Spiraling Out of Control

Scientific dictatorships, from what I've read, would be absolutely terrifying. The idea of giving up all will to do anything is preposterous, but yet totally plausible. Laziness is like a disease, and it can spread easily just about anywhere. For example, America in the 1920's was filled with people who only wanted to party, rather than play a beneficial role in society. George Orwell's view of total control is slightly possible, but the idea of science being king is totally possible, especially in the world we live in today. Since reading the first couple of chapters in Brave New World, i more closely examine the actions in society. I hope science never becomes more prominent than religion, because if that ever happens, the creepy dystopia of Brave New World will come much closer to being a reality.

The Beginning of the End? - Another Rant.

Huxley has to be the most paranoid person about the future, but is there any truth to his paranoia. Some might say there is nothing to worried about, because everything will work out in the end. To those I say your absolutely ignorant. Take a look around, I think hes onto something, almost every other day now there is a mass shooting, a bombing, or a massive riot. Then you hear people blaming each other about how everything has gone to crap, but the can't bring them selves to realize that maybe they are the problem. In a perfect world, maybe we could get over our own agendas and pride, but that could only happen in a perfect world. Huxley uses many example in "Brave New World" to show that he worries about the ethics of the human race. If you think about have our ethics changed in the last 30 years? If you said no than man, how ignorant can you be, but if you said yes, now think about things that used to consider unethical or non-socially acceptable but, are now allowed to day. If that stuff can be come acceptable then pretty much anything can be come socially acceptable. This is where I'm going to end this, because this has just turned in a giant rant.

The Media

A modern example of an organization trying to control us is the mainstream media. The mainstream media is slap full of people trying to twist the truth and facts, and sometimes even straight up lie, to get the reaction they want from the less knowledgeable public. This is the very reason why they have been called fake news. They are America's worst sickness in my opinion because they force many Americans to believe things that are not well founded and twisted to fit better in their point of view. I firmly believe that less popular news outlets are much more trustworthy and will hopefully overtake the mainstream news networks.

The Ultimate Revolution

Environment vs. Individual

I love how he immediately jumps to the point of revolutions trying to adjust the environment in order to manipulate the individual. This can be seen throughout time as dictators and totalitarian governments shift the environment to hopefully force the individual into a mindset. However he also says this Ultimate Revolution is upon us, in which the people submit willingly to their control. "Enjoyment of servitude". He says that is beginning to occur and that is frightening. Nonviolent methods of control, the ones of scientific dictatorships, will use this willing servitude because it is more efficient. Not having to constantly regulate the people, as they enjoy it, it will succeed. He mentions that we are more aware at what we are doing and more effective at implementing the stepping stones it would take to implement such a regime. Overall, he makes many good points and i very frightening.

The Left

An example of modern societies attempting to control others might be the liberal left. Liberals tend to cause riots and threaten violence the moment something doesn't go their way, and people are regularly brainwashed by fake news channels like CNN. Brave New World is a look into our future: a terrible, liberal future.

a little bit of a sketchy warning

Huxley is obviously terrified of what's to come. He fears that we're going to be taken over by something. Whether it's technology or a person, we're going to be controlled. This is completely possible, and it amuses me how we read these books and think that it's fiction when it could happen to us. Dictators are smart. Think of Hitler. He was very smart. A genius and a great speaker to convince millions of people that his way was right. This is what Huxley is warning us about. He wants us to be careful of the things that we just "jump on" as the right thing when it could very well be leading us into a system of utter control.

A Perfect World?

Brave New World and 1984 both depict images of the "perfect world" from the different perspectives of two authors. In both books the author's describe their concept of the world being totally equal. BNW uses a caste system to make everyone "equal" and in 1984 there are a set of rules you must follow that are enforced by thought police. Huxley talks of many terrorists in the world and that we can stop these terrorists through the methods of his book. He claims that it is possible through methods like brain washing and other methods to get people to become equal throug out the entire world.

Genius

What Huxley essentially does in his speech is share his fear. He writes of a society that men reading it see as efficient yet inhuman. No man would want to live in a place where they really have no purpose or control over their own fate. No man wants his individuality stripped away in an effort to make a perfect society. His book describes people who are okay with their lives, because they don't know anything different. You can here in his voice that he fears the years to come. If people have already managed to make some of the ideas in his book a reality, just imagine what is to come. There may be a world where the masses are nothing but the masses and the leaders are truly superior beings. The leaders are keeping the population in the dark and therefore, able to do their will without resistance. Seeing parts of both Orwell and Huxley's work coming to life makes you wonder if they can become a reality. If it were to happen slowly and methodically, it may be too late before anyone sees what is truly happening.

Dwight, altoid?

