When reading this title, go ahead and picture me with my right hand firmly grasping a particularly insulting part of my male anatomy, while the other hand has its longest and centermost finger pointing skyward.
Just kidding. Even if I may not agree with Occupy’s complaints and desires, or how they go about expressing them - Hey, I have an idea. Let’s stage a protest because there are people that have a whole lot of money, and we don’t have as much as we think we should have. How will we protest? I say we go and just sit around all day and night right outside where they go to WORK everyday! - , I am a southern man with a certain level of class, and would NEVER grab my genitals in anger toward anyone.
And I do not intend for this to be a for or against Occupy Wall Street piece anyway. I want to take a look at the mindset of the Occupy crowd, and present a theory as to why it is they think the way they think, anger the way they anger, and feel the way they feel. And what conclusion did I come up with? What is the only logical explanation for the Occupy way of thinking? Easy. Blame Hollywood.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Is popular culture truly fractured, or do we all still enjoy the same stuff? Also, thank God for the Internet. by Daniel Ford
There have been many arguments made lately concerning how popular culture has become fractured and divided, and that there now exists subsets upon subsets upon subsets of niches, each with its own group of followers. For example, gone are the days when the majority of America tune in to watch one particular show on one particular network; instead, there are now 1000 different channels with 1000 different programs. And the same goes for all types of popular media, including books and magazines, music, TV and movies, and of course, the ubiquitous web. With so much available, many of us begin finding our own favorite things that our friends and family may not like—or even know about.
The following is a rundown of my own personal Internet stomping grounds, both as an effort to give the reader a few sites to check out, and as an experiment to find out how many other people visit the same places on the web. Or maybe you just need more distractions from work.
The following is a rundown of my own personal Internet stomping grounds, both as an effort to give the reader a few sites to check out, and as an experiment to find out how many other people visit the same places on the web. Or maybe you just need more distractions from work.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
What We Like: The Polaroids of Mikael Kennedy
Mikael Kennedy began documenting his life and travels via Polaroid photographs in 1999. He wandered around the U.S and abroad for a decade, capturing hauntingly beautiful images of what he saw and who he met.
Kennedy has published 9 volumes of artist books, and his Polaroids are permanently archived on his blog, Passport to Trespass. His work is represented by Peter Hay Halpert Fine Art, NYC and has been exhibited all over the U.S., including an exhibition of 500 Polaroids at the Chelsea Hotel in New York. His work can also be seen as part of the permanent collection at Houston’s Museum of Fine Art.
There is a calming charm in the subtleness of his work. Each photograph feels as if you just pulled it out of an old shoebox that had been tucked away in your attic for years. You feel as if each landscape is a wonderful place you’ve visited, and that each portrait subject is a dear ol’ friend. There’s a certain comfort in familiarity, a sense of home.
Mikael Kennedy
Passport to Trespass
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Friday, November 18, 2011
My Beef with "There's no new good music": an argument supported with 10 of 2011's finest albums by Daniel Ford
My beef with “there’s no new good music”: an argument supported with 10 of 2011’s finest albums
For some music lovers out there, the medium quit evolving the moment when the Beatles broke up, or the Sex Pistols, or the Velvet Underground, or Pink Floyd. The world, for them, is now a cold, grey, empty place with nothing to provide them comfort but a well-worn copy of their favorite band’s opus—recorded and released 15, 20, even 30 years ago—and whose members are now dead or dying. For these lost souls, the day that the music died is quite real. And so when one of these “there’s nothing worthwhile or exciting happening in music today” subscribers passes a line of excited concert goers stretching and winding its way up the block it’s not just confusing, it’s verging on sacrilege. Why spend time and money listening to a band whose songs are just parodies and desperate echoes of what came before? The following are 10 of 2011’s finest albums, proving that music today is alive and well.
