Generally speaking, there are two things you do not talk about in casual conversation, Religion and Politics. This is due to the fact that they are, and forever will be, hotly debated issues within any social community. For whatever reason, when these are brought into a conversation, people quickly become offensive and start to attack the other person, instead of the opposing viewpoint they hold.
Have you ever been in a situation, perhaps at a bar or dinner, where these are brought to light? Unless you have a group of well acquainted people, it usually becomes two hotheads going blow-for-blow with personal attacks and egos to take the punishment. For the rest of the room, it becomes an increasingly awkward situation and general discomfort sets in among the guests, with it quickly escalating to just "Get me the hell out of here!".
The entry is "Facebook Facepalm", what does this have to do with anything?!
Facebook is the vanguard site when it comes to social interaction. It also happens to be a place to showcase all of our "Facebook Friends" aka people we never really see but we know them somehow so we have them as friends. For most of us college kids, about 90% of our high school classmates are now "facebook friends". Occasionally we write them happy birthday or "remember that one time..." remarks, but for the most part we keep our distances. With Facebook's "Live News Feed" we get an almost real-time ticker of status updates, mixed in with various pictures, notes, links, and videos. With these status updates, on the "live news feed" we have now created casual conversation. You may see someone with a status like "Going to see Zombieland" and make a comment about the success or failure of the movie in your opinion. These short interactions are the equivalent of small talk.
So lets recap shall we? We have a social environment of people, most of who's relationships between each other can be classified as acquaintances. We also have very brief contacts with them, dealing with trivial things. These contacts can also be called...casual conversations!. Shocking, I know. Now lets just jump back up to that top paragraph, never bring up religion or politics. Easy enough right? Evidently not...
Every day I see politically charged statuses from people, mostly not positively critical, as to start a discussion point, but just critical, like "look who tanked the economy" or "That man in the Oval Office is an idiot!". Why would you post this? You don't go up to a guy at the bar and say "Man, that Obama is an asshole isn't he??". Well...maybe you do, either from common sense or experience you're aware you have a 50/50 shot at getting decked. Anyway, if you type on someone's wall, and it just happens to show up on a news feed, that's fine. It's understood that it is a conversation taking place between two people. To put it as a status update is the same as pulling the bar stunt above. You are inviting people to criticize and fight with you. Maybe you want that, but for all of us who like our peaceful Facebook, we just think its old and gets annoying. There is a time and place for everything, and really, "Obama is an asshole." really doesn't relate to your status.*
So go ahead, say you're in love or that you lost your car keys for the 4th time this month. I'll laugh or congratulate you. Post those lovely song lyrics about stamina, or lost love, or making that green. They might be annoying, but they're mostly harmless. But please, for everyone's sake, leave the politics at the log-in screen.
S.T.
*Unless, you just got pranked by Obama, then you could probably post it. I'm not friends with anyone that connected, so lets just say, status updates aren't the place for politics.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Passions (The Entry not The Soap)
"My passions were all gathered together like fingers that made a fist. Drive is considered aggression today; I knew it then as purpose."
~Bette Davis
Everyone says that society has been in a steady decline for decades, but I don't believe that to be entirely the case. When you walk down the street what do you see? I see people shuffling their feet to get from one place to another. Rarely talking with anyone, or walking with purpose, we just meander through our days. When you look into a boardroom, gone are the days of fiery speeches of brilliant men debating the issues. Now, the men may be just as brilliant, but do not wish to express their opinions more than "yes" or "agreed". So what has turned a once determined country into a lethargic mass?
Passion, or I should say, lack of passion. It does not exist in most people anymore. It is a real shame because passion is what drives the world. If Henry Ford didn't have passion, would we have cars? If Thomas Edison didn't have passion, would we have electricity? The answer is yes. Probably. Eventually. Hopefully. Without passion, there is no discovery, no productive discourse, and in general, no sharing of knowledge. Passion is defined in MWOD as a strong liking or desire for or devotion to some activity, object, or concept. That liking and desire for a particular subject creates a fire within people when that subject is talked of. That passion drives us to share our passionate knowledge with others with the hopes of igniting the same passion within them.
Within those words lies the true power of passion, the secret of stopping our society's freefall. Passion...is contagious. Passion creates a fire within a person that will drive them to great things and used correctly, will inspire others to do the same.
"Be still when you have nothing to say; when genuine passion moves you, say what you've got to say, and say it hot."
~D. H. Lawrence
S.T.
~Bette Davis
Everyone says that society has been in a steady decline for decades, but I don't believe that to be entirely the case. When you walk down the street what do you see? I see people shuffling their feet to get from one place to another. Rarely talking with anyone, or walking with purpose, we just meander through our days. When you look into a boardroom, gone are the days of fiery speeches of brilliant men debating the issues. Now, the men may be just as brilliant, but do not wish to express their opinions more than "yes" or "agreed". So what has turned a once determined country into a lethargic mass?
