Isolated in a Crowd

With all the new and improved ways of keeping in touch with people, I find myself isolated in this sea of technology. People come and people go, promising to keep in touch, but never doing so. Oftentimes, there is no explanation, no fight, and no reason whatsoever. Other friends tell you of better ways of keeping in touch with people, but these are merely fads that come and go along with those friends that came with the new ways of communication. I have learned the hard way who my real friends are; look at my call log, I talk to the same 5 people, those are my real friends. Everyone else is merely scenery that comes and goes as I run my course. Try as I might to make that scenery part of my life permanently, I find that many times they slip through.
How is it that the more avenues of communication we have, the less we actually tell people? How many conversations have you had that consisted of "Hey what's up? Not much, just here bored...(insert random stuff here)”. That is hardly a memorable conversation; there is no real exchange of information, no connection. Most conversations lack depth and actual thought process. We don't remember what the person we are talking to has told us because it's all meaningless and we throw it out of our minds. We become more isolated the more we try to connect.
I’m tired of giving people excuses for not really keeping in touch. I’d much rather talk to someone on the phone or face-to-face; it’s easier to pick up meaning with as many context clues as possible. Sarcasm and irony are two of the hardest things to write and pick up in writing. Granted, some people are very good at subtle sarcasm that only other really sarcastic people can pick up on, but for the most part, sarcasm is easier to pick up when there’s a voice involved, not merely the written word.
Are we so afraid that others will not approve of us that we can no longer express exactly what we feel? That we have to hide behind “w/e” or “lol” when we’re not really laughing, just because we don’t have anything else to say? Can we no longer think of intelligent things to say to others that we have to talk about the everyday complaints and grievances? Are we afraid to really talk?
I refuse to give excuses, if you want to talk to me; you know how to get in touch with me, call me, e-mail me or message me on AIM or MSN. I think I have enough online addresses, if they are not good enough for you, fine, then I will know that I’m just another friend on your interminable lists of so-called “friends”; just another face and name but not a real person. I am more than what my online profile says but you would never know because we have lost touch with one another. We have drifted apart in this sea of technology and most of us would never even notice…

An interestingly lighthearted article

Where in the nursery rhyme does it say humpty dumpty is an egg?

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again....does not tell us at all that Humpty was an egg. However it's etymology has a number of variations, and it was in Lewis Carroll's 1871 book "Through the Looking Glass" (that used this rhyme), where the book's illustrator John Tenniel first drew Humpty as an egg, sitting on a wall.

An 1810 version of the rhyme also does not explicitly state that the subject is an egg because it was originally posed as the riddle as such:

Humpty Dumpty sate on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall;
Threescore men and threescore more,
Cannot place Humpty dumpty as he was before.

Furthermore, "humpty dumpty" was an eighteenth-century reduplicative (linguistic root) slang for a short and clumsy person.

I got this article from:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091225041850AApxALK

Happy Commercialized Love Day!

I must give credit to my friend Victoria for giving me that phrase. Guys, it's that time of year again! Time to buy overpriced flowers, boxes of chocolates that you know will come back to haunt you in the form of "I'm so fat!", the cheesy balloons, the red and pink stuffed animals that will only be hurled at you if there is a break-up, and the expensive dinner that your wallet will be feeling for the next 2 months. No, I'm not single, I just don't want my guy to feel compelled to buy me flowers just because it's the end of the second week of the second month. The entire symbolism of the holiday has been grossly warped into appearances that can be purchased at street corners, drug stores, and on-line. Does giving candy really show love? No, but we are led to believe that it does by the very mentality that we have been instilled with. We are a consumer-based society. Our economy thrives on people buying stuff, throwing it away, then buying more stuff.
I love stuff too. Don't get me wrong. My mother can tell you I have so much 'junk' that it sickens her. You put me inside a Tiffany & Co store and I'm mesmerized. I love pretty dresses, especially the prom dresses. And I love chocolate and flowers. But if my boyfriend bought me these things because it was a specific day and because he felt compelled to, then it loses the sentimental value. One Christmas he got me a Killer Rabbit plush. It made me laugh and it means a lot to me because he knows me that well. Plus, it gave me something to cuddle while he was in Iraq. Another Christmas he gave me a bead bracelet he made for me. He used my favorite colors and I hardly ever take it off because the sentimental value is exponentially greater than its monetary value. Is it lame? To the outside viewer, absolutely. But I don't care.
You know what I find really sweet? The random phone call just to say he loves me. We've been together for quite a while, so there's no need to impress me anymore, but he still finds ways to make me smile and show that he's thinking of me. In fact, I told him to make it seem as if Valentine's Day doesn't exist. I told him I just want him to call me and tell me that he loves me just like he does everyday.
Valentine's Day shouldn't be about outdoing your girl's friends expectations, or other guys. It's not about the flashiest presentation of your love. It's not about how big, but rather how well you know your girl. Make it mean something. Don't let it be just another box of candy and bunch of flowers. Get creative. Go on a limb. Make it sentimental, not necessarily cheesy. Don't tell her you love her with the puppy that says "I love you". Show her and it's up to you to know her well enough to know how to do that. If she has a story to tell her friends about the item, it means more.
To all the guys out there, good luck this V-day!

