Help Promote Citizen Diplomacy With Art

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Strength and dignity are her clothing...

Proverbs 31:25

Author's Note: I have been enjoined from sharing the details of my true romance adventure until such time that the other party is prepared to present her perspective on the affair arrangement...

On the second to last weekend of June, 2011, I had joined my fellow naturists at a gathering of the Naturist Society in rural Pennsylvania. The next day I left on a flight for Europe. By the end of the week I had unexpectedly met another naturist, a woman, who was destined to accompany me on a tour of Europe's great naturist resorts.

Though I felt fully formed as a writer, and had been trained in visual language, it was my first time with a professional camera in my hands. I was just learning the ins and outs and had come to Europe to find as diverse a selection of subject matter as possible, preferably something that fit my aesthetic devotion to promoting body acceptance. Enter Margo.

I was American. Freshly arrived in Europe and the new owner of a '97 Ford Escort made in Germany. The only thing I had to complain about was the fact that the owner's manual was in German. She was from Poland, and a German-language owner's manual for a car bought in Poland wasn't the only thing she had to complain about. Something as small as that didn't even register.

Margo and I spent over 40 days on the road. We started out as basically strangers, but in those 40 days we started listening to each other. We started teaching ourselves how to cooperate. Our journey across Europe may have ended, but our journey towards each other continues. No amount of fear, anger, sadness, disgust or anticipation can stop hope. Slowly but surely, we're learning how to beat the devils that abuse us.

One of Margo's pictures from our trip across Europe. — 6,000 miles across Europe with a complete stranger
**Day 36**
8/24/2011
⛺ 5༜♊²⁵/₂₄♀
NAT.CO
Collonges, France
THE DISAPPEARING WOMAN, THE DISAPPEARING MAN...
a collection of modern art prints and posters
During our trip across Europe, Margo very bravely opened up to me and to the camera. It was a difficult thing to do considering the scars that she carries. I wanted to share with the world her often joyful, often sad, often angry but always liberating experience except that the Internet is full of pictures of naked women and men and full of trolls who abuse them.
I realized that what I really need to point out is not the openness that Margo and I cultivated between ourselves, but the darkness that continues to surround us. When I censor nudity, I do so in a way that does not compromise the integrity of the human body. In censoring the photographs that Margo and I took during our trip, I was quick to notice that in those pictures where Margo was at her most open, at her most unguarded and most relaxed, in a word, when she was herself and basking in the sun I was forced to blacken her completely.
Why does our society drive people into darkness? Why can we not accept ourselves as we are? Why can we not accept our bodies? Have we truly become eunuchs? Or are we capable of defying the sickness that pits us against each other? Together we could conquer the devils that abuse us.
Whether you enjoy being nude or not, whether you've been photographed nude or not, but especially if, for you, like for Margo, it's something you never thought you would do, consider submitting your own photograph to be published in a censored manner as a form of protest against the ubiquitous presence of the human body on the internet, naked or not, that is published and duplicated ad infinitum without context and without regard for the identity or the needs of the individual being depicted.

Previous Image — 6,000 miles across Europe with a complete stranger
**Day 36**
8/24/2011
⛺ 5༜♊²⁵/₂₄♀
NAT.CO
Collonges, France
THE DISAPPEARING WOMAN, THE DISAPPEARING MAN...
a collection of modern art prints and posters
During our trip across Europe, Margo very bravely opened up to me and to the camera. It was a difficult thing to do considering the scars that she carries. I wanted to share with the world her often joyful, often sad, often angry but always liberating experience except that the Internet is full of pictures of naked women and men and full of trolls who abuse them.
I realized that what I really need to point out is not the openness that Margo and I cultivated between ourselves, but the darkness that continues to surround us. When I censor nudity, I do so in a way that does not compromise the integrity of the human body. In censoring the photographs that Margo and I took during our trip, I was quick to notice that in those pictures where Margo was at her most open, at her most unguarded and most relaxed, in a word, when she was herself and basking in the sun I was forced to blacken her completely.
Why does our society drive people into darkness? Why can we not accept ourselves as we are? Why can we not accept our bodies? Have we truly become eunuchs? Or are we capable of defying the sickness that pits us against each other? Together we could conquer the devils that abuse us.
Whether you enjoy being nude or not, whether you've been photographed nude or not, but especially if, for you, like for Margo, it's something you never thought you would do, consider submitting your own photograph to be published in a censored manner as a form of protest against the ubiquitous presence of the human body on the internet, naked or not, that is published and duplicated ad infinitum without context and without regard for the identity or the needs of the individual being depicted.

