Artistic Expression/The Written Word/Speak Your Mind

[GreenFish66]

Pure Heart, No Fear , Be strong.
Young Super Star, Move forward, Go,Grow Free.
Lead on, towards the way of your dreams ..

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Happiness is what you make of it...

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Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference

 

[GreenFish66]

Niebuhr, Reinhold quote - God give me the serenity to accept things which cannot be changed;Give...

Reinhold Niebuhr - "Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference"

( Thanks loneWolf )

 

[GreenFish66]

http://entertainment.ca.msn.com/movies/galleries/gallery.aspx?cp-documentid=25835893 - Top 20 movie Quotes

I'm surprised Arnie wasn't on the list with .." I'll Be Back" ...

 

[mt_pockets1000]

"Nookular", George W. Bush

"It doesn't mean that much to me to mean that much to you", Neil Young from the song Old Man

 

[Cliffy]

Ron's Story - by me

[FONT=&quot]As an example of how people accept the traditional views of our society without question, I like to recall the story of Ron Whitman. Ron’s story usually brings up strong emotional reactions, all of which are based on unquestioning socially accepted views about death and our bodies. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] I met Ron in 1972, when I first moved to Cottonwood, on the Barkerville highway, twenty miles east of Quesnel, B.C. Ron lived at Wingdam, an abandoned mining town farther up the highway. When I first met him, I was annoyed at how fast he talked. Then I noticed there was a strange sort of struggle in his voice. I later learned he had been caught between a loading ramp and a truck, his body being nearly severed in two. Somehow he had been patched back together and he had lived for the past thirty years or so in excruciating pain. He was so happy to be alive that he wasn’t going to let it get him down. He never once mentioned it or complained. His strange manner of speaking was his way of overriding the waves of pain. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Ron lived in a shack with four half-wolf dogs. He told us on several occasions that if he should die, he wanted his dogs to eat him - his last gift to them. On Christmas day, 1973 a group of us planned a large feast near where he lived. A friend, Rick, was supposed to pick Ron up and bring him over. When Rick arrived he informed us that Ron was in the process of fulfilling his last wish - his last Christmas present to his faithful companions.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]We all gathered about the banquet table, raised a glass of wine in honour of Ron’s spirit and wished him peace and rest at last. His painful ordeal was over. He died as he wanted to, in his own home, as humble as it was, and he was able to fulfill his last wish. We were all happy for him. What more could a man ask for. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Three days later we informed the authorities. They were not impressed. They were quite upset that we knew of his death all along and to show their dissatisfaction they made sure Ron was also the dogs’ last meal. We all knew this would happen. So did Ron. Nobody could have been able to handle those half wild dogs, especially after they had tasted human flesh. But that was not the point.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]It had long occurred to me that funerals were a bizarre and barbaric ritual. Humans are the only species that do not return to the earth what they have taken from it. Stuffing our bodies in hermetically sealed boxes or burning them to ashes prevents us from natural decomposition. All other living things fertilize new growth upon relinquishing their life force. We basically short-circuit the food chain by setting ourselves above it and removing ourselves from it. Ron knew this. [/FONT]

 

[GreenFish66]

Impressive piece of writting Cliffy ..Wish I had've read it 2 weeks ago when you posted it.....Guess I Haven't been checking this thread out lately ....However Your Tortured, Twisted Tale does make a Good halloween Story ..

R.I.P ..Ron ...

Ashs to Ashs and Dust to Dust ... Orange Moon,Blood Red..Black..October Rust

Hey ..Cliffy ....What happened to the Dogs ?....

 

[Cliffy]

Impressive piece of writting Cliffy ..Wish I had've read it 2 weeks ago when you posted it.....Guess I Haven't been checking this thread out lately ....However Your Tortured, Twisted Tale does make a Good halloween Story ..

R.I.P ..Ron ...

Ashs to Ashs and Dust to Dust ... Orange Moon,Blood Red..Black..October Rust

Hey ..Cliffy ....What happened to the Dogs ?....

