Welcome to ATWKS!

“Life is a series of experiences, each of which makes us bigger, even though it is hard to realize this. For the world was built to develop character, and we must learn that the setbacks and grieves which we endure help us in our marching onward.”

- Henry Ford

Monday, December 31, 2007

A place where her dreams have room to grow...

I'm an obsessive blogger and I know it. I'm also an obsessive blog reader. As I was reading one of my favourite blogs today, wolfe's Musings, I saw something that pissed me off and shocked me at the same time:

A Rose Petal Cottage

Why would a rose petal cottage piss me off, you ask? Just see below here....

Rose Petal Cottage Ad #1


And this one pisses me off even more:

Rose Petal Cottage Ad #2

If that doesn't piss you off, I don't know what does. Sure, there's the argument that these kind of toys are what girls are into. I'm actually not against the product itself, but the advertisements. They take women 50 years back, and it's like they're expecting little girls to only have dreams involving home care. This is what you're supporting when you buy a Hasbro product, and this is why you should avoid ever buying a Hasbro product ever again.

Is African slavery partly the fault of Africans?

I heard something very interesting from a friend some time ago, and I just remembered it today. His name is Dave, and he told me that African slavery was partly the fault of Africans because they sold off tribes they conquered to European settlers. He said he didn't remember where he heard that; he just remembers that he heard it. I don't find it 100% hard to believe, so does anyone have any proof proving or disproving what Dave said? I'm really curious.

The power of friendship in gothic music

I've said it already; I'm a big goth metal/rock fan. Both gothic subgenres have many things in common, with the exception of goth rock being a lighter alternative, but there's something else I've noticed recently: friendship and romance. They seem to power the subgenres almost wholly, more than any other kind of music I've listened to. Attributes that often characterize this are "beauty and the beast" vocals, duetic & romantic vocals, and lyrics that are depedent on the strength of the friendship of the writers. In this report, I'm going to use several bands as examples of the attributes I listed.

Beauty and the Beast
The "true" definition for beauty and the beast vocals is vague with some aspects, but the aspect of a female/male duet remains true. The female vocals usually give a more submissive stance, and are usually clean, while the male vocals tend to be harsh or clean with an admissive stance. However, this is not true for all goth bands. A band that goes against this is Lacuna Coil.
B&B bands: Sirenia, Tristania, Lacuna Coil, Epica

Duetic and Romantic Vocals
This goes hand-in-hand with Beauty and the Beast, but I thought it would be good to list it since there are some gothic bands who don't seem too "beastly," or enough so much that I'd consider that they have such vocals. In this more romantic stance, the female leads tend to be classically trained. Remember, gothic music has a pretty good connection to more classical music. A good example would be the songs with male vocals from Evanescence that aren't from the albums Fallen or The Open Door. The only song that they ever made that had B&B vocals was Lies from Origin. Yes, they did have music before those albums.
D&R bands: Lacuna Coil, "pre-Fallen" Evanescence, Within Temptation (went from goth metal to goth rock with metal influences), Epica, Nemesea.

The Strength of Friendship Between Writers
The strength of the friendship that lyricists of goth bands have with each other is immense, so much so that it elevates them to whole other levels, musically. A good example of this is the incident that happened with Evanescence. To sum it down to the core: when Ben Moody and Amy Lee were really close, that's when they made the best music together. However, when they separated and made music on their own, the music just sounded so plastic; so fake.
Strength of friendship: Lacuna Coil, Evanescence, Within Temptation

I hope you enjoyed my little report!

ROCK ON TO '08! Stay close to your friends and family on this fine night.

Google Reader

You've all probably known about Google Reader for a while, but I'm a new customer, so I'm going to have my say.

I started using GR just today, and I am absolutely in love with it. It's really cool because you can really have the internet "in an inbox." It makes your 'net time more efficient, fun, and personal. Here's a breakdown of some of the things I love about GR:

  1. Feeds: You can make feeds of the articles you choose to share and put it on any website.

  2. Your own shared articles page: Your family and friends can know what matters to you within a click of a button.

  3. The "net in an inbox": You can subscribe to many sites, and you'll end up only looking at those sites when they're updated, thus cutting down the time you spend looking for new posts. The posts come to you (well, in a way). You can mark off what you've already read so you don't end up re-reading later; another time-cutter. Your favourite sites are also all organized on 1 page. Here's a screenshot of GR in action:


  4. See the menu at the left of the screenshot here (click on the image to enlarge it)? Look at the headings that say Blogs or News. Those are folders into which you can organize your sites (subscriptions), and the numbers beside them are how many new updates the site has made. Each time you mark off an update as read, the update number for the site goes down by one. Also, you can make your own folders for a more personal experience.
    4. Friends: Make buddies with people who share your common interests. It's always more fun that way.

That's all I'm going to say about GR right now since I'm a new customer, but I'm in love with it already. If you haven't yet, please join GR. You don't even need a Google e-mail; you just an email address, period.

Sunday, December 30, 2007

A new beginning

I didn't sleep 'til 6 AM today.

From about 3-6, or I think it was 4-6 (I was too tired to remember), me and my brother were discussing everything from consumerism to the higher power. I think the higher power part started by him discussing how his friend Raffi has this Atheist cousin who likes to go online and find bad things about Christianity just to point it out to him. Why he'd bring up that story to me, I don't know. I don't recall researching the 'net to find information about Christianity in order to use it against my brother. Hell, I don't even recall mocking Christianity to begin with - I'll mock most Christians though, in addition to most other religious followers.

He brought up the incident about where I made fun of the pope (see "Mortal Kombat, Vatican style"), and doing that is supposedly "offending the Christian faith." I had to explain numerous times before he fully understood that there's a difference between mocking the Christian faith and mocking Christian leaders or Christians. Also, I recall poking fun at followers of all faiths, so there's no discrimination involved. Don't you hate it when the majority falsely believes that they're being discriminated against, or even stranger, opressed? I mean, I love my brother, don't get me wrong. Some of the most valuable times in my life have been spent with him, and it may have been that he was as tired during that time in the morning as I was (in fact, at one point he said, "believe, don't you"), but there's shit that he says that does not make any sense at all or doesn't have connections to what he said previously.

Onto another topic of discussion with him, we talked about the year ending, and if we actually got some things done this year. I'll admit, I was a bit defensive after I said, "Shit, I got nothing done," and so I immediately switched over from that to, "Well, at least I got most of my plans for my nation-to-nation violence group started." He looked at me with a hint of disappointment. "Flora, you can say you'll do everything in the world, but to get that shit done is something else entirely. What are plans without action? There are 3 steps to getting things done: plan, action, goal. You have the plan, but until you get the action done, it's not really an accomplishment to me."

He's definitely right. What's a plan without action? He also proceeded to tell me about my blogging, and how it's a waste of time since he thinks I'm not doing anything (in his opinion). I've actually gotten plenty done, my plans have been finished for a long while, and the action was already in process. I feel I've accomplished something important, but yet, I can't help but feel a bit empty. I can't figure it out, but it's a new year, and a new beginning.

I have a new year's tip for everyone: don't make the mistake of getting nothing done, folks. Don't wind up feeling empty. But even if that does happen, remember this: the end of something old is the beginning of something new. Make 2008 the year of you, and don't give up without a fight.

I love accounting errors

I have a really funny story that I've been meaning to tell you guys for a little while. It's not the greatest story ever, but it's pretty amusing. It was a few days ago; one of those days I mentioned in a previous journal where me and my brother were hanging out a lot outside. Myself and he decided to spend the combined $100 we had for Christmas on something together. So what did we decide to buy? We went to the local Blockbuster and purchased all of the used video games we could afford!

The video games we bought came to about $96 on 5 games. However, we should've paid more.

As the cashier was scanning all of the items we purchased (Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones, Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, Castlevania: Lament of Innocence, Final Fantasy XII, Xenosaga III), we noticed that the previous pre-tax addition that we did didn't balance with what the cashier totalled. Ofcourse, being assholes, we didn't tell the lady that she basically gave us a free game. I swear, as soon as I got the chance, which was right behind the first door I saw, I jumped for joy and I yelled, "HELL YES!" That was one sweet night.

I'll give you guys a couple of reviews of the games within time, though they're old and you'd probably not give a shit.

Friday, December 28, 2007

Mortal Kombat, Vatican style

Ever since Cardinal Ratzinger from Germany was named Pope, controversy has followed his very footsteps. We didn't blame him for his participation in Hitler Youth as a child; we can't expect him to not do something that was legally compulsory. We didn't blame him for his "mistaken words" against Mohammed to the Muslims. And the Canadians certainly didn't blame him when he said that Canada was hell-bent due to it's legalization of gay marriage.

I never had many problems with personally, though I've had many with him religiously, but after reading on his new "plans" to fight Satanism head-on, there is no possible way that I can ever, in my lifetime, have the capacity to take him seriously. Here are some exerpts from an article regarding the matter:

The Pope has ordered his bishops to set up exorcism squads to tackle the rise of
Satanism.

