o b l i v i o n - - . . . . - - - . - . . . - . - . . . - . . - n o i v i l b o I s s u e 6 S u m m e r - 1 9 9 7 "just doin' it for the cause!" ------- --- - - ------ - - ------ ---- --- - ------ --- ------- - - -- - - --- ------- ---- -- --- - --- ----- ---- - ---- ----- -- ---- --- - --- Contents - - ---- -- - ------- - -- ---- - Oblivion Speaks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wheeler U.S. News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jestapher World News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jestapher YouthSpeak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Avi Hein Are You Any Better? . . . . . . . . . . . . Trippy Kid Legislative Update . . . . . . . . . . . . Matt Walcoff Protesting the Curfew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . das Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . you, the reader Blocking Software . . . . . . . . . . . Eric P. Anderson Reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jestapher Keep Your Graduation . . . . . . . . . . . . Jestapher ------- --- - - ------ - - ------ ---- --- - ------ --- ------- - - -- - - --- ------- ---- -- --- - --- ----- ---- - ---- ----- -- ---- --- - --- Oblivion Speaks Wheeler - - ---- -- - ------- Well all, it's been a while since our last update. Let me explain. No, we weren't too busy picketing the atrocities that are happening under our noses in South America. No, my mother didn't take the car away and refuse to drive us to Kinkos. No... We were just kinda lazy. In a conversation between a guy named Tommer and Jestapher, Tommer asked, "When is the next issue coming out?" "Spring," Jestapher replied. Tommer looked confused. "It is Spring." "Really?" Jestapher asked. We are coming ever so closer to having the oblivion.net box up. One of these days, while on the Oblivion site, you may be accessing it on its own dedicated server. How will this affect you? Well, it won't really. But we think it's kinda cool. Who knows? It might have a new header graphic. If you're a writer, you'll get your own shell account though! So, although we're a little late, we're a little bigger. This issue is a whopping 24 pages long. We are also welcoming a new staff member aboard. Everyone, please welcome Pueblo Orosco, our new intern. He'll be helping out behind the scenes. So enjoy. Here's a funny story. One day last week, Nemomancer, Jestapher and I decided to head out to the local blueberry farm to pick berries and make some cash for printing. Well, here we are in the middle of a blueberry field at 10AM, picking blueberries and having the time of our life. We were telling jokes, doing impressions, making fun of all the other blueberry pickers, and occasionally having small blueberry fights. After an hour and a half, Jestapher is the first to fill the giant pail we each have. He takes it to the old man for weighing. "Twelve and a quarter pounds." Wait, we're making twenty cents a pound. Jestapher's hour and a half of picking berries netted us $2.45. We suddenly knew what migrant farm workers felt like. We decided to finish our buckets and leave. Before we were finished, some angry kid walked up to me, from somewhere in the vast nothingness of the berry field and said "Gimme my bucket back." I assured him that I didn't know what he was talking about and that I hadn't seen his bucket. He insisted that someone had stolen his bucket of blueberries, but after a while, he left and we made fun of him. "Hey, wanna go steal that kid's bucket?" We took our buckets to the old man for weighing. About twelve pounds each, wow. He wrote it down in his notebook. We stood around. "Ask him about our money," Jestapher whispered to Nemomancer. Nemomancer asked, and the old man said "Friday is payday." Just our luck, we have to come back to this evil place to collect our $10. The funny thing is, we never went back to that blueberry field, and we never collected our money. ------- --- - - ------ - - ------ ---- --- - ------ --- ------- - - -- - - --- ------- ---- -- --- - --- ----- ---- - ---- ----- -- ---- --- - --- U.S. News Jestapher - - ---- -- - ------- July 6, 1997 Little River, AL Five white teenagers have been charged with setting a fire that destroyed a black church. The FBI said some of the suspects attended a Ku Klux Klan rally a couple of days before the fire. If convicted, the suspects could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. - -- ---- - June 27, 1997 Oklahoma City, OK An Oklahoma judge has ruled that the 1979 Oscar-winning German film "The Tin Drum" is obscene under state laws. Police have seized the film from the local library and six video stores. They went to the homes of three people who had rented the film and asked them to hand over the tapes. The movie is an adaptation of a Gunter Grass novel about a young boy growing up in Nazi Germany. It includes a scene where the boy, aged about eight, performs oral sex on a teenage girl. - -- ---- - June 26, 1997 Quincy, MA "Jim," a 32-year-old deputy sheriff for Norfolk County, spent seven months posing as a 19-year-old Quincy High School senior and got enough evidence to arrest 17 teens on drug charges. - -- ---- - June 26, 1997 New York, NY A recent study shows that most adult Americans have negative views of teenagers, as if we couldn't have told you. Only 37 percent of adults believe today's children, once they become adults, will make the United States a better place. Two-thirds used such adjectives as "rude," "irresponsible" and "wild," to describe teenagers. More than 6 in 10 believe young people failed to learn moral values such as honesty, responsibility and respect. To this, teens said, "Hey, screw you, pal." - -- ---- - June 24, 1997 Freehold, NJ Melissa Drexler, the girl who gave birth in the bathroom during her prom, was charged with murder after an autopsy indicated the baby she delivered was asphyxiated. - -- ---- - June 21, 1997 Tampa, FL A judge has sentenced three teens to 15 years each in prison on manslaughter convictions for the theft of a stop sign that led to an accident in which three people were killed. - -- ---- - June 21, 1997 New York, NY In the wake of the massive tobacco settlement, politicians and health officials are trying to protect children from smoking. If smoking among 12- to 17-year-olds isn't slashed by 60 percent over the next 10 years, the industry will have to pay as much as $1.6 billion a year in penalties. - -- ---- - June 19, 1997 Orland Park, IL A 16-year-old cheerleader who died within 24 hours of drinking a bottle of 107-proof schnapps on a dare had a blood-alcohol level nearly four times the state's legal limit. The girl was with friends at a party the previous night. - -- ---- - June 18, 1997 Flint, MI Michael Carter, 14, was shot to death after he and two friends jumped off a freight train in a crime-ridden area of Flint. The youths had hopped on the slow moving train in Carter's hometown and intended to ride it only about 10 miles to a semi-rural area, but went too far. Carter, 15-year-old Dustin Kaiser and a 14-year-old girl were looking for a pay phone after getting off the train when they met several young men who offered to help them. Police said the three teens were taken to an unlit park, where several of the suspects raped