It's funny... when I was a kid, I thought grown-ups never worried about anything. I trusted my parents to take care of everything, and it never occurred to me that they might not know how. I figured that once you grew up, you automatically knew what to do in any given scenario. I don't think I'd have been in such a hurry to reach adulthood if I'd known the whole thing was going to be ad-libbed.
Calvin's Dad in Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Rant the Second
Here is my thing about blogs, and, well, me. I have a number of obsessions. Blogs are not part of it, but they do help me exemplify some of these obsessions. The biggest one of them being order.
ORDER!
I could blame my dad for this, as he is a total neat freak, but I don't think my dad obsesses as much as I do on the contents of his drawers or closet (also, dad, I was trying to arrange my clothes by color at the age of, what, 8 and you were later surprised by my coming out of the closet?). If I wanted to get all psychological about it I could say that achieving order in those simple things made me feel better about NOT achieving order in other, more important things, but I'm getting off-topic here.
How this affects my relationship with blogs is simple, I want order in them. I DEMAND order in them. I want to know what they are about and how they go being about whatever they are about. I want cohesion, clarity, a topic, an idea that ties everything together, and no funny business about it.
My problem then is that my mind and mood wander so much this cohesion is pretty much on the grounds of "I wrote this stuff" (see exhibit A: my LJ). And what I write can go from Squall x Irvine fluff to really vague love confessions to... erm... more stuff. Also, my LJ did have some "I like this stuff" sprinkled on it.
My second obsession is being liked by everyone. Which in internet is sort of like wanting to come alive out of a forest filled with lions, bears, tigers, wolves, jaguars, badgers, and killer ants. Yes, it would be nice if it happened, but odds are not on your favor. At all. Also, the forest's floor is covered in poison ivy and there's venomous spiders everywhere.
Third and last obsession (I will be sharing with you, at least) is my online persona. I will admit to you people that I want one. But I haven't decided on one, so there's several. There's the quirky one. The woe-is-me one. The bitch. The pseudo-intellectual. And others. And they mix from time to time. It's a work in progress, people.
The point to this rant (and there is one, somewhere, I swear) is that this year I am trying to just quit the whole "I will plan this out better and then do it" thing and instead do things. Writing is one those things and blogging will be part of it. I do not know why I WANT to be a blogger but, apparently, I do. Bear with me people, things might get interesting.
ORDER!
I could blame my dad for this, as he is a total neat freak, but I don't think my dad obsesses as much as I do on the contents of his drawers or closet (also, dad, I was trying to arrange my clothes by color at the age of, what, 8 and you were later surprised by my coming out of the closet?). If I wanted to get all psychological about it I could say that achieving order in those simple things made me feel better about NOT achieving order in other, more important things, but I'm getting off-topic here.
How this affects my relationship with blogs is simple, I want order in them. I DEMAND order in them. I want to know what they are about and how they go being about whatever they are about. I want cohesion, clarity, a topic, an idea that ties everything together, and no funny business about it.
My problem then is that my mind and mood wander so much this cohesion is pretty much on the grounds of "I wrote this stuff" (see exhibit A: my LJ). And what I write can go from Squall x Irvine fluff to really vague love confessions to... erm... more stuff. Also, my LJ did have some "I like this stuff" sprinkled on it.
My second obsession is being liked by everyone. Which in internet is sort of like wanting to come alive out of a forest filled with lions, bears, tigers, wolves, jaguars, badgers, and killer ants. Yes, it would be nice if it happened, but odds are not on your favor. At all. Also, the forest's floor is covered in poison ivy and there's venomous spiders everywhere.
Third and last obsession (I will be sharing with you, at least) is my online persona. I will admit to you people that I want one. But I haven't decided on one, so there's several. There's the quirky one. The woe-is-me one. The bitch. The pseudo-intellectual. And others. And they mix from time to time. It's a work in progress, people.
The point to this rant (and there is one, somewhere, I swear) is that this year I am trying to just quit the whole "I will plan this out better and then do it" thing and instead do things. Writing is one those things and blogging will be part of it. I do not know why I WANT to be a blogger but, apparently, I do. Bear with me people, things might get interesting.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
New Year's Revolutions
1. Write more (this blog included)
2. Read more
3. Bake more
4. Exercise
5. Take care of myself
6. Pay attention
7. Learn Japanese
8. Organize myself and my stuff better
9. Manage myself and my money better
10. Reconnect with acquaintances/friends
11. Work.
12. Sing.
2. Read more
3. Bake more
4. Exercise
5. Take care of myself
6. Pay attention
7. Learn Japanese
8. Organize myself and my stuff better
9. Manage myself and my money better
10. Reconnect with acquaintances/friends
11. Work.
12. Sing.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Into the Woods
[CINDERELLA]
I've been good and I've been kind, Mother,
Doing only what I learned from you.
