go public with what is deemed a "politically incorrect" view.  The psychological pressure on everyone in the United States to agree with these central points of view has reached a dreadful level. 

          I looked up the dictionary definition of "brainwashing" online and here were my findings:

brainwashing

Verb:

Make (someone) adopt radically different beliefs by using systematic and often forcible pressure.

 

I know the term "brainwashing" often makes people dismiss the speaker as being over the top and a conspiracy theorist.  However, the actual definition does make a lot of sense.  We are pressured every day to adopt certain views and adapt to the opinions of the majority.  Often, people who do express different ideas are unofficially blacklisted.  This is especially true in the political, leadership, and teaching fields.  Then the pressure on the rest of us is only intensified.            Thomas Jefferson once said, "All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent."  You could substitute the word "sin" in general for "tyranny" if you'd like, but the point is the same.  This is exactly what is going on in the world right now.  Unfortunately, sin has a bit more than a simple foothold in my opinion.  He's gotten a few handholds too and is beginning to climb.              So you see, we are actually encouraged to NOT think for ourselves if we don't follow a certain guideline.  Individuality and good morals are being corrupted because we want a certain kind of freedom: one in which everyone agrees whether they want to or not.  This can only end in strife.  There will always be those who refuse to bend, and eventually the war will begin for real out in the open.  Who will win?  God only knows.

The Wolfram

Here is another picture that inspired a story idea:

 

 

"Fillin!  Fillin!  Fillin!"
"What is it Vasco?"
The wolf turned resignedly to face the young black crow that was hopping up and down and beating his wings in excitement.
"Here!  Now!  In the flesh!  Here!  Here!  Here!"
"What's here?"  Fillin interrupted.
"WHO!  Who!  Who's here!"
With a half sneeze of irritation, Fillin turned and began to lope away along the game trail.  Perhaps if he ignored the pesky, feathered git he'd give up and leave.
"Wait!  Wait!  Wait!"
Or perhaps not.
With a sigh, the wolf turned abruptly enough to make his friend start with surprise.
"Tell me what is going on...in as few words as possible...and with absolutely NO repeats...or you will be leaving with only half of your tail feathers!"
"Bad Fillin!  Bad...uh...wolfie!  Don't bite poor Vasco!  He only wanted to tell his bestest friend the most exciting news before anyone else!"
"Then TELL!" was the growled reply.
"Okay!  Okay!  Ok--KAH KAH KAH!" Vasco just barely got his tail feathers out of reach of Fillin's ivory canines in time.  He flapped over and landed on the top of a bolder just out of the wolf's reach where he continued to scold him in his own language of caws and screeches.  Fallin waited till the bird started repeating himself before barking, "Enough!  Tell me what's going on or I'll leave and ignore you no matter how much you follow me!"
"Fine!  Grouchy paws!  I tell you my hard earned piece of news!  Then you will thank me!"  He ruffled his feathers and cleared his throat importantly.  "The Wolfram is here!"
There was complete silence.  It was the crow that spoke first.  He couldn't stand silence and he'd been hoping for a much more interesting reaction. 
"Well?  Well?  Well?  Don't you know what the Wolfram is you silly ball of fur?"
"Course I do!" snapped Fillin. 
Of course he did.  Hadn't it been he, out of all five of his mother's pups who requested that story night after night after the pack returned from the hunt?
"The Wolfram is the wolf-crow.  The wolf with violet eyes.  The wolf that can see the far side of the moon, and fly there as if carried by wings of midnight.  The one who will come out of the far north.  The one who will bring the two clans together and lead them to victory against the Silver-Clawed One.  I know more legends and rumors about the Wolfram and his powers than anyone else."
Vasco bobbed up and down in excitement. 
"Yes!  Yes!  Yes!  You do!  You do!  And everyone knows it!  That's why they send me to find you!  You!  You! Y--"
"Wait!  Someone sent you to FIND me?  Who?  What for?  Why didn't you say that to start with?"
"Stop!  Stop!  Stop!  Too many questions!" Wailed the crow, shaking his head.  "The Council of Tooth and Wing sends for you!  High honor!  Very high!  Should be proud!  Your annoying obsession has paid off!"
"Why?"
"I just said.  Because you're an expert.  So to speak.  But we've got to hurry!  Hurry!  Hurry!  Supposed to take you to the Council's Fountain.  We must go!  Go!  Go!"  With a squawk, Vasco took off and flew close to the ground in a northern direction.  Fillin had to run to keep up. 
"No time to waste!  Oh my!  My!  My!  Can't believe this is happening now!  We always thought it was a legend.  A myth.  In fact, lots of us--I mean, lots of folks thought you were a bit of a nutter to be harping on all of those old stories.  That's why they sent for you!  You!  You!  Even though you've only been old enough to hunt for a few years.  They need your help!  Help!  Help!  Unexpected troubles!  Unforseen.  Strange things.  Not like they thought."
"What things?  Vasco, curse you!  What's wrong?"
"The Wolfram!  Wolfram!  Wolfram!  Can't seem to access the powers.  Can't get to the magic within.  Not working!  Nope!  Nope!  Nope!  Can't remember anything!  No memory!  Need an expert!  Need you!  YOU, Fluffy!  The Council and the Wolfram!  High honor!  High!  High!"
"That's impossible!  The Wolfram is powerful beyond any other magical power!  And no MEMORY!  It probably is just a lost Omega that straggled in from the northern packs!"
"No!  No!  No!  It's the Wolfram!  For sure!  Sure!  Sure!  Saw her!  Violet eyes!  Runs fast too!  Very fast!  Faster than you even, Furball!  And you one of the fastest!"
"Wait!  Wait!"  Fillin stopped so suddenly that a surprised Vasco almost crashed head-on into a tree. 
"KAH!  KAH!  KAH!  You stupid, bushy-tailed, flea-infested--"
"'Saw HER'?  The Wolfram's a...a girl?'"
"Yeah!  Yeah!  Yeah!  A girl!  You got fur clogging your ears or what, Fluffy?  You're acting like you've never seen a she-wolf before.  Come on, Slow-poke!  Need to hurry!  Hurry!  Hurry!"
With a feeling of growing unease, Fillin followed his talkative, cawing friend through the woods.  Somehow he had a feeling he was getting into something bigger than he bargained for.  And he wasn't sure how he liked the idea. 
Much later, someone once asked him what he'd say to himself if he could go back to that moment in time.  The time his whole life changed.  He answered them with a crooked wolf-smile:
"I'd say, Fillin...you have absolutely noooooooooo idea what you're getting yourself into..."
 