the girl, then beat, robbed and shot each of the three in the head. - -- ---- - June 4, 1997 Sacramento, CA Ruling that the Boy Scouts of America is not a business, a state appeals court has decided the organization does not have to admit a 13-year-old girl. Attorney Gloria Allred, representing seventh-grader Katrina Yeaw, said she will seek review of the case by the state Supreme Court, where cases challenging the organization's bans on atheists and gays are pending. - -- ---- - April 27, 1997 Port Washington, WI A Wisconsin teenager who admits getting his 15-year-old girlfriend pregnant has been convicted of sexual assault and now must register as a sex offender. He could go to prison for 40 years. Kevin Gillson is 18, and his girlfriend said the sex was consensual. She said he had agreed to marry her and provide for the baby. But then police found out, and he was arrested and convicted. - -- ---- - April 25, 1997 Harrisburg, PA A report on the amount of violence and the presence of weapons in Pennsylvania's public schools shows many students attend class in an environment of fear. During the 95-96 school year, Pennsylvania's 3,292 schools reported 31,597 violent incidents, including 20,030 assaults on students and 1,119 assaults on school employees, 274 firearms were found, 1,829 students were arrested and 27,957 students were suspended. - -- ---- - March 21, 1997 Portland, OR Adam McMakin, a 13-year-old boy who says he just wanted minty fresh breath has been suspended for violating his school's alcohol policy after being caught drinking Scope. School officials say the mouthwash violated their zero-tolerance policy for alcohol and they're just trying to make sure things don't get out of hand. - -- ---- - March 20, 1997 Bremerton, WA Fifteen middle-school students were suspended for passing around and tasting Alka Seltzer tablets on campus. Luckily, the three-week suspension can be reduced to three days if students attend drug-awareness classes and counseling. - -- ---- - February 6, 1997 Tulsa, OK Police arrested a 15-year-old boy in connection with three recent attacks on a family planning clinic. He is also suspected in two other clinic attacks last year. The Reproductive Services and Adoptions Affiliates clinic was firebombed on New Year's Day and again January 19. On February 2, the clinic, which performs abortions and other gynecological services, was broken into and several gunshots were fired into medical equipment. ------- --- - - ------ - - ------ ---- --- - ------ --- ------- - - -- - - --- ------- ---- -- --- - --- ----- ---- - ---- ----- -- ---- --- - --- World News Jestapher - - ---- -- - ------- July 28, 1997 Havana, Cuba Over 700 people from the United States will attend the 14th World Festival of Youth and Students in Havana, despite the fact that they have been denied travel licenses by the U.S. Treasury Department. - -- ---- - July 8, 1997 Cape Town, South Africa Four black South Africans guilty of murdering a white U.S. student four years ago apologized to the girl's parents during a public application for amnesty from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, set up to investigate human rights violations during apartheid. After attending a meeting of the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), the four chased Amy Biehl down after her car was stopped by a crowd of youths, tripped her, stabbed her and pelted her body with rocks. Ironically, Biehl was in South Africa trying to help end Apartheid. - -- ---- - July 7, 1997 Belfast, Northern Ireland A gang of Catholic youths forced a 17-year-old Protestant to parade around playing hymns on his accordion while they stoned him. After an army helicopter spotted the incident, the gang decided enough beating had been inflicted on the blasphemous Protestant and stole his car, later to be torched. This was only one of innumerable incidents that took place after a Protestant march was routed down a Catholic street. Reports say over 80 people were injured, over 200 cars hijacked, tons of perfectly good alcohol was molotov cocktailed, and they still don't think God is content. - -- ---- - July 7, 1997 Thika, Kenya David Mutugi, 17, was shot in the chest and killed when police and prison guards violently dispersed people gathering for a demonstration by groups demanding constitutional reforms from the government. Four people were killed and at least five others were injured, most by beating, when police broke up a crowd in Moi gardens, which also has a large secondhand clothes market. Mutugi was at the market running a kiosk owned by his family. - -- ---- - July 6, 1997 Sydney, Australia A 17-year-old Australian appeared in court on a charge of trying to extort A$505,000 (US$379,000) from Qantas Airways Ltd. with a threat to detonate a bomb on an aircraft flying from Sydney to Hong Kong on July 4. Police found bomb-making information from the Internet at the kid's home when he was arrested. They did not say whether a bomb was actually on the aircraft, which carried 95 passengers plus crew, and a Qantas spokeswoman could not comment. - -- ---- - July 5, 1997 Hebron, Israel Palestinian youths and Israeli soldiers exchanged stones and rubber bullets as Israel and the Palestinian Authority traded accusations over the West Bank unrest. "We are Muslim youth and we defend our homeland for our Koran and religion," said Nidal Mohammad Badawi Azhur, 18, lying in a Hebron hospital with a rubber bullet in his chest. Fighting between Palestinians, Israelis, and everyone else in the Middle East has been going on for thousands of years with no end in sight. - -- ---- - June 29, 1997 Tokyo, Japan A 14-year-old boy is the main suspect in the brutal decapitation of a schoolboy that shocked Japan. Experts put part of the blame on the strict Japanese education system. In a letter to a local newspaper, the killer wrote, "I am not forgetting revenge for the compulsory education that has produced me as an invisible existence and on the society that has produced this compulsory education." Japanese students must carry school rule books which regulate their lives down to the smallest detail, including length of skirts. This is probably why their students write rambling unintelligible letters to newspapers and decapitate their classmates. - -- ---- - June 29, 1997 Berlin, Germany Around 60 youths threw stones at police, vandalized cars and smashed windows in the German city of Halle. Police said 15 officers were injured in the clashes, which began at a right-wing rally on Saturday evening and continued at a nearby rock concert afterwards. Twelve men aged between 17 and 27 were detained temporarily. - -- ---- - June 27, 1997 Enschede, Netherlands A teenager using a cell phone in class to run an escort service was expelled for using a phone in class. The phone would ring in class and the 17-year-old, whose name was not released, would answer "Escort Service 501." - -- ---- - June 27, 1997 Durban, South Africa Four youths aged eight to fifteen were killed in their home in South Africa's volatile KwaZulu- Natal province. Violence monitors said on Friday they suspected it was another political attack in the bloody Zulu turf war between supporters of Nelson Mandela's African National Congress and members of