Usage of Rather in Michal's Fiction Corpus

Michal's Fiction Corpus of Acceptance Literature (FiCAL) is presented under the Bare Bottom imprint. It is currently comprised of six bodies of work, each representing a different pillar of culture and incorporating a wide variety of writhing styles.

If you're wondering...

How do I use this?

Just click on a title to see examples of the word "rather" being used in a particular work. You'll stay on the same spot on the page, only the Table of Contents will disappear. To get back to the Table of Contents just click next to the image of the Bare Bottom imprint where it says "Back to Usage of Rather: Table of Contents."“And...?”

The Table of Frequency and the Table of Collocation provide numerical information about how many times the word rather appears in its original or modified form and with which words. It can help to give you an idea of how a word is used and in what contexts.“Ok.”

Why a Fiction Corpus?

The popular understanding of the word "fiction" and its complement "non-fiction" is a reflection of the cultural influence of a classification system. The Dewey Decimal System is responsible for separating "fiction" from all other work and categorizing it by author's name. This has influenced the popular idea of fiction as a narrative that tends to be "untrue" and the product of an individual's fantasy, a bias compounded by modern art's century-long obsession with abstraction, surrealism and self-expression.“So...?”

My idea of fiction rests on the idea that art doesn't have to be factual to be a true reflection of our existence. Adam and Eve didn't have to exist as two individuals 700 generations ago for them to be true portraits of two human beings trying to work together.“And...?”

The Bible is a Fiction Corpus. It is a body of writing that isn't overly concerned with facts and yet its words carry weight. It was written by many different authors living in different places with different audiences in mind, yet everyone gleans something from it.“Right...”

In preparing my fiction corpus, I have striven to see the world through the eyes of others. Through the eyes of my Adams and Eves I hope that you too will glean some truth about our existence. At the very least you will learn some more about how one man can use the English language.“Ok.”

Who are you, Michal?

I'm just a guy who makes art. And if you're interested in making a solid investment in an aesthetic that supports our present and future welfare, then I will help you look for something that you can buy.“How...?”

Everybody makes. Everybody sells. Some people know how to protect their interests. Some better than others. Few people know how to listen. Listening to somebody means considering their interests as if they were your own. Going out and doing something to satisfy another person's interest is how we build a strong economy. Without a strong economy, democracy collapses.“And...?”

Buying 4Occupy is buying for democracy. Don't give your money to somebody who's ruining it. There's no such thing as cheap democracy, quick democracy, or easy democracy. There's good, solid, complete democracy and the tyranny of feudalism. Let's not mix the two. Let's not buy everything on the cheap. Let's not create another tyrant and enslave ourselves because it was easier not to think about what we were doing. Let's protect our interests. Let's listen.“Ok.”

Who's really behind this site?

Have you ever been to one of those post-it-yourself retail websites where there's a really attractive top-seller ready to give you tips on how you can be a top-seller too?“Uh...”

Have you ever been to a "job" interview where you sit in a line, walk through one door, get hired as a contractor and walk out another door, so that the other applicants don't realize that everyone's getting "hired" to work in the same market?“Maybe...”

The internet is full of people who are ready to exploit your ignorance. They are people who want to make money at the expense of our economy. They are cheats.“And...?”

I, Michal, am behind this site. Not some fat plutocrat exploiting my image. I like to do things the right way. I like to work with people who take the time to do things right.“Why...?”

