A short piece I wrote as a part of a uni class exercise.
I visioned a bunch of limbs walking down a hallway, falling and then somebody catching them. I suppose it reflects a few things that have happened lately. The interesting thing about this piece is that I didn't have an idea when I started it, but simply a line which I included in the title of this post. By using several experimental writing practices I came up with some great lines and the image for the piece was created.
Great idea's come from the most absurd places, I think that no matter what image/line I came up with there were certain themes that were going to invade my writing. Enjoy
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What was that? the tiny limbs they thump and pound, clomp, clomp, clomp. Dancing through the hallway smiling eagerly at pictures of smaller years goodbye. They stumble forward in graceful balance, wrapped up in wool, yet strangely the sun was still shining.
Spotlight, look away. I can see all of you now, but blinded I am by my own reflection. It's cheeky you know, always telling the truth when all I hear are lies climbing from so-called friends mouths and tainting everything I eat.
Tiny specks, follicles pinching the skin, itching away until the limbs are so fine. Draped in cloth for the daily routine, hiding perfection so no one can see the stories it tells.
The sentimental limbs break evenly over time, over time all the heaviness of them climbs on. Clobber, clobber little hands, tiny feet, wings on the edge, falling over the edge and tripping over the weight. Slipping jaggedly through the time it takes us to fall.
The wings have limbs.
White as they fall, out like a light, all we see is white. Limbs they fall.
Clear, tiny and broken. The shadow tells all- the scant figure on the boards, spewing white in hope to return like the limbs before.
Weight, wait. The fingers of time he was waiting on the line, sitting bright in that shadow waiting for the flaws and the floors, shaping time to catch her limbs in time. Fumbles and falls just like before, but he claps hands around hands and catches the wings. Saving the limbs just in time.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Monday, August 1, 2011
America's most LOVED family
I realise it's such a 'hipster' thing to say these days, but I was definitely a 90s kid. Slap bands, roller blades, fluro parachute-material tracksuits, grip ball, Supersoaker 3000, Gameboy and Super Nintendo. You name it and I had it. Being a kid in the 90s was a whole mess of fun, but one thing that really defined us, and what defines any generation is the television we watched.
I grew up running around riding my bike outside for hours then coming in to lay in front of the TV and watch Rocket Power do it all over again. I was best friends with the Rugrats, I despised Helga from Hey Arnold! and sketched the afternoon away with Mr Squiggle. It's become extremely fashionable lately to note that you know all the words to the Captain Planet or Pokemon theme songs (I can do both), or reminisce about how Gumby was top quality television viewing. Young adults spend hundreds of dollars trying to look 'grunge' (totally besides the point if you ask me) or on cameras with ACTUAL film in them (omg). It's like we are permanently trying to capture that time in our lives where everything was just that much simpler. When we didn't have to worry about bills, or work or uni. Being a kid is something that evades us in the blink of an eye, and we spend the rest of our years trying to get back our innocence.
One thing that has not 'escaped' us Generation Y-ers as we have gotten older is the a program that has probably been one of, if not the most successful in television history. Yes I'm talking about our four-fingered, yellow alter egos, The Simpsons.
When I think about childhood I don't usually include Homer and the gang in, and I guess it's because they have always remained with us, following us throughout our teenage years and continuing on with us today. In fact, I don't ever think I could even imagine the demise of the program because it's become almost ingrained in our everyday behaviour, it's a part of our lives and I don't think that 6:00pm could be the same without them.
My first memory of The Simpsons was when my little sister was born. I was 3 years old and being an only child my parents thought that the birth of another sibling might come as a shock for my poor, spoilt self. When I went to visit my sister in hospital I was presented with a gift that the baby had apparently brought with her when she had been dropped off by the stalk. It was a Lisa Simpson doll, complete with saxophone and all. Looking back I can safely say that it was my Dad who had brought the toy- I was 3 years old and hadn't even HEARD of The Simpsons, and I highly doubt my Mum would have ever let me watch it anyway. I loved it though and it was all the more special because my sister had brought it just for me.
When I was older my Mum finally let us watch the series. I was maybe 10 or 11 and I had never seen anything so hilarious. Let's not forget that at that age I really didn't get most of the gags, or any of the 150 million pop culture references that they make in each episode, but that is what makes this show so special- it transcends generations. For years my mother was appalled and outraged that we could sit in front of the TV for 4 hours every weekend for 'Super Simpsons weekends' only moving when the laughter got too much for us to handle (or the pancakes were ready). We watched SO much of the show that it started to interfere with my work at school.
I distinctly remember my year 9 science 'parent-teacher interview'. The teacher sat my mum down and started to explain how well I was going in class. He then mentioned that 'Rebecca seems to relate EVERYTHING we do in class to The Simpsons'... That was it, Mum cracked the shits HARD at me and said right there and then that the show was banned from viewing at our house from now on. My heart was broken, that is until my teacher explained how it was a GOOD thing! Apparently all the other kids had started to understand our science curriculum too. Thanks to my constant Simpsons references I had clearly made science a more enjoyable experience. Who woulda thunk it?
From then on I have religiously watched the series and it has brought me so much joy. It has also helped me in my academic career beyond that of high school science classes. I wrote a 2000 word essay for university on postmodernism and based the entire essay around the example of a Simpsons episode. I got a HD for that essay (one of the best marks I've ever received).