Passion, or I should say, lack of passion. It does not exist in most people anymore. It is a real shame because passion is what drives the world. If Henry Ford didn't have passion, would we have cars? If Thomas Edison didn't have passion, would we have electricity? The answer is yes. Probably. Eventually. Hopefully. Without passion, there is no discovery, no productive discourse, and in general, no sharing of knowledge. Passion is defined in MWOD as a strong liking or desire for or devotion to some activity, object, or concept. That liking and desire for a particular subject creates a fire within people when that subject is talked of. That passion drives us to share our passionate knowledge with others with the hopes of igniting the same passion within them.
Within those words lies the true power of passion, the secret of stopping our society's freefall. Passion...is contagious. Passion creates a fire within a person that will drive them to great things and used correctly, will inspire others to do the same.
"Be still when you have nothing to say; when genuine passion moves you, say what you've got to say, and say it hot."
~D. H. Lawrence
S.T.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Paranoia's All I Got Left
"What would you do if it all ended tomorrow? Time runnin' out, ain't no more you can borrow."
~John Cena, If It All Ended Tomorrow
Every time I turn on the news these days, I am bombarded by threats of terrorism, or outbreaks of the latest "deadly" virus. There are remnants of natural disasters strewn across the landscape of America, warnings of what could return at any moment. Even during the commercials I'm getting images of the world ending through the movie trailer of "2012"*.
Okay, okay, I get it. We're all going to die horrible deaths. Thank you for pointing that out, because really we don't have enough paranoia and hatred floating around our collective cultures. I am not in denial, it's very possible that at some point some time during my existence, I will experience one of these things. My question is why do I bother dwelling on something that will kill me? It seems to me, that a life living with the cloud of death is not life at all. Most people cannot get out of this type of living because they are afraid. We are focused on death, it is used as a scare tactic because everyone is afraid to die.
German-Born US poet and author Charles Bukowski seems to have said it best, "We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us". Death will tremble to take us...that's a pretty interesting image if I do say so. Bukowski is telling us to live our life so well, and make it completely fulfilling that when it is our time to be taken, Death will fear us. Instead of the human fearing death, the personification of Death will fear the human. This life he is about to take will be so rich with experiences, love, laughter, passion, and spirit that Death will be genuinely scared to disrupt it.
Everyone has a fear of death, how do we as individuals make Death fear us? This solution is easy. Live each day like there is nothing to lose. Make sure that each day is used to its full potential like it was the last day on Earth. This is not removing the fear of death, but deflecting it. Instead of being afraid of death, be afraid, rather, of dying before your life is fulfilled. Fear of having an empty life of only fear.
Then and only then will Death tremble.
S.T.
[The soundtrack to this entry is as follows | John Cena - If It All Ended Tomorrow | Cold War Kids - Hang Me Out To Dry | JET - Black Hearts (On Fire)]
~John Cena, If It All Ended Tomorrow
Every time I turn on the news these days, I am bombarded by threats of terrorism, or outbreaks of the latest "deadly" virus. There are remnants of natural disasters strewn across the landscape of America, warnings of what could return at any moment. Even during the commercials I'm getting images of the world ending through the movie trailer of "2012"*.
Okay, okay, I get it. We're all going to die horrible deaths. Thank you for pointing that out, because really we don't have enough paranoia and hatred floating around our collective cultures. I am not in denial, it's very possible that at some point some time during my existence, I will experience one of these things. My question is why do I bother dwelling on something that will kill me? It seems to me, that a life living with the cloud of death is not life at all. Most people cannot get out of this type of living because they are afraid. We are focused on death, it is used as a scare tactic because everyone is afraid to die.
German-Born US poet and author Charles Bukowski seems to have said it best, "We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us". Death will tremble to take us...that's a pretty interesting image if I do say so. Bukowski is telling us to live our life so well, and make it completely fulfilling that when it is our time to be taken, Death will fear us. Instead of the human fearing death, the personification of Death will fear the human. This life he is about to take will be so rich with experiences, love, laughter, passion, and spirit that Death will be genuinely scared to disrupt it.
Everyone has a fear of death, how do we as individuals make Death fear us? This solution is easy. Live each day like there is nothing to lose. Make sure that each day is used to its full potential like it was the last day on Earth. This is not removing the fear of death, but deflecting it. Instead of being afraid of death, be afraid, rather, of dying before your life is fulfilled. Fear of having an empty life of only fear.
Then and only then will Death tremble.
S.T.