For some music lovers out there, the medium quit evolving the moment when the Beatles broke up, or the Sex Pistols, or the Velvet Underground, or Pink Floyd. The world, for them, is now a cold, grey, empty place with nothing to provide them comfort but a well-worn copy of their favorite band’s opus—recorded and released 15, 20, even 30 years ago—and whose members are now dead or dying. For these lost souls, the day that the music died is quite real. And so when one of these “there’s nothing worthwhile or exciting happening in music today” subscribers passes a line of excited concert goers stretching and winding its way up the block it’s not just confusing, it’s verging on sacrilege. Why spend time and money listening to a band whose songs are just parodies and desperate echoes of what came before? The following are 10 of 2011’s finest albums, proving that music today is alive and well.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Why Should We Care? by Erin Irvin
Wiki Page about National Museum of Iraq and Background on its Looting
"Why Should We Care?" John Malcolm Russell's 2003 Article from Art Journal
Okay, this really affected me when I heard about it, which, sadly, was only very recently. Let’s talk about that second link, which is what introduced me to this issue. You can click through to access it from your local library, or purchase it for a paltry sum. John Malcolm Russell's "Why Should We Care", which, as you can see above, is a 2003 article in Art Journal that starts out as a this lament for the loss of ancient artifacts from the Iraq Museum, but soon becomes a lament for the loss of cultural definition thereby entailed. And he makes an interesting point—it's not about the stolen cult vase; it's about what the stolen cult vase represents.
Archeology has always fascinated me; I think if I wasn’t prone to words and music, I’d have been some sort of excavator. Discovery is the student of Creation. That’s what interests me about this kind of work. I mean, think about it. Within their environmental context, objects embody time. They are direct connections to the past, present, and even the future. Artists took time to hone their skills in order to tell a story and, moreover, structuralize the world through their creations.
But, that world is instantly fragmented when these objects are dispersed. Without them, these links in time are gone, or at least dulled beyond recognition.
And who are any of us if we can’t define ourselves by what's come before?
Russell argues that we aren't much and I have to say I agree. If we don't honor the past, we risk being what we're told we are, we allow ourselves to be filled with the ideals of consumerism and narrow nationalism, but, most importantly, we lose all sense of culture. That's the significance of these objects—the archaeological context surrounding them. The ultimate goal is to learn about our ancestors. And we can learn a lot from an artifact, as long as its environmental context is intact.
Russell's strongest evidence of this is his class experiment. When he’s professoring and not journalisting, he takes his class to a museum and splits the group in two. One half is sent to a gallery of excavated artifacts, the other to a gallery of market pieces, but none of them are told the difference. The students are told to study their respective galleries and then present what they learned about the past from the objects within. The perpetually identical results of the exercise don't lie: those who study the market gallery learn nothing beyond the visual, while those who study the excavated gallery talk about what they learned from the people who used those objects. We can always learn more about where we came from and the peoples of the past from the excavated gallery (where the entire display is made up of artifacts taken from the same excavation site, thus giving viewers a glimpse into the world those objects came from) as opposed to the market gallery (where lone, random artifacts are placed together in displays, thus giving viewers only traces of a glimpse into history). Objects, he points out, can’t speak for themselves—and, as keys to the past, they can’t function on their own; they need their surroundings.
He raises some interesting questions. How do we get people to care? You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. Let’s suppose this article was spread heavily around the world. People may learn why they should care, but does that mean they will? What next? If there are people out there pillaging and plundering even now, what about ‘should’ is going to change their behavior? So, the question becomes what steps are we, the ones who do care, going to take to put an end to all this looting? Is the author a fatalist, spouting a woebegone rant that begins to sound very desperate, as if it’s too late? Or is it really, as the title would have us believe, a tool to incite any and all readers to action? If so, what do we do now?
This guy’s genuine fervor isn’t without merit, but it feels like it’s only the beginning. The good news is there seem to be a large number of people who do care about the past, or there wouldn’t be discussions on NPR, nor college degrees and professional work in this field. Perhaps it’s simply time for these troupes of caring students-of-the-world to rally, and secure the past for the future.
