Canada’s electoral system at its core has not changed since Confederation. Who has access to this system has changed, however. If extending the franchise to those without it is considered electoral reform, then Canada’s electoral system has changed. Those who are able to make use of our electoral system are more representative, but the system itself may not be. The current first-past-the-post system allows a plurality to win without a majority. If three parties are running for a seat, one third of the vote plus one is enough to win the entire riding. Is this fair? Canada has not implemented proportional representation, which is a group of voting systems which attempt to ensure that the percentage of popular vote is better reflected in the percentage of seats in Parliament. In looking at why this has not been implemented, we need to look at the issue both from the top-down, and the bottom-up perspective.
The current electoral system works fairly simply on the federal level. Canada is divided into ridings, and each riding elects one Member of Parliment. These ridings are supposed to generally represent an equal number of people, although in reality this is not the case. This source (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electoral_district_(Canada)#Formula) and its corresponding source indicate that the “grandfather clause” and “senatorial clause” dictate that a province can not have fewer seats than it had during the 33rd Parliament, and that it cannot have fewer MP’s than it has senators. Today, these clauses are responsible fort he Maritime provinces having a consistently smaller ratio of voters to MP than that in British Columbia, for example. However, ongoing incremental reform has improved this situation over the decades. Each riding elects MP’s based on a simple plurality. This means that whoever among the parties running in a district has the most votes wins the entire riding. This can lead to problems. For example, if more than two parties are running in a riding, it is possible for a party win a plurality but less than 50% of the vote. This means that in Canada, it is possible that a majority of people in your district did NOT vote for your representative.
This system makes it possible for a large percentage of people to simply not be represented in Parliament. It also allows for issues like vote-splitting. For example, if the votes for the Green Party were added to the votes for the NDP in BC during the last federal election in all ridings, many elections would have different outcomes. This is significant because the ideological and policy platforms of the NDP and the Green party were very similar when contrasted with the Conservative platform at the time. Essentailly, 65% of British Columbians could have agreed on 90% of policy issues and still lost the election.
Proportional representation attempts to address this issue. The aim of the various types of proportional representation is to make the percentage of actual MP’s elected for a party nationally more reflective of the percentage of votes cast for that party. There are many ways to do this, and most of them attempt to address “wasted votes”. A “wasted vote” is a vote which did not elect a candidate. There are a variety of methods used to reduce the number of “wasted votes”. A runoff election is a simple way of doing so which is used in some electoral primaries in the United States. If, during a primary, no candidate gets 50% of the vote, another vote is held between the top two candidates. This addresses the issue by simply reducing the number of candidates once a first and second place among multiple candidates is established. This gives a chance for those who voted for the third, forth, et cetra candidates to influence which of the first and second place candidates wins, making their votes no longer “wasted”.
In my opinion, the three reasons proportional representation has not been established federally are that it generally does not benefit a government in power to implement proportional representation as it would usually lose the party in power seats, that those who want proportional representation have not reached consensus on exactly what form of proportional representation would be preferable, and that many Canadians prefer the simplicity of the first-past-the-post electoral system and do not trust a more complicated way of electing MPs. The first reason cannot be addressed directly, as it is an inherent flaw in democracy. The second reason may be solved if one form of proportional representation becomes popular enough. The third reason is rooted in ignorance, and can be solved through education.

Slowly unpacking,

I save as many posters from concerts as I can, now im slowly putting them all on the wall. Its a very nice feeling, I look at each poster and remember the performance. I am so lucky to have played in front of people in bands!

work hard,
blank slate,
focused mind,
meditate.

hard work
earn the day
your sleep is earned
still, peaceful
contended state.

three dollars a hole
doesnt sound like much
three feet deep
is deeper than it sounds.
use the crowbar
if the shovel wont fit
the rocks fight back
Bang! Bang! Clinkt!

hard work
work hard
shovel down
kick, push,
push, lift,
heave, throw

kthud, kthud

Heavy Feet
pull tired arms
tired back,
back home.

happy arms, and happy back, you've earned your rest.
no guilt, you are supposed to relax.

have you considered that a moral philosophy that involves never taking responsiblity for how other people react to what you do could have negative consequences on how people treat each other?

w

w

I used to work on handling it better

when I should have been killing it

you can't reach into your pocket

if you ripped out the seam

don't give up on giving up
sometimes it's the best way to make it

please Jesse

I love you but you've got to let yourself be

don't be ashamed, just be

Sometimes I find it hard to write. The act of writing feels to me like taking a whole and breaking it into pieces, then describing as many of the pieces as I can before you lose track of which piece went where. I need to break the whole because the whole concept doesnt exist in words, and the act of finding words to describe the whole breaks it up and re-structures it in a way that never quite feels as complete as the impulse I had, the impulse before I put it into words.