the Inkatha Freedom Party. Gunmen wielding AK-47 assault rifles attacked the sleeping family Thursday night. - -- ---- - June 24, 1997 Quebec City, Canada Police arrested 150 people in Quebec's two main cities when youths rioted on the day of Quebec's patron saint, St. John the Baptist, a date Quebeckers celebrate as their "national"' holiday. One policeman and three teenagers were injured. The youths threw rocks and bottles at 500 police, who used tear gas to disperse the crowd. It took them about five hours to clear the streets. It was the sixth consecutive year that youths have rioted in Quebec City during the annual celebrations. - -- ---- - June 20, 1997 Bucaramanga, Colombia A pair of teenage brothers staged a bogus kidnapping in a bid to win a $30,000 ransom from their mother. Police, following the suspicious actions of the 15-year-old brother, followed him to a house across town to find the kidnapped 16-year-old playing dominos with a friend. ------- --- - - ------ - - ------ ---- --- - ------ --- ------- - - -- - - --- ------- ---- -- --- - --- ----- ---- - ---- ----- -- ---- --- - --- YouthSpeak Avi Hein - - ---- -- - ------- No respect. No voice. No protection. Curfew laws. Drinking age. Driving age. Internet Censorship. Blocking software. Oppression by the educational system. Dress codes. Mandatory community service. Forced volunteerism. Oppression. All forced on youth. Young people are an oppressed minority. Well... take a stand! Join YouthSpeak! No, this isn't an ad for some quasi-pseudo libertarian anarchist site. We're somewhat mainstream (we're joining the system in order to change the system). Young people are totally oppressed and persecuted by a government that doesn't care. Youth have no legal standing, no legal rights, and no representation in government. This country was founded on the idea that taxation without representation is immoral. The Revolutionary War was fought on the ideas of equality, justice and freedom. Unfortunately it took many years for groups such as African-Americans, women, and other minorities to gain their rights. But they did. After a long and hard fought battle, they have gained their rights. Now it's time for a new revolution: The Youth Revolution No, that doesn't mean we're gonna go and burn down schoolhouses and use widespread violence and mayhem. What it means is that we are going to take to the streets and demand our rights. What rights? To be treated equally and have equal representation. No special treatment. Just equal treatment. I know it sounds really boring and mainstream but that's what works. 'Cause who's the one with the rights? The adults! Who are the only people who can give them to us? The adults! So, we are going to have to persuade them that we are mature and responsible enough to handle them. Don't ask me how this will be accomplished. But I do know where we need to start. Join YouthSpeak http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/3145/ ------- --- - - ------ - - ------ ---- --- - ------ --- ------- - - -- - - --- ------- ---- -- --- - --- ----- ---- - ---- ----- -- ---- --- - --- Are You Any Better? Trippy Kid - - ---- -- - ------- Alone. A lone. A loner. Why do you just sit there all the time? You're so pale, go outside and play in the sun. I don't know how you could just come home and do that for hours, you should be more sociable. Join some clubs after school, get out of the house, make some new friends. It's Friday night, why aren't you out? Where are your friends? Why are you alone? Crybaby. All you do is cry. You're such a wuss. You're too sensitive, you let things get to you too easily. Just ignore it. Don't let them get to you. Don't worry about other peoples' problems, leave that to them. Ignoramus. Geez, learn about it before you start talking about something you know nothing about. You don't know what that means? You're so dumb. Typical of a high school kid. Worrywart. Don't be a worrier, nothing good will come of it. Don't be afraid to try new things. You won't get raped or killed around here. You worry too much. It doesn't matter, stop thinking about it. You're paranoid. You're such a baby. Don't worry about it. Relax. Calm down. Loser. Who wrote this? You didn't do that, did you? What are you wearing? Go away, this is private. You're not invited. Fishing for compliments? You're not ugly and you know it. Stop saying that. Uh, shut up, you're like ten times skinnier than me, stop fishing for compliments. Have some backbone. You have low self-esteem. Love yourself. Guys don't go for wimpy, helpless girls, they like girls with confidence, who like who they are. Who cares what you think about your appearance, it's what the guys think that matters. Don't mope. Don't cry. Deny yourself your feelings. Look happy, be nice. Try to be appealing to those around you. Who cares what you think? Who really cares how you feel? It's them that matter. Don't be yourself. Be what they want you to be. ------- --- - - ------ - - ------ ---- --- - ------ --- ------- - - -- - - --- ------- ---- -- --- - --- ----- ---- - ---- ----- -- ---- --- - --- Legislative Update Matt Walcoff - - ---- -- - ------- AS FAR FEDERAL Update July 22, 1997 There are a million things you can do to fight anti-youth laws. The simplest is to call your legislator and let him or her know your stand. Remind them that the party for which someone votes first is usually the party they associate with for life (or a long time, anyway). A list of senators can be reached online at www.senate.gov/~_____ (senator's last name). For example, Sen. Ted Kennedy is at www.senate.gov/~kennedy. You can find your House members at www.house.gov/writerep/. Federal legislation dealing with curfew laws: Bill: S. 10 Title: Violent and Repeat Juvenile Offender Act of 1997 Submitted by: Sen. Hatch. Backed mainly by Republicans In brief: Encourages trying juveniles as adults and reducing gang activity. Objectionable portions: Amendments to the following portions of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974: -Title I, Sec. 101 (11). States that communities should not be discouraged from incarcerating status offenders, especially curfew violators. -Sec. 204 (h)(IV)(H). Would allow federal grant money to be used for curfew enforcement. Chance of passage: Likely if H.R. 3 fails, but would probably also face a presidential veto, as the president opposes some of the imprisonment provisions. Committee: Judiciary -- Youth Violence Action: Subcommittee hearings held and returned to Judiciary committee. Hearings there scheduled for July 23 and 24. - -- ---- - Bill: S. 718 Title: Juvenile Crime Control and Community Protection Act of 1997 Submitted by: Sen. Dominici In Brief: Allows for more juveniles to be tried as adults and creates grants for juvenile crime prevention. Objectionable portion: Title II, Part C, Sec. 242 (c)(4). Would create incentives for communities to enact curfew laws. Under the bill, communities would be eligible for a federal grant if they fill five of six requirements, one of which would be to have a curfew law. Chance of passage: Probably not likely, since S. 10 is supported by more of the Senate leadership. Committee: Judiciary Status: Still in committee, no action taken. - -- ---- - Bill: S. 15 Title: Youth