When I first saw Pavlovian Methods for conditioning, I immediately thought of Dwight salivating at the sound of the windows startup because of Jim's conditioning. https://vimeo.com/35754924

Asides from the office, I think that society's love of dystopian literature and movies is interesting as one day it could be us. With phones and computers than can very quickly learn what we like, search for, and use, the government or businesses can use this information to tailor products towards us. This controls the economy or the "fads" of objects. Economically the government has already started "controlling" us. When will it become morally? Although the government does not directly influence our moralities, society has taken larger and larger steps away from the Christian morality that influence so much of the known world at one point.

When one tries to control an environment, it is very different than controlling the individual. Imagine you have a fish tank. You can lower or raise oxygen levels, or food levels, but the fish inside respond differently to each stimulus. However, if you change out all the fish to one breed, they will react in relatively similar ways. By influencing or controlling the individual, there is a firmer grip on society as a whole.

People have come to believe "science is always right". Science dictates food fads or what is safe and what isn't. The people have become increasingly dependent on scientific research, which could be used against them to mislead them in the wrong direction. All it takes is a power hungry individual with  a position capable of dispersing their beliefs among a believing crowd.

Be a leader not a Follower

The distinction between societies and the "ultimate revolution" described by Huxley is that the human race today allows the people around them to influence them, good or bad. There has always been a type of direct action on humans following each other that has going on since the beginning of time. But this has become a violent nature. This reminds me of MYLFE retreat 2017. The discussion was about how there are 3 chairs, a purple one in the middle and 2 green ones on the outside, you are the purple chair and you have your two best friends next to you are the green chairs. You 3 are all held together by a rope. Ok now lets say that one, or both, of your friends are bad influences. when one of your friends gets up to go do something bad you follow them, because you are attached to them. This is exactly what Huxley is saying in is speech is that we allow others to determine what we are going to do. His comparison of the Pavlovian methods used by totalitarian rulers and religious leaders was how Wesley’s method of producing change were based on the technique of increasing  psychological stress a limit by talking about hellfire making people extremely helpless to suggestion and then suddenly releasing this stress by offering hopes of heaven and this showed how completely on purely natural a skilled natural psychologist, as Wesley was, could discover these Pavlovian methods. 
   

bossy

Communism is a social organization used to make everyone equal... no matter what it takes to get there. Usually, communist leaders use fear and violence to instill submission in to the people group. Huxley brings up an interesting thought in his book, Brave New World, and in his speech. Is a people group really being suppressed if they don't know it? If there is no desire to excel or be competitive, what is wrong with everyone being equal? If you can convince a people group that they are what they are and there is no way out, there is no disorder or competition or sadness or discomfort. Some books that comes to mind with this similar idea are the Divergent series. In Divergent, everyone is put into a town or society that have the same characteristics. In that society, they are given the same amounts of food. They wear the same type of clothing. They allude the same type of work. Everything is the same. When the superiorities find someone that is different, or divergent, through their character tests (testing positive in many different characteristics that meet criteria for a lot of the towns), they immediately destroy them or mark them as outcasts. No one questions as to why these tests are conducted or why everyone is separated. In the book, these superiorities suppress a revolution by the divergents.
One modern example would probably be the idea of standardized testing. Every teenager will take the same test. No matter how different a student maybe, they will have to take that test to determine their college readiness. I feel as if there are so many people that come from different walks of life that have so many different skill sets that go beyond such a "standard" (for lack of a better term) test. Not every public school is equal to a private school and vice versa. We all are taught differently and learn differently so why do we all get tested in a different manner than which we learned?

Yup

Huxley shows a glimpse into what are world is turning into starting with technology.  Technology is starting to control most of the world epically with in the last ten years and it starts with all the different kind of tablets then phones and so on. People with power have used these things to get what they want a example of this is the great Donald J Trump he has used twitter to influence people all over America and the world.    

Stuff and things

I think the distinction that Huxley makes between the society and people trying to control other people is true. Most students now a days don't make decisions by them selfs. They go with the flow through the school system knowing and following along with what they are told and following those rules. Kids are pure pressured into doing things that are now acceptable by society now that we're not in the past. Now adults don't care what kids are doing and society just picks them up and takes them along for the ride. Society is making there own decisions for people growing up in this time.

May the Odds be Forever in Your Favor

The contrast between Brave New World and 1984 is interesting and I think the debt between the two has even permeated the latest trends in Dystopian fiction. Most young adult dystopian books can either be catagorized into a terrorist regime dystopia like 1984 or Huxley's scientific revolution that he portrayed in Brave New World. The Hunger Games follows more of the path of 1984, suppressing the masses through violence and terror, squashing the thoughts of revolution through sacrificing children. It more about dominance through power than dominance by default. In a terrorist dystopia like 1984, the people know that there is something wrong but are often too afraid to stand up for themselves. In a scientific revolution, the people haven't even realized that something is wrong. They are truly blinded by their dystopia, thinking it is utopia. An example of this is the Giver. The town in which the Giver takes place is perfectly regulated. Everyone has a particular job, a particular role in society (all graduating students are given their occupations at a coming of age ceremony) and they are often blinded to the horrors going on in their own world (elderly people and sick infants are killed off to insure a stronger community). The people of the town are even cut off from history, rather delegated the task of remembering to one person. Jonas doesn't even question the society that he lives in until he is given memories of the world beyond and before his community. 

