As pretty much everyone around the world knows, today is the ninth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. I know some people would want to start ranting against the political right, especially George W. Bush, when that topic comes up, but I'm not going to discuss anything like that, and, if you put anything like that in a comment, it will get deleted. Instead, I'd like to talk about where I was when I first heard about not only this tragic event, but also other ones I can somewhat remember that caused nationwide, if not worldwide, panic.
I'll start with 9/11. It was right at the beginning of my eighth grade year. The school day had barely even started when my good friend Jakob got picked up to go home, and he was not sick, nor did he have an appointment. I didn't even know what was going on until I got back home, and I saw only a few minutes of the news before I went to my weekly counseling session at my church. When I got in the building, they had CBS News playing in the fellowship room, and I can still remember my counselor saying a prayer at the end and praying not only for me, but also for the state of our nation.
April 16, 2007 was probably the most traumatic national event for me, because I had (and still do have) some friends at Virginia Tech. It made things even worse that I didn't even know anything of that sort was going on until I just innocently logged into AOL Instant Messenger like I did (and still do) pretty much every day, and saw Away messages like, "Let's hope and pray everyone is okay at Virginia Tech," or something like that (it's been so long, I can't remember.) I was quite glad that all my friends were okay, and that incident taught me a lesson: Even though in countless fictional stories--from classic Disney animated movies to R-rated, graphically violent action flicks--killing someone (or a group of people) brings peace, it rarely does in real life. When you do as that Cho guy did, not only do you end a person's/people's life/lives, but you also bring serious emotional pain to that person/those people's family/families.
February 1, 2003 was, while not as tragic as the events I just mentioned, still terrible. For those who don't remember--and I wouldn't say this if it wasn't for at least one person I've talked to who is older than me and doesn't remember this incident--that was the day the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated upon returning to Earth. I was watching ABC's Saturday morning block (known as ABC Kids) as was usual for Saturdays back then, and I was waiting for Lizzie McGuire to come on. Out of nowhere, the national news comes on. At first, I thought it was just some short educational program, but it stayed on, and that's when I realized something was wrong. I had it on mute, so I turned the volume up, and all they were saying at first was that NASA had lost contact with the astronauts aboard Columbia, and they kept going back and forth from the same person to the typical, "In case you're just tuning in..." summary. Eventually, they ended up saying the shuttle was gone, and that all the astronauts inside were dead. My mom was asleep through all this, because she had worked the night before. I told her about it as soon as she woke up, and it shocked her as much as it did me. Even WGN decided not to show Star Wars: A New Hope that afternoon like they were planning to, only because of that event. As bad as it was, I'm glad it didn't happen when I was little; back then, I wanted to be an astronaut, and a tragedy like that would have devastated me.
There are many other tragedies I could talk about. There was the Asian tsunami on December 26, 2004, which was quite horrible. Hurricane Katrina in 2005 was as bad if not worse; although forecasters did correctly predict where it was going to hit, and some people did evacuate, the storm was among the deadliest natural disasters of any sort to hit our nation, and seeing all the debris, as well as people mourning their loved ones lost in the storm, just broke my heart. The Columbine shooting in 1999 is an event I remember more because of the aftermath than the actual event. At the time, I was a student at an elementary school where my mom worked, and they talked about a code phrase--no, I'm not going to name it here!--that meant the school was under attack. I also remember my friends' mom not wanting them to play GoldenEye for Nintendo 64 because it was very similar--at least, to her--to Doom, which supposedly inspired Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold to do as they did. Although I know tons of people, my friends included, had fun with that N64 game, I can still somewhat understand my friends' mom's feelings; seriously, do you want any of your kids to grow up to be mass murderers? Didn't think so. One of those friends told me during summer of 2000, about a year after they'd moved hundreds of miles away, that a guy he knew had gotten in big trouble, including not only suspension from school, but also a summer-long grounding by his parents, only because he told the bus driver that she didn't want to drive the bus on the last day because something bad was going to happen, and, because everyone was up in arms about school security back then, the bus driver took it as a threat and wrote the kid up. That same fear was proven by an incident involving me early that following school year, but we don't need to get into that.
This might sound trite, but here it is anyway: No matter what happens, God is in control. Some people think recent events are signs that the end is near, and that may be true; however, as I've heard at least one preacher say, it could just as easily be a thousand more years until Jesus comes back. I don't believe in that December 21, 2012 stuff; after all, research just shows that it's the end of their calendar, not the end of the world. People who get all up in arms about that mess sound as ridiculous as a kid saying, "Oh, no! My Camp Rock calendar only goes to December 31, 2010! After that, life as we know it is going to come to a complete end! I better warn all my BFFs!" (No, I do not have a Camp Rock calendar. I have an iCarly one.)
Any comments?
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
On The Spelling (And Misspelling) Of Names
You probably have noticed, based on my blog posts, notes, e-mails, statuses, messages, IMs, comments, etc., that I am somewhat of a stickler for spelling, grammar, and punctuation. I used to be unafraid to tell people when they spelled or punctuated something incorrectly, even sometimes after it was too late. Most people, especially in this digital age, use spell check quite a bit. Although spell check does help, it is not, and probably never will be, a 100% solution. Spell check will catch when you misspell a word...as long as it isn't spelled like another word. I've seen cases where it was obvious, at least to me, that just that happened, one of which was, "Without them I would be a wreak!" Yes, the person who wrote that meant "wreck"; however, the reason the spell check didn't pick it up was because "wreak" is just as much of a word as "wreck" is. In the past, I've been just as guilty of it as other people; that's why, if I have time, I try to read over what I've typed--I don't write things by hand if I can help it--and make sure that I've said what I wanted to say, and used the right words.