[The soundtrack to this entry is as follows | John Cena - If It All Ended Tomorrow | Cold War Kids - Hang Me Out To Dry | JET - Black Hearts (On Fire)]
Monday, April 6, 2009
Sunrise must follow Sunset
"And even the Sundance Kid would find it hard to shoot his way out of this hole I'm in."
~Sam Roberts, Sundance
The reason I started this blog in the first place was to talk about things that were bugging me and try to sort things out on ink that I could not sort out in my head. Since I look at my life right now and feel as though everything is very twisted and foggy, now seems to be a good time to start writing again. One of the things that has really bothered me as of late was the subject of friends. Broad topic I know, but bear with me.
If you've ever been on my livejournal friends page, the top of it is inscribed with the phrase, "Friends shift with the sands of time." When I initially chose that for the title, I did not really know how its words rang true. Now sitting here in a park, two weeks into spring, surrounded by 5 inches of snow from a freak snowstorm, I've come to realize that things happen with friendships much like this snowstorm. One day you are fine with one another, then something happens and suddenly you are out in the field, cold and alone, with that friend no where to be found. A sudden "snowstorm" comes though and blows your friendship to smithereens.
It's odd really how quick things can change. Recently, I've had issues with a few friends, partially my fault at times but partially theirs as well. Both I considered really great friends (some may even use "best" here), they knew me, what I stood for, and even in some respects, what I aspire to become. In retrospect, I may have thought of them as great friends, but I think I was good at best, maybe even just a friend. You see, we would talk on the phone, text, hang out, the normal stuff right? Fast forward to now. You see, now, one will give me a hello on AIM every now and again, we'll do a bit of catching up and then just sit there. We did not used to do that, we could talk for hours about nothing at all, but that was also talking, as in vocally, which we never really do any more.
I'm sure dear reader, that you are sitting there saying "well people do get busy". I know that, you obviously know that, it is just a plain fact of life. Which is fine. But going from a friends scale of good friend to just above a paving stone, I think you will agree that that is not the normal drop because "we get busy". Like I said it could have been because I just put too much stock in our friendship to begin with, which is my mistake. Another reason for the sudden drop of friendship could be due to something I said/did. For instance, In one friendship I speak of, I can pinpoint a single day where things slid downhill. I will take credit for my mistakes, but I will not take responsibility for the total downfall of the friendship. I tried to make amends, which it looked like I did on a couple of occasions. I used to beat myself up thinking there was something else I could do. Something I could do to preserve this friendship but I no longer wonder because I realized I did my part. At some point, you have to realize that the friendship is truly gone, and just let it fade.
But, this story is not all depression and decay of ties. It is also a story of births and new beginnings, for as I see friends walking out of my life. I also see new friends walking in. Will I ever get back what I once had with my those old friends? Probably not. But will I most likely find something just as good because I harbor the mistakes and lessons from my past? Absolutely. Life rarely takes away what you cannot replace. While I will miss very much the two people I speak of (one I've known for many years), I also know that I have many friends and will make many more. So you see:
Sunrise Must Follow Sunset.
S.T.
[The soundtrack to this entry is as follows | Sam Roberts - Sundance | Trapt - Black Rose | Kevin Rudolf - Welcome to the World]
~Sam Roberts, Sundance
The reason I started this blog in the first place was to talk about things that were bugging me and try to sort things out on ink that I could not sort out in my head. Since I look at my life right now and feel as though everything is very twisted and foggy, now seems to be a good time to start writing again. One of the things that has really bothered me as of late was the subject of friends. Broad topic I know, but bear with me.
If you've ever been on my livejournal friends page, the top of it is inscribed with the phrase, "Friends shift with the sands of time." When I initially chose that for the title, I did not really know how its words rang true. Now sitting here in a park, two weeks into spring, surrounded by 5 inches of snow from a freak snowstorm, I've come to realize that things happen with friendships much like this snowstorm. One day you are fine with one another, then something happens and suddenly you are out in the field, cold and alone, with that friend no where to be found. A sudden "snowstorm" comes though and blows your friendship to smithereens.
It's odd really how quick things can change. Recently, I've had issues with a few friends, partially my fault at times but partially theirs as well. Both I considered really great friends (some may even use "best" here), they knew me, what I stood for, and even in some respects, what I aspire to become. In retrospect, I may have thought of them as great friends, but I think I was good at best, maybe even just a friend. You see, we would talk on the phone, text, hang out, the normal stuff right? Fast forward to now. You see, now, one will give me a hello on AIM every now and again, we'll do a bit of catching up and then just sit there. We did not used to do that, we could talk for hours about nothing at all, but that was also talking, as in vocally, which we never really do any more.