Huxley, in his speech, mentioned that while we will never be able to get away from terrorism, scientific revolutions will become more popular as they are proven more efficient. And the efficiency of a scientific revolution has merit. You create a people who can't fight because they can't think for themselves, who are happy living in the world you've given them because they don't know of anything else. And just like you can create a society founded on ignorance, you can destroy one too. I think, particularly in America, the next generations are being raised to not think for themselves, to not test an opinion's merit or source but to take everything in. Society is devaluing the individualized education that comes from a parent, which creates different ideas in each person, but glorifying state education, which has become standardized and regulated. Students aren't encouraged to listen to the ideas of their parents but to fight against them. They are bombarded with so many "truths" that the truth sounds like a lie. The next generation will have to believe what the government tells them, because they won't have come up with their own opinions and beliefs in their own time. Simple things that we don't even believe are conditioning- peer pressure, ridicule- will start to change the shape of our society, before we have a chance to know it's changed. 

Dictators of the Future

Why scare someone so that they will stay in their cage when you can make them forget they are in a cage in the first place? This is what Aldous Huxley realized that Orwell overlooked. Orwell believed that dictators would try to force their people to follow them; Huxley realized that the future belonged to those who could so alter their subject's underlying beliefs that they would want to follow them. He also realized that social change was the only permanent way to influence individuals. An example of this is the socialist *cough*communist*cough* movement that has influenced America over the past decades. As quoted in the "Naked Communist" by Cleon Skousen, "Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers' associations. Put the party line in textbooks" (take this with a grain of salt but still). Socialism (aka communism) has been pushed in public schools. More importantly, it is the morals that are pushed, instead of pure facts. Another famous communist leader, Mao, also used the school system to solidify his control. For instance, the little children would be told to sit at their empty decks and pray to their respective gods for school supplies. They were then told to look up and see that their desks were empty. Once more, they were told to bow their heads, this time praying to Mao. The teachers would quietly place school supplies on the table. Mao, like all great Communist leaders, influenced the environment, in this case the school system, to hypnotize the loyalty of the individuals.

Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers' associations. Put the party line in textbooks. - See more at: http://rense.com/general32/americ.htm#sthash.X7znL6om.dpuf

Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers' associations. Put the party line in textbooks. - See more at: http://rense.com/general32/americ.htm#sthash.X7znL6om.dpuf

Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers' associations. Put the party line in textbooks. - See more at: http://rense.com/general32/americ.htm#sthash.X7znL6om.dpuf

Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers' associations. Put the party line in textbooks. - See more at: http://rense.com/general32/americ.htm#sthash.X7znL6om.dpuf

Aldous Huxley Speaks

About 30 years after writing Brave New World, Aldous Huxley gave a long speech at Berkeley about the vision of his novel in the decades since its publication. He was surprised by how many things he'd envisioned had already come to pass, and he explained why his idea of society giving up its will in exchange for pleasure contrasted with George Orwell's terrorist imaginings.

For today's blog posting, follow the link to the YouTube version of Huxley's speech. Watch at least the first two parts, and comment on his observations. What do you think about the distinction he makes between societies throughout history trying to control environments and and the "ultimate revolution," which tries/will try to standardize and influence individuals? What accounts for the change? Can you think of current examples of the way our society tries to control or influence individuals instead of environments? Society can refer to government or business or culture.

Do we have "scientific dictatorships" of the type Huxley describes?

What do you think of the contrast between 1984 and Brave New World? How about his comparison of the Pavlovian methods used by totalitarian rulers and religious leaders like John Wesley?

I'll end with a quote Huxley could have addressed to those of you suffering from stage 4 senioritis: "The most valuable of all education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do, when it has to be done, whether you like it or not."

It may not be transcendentally inspirational, but it has the advantage of being true!

birds

In Mary Oliver's poem, "I Will Try," birds represent the beauty in the world. She refers to the bird simply as "red bird," with no "the" or "a" preceding it, almost as if it were a name. She uses repetition to show how her attitude changes even though there is no drastic change in her surroundings.
In "Bluebird," the bird symbolizes purity and freedom. The bird inside the man's heart yearns to be free, yet he keeps it trapped underneath his layers of "toughness."

A new perspective on birds

Birds are a prominent part in literature, and I think Edgar Allen Poe showed it best in his poem the Raven. The beauty of birds is very evident, and they are often associated with peaceful and natural backgrounds. When i'm hiking, I love to see bright red cardinals flying through the trees.  However, I enjoy the staunch mystery of the Raven in Poe's poem rather than the popular view of birds in nature. The way the creepy bird is portrayed is adverse to the common perception that birds are naturally benevolent. The truth is, most birds can be terrifying if they want to be, but the common view of birds as a beacon of love and happiness is much more appealing.

