Unity, in the face of Division and Disarray

is breaking all the rules better than Jannah? (Paradise)
is making that deal better than Jannah? (Unity)
is the freedom of feigned gnorance better than Jannah? (Heaven)
is livin' in America better than Jannah? (The Greatest of Gardens)
Oh! Dunya, Oh! Fitna, recall for me your fitra
what about bacon? - NO bacon please, NO bacon.

Oh! Christianica, do you know what you've been missin'?
Escaped from persecution across the bluest ocean
to do some persecut'n
then sold your soul for a rock and a roll
to capture the flag for the feelin'
Oh! land of the brave who fought for all these freedoms.

Salam, Oh! Muslims of east and west
(you sufis, sunnis and you shi'as)
put down your guns and listen -
beware the empty fundamentalist
and guard against the shirk of ethno-centricity
you who witness, those called to a middle path,
those of at-tauheed-centricity.

Shalom to you Oh! bini Isra'el (and us all, bini adam all the same)
the horrors you've seen, seem to have killed your yahweh
but don't excuse the things you've done in his name.

And peace to you who refuse belief(s),
or see more gods than I see trees:
lets you and me, and all of we,
let's work together and strive to be,
a better tomorrow, let's plant these seeds
for as some say, this may be all we get,
so let's agree to save some of this inheritance
to make a future, an inheritable-tense
a legacy of hope for the generations to come
instead of begging for the end,
as if we could force tribulation's hand
and put lip to the horn,
and commence.

priming the pump

Monday morning, Michelangelos, ready... go!

I'm sitting here listening to Kid Cudi, putting off my Peace project. shit, fuck, shit. I really feel clueless right now. I'm supposed to give a presentation called, "Modern Problems, Ancient Roots," about the common ground between conflict, culture and economics - every time I start talking about it, it sounds worse. It's really important to me, close to my heart, and I can't handle it coming off like pooh. I'd rather it was a little vague then be a weak argument.

I've got to start really hitting my main points. Start overview, work into main points, expand main points, begin conclusion and then end with actions anyone can take to make a difference. Unfortunately, it's not that simple and I want to play my stupid card games. But it is that simple, I just can't fake it for this and the pieces aren't falling into place as easily as I was thinking they would.

I can't seem to find a tangible, founded argument in "Man and Nature," as good as it is it might just be for me. I can't go through the whole metaphysics and cosmology of it and all I really want is what I don't have: a solid way to reveal the process by which science separated itself from Christian God concepts.

I have to define the ancient roots too, which is the real troublesome point, since I basically plucked it out of thin air. It's not that I don't believe it, it's that its not a simple thing. I could spend 15 minutes on the "ancient roots," but it'd be hard to keep it fact based and not grounded in my own conjectures. FUCK.

a dreary post from an rainy, mid-semester day

I'm sitting in the atrium, enjoying the view when I look behind me to see a goth kid wearing foundation and eyeliner. I mean, I guess this is normal. I'm really not used to seeing dudes in make-up. Even in, what my mother refers to as, my dark(est of) phases I didn't wear make-up. I struggled to dye my hair - I remember being torn between what I called "the natural" (which was hippie style) and "the plastic" (which was along the lines of goth or punk). Most of the time, to which my mother will attest, I just looked bad. There is a foolishness in exploring the anti-culture, it's not necessarily bad and I'm not trying to judge it in a negative light, it's rather hypocritical and self-delusional; either pretend carefree or outright attack on normal.

Then I thought this fella looked like he was taking an exam or something. The special needs kids get to take their tests how and when it best suits them, and I thought, wow, this kid is a special needs kid. Does this change his appearance, or the impetus behind it? does his appearance change his status - can you fight the system if you already exist on its fringes - are you just showing your colors?

Is wearing make-up a sign of special needs, or do special needs have any influence on appearance? Do handicaps aid or hinder one's counter-cultural expression...?