When it comes to names, though, things get a little dicey. There are some names that have tons of different spellings, some of which you can see a few examples of if you look through my friends list. For example, I have three friends named Crystal, as well as one named Krystal, and another one named Krystle. Those are all pronounced the same, yet the spelling is different. Differences in the spellings of names used to confuse me; I can still remember when I was a lot younger and a family friend sent a book called _______ Goes to Town. (Sorry, but not only do I not want to give out my name, even my first name, for all the world to see, but I also hate my name for reasons we don't need to get into.) When we received the book, my mom said, "Oh, look! It's got your name on it! That's so nice of her to send you that!" I looked at the book and at least thought, if not said, "That's not my name!" Why? Because it was spelled one letter different than my actual name.
Although different spellings of familiar names do allow parents to be creative, and make their children more unique, the spellings can also be quite hard on teachers. I went through public school from kindergarten through twelfth grade, and I saw some varied spellings of names. My best friend from seventh grade until high school graduation--yes, we still are friends; quite good friends, in fact--was named Jakob. It was pronounced just like Jacob from Genesis (or Jacob Black from Twilight, for those of you better versed in vampire stories than the Bible) but the spelling was different. At first, his name's different spelling wasn't a big deal; it didn't take the teachers long to get used to it, although one P.E. teacher at our middle school thought his name was Jakoby, and it wasn't. As far as I remember, there wasn't anyone named Jacob in the entire team. However, when we got in eighth grade--and we had the same three core teachers as we did the previous year--things got a little confusing, at least for one teacher. That teacher was preparing for her wedding, which was taking place during Christmas break of that year, and, as (I'm guessing) is usual for weddings, she had to send out invitations. One friend or family member of the groom's was named Jacob, spelled just like in Genesis. Problem was, she'd spent over an entire school year getting used to writing my friend/her student Jakob's name with a "K," that she nearly wrote that on the wedding invitation, despite the fact that her groom's friend/family member didn't spell it that way. I'm sure that kind of thing could happen, and probably has happened, to a lot of people.
Now, on the topic of misspelling of names. Again, I'm not going to give out my name, but I will say that my name is usually spelled correctly by others. Some people have had trouble with my last name, but, at least it's easily spelled, though I grew quite tired years ago of hearing people, including myself, spell it over and over. Some people hate it when other people misspell their names. I've always wondered why they did, but, since that hasn't been much of a problem for me, I can't really say I know how they feel. If I had a name that was easy to misspell, maybe I'd feel the same way.
You may think that, if very few people misspell my name, then I don't really have to deal with misspelling of names. That's not true. Although some people have misspelled names of friends, including Jakob's, it seems like most of the misspellings of names I've encountered, mostly online, have been of celebrities. You probably know that I used to be a big fan of Hilary Duff and Lizzie McGuire. Well, during that time, I saw people--both ones I knew, and ones I didn't--write things with typos like "Hillery Duff" or "Lizzy Maguire". I never was offended by people doing that; usually, it was just because Hilary and Lizzie weren't anywhere near as important to those people as they were to me. When I switched to Anne Hathaway, it didn't stop; in fact, people were worse about spelling Anne's name than they were Hilary's. People spelled her first name without the "E," and they spelled her last name "Hattheway." The misspellings increased even more after I became a fan of Siobhan Magnus; since making her my No. 3 celebrity crush early this year, I've seen everything from "Siobahn" to even "Sioben".
If any of you reading this have made any of the mistakes I've described here, I'm not making fun of you; like I said, I understand why you and others have done that. Seriously, if it wasn't for spell check, I'd have made some misspellings of proper nouns, including not just people's names, but also place names, including geographical locations, that would shock you. Just recently, I was typing a note on Facebook that, unfortunately, got deleted because of a glitch. Anyway, I was making a reference to the Philadelphia Eagles--I know that doesn't sound like something I'd refer to, but it made sense in the note--and misspelled the city's name when I first typed it. Someone who is a huge fan of that NFL team probably would spell it right most if not all of the time. However, I'm not a football fan, nor do I live anywhere in Pennsylvania, so that city's spelling isn't important to me, just like the proper spelling of Hilary Duff, Lizzie McGuire, Anne Hathaway and/or Siobhan Magnus isn't important to you, because most of you friends of mine aren't and never have been their fans, and even those who were weren't as big of fans as I am/was. Proper nouns are often harder to spell than other parts of speech, especially since they don't follow the pronunciation rules that most non-proper-noun English words follow. So, if you want to talk about somebody and/or something I like, don't think I'll be offended or even the least bit upset if you misspell his/her/its name, because I won't and never will be.
Any comments?
When it comes to names, though, things get a little dicey. There are some names that have tons of different spellings, some of which you can see a few examples of if you look through my friends list. For example, I have three friends named Crystal, as well as one named Krystal, and another one named Krystle. Those are all pronounced the same, yet the spelling is different. Differences in the spellings of names used to confuse me; I can still remember when I was a lot younger and a family friend sent a book called _______ Goes to Town. (Sorry, but not only do I not want to give out my name, even my first name, for all the world to see, but I also hate my name for reasons we don't need to get into.) When we received the book, my mom said, "Oh, look! It's got your name on it! That's so nice of her to send you that!" I looked at the book and at least thought, if not said, "That's not my name!" Why? Because it was spelled one letter different than my actual name.