Birds

Birds have been around sense the world was created and just seeing them and hearing the chirping to me brings peace.  Birds show a sense of freedom because they have no laws against them and have no restrictions they are able to fly and do what ever they want.  Birds can give a sense of comfort from their song and their ability to be so different that its always fascinating to study birds.

What are Birds Good For?

Birds to me always symbolize peace and holiness. I don't know, maybe it's the memory of God sending a dove after Jesus' baptism or the raven and dove in the story of Noah. Both show God's presence and that is the view I continue to have when encountering these creatures in Literature. Obviously they can be used to set the tone (birds caw-ing in Harry Potter before Buckbeak "dies") or be used for transportation (the Eagles in Lord of the Rings). Overall, these birds find a way to manipulate the environment to produce effects that can be obvious or subtle.

The real me

The second poem really stuck out to me.  I feel that it is about a man how has a very tough look but he is a very soft caring man.  He only lets his soft side to show when he's by him self so no one finds out but him. 

Birds in Books

I think birds are so widely used for a number of reasons. First there are many different well known types such as, blue jays, cardinals, robins, hawks, falcons, finches, eagles, owls, etc. In addition each of these types has their own "personality". For example, eagles are heroic, ravens are evil, pigeons are stupid, and parrots are copycats. These different "personalities" makes them easier to identify with when used in different works of Literature. Another reason birds are widely use is there are all different shapes, sizes, colors, abilities and types of birds to use in the story/poem. As far as Literature goes, I can clearly see why birds are abundant in these works.

Crows

Black birds roosted on a tree
counting them, you could tell there were three.
"Let it be known," they said with a caw
"that here despair is the law!"
The other birds chirped at this declare,
thinking they had no reason to listen to those crows over there.
One by one, overnight,
they become overcome with a terrible plight:
each one became sad,
forgetting the joy each one once had,
it is on that next day that you must know,
all of the birds had become crows.

Blubirds song

I really enjoyed the second poem, "Bluebird." The author talks about a bluebird in his heart which I believe is his sadness. He talks about drowning it with whiskey, cigarettes, and prostitutes but his sadness doesn't die. He tries to tell himself that he is tough and doesn't let anyone see his inner hurt but he lets it out at night when no one is around. The only time he confronts his emotions is when he is alone. He has this lingering reminder, like a bluebirds singing, of the sadness in his heart. The bluebird could also represent his true self. He could be hiding who he really is in fear of people judging him. He covers up a part of him because he cares too much about what others think of him.

Hmmm...It was my understanding that everyone had heard?? "Heard what?"

Link to video: https://youtu.be/2WNrx2jq184

This literally what I started think about when I saw the word Bird. 

OK, now that I got your attention lets get on to the real Stuff 

The Bluebird was the poem that stuck out to me. To me the poem was about a person who had chose to keep his true self away from society, because he feared that he would be shamed by society. Society wanted him to be a  gritty, mean, scary tough guy, but in actually he is actually as gentle as a bluebird. The tone of the poem was pretty sad. 

Vivid and Versatile

Birds in nature are very versatile. They can be light, airy and joyous with canaries and swallows, or dark and brooding with crows and buzzards. Birds are often said to foreshadow something. Light melodies might signify love, and cawing might signify death. Birds can represent freedom, sorrow, love, anxiousness, or a myriad of other emotions. In Bukowski’s poem, the bluebird represents something in his heart he keeps a secret. The secret is burning to escape like a bird from a cage, but he keeps it locked up. In Oliver’s poem, the cardinal is depicted as a song-singing carefree creature, while the woman is seasoned with time and hardened. But even though she has hardened, she still has a song within in, much like the bird. In both these poems the birds represent something a human has, or wants. Both are locked up, and the imagery of a bird trying to escape a cage is vivid. 

The Birds and the Bees

In the second poem the author talks of a Blue Bird that wants to get out but he refuses to let it come out except for when no else is around at night. To me it seems like the man is hiding his true self from the world. He talks of how he uses all these things to hide himself away from the world, things like alcohol and smoking. I imagine this man hides himself from the world because he is afraid of what the world will say about him. He also sounds afraid that if he were to show his true self then his book would not sell well at all. This man is like so many others in the world, always afraid to show their true selves. These people are afraid of being laughed at and ridiculed for who they really are and they need to be like a bird and live their lives free without any care so that they can be who they really are and not just some person the world likes.

Chirp chirp

When I think of birds, I think of the Andy Griffith show episode where Opie kills a song bird with his sling shot. The idea of killing a crow is easy to palate and is done often. However, the killing of a song bird of any kind is strictly forbidden. They are of a more delicate form than crows or sparrows, and therefore should be taken care of by us humans. In the poem Bluebird, the bird likely represents the dreams or soft side of a man. He is burdened by life and shuts out that side of him through smoking and drinking. He wants it to come out, but fears the judgment of others if it were to. He keeps it to himself and lets it out at night so as to not forget about it. 

colorful birdies

Throughout literature, there's always a plethora of birds. They're different colors and shapes and kinds, but they usually all mean the same things. Some are gloom and doom birds while some are happy and carefree birds. It just matters the context and type of bird. In these two poems, the birds seem to be a figure for what's inside the writers. In the Bluebird, the bird is the spirit that he never let die, but hides away for a little bit at a time. In I Will Try, the bird symbolizes the spirit that the writer wants to let free, but feels they cannot.