Violence, Crime, and Drug Abuse Control Act of 1997 Submitted by: Sen. Daschle. Backed mainly by Democrats. In Brief: Large bill dealing with many subjects, including crime, drugs, and domestic violence. Objectionable portion: Title II, Subtitle B, Sec. 215 (c)(1)(A). Would create incentives for enforcement of status offense laws. Status offenses are offenses that would not be considered criminal if committed by someone above a certain age. Under this section, communities would be eligible for federal grants to ensure "certain punishment" of status offenders. Change of passage: Possible if the Republican crime bills fail. Committee: Judiciary -- Youth Violence Status: Still in subcommittee. - -- ---- - Bill: S. 362, H.R. 810 Title: Anti-Gang and Youth Violence Act of 1997 Submitted by: Sen. Leahy, Rep. Schumer In brief: Targets juvenile crime, illegal gun trafficking and gang violence. Objectionable portion: Title III, Sec. 3002. Would allow federal grant money to be used for curfew enforcement. Chance of passage: Not likely. Committees: Sen: Judiciary, House: Education -- Early Childhood, Youth and Families, AND Judiciary -- Crime Action: Still in committees, no action taken. - -- ---- - Bill: S. 3 Title: Omnibus Crime Control Act of 1997. Submitted by: Sen. Hatch. Supported mainly by Republicans. In brief: Combination of several crime bills. Objectionable portions: Title IX, Subtitle C, `Title I, Sec. 101 (11) and Sec. 204 Sec. 204 (h)(IV)(H). Identical to portions of S. 10. Chance of passage: Same as S. 10. Action: Still in committee, no action taken. - -- ---- - Federal legislation dealing with the drinking age and driving ages: Bill: H.R. 1268, S. 468 Title: National Economic Crossroads Transportation Efficiency Act of 1997 Submitted by: Rep. Shuster, Sen. Chafee In brief: Large bill reauthorizing transportation spending. Objectionable portions: -Title II, Sec. 2002 (f) (`k)(`1)(`B). Would create federal grants for drinking age enforcement. -Title II, Sec. 2002 (f) (`k)(`1)(`E). Would create federal grants for "graduated license programs," with required nighttime driving curfews. Chance of passage: Unlikely, since there is a Republican version of this bill. Committees: House: Transportation and Infrastructure -- Surface Transportation AND Ways and Means. Senate: Environment and Public Works AND Finance Action: Still in committees, no action taken. ------- --- - - ------ - - ------ ---- --- - ------ --- ------- - - -- - - --- ------- ---- -- --- - --- ----- ---- - ---- ----- -- ---- --- - --- Protesting the Curfew das - - ---- -- - ------- 10:00 PM. That's the curfew for anyone 18 or younger here in San Diego. Recently, the previous curfew law was struck down by a federal judge, ruling it to be unconstitutional. The mayor, Susan Golding, set up an emergency law to retain the curfew, in a politically popular move to "protect the kids". What whores these politicians are. Because the majority of San Diego sees people under 18 as inferior, laws were put into effect to mandate governmental persecution of this fearsome, unpopular, and obviously pseudo-human group of larvae. These laws are met by cheers of victory from both the left and the right. The left-wing nuts applaud the further degradation of our rights as American citizens, and the triumph over the free will of youth. The right-wing fanatics glorify the strengthening of ageist apartheid, and illusions of streets devoid of dangerous kids. The citizens enjoy their mass hallucinations, and call for even more bans on free will. Daytime loitering laws are now being proposed. Handgun bans. Dusk to dawn curfews. These oppressive laws will continue to encroach, unless they are protested. This brings us back to San Diego. Dave Doctor, Damien Sutherland, and many other members of the youth community have come together in opposition to the mayors new curfew law. It began with my receipt of a message from Dave Doctor, spammed to a local Rave mailing list. He voiced that immediate action was needed if we want to preserve our rights. He proposed we have rallies every night from 10PM to midnight. The timing was ingenious. This is because what we were doing was not illegal. It was protected by our First Amendment rights. Any kid that was out past 10PM could simply tell a cop that they were going to, or coming from a political rally. A good way to protest a law is to legally cripple it. We found a way to do that. We have also found that people carrying a few flyers in their pocket can just declare to a harassing cop that they are distributing political material. This is protected by the First Amendment as well. The rallies began at a great location. We were at a busy intersection, and a very popular hangout spot. We were just a block away from the beach. Across the street was a huge roller coaster, and the boardwalk. The few days before the first rally were great. I stood around on street corners handing out flyers, and getting petitions signed. I would also give petition sheets to all of my friends, and they would get others to sign them. A local news station called me, and asked if they could come over to my house and interview me. They asked things like "why are you doing this?" and "what do you expect to accomplish?" and "are you really going to be out there every night?". I was also constructing signs for protesters to hold up. They got a few shots of that. The first night was very exciting. When I arrived, a news crew was already at the site. I met Dave Doctor in person for the first time. I was the main sign manufacturer, and I had quite a handful. We placed all the signs in the ground, gaining attention. At about 9:50, the first people showed up. A group of about 10 high school girls showed up. At ten o'clock, tons of people started pouring in. There were three local TV crews set up. They went live numerous times, and every time they did, the people would scream and shout, fighting for airtime. There were many magazine and newspaper writers there, with photographer counterparts. I was interviewed several times. At the peak of the rally, there were probably about 100 people there. From across the street, it looked huge. Now, we have been going for about two weeks. On the second to last consecutive night, No Time, a local ska band played. Although we were fully aware that it was illegal, we decided to have them amplify their music. We attracted about 175 people, just with the sight of a band setting up. The band got underway about 10 minutes after 10. Everybody was skankin around, and having a great time. A news crew showed up, and began setting up. The crowd grew, and everyone was real happy. Then, the cops showed up. They were pretty pissed, because they had harassed us the previous nights for making too much noise (what a stupid thing to say... we were across the street from a roller coaster and a busy intersection). They immediately shut the band down, and wrote them a citation. Fortunately, no one was arrested. However, I noticed that the number of police cars at the scene kept increasing at a peculiarly fast rate. When I counted, there were 12 cop cars! They brought some drug dogs, because someone was destroying the world and corrupting youth by smoking pot. Luckily, they didn't catch anyone. Then, the police