sound noise

No, my opinion isn’t any more valid than the beat reporter or columnist; I was a 25-year old liberal arts major whose only print journalism / sportswriting experience was a stint on the high school newspaper. That’s not why I write what I write …and he heard a familiar female voice. “Is it Don?” Colby asked, on the bed behind him. Charlie shook his head. “Megan,” he explained, but before he had the chance to actually talk to her, Colby grabbed his hand to take him back… On May the seventh, I will go to the studio and there will be scenes that no one has ever seen and we will shoot them that day and they will rush them to LA and they will cut them and those will be the final moments of the season. But this conversation leads me to consider a long term strategy. Our work should take serious consideration of thought and discussion within this arena. We can’t rush the ending …the last thing he sees - his lover, friend, soulmate - rushing forward, eyes going wide, as the blade slides into his body… You woke up screaming. Just listen to my voice, you're okay.

They say your abilities exceed those of all others, and even that no one had ever been as strong as you were, but they say you can barely stand the loneliness. Okay. So, you allowed my brother to lower your car about 1.5 inches, maybe 2—he was the only one, wasn't he?—and then the noise started. It sounds like metal on metal, a noise like powerful squeaking. Since none of us have ever heard anything like it, except from our forays into the realms of hard rock, I had no idea what we were listening to. When you drove up, I assumed it was one of those noise albums you’ve been listening to, like that EP, looped power lines, but the failed brakes and removed steering column proved me wrong.

It's safe to assume that if you invest in one brand-new appliance for the move, make it the vacuum cleaner. Get one with a filter. If you can get one from a family member or at a yard sale that works, great, but this is probably the most important cleaning apparatus in EVERY society on earth. When Christian based morals are cast aside, crime and violence has ALWAYS filled the ‘vacuum’. This is NOT UNREALISTIC FANTASY! I lived in that happy time without the choking influence of the state in every aspect of life. Personally, I have always felt my voice is better speaking than silent. The one time I did participate in the Day of Silence was my junior year in College. On that day my class “Gender, Sexuality, and African American Communities” was not meeting. While the church has been mostly silent on the subject of sex, the world and the devil have attempted to make it their domain. The church has rightly proclaimed biblical prohibitions on the misuse of sex, but it has failed to speak out. When I say the mantra syllable inside my head, this is the voice that gives it a thought and sound. This mental track can also be silent, when I'm imagining a picture, scene, or shape I am doing so on the same level of my mind.

Sound Noise

A witness to evil, a voice for the silent, and a timeless symbol of resolve now sings to us across the decades. The editors of TIME played your voice for me, singing an old song, adding annotations, photos, maps, and quotations. You sang without the instruments you loved, without anyone else's vocals to cover yours. They played your voice and you sounded so beautiful; everything that you were, captured and summed up. I cleared the supper dishes, wiped down the table, swept under the table, put away food, made lunches for those who took a lunch, dried and put away dishes, set the table for breakfast, and wiped down the dish drainer, counter tops, and stove. Close your eyes (oh yes, and sit down first), take in a couple of breaths and feel yourself start to slow down. Ask your intuition a question – it can be about where to move, what direction to take in your new life or whether you really, after more than four decades, have an independent voice?

Advocating for conservation, historic preservation, responsible growth and much more died on Saturday, leaving a silent void in the dark below. I squeezed my eyes shut; but your voice went on, every word seeming to drill into me. “We must leave the Apiary tonight, and go into the West,” said the voice. “And if our hearts are true, the voice of silence … the voice of silence will speak in stones.” Love, Love is real, and there are no longer dreams. Love is a dream, and there is no longer reality. The law of non-contradiction is a contradiction. Is there a way of getting this silent voice to wake me up tomorrow morning?

When you got up and went to vacuum out your car, I didn't go help you because there were HORNETS in the garage and that is not cool. When your mom came over though, I helped her make dinner, and then your dad came over, too. It would be interesting to test out this practice in the face of the current recession, when high gas prices have quieted the streets by a decibel or two and reduced the number of restaurant-goers. Noise costs us in terms of health, but you were soooo into music, beyond what was typical of our peers. I guessed you were seeking sensory sound. Noise. We craved noise as we progressed through Occupational Therapy, until we became Sensory Defensive. You’d put your fingers in your ears. A silent protest! You said, “Yes, I'm protesting the political process in this country of ours and my voice shall only be heard in the pages of my journal! After Bush stole the election from Gore, I decided not to vote in an election until I could create a vacuum that sucks in people with principles who have a strong wish to help others.”

Power trippers, those who use bluff, bluster, threats or power to get their own way at home and work, can sense fear or sorcery. My version of the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly is not very good. You and your compadres get into lots of drawn out duels before you finally get down to business. You seem to have the ability to move forward after your moment in the sun. Some though... like that guy who discovered the band Rush twenty-five years ago, he apparently decided that very day that he would play them so loud as to eventually cause a permanent loss of hearing. He is much too noisy and much too high, an exposition drawn out to about eighty-five sounds beyond the range of normal conversation. Measured for a level of moderate noise, a simple system can be an effective expander, where the threshold of sound is set by first analysing a section of noise. For this reason it’s best not to clean up your originals. This is the shape of the impression of each repetition of the mantra syllable. These string together in my mind, as if there was a nickel 10 feet in diameter and one foot thick, bouncing and rolling down a straight path on a grey sphere.

Why am I silent on the issue of local authority? Do I have any grounds to criticize? Remember when we noticed that there were some civic organizations made for protest? I replied to all your questions, my friend. The first time you played my new instrument, you didn't want to leave it. I always wondered what it was that makes that noise, you said, let me take it home with me. To date the noise of my truck hadn't bothered you, but today it did. Again, you tried to high tail it out of here. Again I was able to change your mind and you came back. You sat in my lap right next to the truck while I massaged you and then I went inside to wash dishes for 10 minutes. You discovered that the vacuum cleaner was full and you left me inside while you ran outside to empty it. You came back inside to discover me sitting on the bench, tearing up teabags and sprinkling the contents everywhere. Go vacuum, then take a break and have a snack, maybe lie down for half an hour. I’ll do some more dishes, take out the trash, dust and polish, get a drink... I feel more productive this way. So, the floors are vacuumed once again today and ready to be mopped once I get lunch done and we’ll go outside for playtime then down for nap. But, for the record, we’re both pretty glad the vacuum beast is back in its cave for the moment. Sitting at our kitchen table about six years ago, we both asked each other, simultaneously, “What if we could split the wind blowing over a roof and create a vacuum to suck the roof down, instead of up?”

NōD 8 Launch Party!!!

If you happen to be in Calgary, this sounds like a good Launch Party. I look forward to seeing the issue - it's got some pieces of mine from Lip Service in there.


NōD 8 Launch Party!!!

Thursday, June 12

7-10pm @ Weeds Café:

903-20th Ave NW


NōD is pleased to announce the release of its eighth issue! Issue 8 (viral themed) is set to release Thursday, June 12. So come, celebrate with us: enjoy the food and drink, listen to some great readers and buy a magazine! Issue 8 promises to be another fantastic installment in the NōD saga; the NōD 8 Launch Party would be a shame to miss.

Music By:
A Chalkboard
Readings by:
Christian Bok
Meghan Doraty
ryan fitzpatrick
Kim Tan-MacNeill
Michael Yip
Emily Chin


The event starts at 7pm - come by & buy a magazine and tea or coffee! Music by A Chalkboard at 7:30, and readings will start at 8pm.


Spread the word and see you soon!


NōD Magazine
Department of English, University of Calgary
2500 University Drive N.W.
Calgary, AB
T2T 1N4