Thoughts?
xxErin
"Why Should We Care?" John Malcolm Russell's 2003 Article from Art Journal
Okay, this really affected me when I heard about it, which, sadly, was only very recently. Let’s talk about that second link, which is what introduced me to this issue. You can click through to access it from your local library, or purchase it for a paltry sum. John Malcolm Russell's "Why Should We Care", which, as you can see above, is a 2003 article in Art Journal that starts out as a this lament for the loss of ancient artifacts from the Iraq Museum, but soon becomes a lament for the loss of cultural definition thereby entailed. And he makes an interesting point—it's not about the stolen cult vase; it's about what the stolen cult vase represents.
Archeology has always fascinated me; I think if I wasn’t prone to words and music, I’d have been some sort of excavator. Discovery is the student of Creation. That’s what interests me about this kind of work. I mean, think about it. Within their environmental context, objects embody time. They are direct connections to the past, present, and even the future. Artists took time to hone their skills in order to tell a story and, moreover, structuralize the world through their creations.
But, that world is instantly fragmented when these objects are dispersed. Without them, these links in time are gone, or at least dulled beyond recognition.
And who are any of us if we can’t define ourselves by what's come before?
Russell argues that we aren't much and I have to say I agree. If we don't honor the past, we risk being what we're told we are, we allow ourselves to be filled with the ideals of consumerism and narrow nationalism, but, most importantly, we lose all sense of culture. That's the significance of these objects—the archaeological context surrounding them. The ultimate goal is to learn about our ancestors. And we can learn a lot from an artifact, as long as its environmental context is intact.
Russell's strongest evidence of this is his class experiment. When he’s professoring and not journalisting, he takes his class to a museum and splits the group in two. One half is sent to a gallery of excavated artifacts, the other to a gallery of market pieces, but none of them are told the difference. The students are told to study their respective galleries and then present what they learned about the past from the objects within. The perpetually identical results of the exercise don't lie: those who study the market gallery learn nothing beyond the visual, while those who study the excavated gallery talk about what they learned from the people who used those objects. We can always learn more about where we came from and the peoples of the past from the excavated gallery (where the entire display is made up of artifacts taken from the same excavation site, thus giving viewers a glimpse into the world those objects came from) as opposed to the market gallery (where lone, random artifacts are placed together in displays, thus giving viewers only traces of a glimpse into history). Objects, he points out, can’t speak for themselves—and, as keys to the past, they can’t function on their own; they need their surroundings.
He raises some interesting questions. How do we get people to care? You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. Let’s suppose this article was spread heavily around the world. People may learn why they should care, but does that mean they will? What next? If there are people out there pillaging and plundering even now, what about ‘should’ is going to change their behavior? So, the question becomes what steps are we, the ones who do care, going to take to put an end to all this looting? Is the author a fatalist, spouting a woebegone rant that begins to sound very desperate, as if it’s too late? Or is it really, as the title would have us believe, a tool to incite any and all readers to action? If so, what do we do now?
This guy’s genuine fervor isn’t without merit, but it feels like it’s only the beginning. The good news is there seem to be a large number of people who do care about the past, or there wouldn’t be discussions on NPR, nor college degrees and professional work in this field. Perhaps it’s simply time for these troupes of caring students-of-the-world to rally, and secure the past for the future.
Thoughts?
xxErin
Peaches. Words and Photographs by Justin Bristow
An irresponsible farmer recently abandoned a few rows of peach trees and blackberry bushes. My grandfather, being the stand-up guy that he is, took it upon himself to rescue and resurrect these fledgling plants.
I recently spent a Thursday afternoon helping harvest the fruits of his labor.
I recently spent a Thursday afternoon helping harvest the fruits of his labor.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Loving Youth Lagoon
Youth Lagoon is the musical moniker of 22 year old Trevor Powers from Boise, ID.