Leala Leaves

          I said that I would occasionally post pictures that I felt a story behind.  Well this one struck me with the characters.  Both of them.  I could sense the girl's attitude for those she was leaving behind (slight sadness mixed with a touch of bitterness and an overall feeling of being unwanted by them).  I could also sense the cat's intelligence.  I could come up with several stories to explain these, but here is one of them.



       

She looked behind to see if they'd noticed she was gone.  She could see the outlines of her nine cousins against the living room curtains as the wrestled and played.  Her aunt was shouting at her uncle in the kitchen.  She could hear it even from here.  He had forgotten to pick up the groceries on the way home again. 
Well, at least they have one less child to take care of now.  Thought Leala.  She turned once more and got a better grip on the cat she'd bundled up in her blanket. 
"They won't even notice I'm gone for at least a day.  And when they do, it won't matter much." She confided out loud to her burden.
"Perhaps not." the cat replied, looking back as well.
"And you're sure my cousin wants me?  She's never asked me to come through the portal before.  In fact, I didn't even know she existed till now."
"Oh yes.  Lady Madeline asked for you specifically.  With her husband newly dead, she craves a sister with whom to share her large estate.  I told her I'd been watching over you since you were a kit.  That you were alone and needed someone as much as she did.  She was reluctant to ask you to leave your world and father's family behind in favor of a completely new life with someone you'd never met and whom your mother had barely mentioned.  But I told her that was exactly what you had told me you wanted: a fresh start."
"Thank you Burndil." Leala whispered hugging him close.  "What would I do without you?" 
"You'd sit in that window seat staring out at the snowy yard, feeling sorry for yourself for the rest of your days.  Now don't muss my fur too much!  I just took a bath!"
Laughing, Leala skirted the two-rail fence at the edge of the yard and headed into the field.

I love you, little sister

I have been missing my little sister Cristina something awful since leaving for college.  It's barely been a month, but I've never been away from her for this long ever!  So last weekend we went on a day trip to Seattle.  While we were there my mom met us (it was so nice to see her!) and we went to the musical "Wicked" at the Paramount Theatre.  It was amazing!  But that wasn't the best part of the day!