Bluebird VS. Redbird

Birds are used for a lot of things and they also symbolize important things. For instance, the redbird symbolizes spiritual meaning for Christians. They symbolize everlasting vitality (the faith in the blood of Christ as the birds are red in color), Christmas (the birth of Christ) and they are also considered a creative force (the red color equals vitality and creativity). The Bluebird symbolizes happiness. Cultures around the world widely accept the bluebird as a symbol of cheerfulness, prosperity, wellness and new births. Since bluebirds can produce between two and four broods during the warmer months, they are associated with springtime and renewal. 

In the poem I will try, I believe that she is saying that she will try and spread the word of christ but sin keeps getting in the way and makes her doubt herself. In the end, she believes that God is still in control and that she hears God saying something to her.

In the poem Bluebird, I believe that there is a part of him that wants to be happy but he has to act tough to those around him. He has to put the things that aren't going to make him happy first. He only is happy and shares his true feelings with himself in the room where he knows no one is going to judge him.

birdz

Birds are used as symbols in so many children's books and works of literature. Why? Birds have a sense of freedom that really other animals don't have. They rule the earth and the sky. They have the will to travel and live as they please. No one is holding them back. They are even watched over and taken care of by God! The second poem really spoke to me. The poet talks of a bluebird in his heart. The bird symbolizes his ambitions and dreams that he won't let anyone know about. The bluebird is persistent in wanting to fly free and sing, but is suppressed by the man, cigarettes, and liquor. The poet is scared that if he lets the bird free, it will mess things up for him and maybe make things worse in different parts of his life. Him and the  bird spend some time together alone at night, which the author really enjoys. But, he isn't convinced or sure enough of himself to let the bird sing loudly for everyone to hear. It saddens him to the point of tears. It is really eye opening because imagine how different the world would be if everyone wasn't afraid to share their talent, desires, dreams, or ideas. Be bold. Fly free. Everyone is unique, which is something to be proud of.

Birds of a feather(and some without)

Birds are common  symbols in literature. Many people tend to write about things they’ve seen or experienced, and given how common birds are, it’s not surprising that they’re so popular. In addition to this, the different habits and appearances of birds means that they can be used to symbolize different things, so they can work with a lot of different themes, moods and subjects in writing.They can also be used as foreshadowing; a bluebird might indicate something happy happening soon, while a raven could foretell a death.

Birds of a Feather

I think different birds tend to take on different personas in literature. The bluebird and red bird mentioned in these poems are small and frail songbirds and tend to represent potential and innocence. Ravens and crows, like in Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven", have more of a foreboding and mystical aura around them. They are associated with witches and warlocks and tend to represent mystery, suspense, and an all seeing eye. Owls are considered wise and regal birds, tending to be the manifestations of great leaders and wise scholars (think Athena from Greek Mythology). Birds as a whole group are also associated with different ideas: freedom and carefree spirits. Poets and writers love the idea of birds because they are free to wander and are not tied down to any particular place or organization.

Make a Little Birdhouse in Your Soul

Birds are one of the most prevalent symbols in literature. The Finches are the main characters in To Kill a Mockingbird. Jane Eyre and The Awakening are filled with birds. Maya Angelou knows why the caged bird sings. This article explores why poets are so drawn to birds.

Here are two poem by contemporary American poets that use birds as a symbol of the inner life, of potential, of something hidden from the larger world.

What do these poems mean? What imagery and poetic techniques are used? What is the tone in each poem? You can also respond on a personal level to these poems or discuss the versatility of birds in literature.

I Will Try by Mary Oliver

I will try.
I will step from the house to see what I see
and hear and I will praise it.
I did not come into this world
to be comforted.
I come, like red bird, to sing.
But I'm not red bird, with his head-mop of flame
and the red triangle of his mouth
full of tongue and whistles,
but a woman whose love has vanished
who thinks now, too much, of roots
and the dark places
where everything is simply holding on.
But this too, I believe, is a place
where God is keeping watch
until we rise, and step forth again and--
but wait. Be still. Listen!
Is it red bird? Or something
inside myself, singing?

Bluebird by Charles Bukowski

there's a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I'm too tough for him,
I say, stay in there, I'm not going
to let anybody see
you.
there's a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I pour whiskey on him and inhale
cigarette smoke
and the whores and the bartenders
and the grocery clerks
never know that
he's
in there.

there's a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I'm too tough for him,
I say,
stay down, do you want to mess
me up?
you want to screw up the
works?
you want to blow my book sales in
Europe?
there's a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I'm too clever, I only let him out
at night sometimes
when everybody's asleep.
I say, I know that you're there,
so don't be
sad.
then I put him back,
but he's singing a little
in there, I haven't quite let him
die
and we sleep together like
that
with our
secret pact
and it's nice enough to
make a man
weep, but I don't
weep, do
you?