I used to work for a company that didn't do things the right way. My labor was exploited because of mismanagement. That company was the United States Postal Service, an independent agency of the United States Government that is ultimately controlled by Congress. I'm mad because if the Federal Government can exploit labor, who is going to stop every other cheat from doing it?“Labor Unions...?”

Don't say labor unions. I went to my labor union and they did nothing. They ignored me because labor unions aren't democracies. Holding a free and fair election for a "representative" once in a blue moon does not equal people ruling. Democracy means open government. It means we the public need to accept the hard work. It's the only way to secure liberty and equality.“Ok.”

What's the difference between use and usage?

Definition-wise, not much. But the -age suffix is ultimately French in origin and with most things French, at least in American eyes, the immediate thought is that of something precious and arcane whose value should be judged very carefully. This is in contrast to the word France, which is associated with a beautiful place. Thus people in France or from France are beautiful, warm, kind people. Generous even. Unlike French people who suck. Unless you're frenching, in which case you're only sometimes sucking.“And...?”

Along those lines, usage means you're in bed. Use means you're just heavy petting. Also notice that common people, like common words, get used...whereas "proper" things make "appearances." Whether or not you are being exploited is a different story. Exploitation is what happens when somebody uses you or your property without listening to you. Listening is what happens when you consider another person's needs as if they were your own. You don't have to satisfy those needs. All you need to do is consider them. So many of us can't even do that.“So...?”

Help stop exploitation. Buy 4occupy. Buy a better world. Whether or not you feel you can afford to buy art, consider joining my protest. I want to guarantee every working man and every working mother on this planet a 15-day universal holiday. But I can't. Only we can do that. We have to work together. We have to accept the idea that everyone deserves time for himself and we need to build that time into a new kind of calendar. We have to give peace it's own day. We have to make love something you can't avoid. We have to make even the most miserly cold-hearted capitalist among us say that he cashed his check on Love Your Neighbor Day. There won't be any other way to say it once the Acceptance Calendar is widely adopted.“Ok.”

Back to Usage of Rather: Table of Contents

Rather, a morphological approach

I have yet to make a morphological analysis of the word rather.

That doesn't mean it's not high on my list.

Table of Frequency for the Word "Rather."
This table lists in descending order the total number of times that the word ratherand any of its morphological derivations appears in the Fiction Corpus, along with a breakdown of frequency by title, the respective rank of each word in the complete list of all words in the Corpus, as calculated both densely and competitively, as well as the percent increase in frequency of the word over the frequency of the next lowest rank in the complete list.
Percent Increase over next rank	RANK		WORD	Frequency
	RANK			TOTAL # of occurences	MCDONALDS	JESUS	SEX	TSIGA	JACKSON	DINGBATS
	dense	competitive		TOTAL # of occurences	modern/sloppy	biblical/terse	poetic/high-brow	hard/fast	talky	mixed salad
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
I have yet to publish the table of frequency for the word rather, but I will get to it shortly. -Michal

Back to Usage of Rather: Table of Contents

Usage of Rather in Death to McDonalds

An aerial view of Dodger Stadium in the foreground, with an imaginary partially submerged Los Angeles behind — A story bible for a comic book series set in a post climate-change California narrated by eight characters who live through a natural disaster that sinks Los Angeles and triggers a war with an expansionist Mexican government covertly supported by China.

Frame #2233

bieber - if mexico invades tonight dont wake me. id rather sleep in. if you see merill lynch then do what you do best. take all the credit.

JC Penney

19 August, 5:04 PM

Frame #1967

i cant keep leaving my gun in the car. sprint says dont be caught breaking in with a gun. judges dont like it. id rather be in jail than dead.

Justin Bieber

17 August, 1:15 PM

Frame #5786

im heading back. im scared just standing here. id rather be staring at half sunken downtown los angeles. at least that already happened.

Sprint "Iphone" Case

7 December, 12:13 PM

Frame #3391

which would i rather have. ten million. or my life

Chase Credit

5 September, 10:07 AM

Frame #3191

of all the unfair things to do. id rather ike were cheating. just when im low on cash. she goes and quits her job. without telling me.

Chase Credit

1 September, 7:40 PM

Back to Usage of Rather: Table of Contents

Usage of Rather in The Gospel of Jesus H.