I've been struggling lately. I dont really wish it was any different, and I am not despairing. I dont think I despair often. I think ive been through some things that make it hard to give up. What right do I have to stop trying, stop caring, stop living when all these things I've experienced made me feel all these things?

I'm struggling with school. Specifically, with being able to dedicate time and effort to assignments. I grasp the concepts well enough, but I need a better work ethic.

I'm struggling with interpersonal relationships. Without slinging any mud, my expectations for people I trust weren't met, and I felt like my trust was broken. I don't like looking at it as if that means i'm not responsible for the hurt I feel when my trust is broken. I am responsible. And as I go on i'm learning that things I took for granted morally I should not expect from others. I should appreciate it when it comes, but expecting it hasn't been working out. And I could just as easily not met the expectations of others. I need to remember that. All I really know how to do to fight this is to be honest. I try to make sure that what I expect from people is clearly stated. Is that enough? I don't know.

I'm struggling with music. I have not written a single musical thing im really proud of since I left the PCE. I'm afraid that the ideas just aren't in me. That if they were in me, im not providing a good, nurturing home for those ideas. That I cant express myself musically alone. I know I can, I just havent done it in a while, and I miss it.

I know what the solutions to these are

1) Be kind to myself, forgive myself for not succeeding while trying harder while acknowledging when im trying.

2) Be kind to others, forgive them when they do not succeed while trying to be more accepting while acknowledging that I have needs and thats not a weakness.

3) Play music every day, let myself feel whatever comes.

My thoughts
formless
are trapped in
trapped in
to these words now


there is no
going back
falling back
back wards
its a nice
such a nice feeling


in my mind
i never left you


can we stay
in my head


Fading fast
Im running past the past
But Ill stop
Long enough
To tell you a story

wanna know why I haven't given up?

Im still alive!

I figure if my body is this organic machine that keeps on trying to stay alive whether I like it or not,

and my body is constantly wanting and needing things and struggling to keep going;

then I guess my body found something to keep going, cause it doesnt seem to worry about whether or not it should be alive, it just keeps going.

So ive got this pure example of unbroken will to live that I call a body, and its going to keep going, even while I sleep,

so I guess in a way its like ive constantly got this cheerleader at my side saying "come on! keep going! if I dont quit, you cant either! life is awesome"

Heck yeah it is!

and you are here
and you are here to hear
and to hear me is all I want from you



from all you want to all I am, You slide.

slide under me, let me breathe. let it out, let it go.

and i WILL get caught up again,

WHY DIDNT ANYONE TELL ME HOW AWESOME RUN DMC IS?!

you're in my home, you're in my head

im what I meant, not what I said

studio laughter makes me mad

cause its not what I want to hear

I wonder how many people find an individualistic or iconoclastic person they admire, and try to be more like them?

Seems like a strange paradox, but what if being nonconformist and popular actually creates more conformists?

you know whats wierd
when you are convinced you really understand yourself and what your past means
and when that convinced feeling actually complells you to believe that its real
and then you forget it
and the next night you get the same feeling, but convinced of a different realization
people really dont know much about themselves in terms of how their past affects their present
and when they think they know, they are often wrong
the impressions they get about what their past means is ephemeral and transient
and its only real purpose is to find some reason to keep going
a reason not rooted in any kind of "real you"
just something passing by because people cant stay still
they need to re-invent themselves every day

oh shit im motivated again!

first off, im sorry if I ever led you to believe I knew anything you didnt. If I do, I couldn't tell you what it is, and by the time you point it out to me, it wouldnt be something you didnt know. Anyway, ive got this plan.

Welcome back! A month! that sure was a while. I was just thinking about someone I admire who makes music and art. I was thinking about these two books he published that have his art and commentary. I was thinking about the commentary and how it relates. When does the commentary become not useful? Would too much distract from the art itself? Would not enough render it useless?