Why then am I left behind, Mother,
Is there something more that I should do?
What is wrong with me, Mother?
Something must be wrong.
I wish-
[CINDERELLA'S MOTHER]
Do you know what you wish?
Are you certain what you wish
Is what you want?
if you know what you want,
Then make a wish.
I've been good and I've been kind, Mother,
Doing only what I learned from you.
Why then am I left behind, Mother,
Is there something more that I should do?
What is wrong with me, Mother?
Something must be wrong.
I wish-
[CINDERELLA'S MOTHER]
Do you know what you wish?
Are you certain what you wish
Is what you want?
if you know what you want,
Then make a wish.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Books Speak to Me
There's this game where you get a red book (any red book, so long as it's red. How red? Just red. If it looks red to you and you're not colorblind, it probably works.) and you put your hand on it (whichever, if you don't have hands, use your feet. If you don't have feet, use your face. If you don't have a face, I can't help you.) and then you ask a question (any question, be it deep or stupid or personal or mean). You open the book to a random page, put your finger in a random place in that page without looking and then you read what is there. THAT is the answer to your question.
YES!
As much as I'd like to take all sorts of games like these with a grain of salt, I have been playing them since I was little and it is uncanny how some answers will sound so right. I know that the human mind is built to make connections, so vague answers are a sure way of getting "right" answers. If the words that you point at in the book are sort of, kinda related to what you asked, your brain will do the rest of the work.
Usually, however, the answer will be so right, so dead on, that my disbelief will not be able to jade me. And that is when I get not one or two answers that speak to me, but many. And the same question asked twice will only be answered with two different ways of saying the same message. The times when books tell me an answer I wanted or expected I am inclined to believe I'm just twisting their passages to my liking, but they have told me many uncomfortable truths, and they all seem to have their tempers. Some will be quite clear, others will be vague, others will simply not answer your questions. They will not show you a rare, inscrutable passage, they will plainly tell you they are in no mood to hear your inquiries.
Poetry books, in general, will be vague, although Milne seems to get his point across whether in prose or verse. And for some reason, no book seems too fond of answering questions about tattoos (something to do with ink, perhaps?). If you want short, simple answers, your best bet is a dictionary.
Now, supposedly it is The Devil answering the questions through the book. Which may or may not be true. I am not a Christian so I'm changing the way I look at this Devil. However it is always best to not take the books' answers for law, and consider yourself what is being said and the consequences of your actions before jumping ahead.
As for me, what is expected of me will not make me happy.
YES!
As much as I'd like to take all sorts of games like these with a grain of salt, I have been playing them since I was little and it is uncanny how some answers will sound so right. I know that the human mind is built to make connections, so vague answers are a sure way of getting "right" answers. If the words that you point at in the book are sort of, kinda related to what you asked, your brain will do the rest of the work.
Usually, however, the answer will be so right, so dead on, that my disbelief will not be able to jade me. And that is when I get not one or two answers that speak to me, but many. And the same question asked twice will only be answered with two different ways of saying the same message. The times when books tell me an answer I wanted or expected I am inclined to believe I'm just twisting their passages to my liking, but they have told me many uncomfortable truths, and they all seem to have their tempers. Some will be quite clear, others will be vague, others will simply not answer your questions. They will not show you a rare, inscrutable passage, they will plainly tell you they are in no mood to hear your inquiries.
Poetry books, in general, will be vague, although Milne seems to get his point across whether in prose or verse. And for some reason, no book seems too fond of answering questions about tattoos (something to do with ink, perhaps?). If you want short, simple answers, your best bet is a dictionary.
Now, supposedly it is The Devil answering the questions through the book. Which may or may not be true. I am not a Christian so I'm changing the way I look at this Devil. However it is always best to not take the books' answers for law, and consider yourself what is being said and the consequences of your actions before jumping ahead.
As for me, what is expected of me will not make me happy.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Rant the First
Facebook, twitter, tumblr, this blog, livejournal, tagged, hi5, neopets (not to mention stuff IN those things, such as those addictive facebook games and twitpic). Dear God, I swear my mind couldn't keep my net-adventures in order if it was given twice the processing power. Half the time I can't remember which password goes with which account.