Although different spellings of familiar names do allow parents to be creative, and make their children more unique, the spellings can also be quite hard on teachers. I went through public school from kindergarten through twelfth grade, and I saw some varied spellings of names. My best friend from seventh grade until high school graduation--yes, we still are friends; quite good friends, in fact--was named Jakob. It was pronounced just like Jacob from Genesis (or Jacob Black from Twilight, for those of you better versed in vampire stories than the Bible) but the spelling was different. At first, his name's different spelling wasn't a big deal; it didn't take the teachers long to get used to it, although one P.E. teacher at our middle school thought his name was Jakoby, and it wasn't. As far as I remember, there wasn't anyone named Jacob in the entire team. However, when we got in eighth grade--and we had the same three core teachers as we did the previous year--things got a little confusing, at least for one teacher. That teacher was preparing for her wedding, which was taking place during Christmas break of that year, and, as (I'm guessing) is usual for weddings, she had to send out invitations. One friend or family member of the groom's was named Jacob, spelled just like in Genesis. Problem was, she'd spent over an entire school year getting used to writing my friend/her student Jakob's name with a "K," that she nearly wrote that on the wedding invitation, despite the fact that her groom's friend/family member didn't spell it that way. I'm sure that kind of thing could happen, and probably has happened, to a lot of people.
Now, on the topic of misspelling of names. Again, I'm not going to give out my name, but I will say that my name is usually spelled correctly by others. Some people have had trouble with my last name, but, at least it's easily spelled, though I grew quite tired years ago of hearing people, including myself, spell it over and over. Some people hate it when other people misspell their names. I've always wondered why they did, but, since that hasn't been much of a problem for me, I can't really say I know how they feel. If I had a name that was easy to misspell, maybe I'd feel the same way.
You may think that, if very few people misspell my name, then I don't really have to deal with misspelling of names. That's not true. Although some people have misspelled names of friends, including Jakob's, it seems like most of the misspellings of names I've encountered, mostly online, have been of celebrities. You probably know that I used to be a big fan of Hilary Duff and Lizzie McGuire. Well, during that time, I saw people--both ones I knew, and ones I didn't--write things with typos like "Hillery Duff" or "Lizzy Maguire". I never was offended by people doing that; usually, it was just because Hilary and Lizzie weren't anywhere near as important to those people as they were to me. When I switched to Anne Hathaway, it didn't stop; in fact, people were worse about spelling Anne's name than they were Hilary's. People spelled her first name without the "E," and they spelled her last name "Hattheway." The misspellings increased even more after I became a fan of Siobhan Magnus; since making her my No. 3 celebrity crush early this year, I've seen everything from "Siobahn" to even "Sioben".
If any of you reading this have made any of the mistakes I've described here, I'm not making fun of you; like I said, I understand why you and others have done that. Seriously, if it wasn't for spell check, I'd have made some misspellings of proper nouns, including not just people's names, but also place names, including geographical locations, that would shock you. Just recently, I was typing a note on Facebook that, unfortunately, got deleted because of a glitch. Anyway, I was making a reference to the Philadelphia Eagles--I know that doesn't sound like something I'd refer to, but it made sense in the note--and misspelled the city's name when I first typed it. Someone who is a huge fan of that NFL team probably would spell it right most if not all of the time. However, I'm not a football fan, nor do I live anywhere in Pennsylvania, so that city's spelling isn't important to me, just like the proper spelling of Hilary Duff, Lizzie McGuire, Anne Hathaway and/or Siobhan Magnus isn't important to you, because most of you friends of mine aren't and never have been their fans, and even those who were weren't as big of fans as I am/was. Proper nouns are often harder to spell than other parts of speech, especially since they don't follow the pronunciation rules that most non-proper-noun English words follow. So, if you want to talk about somebody and/or something I like, don't think I'll be offended or even the least bit upset if you misspell his/her/its name, because I won't and never will be.
Any comments?
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Should They Stay Or Should They Go?
SHOULD THEY STAY OR SHOULD THEY GO?
To the tune of "Should I Stay Or Should I Go?" by the Clash
People, you've got to let me know:
Should they stay or should they go?
Some say my crush on them is fine
Others say it's just a waste of time
So, you've got to let me know:
Should they stay or should they go?
Some peeps say, "Please, please, please!
Just shut up 'bout the celebrities!"
But others don't say anything like that
Instead, the pictures they attract
Well, come on, and let me know:
Should they stay or should they go?
Should they stay or should they go, now? (2x)
If they go, I'll be in trouble
But, if they don't, I'm seen as evil
So, come on and let me know!
Oh, man, this folder is elite
(Anne Hathaway and Ashley Tisdale)
These celeb pictures just can't be beat
(Roberts, Emma and Smithson, Carly)
So what if they've never met me?
(Siobhan Magnus and Kelly Clarkson)
I don't even expect them to ever date me!
(Amy Adams, Janell Wheeler)
Come on and let me know:
(Allison Scagliotti-Smith)
Should I keep them or let them go?
(Selena Gomez, Genevieve Gorder)
Whoo!
List!
(Evan Rachel Wood, Danielle Panabaker)
That's what's up!
*bird sounds*
Should they stay or should they go, now?
(Scarlett Pomers, Demi Lovato)
Should they stay or should they go, now?
(Katie Stevens, Emily Osment)
If they go, I'll be in trouble
(Krystal Meyers, Annie van der Pol)
But, if they stay, I'm seen as evil
(Clemence Poesy and Emma Watson)
So, come on and let me know:
(Anna Paquin, Katija Pevec)
Should I keep them or let them go?
(Lonni Paul, Crystal Bowersox)
Should they stay or should they go, now?
(Amber Tamblyn, Zooey Deschanel)
Should they stay or should they go, now?
(Rebecca St. James, Aly Michalka)
If they go, I'll be in trouble
(Famke Janssen, Frances O'Connor)
But, if they stay, I'm seen as evil
(Victoria Justice and Lea Michele)
So, come on and let me know:
(Traylor Howard and Sabrina Soto)
Should they stay or should they go?
To the tune of "Should I Stay Or Should I Go?" by the Clash
People, you've got to let me know:
Should they stay or should they go?
