Help Raise Self-Esteem 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...

When I arrived in Europe on the 20th of June, 2011, I had no plan and certainly no idea that by the end of the week I would be practicing photography with a woman I had never met, a naturist who had never before allowed herself to be photographed nude. It was the first of a whole series of firsts for the both of us.

I had come to Europe to document people practicing naturism. Preliminary arrangements had been made to meet with an Egyptian nudist visiting the Continent and there was some kind of Pan-European gathering scheduled to take place in Croatia. I had arranged for an assistant to come along with me to help with anything I needed, but when her passport was stolen the night before we were supposed to leave, my plans went awry. I decided on something less ambitious. I would visit a naturist sauna in the city of Bielsko-Biala, Poland which I had just found on the internet. When I got there, I met Margo.

I was from America, land of the free...home of the brave. She carried the weight of Old Europe...domestic and religious poverties...stifled creativity. Anger. Sadness. Yearning.

6,000 miles. One car. One tent. We started learning how to listen. We started learning how to open up. We started cooperating. Even when we were angry, even when it was so difficult that it didn't seem like it would turn out well, we stuck it out. We completed the trip and we came back happy. We had beaten the devil on the road. Back home more devils were waiting to abuse us. More anger. More fear. More sadness. This time we were prepared. This time we had each other and we could harken back to the joy and the trust and the suprise that 6,000 miles had created. We could remember what it was like to live in one tent.

One of Margo's pictures from our trip across Europe. — 6,000 miles across Europe with a complete stranger
**Day 16**
8/4/2011
⚖ 15༛♊²⁵/₂₄♀
Camping Club Léman
Préverenges, Switzerland
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 16**
8/4/2011
⚖ 15༛♊²⁵/₂₄♀
Camping Club Léman
Préverenges, Switzerland
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.

Definition of Hills

I have yet to publish the definition of hills.

I'm sure it won't take too long.

Common use of hills in illustrative example sentences

If you see water, you better start running for the hills.
Audio of me saying the sentence:
The area around Trzebnica is full of beautiful hills.
Audio of me saying the sentence:
I have yet to come up with a third sentence using the word hills.
Audio of me saying the sentence:
I have yet to come up with a fourth sentence using the word hills.
Audio of me saying the sentence:
I have yet to come up with a fifth sentence using the word hills.
Audio of me saying the sentence:
I have yet to come up with a sixth sentence using the word hills.
Audio of me saying the sentence:
I have yet to come up with a seventh sentence using the word hills.
Audio of me saying the sentence:

Usage of Hills 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 "hills" 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 Hills: Table of Contents."“And...?”

The Table of Frequency and the Table of Collocation provide numerical information about how many times the word hills 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 Hills: Table of Contents

Hills, a morphological approach

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

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

Table of Frequency for the Word "Hills."
This table lists in descending order the total number of times that the word hillsand 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 hills, but I will get to it shortly. -Michal

Back to Usage of Hills: Table of Contents

Usage of Hills 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 #5690

the reefs arent reefs. theyre the baldwin hills.

Sprint "Iphone" Case

6 December, 11:18 AM

Frame #3026

im almost at the hills. i cant believe i made it. mcdonalds must not want to open fire until he knows whats going on.

Chase Credit

29 August, 3:44 AM

Frame #1852

weve driven back and forth on a two.mile stretch east of the hills. weve seen lots of fogokking. but no apple.

JC Penney

16 August, 6:06 AM

Frame #2939

twitter's new friend is some kind of geologist. he knows the area. he says the singing sand is slowly shifting west. into the hills.

Chase Credit

28 August, 4:38 PM

Frame #5484

im heading south. around the city of rolling hills.

Sprint "Iphone" Case

23 November, 10:56 AM

Back to Usage of Hills: Table of Contents

Usage of Hills 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.

Sundown approached. The drive back home to Treblinka was beautiful, even though a bit uncomfortable, thanks to the Polish Fiat. That was a very, very small car - good for enjoying the landscape, if you didn't mind bobbing up and down for the whole trip (and sometimes hitting your head). At least there were no hills: going uphill, you could seriously outrun the thing, not to mention outwalk it.

– Verse 61 from the chapter called Bohemia

In those days, America was everywhere: in your eyes, in your ears, your nose, your mouth, your hair. You could smell it, taste it, brush it away with your hands - but it kept coming back. It was under your fingernails, lodged permanently between your toes, your legs, your buttcrack. Everywhere you went, you felt it. Walking down the street, you felt it. Everywhere you went, you found it. Getting off the bus, you found it: there it was! right there: in front of you: next to you and above you - always out of reach, like a dirty cloud. If you went to the store, you found it. If you went shopping, you found it. The shelves were never empty. If you went to the woods, you found it. If you went to the hills, you found it: America! the beautiful! Amber waves of grain! Purple mountains' majesty! Majestic, purple skies! filled with mountains! The haze! Once-fruited plain! Dizzy, dizzy, dizzy! The fox-trot! The twist!

– Verse 76 from the chapter called Childhood

"We survived how many regimes? Countless regimes from either side: we did it by sticking to our farms, Jesus, by keeping our heads up at the plough, by never letting go. That's how we survived. That's how the Old Republic lived on: in the hearts and minds of ploughmen. When you're in the hills, Jesus, men still use horses: machines would tip over. But those men are small farmers, Jesus - not big. Now what's happening? The climate's changed? All of a sudden, we can make it big on the world market? Sure, but let's not kill a way of life. Let's keep the good. You think these people around here want to be my friends? My neighbors? No: of course not! But: back in the day, we had business with each other: that's what makes for a community. And now what? There's no business: who could give a rat's ass what you do or who you are?