From the album The Year of Hibernation, available now on Fat Possum Records.
From the album The Year of Hibernation, available now on Fat Possum Records.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Jordans and Untrained Sphincters: The pressures of being 27 and married by Daniel Ford
I’m 27—going on 28—and married. I hadn’t anticipated it, but that means that people inevitably start wondering “so, when are you going to have kids?” as if that’s the next logical step in my adulthood. As if that’s the only thing that we have in our future that matters. No one asks “so when are you going to take that trip to Prague?” or “when are you going to get a dog?” or “when are you going to buy stock in Google?” Nope. People want to know when my wife and I are going to “start a family” as if that’s as easy as deciding Wendy’s or Whataburger (Wendy’s, duh).
Start a family? Make a little reproduction of me that will enter the world with a cone head and an untrained sphincter? Make a real live human being that will piss and moan for, like, 18 years about being hungry or being sick or needing the newest Jordans? That’s what I’m now supposed to do with my life? Now!? And though I don’t have the cajones to give the answer that I want to give, it’s always on the tip of my tongue: We’ve got other things going on right now, and we simply don’t have any room in our lives for kids.
Start a family? Make a little reproduction of me that will enter the world with a cone head and an untrained sphincter? Make a real live human being that will piss and moan for, like, 18 years about being hungry or being sick or needing the newest Jordans? That’s what I’m now supposed to do with my life? Now!? And though I don’t have the cajones to give the answer that I want to give, it’s always on the tip of my tongue: We’ve got other things going on right now, and we simply don’t have any room in our lives for kids.
Writing, Empty Theme Parks, and David Lynch's Secret by Erin Irvin
For those of you who perhaps haven’t seen David Lynch’s Twin Peaks,
but do intend on watching it at some point, you might want to skip this blog entry because there are pretty much a ton of spoilers about the show. (Honestly, it’s really for those who have seen it anyway, because if you haven’t you won’t get what I’m going on about.) For those who have seen it, please read on and give your own thoughts in the comment section below.
I recently (and finally, since my fiancé has been hounding me about it for y.e.a.r.s) finished watching Twin Peaks, and, though the mystery has been solved, I’ve found I’m no less intrigued by the story of Laura Palmer's death.
but do intend on watching it at some point, you might want to skip this blog entry because there are pretty much a ton of spoilers about the show. (Honestly, it’s really for those who have seen it anyway, because if you haven’t you won’t get what I’m going on about.) For those who have seen it, please read on and give your own thoughts in the comment section below.
I recently (and finally, since my fiancé has been hounding me about it for y.e.a.r.s) finished watching Twin Peaks, and, though the mystery has been solved, I’ve found I’m no less intrigued by the story of Laura Palmer's death.
Is The Age of Reason Dead? By Marc Usery
I believe that we, as humans, have a constant conflict going between our minds and hearts. Modest Mouse sings about this conflict in their song “Heart Cooks Brain,” and author Terry Goodkind uses this conflict as the basis for the wizard’s third rule: “passion rules reason; for the better or worse.” But, which is more important? When making and important decision do you base your decision on what “feels” right, or what is more logical? Personally, I believe that reason and logic should precede feeling and emotion in all decisions and actions. Sadly, I think most Americans believe the opposite.
Let’s begin with some small examples. You probably know, or have known, someone in a bad relationship. It is obvious to you that the person your friend is with is bad news, whether they are cheating on your friend, using them, or possibly abusing them. You also know what it’s like when you try to bring this up to your friend… usually the end of the friendship. Why is that? This is an example of someone putting emotion over reason. For whatever reason, they feel the need to stay in this relationship so they totally ignore all logic and reason to continue to be with that person. Likewise, this can also happen with the relationship between parent and child. There are some parents, who are increasing in number, who honestly believe their child can do no wrong. Failing grades at school? The teacher isn’t doing their job! Got in trouble? It was the other kids’ fault! Got fired from their first job? The boss shouldn’t be so strict! This is yet, another example of what happens when a person puts emotion over reason.