Some say my crush on them is fine
Others say it's just a waste of time
So, you've got to let me know:
Should they stay or should they go?
Some peeps say, "Please, please, please!
Just shut up 'bout the celebrities!"
But others don't say anything like that
Instead, the pictures they attract
Well, come on, and let me know:
Should they stay or should they go?
Should they stay or should they go, now? (2x)
If they go, I'll be in trouble
But, if they don't, I'm seen as evil
So, come on and let me know!
Oh, man, this folder is elite
(Anne Hathaway and Ashley Tisdale)
These celeb pictures just can't be beat
(Roberts, Emma and Smithson, Carly)
So what if they've never met me?
(Siobhan Magnus and Kelly Clarkson)
I don't even expect them to ever date me!
(Amy Adams, Janell Wheeler)
Come on and let me know:
(Allison Scagliotti-Smith)
Should I keep them or let them go?
(Selena Gomez, Genevieve Gorder)
Whoo!
List!
(Evan Rachel Wood, Danielle Panabaker)
That's what's up!
*bird sounds*
Should they stay or should they go, now?
(Scarlett Pomers, Demi Lovato)
Should they stay or should they go, now?
(Katie Stevens, Emily Osment)
If they go, I'll be in trouble
(Krystal Meyers, Annie van der Pol)
But, if they stay, I'm seen as evil
(Clemence Poesy and Emma Watson)
So, come on and let me know:
(Anna Paquin, Katija Pevec)
Should I keep them or let them go?
(Lonni Paul, Crystal Bowersox)
Should they stay or should they go, now?
(Amber Tamblyn, Zooey Deschanel)
Should they stay or should they go, now?
(Rebecca St. James, Aly Michalka)
If they go, I'll be in trouble
(Famke Janssen, Frances O'Connor)
But, if they stay, I'm seen as evil
(Victoria Justice and Lea Michele)
So, come on and let me know:
(Traylor Howard and Sabrina Soto)
Should they stay or should they go?
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Trivial vs. Serious/Friends and Unfriending
I know those are two completely separate topics, but they've both been on my mind quite a bit recently. Before I start, I'm going to warn you that, although I'm not going to name names, you might find yourself mentioned in this post, and you might not like what I have to say. I'm going to try to refrain from turning this into an angry tirade against anyone, friend or not, but parts of the issues I'm going to talk about are things I take very seriously, even though some people think I shouldn't. Still with me? Then, here we go.
First off, on the "Trivial vs. Serious" post. If you're my Facebook friend, then you can see on my profile the things I've posted lately. There's been everything from song lyrics to quotations from Madeleine L'Engle and J.R.R. Tolkien to reviews of books using LivingSocial to a joke status about killing Barney to a status of nothing but palindromes to four links to this site, two of which were to parodies. Now, I have gotten comments on some of those things. I understand not getting comments on my book reviews; some of my friends rarely if ever read, and most of those who do read even just some of the time aren't really into the whole sci-fi/fantasy/superhero genre, which is fine. However, there have been some posts--statuses and other things--that I thought were much more deserving of comments than the things that actually did. For example, look at this status message I posted not too long ago:
That was posted for no other reason than an attempt to feel good about myself. After all, countless people, even before Facebook, were telling me things like, "Stop being so self-deprecating!," "Stop putting yourself down!," or "You should have more confidence!" I would guess that my posts about my low self-esteem were what caused some people to remove and/or block me on Facebook. Yet, despite all that, when I make a post that says I'm proud of my differences, it doesn't even get a single comment or even a "like."
Can't you understand how that makes me feel? Based on that, it seems like you all think I should continue to lament about how worthless I am, instead of trying to feel good about myself. Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but, when a status message of palindromes gets ten comments, yet a declaration of confidence doesn't elicit a single response, it makes me feel horrible.
Now, I'm not saying that everyone on Facebook--me and all my friends included--should never post anything silly and/or trivial on their pages. Still, I don't want to be silly all the time. Seriously, do you want to have a Facebook friend like Larry the Cucumber? I don't mind making a joke from time to time, but, there are serious things that are, in my opinion, just as deserving of recognition, if not more so. If you're stymied as to what I'm talking about in a post, then, by all means, ask me about it; people have done that before, and I was more than happy to explain. I don't expect all my posts, serious or not, to get a boatload of comments, but, I do expect some recognition for something that people have been asking of me since before I'd even heard of Facebook.
Just so you will know: My dislike of a lack of comments on what I post isn't just because I want attention. It's because, any time I post something other than a review, and don't get a response of any kind, it makes me feel like I've done something wrong. That feeling is not unfounded; in fact, it has a story behind it: Back in early 2007, I posted a note on Facebook asking my friends, who were pretty much all college-age, if they wanted to do something during the summer. When it came to possible activities, I didn't say what we could do; I said all the things we couldn't do. I never got a reply, but, I just figured no one looked at it, which, although I didn't like that, I didn't sit there and lament over it. Then, the next year, I did the same exact thing, and at least two friends said they were offended. I was shocked! Why didn't anyone tell me that when I'd posted essentially the same thing a year before? Ever since then, when nobody comments on a status, blog post, or note, I feel like I've done something wrong. Maybe I shouldn't feel that way, but, I do, because that story is exactly what I think of when no one comments on my non-review posts.
On to the second topic: Friends and unfriending. I think most people on Facebook have been unfriended by someone. There are various reasons why: repeated invites to dumb apps, annoying/disturbing/etc. posts, or even someone you just haven't talked to in a while, among others. I can see why people do that, although, the reasons I named haven't been that big of a problem for me, especially the first one.
Now, let me say this as clearly as I can: I am not jealous of anyone's friend total. Frankly, whether you have five hundred or over 1,500 friends, it doesn't bother me. Why does unfriending bother me, then? Because of its implication that a friendship has ended.
