Here's what I think about lingering

Do you have vivid dreams before you die?

Australian Kiwi

Will we never learn?

This cartoon, which was published in Britain just after the Treaty of Versailles was signed at the end of the first world war, has always struck a cord with me. It shows the leaders of the countries who were involved in signing the so called 'peace treaty' - France, Great Britain, Italy and the U.S.A. - walking away, their hats doffed to the future dead. Clemencaeu, the leader of France, has the walking stick and glances over his shoulder and the caption down the bottom is his words: 'Curious! I seem to hear a child weeping.' A weeping child is shown behind a post with the caption '1940 Class' above his head and a copy of the 'peace treaty' at his feet. He represents the young men who will be old enough for conscription in 1940, when the cartoonist predicts another war will break out due to the horrendous terms of the treaty. As we all know, this cartoon proved only too accurate.

This cartoon has always struck a chord within me, I don't really know why. Maybe because it seems so timeless. Think about it, this cartoon was published over eighty years ago and we continue to wage wars at the expense of the best and brightest in society: our young. Both world wars, Vietnam, Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan... for what? Dead bodies and grieving families seems to be all we've gotten back from every war we've ever fought. Say the child in the cartoon is anywhere between two and five, by 1940 he will be anywhere between twenty-two and twenty-five, old enough for conscription or - God forbid! - willing enlistment! Now, I'm not having a go at the soldiers, I have the utmost respect for the men and women who brave, and have braved, the front lines, but I want to know what positives come out of a war. I can't see many: post-traumatic stress, depression, anxiety disorders, drug and alcohol abuse and, the fate of many, suicide, are not positives things. Also, how many men and women come back from the front lines in coffins? A military funeral doesn't change the fact that they're dead or bring them back to their grieving families. Have a look at the cartoon again, look at it, have a really long, hard look and then try and answer this question: Will we never learn?

Australian Kiwi

The Coma Patient

Don't ask me what this one is, again just a random photoshopped image. These images, by the way, all belong to different people. I own nothing except the way I put them together. This one shows a woman in a coma as she dreams. She sees herself wrapped in plastic, representing being trapped in her own head, and drowning in the ocean, representing being unable to do anything about her situation.

Australian Kiwi

My Reflection

This has nothing to do with any of my fan-fiction (although, if you've seen my 'Lile through the ages' banner you will recognize the girl I used). I was mucking around on Photoshop and designed this image. It's full title is 'My reflection used to be so much clearer'.

The girl on the right of the page is looking at her reflection on the left of the page. The reflection is fuzzy and blurred, meaning that the girl on the right isn't sure of what she sees. Or, maybe she doesn't want to believe what she is seeing? Regardless, neither she nor the viewer can see the reflection clearly. She has been hiding something (depression? An eating disorder? Self-esteem issues?) for so long that she has forgotten what she really looks like.

The shooting star in the background flies past, giving her a brief moment of light or the chance to make a wish. What will she wish for?

This picture can relate to all of us. We all have our secrets and some of us have really big secrets. We need to be careful that we don't let our secrets take over and, when a moment of light of the chance to make a wish comes, we must grab it before it falls below the horizon and leaves us alone in the night.

Australian Kiwi

Do you know me?

Hi all! Do you know me? Maybe you do, maybe you don't. Well, for those who don't, I'm Australian Kiwi! Welcome to my blog!

I'm an aspiring writer and am working on a novel set pre, during and post World War One following the story of a nurse and a soldier. When I'm not working on my novel I write fan-fiction and you can find me over at fan-fiction.net. My pen name is jewelsbyers and I write fan-fiction for Twilight. Yes, I know that a lot of people think Twilight is old news, but I really like it. If you want to read some of my fanfiction head over to my other blog here: http://jewelsbyersffcentral.blogspot.com/ and you can follow the links to some of the stuff I write.

OK, I'm going to stop writing now and hopefully I'll get some more stuff up during the week. Also, I'm a very random person, so some of the stuff I put up here might be really weird! Bear with me, I make sense eventually.

See ya,

Australian Kiwi