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 Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2009 1:51 pm
Hokay, so this probably belongs in the Extended Discussions forum, yadda yadda yadda. I'll move it there eventually because no one seems to post there anyway and it would be a waste of time to start a topic in a forum that no one uses, kthankzbai.
So.
I wrote this essay, just because I felt like it. This doesn't happen very often, in fact, it's the first time it's happened in quite awhile. I'll cut to the chase and show it to you.
Nyz I don't mean to sound like just another kid wearing a "SAVE THE EARTH" t-shirt and peace sign bracelet when I say that we are the revolution. Because I'll fight for victory, not vengeance. I'll fight for true independence, and I don't mean the kind that's exemplified by "REBEL" and "ATTITUDE" buttons pinned on a backpack. I'm talking freedom from fear. The fear that they won't like me. The fear that they'll talk trash about me behind my back. The fear that they'll exclude me. Do you get where I'm going with this? I don't want spend my life whispering someone else's secrets to a new best friend that I'm trying too hard to impress, I want to transcend society's expectations of me and create my own world. When I refer to society I do so with a mixture of respect and disgust. It allows human beings to live in close proximity to each other in a civilized manner without killing each other or going -completely- crazy. It is absolutely necessary for modern day life, and we all depend on it whether we like it or not. However, this marvelous system is not without it's flaws. When people spend too much time talking about and listening to and worrying about other people they sometimes lose touch with themselves. Amidst the frenzied talking and texting and IMing inner silence and clarity is replaced with a kind of mental static that gives rise to nervous laughter. They will sense that something is missing and struggle to find profound meaning in their confusion, but if they are unable to rid themselves of the background noise their search becomes meaningless and twisted. It undergoes a transmutation into a race to feel more deeply, to suffer more tragically than the others. The hypochondriac is idolized as the sacrificial lamb of society's evils, the unfailing reminder of cruel struggle, Mein Kampf, at the hands of imagined demons. There are those who will tell you that the meaning of life is god, success, or friends. I'm here to tell you that no matter which definition is right for you, they all ultimately have their roots in self-discovery through our imaginations. It is only through self expression that we can find self confidence, and it takes nothing short of bravery to express it. I still feel a little terrified of going out in public with my hairfalls on and colors blazing, but I've come to realize that I don't care about blending in any more. I may not ever become famous or change the world for the better, but I can at least be memorable.
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Posted: Fri Dec 25, 2009 2:24 pm
If we are the Revolution, where are our troops? Where is the battlefield and where may I sign up?
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Posted: Fri May 28, 2010 10:22 pm
Battle isn't the point. Combat, whether physical or otherwise, is intended to put one individual or group into direct, destructive opposition with another individual or group, or several.
The point, at least as far as I discern, is self-actualization. The 'revolution' is simply a turn of phrase designed to bring forth a specific emotional resonance.
Tell me, Nyz. Why do you want to be memorable? I find that very often, those who seek to be memorable are afraid of death. I'm simply curious if this is the case for you as well, or if you have other reasons.
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Posted: Sat May 29, 2010 5:20 am
Lovely Lolita Love If we are the Revolution, where are our troops? Where is the battlefield and where may I sign up? a revolution has nothing to do with battle. the word revolution means a significant shift in popular trends. (be it science, art, average mindset, etc.) The reason the war for independance is called a revolution is because it changed the world's view of America as well as America's status in the world economy.
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Posted: Sat May 29, 2010 5:46 am
I chose the name in response to a photoshoot I did with a good friend of mine in which I revealed my two alter egos. The site we chose was full of some very beautiful graffiti, and someone had written "WE ARE THE REVOLUTION" on a wall. She named the album after it, I named my manifesto after it. Revolutions are often violent emotionally, spiritually, physically, and whatnot. and they signal change and new beginnings. To most of the world revolutions have negative connotations because people fear change and violence, but in a mental context I feel that revolutions are necessary for personal growth.
I want to be memorable because I want to impact others and destroy their fear of expressing themselves the way I do. I enjoy shocking people a little with something they have never seen before, and I hope they will realize that popular doesn't matter anymore. Today no one cares about how they feel about self expression, it's all about chasing the trends dictated by the ad industry. I want to reverse that mindset and make a more creative world.
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Posted: Sat May 29, 2010 9:25 pm
Quite the ambitious one, aren't you?
Well, your aims are indeed honorable. I've got to say, I'm a bit surprised by the scale you're aiming for, but I suppose it's befitting of you. I don't think of you as being the type to be satisfied with a smaller impact than that.
Tell me of these alter egos of yours. Of course, I'm already quite familiar with your status as Batman, but I assume these are not exactly the same?
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Posted: Sun May 30, 2010 5:22 am
Dude, you have no idea. xD
I want to have an impact in the sense that I inspire someone. I was inspired by the Japanese raver, DJ SiSen, and I want to honor him by inspiring others in turn. I also do it because the world would be so much more fun if everyone was more in touch with their creativity.
My alter egos are a source of interest for both my friend Katherine (the one who takes all the photos of me) and myself.
I've named them. The first is Chiaroscuro, which is the darker of the two, evolved from the days when I used to think of myself as a goth. It's my thoughtful side, and the mode I usually switch to when creating art. I associate aggrotech, industrial, and (interestingly enough) ambient music with her.