**********************************************

Responding to Bryson

“Seven… six… five…”

What happens when the irresistible force meets the immovable object? What happens when the irresistible force meets the immovable object? WHAT happens WHEN the IRRESTIBLE force MEETS the IMMOVALBE object?!?! There isn’t an answer. This sphinx thing is trying to trick me into answering a riddle that doesn’t have an answer and I’m gonna die before I even have a chance to save my friends from a similar fate.

“None of your friends were able to answer it; what makes you think that you are any better than them? They fought… and fought… so hard to think of an answer, but I got them before they could even utter a word.”

They fought… and fought… and fought…

What happens when the irresistible force meets the immovable object?

He surrenders.

“I surrender!” I scream waving my hands above my head. “I surrender; you won.”

The sphinx stopped in his tracks. “That’s it?”

“Uh… yeah. That’s it.”

The sphinx snarls and claws the ground. The snarl grows louder and louder till his growl reverberates throughout the whole ballfield. My legs feel like jello, and I can’t breathe. This is it. This is where I die. “How could!?!? No one’s ever… you got it RIGHT!”

The back wall of the dugout slides back to reveal the whitewashed hallways where I came from. I can barely believe my eyes. “Go!” the sphynx shouts. “Leave, before I decide to kill you anyway.”

He didn’t have to ask me twice. I bolted out the door and down the hallway, back towards Mr. Wick’s classroom. Surely he has a picture from November 29 that can transport me back to that day. I burst through the door of his classroom, only to find it in complete disarray. Photographs and files have been tossed around the room, desks overturned, posters torn from the wall.

Looks like I’m not the only person looking for a November 29^th photo.

I scan the floor for any picture or folder that might look useful, till I find one with a wide black streak across the front. Weird… I pick it up, and sheet of paper falls out onto the floor. It’s a letter… addressed to me. The date at the top says November the 29.

Dear Future Self,

Don’t come back.

Responding to Bry Guy

Oh gosh I had no idea what the answer may be. 

Three, two, one,

I gave it my best guess: "Nothing!" I screamed. It seemed to make since but I was not sure. 

The things vanished. I was once again in the classroom. What had happened? Did I get it right? My teacher instructed us to pull out our cameras and take a picture, the same as he had done when we first walked in. Once again I pulled out my pitiful camera and tried to take a picture of a butterfly. 

     What happened scared me more than anything else. The picture that came out was a message. It read "You are not deserving of time travel." "So what?" I thought. Maybe I am finally free of this trap. Next, the person next to me took a picture, and everything froze. I could only see, but not move. Some person began telling her that her camera was actually his. I wish I could have done something to stop it. 

Responding to Stephen

I take that back, some things were taking steps towards me. I could hear claws digging everywhere, and I felt eyes surround me at every turn. I was overwhelmed, what should I do? It's so dark..

Right then, a creature that resembled a deformed sphinx stepped in to the light. He spoke in a soft, deep voice, and he was British. "Why was he British?" I thought to myself.

"Answer this riddle, and you may live." He said with a slow grin. "Oh cheese balls i'm so bad at solving riddles! Why'd it have be riddles!" I screamed internally, but managed to nod yes at him.

"What happens when the irresistible force meets the immovable object?" He grinned again and moved even closer. "You have thirty seconds until your impending demise".

"Oh man, oh man", I yelled in my mind, "what could it be? Okay, don't panic. Think Riley, think hard.". Suddenly, I thought back to when I first entered the class, maybe something happened which could help me.. "The answer must be somewhere in my mind, I just have to look harder!", I thought with great intensity in my mind.

"Ten. Nine. Eight." The sphinx was moving closer, his sharp claws glimmering in the light.

"Oh man, time is running out.."

Responding to Garrison

"but just as I was about to travel with the camera I..."

heard a soft clicking sound, coming from inside one of the dugouts of the field...something WAS watching me.

I immediately withdrew from the dugout, retreating to center field.

I heard the sound of claws dragging along the dust...but nothing was there...

My heart was thudding in my chest.

More clicking, almost like a growl.

I stood frozen as I watched a large, razor sharp claw mark appear in the dust. then another, then another.

Something was taking steps toward me...

Responding to Hannah

I had to go back in time to save everyone. I had to go back to November 29, the worst day of my life, the day I had the worst freak out since returning from the war.

"I don't know if I can do this", I thought, "I don't know if I know how."

As soon as I had these thoughts a billion different pieces of information flew through my mind. After processing all of this at a miraculous pace I knew more than any human to ever live and I knew how to use the camera to travel back to November 29, but just as I was about to travel with the camera I...