Give love to get love?

Is it better to love fully and deeply despite the possibility of getting hurt or is it better to guard feelings jealously and only give love away in small fractions but never give it all? I should clarify and state that when I say 'love' I mean it in the most general sense; love for a friend, a family member, another human being even. I don't mean the weak-kneed, heart pounding, butterfly kind of love, but rather a desire to forge a connection with someone. A few experiences have demonstrated to me that it might be wiser to refrain from opening my heart and giving love to get love in return. True, it is foolish to hope for reciprocated sentiments but should it be actively discouraged? Should we deliberately be more suspicious of people and only be courtious to those around us and offer some of our emotions and love to a very select group of people? This would certainly give more value to love acquired from a person of that philosophy. As the old saying goes 'easy come easy go' therefore by extension, whatever comes with difficulty must be worth more.
Perhaps it is fear that keeps most people from ever being able to open themselves up for the kind of love that is so trusting of the basic good in the vast majority of people. A love of man springs from the belief that most people are basically well-intentioned and not out to harm those around themselves. I know that if I had to go back to those points in my life where it might have been wiser to refrain from being so open and loving I wouldn't change anything. I would still open my heart to people because I always think of the archetypal Wise Man. So full of love and compassion and trust; so child-like and innocent, never being jaded by the bad in the world. I know I won't always get the love and connection that I try to make, but at least I made the effort and maybe, just maybe, that person will remember me for it. I think the Beatles said it best "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make". Or think the ending scene in the movie Bugsy Malone; the last chorus was used in a Grand Theft Auto-style Coca-Cola commercial that premeired in the 2007 Super Bowl
"You give a little love
And it all comes back to you
(Da da da ra da da da)
You know you gonna be remembered
For the things you say and do
(Da da da ra da da da)"

No Distance is too Great

As those of you who follow my blog might know, I want to be a writer. So, I'm posting a poem I wrote a few months ago. Please don't expect Whitman or Dickenson but feel free to comment constructive critisism like "This line needs a different word here". If you write something mean like "This poem sucks" that's not helpful to me.
Anyways, hope you enjoy it.

I rarely see the smile in your eyes
and I can count on my hands
How many times we haven’t been apart.
Somehow a bond has been formed,
A long lasting love sown
And you and I are so close.
No matter how many miles between,
No matter how long it’s been
Since the last time I’ve seen your face
Our love still binds our hearts.
No distance is too great
And only serves to make
Each meeting so grand.