A picture of the planet Mars — An experimental science fiction Christology that makes Jesus the hard boiled narrator of his own early years on a bizarro earth made dark by volcanic ash and informally ruled by a man from Mars who sells bottled air.

Letting the man go, I walked away to the bus station. In five minutes, I was on the next bus to Wroclaw, which wasn't heading to the main station (occupied as it was by terrorists) but rather to the northern station, on the Oder River, which suited me just fine.

– Verse 796 from the chapter called Adolescence

Money laundering didn't matter that much to me. Perhaps the others thought that we were out there looking for proof that the Krupniks were criminals - incriminating evidence to give the procuracy - but they were wrong. I was after Leonard Cohen-Krupnik's head, not his freedom. Besides, it would've been rather hypocritical of us to betray the Krupniks for crimes like that; we were guilty of laundering money too. We were working with stolen cash - somebody's life savings perhaps - who knows? The truth of the matter was: we needed more. Stalin was right. We were spending too much money too quickly. We required employment, and, unlike everybody else, we had no trouble finding it. Security was in high demand. Unfortunately, only the rich could afford us. Instead of working for people like the Krupniks, I told Stalin to work for something slightly less despicable, like the State, for example, or - even better - the Church.

– Verse 233 from the chapter called Security

"I was going to test you," said Jesus, "but I decided against it. It would've been rather impolite. I was going to say to you, 'Zoe, may Christ Buddha be praised.' Do you know what the good Catholic would've said?"

She shook her head.

– Verses 273-274 from the chapter called Security

"What's wrong with the ass? An ass is an ass," your father said. "Just pretend it's a girl's ass if you have to. Would you rather be getting it in the ass?"

– Verse 98 from the chapter called Security

"I'm sure, but you're not. You're gonna have to trust me," I said. We kept walking. "I mean: after all, you're engaged to be married. It seems rather natural to me; even the Catholic Church understands. I don't see why your father would ask you in the first place. It seems rather fishy - don't you think?"

– Verse 603 from the chapter called Bohemia

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Usage of Rather in Sex for Children

A drawing of a man between a woman's legs in front of another man in a hospital bed — A literature book narrated by a pair of siblings on either side of the Atlantic whose profoundly weird sexual experiences pose a serious challenge to their traditional understanding of mathematicians, marriage, gay young men and God.

Now there is a question: he may have returned because he was wanting, and of all the many attractions he had ever seen, Nike was trying to relocate the one that most appealed, or, on the other hand, he may have returned because he felt compelled, not by the calculus of his own pleasure, but by a deeper need incapable of description, which Nike could otherwise have ignored, but, having chosen to pursue, was finding himself made uncomfortable, perhaps by the very idea that he must be blindly compelled: in this case, not for any obvious reason, such as lust or curiosity, but by a reasonless reason: that is, Nike was aware that he was pursuing not a physical object (not the woman), but rather a status: the state of being near the woman, having the woman close to him. He was aware of this truth because he knew that if he were, in fact, successful at finding the woman, he would not know what to do with her. This terrified him.

– Title 3, Regarding a Dream, Chapter 3, The Third Day, Part 1, Family & Welfare Reform, Section 2, Understanding Physical Desire, Paragraph 4

I was driving in Nike's car; actually, I was being driven. Nike was driving and I was floating beside him. Sometimes, I came rather close to his face, especially when he turned right. But when he turned left, I was pressed against the passenger window. Apparently, in my dreams, centrifugal force can still control my consciousness. Even as he went over a bump, without hitting the roof, I would bob up and down - very strange.