I owe a lot to the Simpsons, and it's not just because it has helped me academically, I truly believe that whilst the show can be silly and funny, it conveys many important morals and ethics to us by mirroring general society and exposing it's flaws. Every character in the Simpsons is flawed- and in the most perfect way. Even Ned Flander's has his low points, and that's what makes the show special, we can learn so much from each character as they plow their way through this harsh and often merciless world.
Even the world that they live in is horrible, society is full of drunks (Barney), drug addicts (Otto) and evil corporations (Mr. Burns), yet Homer and his family fight them all and bring a sense of good into this world (if only for one episode).
The value of love and family is so honest and beautiful. Homer and Marge's love story is real, and it is so endearing. Homer seems to treat Marge like a piece of crap but his love for her is eternal and he would do almost anything for her. Each character is so fleshed out and unique it's hard to imagine life without all of Springfield's greatest.
For 23 years of my life I have watched and loved the show. I will defend its integrity and it's value, not only as a piece of art, but as a reflection on our own society and how to improve upon it. The Simpsons is a show with a quote for EVERY moment in life, it will be something that I hope my children get to enjoy, along with music from The Beatles, and movies by Disney. They are a part of our everyday lives and I wouldn't have it any other way.
I grew up running around riding my bike outside for hours then coming in to lay in front of the TV and watch Rocket Power do it all over again. I was best friends with the Rugrats, I despised Helga from Hey Arnold! and sketched the afternoon away with Mr Squiggle. It's become extremely fashionable lately to note that you know all the words to the Captain Planet or Pokemon theme songs (I can do both), or reminisce about how Gumby was top quality television viewing. Young adults spend hundreds of dollars trying to look 'grunge' (totally besides the point if you ask me) or on cameras with ACTUAL film in them (omg). It's like we are permanently trying to capture that time in our lives where everything was just that much simpler. When we didn't have to worry about bills, or work or uni. Being a kid is something that evades us in the blink of an eye, and we spend the rest of our years trying to get back our innocence.
One thing that has not 'escaped' us Generation Y-ers as we have gotten older is the a program that has probably been one of, if not the most successful in television history. Yes I'm talking about our four-fingered, yellow alter egos, The Simpsons.
When I think about childhood I don't usually include Homer and the gang in, and I guess it's because they have always remained with us, following us throughout our teenage years and continuing on with us today. In fact, I don't ever think I could even imagine the demise of the program because it's become almost ingrained in our everyday behaviour, it's a part of our lives and I don't think that 6:00pm could be the same without them.
My first memory of The Simpsons was when my little sister was born. I was 3 years old and being an only child my parents thought that the birth of another sibling might come as a shock for my poor, spoilt self. When I went to visit my sister in hospital I was presented with a gift that the baby had apparently brought with her when she had been dropped off by the stalk. It was a Lisa Simpson doll, complete with saxophone and all. Looking back I can safely say that it was my Dad who had brought the toy- I was 3 years old and hadn't even HEARD of The Simpsons, and I highly doubt my Mum would have ever let me watch it anyway. I loved it though and it was all the more special because my sister had brought it just for me.
When I was older my Mum finally let us watch the series. I was maybe 10 or 11 and I had never seen anything so hilarious. Let's not forget that at that age I really didn't get most of the gags, or any of the 150 million pop culture references that they make in each episode, but that is what makes this show so special- it transcends generations. For years my mother was appalled and outraged that we could sit in front of the TV for 4 hours every weekend for 'Super Simpsons weekends' only moving when the laughter got too much for us to handle (or the pancakes were ready). We watched SO much of the show that it started to interfere with my work at school.
I distinctly remember my year 9 science 'parent-teacher interview'. The teacher sat my mum down and started to explain how well I was going in class. He then mentioned that 'Rebecca seems to relate EVERYTHING we do in class to The Simpsons'... That was it, Mum cracked the shits HARD at me and said right there and then that the show was banned from viewing at our house from now on. My heart was broken, that is until my teacher explained how it was a GOOD thing! Apparently all the other kids had started to understand our science curriculum too. Thanks to my constant Simpsons references I had clearly made science a more enjoyable experience. Who woulda thunk it?
From then on I have religiously watched the series and it has brought me so much joy. It has also helped me in my academic career beyond that of high school science classes. I wrote a 2000 word essay for university on postmodernism and based the entire essay around the example of a Simpsons episode. I got a HD for that essay (one of the best marks I've ever received).
I owe a lot to the Simpsons, and it's not just because it has helped me academically, I truly believe that whilst the show can be silly and funny, it conveys many important morals and ethics to us by mirroring general society and exposing it's flaws. Every character in the Simpsons is flawed- and in the most perfect way. Even Ned Flander's has his low points, and that's what makes the show special, we can learn so much from each character as they plow their way through this harsh and often merciless world.
Even the world that they live in is horrible, society is full of drunks (Barney), drug addicts (Otto) and evil corporations (Mr. Burns), yet Homer and his family fight them all and bring a sense of good into this world (if only for one episode).
The value of love and family is so honest and beautiful. Homer and Marge's love story is real, and it is so endearing. Homer seems to treat Marge like a piece of crap but his love for her is eternal and he would do almost anything for her. Each character is so fleshed out and unique it's hard to imagine life without all of Springfield's greatest.
For 23 years of my life I have watched and loved the show. I will defend its integrity and it's value, not only as a piece of art, but as a reflection on our own society and how to improve upon it. The Simpsons is a show with a quote for EVERY moment in life, it will be something that I hope my children get to enjoy, along with music from The Beatles, and movies by Disney. They are a part of our everyday lives and I wouldn't have it any other way.
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