Vatican chiefs are concerned at what they see as an increased interest in the occult.

They have introduced courses for priests to combat what they call the most extreme form of "Godlessness."

Each bishop is to be told to have in his diocese a number of priests trained to fight
demonic possession.

The initiative was revealed by 82-year-old Father Gabriele Amorth, the Vatican "exorcistinchief," to the online Catholic news service Petrus.

"Thanks be to God, we have a Pope who has decided to fight the Devil head-on," he said.

And my mom told me that Mortal Kombat could never become a reality. What a lying bitch!

Here was another really funny tidbit that I loved:

The Vatican is particularly concerned that young people are being exposed to the influence of Satanic sects through rock music and the Internet.

Seriously folks, it's time to step up. We act like we've gotten rid of the biggest terrorists, but if that were true, why do we have an incredibly crazy pope and an incredibly dumb president heavily impacting the lives of people across the globe? If people did their research more before they made final decisions as to who they want to spend their lives being subordinates to, then we wouldn't have to deal with this kind of shit. We wouldn't have to be the workers of the real terrorists, and we wouldn't have to feel cultural inferiority complexes because we wouldn't have bad leaders making us look like asses. And most of all, at least they'd be able to come up with more reasonable and original targets than the internet and rock music.

Three more days

Look at the menu to the right on this page with all of the links, videos, and polls. Look at the polls. There's a countdown 'til the year 2008 on all of them, and that's when they're going to be disabled. On January 1st, I'm going to collect the statistics, post them, and then provide a link at the menu for those who want to look back. New polls are going to be set up with the same questions, and possibly more.

Got any suggestions for new polls? Post them here!

The Seamy Side of History

It's a really great read, written by Honore De Balzac. His writings about French society are truly compelling and insightful. Its almost like you really are walking under the "shadowy breath of the Notre Dame". Anyways...

My Favorites of 2007:

In the literature category- A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

As for music - What Goes Around Comes Around by Justin Timberlake (okay shoot me)

Now for movies! - Across the Universe or We Own the Night......There Will Be Blood had a lot of potential, but the story was flatter than a pancake............or Atonement with Kiera Knightly or Sweeney Todd.....sorry, its really hard for me to pick when it comes to movies

Magazines - Vogue the December issue or Nylon the September issue

Person of the Year - Me of course.....no haha...umm probably Barack Obama, even though I don't want to see him get elected in 2008, he still made a nice name for himself and I do like him.

What about you?

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Benazir Bhutto killed in assassination

I just read the article from Yahoo Canada, and though I didn't know much about her prior to her assassination today, I can't help but feel horrible. Not just for Benazir's death, but for the sake of democracy in Pakistan. I can see why her supporters reacted with such great destruction - because she was a great lady. How much personal courage does it take to be a woman involved in politics, in a country like Pakistan, to be so heavily involved with the Americans and to agree with their War on Terror? It takes so much that words cannot describe how I now feel about her. The sad part is, however, that she died not too far away from where her father was executed.

R.I.P. Benazir Bhutto

Everything of value I learned, I learned from my mother.

I can honestly tell you right now that my father has had next to no impact on who I am today in comparison to my mother. My mother; a refugee and a daughter to refugees, has to be one of the most amazing and wise people around. She's taught me everything I needed to know about life from a very young age. Because of her, I already feel I know who I am, while other people my age still feel confused. I feel old because of all the experiences drawn from her, but I feel young at the same time.

How do you guys feel about your relationship with your parents, whether you're living with them or not?

It's my birthday, so I guess that's why I thought of this. I love my mother, despite our large differences.

I can't wait for the blackberry cheesecake today.

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

The camera loves Bianca

This is the first official interview being posted onto the ATWKS website, and is the first in a series. Our subject today is Bianca Crudo, a fifteen-year-0ld with the aspiration to become a great actress.

First off, talk about some general things about yourself.


Hola! I'm Bianca, and I'm fifteen. I am 5'1'', so no one can call me a midget. I love dancing and singing, but my true passion is acting. I lived in Canada until I was ten, and while I was there, I was in a feature film called Julie Walking Home as one of the leads. I was Julie's Daughter. I was in it with Miranda Otto (Princess Eowyn [from the Lord of the Rings]) and William Fichtner (Prison Break, Contact, Perfect Storm), and it was by far one of the best experiences of my life. At 10, my dad got promoted, so we moved to Connecticut. I am still trying to persuade my parents to bring me acting, but it is an on going battle.

Just random stats: [my] birthday [is] April 2nd, 1992, [I] Like Brown Hair and Hazel eyes, I love my nose, I hate running shoes, I have an unnatural obsession with the OC, and most of the shows I watch are reality television. People have asked me if I am bulimic before, and I find that incredibly insulting (I weigh 88 pounds).


Bianca, please tell our readers more about your acting experiences! For example, some other movies you've been in, and some wonderful people you've met during the filming of said movies, or because of those movies.

Was there any particular movie that made you think, "This is why I want to be an actress"? If so, which one? And what actions have you considered taking to get back into acting?


Well, my mom knew that I was destined to become an actress since I was little. I craved for the attention of the video camera. So one day, my mom brought me in to see an agent and they loved me. So I started auditioning!

On my first audition, I got stand by (so on the rare occasion that the person who got the job can't do it, I will) and that upset me. The next thing my mom told me is something I will always remember "it doesn't mean you weren't good enough, it just means you weren't right for what they were looking for". I kept that in mind as I continued auditions, and I booked my second job! I was in a royal canadian mint commercial.

After that, I did 2 more commercials: a healthcare commericial (I was a boy's little sister, and sat there and played game boy for almost the entire time), and then I was in a 'hop along Katie' commercial. In between those, I auditioned for 'Don't Say A Word' with Michael Douglas, but didn't get the part.

Finally, I auditioned for 'Julie Walking Home'. We were on vacation in Quebec when we got the call that I was called back! We went home, and I actually auditioned with the boy who ended up playing my twin. Filming Julie Walking Home was an amazing experience. I was taken out of school for a month (I got a tutor) and then I went to Halifax, Nova Scotia and stayed in a 5 star hotel for filming! If anyone watches Naturally Sadie, the boy who plays Rain Papadakis was in the movie with me. *Smiles*

The Director was Agneizka Holland, who directed The Secret Garden. The plot of the movie is that my dad cheats on my mom, my brother gets cancer, and he is allergic to the chemo. So he is brought by Miranda Otto (our mom) to Poland to see a healer; their last hope. I don't want to give away the ending. *Laughs*

After filming the movie was when my career started to take a turn for the better. I filmed a capital one commericial, but it got shelved. *Frown* After filming that commericial, we moved to Connecticut, where I wasn't allowed to act until I was an American citizen. I am one now, and now I am arguing about going into the city. Both of my brothers are wrestling almost every night after school, and my mom doesn't want to abandon them so she can drive me into NY for auditions. So currently, I am trying everything I can to persuade her just to try it out.

A funny tidbit: I hated the movie when I saw it because I knew every single line and I still haven't seen the entire movie *Smiles*... there is a sex scene that my mom made me close my eyes for when I saw it at the age of 10 (I went to the Toronto Film Festival!), and then I haven't really been interested in watching it since (Unless people force me too ) *Smiles*. PS Sometimes it is on the sundance channel!
Any other questions?


Bianca, do you still believe your mother was right when she thought that you were destined to become an actress? Do you believe it is your destiny?

Have you considered going to a university or college that has a program that can further you on your path to becoming a well-established actress?


I think she was right. Whenever anyone asks me what I want to do, I always say "act." What frustrates me about her is the fact that she still won't try out the New York scene. I know it will take up a lot of time, but I am just asking her to try it!

And of course I have [considered going to a program for acting]! I have also been looking into a theater major, so currently my top choices are: Michigan, Juliard, and Ithica. However, my parents are bribing me with a new car or a downpayment on a house to go back to Canada for college. So if I go back there, I would look at going to Ryerson.


What are you looking most forward to taking an acting part in the future? Commercials, movies, broadway? Pick one!

Movies, definitely. Since I have done them all, I can safely say that movies are the most fun. On broadway, you have to portray a character, but all characters have to be larger than life, which is a LOT easier than trying to be real and true to the person. You also get to meet all kinds of different and talented people.

Ahh, I see.

I once heard the phrase, "in order to be a good actor, you must be a good liar." How do you feel about this?


I AGREE TOTALLY. *Laughs* I laughed when you said that because I have a funny story.
At one point, I auditioned for a discovery kids television show called 'The Adventures of Bug Boy'. I was auditioning for Bug Boy's sidekick. So I did a really good audition, and then at the end they asked me if I liked bugs. I said I hated them, and then never got a call back *Smiles*


I think you have to be a liar to some point because people are analyzing your every move, and in a sense, actors are there to please people. Does that make sense?


