In Light of the Malaysian Airlines Shooting

It seems that we, as humans, are unable to handle mayhem.

3 hours ago, an airliner full of 295 innocent people was brutally and callously shot down. Reporters and journalists are speechless as they root through hundreds of dead bodies, recognizing headphones still perched on silenced heads, and cracked iPhones still sticking out of anonymous pockets. A sight so foreign, yet personal; it’s not an unreasonable conclusion to assume that the world would innately comfort and gather around this pinnacle of tragedy.

As it turns out, no. Caught in the midst of lack of infrastructure, it seems that the most selfish desires come into play. Israel, as a potent and recent example, coincidentally sent a serious ground force into Gaza, just as the haze of confusion and horror reached a peak. Casualties have already spanned into the hundreds as Israel and Hamas trade fire, (though critics argue that they wouldn’t turn to Israel to admit it). Biden has made a ploy for presidential pull in the coming election as he takes the opportunity to inform the American people of this tragedy (the Malaysian airline, not any of the countless others). In some cases, the tragedy is even taken as comedic opportunity. This terrifying and seemingly rallying issue has taken a grievous and shocking turn for the worst. While we, as separate nations as well as moral beings of human nature, are expected to call for peace and community, the situation as it develops calls more for a deeply introspective pondering of selfish desires.

-The Nina Weevil

magic 8 ball

lately, everything feels like it’s been falling apart and coming together in a new way. it’s messy and scary and wholly unsatisfying, but i have the feeling i’m on my way to something great soon.

my room is a different color. am i falling out of love? i’m going to have to write more songs and do gigs before summer’s over. do i have the strength to pick myself up after last month’s disaster? i’m starting again at high school this year. do i actually feel anything for my friends? i made four new social media accounts for Sidney Loraine yesterday. is my personality splitting? my parents talk too loudly. am i a bad person? i feel much more confident. will i get the girl? will i get sick? will i ever stop clogging up this blog with my meaningless personal posts? find out all these answers and MORE on next week’s episode.

I want to be meaningful;

But not so that no one can hear me.

I want to be deep;

But not so that no one can see me.

I want to be pretty;

But not so that I lie, discarded, face-up.

I want to be inspired;

But not a thief.

I want to experience;

To feel the wind on my cheeks,

The shock of fresh air,

The musty scent of a half friendship,

And the eyesore that only comes, empty-handed, from looking too hard.

But oh, how I want to look hard!

And feel the strands of hair on my face,

The fade on my boots,

And the warm, familiar tug of a heart to a love.

 

— but not so that no one knows me.

 

By The Nina Weevil. I own it; don’t copy it.

Just a Thought 3

Your views will only be objectified if the basis on which your position stands/is stereotyped upon disregards intellectual processes.

don’t want to

…leave my home.

hate us, love us, stereotype us; we’re just two letters.

click for captions.

my cohorts

nice hoodie

action shot

and the forest loomed below

it’s bigger than a breadbox

i confess that i have no idea how to use a camera

my iris and sidney picture

light or shadow?

“crop circles!

i like your kneesocks.

shadow

getting ready act 1

candid

getting ready act 2

the brain

the braun

i call this one “solitude”

and with good justification

these are my life

and these are my being

new horizons? screw that, i’ll stay where i am

stealthy eating

#french

stealthy sitting

we walk down the stairs to our home

#fancy #danggirllookatthatfork

*strafe left

i love this one

how to express in so few words?