You may think that this is something that Facebook started, but it isn't. Even if I'd never joined any sort of social networking site, there are still broken friendships that I'd lament about. I can still remember old childhood friends (Robert M., Ben C., Cody D., Korrey and Kevin D., etc.) that I have heard absolutely nothing from in years. For all I know, they might not even be living in the same hemisphere as me. I don't sit there and dwell on it, but, sometimes, I get reminded of them because of things that I see, hear, or read. All it takes is a brief mention of Jumpman, tether ball, hypnotism, PlayStation or other things relating to one or more of those friends, and it makes me start thinking, "I wonder what happened to him [or them]?"
Here's the thing: Even though losing contact over time with friends isn't fun, being unfriended on Facebook is, in my opinion, much worse. Why, you ask? Well, two people losing contact usually isn't a sign of any personal issues between the two; but, when someone unfriends someone else on Facebook, it often--though, as I realize, not always--means the person being unfriended has done something wrong in the other person's eyes. I've seen that very thing happen to me on Facebook more than once.
I know some of you have said that I shouldn't even care about the people that have unfriended me. However, the reason I care is simply this: What did I do wrong, and how can I keep from doing the same thing again so I won't lose any more friends? There are some types of posts that I don't do anymore, because I know that they offended people, whether they removed me or not. I don't like losing friends; I never have.
Any comments?
First off, on the "Trivial vs. Serious" post. If you're my Facebook friend, then you can see on my profile the things I've posted lately. There's been everything from song lyrics to quotations from Madeleine L'Engle and J.R.R. Tolkien to reviews of books using LivingSocial to a joke status about killing Barney to a status of nothing but palindromes to four links to this site, two of which were to parodies. Now, I have gotten comments on some of those things. I understand not getting comments on my book reviews; some of my friends rarely if ever read, and most of those who do read even just some of the time aren't really into the whole sci-fi/fantasy/superhero genre, which is fine. However, there have been some posts--statuses and other things--that I thought were much more deserving of comments than the things that actually did. For example, look at this status message I posted not too long ago:
: I'm weird, I'm different, I'm strange, I'm unique, I'm a little crazy and I'm sensitive...and I'm PROUD OF IT!
That was posted for no other reason than an attempt to feel good about myself. After all, countless people, even before Facebook, were telling me things like, "Stop being so self-deprecating!," "Stop putting yourself down!," or "You should have more confidence!" I would guess that my posts about my low self-esteem were what caused some people to remove and/or block me on Facebook. Yet, despite all that, when I make a post that says I'm proud of my differences, it doesn't even get a single comment or even a "like."
Can't you understand how that makes me feel? Based on that, it seems like you all think I should continue to lament about how worthless I am, instead of trying to feel good about myself. Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but, when a status message of palindromes gets ten comments, yet a declaration of confidence doesn't elicit a single response, it makes me feel horrible.
Now, I'm not saying that everyone on Facebook--me and all my friends included--should never post anything silly and/or trivial on their pages. Still, I don't want to be silly all the time. Seriously, do you want to have a Facebook friend like Larry the Cucumber? I don't mind making a joke from time to time, but, there are serious things that are, in my opinion, just as deserving of recognition, if not more so. If you're stymied as to what I'm talking about in a post, then, by all means, ask me about it; people have done that before, and I was more than happy to explain. I don't expect all my posts, serious or not, to get a boatload of comments, but, I do expect some recognition for something that people have been asking of me since before I'd even heard of Facebook.
Just so you will know: My dislike of a lack of comments on what I post isn't just because I want attention. It's because, any time I post something other than a review, and don't get a response of any kind, it makes me feel like I've done something wrong. That feeling is not unfounded; in fact, it has a story behind it: Back in early 2007, I posted a note on Facebook asking my friends, who were pretty much all college-age, if they wanted to do something during the summer. When it came to possible activities, I didn't say what we could do; I said all the things we couldn't do. I never got a reply, but, I just figured no one looked at it, which, although I didn't like that, I didn't sit there and lament over it. Then, the next year, I did the same exact thing, and at least two friends said they were offended. I was shocked! Why didn't anyone tell me that when I'd posted essentially the same thing a year before? Ever since then, when nobody comments on a status, blog post, or note, I feel like I've done something wrong. Maybe I shouldn't feel that way, but, I do, because that story is exactly what I think of when no one comments on my non-review posts.
On to the second topic: Friends and unfriending. I think most people on Facebook have been unfriended by someone. There are various reasons why: repeated invites to dumb apps, annoying/disturbing/etc. posts, or even someone you just haven't talked to in a while, among others. I can see why people do that, although, the reasons I named haven't been that big of a problem for me, especially the first one.
Now, let me say this as clearly as I can: I am not jealous of anyone's friend total. Frankly, whether you have five hundred or over 1,500 friends, it doesn't bother me. Why does unfriending bother me, then? Because of its implication that a friendship has ended.
You may think that this is something that Facebook started, but it isn't. Even if I'd never joined any sort of social networking site, there are still broken friendships that I'd lament about. I can still remember old childhood friends (Robert M., Ben C., Cody D., Korrey and Kevin D., etc.) that I have heard absolutely nothing from in years. For all I know, they might not even be living in the same hemisphere as me. I don't sit there and dwell on it, but, sometimes, I get reminded of them because of things that I see, hear, or read. All it takes is a brief mention of Jumpman, tether ball, hypnotism, PlayStation or other things relating to one or more of those friends, and it makes me start thinking, "I wonder what happened to him [or them]?"
Here's the thing: Even though losing contact over time with friends isn't fun, being unfriended on Facebook is, in my opinion, much worse. Why, you ask? Well, two people losing contact usually isn't a sign of any personal issues between the two; but, when someone unfriends someone else on Facebook, it often--though, as I realize, not always--means the person being unfriended has done something wrong in the other person's eyes. I've seen that very thing happen to me on Facebook more than once.