Before we finish up this session, I have just one more question: what does acting mean to you?

Acting means everything for me: a job, a lifestyle, a passion, love and everything else. I can only see myself being an actress, and I will do whatever it takes to make that dream become a reality. I don't think that people really understand why I love acting so much. It is kind of like TeenVogue. You just get hooked, and no matter when you say enough is enough, you keep coming back.

Thank-you for the interesting session, and I wish you good luck on the road to becoming a great actress!

Thanks so much! *Smiles*

Bianca Crudo can be found in Julie Walking Home, as she said. To learn more about the movie, click here.

Santa is a ninja

Well, the reasons seem pretty good, don't they?

Happy holidays, and merry Christmas, everybody!

Monday, December 24, 2007

New years resolutions

Ahh, it's almost that time of the year again where you find yourself thinking about the future, since we're shifting into a new year. You've got everything that you want to change, several things you need to change, and only 1 or 2 things that you're actually willing to change. At this point, the trick is just getting the courage to say no to the things that don't matter. Getting rid of your excess acne? No, don't give a shit. Becoming a more "likeable" person? Too bad, can't please everyone. Losing that 50 pounds of excess fat that is a bitch to carry around all day? FUCK YES. If you don't lose it now, it'll be harder to lose it later.

My resolution for this year is to lose the weight I've gained, join some kind of sport team and be dedicated to it, and to try to make myself happier. I feel I've been focusing too much on other people's feelings, and it's just becoming a drain. Sometimes, you just need to let go of everything, and to hold yourself above it all.

What's your new years resolution? What are some of the most rediculous you've ever heard? What are some of the best resolutions you've ever heard?

The ATWKS Interview Series

ATWKS is coming up with an interview series of sorts. Basically, I'm going to be talking to plenty of different people on plenty of different topics, and I'm going to post those discussions here. I've already finished interviewing 3 people, and am in the midst of 6. Editing will begin shortly.

What I'd like you to do is request me to interview people from certain forums, or request me to interview people that you have access to.

Places being interviewed currently:
TeenVogue users

Places already interviewed:
None

Sunday, December 23, 2007

Blogging - a waste of time, or another way to sell?

The past few days have been quite fun, with the exception of last Friday 'noon. Me and my brother have been doing more things together that range farther from the usual, like watching MMA, using the computer, and watching TV. We've actually been going outside together and having fun, regardless of the little we actually have accomplished. It didn't matter whether we bought anything; whether we found that TV that we wanted to buy, whether we got the movies we wanted to rent, or anything of that sort, even though such things were the premise of us even doing something new together anyway. It was the interesting conversations we've had for hours on the busses and city benches that were most valuable to me.

One really interesting conversation that I had with my brother happened last night, when we were on a city bus to the downtown area of the city, where the big shopping plaza is. My brother had told me that he thinks my hobby of having debates on the internet is a waste of time. He labelled me an "iWarrior."

What is an iWarrior, you ask? An iWarrior, according to him, is a person who, on the internet, looks for a debate on a specific topic, finds an opinion that differs from theirs, and calls the person with the differing opinion a moron or a dumbass. He says that iWarriors include bloggers, such as myself.

How is a blogger an "iWarrior"? He says that bloggers are iWarriors because they're trying to sell an opinion, and not just the facts that enable a person to decide for themselves what is right and what is wrong.

He's wrong, and yet, he's right.

Mature bloggers, such as myself and the other two fabulous ladies at ATWKS are not "iWarriors," per se, but rather just opinionated ladies. We're telling our side of the story, but we're not going to call you a dumbass, because we're requesting your comments. We want to hear from you. Every time I get a little message in my hotmail account that says someone has actually spent their time reading my material, and every time it becomes apparent that they've learned something valuable, something special from me, it puts a smile on my face.

However, he's not completely wrong. Yes, bloggers are selling an opinion, and there's pretty much no way to deny it. I sell my opinion for the reason I stated in the previous paragraph. Authors sell opinions in their books. Religious authorities, because they are individuals, sell opinions. Jehova's witnesses sell their opinions to you right at your doorstep.

You can't go anywhere these days without someone selling an opinion in some way or another, so why can't I sell mine on a blog?

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Reflections on "Popular" Music and Artists

I am listening to the Top Hits of 2007, and the first thing I notice is that out of the compendium of 98 songs, a solid majority of them follow the same tune and pattern, related to each other's works.

Kanye's and 50 Cent's techno-vibrations behind a few spewed, forced, and uncreative rhymes, which the new age, futuristic beats make up for or completely hide. There was an obvious trend toward Timbaland-sounding productions, and it is important to note that he was behind a lot of the top hits. Justin Timberlake, Nelly Furtado, and OneRepublic just to name a few. Chris Brown, with Kiss Kiss, and Britney Spears with Gimme More followed suite with this sound. Instead of putting emphasis on the lyrics, these hits seem to do away with them all together, focusing the listener on who can come up with the most unique, techno-convoluted beats. Anyways, back to Kanye and 50 Cent - I don't think any two artists have bigger ego-trips than these two, or rather, there aren't too many more artists out there that are so egotistical in their music. We have P. Diddy, but he didn't make the list, which is surprising, but I think his songs are for crap. He will oversee a hundred artists, put them on his label, and all of them will have the same look, style, and voice. The women will be sexed-up poster ads for the "ghetto fabulous", and the guys will all have half-naked girls in their videos, speaking of "booty" and "partying" and "mazaratis" with "30 inch rims".

Speaking of "booty", you have tracks like "This Is Why I Am Hot" by MIMS and "Crank That (Soulja Boy)", "Lean Like A Cholo", and "Party Like A Rockstar", which all basically speak of one thing. Their lyrics are horrendous. I imagine that them and their little posse and "gangster" friends sit down, search their puny minds for something to say, try to find words that "match" (I emphasize this, because some of them have really bad rhyming skills and they go with words that "just go"), and then put them together like third-graders putting together Mickey Mouse puzzles, and say them with a little tinge of the voice, a little lofty melody in the background, and "tada!" you have your number one hit.

Alright, moving on. Fergie, of course. Rihanna, Taylor Swift. All rather annoying, but they created songs that personally are "catchy". They made songs that play on FM radio like its no one's business, and thus everyone's business. However, going back to OneRepublic.....their song, Apologize, in collaboration with Timbaland, had the record for the number one played hit on the radio.

Don't get me started on "Hey There Delilah". I love that song, but I can only take so much of it. Perhaps, because me, like my fellow teenagers, have an attention span of about ten minutes maximum. We constantly want to hear new songs, new tunes. A track that was released last month is seen as old "old".

Anyways, take a look at the hits this year. You have The Killers, Mika, The Fratellis, The Arctic Monkeys, Paul McCartney, Reba, Kelly Clarkson, and even foreign artists. I will have to admit. I like alot of these artists, and I don't care if they are mainstream or "sell-outs" or "posers" (with the exception of Avril Lavigne....really don't like her music). I really don't care. Green Day was on the list with their adaptation of "Working Class Hero" by John Lennon. I love Green Day.

So, what do you think?

Friday, December 21, 2007

ATWKS @ Myspace

www.groups.myspace.com/atwks

That's our new MySpace address! Ofcourse we're going to be posting here, but I made that MySpace so that you can sign up and get new bulletins from us every time there's a new post on here. Aren't I a genius?

So please do join. It will be the best way for you to keep up with us, and you won't have to check back at the site more than you need to. The AdSense bars here may say to some of you that I'm only out for myself, but this site is about all of us - the writers and the readers.

Tips to not get banned from the group: don't advertise irrelevent things, please. Take into mind the general MySpace group rules, which you will end up encountering. So don't ask me about where to find them.

Back to school



I thought you guys would find this video really interesting, because I didn't know most of the things going on with these ethnic groups specifically, and I'm part of one of them! I had no idea of identity crisis of Armenians, my people, in Georgia. I had only some idea of what was going on in Egypt. With Jordan... well, I don't know much about the country besides the fact that it exists, and happens to be significantly close to Iraq on the map.

Octavia Sperati

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Octavia Sperati is definitely one of my top 5 favourite bands, and not solely for the fact that they are a successful female-dominant metal band, but for the fact that they have not fallen into the "happy-times" (Ex. After Forever) metal trap. They've remained true to themselves from the beginning to the present, they're honest, they stick to traditional doom-goth music without denying who they are, and they're unique. When you hear them on the radio (which you'd probably rarely hear), you don't confuse them for any other band. And it's not just 1 person that you focus on when you watch one of their videos (Ex. Within Temptation and After Forever).... Every member is equally important.

Here's the latest from OS: Moonlit



I suggest you guys go out and buy their album Grace Submerged. A great gift for yourself. Who says we can't be a little selfish at times? I plan on buying it within the next few days!