 

          It was a total God thing, but Cristina's High School Homecoming Dance just happened to be on the very same day and it just happened to be at the Space Needle!  What are the odds!  Not only that, but we just happened to have bought tickets for the matinee and she was arriving with a group of friend at 6:30pm!  The trap was laid!  Mom told Cristina that she was going to see me and my friends off at the bus station and then head over to the Space Needle so that she could take pictures when Cristina got there.  I even sent her a few texts before hand, talking about how disappointed I was not to be able to see her. 

 

          When the time came and we were waiting at the Space Needle for her to arrive I sent a few fake texts from the "bus".  I put some humor in them to keep her from suspecting anything.  I'll copy them down:  1) "There's some weird people on this bus.  There is a lady with a chiuahua (sp?) >:( "  By the way, in case you didn't know, I consider chihuahuas rats, not dogs.  2)  "I should call an exterminator!  This place has a rat!"  She was replying with lots of "hahahahaha"s and that sort of thing. 



          When she finally arrived.  I stayed inside and mom went out to the sidewalk to take some pictures.  Soon I was sneaking up behind mom and, oh!  The look on her face was priceless!  So was the scream!  I think everyone in a two mile radius must have heard her!  I sooooooo wish we'd thought to video-tape it!  Soon she was hugging me so tight I thought I would burst!  I was hugging her right back, though trying not to smash her hair or ruin her makeup.

  

SURPRISE!!!!!
(best picture EVER!)



          My baby sister looked just beautiful.  It's scary how fast she's growing up.  16 years old already...  I hope I don't miss the last of her childhood. 

       

          Unfortunately we had only a few minutes together. She was reluctant to let go of me long enough to take a few pictures with her group.  Soon she had to go upstairs with her friends to the dance. It was over far too quickly for both of us. 

 

Renee, Rachelle, Cristina, Me

Cristina (far left) and her friends

          After she was gone, we stayed around for a bit to say "hi" to some of our other friends from the school.  Mainly Kabrina and Evie.  It was so nice to see them. 

 

Rachelle, Kabrina, Evie, and Renee



          But once we finally got back to the dorm late that night, I couldn't help but feel rather depressed.  I tried to go to sleep, but so many thoughts kept running around in my head.  Eventually I got up and sat down at my laptop.  I needed to get some of the thoughts out or I'd explode.  I wrote this poem at o-dark-thirty in the morning before finally crawling up my ladder and falling back into bed:

Cristina and Me

 

I Saw Her Today

 

I saw her today

I held her close

And squeezed her tight

I was laughing

We’d been apart for so long

Longer than we ever have

But a part of me cried

For I knew

We had only minutes

So I took in every detail

That I possibly could

 

She looked so beautiful

Her fancy dress

Her high-heeled shoes

Her makeup

Dressed for a night

Of High School revelry

In some ways

She looked so grown up

I thought of all the things

I now had to miss

I hoped she wouldn’t

Grow up too much

While I was gone

  

And yet…

There were some things

That reminded me

Of the young girl

She used to be

And, in many ways

Still was

 

She’d forgotten a necklace

If I’d been there

I’d have given her

One from my own

Homecoming days

I forgot to check

But I think she forgot

A pair of earrings as well

Her hair was curled

Full of hairspray

And partly pulled up

In a small bun

With a plain black clip

I’d have dug around

In my cluttered drawers

And found her

A sparkling hair clip

To ornament her outfit
 

Oh my darling sister

How I wish I could

Have been there

To help you prepare

We’d have had so much fun

Laughing and talking

Hugging and grinning

I’d tease you about anything

And everything

I’d poke you in the side

Just to see you jump

I’d tickle you

Just to hear you laugh

 

I would have

If I’d been there

But I wasn’t

And I won’t be

For quite a while

So I drink her in

This strange and familiar

Beautiful and funny

Young girl before me

 

She used to depend

On me for so much

I never truly realized

How much I leaned on her

At the same time

Now we must support ourselves

And I’m left with a limp

For I only walked straight

Through life in the past

With her by my side
 

It’s time to go already

Hardly time for

A last quick hug

It’s not good-bye forever

But it feels as though

It might as well be

And eternity of ocean stretches

Between this moment and

The island, which is when

We’ll meet again

 