Pictures: 1, 2, 3
The second one is Bubbles. She is younger and more playful, and was created last year during Otakon. I met my other raver friends eVe, RyRy, Siraya, and Connor there, and we have fed off of each other's creativity and formed iKandi, a "family" of ravers from the east coast. This side listens to pop, techno, and trance, and enjoys glowstringing.
Pictures: 1, 2, 3, 4
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Posted: Sun May 30, 2010 9:22 am
hmm I have my own nicknames for your two sides, one is Alcisthene (your modern day gregorian.) and the other is PEZi (like the candy.)
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Posted: Sun May 30, 2010 11:20 pm
Interesting.
I imagine the world would be a bit more interesting, but tell me, if everyone were creative, do you think anyone could be considered to be? There would no longer be a standard against which to measure creativity. In the absence of a polar opposite, a thing loses its meaning and ceases to exist.
I've only got the one that's well-defined, categorized and named. I call it Raven, which is a name that is from my experiences in Osceola four years ago.
I associate it with my essential darker half.
It's the side that is entirely pessimistic, brooding, and misanthropic. It is meditative and enjoys watching fire. It hates being around people. It's nocturnal. It's very survivalistic, and is slightly more physically capable than my normal self. Strangely, it also has a peculiarly strong sense of justice, especially in terms of the physical, and is the side I switch to when I need to play the hero. Raven is the side of me that's responsible for throwing the dog through the wall. I don't use it very much.
I don't imagine you've ever read R.A. Salvatore's Dark Elf Trilogy, but if you have, the Hunter persona is essentially Raven, sans comtemplativeness.
I suspect the seeds of this side of me were created when I was a kid, because of all the things I had to deal with.
I'd show you pictures, if I had them, but I don't, so, raincheck.
I'll figure something out for ya.
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Posted: Mon May 31, 2010 7:10 am
Soryiu: Gregorian? As in the people who do all the chanting? I think I've only had PEZ maybe once or twice before, but there's this guy called PES on youtube who does some wicked stop motion animation. Just throwing that out there.
Jack: Not everyone has the same level of creative power, so there would still be some degree of contrast between people. They will also choose to express themselves in different ways, whether it be visual art, music, dance, etc. For example, I'm good at visual art, but I'm absolutely awful at singing, providing a polar opposite to those who sing well. I am still creative, but my forte is different from those around me.
I have not read it, but I see where you are going with your explanation.
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Posted: Mon May 31, 2010 8:56 am
ChiRubian Soryiu: Gregorian? As in the people who do all the chanting? I think I've only had PEZ maybe once or twice before, but there's this guy called PES on youtube who does some wicked stop motion animation. Just throwing that out there. Gregorians were the ones who intruduced gothic arcutechture to the western Europeans. (and yes, they did alot of chanting.)
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Posted: Mon May 31, 2010 6:37 pm
'Gregorian' is also the name for the calendar system we currently employ.
I believe that name refers to Pope Gregory the something-eth, though I don't know if your usage of the term shares the same etymology. I somewhat doubt it, though.
PEZ is quite delicious. I saw a Spider-Man dispenser the other day at Wal-Mart.
I see your point. However, I still think that that only takes care of specific manifestations: I still feel that with a universal attitude of creativity, no one could be considered to be creative, which is really all I was trying to say the first time. "Creativity" here is used as an abstract, not as a specific form. Thus, although it may be applied in different ways (music, visual art, etc.), 'creativity' encompasses and supercedes all of these practices. As such, with everyone practicing some form of creativity, creativity loses definition. As to differing levels of creativity, I'm not sure I see what you mean. Is it that some people are more intrisically capable of creativity than others, or that some people utilize their inherent creativity more effectively than others? The ability to gauge creative levels is dependent upon one's definition of creativity in the first place, so we have to answer that question first.
I'm really not trying to be a smartass, I swear.
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Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 6:01 am
I see.
The definition of creativity is as follows: Dictionary.com 1. the state or quality of being creative. 2. the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination: the need for creativity in modern industry; creativity in the performing arts. 3. the process by which one utilizes creative ability What think I mean to say is that we will be creative in comparison to our past. And if we choose to ignore the past and creativity loses it's definition, then so be it. It is not necessary for something to have a definition in order to exist.
As for the different levels of creativity, I have noticed that there are people in this world who possess very little creative power. I am unsure of whether this happens for want of exercise or if it is inherent, though I suspect it is the former.
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Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 11:34 pm
... I meant your definition, really, but... okay. sweatdrop
You have a point about creativity in comparison to the past, but I figure that'd only be short-lived. After a single generation, there'd be no past expereience to draw from.
Also, a thing may not need definition to exist, but it needs definition in order to be observed to exist. wink
Well, according to quantum theory, things actually require observation in order to solidify one specific definition. But that doesn't apply to concepts, so.
I personally also believe it is most likely the want of exercise. Although, this does imply a potentially infinite bastion of creative power within each individual person, which doesn't seem to make sense. However, plenty of scientific truths are counterintuitive; take quantum theory. So I suppose it's possible.
This is fun. We should engage in philosophical debate more often.
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Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2010 8:04 am
Oh, sorry about that. I wasn't feeling particularly articulate at the moment, hence the official definition. Out of the three, I feel that the second is the most relevant.
Whether or not we observe it does not matter, we will still be directly affected by it in our daily lives.
Well, one could argue that it is only physically possible to exercise creativity to a certain extent (one can only be awake and devoting time to creative work for a few hours each day before fatigue sets in), thus limiting a person's creative potential.
I concur. :]
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