Support the ladies of metal, and as the saying in doom goes.... STAY SLOW!

http://www.octavia-sperati.com/
www.myspace.com/octaviasperati

Thursday, December 20, 2007

False Followers of God

Today was certainly a very interesting day in the fight of Christians VS non-Christians.

The school I attend is divided into 5 periods of 75 minutes. We're in class by 8:15AM, and dismissed at 2:43PM.

During period 1, I finished writing my notes, and had about 20 minutes to burn. So what did I decide to do? Go on one of the computers, ofcourse!

As soon as I logged onto the school system, I clicked on the internet explorer icon. Things were working normally. Then, I typed in www.ethicalatheist.com... and bam! The school blocked the site out.

So, in my fit of annoyance, I turned over to my friend, who we'll call Sarah, to tell her how annoyed I was that the school blocked out Ethical Atheist for the obvious reason that it was an Atheist website (most other websites that are approved by the board are "pro-God"). I told her how ignorant it was that the school would block out the website for that reason, and then, it happened...

Now, I'm not trying to put a label on all Christians or believers of gods here, but everyone in my class was practically attacking me just for my complaint on the ignorance of the school on behalf of Christians. They said things like, "Well it's a Catholic school, and we believe in God, so ofcourse they'll block it out!" Really, does the belief in God allow closed-mindedness? I'm sure that's why he gave you free wills, isn't it?

But that's not what really bugged me. It was what would happen later that really ended up making me try to restrain myself from laughing too hard.

Fast-forward to period 5. I'm in cosmetology class, in the school salon, and just drying my nails off from the red nail polish that I freshly applied. Then comes a girl from period 1, who was the one who made that Catholic school point. She had just basically told the girls some lies in the class the moment she walked in, and then they started asking me all of these questions and assuming too much crap about me.

One of the questions I was asked was by the class drunk, also affectionately known by our teacher as "Drunkie." "If there is no God, then how did everything begin?" Look, I don't know the answer to that question, but I'm not going to pretend I know and assume that everything magically appeared. The laws of physics says that's physically impossible. How can a massless creature create mass? Physics says even creatures of mass can't create mass, so if you honestly can give me a decent answer as to how a massless creature can create mass, then I will be completely and utterly shocked.

Amongst all of the questions laid the usual bitchiness of the cosmetology class. Some girls were saying that they wouldn't accept me because I have no belief in God. Funny how they expect me to listen to their theories, while they automatically took mine and threw them away without ever observing them. One may call that loyalty, but I call it ignorance and cowardice.

The fun didn't end there, however. Right after class, I went to my locker to get my things so I could leave. I was still trying to contain myself, but then one of the girls from class came and did something rude and stupid. She got her friends to point me out along with her and chant loudly in the halls, "Flora doesn't believe in God!" in a very obnoxious manner. All she really ended up doing is making Christians look like morons. Somehow, I'm not shocked.

ATWKS Promotion Pics

Hello dear readers!

Do you love ATWKS, and do you have a website? If you'd like to promote ATWKS, and if you need some graphics for buttons... here is the post for you! I made some graphics today that you can use to link to ATWKS, but I'm going to make plenty more in the future, so watch out.

To save these images, right-click on them, then go to "save as."

















No expected posts during Yuletide

To the writers and readers:

You are not expected to post anything during the holidays. It's your own time for you to do whatever the Hell you want, but you can post nonetheless if you'd like.

But you guys know me... I'm going to post like crazy since I'll have nothing to do.

Oh and lastly.... HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Past Writers - What happened to them?

This is a page that will be occassionally updated within time. This is just to reinforce to you why certain writers have been disallowed from posting.

Kicked out:
Tinkerbelle
Lee Jones

Goodbye, Tinkerbelle.

I won't sugarcoat it: I kicked Tinkerbelle off the team for having not posted since we actually started this blog in early November. I don't take any damn prisoners. If you don't post regularly like I ask you to, and regularly is ONCE A FUCKING WEEK, you're out.

Check out the "Become a Writer at ATWKS" post if you'd like to be a writer.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Gothic Metal

As some may know, I'm a very big fan of the Gothic Metal genre. My favourite GM bands include, but are not limited to, Imperia, Tristania, Epica, Lacuna Coil, Charon, and, well, about a million others.

I found this really awesome page on GM, and it really depicts it all perfectly. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did.

General Description

Gothic metal is a genre of heavy metal music that originated during the mid 1990s in Europe as an outgrowth of doom-death, a fusion genre of doom metal and death metal.

The definition of gothic metal is commonly debated amongst fans and the media; older fans and musicians have a firm concept of the genre and its characteristics, having been around through its growth and evolution, having strict ideas of what bands pertain to the genre and what bands don't. Newer fans reject this categorization as limiting, useless or wrong, often claiming bands are gothic metal that do not meet the criteria of the older fans

Music

Gothic metal is sometimes considered a broad genre in the way it sounds due to a lack of a centralised ideology in regards to this aspect of the music. The genre is mainly defined by its composition and its aesthetics, leaving individual bands to provide their own artistic interpretations of what to include and/or leave out. The only prerequisite characteristics of the music are the genres use of dual vocalists, keyboards and acoustic guitars.

Gothic metal tends to take influence from the doom metal, black metal, and death metal subgenres of Heavy metal for its composition, heavily synthesizing the styles of their melody and rhythm ideas in its guitar riffs, often causing the music to be aggressive and fast paced. Acoustic guitars are sometimes present in gothic metal, with bands that feature two guitarists, one guitarist is often found playing a form of acoustic guitar. The acoustic guitar is used in the same way as its electronic counterpart, and is normally found playing melodies of equal technicality. The bass guitar in gothic metal is usually played using lower tones akin to doom metal, often combined with the aggressive playing of black and death metal. The bass guitar is often the main contributor to the atmosphere in songs, though has also been seen as performing a duet with the keyboarding in this regard.

Keyboards in gothic metal play a significant role in the music, often replacing the second guitarist in bands and taking on the role of either lead or rhythm. The keyboards are often used to imitate a variety of instruments, most often string and wind instruments, though this varies between artists.

Gothic metal makes heavy use of atmospheres in its music, which are commonly tailored to fit the song; warm and energetic, empty and enclosing. The atmosphere rarely follows the deep morbidity of doom metal unlike its origin/offspring, doom-death/gothic-doom, or the upbeat nature of closely related genre, symphonic metal. The use of the atmospherics is often to draw the listener into the music, as if to give them a sense of being involved with what is happening in the song.

Lyrical themes

Lyrically, gothic metal is centered around romances and fantasy tales that end in tragedy for one or more parties involved. The setting for the lyrics are most often in the New Age or the Dark Ages, but can also be in Victorian, Edwardian, Roman, or modern eras. The romantic- and fantasy-themed lyrics often used in gothic metal cover many broad subjects and are intended as being themes and guides to the lyricist, rather than a complete prerequisite of the genre. Gothic Metal bands typically do not write their albums in the form of separate songs; they rather write concept albums in the form of books. This is so that each song acts as a part, or, chapter, inspiring people to listen to the whole album in order to hear the story, instead of just certain songs. Penumbra's Seclusion and Silentium's Sufferion - Hamartia of Prudence are two gothic metal albums that prominently feature this style of lyrics.

Gothic metal bands normally have two vocalists, (also known as "Beauty and the Beast" vocals). One vocalist is typically male and uses vocals akin to black or death metal. The other vocalist is usually female, and often uses soprano vocals, or harmonic singing. Sometimes bands will use other forms of vocals included with the two prior vocalists, including (but not limited to) female death/black vocals, choirs, Gregorian chanting and male singing, but this tends to be limited to backing vocals and their thematic use within the song.

History

Origins (1983-1993)


Celtic Frost, although considered by many as an early black metal band, also played a semi-important role in the development of doom-death, due to their use of "gothic-sounding" atmospherics.

In the 1990s, a group of young bands in Northern England borrowed from the early gothic rock sound of the 1980s and incorporated it with the slow, down-tuned guitar dirges of Black Sabbath and similar doom metal bands. Doom-death, as it was known, was the first stage of the gothic-doom subgenre and the gothic-metal genre. Bands most notable for this style included Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride, and Anathema.

Although death metal and black metal were two of the larger genres of metal at this time, especially in the Scandinavian region, many bands who started in either genre had progressed more toward doom-death styles; two of these bands were Moonspell and Theatre of Tragedy.

While early doom-death bands Paradise Lost and Anathema used some female vocals in their music, the Netherland's The Gathering was the first doom-death band with a leading female singer, Marike Groot on the album Always... and then Martine Van Loon on Almost a Dance (both later replaced by another female singer, Anneke van Giersbergen). This set a pattern for gothic metal by adding the first implications of using two vocalists in the bands, which later became a signature of gothic metal as it was quickly imitated by bands including Tristania and Theatre of Tragedy.