Cops wasted them.

 

[damngrumpy]

The family band my wife used to play in, always played this little ditty before taking a break.

The liquor was spilled on the bar room floor
And the bar was closed for the night,
Out from his hole, came a little gray mouse
and sat in the pale moonlight.
He lapped up the liquor on the bar room floor
And back on his haunches he sat
All night long you could hear him roar
BRING ON THE GOD DAMN CAT

 

[Cliffy]

What, me worry?

I’ve heard it said that a paranoiac is someone who is in possession of all the facts. Of course no one is in possession of all the facts. In fact, I think that facts are about as reliable as the truth, which is only relative to the beholder. Paranoiacs, like optimists and pessimists, are very selective about the information they focus on.
They remind me of the person who said they felt that the universe was crapping on their head - and from a great height at that. My only remark was “Who do you think you are that the universe would bother.”
The ego is a cruel task master. It has us chasing our tails and looking over our shoulders, waiting for the next shoe to drop at the same time. If I had to live like that I would have to seriously consider getting off the planet. As one person put it to me, “You’re born, you pay taxes and then you die. You may as well shoot yourself now!”
One of the things that sustains me is knowing that this whole thing we call status quo reality is nothing but an illusion. Beyond our microcosmic view of reality lies something much more wonderful, more fantastic than any philosophy or religion has come up with. It is certainly much more than the doom sayers of politics and the media keep babbling about.
If you look around you at the hard evidence that is being presented - the facts - you will find plenty to be paranoid about. But reality is much more than what we perceive with our physical senses.
Rocks and steel are not solid. Our bodies are not susceptible to the ravages of disease and old age. Our minds are capable of more than just linear thought.
“What the heck is that loony goin’ on about now, Martha?”
Basic physics! The world, our reality is made up of tiny particles called atoms. Each atom is made up of protons and neutrons orbiting around a nucleus. The space between these tiny particles is so vast that if the Earth could be compressed so that nothing was left but the actual matter, we could put the entire planet in a tea spoon.
The solid state of a rock is an illusion created by our belief that it is solid. The energy that causes atoms to rotate, whether it is in a rock or your brain is the same.
Our bodies are composed of one main ingredient - energy. The main thing that keeps it working is consciousness. If the consciousness is functioning unimpeded by stress, anger or fear the organism is designed to exist indefinitely. However, the body is highly influenced by our emotions and our belief systems. One of our biggest beliefs is that we grow old and die. The evidence is all around you. Death and disease are a fact of life, right?
Only if that is what you believe! Of course we die. If you live on this planet at this time and you even have the slightest inkling of what is going on, you will be so stressed out and pissed off that you will give yourself a heart attack.
But who’s reality are you looking at? We are so busy looking anywhere else but at ourselves that most likely you are looking at somebody else's reality, who is busy looking at somebody else's reality - ad infinitum, that nobody sees reality at all. They are just looking at illusions and frightening the crap out of themselves.
Besides, who would want to live forever when reality is such a scary place most of the time?
Our brains were designed for thought. It is one of humankind’s greatest evolutionary accomplishments, right? What if there was something that is more effective than thought? What if thinking is what got us into the mess we seem to be in? What if we stopped thinking for a moment? Turn off the old brain pan. Stop worrying if we can pay the bills, buy that new food processor, get junior into the high brow preschool.
Shut up brain!
Wouldn’t what we see, smell and hear suddenly become more intense? Without all that inner chatter, would not the world start to seem a more wonderful place to experience?
If you gave up all your judgments, opinions and grudges against others, wouldn’t others begin to look like friends rather than enemies or competitors? Wouldn’t your mate start to resemble the person you fell in love with, rather than the old fart you think they are now?
A change in perspective is far more refreshing than a month in Los Vegas or Jamaica and it costs a lot less! You don’t have to worry about the payments or losing your baggage and you get to see the world in a whole new light.
Linear thought - Screw it. Intuition is where it’s at. Try this exercise: Sit in a chair with your eyes closed and really listen to the thoughts bouncing around inside your skull. Do this for about five minutes or until you just can’t stand it any more and have an overwhelming urge to change the channel.
Now, put on a piece of your favourite music, crank it up so it drowns out the noise in your head and focus as hard as you can on the sound. Feel it wash over and through your body. Feel the vibration of the sound as it hits different parts of your body. See the images the sound invokes in your minds eye.
Is this more fun than sticking a hot poker in your eye, or what? Stress, worry, negative emotions - hot poker. Music, relaxation - Good! Poker - Bad!
Is anybody out there? Is anybody in there?
‘Til next time - do whatever it takes to shut that damn thing off once in a while. You may discover something new about yourself (who ever that is!)