Responding to Jordan

I watched myself walk onto the field with the men. I feel helpless and trapped outside of myself in this time lapse. I realized that this field was not a field at all. It was a test. When I saw myself reach for the butterfly photo again it was as if time froze. I walked on to the field and picked up the baseball. The second my finger touched the ball flashes of color swirled around me and I was filled with more knowledge than ever before. All of my uncertainty went away and I felt powerful. Words were flooding my mind saying "You are the resistor". This whole thing was a set up. My mind is filled with horrible images, terrible things have happened here on this field. My other classmates weren't in another class. They all died. They were killed by this system but for some reason I am different. For some reason I survived but part of me wishes I had died because now I know what I have to do.

Responding to Brooke

I slowly picked up the ball with one hand. I felt like I was in the hunger games...but obviously not because I could clearly see the whole baseball field.I saw that no one was watching me. So, I took out the butterfly picture from my pocket and touched it. I was back in the classroom. The door was about to open, the mysterious man was about to come in and speak to me again. I knew I couldn't go through that again, so I quickly hide behind a table in the back of the classroom. I saw in the distance the mysterious man talk to me, but it wasn't me.

 "I have to stop this once and for all, but the question is how?" I whispered to myself.

I saw myself walk out of the room with the mysterious man and I knew what was happening. I remember the mysterious man said something about being aware of the passage of time. I am now very aware of the passage of time.

"If only I could talk to someone who knew how to help me".

Responding to Rigg

Running my sweaty hands on my pants I felt something in my pocket. The butterfly picture. I must've slipped it into my pocket before following the man. I wondered if I could use it. I followed the men into the baseball arena. Why was there a lone baseball in the center of the field? The men approached cautiously. Then, grabbing my arm they pushed my towards the ball.

"Riley, we...we...," they were backing away from the ball and myself. "We are sorry...so so sorry..."

They turned and began to run from the ball and I center field. I heard one say to the other, "Do you think she'll make it?" The other man slowly shook his head as they disappeared out the door from which we entered.

I was frozen where I was and paralyzed with fear. With the butterfly photo in my pocket, I turned slowly towards the baseball lying next to me.

Responding To Grace

As i got closer and closer to the end of the hall it got colder and darker.  Starting to get a little weird, the men who were taking me kept getting more and more frantic in their speaking language.  i could see a dark light coming from the end of the hall. As we came from the end of the hall a single baseball was in this big big open room it was a baseball field. I don't know what i had got my self into.

responding to Tessy

After I finally decided to accept all of this, I held my head high and continued to walk with the Men in Black. I was a smidge disappointed that they weren't the real Men in Black because as a kid I admired them. Sadly, 'twas not the case. As we walked down the once well lit hall, it got darker, colder, and I was flooded with more and more uncertainty. The men seemed to be speaking in a different language, but I couldn't figure it out....so yet again, I was completely left in the dark both physically and mentally.

Responding to Nathan

The man blinked twice, staring down the empty hall. Suddenly his gaze snapped back to me.
"Don't trust them!" he whispered urgently, grabbing my shoulder forcefully. "This isn't the government you thought you knew!"
I cried as his fingernails dug deeper into my arm, sure that they would leave marks. I was about to shove him away, but suddenly he vanished. The hallway flickered once, twice, and suddenly it was the clean hallway I had walked through earlier.
Two men in suits stood before me, one talking into his earpiece.
"Ma'am, we found him. It worked. Bringing him in now."
I didn't struggle as the men pulled me down the hall. They had at least fifty pounds and plenty of inches on me. And something told me that guns lurked beneath their dark suits.
I could see no trace of the trash that had littered the hallway or the mysterious man. Had I blacked out for a moment? Fallen and hit my head? Imagined the whole thing?
But my head felt perfectly fine, and as the men pulled me away, I noticed a pinprick of blood on my sleeve where the stranger had grabbed my arm.

responding to indigo

I then looked up once again from he picture and I was back at the start of the day but there where two of me one walking in to class and me standing there looking puzzled in a daze I began to talk to Mr. Wick but he couldn't here me so I turned around and behind me was man who said "you need to fix the mistake that was made" he then vanished and I then began to ask myself what was the mistake.... 

Response to Kaitlyn

"Um... I've had this camera-thing with me. I-I mean, I think it's mine. But, I–yeah, I guess if you say it's yours..." I nervously began to hand over my polaroid to the strange man.

"No, Riley!" Mr. Wick shouted as he grabbed the polaroid from my hand. He quickly shot a photograph of the man and threw it into a large metal bin beside his desk. The bin closed and made a loud "THUMP." The man disappeared.

"That was a Time Bug. Don't EVER give this to one of them." He handed me back my camera.

"Excuse me... A time bug? Where am I?"

Mr. Wick looked around the room and then back in my direction. He went back to his desk at the front of the classroom and sat down.

I looked down at the photograph of the butterfly in my hand. Then I looked around the classroom and realized the Students and Watchers were frozen. I stood in stupor and looked back at the photograph...