I'm sure dear reader, that you are sitting there saying "well people do get busy". I know that, you obviously know that, it is just a plain fact of life. Which is fine. But going from a friends scale of good friend to just above a paving stone, I think you will agree that that is not the normal drop because "we get busy". Like I said it could have been because I just put too much stock in our friendship to begin with, which is my mistake. Another reason for the sudden drop of friendship could be due to something I said/did. For instance, In one friendship I speak of, I can pinpoint a single day where things slid downhill. I will take credit for my mistakes, but I will not take responsibility for the total downfall of the friendship. I tried to make amends, which it looked like I did on a couple of occasions. I used to beat myself up thinking there was something else I could do. Something I could do to preserve this friendship but I no longer wonder because I realized I did my part. At some point, you have to realize that the friendship is truly gone, and just let it fade.
But, this story is not all depression and decay of ties. It is also a story of births and new beginnings, for as I see friends walking out of my life. I also see new friends walking in. Will I ever get back what I once had with my those old friends? Probably not. But will I most likely find something just as good because I harbor the mistakes and lessons from my past? Absolutely. Life rarely takes away what you cannot replace. While I will miss very much the two people I speak of (one I've known for many years), I also know that I have many friends and will make many more. So you see:
Sunrise Must Follow Sunset.
S.T.
[The soundtrack to this entry is as follows | Sam Roberts - Sundance | Trapt - Black Rose | Kevin Rudolf - Welcome to the World]
Monday, February 16, 2009
Make Face Time
So, Dentyne Ice is running this new ad campaign based around the slogan "Make Face Time" For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, here it is:
Now most people are taking their ads and making them more technological. The ads have more bells, more futuristic styling. Dentyne...now they seem to be going back to basics. I applaud them for this campaign and it made me think.
Our generation is one of cell phones and text messaging. Facebook and instant messaging. We are more connected to each other than ever, but at what cost? All the things I just mentioned are all technology related. When we can't see someone, we just hit them up through whatever medium we think is necessary. But what about face time? I'm sure we've all seen the movies where the group of rural teens are hanging out in the field just talking and joking around. Now that is face time. I'm not saying that we all have big open fields and talk about baseball the entire day. The concept still applies today.
Being in college, friends are spread out across the state/region/country, and I acknowledge that. This is where Facebook and IM and phones come into play. We can get a hold of and catch up with people even when we can't see them. We can go so far as to use webcams and mics, and get that pseudo-face time. While this is a good way to keep in touch, it is no replacement for face time. For instance, if they're only a few hours away, why are we seeing them only a few times a year? Without the physical interaction, memories cannot be made. Memories are very important, some say memories can save your life. Others, like Scottish Essayist Alexander Smith belive "memory is a man's real possession...In nothing else is he rich, in nothing else is he poor." You wont remember typing with that girl via IM, the dim glow of the screen illuminating the room. But, you will remember the time that you hung out for a day, and had fun. You'll remember the look in her eyes, and the feeling of the breeze, and the beating of the hot sun. This is where memories are made.
Seeing as how spring breaks are quickly approaching for everyone, I'd like to pose this to you: Instead of going away to some tropical hot spot, go back to your home surroundings. Call up all your friends, get them around.
And Make Face Time.
S.T.
Now most people are taking their ads and making them more technological. The ads have more bells, more futuristic styling. Dentyne...now they seem to be going back to basics. I applaud them for this campaign and it made me think.
Our generation is one of cell phones and text messaging. Facebook and instant messaging. We are more connected to each other than ever, but at what cost? All the things I just mentioned are all technology related. When we can't see someone, we just hit them up through whatever medium we think is necessary. But what about face time? I'm sure we've all seen the movies where the group of rural teens are hanging out in the field just talking and joking around. Now that is face time. I'm not saying that we all have big open fields and talk about baseball the entire day. The concept still applies today.
Being in college, friends are spread out across the state/region/country, and I acknowledge that. This is where Facebook and IM and phones come into play. We can get a hold of and catch up with people even when we can't see them. We can go so far as to use webcams and mics, and get that pseudo-face time. While this is a good way to keep in touch, it is no replacement for face time. For instance, if they're only a few hours away, why are we seeing them only a few times a year? Without the physical interaction, memories cannot be made. Memories are very important, some say memories can save your life. Others, like Scottish Essayist Alexander Smith belive "memory is a man's real possession...In nothing else is he rich, in nothing else is he poor." You wont remember typing with that girl via IM, the dim glow of the screen illuminating the room. But, you will remember the time that you hung out for a day, and had fun. You'll remember the look in her eyes, and the feeling of the breeze, and the beating of the hot sun. This is where memories are made.
Seeing as how spring breaks are quickly approaching for everyone, I'd like to pose this to you: Instead of going away to some tropical hot spot, go back to your home surroundings. Call up all your friends, get them around.
And Make Face Time.
S.T.
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