I know some of you have said that I shouldn't even care about the people that have unfriended me. However, the reason I care is simply this: What did I do wrong, and how can I keep from doing the same thing again so I won't lose any more friends? There are some types of posts that I don't do anymore, because I know that they offended people, whether they removed me or not. I don't like losing friends; I never have.
Any comments?
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Favorite TV, Movie and Literary Moments
You all probably know that I love entertainment, especially TV, movies and books. So, now, I present some of my favorite snippets of dialogue and/or narration from things I've seen or read. Read these and see if you don't laugh.
Maxwell Smart: Chief, I have to say this whole thing really stems my plans. I can not get over the fact that 23 is a traitor.
Chief: Sand trap!
[they crash through a sand trap]
Maxwell Smart: Now I know how you must have felt when you thought I was a traitor, it is demoralizing!
Chief: Tractor!
[they crash over a tractor]
Maxwell Smart: Argh, I don't know how I missed it, I am usually very observant.
Chief: SWORDFISH!
[they crash right into a swordfish]
Maxwell Smart: [car comes to a stop] Are you thinking what I'm thinking?
Chief: I don't know. Were you thinking, "Holy cow, holy cow, a swordfish almost went through my head"? If so, then yes.
-- Get Smart (2008)
If something goes wrong with an e-mail you send, you'll get an e-mail from MAILER-DAEMON@aol.com (which sounds like a character from Tron Meets the Exorcist.)
-- An old America Online for Dummies book I used to have
Brad: I got detention.
Jill: How could you get detention?!
Brad: Everybody gets detention sometime!
Jill: It's the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! No one ever gets detention on the first day of school!
Tim: I wouldn't say, "No one," honey.
-- Home Improvement
Bill Gaither: How stupid can you get, Mark?
Mark Lowry: You ain't seen nothin' yet!
-- I Do Believe music video
[Celebrities are trying to imitate Colin Mochrie]
Kermit the Frog: No, no, no; this is Colin. [goes behind "square," then comes back up with his face flattened]
[audience laughs like crazy]
Tom Bergeron: He's the Jim Carrey of felt!
Jiminy Glick: [to Martin Mull] You know, I just loved you in Adam-12.
[awkward silence]
Tom Bergeron: Wasn't that Martin Milner?
Jiminy Glick: Oh, yeah. He was good.
-- Hollywood Squares (1998-2004)
[Chelsea and Eddie watch as some psychic friends Raven has made are moving objects with their minds]
Eddie: Whoa! Chelsea, did you see that?
Chelsea: Yeah, I know. Gosh, that was a lot of pepper.
Eddie: Chelsea, that thing floated!
Chelsea: Yeah, it's still way too much pepper.
-- That's So Raven
When Jacob heard that grain was available in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why are you standing around looking at one another?"
-- Genesis 42:1 (NLT)
-- Garfield (obviously ;])
[Elisha, during a creation/evolution debate] turned in her desk and glared at him. "Those bones support the muscles that keep you from pooping in your pants, in case you didn't know! But if you think you don't need yours..." She groped in her handbag and pulled out her wallet. "I will gladly pay for you to have yours removed!"
-- Hangman's Curse by Frank Peretti
Mr. Lunt: [to Pa and Larry, while Junior is sitting nearby] You know, those lobsters there remind me of my Aunt Tanya. You'll never believe this, but my Aunt Tanya was a lobster!
Pa Grape: Yea, right.
Mr. Lunt: I'm serious! Whenever she fell asleep, we used to pull at her tendons and make her legs move.
Pa Grape: Surrre.
Mr. Lunt: No, really! We tried it at the church picnic once, and we actually got her walking across the table!
Junior: What?!!
Mr. Lunt: Hey! They told me to ad-lib! If there's no script, you take what you can get, my friend!
Pa Grape: True, but you gotta admit: that was odd.
-- Outtakes from Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie
"That camera makes me look fat! I'm not really that fat!"
-- A former local celebrity (who will remain nameless) in the middle of her weather forecast
Mrs. Bitterman: Since you're here, I'd like you to fix my desk.
Assistant: Fix your desk.
Mrs. Bitterman: And, while you're at it, you can oil my chair for me.
Assistant: Oil your chair.
Mrs. Bitterman: You know, not everything is an innuendo!
Assistant: Innuendo.
-- It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie
Cruella: Congratulations! You have just won gold, silver and bronze in the Moron Olympics!
Horace: Who won the gold?
Cruella: SHUT UP!
-- 101 Dalmatians (1996 live-action film)
Ayel: Your species is even weaker than I expected...
[chokes Kirk]
Ayel: You can't even speak!
[Kirk garbles]
Ayel: What?
James T. Kirk: I've got your gun!
[shoots Ayel]
-- Star Trek (2009)
Captain James T. Kirk: I can't believe I kissed you!
Martia: [transformed into Kirk] Must have been your lifelong ambition!
-- Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
"I be the Teletubby, wubby, wubby, stinkfish! Uh, that one white dude, uh...what was the question? Wuuuuuuuuuu-Taaaaaang!"
-- A fake quotation from rap star ODB in a joke article about a Game Informer staff member running for President
Maxwell Smart: Chief, I have to say this whole thing really stems my plans. I can not get over the fact that 23 is a traitor.
Chief: Sand trap!
[they crash through a sand trap]
Maxwell Smart: Now I know how you must have felt when you thought I was a traitor, it is demoralizing!
Chief: Tractor!
[they crash over a tractor]
Maxwell Smart: Argh, I don't know how I missed it, I am usually very observant.
Chief: SWORDFISH!