– Verse 303 from the chapter called Adolescence

Back to Usage of Hills: Table of Contents

Usage of Hills 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.

So who is this Luka? Is he trying to live a dream? And who is this new friend of his? Who is Nike to be entering a partnership? Doesn't he worry about destroying dreams? Don't they both know that yeomanry's been dead or dying? Yeomen live on the hillsides only. For their own sakes, they dare not ply their trade on the plains of Europe. For we have consolidated agriculture, and, if Luka isn't careful, he'll become just another vīlicus: a slave to Nike or the next man who comes to control the revenue. But I wanted to save him. I wanted to ask Nike what the nature of this operation was. I wanted to know whether Luka were patronizing him: providing him with a cheap supply in exchange for percentage. But of course, naturally: Nike was in complete control. He led the conversation elsewhere.

– Title 3, Regarding a Dream, Chapter 2, The Second Day, Part 1, Labor & Economic Reform, Section 7, Being Pessimistic, Paragraph 2

So I ran: across the puddles of the road, along the sidewalk where the herringbone, undulating its miniature landscape of brick, now formed a miniature world of lakes and hills where my foot found its familiar patterns. I, leaping with irregular steps, passed those buildings which not so long ago were fresh in my experience, shuffling past the unconcerned remains of undergraduates - some wet behind the ears, some colleagues from not so long ago - but all now unfamiliar, threatening too from within their institutional shelter, so I had to avoid their faces, and hid my own as much from their imaginary judgment as from the now pelting rain, for I had neglected to bring an umbrella.

– Title 1, Regarding Peaches and Bananas, Part 2, Section 1, Visiting Old Colleagues, Paragraph 3

He will be driven back down; he will run to his bedroom, and, looking out his western window, he will see the red horizon; he will see the sun spreading its arms across the foothills. He will say "Good evening," and he will try everything to welcome his unexpected guest. He will place her in the most comfortable bedroom, with the best view; he will tell her to unpack her bags and come down for dinner. At table, he'll be enamored. He will wonder at this beautiful creature. He will want to ask her many questions, but knowing this impolite, he will restrict himself to the most important ones. He will ask her if Happiness be her real name. She will look up at him and smile. She will say, "No, people call me Happiness. But my real name is Joy."

– Title 3, Regarding a Dream, Chapter 1, The First Day, Part 1, Victory & Calendar Reform, Section 1, Cancer, Paragraph 1, Clauses 9-19

Back to Usage of Hills: Table of Contents

Usage of Hills 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.

One day, Tae realized a woman was crying in Kwon's tent. He crossed his friend's field. He peered through the entrance. He could see Kwon consoling Do. Tae made a sound. Kwon came outside. He frowned. He said, "Do went for a walk in the hills. She caught Hong with Kong."

Tae's eyes went wild. "The boy?" Kwon nodded. "The old man?" Kwon nodded. "They were?" Kwon nodded. Tae laughed. "Six men. Six women. I guess they're lucky to have each other."

– from “How Tae & Bo Took Over the World and Kung & Fu Didn't,” an apocryphal bible story featuring a bunch of convicts

Gog continued the journey. He encountered a large salt lake [e.g. Lake Urmia]. The settlements along its eastern shores had recently felt Sargon's wrath. "They breed horses here," said the men. "There is good pasture. If we stay here, we can raid the plains and roam the hills at our leisure."

– from “In the Beginning, There was Gog,” a fantasy story about an ancient tribe

Gog sympathized with them. If the armies of Rusas were helpless against Sargon, what chance did he have? He allowed his chiefs to decide their own fates. Many chose, despite their qualms, to continue.

They marched southeast. They skirted the kingdom of Rusas. In the hills, they encountered a people named the Hayk. Their speech was almost intelligible. They said their king was named Bagadatti.

– from “In the Beginning, There was Gog,” a fantasy story set in the middle east

Sammy D stepped in front of young Ms. Davis Granville. She poked the black rubber into her belly. It crept slowly down to the dardanelles. It insinuated itself into the soft hillsides. The hard edge pressed up and out. It tipped the bird's nest. Davis fluttered in her denim jeans.

Sammy D grinned. She brought the instrument up to the woman's chin. She pushed it up. Davis yielded. Her lips presented themselves. Sammy D slowly encroached. Their breaths mingled.

– from “A Horse Named Clutch Bag,” an inspiring story featuring annoying people

"What about the rest?" Kwon gestured towards the ship. "Have they defrosted?"

Do nodded. "You can see three of them in front of the ramp: there's a boy named Kong, a girl named Jing, and an old man named Hong."

"They're pointing in the direction of the hills," said Tae. "They must like higher ground."

Kwon scoffed. "That doesn't sound like Hong. He's a kleptocrat."

– from “How Tae & Bo Took Over the World and Kung & Fu Didn't,” an apocryphal bible story about a bunch of people who start a civilization

Back to Usage of Hills: Table of Contents

Usage of Hills 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.

"Hills" does not make an appearance in Sorry Miss Jackson.

- Michal Slaby

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Usage of Hills 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.

"Hills" does not make an appearance in Miscellaneous Dingbats

- Michal Slaby

Back to Usage of Hills: Table of Contents

Collocation of Hills in the Fiction Corpus

Table of Collocation for the Word "Hills."
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 hills 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 "hills." I hope I can get it done sometime soon. -Michal