“hey, eliza” act 1

“hey, eliza” act 2

“hey, eliza” act 3

together we walk

rolling down the hillside

we are never individual

ay look at those pretty flowers

i should probably let these speak for themselves

inperfections

daisies

filters

*strafe right

thaaaanks

i’m envious of your hair. rock it.

king iris

really killing those perennials

true infatuation act 1

true infatuation act 2

take that!

and finally, a real smile.

the end.

i’m not ready

…to leave this place

Sidney and her flowers

oooh would you look at that it’s a flash

True infatuation

Lost daisies

out of place

not a fountain

king lear flashbacks

nina got in a fight

with some large perennials

crafteh

it’s not vain if it’s an expensive camera!

that’s what the like button is for

40’s chic: take off your slouchy hat and make a bob.

so hipster i don’t even have a front-facing camera feature

why isn’t there a selfie button

ok how many creative ways are there to take a selfie

the tech office will kill us all

if it falls i’m fucked

labels, in order: goth, emo, scene, vamp, cat

sidney in the woods

hidden behind a non-indigenous tree

singing songs

achievement get: The arbor day shining

my stick

you’re not original

i regret this decision

road

i don’t think nina knows how to use a camera

codependence

*australian accent

i wish i could get a photo with just my head sticking out of the trashcan

ostentatious tee shirt

take a picture of me throwing out my food!

my favorite people

judgmental person

nina cut these shorts, btw

candid!

#sunset #artsy

it’s such a nice day

and a sliver of light peered through the trees

sidneh

that 2010’s show

candid nina says goodbye to good pictures.

Just a Thought 2

We can no longer rely on double standards to justify our arguments, for how are we to meaningfully pose these as a means to an end while retaining our individuality?

To Waive Responsibility–the Feminist Card

(i know i know i know this took forever oh well–at least i didn’t forget)

At last, the feminist card! To waive responsibility, indeed. By Iris.

 

Ta-dah!

Suggested uses:

-When people are being annoying

-When you feel like leaving a conversation

-When someone says something bigoted and you feel the need to contest it.

-Iris

Colors for a Blind Man

I felt bad that I hadn’t posted anything for a while, so I wrote these “Color for a Blind Man” blurbs. Try to guess what the color looks like, then see the answer at the bottom.

1. This color is the sky, only when you’re turning your head to look at your secret love. This color is regret and a little failure, but also inspiration and plastic, and a dash of perfect. Don’t you ever admit it, though; this color is incredibly shy. Read this in a whisper. You’ve just heard the color. This is periwinkle, but only to the pretenders. And then it changes.

2. This color is sassy. You better like it, otherwise it’ll retort with one of exactly 17 comeback phrases it spent 30 minutes on the phone with it’s girlfriends talking about. Is it sad? Well, no, but it’s not like you would be able to tell anyways. Someday, it’ll chip, little by little, until what’s left is it’s true beauty, the part that not everyone may like. Then, people will simply walk by, wondering what happened.

3. This color is the anxious folds of your dress. It seems soft, fuzzy at the edges, but hardens once you touch it, so you’ll never know. This color is a memory, one that’s been kept in a chest in an abandoned basement. Someday, you’ll open it, and one day, you’ll perhaps taste it, in a dapple of sunlight stained by dead tree leaves. You’ll know what old yet virgin wine tastes like, freshly poured by your worst friend. Wait – was that a chemical?

1. 

2. 

3. 

More feminist/puberty/one-sided-arguments-on-social-constructs stuff to come later. I just wanted you guys to know that we’re not dead.

-Nina

Please never ever use the phrase “man up”

I’m writing this article out of frustration after an argument I just had with a friend who used the term “man up.” This individual ended up making me repeat myself like 12+ times in a row, which wasn’t too bad this time because it allowed me to really formulate an argument. I don’t expect them to read this, but anyone who does, please consider.

Traditionally, our society has a list of associations with male/female sex. The term “man,” though it can be applied to people who are male gendered and not necessarily male anatomically, has societal associations with anatomical masculinity. We choose to associate being male with being muscular, having short hair, being athletic, wearing pants, etc., but the problem is that these habits are present in people who aren’t anatomically male. By saying “man up,” you are reinforcing the particular association that persistence, emotional strength and being deliberant are inherently masculine, when they can in fact be true of men and women. Saying this discourages women from showing or possessing these useful and important traits, and discourages men from showing the weakness that they all no doubt possess. It’s reinforcing sex and gender associations, and associating a generally good trait with masculinity.