[they crash right into a swordfish]
Maxwell Smart: [car comes to a stop] Are you thinking what I'm thinking?
Chief: I don't know. Were you thinking, "Holy cow, holy cow, a swordfish almost went through my head"? If so, then yes.
-- Get Smart (2008)
If something goes wrong with an e-mail you send, you'll get an e-mail from MAILER-DAEMON@aol.com (which sounds like a character from Tron Meets the Exorcist.)
-- An old America Online for Dummies book I used to have
Brad: I got detention.
Jill: How could you get detention?!
Brad: Everybody gets detention sometime!
Jill: It's the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! No one ever gets detention on the first day of school!
Tim: I wouldn't say, "No one," honey.
-- Home Improvement
Bill Gaither: How stupid can you get, Mark?
Mark Lowry: You ain't seen nothin' yet!
-- I Do Believe music video
[Celebrities are trying to imitate Colin Mochrie]
Kermit the Frog: No, no, no; this is Colin. [goes behind "square," then comes back up with his face flattened]
[audience laughs like crazy]
Tom Bergeron: He's the Jim Carrey of felt!
Jiminy Glick: [to Martin Mull] You know, I just loved you in Adam-12.
[awkward silence]
Tom Bergeron: Wasn't that Martin Milner?
Jiminy Glick: Oh, yeah. He was good.
-- Hollywood Squares (1998-2004)
[Chelsea and Eddie watch as some psychic friends Raven has made are moving objects with their minds]
Eddie: Whoa! Chelsea, did you see that?
Chelsea: Yeah, I know. Gosh, that was a lot of pepper.
Eddie: Chelsea, that thing floated!
Chelsea: Yeah, it's still way too much pepper.
-- That's So Raven
When Jacob heard that grain was available in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why are you standing around looking at one another?"
-- Genesis 42:1 (NLT)
-- Garfield (obviously ;])
[Elisha, during a creation/evolution debate] turned in her desk and glared at him. "Those bones support the muscles that keep you from pooping in your pants, in case you didn't know! But if you think you don't need yours..." She groped in her handbag and pulled out her wallet. "I will gladly pay for you to have yours removed!"
-- Hangman's Curse by Frank Peretti
Mr. Lunt: [to Pa and Larry, while Junior is sitting nearby] You know, those lobsters there remind me of my Aunt Tanya. You'll never believe this, but my Aunt Tanya was a lobster!
Pa Grape: Yea, right.
Mr. Lunt: I'm serious! Whenever she fell asleep, we used to pull at her tendons and make her legs move.
Pa Grape: Surrre.
Mr. Lunt: No, really! We tried it at the church picnic once, and we actually got her walking across the table!
Junior: What?!!
Mr. Lunt: Hey! They told me to ad-lib! If there's no script, you take what you can get, my friend!
Pa Grape: True, but you gotta admit: that was odd.
-- Outtakes from Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie
"That camera makes me look fat! I'm not really that fat!"
-- A former local celebrity (who will remain nameless) in the middle of her weather forecast
Mrs. Bitterman: Since you're here, I'd like you to fix my desk.
Assistant: Fix your desk.
Mrs. Bitterman: And, while you're at it, you can oil my chair for me.
Assistant: Oil your chair.
Mrs. Bitterman: You know, not everything is an innuendo!
Assistant: Innuendo.
-- It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie
Cruella: Congratulations! You have just won gold, silver and bronze in the Moron Olympics!
Horace: Who won the gold?
Cruella: SHUT UP!
-- 101 Dalmatians (1996 live-action film)
Ayel: Your species is even weaker than I expected...
[chokes Kirk]
Ayel: You can't even speak!
[Kirk garbles]
Ayel: What?
James T. Kirk: I've got your gun!
[shoots Ayel]
-- Star Trek (2009)
Captain James T. Kirk: I can't believe I kissed you!
Martia: [transformed into Kirk] Must have been your lifelong ambition!
-- Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
"I be the Teletubby, wubby, wubby, stinkfish! Uh, that one white dude, uh...what was the question? Wuuuuuuuuuu-Taaaaaang!"
-- A fake quotation from rap star ODB in a joke article about a Game Informer staff member running for President
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Advertising and the General Public
It's been said often--at least, from what I've read--that the amount of advertising is on the increase. Not only do you see it during TV commercial breaks or on billboards, but you also see it on websites, at the movies, sometimes even in the form of "product placement" during the movie, and even in video games. It seems like you really can't go anywhere or do anything without seeing some sort of advertisement.
Now, here's the thing: I understand the purpose of advertising: to sell products. Advertising can be informative; sometimes, movie posters and trailers are the easiest way to find out a film's release date. Like a lot of things, advertising is good in moderation. However, in the past decade or so, it has just gone into overkill. Not only did the Spider-Man GameCube game (and, I'm guessing, the PS2 and X-Box versions of it, as well) have real-life company logos like MetLife featured in it, but, also, while I was at a library in my city today, I was looking at an issue of Teen Vogue--which is not a magazine I have ever read before, mind you, and the only reason I was looking at it was because it featured Victorious star Victoria Justice--and the first fifteen pages were nothing but advertising, and it continued after that! That is entirely too much!
Truth be told, the power of advertising is difficult to overcome. So many products advertise themselves like they're something they're not. For example, way back in 2002, I went to see the movie Snow Dogs. The previews showed the dogs talking, making the movie look like it was one of those talking animal flicks in the vein of Disney's original 101 Dalmatians, but live-action instead of a cartoon. However, the movie did not deliver that. Although the dogs did talk, the only scene that they did so in was a dream sequence that Cuba Gooding, Jr.'s character had. Outside of that, the dogs did nothing but bark like normal dogs. The movie was still cute and fun, but I've always wondered if some people, especially little kids and their parents, didn't feel cheated when they watched it. There have been other movies that I've only heard or read about--The Village and Land of the Lost currently come to mind--that also had quite misleading previews, according to my sources. Yet, because of what the previews promised, people still went to them in droves, and a good part of them ended up wishing they didn't.
