Nonfiction
New Avenues
I was looking at the opening page when signing out of Vocal, and that is when I decided to re-read some of the articles on working here on Vocal.com. I went to the old article about enhancing how to earn more here. I was happy just writing, reading, commenting, and even getting a few tips I wanted to find a way to 'enhance' more. So, I read about that we were allowed to suggest future challenges and found in the article where to make those suggestions and name two. I hope they read and accept them. To me: good ideas.
By Mark Graham6 months ago in Critique
System and Economy Failing
Have you heard yet? Not "The Struggle is Real" slogan but the new gregorian chants "The System is Failing" or "We (the citizens) are facing Economic Uncertainty" or "Panic is in the Air". I have. I see it on the news, I watch it on TikTok or Youtube or other channels. I hear it in the wind, the storms, and the voices that speak to the schizos. It's causing me so much anxiety I have no fingernails left to bite. I know I'm not the only one who is scared, but I think I get more upset than most people because I am so exhausted from having to move and migrate. I moved so many times in my childhood you may as well have called me a military brat. Then in my young adult life, it was as if my childhood was haunting me as history repeated time after time. I counted the addresses. Of over 20 residences where I stayed and called "home" for some period, I could only recall about 5 of the actual addresses. That's because those were the only 5 where I lived longer than 2 years. People asked me rudely and often "Why can't you stay with a job for longer than a year?" I would try to explain the disabilities that come with bipolar symptoms and schizophrenia. But it's more than that. I couldn't hold on to a job for a long time because none of the jobs that I had could afford the rent or the mortgage as they were defined. So what was the point? And I'm not alone in this sad epiphany. I didn't want to believe or tell others what they are discovering for themselves now: The System and The Economy are set up for you to Fail. That's shocking enough, but what's even worse? It's boomeranging back in a karmic cosmic explosion, and now the System is failing itself as the Economy is the worse I've seen it in 50 years.
By Shanon Angermeyer Norman7 months ago in Critique
On the Shame that Breeds Deviance
Formation You don’t survive shame. You become what it needs you to be. Not in one moment, and not in response to a single harm - but over time, through repetition, silence, and cultural enforcement. Through the slow redirection of instinct into obedience, of autonomy into performance, of natural impulses into strategic ones.
By Sevryn Camois7 months ago in Critique
If I Were To Publish An Exclusive Story
If I did, would you pay two dollars and ninety-nine cents to read my story? If you are Vocal+, you are already paying to read my work, and if you are not Vocal+, you have other, more pressing financial obligations.
By Mike Singleton 💜 Mikeydred 7 months ago in Critique
Tunisian Man Sentenced to Six Months in Jail for Refusing to Listen to President's Speech
In a development that has sparked serious concerns among human rights activists and international observers, a Tunisian citizen has been sentenced to six months in prison for refusing to listen to a televised speech by President Kais Saied. The unusual and controversial sentence, handed down by a local court, has once again brought Tunisia's declining state of freedom of expression under the spotlight.
By Ikram Ullah7 months ago in Critique
Diagrams of Sentences
I have an idea that could be many pieces of writing and art for I was reading and commenting on my notifications and other stories. While, scrolling through others works I stopped on one that brought back a very fond memory for me, although it is an odd one, but here goes. I am going to hunt for varied lengths of sentences and diagram them as artwork for some are very intricate almost like advanced math problems. The images will be the diagrams with a brief description. Some will be short and some very long. Please comment on this idea.
By Mark Graham7 months ago in Critique
🎼 Music: The Language That Speaks When Words Fail . AI-Generated.
Have you ever listened to a song and felt like it was telling your story—without a single word? Music is a universal language, but not in the way we usually think of language. It doesn’t rely on grammar or vocabulary. Instead, it uses rhythm, melody, harmony, and silence to speak directly to our emotions.
By The Yume Collective7 months ago in Critique
Mattress Firm . Content Warning.
Mattress Firm's "All Night Long" advertising campaign highlights what most of us have come to already know…People can suck! These commercials showcase the self-centered and self-serving society we have become. I do not blame or hold Lionel Richie responsible for the use of his song in these series of commercials. If anything he should take the fall for "The Simple Life" with his daughter and Paris Hilton.
By Clifford Kincaid7 months ago in Critique
Sustainability and it's relevance to long term success in the mobile computing industry.
Circa October 2013: The current generation of consumer electronics put an ever increasing amounts of integrated computer and radio network technologies into incredibly small and sophisticated packages. Mobile devices such as iPhones, Androids and tablet computers rely heavily upon modern battery technology built into small form factors to deliver the user experience to consumers. Despite the steady improvements in mobile computing power over the last half decade, there remains a substantial gap between the rate of evolution in technology in comparison to the capacities and efficiency of mobile battery components.
By Scott Cathery7 months ago in Critique