I saw her again tonight

My dear baby sister

My beautiful, lovely,

Giggly, funny, annoying,

Chatty, amazing, irreplaceable,

Wonderful, grown-up girl

Now she’s gone

 

I traveled through the rain

Through the fog and the traffic

Knowing with every single

Turn of the wheels

More space fell

Between her and me

As I sit here in the dark

Listening to the snores

Of my roommates

With only my laptop

For company

I remember…
 

I remember her scream

When she saw me today

I remember…

I remember her little nose

That I once teased her about

I remember…

I remember how hard she held me

As I held her just as tight

I remember…

I remember each second

Of those short, sweet minutes

I remember…

And those memories both

Warm and torment me

 

I will see her again

But until then…

 

Goodnight sweet sister

I love you

 



 

I love you, little sister...more than you know.

The Great Artist of the World

I took this picture of the lawn
in front of Old Main
last week.  It's a rainbow!

          Lately I've been drawing a lot because of a Costume Design class I'm taking.  I'm an okay artist (sort of), but my perfectionist side makes it very difficult at times when I'm drawing. 


Sunset over
Bellingham Bay

          On another, but related topic (I'll explain the connection later), I've been enjoying the scenery at my new college a lot lately.  The leaves are beautiful right now.  There are so many different types of trees in a relatively small area that the fallen piles are literal rainbows!  (See picture)  Also, here at Western, we're high on a hill overlooking Bellingham Bay.  When it's somewhat clear, the sunsets are absolutely gorgeous!  When it's cloudy or rainy, the different shades of blue, black, gray, and purple in the sky, water, mountains, and clouds are beautiful together.  When it's misty or foggy, the clouds cover the water and horizon completely.  Then, when you look down from our high position, it looks as if we're perched on the very edge of the world, with only mysterious oblivion beyond.  Beautiful huh?


There is usually a large drop and a view
of the bay and some small,
distant mountains over that
way.  Now you only see clouds.
 Doesn't it seem like the edge
of the world?  Amazing!

          Well, I mentioned drawing and art a while ago.  I promise that I will get to the connection.

          I walk around campus and see these wonderful sights.  But they are obvious to anyone with eyes.  I also see smaller scenes of incredible beauty.  A single raindrop on a pane of glass can capture my attention for minutes at a time.  It might be a design of twigs silhouetted against a street lamp.  Maybe it's the wind, dancing a dizzying ballet with some dust and old wrappers.  It might be a cluster of red berries amidst hundreds of others on a huge holly tree.  Perhaps a single stone sitting by itself in the gutter.  It may be a piece of reddish bark that's fallen off of a tree.  All of these things may seem random and insignificant.  However, for those with the right eyes, it's an incredible piece of art!  Something that beautiful couldn't be an accident.  Therefore, there must be an artist.


A single raindrop on a pane of
glass can capture my attention
for minutes at a time.

          If you don't believe in a Creator and you think the world happened by some big accident, I'm not going to argue with you about it right now.  Though I will ask you one quick question.  What is it like to go through life knowing that you were an accident?  To know that you came from a bunch of chemicals and junk that just happened to meet up?  Doesn't that make YOU just one big mistake?  Sorry, that was three questions.  Moving on.

          Geez!  I really am taking forever getting to the point!

It might be a
design of  twigs
silhouetted
against a street lamp.

          Anyway, for the sake of argument, God is the artist of all the beauty in the world.  He paints living art.  I look around me and I WISH I could paint or draw something half as wonderful as the thousands upon billions of God's paintings surrounding us every day.  Then I started thinking (I'm probably going to ramble pretty bad for a while, but bear with me), He's even more amazing than that.  We only have to create a 2-D picture on a flat surface.  He drew and colored everything from every possible angle under every possible factor.  In science classes they tell you to control the variables in an experiment, because the smallest difference changes everything.  Think about distance.  You can see a tree from 20 feet away and that's one picture.  But every molecule closer or farther away you get is yet a whole NEW picture!  Then there's the variable that everyone sees things differently and in different focuses.  And even that can change from one nano-second to the next!  Every angle is different!  There is an unlimited amount of ways you can view a single object.  Think about what it would be like if you translated all of those things into an actual number of physical paintings.  Mind blowing, huh?


He paints living art.