Excerpt from Bluebeard, by Kurt Vonnegut

"The team must consist of three sorts of specialists, he says. Otherwise, the revolution, whether in politics or the arts or the sciences or whatever, is sure to fail.
The rarest of these specialists, he says, is an authentic genius-- a person capable of having seemingly good ideas not in general circulation. "A genius working alone," he says, "is invariably ignored as a lunatic."
The second sort of specialist is a lot easier to find: a highly intelligent citizen in good standing in his or her community, who understands and admires the fresh ideas of the genius, and who testifies that the genius is far from mad. "A person like that working alone", says Slazinger, "can only yearn out loud for changes, but fail to say what their shapes should be."
The third sort of specialist is a person who can explain anything, no matter how stupid or pigheaded they may be. "He will say almost anything in order to be interesting and exciting," says Slazinger. "Working alone, depending solely on his own shallow ideas, he would be regarded as being as full of shit as a Christmas turkey."

You might not agree with Christians, but they sure do feed a lot more hungry people than you do.

Ever wonder why all these different buisnesses can get away with selling the same stuff at dramatically different prices?
In BC, one reason is that convenience and atmosphere are as important as the product itself.
Product A available a 10 min drive away is cheaper than product A available at your door,
and in BC, both products sell enough to profit
because BC is economically driven by rich, old, lazy people

beauty, like most lies, can help people if managed properly.

beauty, like most lies, usually hides things.

Dont fear change, I hear.

Ok, fair enough.

but its tricky sometimes, you know? Tricky how I fear it when I like whats happening too much.

as in "ok I accept change except this part and this part should stay the same cause I like those ones"

except that wont work, you know,

cause things that matter that have to change can hide behind them.

never be afraid to question your own beliefs.

it comes and goes, you know

A friend asked me

"Which is the greater tragedy; the writer who no longer wants to seek, or the seeker who no longer dares to write?"

To which I replied

"ok, in order to answer that, here are some concepts.

Imagine that probably everyone experiences things that are insightful and interesting and beautiful and (to an extent) unique, things that are worth writing down, and would make great raw material for different forms of art (writing, painting, photography, music, etc etc etc).

Then, imagine that probably some fraction of everyone actually believe that what they experience would make art worth making ("worth making" meaning that the person believes they should make it).

Then, imagine that probably some fraction of that fraction actually attempt to make art.

Then imagine some fraction of that fraction of that fraction make art that at least generally represents the experience he had in a way that makes sense to that person

Then imagine some fraction of that fraction of that fraction of that fraction make some kind of art that at least generally represents the experience he had in a way that makes sense (or "resonates") with that person AND other people.

And, finally, imagine some fraction of that fraction of that fraction of that fraction of that fraction also find that a LOT of people appreciate ("resonate" with) what he did, and he can therefore make a living off of it.

Ok, now to actually answer your question. I dont think that experiences people have that COULD make great art that end up not becoming great art is a tragedy. If I believed that, I would be expecting people who experience beautiful stuff to go out and turn it into art, and that would probably mean that I also believed that people who are capable of turning an experience they have in to art actually experience more (or are more "in tune" with what they experience), which is (as far as I can tell) not only NOT TRUE but also pretty unhealthy to think about other people.

TL;DR: Writers who dont seek and seekers who dont write arent tragic. Not everyone needs to share their experiences, and those who dont could be experiencing stuff just as intensely/artistically/whatever. And those who DO share it arent actually experiencing more intensely if they happen to be more effective at writing it down in a way that resonates with people. "

I am not drawn to it because it is true,

I am drawn to it because it simply contains truth.

It contains truth, and is not true, because truth is not simple.

So I simply like it because it contains truth.

"This was a goddess who could not dance, would not dance, and hated everybody at the high school. She would like to claw away her face, she told us, so that people would stop seeing things in it that had nothing to do with what she was like inside. She was ready to die at any time, she said, because what men and boys thought about her and tried to do to her made her so ashamed. One of the first things she was going to do when she got to heaven, she said, was to ask somebody what was written on her face and why had it been put there."