Gothic Metal (1993-present)

Gothic metal originated in the early 1990s with bands such as Tristania and Therion taking the doom-death sound that had arisen and making romantically-themed music that borrowed from black metal's and death metal's guitar and vocal styles. These bands left behind some of the depressing nature and gothic rock elements of their origins to add more warm and classical elements into the music.

A softer genre known as symphonic metal had evolved in the mid- to late- 1990s from gothic metal bearing strong similarities to its predecessor, with bands led by female singers. During this time the divide between gothic metal and the new born symphonic metal became apparent; symphonic metal maintained a simpler approach, with more operatic and classical themes, while gothic metal incorporated more aggressive elements of death metal and black metal directly into the music, adding more technically complex melodies and rhythms into its music. Trail of Tears (band) and Penumbra (band) heading this last known progression in the music.

The gothic metal scene is currently very developed in Europe and Scandinavia, most notably in England, France, Norway and the Netherlands, and is growing rapidly in Germany. Much of the scene's core fan base has developed itself in England and France, with many of the bands coming from the Scandinavian region. Several groups of smaller bands are also emerging in eastern Europe and South America, struggling to gain a foothold where the scene is small.

Gothic Doom (1997-present)

In the late 1990s-2000 bands within the gothic metal genre had become somewhat prominent, and the genre symphonic metal had begun to emerge from it. At this point, several bands started to go the opposite path to symphonic metal for their, adding highly morbid themes, slowing down to a more slow-paced aggression akin to gothic metal, and began to abandon the Beauty And The Beast vocals that had become part of the gothic metal genre.

During this period, a boom of new bands occurred. These bands combined aspects directly from early 90s gothic metal with aspects of various forms of doom metal. Bands such as Chalice, Draconian (band), Even Vast, and Left Hand Solution all released albums or produced demo's at this time. These bands used various elements of gothic metal and doom metal in varied and undefined methods. This included the romantic lyrics and instrument usage with morbid atmospheres and slow, droning guitar work. These bands also often found inspiration from doom-death bands, often utilizing the same gothic rock mannerisms found in doom-death almost subconsciously. These new bands, with their morbid sound and nature, and noticeable gothic metal elements, were often debated as being gothic metal or doom metal, before finally being settled on as being 'gothic-doom'.

In the early 2000s another boom happened, many bands that were now considered gothic-doom released their first or second albums, with many more bands producing demo's. This second rush of bands and albums now emphasized parts of doom metal and gothic metal by melding aspects of the genres together. Lyrical themes of the genres were melded together, as were the guitaring, keyboarding, and atmoshperic styles of the genres.

Currently, gothic-doom is a widespread scene, with no centralized fan base or origins of bands. Gothic-doom's fanbase mostly tends to be fans heavily into gothic metal and/or doom metal, and currently lacks any major recognition beyond its borrowed stardom.

TAKEN FROM: http://metal-videos.blogspot.com/2007/03/gothic-metal.html

Star Wars, or your Eternal Soul?

Oh... My.... R2-D2...

You just have to read this article. I pissed myself in the process.

http://www.ooze.com/toolofsatan/

The picture really did it for me.


Ontario's Efforts to Remove Religious Education

Firstly, I go to a Catholic school, and, not of my own will, but that of my mother's. Strange, I am still not completely against it, though I am not a believer of God as a superior deity.

It was during education week that this issue was brought up. The theme was to "Show your Christianity to stop the bill from passing." "The bill" refers to Ontario's effort to remove religious education within the province, which, as many would agree, would be a good thing. However, I do not wish for religious education to just be eliminated, but also replaced.

You see, a few years ago, I had some bad experiences in a public school down in the Southern region of the province. During my stay, I realized a few things about the differences between religious and public schools; some positive, some negative. To my surprise, the positives and the negatives added up to a neutral point. Here's what I realized:

Positives of going to a public school versus a religious school:
You waste less time learning crap you'll never use, unless you become a priest or some sort of religious authority.
Negatives of going to a public school versus a religious school:
Your experience in school is somewhat more daunting because of the fact that religious schools implement structures such as the Golden Rule of respect heavily, while public schools do not implement such rules at all.

This is my remedy: completely eliminate religious programs within Ontario, but replace them with ethics classes, or implement a structure into all schools that bring out the inner humanitarian in all of us. Not only does this usually cost less, but it's less of a waste of time. Besides, we're going to end up learning the same shit anyway, minus the whole God aspect.

Thanks for reading, and..
Ciao!

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Becoming a writer at ATWKS

In order to become a writer at ATWKS, you must send me an entry on any topic you like that is at least 250 words in length. The e-mail to send it to would be deep_secret1@msn.com. I will notify you usually within a day or 2 whether you've been accepted or rejected.

PS: Please read on what happens to writers who don't post at least once a week, which is required

Christmas is a Croc-O-Shit

It’s the most wonderful time of the year.

No, I’m not talking about that time after tax season; I’m talking about the time before it.

Christmas is a great time of the year when Jesus was born to convert Pagans and Jews; when they lie that old, morbidly obese white men ride on magical flying sleighs; powered by magical flying reindeer (one of which has a glowing nose) to pronounce the great magics of God, where said man then proceeds to break into your house and put presents under Christmas trees (which we also know as the “dead pine trees” lie), giving lots of presents, and eating so much after 2 weeks that you can’t even see yourself shitting on the toilet anymore.

We all know that Jesus wasn’t born on December 25th some 2000-ish years ago, because there is no possibility. It wasn’t lied about because they wanted to celebrate his birthday a little earlier than April 1st, and a lot researchers would happen to agree with that theory. And certainly, the Church would certainly sink to the level of converting Pagans and converting Jews. Think they care about you knowing the truth or even about Jesus himself? They only want more recruits for their army of shitheads.

Next, Santa was not some big fat sleigh-riding white man who owns magical reindeers, elves, or some sweetass mansion in the North Pole, and neither did he ever have anything to do with Saint Nicholas. Santa Claus is a derivative of Sinterklaas, who came from the concept of Saint Nicholas. Saint Nicholas was a Turkish man from Asia Minor, specifically Turkey who was just really nice to everyone, saved 3 girls from lives of prostitution, and gave stuff to poor children in his village.

Imagine the modern-day perception of Christmas, which includes all the stuff said above. Did you know that the only part of those descriptions that actually is any part of Christmas is Jesus? Guess what the real holiday that includes Santa, presents, and immense amounts of turkey is: YULETIDE! Not only that, but notice how the Church “stole” the holiday of the Pagans they hate so much: “Germanic pagans celebrated Yule from late December to early January on a date determined by a lunar calendar.” Did you know that the original concept of the Christmas tree also came from German Pagans? But we’re sure it was all just some really big coincidence.

I’m just hoping you now realize what a croc-o-shit it all really is.

Speaking of croc-o-shits, you know what really grinds my gears? Buying someone coupons for a gift. You want to know what two things that says to me?
1. I went to a store and got you nothing.
2. You’re too stupid to know what to buy, so I’m limiting you to 1 store.

Until next time, ciao folks!

Sunday, December 16, 2007

The Race Card

It is possibly the most overused excuse for failures in anything, and it's really pissing me off. There's a thing in life called "responsibility," and some people still need to learn to take it. However, wouldn't it be awesome if there was a flag that took away one's ability to use the card for 2 weeks when they misuse it? If only things could be a little like this....




Now it's story time.

It was a cold and brisk winter afternoon, when my mother and I left our shop (we owned some variety stores in the past) and were looking to go home to some nice hot cups of tea after a hard day's work. We waited for the bus to come to our stop, and it came. "Bus 34 is here, mom!" I exclaimed excitedly. We were real busy that day, and worked real hard, so you can see where my excitement came from. Anyway, the bus came eventually, and we got in our seats.

As me and my mom were sitting and waiting for the bus to finish loading up all of the passengers so that the driver could leave, a lady went up to pay the driver, and her boyfriend sat in one of the seats. Seemed usual. However, then he looked at her and said, "Sorry, I can't let you on. You're $0.10 short."

And then she just totally set loose. The first words out of her mouth were, "You're just not letting me in because I'm black!" The driver explained many times that it wasn't because she was black, but because she was short on change. How hard is that to get? But honestly, I mostly just felt sorry for her boyfriend, who put on a faint smile and had his head down in shame.

Please tell me your stories of instances where you've seen the race card being played for no good reason.

The music that inspires you

Everyone's got "their song," "their album," "their band," so on and so forth. Whether the music touches them in a spiritual sense, makes them want to dance, makes them relax or focus, or makes them see things in an introspective manner, there is always something in their brain that tells them "this appeals to me." And, with modern mainstream (the popular) music being absolute shit in my opinion, I can't help but wonder what purpose such music serves to our generation.

My questions are as follows:

  1. What kind of music do you listen to?
  2. Do you put an emphasis on lyrics as being most important, music being most important, or both?
  3. Do you read the lyrics to all/most of the songs you listen to on a regular basis?
  4. What does the music you listen to inspire you to do?

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Before You Think "Hippie"....