started lining up, and they looked like they were going to unload on the crowd, or something. That was a little too scary for me. I decided that it would be better to avoid the weapon wielding cops, and observe from across the street. The cops just stood there for a long time, and nothing happened. I decided to take off, because I still felt that it was extremely dangerous to have so many armed, angry, tired cops in such a concentrated area being heckled by teenagers. So, we have now decided that by having a rally every Saturday night, instead of every night, we can increase attendance, and plan better events. We have also decided to hold a concert every two weeks at Mariners Point (It's where the X-games were held, and it's only a block away from where we were originally protesting. We have done all the math, and figured out that it would cost about $300 every concert. That's no big deal. We have a lot of enthusiastic volunteers, and if everyone involved just donates a few bucks, we can easily put on several shows. Getting bands to play would be the easy part. San Diego is well-known for its killer local bands. And what new band would pass up a concert geared for teenagers against the curfew? It's free exposure! I recommend this course of action to anyone in any city that is afflicted by curfew laws. It's fun, easy, cheap, and may even achieve the goal of curfew-eradication! ------- --- - - ------ - - ------ ---- --- - ------ --- ------- - - -- - - --- ------- ---- -- --- - --- ----- ---- - ---- ----- -- ---- --- - --- Letters you, the reader - - ---- -- - ------- Hi, I'm an English teacher in Portland, Or. Saw your site: love it. Very well done and professional. I'm using it as an example in my class where my students will create their own pages for the first time. I'd love to talk to you about how your work is accepted up there...how you put it together (i.e. did you do it yourself or were the town 'elders' involved, etc.) Who's doing the art and with what tools? POV-Ray? Kevin Oblivion started as a paper 'zine in December 1995. We tried to give copies out during lunch at our school one day, which the administration didn't take to kindly to. A friend put the first issue online and it received great feedback. After our first issue and our expansion into the ethereal realm of the web, we became less regional and more global. The first issue was the product of a relatively small group of high school kids, and with every issue, we have picked up a few more people. We don't have any requirements as far as age, race, sex, etc., and we don't ask, so it's not possible to know exactly who is submitting articles, graphics, or whatever. Jestapher has done most of the graphics for the web version, and the only program used has been Adobe Photoshop. For the paper version, Wennis, a teenage comic book artist type guy from California has done most the covers, and he uses the old fashion paper-and-pencil technique. Editor - -- ---- - Very nice zine! But I'm afraid it might become the next target of my high school's firewall. I'm not sure of all that they censor, but I know it includes various search engines such as Webcrawler (Reason: Sex), Deja News (Reason: Sex Lifestyle), and Excite (Reason: Sex), leaving only Yahoo and AltaVista. The firewall also blocks any URL containing ".." (don't try to break in), and all TCP connections other than the ones supported by Netscape (Web browser ONLY). Sometimes, they shut down the proxy server and make all network connections impossible, period. Antisaedist Depending on the extent of your school's blocking, you may be able to get around it. Try this. Find a site that's blocked (Webcrawler you say), then type in this URL: http://nanjing.spc.uchicago.edu:8001/http://www.webcrawler.com/ This is a proxy server set up by Jim Xie in response to the Chinese government's blocking of "sensitive" sites like CNN or any human rights sites. Editor - -- ---- - I was going through a superweird phase in 7th grade and one day I decided to wear green lipstick. (I swear I'm the one who created the lipstick fashion trend.) Being the supercool and wonderfully popular person I am, many people (including some guys) hopped on the funky lipstick bandwagon. Blue and black showed up all over our school. Funky lipstick reigned full at my school until some wacky supervisor laid down the law, FUNKY LIPSTICK= DETENTION. Here I remind you that I happen to be a supercool and wonderfully popular person. I had killer parties to trash and no time for detention in the name of fashion. I decided to be nice about this and wrote a little essay about domestic prejudices. Some other airheads tried to get a petition around that included sagging and chewing gum at our school. Many people signed it, but get real!!! There is no case to support sagging and gum chewing. Had the airheads thought about their pitiful petition attempt, maybe some good would have come of it. But as it was, sorry Charlie, no comparison from the school board. I went in a different direction with my essay. I asked teachers why we couldn't wear black lipstick. The general answer was, "It's a distraction. The purpose of school is to learn. You cannot learn with distractions all around you." Well, hehehe, I says... why do girls get to wear pink and red, then? "Those are natural shades." RED--NATURAL? Dream on! "It's traditional for women to wear red and they've been doing it for hundreds of years." People have also had slaves for hundreds of years and that doesn't it make it acceptable in our schools. And for all my efforts what does this supercool person get? A detention, the one thing I was trying to avoid in the first place. I was a little discouraged with my essay's progress, but in the name of equality, I decided to go on. I made a list of all the things that distracted me and I realized: LIPSTICK IS THE LEAST OF MY PROBLEMS!!! I have a blind student in my second hour. Her brail writer makes loud, annoying noises. I can't see the chalkboard because of the extremely tall kid that sits in front of me. I can't do my algebra while I talk to Lisa. Does this mean that my rights are violated? Not in the least. If I want to wear funky lipstick, I should be able to. It's not a distraction to me or my peers. It's too distracting for teachers. (If they can deal with nose rings, blue hair, and weird clothes, they can deal with lipstick.) It seems the only people who are distracted by lipstick are administrators who don't deal with the kids at all. In all reality, I would say the absence of funky lipstick has caused more of a distraction than allowing funky lipstick. I knew I had a winning case, but the time of funky lipstick had come and gone in my school. I gradually began to forget the whole thing. Stefanie D. Uh, thanks!