Page 49, Kurt Vonnegut's "Deadeye Dick"

t

t

I'm not saying that it's wrong
I'm not saying that it's right
you drew a line in the sand
and now I'm out of you're life

I'd be lying if I said it didn't hurt sometimes
but musicians only advocate their side
still I'm wondering if I saw you try
cause god knows we all saw me try

I've got some selfish pain that I can't hide
goodbye

when im fixing I wish I was dancing
and
when im dancing I wish I was listening
and
when im listening I wish I was wondering
and
when im wondering I wish I was fucking
and
when im fucking I wish for more time
but
and when its over I dont wish for anything.

The next morning, I wish I was smiling
and
when im smiling I wish I was sprinting
and
when im sprinting I wish I was fighting
and
when im fighting I wish I was winning the fight
and
when I win the fight I wish I would never fight again.

Then I walk home.

we all justify everything we do, you dont need to convince anyone but yourself that your justification tools are right for you, etc etc

HOWEVER thats true for other people too, hence the "your an asshole" notion

This song is called "Night on the Sun" by Modest Mouse. I think its interesting that the lyrics themselves get kind of morbid and disgusting, but when coupled with the music, its really soothing.



So, turn off the light 'cause it's light of the sun
You're hopelessly hopeful
I hope so, for you
Freeze your blood and then stab it into in two
Stab your blood into me and blend
I eat my own blood and get filled up get filled up;
I get filled up on me and end so turn off the light
'cause it's night on the sun you're hopelessly hopeless
I hope so, for you
Turn off the light 'cause it's night on the sun
You're hopelessly hopeless
I hope so, for you
Freeze your blood and then stab it into in two
Stab your blood into me and end
I eat my own blood and get filled up get filled up
I get filled up on me and end
Freeze your blood and then stab it into me
Freeze your blood and then stab it into me
Freeze your blood and then stab it in two into me and blend
Turn off the light 'cause it's night on the sun
You're hopelessly hopeless
I hope so, for you
Well there's one thing to know about this town
It's five hundred miles underground; and that's alright
Well there's one thing to know about this globe
It's bound and it's willing to explode and that's alright
Well there's one thing to know about this town
Not a person doesn't want me underground
There's one thing to know about this town
It's five hundred miles underground; and that's ok
There's one thing to know about this earth
We're put here just to make more dirt; and that's ok
night on the sun...

that feeling is like a drug.

you better ration it

hey, what are you hiding?

is it driving you

moving you

while you act like its not there?

does it bother you that im pointing at it?

that im pointing at it and looking at you and saying

"hey, what are you hiding?"

my heart is a deep, wide, slow river in the jungle. I had a dream once that I swam in it, and I could see all the way down. there was a ship underwater, and I explored. I love exploring!

hey beautiful, lets sit around and make fun of beauty

Some kinds of love
Marguerita told Tom
Between thought and expression lies a lifetime
Situations arise because of the weather
and no kinds of love
are better than others

Some kinds of love
Marguerita told Tom
like a dirty French novel
combines the absurd with the vulgar
and some kinds of love
the possibilites are endless
and for me to miss one
would seem to be groundless

I heard what you said
Marguerita heard Tom
And of course you're a bore
but in that you're not charmless
cause a bore is a straight line, now
that finds a wealth in division
and some kinds of love
are mistaken for vision

Put jelly on your shoulder
Let us do what you fear most
That from wich you recoil
but which still makes your eyes moist

Put jelly on your shoulder baby
lie down upon on the carpet
between thought and expression
let us now kiss the culprit

I don't know just what it's all about
Put on your red pajamas and find out


-Some Kinda Love, by the Velvet Underground

r

r

you know, I could live without you
but I don't want to

the woods, the woods, please don't enter the woods x2

your grandfather died cause he went to the woods

and if he found it, he left it in those godforsaken woods.

please stop thinking about what hides in the trees

at night I can see you, but you can't see me

I'll warn you one more time to stay out of the woods

cause if I find you there tonight you're gonna die!

my greataunt died a short while ago, and Ive been getting spam messages from her email account since then.

strange days

You are pretty, and i'm going to leave you alone.

You are tortured, and i'm going to leave you alone.

You are beautiful, and i'm going to leave you alone.

You are love incarnate, and i'm going to leave you alone.

You gave me burning memories, and i'm going to leave you alone.

I'm going to leave you alone, i'm going to leave you alone.

academic feminism has taught me to ask these questions whenever I write:

Who could see this?

How would someone else interpret this?

Is what I'm saying reflective of what I mean to say to me?