But, is that such a bad thing? After all, your friend in the relationship seems happy and the parent is just improving their child’s self esteem. Or are they… Sure, the person in the relationship seems happy now, but what about in a few years after the “in love” feeling wears off? After they may have married that person, or perhaps had a child with them? It will be much harder to end the relationship then, when they come to their senses, then it would have if they would have just harnessed in their emotions at the start and used reason to make the choice of whether or not they should be with that person. The parent may think they are doing a great thing for their child, but what happens to that child after being raised without being held accountable for their actions. This is what ushers in the entitlement philosophy that is plaguing our nation today. This is what happens when people can’t rely on their parents for everything they need any more so they turn to ol’ Uncle Sam. “I don’t have money for food! …I spent it all on that iPhone,” “I can’t keep a job! …I called in twice this week… There were some parties I just HAD to be at!” I’m sure you can think of many other examples of this. So, what does the government do? It comes to the “rescue” with handouts, further suppressing any need for these people to help themselves.
Many times when emotion is used to make a decision, it is only for immediate gratification. Emotion isn’t very good at looking into the future. Reason on the other hand, may make the choice that is not very fun or desirable in the present, but will pay off in the future. It’s kind of like saving money. Sure, I can use all my money to buy up all these gadgets and gizmos now, or I can put some away in savings or make investments. But, what good are all those gadgets going to do for you when you get layed off and can’t make your house payment? On the other hand, if you save or invest your money you will be in better shape should something unexpected come up.
For an even bigger example, look at the last presidential election. Barack Obama got elected on nothing more that promising “Hope and Change.” People attached themselves to this slogan, making it into whatever they wanted it to be. Some even believed that this meant that Obama would pay their rent and gas bills… There were even people fainting at his campaign stops. People got so caught up in the emotion that they just threw all logic out the window. Obama was going to “make the tides recede, bring peace to the world, and undo what those dastardly republicans have done the previous eight years! And, if you disagreed with him, you are obviously a RACIST!” You could not have a reasonable debate with these people; they were completely using emotion alone. But now that the “honeymoon” period is over, people are starting to wake up to the cold hard facts. The economy is in even worse shape than when Bush left, we are involved in another war (Libya), unemployment is hovering around 9%, we got Obamacare forced down our throats without the congress even reading the bill, and now he’s talking about tax hikes on the “rich.” What good is that satisfaction you felt at the polls or during the inauguration doing for you now? Are you better off now than you were under the Bush years? For many, the answer is no.
You don’t even have to look at politics to see the wave of emotion based decisions that has hit this nation. The media love to play things up in order to get ratings and people usually fall for it hook, line, and sinker. One example would be the crisis at Fukushima as a result of the Great Eastern Earthquake and subsequent tsunami that hit Japan in March 2011. The nuclear power plant at Fukushima was on the verge of a meltdown and the media were hypothesizing what would happen should it occur. This had some people in the US in a frenzy! Some people in East Texas were even going into the pharmacy where my mom works asking for Potassium Iodide pills for fear of the radiation reaching them, even after some nuclear scientists went on the news to tell the people that the amount of radiation that would make it here was minimal. I even saw one meteorologist on Nancy Grace, saying how the radiation found on the coast of California may not even be from Japan due to the fact that many things emit radiation naturally. (Ever eaten a banana? Then, you’ve ingested radiation!) Nancy Grace went ballistic on him! Basically, telling him he was wrong and said brought up the fact that she’s a trial lawyer… This is what happens when someone clings to emotion over reason. They may take a fact that coincides with what they are feeling and run with it, totally ignoring the other facts. They see a dead tree in a forest and claim the whole forest is dying! The media have done this with everything from the Toyota gas pedal sticking story to swine flu. To see how the media can get people’s emotions to run rampant look at these statistics: an estimated 12,000 people died from swine flu in 2009, yet it is estimated that the regular flu kills around 36,000 people per year. How many people do you see running around terrified of the normal flu?