@# Editor - -- ---- - Hi my name is kristi and I've been looking for the Teenage Liberation Handbook and haven't been able to find it and was just wondering if you knew of any book chains who carried the book. kristi Have you looked at your local library? That's where we found it. Libraries usually carry just about everything imaginable. Editor - -- ---- - I am writing to you because I think many of your readers would be interested in a new safe natural lotion that really does clear up acne, boils and cold sores, backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee. It's called Complexion Perfection. We invite you and your readers to visit our Internet website for full details. Signature Omitted None of our readers have expressed interest in clearing up their acne. They seem to be comfortable with their appearance. Sorry. Editor - -- ---- - hi i sent like a dollar and a little note to you guys asking for a copy of oblivion. how long should i wait til it comes? and when are you guys gonna update the page? um, i guess that's it. ~barbiekiller~ We've been so lazy, we skipped the Spring issue (we also had a lack of quality submissions, but hey). We will be putting out a Summer issue relatively soon. Stay tuned, and sorry for the delay. Editor - -- ---- - I just saw your magazine on-line and have been wondering if it is only an on-line thing or you have a magazine on the newstand. I have never seen it if is on the newstand and am interested in subscribing if so. Thank you. Unsigned There is a paper version, but you probably won't find it on any newstands. As with most 'zines, we are self-published, do-it-yourself people with limited funds. Getting the distribution and circulation needed to be somewhere like Barnes and Noble or the neighborhood newstand is quite a feat. We don't do subscriptions yet because we are still small-scale and kind of unpredictable. However, if you'd like the next issue mailed to you, send 3 stamps or $1 to: Oblivion 120 State Ave. NE #76 Olympia, WA 98501-8212 Oh, you can subscribe to the Oblivion mailing list and receive the ascii version in your email box whenever it comes out, just send mail to jestapher@oblivion.net. Editor - -- ---- - Thank you for finally expressing some of the thoughts and ideas of today's oppressed youth... I, too, am oppressed. I have started a local chapter of the SNC (society of non conformists) and we are accepting new members all the time. Do not let the AOL email address fool you... this is just a hacked account (sorta) but it is not, REPEAT NOT, mine. I wouldn't be caught dead on AOL, except that it's the only internet access I have for now. I am thinking of starting my own school newspaper, any tips or pointers? It will be called, well, I don't know yet, but it will kick ass. I have a copy of my rules of the society of non conformists, I will email you a copy later. In case you are wondering, I made up the SNC, it is my own creation, and (in the infamous words of GOD) it is good. uh, l8r, if the cops don't catch me first! Unsigned Starting your own zine isn't that hard. I think we elaborated on this in an earlier letter, so backtrack. To take a direct quote from Nemomancer, "Cops... heh..." Editor - -- ---- - I will try to make the following as short as possible for Oblivion magazine. I picked up your issue at a bookstore in downtown Olympia. The following, I believe, is the only solution to the injustice of mankind: There are many injustices in this country and the world cause by the capitalist class. We are very slowly on a course to a dictatorship. Little by little, piece by piece is broken off the monument of freedom. Luckily there is a beacon of light in the darkness which is the Socialist Labor Party of America, that follows the teaching of Karl Marx. The former Soviet Union was not Socialist. Anyone advocating socialism and Karl Marx would most likely be arrested as a troublemaker in the former Soviet Union. Find out what socialism is from Socialists. Socialist Labor Party, P.O. Box 70617 Sunnyvale California 94086-0517, founded 1891 and The People, organ of S.L.G. email thepeople@igc.apc.org. Milton A. Poulos You're pretty dedicated . Editor ------- --- - - ------ - - ------ ---- --- - ------ --- ------- - - -- - - --- ------- ---- -- --- - --- ----- ---- - ---- ----- -- ---- --- - --- Blocking Software Eric P. Anderson - - ---- -- - ------- Those of us under the age of 18 are the last truly unrepresented and powerless group in American society. Those under 18 cannot vote and they cannot hold any political office. Politicians listen only to votes. If a group of people have no votes, they are not represented in American government. If an unconstitutional curfew is passed against teenagers, the legislators don't have to worry about the reprisal of young voters. People under 18 pay taxes, are American citizens, and they can be drafted to fight in a war, but they cannot vote or do anything which the government decides they cannot do. The free speech groups took the easy way out during the battle over the Communications Decency Act. They proposed to censor the most disenfranchised group of people in this country in order to protect their own freedoms. This easy way out was the support of blocking software. Like the V-Chip, blocking software is simply another way for parents to pass the buck onto the government. Unfortunately, this is all too easy for parents to do in our society. Parents now insist that values are taught to children in public schools as well as mathematics and reading. Now these same people want the government to enter the home and raise children there. Parents who want this are not only deceiving themselves, but they are losing their right to raise their own children. Instead of using blocking software, parents should be discussing the Internet with their children. They should be discussing and debating these issues with their children instead of taking the easy and dangerous way out. Blocking software not only blocks things nearly everyone agrees should not be blocked, but it is also unconstitutional in public schools and libraries. One excellent danger of blocking software can be seen in America Online's Parental Controls. These controls block Amazon.com, an Internet bookstore, because Barnes and Noble is a content partner of America Online. This is a primary example of blocking software at its worst. In addition, any site which presents an ideology differing with those held by mainstream society or even just the company that produces the software is blocked. This is all done under the thin guise of "protecting" children. It is apparent to me that the only thing that those under the age of 18 need to be protected from is the protectors. Parents should be debating and discussing controversial issues with their children rather than simply isolating them from differing viewpoints. Otherwise, how will these children react to these issues when they become adults? If the use of blocking software becomes widespread, they will be unable to react and make decisions responsibly because they were never allowed to think and make decisions for themselves by their parents or the government. As Thomas Jefferson once said, "To protect the rights of good men, we must protect the rights of all men." Young people in this country must stand up make their government listen. They must do this before it is too late to turn back. Young people have the right to see differing ideologies and decide which ideology should be theirs without the interference of the government or irresponsible parents. ------- --- - - ------ - - ------ ---- --- - ------ --- ------- - - -- - - --- ------- ---- -- --- - --- ----- ---- - ---- ----- -- ---- --- - --- Reviews Jestapher - - ---- -- - ------- A Kind