Would what I'm saying be reflective of what I mean to someone else?

g

g

I would like to be the last man standing

long after the woman, dancing,

long after the drummer, joining in

I would like to sit here and grit my teeth

grit cause I feel it but Im not dancing, I'm not drumming. i'm enduring.

I'm enduring cause that's what feels right. I'm enduring cause it's
what I'm good at
is
if you look me in the eye and ask me if I will endure, if I'm patient,
if I'll still be there, standing...

I'll look you in the eye and with all that I have, my eyes will scream
YES until all you can do is look away.

feeling comes in different ways. she will dance, he will drum, and I
will be

the last man standing.

f

f

she stood beside the others, waiting for the girl onstage to sing.

then the girl on stage began to sing.

so the girl (woman) in the crowd was hit as if by a brick.

the brick sat her down
in the middle of the standing crowd.

the brick grabbed her arm
then that idea-shaped brick opened her backpack and pulled out a
notebook.

so she sat there and wrote. she tried to draw the brick, maybe just
the outline, maybe trying to form the shape using words instead of
lines maybe.

the end

A man is sitting on a dock, at night. Theres a mountain in front of him. Hes on a cellphone, talking with another man he doesnt know very well. He is infatuated with this other person. He is infatuated both because of what he does know, and what he doesnt know about the person. Here is their conversation. The man on the dock speaks first.

"You know, ive got no truth for you."

"Thats true. Thank you for that truth."

"You know, I may see the beauty, but it hurts when I see it. Im not there. Im somewhere else, looking over at it. I wish I was there, but I dont think I can get there. Anything I do that you might find beautiful is just me recounting the hazy details of something much greater. And I bet there are other people out there who are a lot better at it than me."

"Whats wrong with that"

"...shit I dont even know. I just feel unsettled"

"So write a song about it!"

"Its not that easy! I dont know scales and my fingers dont work right and my voice hurts and as soon as I start to give this feeling a form, I lose the feeling."

"Sounds frustrating."

"yeah."

"I love you"

"I love you too"

Ah well uh

Ah well uh

I think I found my dig-nah-tee

Underneath a big oak tree

Did you leave it there when you stole it from me?

did you leave it there when you stole it from me?

Ah well uh

Ah well uh

I think I found my love for me

Underneath that great big sea

Did you hide it there while you were hurting me?

did you hide it there while you were hurting me?

Ah well uh

Ah well uh

I think I found a path to walk

and im still pretty scared, and we still dont talk

but at least ive got my dig-nah-tee

and at least ive got my love for me

but I know deep down im looonely

and I know deep down im looonely

please wont you take it back from me?

fuck off, face

just cause you look like that doesnt mean thats what you are!

im not falling for that this time!

Im not falling for your pretty little promise of a pretty little story with a pretty little bittersweet but oh-so-intriguing ending!


Fuck off, face!

just cause you look like that that doesnt mean what I am!

the mirror isnt me! the nose, the mouth, the chin isnt me! its not me! its not me!

there is no way that im going to fall for thinking that what my face looks like is what my heart looks like!


fuck off, face!

-this is an excerpt from an essay im writing. It sums up some thoughts ive had on globalization. not sure if this is exactly what I believe, but it made sense when I wrote it.



The future of international trade (and as a result, globalization itself) is not set in stone, however. The WTO could become more or less regulated, and it could encourage increased standard of living for the developing countries of the world more or less. It is my personal opinion that the best path for the WTO in order to encourage global prosperity for the future is to be flexible. As developing countries around the world become more industrialized they will probably become healthier, more productive, and better educated. As this happens, more and more people will want a lifestyle that matches the increased economic power their country holds. Global prices will change, and due to their lower cost of living and lower wages, workers in developing countries will have a competitive advantage. Developed countries cannot expect to be unaffected by this, and if their economies cannot adapt by responding with lower costs of living and lower wages, then they will suffer for it. It is my hope that the WTO realizes that their role is not to manipulate the global economy so that developed countries can continue to make their people earn more for their work than they should and pay more for their lifestyle than they should, but rather to facilitate and regulate the transition that must happen- a transition into a world where prices and wages naturally adapt to a global economy.

ive lost so damn much.

why do you get so attracted to what I say?
so what if it feels real.
you say you like penetrating,
but why dont you go penetrate someone else?
you like someone else being real AT you. you like reacting to that. THAT feels nice.
but when you are alone, do you do something with it?
do you take it and use it and bring it somewhere new?
no?
Coward!

once upon a time there was a man who was a boy but is not a man.

once upon a time the man had a face!

the face had eyes, and the eyes made him see you.

the face had eyebrows, and the eyebrows tingled his feeling-brain when they moved in response to his eyes.