 

[GreenFish66]

Time to mellow things out a bit, with some thoughtful Lyrics..So just relax and listen..

YouTube - Train - Drops Of Jupiter (Lyrics)

YouTube - Snow Patrol Chasing Cars lyrics If i lay here ( songtext official video hq hd quality )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pKs2vyfk4E&feature=player_embedded#!


Here's some of my own additional lyrics to Hallelujah

I see you walking down the street.
In the past ,we'd always meet.
but you don't know me anymore, now, do ya?
All the times I'd hold you tight.So close to me, keep you warm at night.
Now, I'm so cold, it's a lonely Hallelujah...
Hallelujah...
Hallelujah...
Hallelujah,...
Hallelujah...

 

[selin]

YouTube - Bloodhound gang - The roof is on fire


the roof, the roof, the roof is on fire,
the roof, the roof, the roof is on fire,
the roof, the roof, the roof is on fire,
we don't need no water let the mother****er burn,
burn mother****er burn.

hello my name is jimmy pop and i'm a dumb white guy,
i'm not old or new but middle school fifth grade like junior high,
i don't know mofo if y'all peeps be buggin' give props to my ho cause she all fly,
but i can take the heat cause i'm the other white meat known as 'kid funky fried',
yeah i'm hung like planet pluto hard to see with the naked eye,
but if i crashed into uranus i would stick it where the sun don't shine,
cause i'm kind of like han solo always stroking my own wookie,
i'm the root of all that's evil yeah but you can call me cookie,
the roof, the roof, the roof is on fire,
the roof, the roof, the roof is on fire,
the roof, the roof, the roof is on fire,
we don't need no water let the mother****er burn,
burn mother****er burn.

yo yo this hard-core ghetto gangster image takes a lot of practice,
i'm not black like barry white no i am white like frank black is,
so if man is five and the devil is six than that must make me seven,
this honkey's gone to heaven,
but if i go to hell then i hope i burn well,
i'll spend my days with j.f.k., marvin gaye, martha raye, and lawrence welk,
and kurt cobain, kojak, mark twain and jimi hendrix's poltergeist,
and webster yeah emmanuel lewis cause he's the anti-christ,
the roof, the roof, the roof is on fire,
the roof, the roof, the roof is on fire,
the roof, the roof, the roof is on fire,
we don't need no water let the mother****er burn,
burn mother****er burn.
...

 

[GreenFish66]

lol....Thanks for that Selin ...Way to fire things up ! .(Ohhhhh....... I know , I know , Boo! ..Bad jk !.. )

 

[MissAnnika]

I used to be more of a writer, but sadly I seemed to have lost that passion over time, but I love art, so I still managed to practice some form. Recently I've been experimenting with cameras for a bit, then my dear hubby bought me a Cannon Rebel for my 22nd birthday, um, along with another surprise, a 9 month long surprise. Anyway I have multiple images I've posted if anyone is interested

AnnikaCali on deviantART

 

[Retired_Can_Soldier]

Here's two of mine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CM5s7tO9KF0

YouTube - The Passage

 

[GreenFish66]

Cool pics Miss Annika .You have a great eye for nature/ beauty of the natural.