........watch The Story of Stuff to the end. Think what you want to think, believe what you want to believe, but if you are interested in listening to a solid perspective (whether it contradicts your own principles and belief system), attempt to gain something from it. It is about consumerism with Annie Leonard. Okay, granted, it seems like a bit of propaganda because while talking about consumerism and the environment, she also takes a definitive political viewpoint. However, this little movie is not meant, in my intentions, to persuade you to believe anything. It is about looking at one particular issue from all the many sides that surround it, and hopefully learning and becoming more convinced of what you believe is right.







Thursday, December 13, 2007

Guestbook

I just made a guestbook for ATWKS. Be sure to check it out and sign it! :)




View My Guestbook

Sign My Guestbook



Ciao!

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Blame Society Videos & The Adventures of Chad Vader

Honestly, Chad Vader is one of the funniest YouTube series I ever watched. Just watch 1 episode and you will DIE of laughter. For all of you Star Wars fans, this is a must!

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

The ATWKS Online "Dream of Fame" Code

I'm probably naiive in saying that I want this site to be very, very known. Well, I hope I'm not, but what I know is that I'm working alongside some really cool folks who have potential for great things. You don't have to follow it, but it's an idealistic type of thing.

So here's the set-up:

1. On every forum you go to, be sure to include a link to ATWKS in your signature.
2. Sign everything (online) off with a link to ATWKS if there is no automated signature option.
3. Inform your friends and family through e-mail, and possibly in real life, about ATWKS.
4. When speaking, subliminally tell people to read ATWKS. Live, breathe, and eat (I cannot emphasize that enough) ATWKS. When you sleep at night, you dream only of having sex with ATWKS. Just kidding. Or am I? Hah yea, I'm just kidding about this part, though it would be a nice touch!
5. Submit ATWKS to every search engine you can possibly find.

Got any other ideas to share? If you do, I'll make an updated version of the "code" within some time.

Litter Kwitter - The Original Cat Toilet Training System

I just saw this video on YouTube after I found the info on... well, you know, the post right below this. I thought this was the coolest thing ever, and if you want to order the Litter Kwitter, go to the Litter Kwitter website.

The female penis

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Sunday, December 9, 2007

Rammstein - Amerika

I was just watching this video called Amerika by the German industrial rock act Rammstein, and I must say, this time, they haven't completely got me. Well, I don't mean that as in I don't understand the video, because I understand it damn well. I mean... there's some stuff in there that they claim to be part of American traditions that I don't feel really are.

Here's the video:


Here's the lyrics translated into English:

"[CHORUS]:
We're all living in Amerika
Amerika ist wunderbar
we're all living in Amerika
Amerika
Amerika

Do you want me?
(no I don't)
Do you need me?
(No I don't)
Dance with me I'm leading?
(No I can't)
Will you love me?
(No I won't)

This is not a love song
(No it's not)
I don't sing my mother tounge
(No I don't)
Afrika for Santa Claus
Und vor Paris steht Mickey Maus

[CHORUS]

Will you do it?
(No I won't)
Should you do it?
(No I don't)
Could you do it?
(No I can't)
Will you please me?
(No I won't)

If you don't want me
(You'll get hurt)
If you don't need me
(You'll get hurt)
If you don't love me
(You'll get hurt)
Fuck you is the magic word

[CHORUS]

We're all living in Amerika
Coca Cola, Wonderbra
We're all living in Amerika
Amerika
Amerika

This is not a love song
No, this is not a love song
This is how we do it
You'll get hurt
Fuck you is the sweetest word

[CHORUS]

We're all living in Amerika
Coca Cola, sometimes war
we're all living in Amerika
Amerika"

So, here's what I don't agree with about Amerika:

Last I checked, Santa Claus wasn't American, and neither is 80% of the modern interpretation of him. Look up Santa Claus on Answers.com. It will tell you that he was from Asia Minor, specifically Turkey, which is in the Middle-East. That's right, Santa Claus is as Middle-Eastern as.... well, me. Not only is he Middle Eastern in true origin, but the modern-day interpretation of Santa Claus is based on Sinterklaas, who was a character that's quite popular in the Netherlands and Belgium, as the article entails. Don't believe Wikipedia? Look anywhere else.

Next, the part about Wonderbras being made in America. Though the product was actually trademarked in America, it was made here in Canada, which I think should be taken into account. But seriously, I'd like to ask... what's so great about showing off your tits?

Apart from that, really, I'm not going to argue the song. Okay, maybe the "sometimes war" bit, because to say that America has had significantly more wars than every other country would be a bit silly, don't you think?

I know this song is old, but I just wanted to put my opinion on it out there, especially since it brought back great old memories.

What do you think about America's effect on the world? What do you think Rammstein is trying to get out?

Saturday, December 8, 2007

Joe Rogan, the man we love to hate

We all love him... well, not all. Some prefer to love to hate him, as did I, before I actually really heard what he had to say out of the spotlight. He's the co-host of UFC (I can't even remember whatever the fuck the other dude's name is), he's a comedian, he was that guy that hosted Fear Factor, and until recently, I've discovered that he's that famous blogger.

Joe Rogan, the Gaian sensation, is a very unique character. Once you see him on TV, you think he's a total tool, but when you check out his blog (at http://www.joerogan.net/), he's the fucking shit. Seriously, whenever I listen to him comment on any UFC fight (yes, he's a commentator too), he sounds like he's taken it up the ass one too many times by Randy Couture. Then, when he was a host on Fear Factor, he just seemed like a gross fuck who was funny at times. However, I now know differently...

Honestly, I had a love/hate relationship with Joe until I looked at his blog. For example... you know how you used to think his loud voice was violently obnoxious? Well, now I see it in a different light: whenever I'm at a bar watching a UFC event, and whenever everyone's screaming like a bunch of rampant gypsies (they honestly scream like gypsies each time their favourite guy takes down the opponent), I can always count on hearing one man: Joe Fuckin' Rogan. Whenever I hear him acting like he's been getting ass-fucked by Randy, I just can't help but find it humorous. Joe's just that kind of guy once you get to see the more personal side of him. Hell, I'm loving this guy now!

Lastly, as a treat, here's Joe Rogan's reaction to the infamous "2Girls1Cup" video, and his friend's reaction to the BME Pain Olympics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhevNN1BDnQ

The Difference Between War and Peace

And we wanted to go in and bomb Iran. Or let me rephrase. Those war-mongers in Bush's cabinet wanted to go in Iran and attack their nuclear facilities, which we know now are solely used for peaceful, resourceful purposes (for clean energy, and not for reasons of war). No, that ended almost five years ago, and the CIA either had, yet again, lacked efficient intelligence or were afraid to tell Bush and step down as cowards, afraid to tell the President, this time, what he so desperately needs to hear. The NIE (National Intellgence Estimate) was finally reported by the sixteen federal agencies. Finally. Bush is now, or was, obviously "confuddled" by this news that goes against "Bush's rhetoric" for the past four years. Good. The CIA actually had the balls this time to step up to the President.

Time Magazine:

"The NIE represented another promising opportunity missed. Imagine if the President had said,'This report means we don't want war. We want to talk, and everything - including lifting of the economic sanctions and our acknowledgment that you are a major regional power - is on the table so long as you put eveything on the table too. That means not only your uranium-enrichment program but also your support for terrorist organizations.' How could Iran have said no to that?

But that would have required another President. This President appears to lack the desire, creativity and patience to engage in the most important diplomacy that a nation can face - with its enemies - over issues that could mean the difference between war and peace."


Thoughts?

Rock the Vote just to Rock the Boat?

Here it comes, yet another heated presidential election.

Who will take it? The Democrats? The Republicans?
The black guy? The white lady?

Is it just me, or is this turning into an election that is more about getting something that is out of the ordinary into the White House than it is about getting somebody who is the most qualified into office?

A group of people came into the restaraunt where I work the other day and when asked their name the head of the party jokingly said that it was Barack Obama. They demanded a table for the next black president. When I laughed and said that they would have to wait he laughed with me and said, "It's ok, you're voting for me and thats all that counts." I smiled and laughed again and casually informed him that I actually wasn't sure who I would be voting for. The smiles and laughter ended there. Apparently not being sure that I would vote for the black man in the election makes me an Uncle Tom.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that women and black men aren't qualified to be president. I am just a little worried that people are beginning to overlook the issues in their heated desire to elect the first black or woman president. I have actually had conversations with several different people that lead me to believe so. In a nutshell, they all felt the same way. They felt that breaking the barrier and getting a black man or a woman into office was much more important in the long run than electing someone just based on who would be the best president.

So I wonder, is this true?
Is it much more important to overcome the race and gender barrier than it is to select based on the issues?

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

AdSense Mania

Just another small announcement...