– Title 3, Regarding a Dream, Chapter 3, The Third Day, Part 1, Family & Welfare Reform, Section 1, Relations Between Siblings, Paragraph 7

Mary for evening Mass. And so, with a 'Hey, ho!' and 'How resourceful!' off we went skipping across the square. My energy did not last however, and began to fail me sometime around the profession of faith, which I have enough trouble stumbling through without the lightness of head, or the German language for that matter. As you can imagine, when I wasn't sitting I was swaying, and by the prayers of the faithful my mind, still being rather airy, was having trouble reconciling the heaviness of my skull; my neck too had trouble coping, so that for every prayer I was, quite appropriately, hanging my head, but had to muster all my strength for the action of lifting it, which would send it catapulting back, not straight above my shoulders but quite behind them, at which point I would begin mouthing what I believed was the proper response, which, having gratefully ended, would promptly send my head bouncing back to its original position of blissful rest.

– Title 1, Regarding Peaches and Bananas, Part 2, Section 4, Meeting a Man in Austria, Paragraph 1, Clauses 3-7

Well, perhaps there are certain kinds of things, like athletes, where one may distinguish the best. But this concession does not extend to people qua people. It certainly doesn't apply to friends, for I have experienced betrayal, abandonment far too many times to question this judgment seriously. I know you must judge me rather bitter for saying all this.

– Title 1, Regarding Peaches and Bananas, Part 1, Section 1, Introduction, Paragraph 2, Clauses 1-4

On the other hand, I must not forget that I am sitting at the end of the private ward: most of the nearby patients are very rich people; they are probably educated; I'm sure that among them there is more than one pretender to a laurel crown; and together, they form a rather appreciative literary audience.

– Title 3, Regarding a Dream, Chapter 1, The First Day, Part 1, Victory & Calendar Reform, Section 3, Wondering, Paragraph 1, Clause 1

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Usage of Rather in Tsiga Tsiga Tsiga

Bullets whizzing by a statue of Nikola Tesla — A collection of stories featuring a sexy Parisian ghost, a spooky Moon base full of vagina-faced aliens, a policeman with an Irish name, a truck full of watermelons, a flautist, and a man who has to see another man about a diseased horse.

"We didn't stand a chance."

The woman shrugged. "Eef you look at di Uyghur peepul now, sumtaims you see dey haf di blont hair. We wur doink sumtink."

"I'd much rather be doing that kind of work. Wouldn't you agree, Clark?"

"I'm afraid I'm not very big on archeology." Shephard laughed.

– from “Two Dudes and a Chinese Desert,” a friendship story featuring a frank discussion of what to do with a smelly camel

"Never mind him," she said. "I'm more concerned with my father. He wants to marry me off. I'm not going to let him do it. Do you understand? I would rather live like a peasant in Greece with a man I love, than be sold to a prince for a pound of pennies."

– from “Italy Sucks and Has Sucked For A Long Time,” an adventure story featuring the American dream

Over the next few months of Ferrari's ultimately short life, he would wonder what was meant by that revelation. Was it the nature of her bedroom window she wished to relay or its location? "The glass," she had said, "is stained red after my name." Ferrari decided, having been dismissed rather coldly from her presence, it must have been the former.

– from “Italy Sucks and Has Sucked For A Long Time,” an adventure story featuring senseless destruction

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Usage of Rather in Sorry Ms. Jackson

Chiseled letters from an ancient stone tablet hanging on a wall — A real play. With drama in it. Talk fast. It takes two hours. Set in a guest house. In a small community. After a murder. Lots of suspicion. The characters learn to listen to each other. It's funny.

GREY GOOSE: Imprisonment: starvation: being pressed to death.

MS. JACKSON: Is that what awaits me, husband?

GREY GOOSE: No.

MS. JACKSON: Then what?

GREY GOOSE: You know what the penalty is.

MS. JACKSON: Homelessness? You think that if you burn my house down, I'll come live in your sty? Fool! I'd rather wander about the island cursing your name for the rest of my life.

GREY GOOSE: Do you know what I adore about fire? More than its color, its beauty, or its warmth? more than its light, its speed, or its age? more than the fear it brings to bug or beast? more than its purity? its fertility? its never-ending energy? or its ability to wander about the island endlessly seeking out its prey? More than all those things, I love its loyalty to itself: its obedience to nature. Oh, wife! When you know how to stoke her, she can be so perfectly predictable.

MS. JACKSON: Fletcher would never let you get away with it.