The face had little strings that got pulled when he felt things.

Happy/Sad pulled some strings connected to muscles in his face, and his face showed whatever the feeling-brain was feeling-thinking.

Most of the time, his face looked like he was wondering, and a little sad.

So when his eyes made him see you, you probably thought he was wondering, and a little sad.

What was he wondering about?

Memories like what if this time it happened like this and what if this time it happened like another time and what if this part was related to this part and what if that part was actually that part and what do you see when you see me?

I guess he was experiencing everything at once, but thats not really very illuminating.
And was he sad when he looked "a little sad?"

I dont fucking know. I cant tell what wondering feels like. It doesnt feel happy, and it doesnt feel sad. It feels... like being struck by lightning, with no pain. it fills him with energy, it makes him want to scream. not a happy/sad/angry scream, just a really really loud scream.

enough of that.

I

I
you know what?
fuck it, I know this song won't change anything
but I'm here and you are here so let's just do it
you know why sincerety feels good.
I wanna remember what we talked about.
I'm just figuring it out on my own
and I swear that moment helped
that moment we had.

ok
look at it this way
you and I will always, always
feel like there is something out there we need that we dont have
that yearning lonely feeling
that feeling is a part of us
and its not actually attached to any one thing
so we cant satiate it
but its a good hole
cause it helps us understand what matters
its just- that yearning lonely feeling wont actually go away
ever
you just learn to deal with it
desire isnt supposed to be fulfilled
its supposed to pull you and push you till you die
and thats ok
if you can learn to be ok with that
then life is ok


for example
if you were to write a list of tangible things you wanted to acheive
like a degree or a job or something specific
once you get it, you wont be satisfied
you will desire something else
and you will be right where you were again
just with a new want
thats part of life
so dont beat yourself up
there is no key to ending desire
you just keep going
at whatever pace you like
faster, slower, whatever
no need to hate yourself

Many things bother me, but they dont bother me that much. I hate very few things intensely.

I dont really halfheartedly like many things, there arent many things that I offhandedly one-foot-in-the-water shrugly meh-like. But I love (really love) certain things intensely.

So you might see a lot of negativity coming from me, in terms of word tonnage. Just trust that I spend more time thinking about the few things I really love than the multitude of little things that I think are mildly annoying.

thanks to everyone who came to the show last night! I had a lot of fun.

Heres a thought.

What would Canada be like if every time someone broke the law, they were caught and prosecuted for doing so? Would Canada be a better place for it?

(Daniel Johnston Lyrics)


Sometimes I feel like I am a boxer
Seems like I'm always standing in the ring
And then I find someone thin in my locker
He left me a note that says I can't sing
I'll do anything but break dance for you, darlin'

I guess that [thou of the donegar] ???
I don't know what happened and I can't remember
But I was soon to discover
That my radio had been broken
I'll do anything but break dance for ya, darlin'

Don't you know that I love you, love you
Don't you know that I love you, love you
Hmm hmm hmm
Hmm hmm hmm
Hmm hmm hmm

All the folks on dope in search of hope
Everybody and the lonely orphan
And everyone around the world
Every boy and every girl
For all the good times
Always remember and never forget
In my secret heart
I'll do anything but break dance for ya, darlin'

Don't you know that I love you, love you
Don't you know that I love you, love you

Good news! Weird is cool now!

...as long as its: interesting, attractive, inoffensive, nice, confident, and nonconformist.

Say you care while looking like you dont care while acting like you do care while sounding like you dont care while feeling confused.

And look good, and act like you are on to something, and speak "sincerely" words which you wouldnt say alone.

Just please dont forget that you only matter as much as everyone else thinks you do, and you cant hide from that. nope! no hiding!

dont worry though, cause if that makes you upset, just turn that feeling into a song or a poem or something, and people will care about what you think in no time!

...just make sure that the song or poem is interesting. no one wants to hear you talk about your experiences unless you phrase them in a way that they can understand. The key is to make them think that you arent trying to be understood while actually desperately trying to be understood.