It was a miracle remembering my IMDb password today, really. I'd feel bad if I hadn't read an article recently on how humans suck at passwords so I know it's not me, it's my species, and well, I can't change that.
Honestly, what does one DO with so many social sites and sites about you sharing your thoughts with the world? My livejournal was successfully updated for quite a while until it wasn't. With twitter you at least know that as many people as are following you will read the less-than-140-characters you wrote, even if they won't REALLY. I mean, I have like 25 followers on twitter and I can't be sure any of them really read anything I write, and I really only have twitter to know when El Goonish Shive and Something Positive update.
But now that I HAVE a twitter I feel the need to POST in twitter. It's not an obligation, you know? I could just as easily just log on and see if anything of interest is there and then promptly do something else (such as feed my dying neopets (although they never do die, they just look hopeless and sad)) but the white box taunts me, tempts me. And anyone can write less than 140 characters. But writing in twitter... well, it reminds me of a quote that goes: "No one really listens to anyone else, and if you try it for a while you'll see why."
No one really reads what other people post on twitter, and if you try it for a while you'll see why.
I really just scan for the userpics of the few I am actually interested in reading (I follow around 25 people on twitter and I cannot fathom that number growing any more). But I am a bitch, and then I read some comments that make me want to be openly hostile to the person posting them. But, really, if I am annoyed THAT MUCH by a person, I can just unfollow them right?
Where am I going with all this? THAT I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO DO WITH ALL THE STUFF THAT IS NIFTY ON THE WEB!!!! When is something tumblr-worthy instead of twitter-worthy? Am I not being a pretentious bastard just posting ANYTHING ANYWHERE!? If I post one too many pictures of my cats, will I have doomed myself to a life in a big, unhygienic, cat-filled house?
For the time being, I shall be content posting tidbits of my mind in twitter, and sharing a few of those tidbits on facebook. I shall bid adieu PERMANENTLY to hi5 and MySpace. I shall continue my on-and-off relationship with livejournal and neopets. And I shall continue to be confused as to what to do with my tumblr.
It was a miracle remembering my IMDb password today, really. I'd feel bad if I hadn't read an article recently on how humans suck at passwords so I know it's not me, it's my species, and well, I can't change that.
Honestly, what does one DO with so many social sites and sites about you sharing your thoughts with the world? My livejournal was successfully updated for quite a while until it wasn't. With twitter you at least know that as many people as are following you will read the less-than-140-characters you wrote, even if they won't REALLY. I mean, I have like 25 followers on twitter and I can't be sure any of them really read anything I write, and I really only have twitter to know when El Goonish Shive and Something Positive update.
But now that I HAVE a twitter I feel the need to POST in twitter. It's not an obligation, you know? I could just as easily just log on and see if anything of interest is there and then promptly do something else (such as feed my dying neopets (although they never do die, they just look hopeless and sad)) but the white box taunts me, tempts me. And anyone can write less than 140 characters. But writing in twitter... well, it reminds me of a quote that goes: "No one really listens to anyone else, and if you try it for a while you'll see why."
No one really reads what other people post on twitter, and if you try it for a while you'll see why.
I really just scan for the userpics of the few I am actually interested in reading (I follow around 25 people on twitter and I cannot fathom that number growing any more). But I am a bitch, and then I read some comments that make me want to be openly hostile to the person posting them. But, really, if I am annoyed THAT MUCH by a person, I can just unfollow them right?
Where am I going with all this? THAT I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO DO WITH ALL THE STUFF THAT IS NIFTY ON THE WEB!!!! When is something tumblr-worthy instead of twitter-worthy? Am I not being a pretentious bastard just posting ANYTHING ANYWHERE!? If I post one too many pictures of my cats, will I have doomed myself to a life in a big, unhygienic, cat-filled house?
For the time being, I shall be content posting tidbits of my mind in twitter, and sharing a few of those tidbits on facebook. I shall bid adieu PERMANENTLY to hi5 and MySpace. I shall continue my on-and-off relationship with livejournal and neopets. And I shall continue to be confused as to what to do with my tumblr.
Webcomic: Savage Chickens
Savage Chickens began as chicken drawings on post-it notes. The chickens have become easier on the eyes and a plethora of creatures have appeared on it's yellow, square pages since then, but it's still funny (most of the time).
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