As you can see, we've (okay, I've) added some AdSense bars to the site. Why'd I do it? I want to experiment and see if I can actually generate some revenue off of this. I'm technically not sugarloading the site with all these big ads, but you know, curiousity got to me. Ofcourse, since I'm 16, the money's not coming in my name. It's going to my mom. So, in short, this is an experiment; my mom knows I did this and is totally okay with it, and please tell your friends about ATWKS.

Ciao!

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Again, what I don't get about white nationalism..

Why the Hell would you want every race that isn't white kicked out of a country if you don't hate the people, or even to the point of claiming to like them? That's like your best friend coming over, only to have you kick them out for no fucking reason. Can someone please explain to me the logic behind all this?

Sunday, December 2, 2007

China's Olympic Warmup

“China’s Olympic Warmup”, an article from Time Magazine, discusses the progression of China toward a more modernized and visionary nation, as the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing looms closer. It begins with an accurate depiction of Beijing as a global city with an obvious capitalistic nature similar to industrialized cities in the western world. However, the article reverts back to ways in which China is still an isolated, alienated, stubborn nation, unwilling to submit itself wholly to the demands of foreigners. Nevertheless, the Olympic Games next year will give China a chance to dismiss misconceptions that surround the country and will allow them to show the world what they are truly capable of. As the Chinese people envision a positive, and prosperous future with endless possibilities, political leaders and countless activists from all corners of the world are highly skeptical about Chinese domestic and foreign policy and find their own chances to confront the Chinese government by means of the Beijing Summer Olympics.

The article points out the dramatic transformation of Beijing, but it fails to address immediately the static and oppressive character in the rest of the country. The article notes this after it emphasizes the reconstruction of Beijing so as to illustrate the glaring disparity between the thriving capital city and the rest of the country stuck in the 19th Century. China is trying to convey to the world this superficial image, while still harboring deeply ingrained flaws and issues. There is no freedom of the press within the Chinese media, but it is granted to American reporters and British news stations to a significant extent. The domestic media faces more regulations and laws than the foreign press. Human rights is also of main concern to international activists and organizations who see Hutongs, although in poor condition, stripped from entire families, leaving them homeless as a result of the rapid transition from traditional to modern. They see the injustice in the government’s AIDS policy that leaves women especially vulnerable, and they see an egregious rights issue under the direction of the government in Tibet. More notably, it is a fact that the Chinese government is the number one foreign consumer and investor of Sudanese oil, thus China is financing and supporting a government that is deliberately attacking its own people in Darfur. Hu Jia, a political activist, believes, “It’s a policy of ‘soft to the outside, strict within’”, where he describes a nation committed to concealing these underlying issues. However, as China finds itself competing with the world’s powers in wealth, growth, and prestige, it also becomes subjected to codes of conduct expected of its position. China’s increased visibility means the potential for more scrutiny.

The question comes down to whether the Olympic Games in Beijing should be boycotted, and by whom. Will the Chinese let other nations dictate the way it is to conduct its own business? Will the games in 2008 be a chance for the Chinese people to reevaluate their goals and prove their capabilities or will it be an opportunity for foreign powers to intervene and point out all the flaws that this country has yet to resolve? Elegant leaves an open-ended question for the reader to contemplate.

I have never liked the idea of boycotting the Olympics because first you have the competitors, the athletes who have worked so hard to get to that point. The coaches, the committee, who try so hard to get things running as smoothly as possible. The Chinese government takes no part in their lives, dedication, and aspirations. I know it would be a symbolic protest, but protest in this case would be unnecessary and ineffective. If you want anything to change or get done, speak your voice to the government more directly, where you aren't affecting the millions of people who are looking forward to the Olympics, the millions of Chinese who have pride in their country, and the hundreds of athletes who have spent years training for this event. The actions of the Chinese government you may disagree with, like me and perhaps countless other activists, but lets put our activism where we can be most effective and that doesn't mean boycotting the Olympics. Look at the positives of this event and what it means to the Chinese people; look at what the boycotting will lead to, its consequences. We should have a voice especially when in regards to social and human rights' issues, but using the Olympics as a means to do so is not right at all. Yes there have been protests at the Olympics in the past, but it didn't solve anything, didn't help pass any legislation, didn't change a dictator's mind, only exacerbated the conflict, and so forth. I believe to represent peace, it needs to steer clear from politics, from socioeconomic issues, from human rights/egregious issues, and focus on the things we share justice in, on our commonalities, aspects that unite us. All these issues should surely be addressed, and people from all over the world should recognize and voice out against it and do something to try and change it, but the Olympics is not the place for this conflict between passionate activists and the Chinese government; it should be above that fray. The world is coming together in China, thus let it be that we come together in peace, that we are willing, for the sake of all participants and viewers, to forget about our differences for that brief period of time.

We aren’t at a time to truly or justifiably say what should be done in terms of boycotting the Beijing Olympics. We may find that a boycott will not be necessary as the year progresses, or we may find that it is the only option available; the only right thing to do. The basis for my argument is that if we look throughout the course of the games, a boycott, and solely a boycott, was not entirely effective, however, it did lead to other initiatives, such as when the United States, along with many other western nations, boycotted the Moscow Games because the Soviet Union had recently invaded Afghanistan. If the actual boycott doesn't do much, the consequences or results of that boycott can hold a lot of impact, which is really the true purpose of a boycott. It may start a path toward progress, if planned out carefully. It may start some sort of positive revolution or evolution if approached intellectually and cautiously, because the last thing we need is to act on impulses, and look at the underlying issue as an excuse to interfere arrogantly in the Chinese government. We must understand who we are dealing with, and how we can go about making compromises and resolutions before we resort to boycott. Really, it should be of last resort, if it is to be done at all.

In shifting focus to Chinese pro-democracy activists, it is widely known that the Chinese citizens are kept ignorant of what is going on with the Tibet conflict, and if they learned of the situation, or were educated in this conflict, no doubt, many Chinese civilians would be ashamed and angry, frustrated even with the control of their own government and the injustice being committed by their own leaders. I am sure the majority would not be too happy.

We should leave money out of this debate because it really isn't the issue. Sure, the Chinese would be losing the potential money they would have earned to pay for the city development, and perhaps those countries that boycott may lose a little from their pockets, but it just isn't the problem if you think about it. I mean we are dealing with human lives here, and a terrible injustice. The IOC has come out with a statement of proposals that the committee and several organizations from around the world demand China to adhere by, which involves China improving it's human rights' records. On top of that, it also involves allowing the Tibetans religious freedom, and calls for democratization in the region. As for the event, it demands that the government allow the international media to have full coverage of the games, and lift bans and restrictions on the people who can participate, which includes those, such as the Dalai Lama and Indian exiles, as well as the Taiwanese who have campaigned for democracy in Tibet.

The article refers to Yuan Weijing, wife of a blind lawyer who escaped from house arrest after being detained for publicizing the abuses of women by government officials in regards to family-planning, but she was again confined to house arrest after these officials finally found her. This anecdote shows the persistence of the Chinese government. It is a sad thing what the Chinese government is doing. If it does not comply with all the aspects of the statement, then other measures will have to take shape in any form most coherent, responsible, and effective. If it means that we must boycott, then so be it, but as of right now, I don't see how boycotting will do any good.

One country boycotting the Olympics would not be enough to help the Tibet situation or the conflict in Darfur, and if it cannot help it fully or contribute to it largely and effectively and would only alter China's approach only moderately and may even do more harm and disrupt international relationships then there has got to be other ways that we could be more effective in resolving the Tibet conflict, that would not involve the Olympic games, that could represent a larger, broader voice, even from Americans (because surely Americans boycotting the Olympics would be dire to our alliance with China, even the smallest conflict could do harm because sadly we have become too dependent on China, and they have become too dependent on us), which would bring the issue to the government faster and more directly, and we (America) could address the problem more intellectually, and appropriately, because more than ever do we have to be smart about who we choose to confront.

Saturday, December 1, 2007

Democracy: What This World Really Needs?

Sure, I grant that "democracy" is such an overthrown word that hardly mirrors, in exact likeness and theory, any known society to date, but in some form or another, it exists. For those of us who live in what most would call democratic nations, how are we to look at this principle? How are we to conceptualize it, embrace it, look at its postives and its negatives? Most importantly, how do we come to understand how "democracy" should apply to everyone else we share this planet with? As an American, its hard for me to get a grasp, a good sense, of how this country should push its views on others.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Speeding Asshole

We all have that same routine that we’re very familiar with before we go to school or work every morning. We take a shower, brush our teeth, comb our hair, eat breakfast, and then leave the house. The comfort of morning routines relieves us.

Today, I did all of these things, but it wasn’t a change of routine that had me shell-shocked.

After I got ready for school, I walked there from my house, as usual. It took about 20 minutes to get there. As I reached the first crossing, a car was passing near me. I was about to walk past it, and everything seemed normal, but then, it happened.

When the car was just a meter away from me, another car sped up from behind me to my left and then hit the front of the first car. Honestly, it was as if the front just had a baby car or something and it's water just broke. In this case, the fuel.