DO:
-make broad statements about ideas everyone thinks about. the big two are having love/not having love (including having/not having lust, friendship, understanding), and experiencing something "spiritual". That just means that when the kids hear it, they feel like you know their darkest, most private feelings. Its easy! just throw some chords together that sound emotional, and then talk about how something feels really (insert emotion here).
-write songs that take what the "unpopular" people do and copy them, as long as they are popular, and merely labeled "unpopular". Chances are, people will think you are being "innovative" as long as what you do has been done before by a few decades of people who also werent popular with parents and other "uncool" people at the time.

DO NOT:
-Actually try and write something "new". "new" is never cool at first. Let someone else discover a new kind of poem or song, then just take their idea and copy it. Its too dangerous, trying new things. Most of the time, people wont like it. And if you think what you are doing is "new" and people DO like it, chances are, its not really new. Sorry.
-Talk about these unwritten rules. everyone will either think you are crazy, or a jerk. plus, knowing the rules might exist wont help, it just makes everything more frustrating.



...

Now go play the game, kids!

d

d

making it work

if I'm going to make this dream work, I'm going to have to spend less
money.

a

a

if these words really don't matter

then why can't I stop saying them?

how do you write a song about wanting to be left alone?

how would it feel to play a song like that for a crowd?

you don't know me, I don't know you

but the bits and pieces we had did something to me,

and now I can't stop chasing that feeling.

being an artist is like having a disease that makes me constantly feel
like I'm experiencing something really new and important that I can't
express.

and I know this is stupid, I know this is wrong

but I remember one time I heard this other song

and I swore for a second he was talking to me

but that uncanny feeling comes from me

and the urge to share it comes from me too

and it's flawed and it's wrong but I'll share it with you.

I can't capture that moment cause it's not a thing

and although you may think a feeling can be

bottled and packaged and interpreted like

you were there, but you were never there, and neither am I anymore

but I try, and here we are.

I'm trying.

if these words don't really matter,

why can't I stop saying them?

Chemotherapy increases the odds of getting hiccups.

...

G

G

The mating call was loud and lonely.

Songs about yearning for love hit us the hardest when we are yearning
for love. The songs do not create the lonesome, piercing, beautiful
longing feeling. The time spent alone immedietly after finding out the
one you love doesn't love you back creates that feeling. And maybe
once you have experienced that very real feeling, it never really goes
away. Maybe it hides inside you. But that song, that fucking beautiful
song, that lonesome tragic song grabs you, gives you a shake, and
reminds you of that time you felt something real.

And maybe the next time I hear a mating call, I'll remember what an
amazing joy it is to be able to feel that lonesome.

I want to do things.

I cant think about you.

I cant get trapped in there.

I dont want my eyes to be distracted.

I dont want my hands to wander.

I want to walk the long and loney path.

I want to step and sing and feel without release.

Resolutions

Patience, Humility

Consider looks less

No, or less, caffiene.

Penetrate society.

You say you want it, that it really matters. that you really want it. That you yearn for it. That deep down underneath it all it is all that really matters to you, and if you could only find it, you would abandon everything for it.

Im sure it feels nice to SAY that, but what would you do to find it? Would you spend your time? would you walk five miles in the rain? Would you show a lover paitence, would you wake up every morning and commit yourself no matter how that praticular day's mood suits you or your lover?

I know you feel like you could wake up every morning and show your love every day, but what about the days when the infatuation fades? Underneath your fluttering breath, your attraction, is there something stronger beneath?

V

V
Just

Gimme a reason

To even try

Just

Tell me you need me, girl

Just

Tell me you need me, girl.

I'm running through the darkness

And these words,

They ain't right

I'm runnin out of metaphors to impress you with, baby

But I'm here, tryin.

Q

Q

Teenage love.

I want to have a passionate romance with every cute girl I meet.

I'm so glad I'm not actually going to do that...

O

O

It's ok to fall into the moment, no matter how much I might wish that
it was more pure.

Sent from my iPod

Y

Y

Why doesn't that wall interest me?

It's not reading my mind.

The expressions on peoples faces interest me.

They interest me because they tell stories.

I like stories very much.

Sent from my iPod

Q

Q

Wild ducks flying backwards

Sent from my iPod