GREY GOOSE: He did once; why not twice?

MS. JACKSON: Fletcher!

– ACT I, lines 321-330

FLETCHER: (placing the towel on the table) I would rather you get the towel dirty than your clothes.

ALICE: Is that the reason?

FLETCHER: Have you thought of a better one?

ALICE: Not quite.

FLETCHER: I'm trying to ensure the efficacy of this massage.

ALICE: If you insist.

FLETCHER: Not so fast: do it slowly.

ALICE: Don't tease me. Turn around.

FLETCHER: Must I?

ALICE: You do.

– ACT I, lines 556-565

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Usage of Rather in Miscellaneous Dingbats

The title of the book at the end of a string of miscellaneous dingbats — A story book full of short fiction stories. An interesting bedtime mystery. A fairy tale. Science fiction romance. Adult life. Uninspiring gay fiction. Horror.

A small but considerable uproar followed reports of the accident. Some people unfairly blamed the drivers. Most blamed the postal service and the other guys for not adequately training their men. A handful blamed the professor. Everybody tried to blame the town. For the first time in a while it seemed like the town actually hadn't done anything wrong. No private person or business was willing to pay for sidewalks, with the one exception being the post office. Something Postmaster Steve pointed out rather tactlessly one day in the local paper.

– from “Wrong Again,” a success story to teach children about grown-up stuff that may or may not work

From the moment I got into Steve's car in Manhattan to the moment we reached Woodstock, Peter was constantly munching on some kind of vegan cracker. I don't remember if he was a vegan. I only remember the loudness of the munching, the maddening consistency of it and the ultimate reluctance on Peter's part to share any crackers, after giving up one or two of them to try, which passed from his hands as readily as a gold bar. I was told the crackers were meant to be Peter's main source of nutrition for I guess the entire trip. I offered him some of my own store to which he replied rather indignantly that he didn't eat processed food. I laughed. I told him to look at the bag he was holding. I doubted his chips had fallen naturally from a vegan chip plant. We got into an argument over the meaning of the word process which from my point of view he just didn't understand.

– from “Woodstock,” a life story based on true experiences, namely the author's

Nobody blamed the guy on 1 Update Street except for Mark. He tried to get the jerk to move his box. The jerk said he had a right to put his box on that side. Postmaster Steve agreed. He pointed out rather tactlessly that it wasn't even Mark's place to complain about it because he was a substitute. That was the end of Mark's illusion that his Magnificence might bring him anything beyond bragging rights.

– from “Wrong Again,” a success story to teach children about adults that may or may not work

"It wasn't easy. We didn't have a refrigerator. All I had was some cellophane from a piece of candy Reinhard bought me. By December twenty-fifth, that last bit of apple was completely black. It was covered in a fluffy mold. Reinhard didn't think I could swallow it. I proved him wrong."

Indiana said, "Courage triumphed rather than magic."

– from “St. Andrew's Eve,” a story of love that might ease one's sense of discomfort depending on your outlook

Management, rather than allow any rural route to permanently profit from this massive windfall of mail, decided it didn't have time to settle the issue immediately. Yet dictator Steve the Second somehow found time to drive out to Profile and Login every single day to personally deliver one woman's mail. Until he could hire and train a temp to do it for him.

The rural union filed a grievance. Of course a month was not enough time to arbitrate a local matter. Not with the National Mail Count on the horizon. There were grievances all over.

– from “Wrong Again,” a success story that represents things that have actually happened, though the details are fictional

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Collocation of Rather in the Fiction Corpus

Table of Collocation for the Word "Rather."
This table lists in descending order of frequency a selection of word pairs that appear in the Fiction Corpus and groups them according to the morphological derivation of the word rather that appears in the pair.
Type	Frequency
	TOTAL # of occurences	MCDONALDS	JESUS	SEX	TSIGA	JACKSON	DINGBATS
	TOTAL # of occurences	modern/sloppy	biblical/terse	poetic/high-brow	hard/fast	talky	mixed salad
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
I have yet to perform a collocation analysis of "rather." I hope I can get it done sometime soon. -Michal