            Here's another point to think about though.  Of those uncountable numbers of paintings, imagine the tiny, minuscule percent of them that humans ever see!  Think of the billions of beautiful, constantly changing cloud formations that we NEVER see!  All of the amazing, twisted roots in funny shapes under the ground that no eye EVER saw!  All of the single flames flickering like rubies on the face of the sun!  Yet, they are still there.  He still made every painting, every little perfect detail...even though no one will ever see even close to 99.9999999% of them in the whole history of the world. 
 
          I feel really sad that of the things we DO see, it seems impossible for us to appreciate all of them.  No matter how hard we try, we will always think some paintings are ugly.  So not only do we only see a small portion of God's masterpieces, but the vast majority of them...nay...nearly ALL of them are disliked or go unnoticed or unappreciated.  But He still did it.  Still made every painting and every detail in every possible set of variables...though we might never see or like any of them.  He did all of this simply because...He is God...and He loves us...and He is the great artist of the world.


He is the great artist of the world.

  

Before I Die...

 

Well it's time for a Bucket List!  I have a few big things and a few small/random things I'd like to do. 

• Attend college (already working on this one)

• Go to England

• Go to Prince Edward Island, Canada

• Go to Ireland

• Fall in love and get married.
  
• Visit one of the old Cencentration Camps in Germany

• Tour Europe

Prince Edward Island, Canada
is so beautiful!

• Go back to Romania

• Have a pet cat

• Go on a cruise

• Learn sign language

• Go to a drive-in movie (I actually can cross this one out finally.  I went with some of my friends at the very end of the Summer.)

• Publish a book (or two . . . or three . . . or four . . . )

• Visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Florida

• Let go of a floating lantern (did this at the end of my class' graduation trip!  I think it would be cool to do it at my wedding though.)

• Go to SeaWorld again.

• Visit the Ground Zero museum

• Learn to play the piano (at least a little bit)

• Dance with my dad to "Butterfly Kisses" at my wedding

• Have my dad give my newborn their first bath (because he didn't get to do it with me)

• Get my dad to quit smoking

• Go to Sidney, British Columbia (they have 12 different book stores!)

•  Own a bow and arrows

• Visit the Library of Congress

• Attend a Celtic Thunder concert  (That was one of my Christmas presents last year)

• Win 1st place in a writing contest

• Have someone win a prize at a fair for me  (It was a stuffed, red lizard.  I named him Jethro.  Yes, like Leroy Jethro Gibbs from NCIS.  Love that show!)

• Take ballroom dancing lessons

• Read all of my favorite books out loud to my children

• Go to a Taylor Swift concert

• Go to New Zealand

These are only a few of the things I want to make sure I do.  May God bless me with an amazing life, during which I can make the world at least a little bit better for having lived in it.







Unlocking Sherlock

          I told you I was in a serious Sherlock Holmes Phase . . . well I still am, and here is more proof.  I found some "Making Of" videos on YouTube.  It comes in parts so that's why there is more than one.  It's pretty fascinating.  I love watching these kind of things.  Especially when the directors/producers are obviously so in love with their work.  It warms my heart when they get such a kick out of turning their favorite stories into movies.  I think it's really cool when they are such fans of the books they are adapting that they know the books back to front and can slip in small references to the originals in their new versions.  Only people who really know the material will pick them up, but it's so fun when you do! 

Unlocking Sherlock

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3



          I'm making my roommates watch the episodes with me.  They dragged their feet for a long time, but they seem to really enjoy it now.  Well, at least Rachelle does.  Renee isn't as enthused because I'm really excited about it.  How does that make sense?  *sad face*

Hunger Games Trailer, Disney Style

          This is an extremely clever video that someone put together using the audio of the Hunger Games Trailer and clips from various Disney movies.  It's amazing how much the lines actually match up with the lips and actions.  Even the vehicles match, like a flying ship and a train.  Here is the Disney cast list for the Hunger Games characters:

• Katniss:  Jasmine (Aladdin)
• Gale:  Aladdin (Aladdin)
• Peeta:  Jim (Treasure Planet)
• Prim:  Alice (Alice in Wonderland)
• Effie:  Cinderella (Cinderella)
• Cinna: I haven't seen the movie, but I think he's Sinbad (?)
• President Snow:  Frodo (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)
• Haymitch:  Phebus (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)
• Plus other Disney characters including John Smith, Pocahontas, Shane, Melody, etc as other tributes.

          For comparison, here is the real Hunger Games trailer.  You'll see that almost every shot matches up.