Responding to Gabbi

The man had a feeling of dread surrounding him, as if he was some sort of evil being from another plane of existence. He motioned me to come closer, and despite my best judgements, I do as he wants. He leads me outside into the hall, but it isn't the hall I last saw. Littered around the hall were old papers, broken pencils, and chewed up erasers. He leans and whispers in my ear "Beware the passage of time."

Responding to Travis

My head began to spin. Why was I reliving the mast few minutes? I then remembered my coffee. I grabbed it, and looked at the girl who was enraged only moments ago. She was sitting quietly at her desk. What is happening? I looked at my camera and the picture of the butterfly. Was it the picture or the camera that made me go back in time? The "master" began to speak again; telling us directions that all ran into a huge mumble as I couldn't stop thinking about what had just happened to me. Was this all a dream? This is the first time this has ever happened to me. At least the girl wasn't mad at me anymore. The door to the classroom quickly opened as a tall man with a lengthy beard entered the room. The professor kept speaking and all the other students' attention was still on him. I was the only one to notice the mysterious character...

Responding to Travis

“Aw Jeez, not again…” I hear someone behind me say.

 I turn around and see a man wearing clothes that looked like something out of a cheesy sci-fi movie. I blink in surprise, was that man always there?

“Oh, um, hi. So you know that, uh, that camera thing you have? That’s um, that’s not a camera, it’s… Oh man, I really shouldn’t tell you but I’m already here and I’m gonna get in even more trouble if I don’t get back and… um anyway, that’s kind of mine? And I kind of need it o-or I’m going to get fired a-and my past self’s going to get fired and m-my future self’s going to get fired and t-then their gonna go back in time and f-fire me again and um, right getting to the point… I need that that time machine or the time police will be mad at me for losing it again. So, uh, c-could I have it? Please?”

Responding Match

I head back to my seat and sat down. A tall dark haired man with glasses walked into the room. The man turns to the class and introduces himself as Mr. Wick. "Welcome to photography 101, before we begin I'm not here to be your friend or your teacher. I'm simply the master of Photography and you all are my apprentices." He went on to say, "Now what I want everyone to do is take a picture of something in room." Like he said everyone pulled out their brand new digital cameras and started take pictures of things inside the classroom. I was hesitant to pullout my camera because it was an old Polaroid Camera. I started to have a panic attack, but I calmed myself down by counting to ten. As I looked around the room, I saw a butterfly by the window. I went over to the window and took a picture of it. Because my camera was so old it would print the picture immediately after the picture was taken. I went back to my desk, and sat down. I had a cup of coffee sitting on the corner of my desk. I realized had forgotten something in backpack, so when I went to grab it, I bumped my desk causing the coffee to spill all over the girl in front of me. The girl was enraged by what had happen, and I was about to have the biggest panic attack ever. Right before I explode, I touched the picture of the butterfly, and something strange had happen. I was now back over by the window taking the picture of the same butterfly. I said to myself, "Did I just time travel?"

Note: Time Travel is now a thing in this story - Travis 

P.S. Have fun 😏

Responding to Mrs. Carnes

The Watcher began to explain to me how all of the previous students had been selected over the break for a new experimental class. The class, if it worked, would replace the class I was currently in. He told me that they had lost my contact info and that is why I was not selected for the class with the rest of my fellow classmates.
I asked why the Watchers where different people and he told me that the Director thought it best to keep the same watchers with the chosen students to help them through this transition in their classes. He then continued to tell me how this new class could entirely remove the effects of PTSD and not just treat the symptoms like the class I was currently in. He informed me of how, if the class was successful, that I would be the next candidate in line to take it since they had screwed up and not included me in the first one. He finished his breathing and headed back into the classroom. I took another deep breath and counted to ten before following him inside.

Keep It Goin' 2: Electric Boogaloo

Here we go! And here are the rules.

1. No fan fiction. Short allusions are okay, but no narratives.No The Office allusions--I think we've drained that well.
2. No "it was just a dream!" realizations. This includes other similar conceits, such as "it was just the imaginings of an autistic boy looking at a snow globe!".
3. Accept the previous writer's premises.
4. Make it easy for someone to follow you--don't make the story too obscure.
5. Write at least one paragraph.
6. Language and scenarios should be school appropriate.
7. Be creative and have fun!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I walk into the classroom A324, eyes assaulted by the unnaturally bright light. It's my first time back since November 29. It's at once familiar and foreign: same smells, different seating arrangement, same core slogans on the wall posters, different people. None of these Watchers nor Students had been around on November 29--I'm the only one who came back. I take a deep breath and count to ten as I exhale.

"Riley Greenleaf?" I hear a voice from the back of the room. It's a red-haired Watcher, looking at me intently.

"Ah, yes. I'm Riley." I turned to face the Watcher.

"Let's go out in the hall. I need to prep you before we begin."

And just like that, I leave classroom A234 behind.