It wasn’t something spectacular, obviously. I was shell-shocked until I actually got to school. But how could somebody be so careless as to speed up right in front of a person? I don’t even understand why you’d speed and risk your life to begin with, but to risk nearly killing somebody just because you need to get somewhere is selfish, careless, and most of all, pretty much almost killing somebody because of those reasons that make you an asshole.

Monday, November 26, 2007

What exactly are your rights?

I recently got into a nice little heated discussion at work with a couple of my co-workers/friends. It was very interesting.

Here is some background: In October of this year, a Maine school board approved a plan to make a full range of birth control fully accessible to a certain middle school. This made contraceptives readily available to students in grades 6-8.

Some of my friends were beyond appalled. One of them said, "So they have to get parental consent to get an aspirin, but they can walk out with the pill in their pocket and not even have to tell a parent? That is ridiculous."

When I asked them what they thought should be done someone brought up the abstinence angle. Basically, no sex-ed. No birth control. Just tell them not to have sex.

All of this brought us straight to a Californian law that was enacted last year.
Under this law, minors do not need parental consent to receive abortion services. The same people that were against the middle school birth control were openly against the abortion rule.

What it all came down to was that they all believed that all of those types of decisions should be made aware to parents. Minors, teenagers, children, etc - none of them should not be allowed to make those decisions.

So I am bringing this question to you: is it ok to be in charge of your sexual decisions as a minor? As a teenager? As a middle schooler? As a child? Are you the only one who should be responsible for your actions and decisions?

Or is this really something that should only be discussed and decided with parents?
Perhaps minors are too young, immature, and just plain not ready to be making these kinds of decisions?

What do YOU think?

NOTE: Please DO NOT turn this into a pro-life vs pro-choice discussion.

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Cosmetic Surgery - Yay, Nay, or Don't Care?

Personally, I don't believe in cosmetic surgery, but I make a case for a few exceptions: burn victims, those who were in some accident that altered the way they looked (and that accident can't be unnecessary forms of cosmetic surgery causing them harm), or for health reasons.

To begin, plastic surgery (a form of cosmetic surgery, as you know) was first made to help restore the look of Russians after the cold war, since many of them attained really bad facial injuries including burns. That explains why I made burns and accidents not created by cosmetic surgery an exception.

Another reason why I make an exception to cosmetic surgery is for health reasons. Some people have problems where the air canals in their noses are deformed, and thus, that needs to be fixed so they can breathe properly. Also, big breasts can cause serious back problems (like they've caused me in the past), so a breast reduction is a good option in that case.

How do you guys feel about cosmetic surgery?

Monday, November 19, 2007

Greetings from sunny Southern California!

Hello there! I am happy to introduce myself as one of the latest writers for ATWKS.

My name (or at least the one that I will go by in this case) is Cari, but I will sign my posts as Cali. I am the daughter of Zairean immigrants who met here in California. I was born and raised here in the suburbs of Los Angeles and as far as I'm concerned its a wonderful place to be.

I'm an aspiring model, coach, business woman, and possibly journalist. Those three things actually say a lot about me so I'll explain them a bit in an effort to show you who I am.

I was bitten by the acting bug at about 10 years old. My parents took me to a talent search at about 11 which picked me up and tried to place me with an agency. I signed to a modeling/talent agency here in Los Angeles and it didn't take me long to realize that what I actually really loved was modeling. Unfortunately, my parents pulled me from the agency as soon as my contract was up and urged me to concentrate more on school. I was heartbroken, but now that I am a legal adult I'm jumping right back in to the modeling industry, much to my parents dismay.

I'm a die hard cheerleader. I love it a lot and it has become a major part of who I am. I am considering transferring to a university on a cheerleading scholarship. After I am done with school, I plan on being a coach and opening up my own all-star gym because I am in love with the sub-culture that is All-Star Cheerleading. It is something that few people know about but many participate in. So you understand just what it is that I am in love with, HERE IS A VIDEO.

I love to write. I came to college with every intention of being a Journalism major but I soon found it all to to be quite tedious. It was sucking the joy out of writing for me and in reality, some of the best journalists have said themselves that they learned few things from the classroom. So I turned to my love of business and economics. The movement of money, wealth, good, services, investements - it all really fascinates me. So now I am a Business major and considering fitting Business Law somewhere in there. I'm also fascinated by law and I love a good debate. ;)

What will you see me write about? Well, just about everything. To be completely and totally honest with you I have quite a big mouth and I am not at all afraid to use it. So look for me to be very open and having no problem with being brutally honest with the things that I run into in everyday life. Feel free to challenge me. There's nothing like a good debate that everyone can learn from, including myself!

Happy reading!

Videos of the week: November 26th - December 2nd

You guys all know the drill - we have a music video of the week, EVERY week, and we have an informative video as well. Please give us ideas for both; and by that I mean tell me which videos you'd like to be on here. We can't guarantee you that they'll end up on here; in fact we guarantee you most of them won't be on here, but we still need help.

The current videos are:
Music: Sleeping Sun by Nightwish
Informative: Eye to Eye: Barry Scheck (CBS News)

ATWKS Slogan

We need help making a slogan for ATWKS, so if you've got any ideas for a good slogan or if you like the current slogan (which is right below the heading at the top of this page), please post here.

Flora's Funny Finds of the Week

I've decided that, every week, I'm going to lighten things up with a post on things that I find absolutely funny. Obviously, they'll all be stuff from the internet.

This week's Funny Finds:
Pokemon Porn Names List that I made in August of 2006
David Blaine Street Magic: Youtube Edition
David Blaine Street Magic: Youtube Edition Pt. 2
ThingsMyBoyfriendSays
Laguna Biotch (Laguna Beach parody)

Enjoy the finds!

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Strange Fundraising

Yesterday, I was sitting at my desk as I heard my mom call my name. It was an angry call, and I didn't understand what I could have possibly done to upset her.

As I walked downstairs into the living room, my father was standing strongly with a red face, and my mother was just sitting, with her head tilted downwards, and cut coupons in her hands.

My father started barking at me, along with my mom. "Why did you cut the coupons?," "Samir [who is my brother] was selling them to fundraise with the university wrestling team," and about a million other things. My answers? I was bored, and never in my life had I seen somebody selling coupons to raise funds for anything. I've seen bake sales, I've seen door-to-door chocolate sales, I've seen begging, and I've seen money pledges and donation boxes, but never in my life had I seen anyone selling coupons. Have you?

So anyway, as my dad was in his pit of rage, he yelled to me that I owed them something like $20, because each coupon set (a set was a sheet of paper) which I ruined cost $10 each. $10 for a piece of paper! Rediculous!

What are some of the strange forms of fundraising that you've witnessed?

Friday, November 16, 2007

Longevity VS Popularity

“I feel that what is probably the greatest enemy of longevity is popularity, and most people die of popularity.”
- Anton LaVey

I found this quote, and I thought I'd share it with you all. I believe it holds true to everything that gets popular... fashion fads, artists/bands, books, etc... Some examples:

Fads: retro clothing
Artists/bands: Evanescence. They pretty much died after Fallen.
Books: Dan Brown's famous book... oh shit, what's it called again?

I'd like you to interpret LaVey's words into exactly what you think he meant.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Winter Fashion

Welcome to November. It’s almost the end of Winter Term in school, and if you do first term exams, your exams are fast approaching. Plus, there’s the stress of buying Christmas or Hanukah gifts for everyone you know. I’d say its safe to say that fashion isn’t exactly at the top of your priority list right now.

Well, I disagree. I think fashion should be very close to the top of your list. There’s no better season than winter to debut wonderful trends. Let me give you some help.

1. Wool
Wool is one of winter’s best trends. Let’s repeat it together: “wool!” There we go. An adorable grey wool skirt with black tights and knee high stiletto boots and you’re pretty much good to go. A nice black or navy wool coat is another staple that you absolutely must have!


2. Cashmere
Ahh, cashmere! I am a firm believer in the idea that everyone should own at least one cashmere scarf, preferably a plaid Burberry, some nice cashmere sweaters, and maybe a coat. Forget diamonds, cashmere is a girl’s best friend!


3. Scarves
Absolutely necessary! Hello, it’s winter, people! My favourites for winter are plaid Burberry, although a silky Coach or Gucci looks wonderful with a wool or cashmere coat. Anything in winter white will look dashing as well.


4. Jeans
Must-have. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. And for winter, they must be dark wash. Light wash looks tacky and very tourist-like, unless you are down South or it’s summer.


5. Shoes
Can you say boots? Ankle, knee high, calf high, I love them all. My personal faves are a pair of alligator skin Peter Fox ankle boots, and a pair of knee high black Bravo Browns boots. Oh, and Uggs are of course a staple item. I have pale pink, but I am really craving a black pair as well. Any colour looks good, so pick one that compliments your wardrobe.


Keep shopping!

xxx