An Expansion of your Musical Library- Ludo

For those of you who are looking for new bands and music, I want to recommend a band that I've been listening to for nearly a year now. This band is Ludo. They are from Missouri and have 3 albums out. They are not that new, considering that their first album was released in 2004, but they are relatively unknown. When their name is typed into Pandora, similar bands are All-American Rejects, but don't let that give you any impressions. Ludo's lyrics are a tad bit fantastical, but funny, they usually tell a story and are unique. They are classified as "alternative rock", but that label doesn't mean anything to me. Even their break-up songs are funny like "Goodwill Hunting By Myself". Yes, they are talking about the movie, but the music video has nothing to do with the movie; it has ninjas and stick horses and ice cream. Very random, very fun, very creative lyrics like "Why should I watch Matt Damon cry without her at my side I pined" This song can be found on their album "You're Awful, I Love You". Another unique track on that album is "Love Me Dead"; it's the epitome of a love-hate relationship. My favorite line "You're born of a jackel, you're beautiful". They also have an EP called "Broken Bride" and it is a rock opera. The basic story is the narrator lost his wife in an accident and spent a number of years building a time machine to go back and save her, but first he lands in pre-historic times, then he goes too far into the future and goes to an apocolypse and the only way to stop a take-over by the devil is to sacrifice his machine. As repayment, the angels take him back to the morning his wife died. What does he change? Listen to the song to find out. Even thinking of it brings that sting to the corners of my eyes. You can find the whole album in sections on Youtube. While there are religious references in this album, do not let that turn you off. To counterbalance, Ludo has a song called "Girls on Trampolines". Here's the chorus "They've got more beer than I've ever seen and they've got girls on trampolines. They've tapped 10 kegs since 9:15 and they've got girls on trampolines. WOOOH!"
Check them out and I hope you like them as much as I do.

Keeping up with...who?

I have unfortunately now seen two episodes of that self-indulgent family, the Kardashians' show. Who are these people exactly and who cares about their lives? One of them wears way too much make-up for everyday use. There is a difference between day and night make-up, mainly that one is less heavy than the other. They talk with the speech pattern and tone of a middle schooler. I could understand if this was a scripted soap opera about middle school kids. But it's not. I had hoped that adults, 20-something year olds, did not like talk like this? Quite frankly, who cares about these people? The reason why I've seen the show? Let's just say there's not that much space where I live. I have felt my brain cells dying while watching this show. I want to be a writer, but I don't think I could ever make it because I refuse to dumb myself down. I am aware that I don't have the most life experience, but there's hope and time. I want to write something that has permanence, and relevance, not just for the present, but for the future. I want to write a best-seller that can be read by everyone and studied by individuals and maybe even students. Sadly, many great writers were not recognized during their time. I hope I'm not one of those. What's a girl to do? I feel like Cunegonde from Candide; should I give up my virtue (intelligence) for money? How many authors have chosen writing for the masses over reaching their full potential? How many got lucky and wrote to their full potential and were popular during their time? How many wrote to their full potential and are only recognized now post mortem? Of course, there are so many that have gotten neither recognition nor financial benefits during their time or post-mortem. What is in store for me? Should I come up with a concept as brainless as Keeping Up With the Kardashians, or should I strive for something higher?

Glitter and be gay,
That's the part I play;
Here I am in Paris, France,
Forced to bend my soul
To a sordid role,
Victimized by bitter, bitter circumstance.
Alas for me! Had I remained
Beside my lady mother,
My virtue had remained unstained
Until my maiden hand was gained
By some Grand Duke or other.
Ah, 'twas not to be;
Harsh necessity
Brought me to this gilded cage.
Born to higher things,
Here I droop my wings,
Ah! Singing of a sorrow nothing can assuage.
And yet of course I rather like to revel,
Ha ha!
I have no strong objection to champagne,
Ha ha!
My wardrobe is expensive as the devil,
Ha ha!
Perhaps it is ignoble to complain...
Enough, enough
Of being basely tearful!
I'll show my noble stuff
By being bright and cheerful!
Ha ha ha ha ha! Ha!
Pearls and ruby rings...
Ah, how can worldly things
Take the place of honor lost?
Can they compensate
For my fallen state,
Purchased as they were at such an awful cost?
Bracelets...lavalieres
Can they dry my tears?
Can they blind my eyes to shame?
Can the brightest brooch
Shield me from reproach?
Can the purest diamond purify my name?
And yet of course these trinkets are endearing,
Ha ha!
I'm oh, so glad my sapphire is a star,
Ha ha!
I rather like a twenty-carat earring,
Ha ha!
If I'm not pure, at least my jewels are!
Enough! Enough!
I'll take their diamond necklace
And show my noble stuff
By being gay and reckless!
Ha ha ha ha ha! Ha!
Observe how bravely I conceal
The dreadful, dreadful shame I feel.
Ha ha ha ha!
-Candide "Glitter and be Gay" written by by Leonard Bernstein and Richard Wilbur