Very Eerie ambience Retired_Can_Soldier..Is wicked imagery...

Thanks to all for the input...It definitely adds to the thread ...

Artisitic Expression drives the imagination forward, challenging reality to explore, to find more answers/more reasons/more purpose to our being

Everything Influences, but Originality Stands Alone...

 

[MissAnnika]

Just saw Seether in concert tonight, and it was beyond amazing. I absolutely love these guys! The adrenalin may keep me up for the remainder of the night

AnnikaCali on deviantART

Waste by Seether

Go unnoticed
Let the freedom wash away
Losing focus
The pretense is second nature
It's a broken life that i cling to
Trying to make right

I feel dismay just like you do
I feel decayed

So find me a way to leave this wasted life
Behind me (this wasted life)
Find me a way to leave this wasted life
Behind me after all

Yes i see you
Surrounded by the hopeless
When they need you
You're much too good and bloated
By the hopeless life that you cling to
Try to make right

I feel disdain just like you do
I feel decayed

So find me a way to leave this wasted life
Behind me (this wasted life)
Find me a way to leave this wasted life
Behind me after all

Go away
Go away

And just leave me here
Just leave me here
Just leave me here

So find me a way to leave this wasted life
Behind me (this wasted life)
Find me a way to leave this wasted life
Behind me after all

This wasted life [x4]
​

 

[GreenFish66]

I've never seen Seether in concert but have heard they put on a good concert.They have alot of good tunes....

There is nothing quite like the adrenline induced by a live show.Is Larger than life.Especially when it's a Big Band in a smaller venue..

Best Show I've ever seen was Ozfest at the Docks in Toronto ..Last Time Ozfest ever came to Toronto /Canada...

Black Sabbath Online: Tour Dates 2001

Soo many Great acts played..

Marilyn Manson, Slipknot, Papa Roach, Linkin Park, Crazy Town, Black Label Society, and festival headliners Black Sabbath. and that was just on the main Stage .


Second Stage was Disturbed (headliner), The Union Underground, Systematic, Drowning Pool, Nonpoint, American Head Charge, Beautiful Creatures, Hatebreed, Pure Rubbish, Mudvayne, Cold, No One, Spineshank, & Taproot...

It was Simply Ozmazing....!

Another Great Concert , among the many,(that I can rememeber ) was Soundgarden/N.I.N...97' at Molson Park..

Ah the memories ...

Long Live Loud/Live Music!

As Ozzy Says

"Let me hear you Scream"

http://www.myspace.com/ozzyosbourne


" Good Night, God Bless, I love you all "

 

[MissAnnika]

I agree completely, it's always the great music and composers who inspire the rest of us. I know that whenever I'm at my peak of creativity, I'm always listening to music.

 

[Bar Sinister]

Here's two of mine.

YouTube - In Spirit Wood

YouTube - The Passage

Very dynamic music. I took the liberty of playing the Equinox as well and liked it even better than the other two.

 

[Retired_Can_Soldier]

Very dynamic music. I took the liberty of playing the Equinox as well and liked it even better than the other two.

Thanks Bar.

Note: This fiction piece is based on actual events.
Approximate word count 1050

Keep Me Safe
by MJ Preston

Halloween 1970

My brother Jimmy was a ghost, a hospital sheet with two holes cut out for eyes. I was wearing a plastic Batman costume, the mask was attached to my head by an elastic band that dug into the back of my head. In my right hand I held my pillowcase which contained the treasures of our hard work going house to house crying "Trick or treat." My left hand was curled up inside my older brother’s who tugged me along as we fought against the current of children coming down the stairs. “Hurry up Marky,” he groaned and tugged harder.

One of the bigger kids passed me on the way down and tapped my pillowcase. “Got lots of candy in there,” he titter and whispered something to the two other boys with him.

“We gotta steal some kid’s bag of candy,” I heard one of them say and then my brother tugged harder and I went up the stairs ready to do the ritual. Those boys were my brother’s age, 10 or 11, they were smiling at me as they went by, and I didn’t think they meant any harm.