I would hope that, sometime in the near future, advertising will tone down a bit. However, with ever-evolving technology, it probably won't. New technologies will just mean new ways for companies to push their products, and there isn't much that can stop them from doing it. Frankly, I've had about enough of excessive advertising. Has anyone else?
Now, here's the thing: I understand the purpose of advertising: to sell products. Advertising can be informative; sometimes, movie posters and trailers are the easiest way to find out a film's release date. Like a lot of things, advertising is good in moderation. However, in the past decade or so, it has just gone into overkill. Not only did the Spider-Man GameCube game (and, I'm guessing, the PS2 and X-Box versions of it, as well) have real-life company logos like MetLife featured in it, but, also, while I was at a library in my city today, I was looking at an issue of Teen Vogue--which is not a magazine I have ever read before, mind you, and the only reason I was looking at it was because it featured Victorious star Victoria Justice--and the first fifteen pages were nothing but advertising, and it continued after that! That is entirely too much!
Truth be told, the power of advertising is difficult to overcome. So many products advertise themselves like they're something they're not. For example, way back in 2002, I went to see the movie Snow Dogs. The previews showed the dogs talking, making the movie look like it was one of those talking animal flicks in the vein of Disney's original 101 Dalmatians, but live-action instead of a cartoon. However, the movie did not deliver that. Although the dogs did talk, the only scene that they did so in was a dream sequence that Cuba Gooding, Jr.'s character had. Outside of that, the dogs did nothing but bark like normal dogs. The movie was still cute and fun, but I've always wondered if some people, especially little kids and their parents, didn't feel cheated when they watched it. There have been other movies that I've only heard or read about--The Village and Land of the Lost currently come to mind--that also had quite misleading previews, according to my sources. Yet, because of what the previews promised, people still went to them in droves, and a good part of them ended up wishing they didn't.
I would hope that, sometime in the near future, advertising will tone down a bit. However, with ever-evolving technology, it probably won't. New technologies will just mean new ways for companies to push their products, and there isn't much that can stop them from doing it. Frankly, I've had about enough of excessive advertising. Has anyone else?
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Get Off Facebook (A Message To Myself)
DISCLAIMER: I know right many people consider themselves Facebook addicts, but this is not directed at you, no matter who you are. There is only one person who this is directed at: ME. So, don't think I'm expecting you to go learn Klingon, because I'm not, though, if you want to, great! Still with me? Then, here we go.
GET OFF FACEBOOK (A MESSAGE TO MYSELF)
To the tune of "The Look" by Roxette
Please, please, no more!
Got so many friends
Do you truly know 'em?
Pages for the fans,
They've really overdone it.
Wanna know my thoughts?
Get off Facebook.
The site's bringin' you down
But you're still spendin' hours
On it, despite your frown,
Your pouty little glower.
Again, here are my thoughts:
Get off Facebook.
CHORUS:
Get off Facebook! (4x)
There are so many other things that you could do
Yet, staying on that social site is what you choose!
Like I said:
La la la la la
Get off Facebook!
Facebook is nice
When used in moderation.
But addiction's not right.
It just brings you down.
Go read a great novel.
Get off Facebook.
It's gotten out of hand.
Go jam to MC Hammer.
Watch some Nickelodeon.
Laugh at Carly and Sam.
See Tori Vega's new dance.
Get off Facebook.
REPEAT CHORUS
Now!
Put in Spider-Man.
Or, maybe, the sequel.
Learn to ride the tram,
Or how to speak Klingon.
Your depression will stop
Without Facebook.
And you'll go:
Na na na...
Don't need Facebook!
Don't need Facebook! (4x)
I have found so many other things to do!
And being on there so much just made me blue!
And you'll go:
La la la la la
I'm off Facebook!
Chatting with friends is okay to do.
But you should not stick to it all day like glue.
So I say:
La la la la la
Na na na...
Get off Facebook!
You know! (REPEAT ALL THREE LINES UNTIL FADE)
GET OFF FACEBOOK (A MESSAGE TO MYSELF)
To the tune of "The Look" by Roxette
Please, please, no more!
Got so many friends
Do you truly know 'em?
Pages for the fans,
They've really overdone it.
Wanna know my thoughts?
Get off Facebook.
The site's bringin' you down
But you're still spendin' hours
On it, despite your frown,
Your pouty little glower.
Again, here are my thoughts:
Get off Facebook.
CHORUS:
Get off Facebook! (4x)
There are so many other things that you could do
Yet, staying on that social site is what you choose!
Like I said:
La la la la la
Get off Facebook!
Facebook is nice
When used in moderation.
But addiction's not right.
It just brings you down.
Go read a great novel.
Get off Facebook.
It's gotten out of hand.
Go jam to MC Hammer.
Watch some Nickelodeon.
Laugh at Carly and Sam.
See Tori Vega's new dance.
Get off Facebook.
REPEAT CHORUS
Now!
Put in Spider-Man.
Or, maybe, the sequel.
Learn to ride the tram,
Or how to speak Klingon.
Your depression will stop
Without Facebook.
And you'll go:
Na na na...
Don't need Facebook!
Don't need Facebook! (4x)
I have found so many other things to do!
And being on there so much just made me blue!
And you'll go:
La la la la la
I'm off Facebook!
Chatting with friends is okay to do.
But you should not stick to it all day like glue.
So I say:
La la la la la
Na na na...
Get off Facebook!
You know! (REPEAT ALL THREE LINES UNTIL FADE)
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