and Just Parent by William Ayers William Ayers introduces us to those involved with the juvenile justice system, the juveniles in particular. Rather than reading a headline about gang violence or young "superpredators," we see behind the headlines and learn about the actual children who, despite the tough-guy facades, are quite scared and vulnerable. The setting is Audy Home, a juvenile detention center in Chicago, overcrowded and racially disproportionate. Ayers observes the classes of Mr. B and Tobs, two amazingly dedicated teachers who truly try to make a difference. We meet about a dozen kids, and see that they are no different from any other children their age, notwithstanding the harsher situations, dimmer future outlooks and lack of freedom. They're smart and philosophical, reflective and sad, serious and funny. Nearly every day, the boys filter in Mr. B's classroom. They love and respect Mr. B, and he returns that love and respect. They read Afro-American authors, and discuss news stories, politics, their situations, their dreams, and occasionally the reasons they're in Audy. Alex, an old student of Tobs, comes into class to talk about life after Audy, which for most of these kids means adult prison, Joliet. A comparison of bullet wounds turns into a debate about death, fear and apathy. A number of chapters focus on individual inmates. Ito hates it when visitors walk through and gawk at them like monkeys in a zoo. His assertion that the visitors think they're all the same, gang-bangers and killers, is frightfully contested by Jeff. "Ito, you are a killer and a gang-banger." We learn that he's a poet, longing for his love, whom he credits with "drawing out into the light my beauty." Jesus wants to learn to read and write, believing that's his ticket to life. His room is filling up with unanswered letters, he gets a friend to read them to him. Ayers transcribes a letter for Jesus to copy later. He's in for a crime he says he didn't commit, a driveby in front of a school. He has in-depth discussions with Ayers on gangs, guns, protecting their neighborhood, loss of freedom, and about his daughter, who he's never seen, and doesn't want to while locked up. Andrew keeps a journal. He's one of five student playwrights working on a story about Audy Home called "Temporary Lockdown." He explains how Mr. B and Tobs are both like "popses" to him. Freddie has a long rap list, from drug dealing to possession of a firearm to assault. He's sure he'll beat his current case as he beat his cases for shooting a girl with a BB gun and hitting a rival gang member in the head with a hammer. He's taking Bible studies and wants to get any legitimate job he can find after getting out. Then, the world will notice him, the next Dennis Rodman. A few chapters focus on the history of juvenile courts, the history of punishment, and things of the like. While not as interesting or pity-invoking as the pictures of each individual kid, they are good background and probably necessary for the purpose of the book. It has reform-evoking undertones, but the vast majority of people already believe the juvenile justice system needs major reformation. Despite a few slow points mentioned in the above paragraph, overall, the book is awesome. No more "killer kids" headlines molding our opinions on juveniles and juvenile crime, we get a true-color image of the children of the juvenile justice system that defies the uninformed opinions we've already concocted. - -- ---- - Teen Legal Rights: A Guide for the '90s by Kathleen A. Hempelman This is like a big question and answer book for whatever you need to know about teens and the law. How many times have you asked yourself "If teens who are too young marry in their home state are married in a state where they are old enough to marry without parental consent, is the marriage legal?" or "If a young person lends the family car to a friend or lets someone else do the driving, can the minor's parents be held responsible for injuries or property damage caused by the other driver?" The book is broken into eighteen chapters on certain topics, then broken into more specific topics, then broken into specific questions. The main chapters are: Behind the Wheel, At School, At Home, On the Job, On Your Own, Your Personal Appearance, If Your Parents Divorce, Your Sexual Life, Marrying and Having Children, Your Right to Be Healthy and Safe from Abuse, Alcohol and Drugs, Teens and Crime, Age, Race, and Sex Discrimination, Gay and Lesbian Teens, Property Rights and Crimes Against Property, Entering Into Contracts, Taking Matters to Court, and How to Find the Law. It's a great reference if you have a specific question, and it's great if you simply want to become more proficient on all aspects of teen rights and laws affecting youth. - -- ---- - Puberty Strike I'd be able to give a much better review of this zine, if it wasn't "lost" in Nemomancer's house. He'd better find it soon, I payed $1 for this at a local zine festival. It covers the important aspects of being a teen, such as sneaking into theaters, eating those lick-a-stick candies, throwing cans of creamed corn under cars, old school rap and attire, the Goonies and other fine films, etc., etc. It also contains interviews and stories from a bunch of teen-band members which are pretty phat. This zine would definately be worth my dollar if Nemomancer would give it back. Send $1 and two stamps to Seth, 2007E. 3rd St., Tucson, AZ 85719. ------- --- - - ------ - - ------ ---- --- - ------ --- ------- - - -- - - --- ------- ---- -- --- - --- ----- ---- - ---- ----- -- ---- --- - --- Keep Your Graduation Jestapher - - ---- -- - ------- Yesterday was the final day of my high school career. It was nice, the sun shone much of the day. Mr. Letourneau gave us an Economics test and Mr. Bassett gave us ice cream. Last night, I ended up at Andy's party, what must have been forty or fifty seniors happy never to be attending another high school class. All night they drank, talked, sang, danced, smoked, reminisced, and drank. Sasha puked in Andy's backyard and I lost a game of ping pong twenty-one to three. Around 3AM, most everyone headed on home, or to someone else's home to pass out. I stayed at Andy's overnight, not wanting to catch a ride with a half-sober peer. In the morning, Andy graciously provided me with a glass of freshly mixed orange juice for breakfast and we chatted for a bit. At 10:45, I embarked on a forty-five minute walk to my house. Nobody was home when I arrived. I walked in my room and found a piece of college ruled notebook paper slipped under my door, a note from my dad, who probably didn't know I never came home the previous night. - -- ---- - BEN, GRADUATION IS AN IMPORTANT FAMILY EVENT, ALSO YOU ARE IMPORTANT TO YOUR CLASS OF '97 GRADUATION--I UNDERSTAND YOU WERE SELECTED AS SPEAKER AT YOUR SENIOR DINNER? THIS EVENT IS IMPORTANT TO: A) YOUR SIBLINGS B) YOUR PARENTS C) YOUR GRANDPARENTS D) YOUR AUNTS AND UNCLES E) YOUR COUSINS F) YOUR CLASSMATES G) YOUR TEACHERS H) SID THE CAT PLEASE CHOOSE TO NOT DIMINISH THIS EVENT FOR OTHERS AND DO WHAT IT TAKES TO WALK WITH YOUR CLASS, DAD. - -- ---- - It was a heartfelt request and I understood where he was coming from. Nevertheless, it strengthened my feeling that