As we descended down the stairs back onto the sidewalk I felt something bump against me and then the pillowcase was ripped from my hand. I pin wheeled off the curb and thumped off the road skinning my hand. Under the milky glow of the street light I looked at my skinned hand and realized they had stolen my pillow case. That’s when I began to wail.

I felt a hand upon me, lifting up my mask, checking my hand and there was my brother a look of concern crossing his face. He was checking to see if I was okay, he looked frightened and then the look of concern melted away and became something else. “Take this,” he said shoving his pillowcase into my hand. “Don’t go anywhere!” Then he bolted down the street and into the field after the boys who rolled me.

Winter 1968 – Montreal

My two brothers, Jimmy and Benny walked beside the river. Benny bounced a small ball off the barren spots in the concrete catching it and trotting along as Jimmy laughed and snickered. They were just two boys with nothing much to do, bumbling along being kids. That was when fate took a twist.

On the final bounce the little ball went wild, down the embankment and onto the thin river ice. For a moment they stood there side by side looking down at the ball that probably cost no more than a dime. “Let’s go,” Jimmy said. Benny had other plans and descended slowly down the embankment. “What are you doing?”

“I’m going to get my ball,” he called back.
“Benny, come on, the ice is getting thin.” Jimmy was scrambling down the embankment his voice wavering.

“It’s not that far,” Benny stepped out onto the river ice gingerly. The ball was about 15 feet out, but for Jimmy it might as well have been 150. Benny took another two steps, stopped and waited. He was decked out in a parka, mittens and woollen red toque, his scarf hung loosely about his neck.

“Benny come back!” Jimmy was at the edge of the river now.

He took three more steps. The ball was within reach now, a small dot standing alone on the river ice. Benny leaned down and snatched up, then turned to look back at my brother smiling victoriously. He was just about to say something when the ice cracked beneath him and he crashed through it into the black murky river water.

“Benny,” Jimmy screamed.

There was a gasp, cries of panic. He tried to climb back onto the ice as the cold dark current pulled at his winter clothing making him heavy and restricted. The edge of the ice broke away widening the hole as he struggled, and then only seconds after it happened he was gone.

Jimmy waited there frozen at the edge of the river. Our brother was gone forever, taken by the icy cold hand of death dragged into the undercurrents of the St Lawrence River. He did not cry out, he was in shock, unable to process what had actually happened. How long he stood there I do not know, I don’t think he did either, but at some point the paralysis broke. As he ran for home he was now tasked with delivering the news to my Mother than Benny would never be coming home again.

Halloween 1970


I clutched Jimmy’s Halloween pillowcase sobbing uncontrollably as he set out after the boys who took mine. The expression of concern he had on his face before bolting was replaced by a look I had never seen before. It was a look I was to young to understand. It was rage.

I cried as the other kids walked by gaping at me. Finally, a girl who knew Jimmy came over and hugged me as I continued to wail. All I could think was that Jimmy wouldn’t be coming back, that I didn’t know the way home. Those boys might beat him up. It was hopeless. Through bleary eyes I stared at that field trying to see something in the blackness.

Then I saw him walking back out of the darkness my pillowcase dangling from one hand and when his eyes connected with mine he smiled. At that moment he was my hero, my protector, my big brother and I loved him more than anything in the world.

“Here’s your candy,” he soothed and handed me the pillowcase.

“Thank you Jimmy,” I sniffled wiping my nose with my sleeve. I didn’t know that when he got into that field and caught up with those three boys that he had beaten two of them pretty bad before the third handed the pillowcase over.

“Come on Marky,” he said lifting me up. “-let’s go home.”

“Don’t call me Marky.” I whined.

“Sure thing,” Jimmy agreed and tugged me along down the road after thanking the girl for staying with me. We set off down the road ready to count up our loot when we got back to the apartment. I will never forget that Halloween or all the other times my big brother kept me close and kept me safe.