attending graduation ceremonies would be not for myself, but for the benefit of others. After all, I don't want to go, isn't that justification enough for not going to my graduation? I grabbed a towel and slipped in the shower. I stood in the downpour of warmth for a while, then sat down, thinking about everything and anything, graduation, the party, the future. I started to cry. Often times I've seen people cry for no apparent reason, or for reasons they couldn't or weren't willing to express, I've seen my mother do it many times. I hate it when people cry for no reason. If I cry, I have a reason, or I don't move until I find it. It didn't take long to figure out why I was crying. "Everything is fucked up," I whispered. That was it, that was my reason, extremely ambiguous yet perfectly precise, all encompassing. I wasn't crying because I was going to miss my friends or family or any of the conventional reasons for crying after finishing school. I started to break my thoughts down into smaller, more specific tracks. I couldn't explain the reason I wanted to abstain from graduation, at least, not in a way that satisfied my mind. I'd told myself many things. It's for the benefit of others more than it is for me. It's just another silly modern ritual that nobody reexamines or questions. I don't need a celebration for finishing the rough and daunting public school system. But sitting in the shower, I found a reason that seemed to explain it all. Graduation is supposed to be one of the biggest rites of passage in our modern society, a transition from youth to adult. Herein lied the reason. I never wanted to become an adult. Adults fuck everything up. I wanted many rights and responsibilities granted to adults, but I never wanted to be an adult. Youth provided a safehouse, protection from the atrocities of adulthood. Not a protection from pain, but from causing pain. It seems as though all pain, anger and suffering can be traced to adults. Adults screw people over. Nobody is born saying "I'm gonna fuck everything up for everyone else who has to live in this shithole of a world." Youth is a bastion of pain, but at least it's pain of innocence. To realize that people try to hurt you for no reason but the love of hurting is a great feeling. Often times, children will believe that they deserve such suffering and it's tragic, but when you can recognize the fact that you don't deserve any of the shit you're given, suffering is joy. Pain is truth and anger is reality. Everybody wants to take that from me. They want to take what little pain I haven't numbed myself to and the happiness I derive from it. They want me to go willfully, dawn a stupid fucking cap, take a sheet of paper with my name on it, signed by people I've either never met or never liked, and give up my youth. Regardless if I attend ceremonies, I'll lose that youth, but do I have to give it up willfully, parading around like a fucking moron, happy about my transition into the fucked up world I've hated all my life? Last night, I saw more alcohol than I've ever seen in a single house. Almost everyone got tanked and acted relatively stupid. Andy told me that he was sitting alone earlier in the day, wondering why we all get together and do this. "I think it's to get away from pain and reality," he told me. I didn't drink. I tell people that I don't like the taste of alcohol and I don't want to act like every other drunk person acts. This is true, but it might be something else also. I don't want to escape pain and reality. If you escape it, you could forget about it forever, and never do anything to stop it or even worse, create more. The anguish will always be around, but you'll never understand that it's ruining you. When you stare pain down, and take it's full brunt, all the time comprehending it, you know just what it is. To know your misery is the first step in stopping it. For now, I hold on to my youth, my pain, cherishing it for all the truth it holds. It seems inevitable that I'll slowly slip away from that truth and become just like every other adult in this cesspool, but at least I can fight it. So fuck your trickery and intimidation. Fuck your rites of passage. I'm standing tall. I won't go up and shake your hand, and I'm not wearing your stupid fucking cap. ------- --- - - ------ - - ------ ---- --- - ------ --- ------- - - -- - - --- ------- ---- -- --- - --- ----- ---- - ---- ----- -- ---- --- - --- Oblivion Information - - ---- -- - ------- - -- ---- - copyrights - - ---- -- - ------- Please distribute Oblivion everywhere you can. Do not steal little bits and pieces without consent from the author of the bit, byte or nybble, for they retain full copyrights to their work. If you just ask, they will probably give permission. - -- ---- - contributors - - ---- -- - ------- editors Jestapher - head editor, writing, design, graphics, art Nemomancer - editor, writing, graphics Wheeler - editor, writing - -- ---- - writers Amar, Antitrend, Arhat, Avi Hein, Belial, das, Eightball, Eric P. Anderson, Jaimee, Jane Doe, Maureen Rada, Matt Walcoff, Mr. Orange, Nina, Paulo, Trippy Kid, Tyche, Warren Apel - -- ---- - art Jess Wyer, Wennis - -- ---- - graphics Brian Kappus, Dagda, Gould, Juanune - -- ---- - support , Akai, iMAGER, The Retro Ranger - -- ---- - locations - - ---- -- - ------- mail: Oblivion 120 State Ave. NE #76 Olympia, WA 98501-8212 (Send two stamps for current issue.) web: http://www.oblivion.net/ email: oblivion@oblivion.net ftp: ftp.etext.org /pub/zines/oblivion/ ftp.olywa.net /pub/oblivion/ irc: #zines on efnet mailing list: jestapher@oblivion.net - -- ---- - review quotes - - ---- -- - ------- "High school kids getting crap from the 'man' for asking questions and honing their writing skills." - Catch of the Day "...highly charged and varied reading." - Factsheet 5 "They're getting better, teach'. Lighten up." - Internet Underground "It's nice to know that there are some kids who don't mind expulsion for the sake of principle." - Kevin Donoghue (from some Boston magazine) "Out of the angry haze of high-school turmoil and teen angst, the creators of Oblivion have managed to create a gripping zine that does justice to the opinions, attitudes, and realities of kids growing up in a high-tech, low-responsibility culture." - Netguide "Good zines, especially ones like this, are a bright spot in the gloom and very much deserve our support." - Punk Planet "It's a pretty good read." - Punks G Hybrid "By far one of the best 'zines out there." - We Hate Hootie and the Blowfish "Ax the bullshit filler, and this could be a pretty good zine." - Zine World - -- ---- - inspiration - - ---- -- - ------- music - Bikini Kill, Diamond Fist Werney, NOFX, Sicko, Sublime reading - Iris, Puberty Strike, Zine World design - 2600, Communication Arts, Punk Planet food - just add water pancakes, ramen, toast & hot chocolate - -- ---- - thanks - - ---- -- - ------- Amber - loaning borrowed tunage www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Palms/1804 Olympia Networking Services - ISP extraordinaire www.olywa.net Phorce - telecom legend, conf master www.rad.edu/phorce ------- --- - - ------ - - ------ ---- --- - ------ --- ------- - - -- - - --- ------- ---- -- --- - --- ----- ---- - ---- ----- -- ---- --- - eof