Things would go so much better if people would just stop and think about something before getting their emotions involved. It wouldn’t solve all the problems, for after all, we are still human and limited in our knowledge and understanding. But at least it would get people to start educating themselves on a subject before spouting off what they heard someone else said. At the very least, we wouldn’t have to see all the posts on Facebook about Facebook’s plan to charge a monthly fee every year or so, when it states clearly on the login page that it will always be free.
Let’s begin with some small examples. You probably know, or have known, someone in a bad relationship. It is obvious to you that the person your friend is with is bad news, whether they are cheating on your friend, using them, or possibly abusing them. You also know what it’s like when you try to bring this up to your friend… usually the end of the friendship. Why is that? This is an example of someone putting emotion over reason. For whatever reason, they feel the need to stay in this relationship so they totally ignore all logic and reason to continue to be with that person. Likewise, this can also happen with the relationship between parent and child. There are some parents, who are increasing in number, who honestly believe their child can do no wrong. Failing grades at school? The teacher isn’t doing their job! Got in trouble? It was the other kids’ fault! Got fired from their first job? The boss shouldn’t be so strict! This is yet, another example of what happens when a person puts emotion over reason.
But, is that such a bad thing? After all, your friend in the relationship seems happy and the parent is just improving their child’s self esteem. Or are they… Sure, the person in the relationship seems happy now, but what about in a few years after the “in love” feeling wears off? After they may have married that person, or perhaps had a child with them? It will be much harder to end the relationship then, when they come to their senses, then it would have if they would have just harnessed in their emotions at the start and used reason to make the choice of whether or not they should be with that person. The parent may think they are doing a great thing for their child, but what happens to that child after being raised without being held accountable for their actions. This is what ushers in the entitlement philosophy that is plaguing our nation today. This is what happens when people can’t rely on their parents for everything they need any more so they turn to ol’ Uncle Sam. “I don’t have money for food! …I spent it all on that iPhone,” “I can’t keep a job! …I called in twice this week… There were some parties I just HAD to be at!” I’m sure you can think of many other examples of this. So, what does the government do? It comes to the “rescue” with handouts, further suppressing any need for these people to help themselves.
Many times when emotion is used to make a decision, it is only for immediate gratification. Emotion isn’t very good at looking into the future. Reason on the other hand, may make the choice that is not very fun or desirable in the present, but will pay off in the future. It’s kind of like saving money. Sure, I can use all my money to buy up all these gadgets and gizmos now, or I can put some away in savings or make investments. But, what good are all those gadgets going to do for you when you get layed off and can’t make your house payment? On the other hand, if you save or invest your money you will be in better shape should something unexpected come up.
For an even bigger example, look at the last presidential election. Barack Obama got elected on nothing more that promising “Hope and Change.” People attached themselves to this slogan, making it into whatever they wanted it to be. Some even believed that this meant that Obama would pay their rent and gas bills… There were even people fainting at his campaign stops. People got so caught up in the emotion that they just threw all logic out the window. Obama was going to “make the tides recede, bring peace to the world, and undo what those dastardly republicans have done the previous eight years! And, if you disagreed with him, you are obviously a RACIST!” You could not have a reasonable debate with these people; they were completely using emotion alone. But now that the “honeymoon” period is over, people are starting to wake up to the cold hard facts. The economy is in even worse shape than when Bush left, we are involved in another war (Libya), unemployment is hovering around 9%, we got Obamacare forced down our throats without the congress even reading the bill, and now he’s talking about tax hikes on the “rich.” What good is that satisfaction you felt at the polls or during the inauguration doing for you now? Are you better off now than you were under the Bush years? For many, the answer is no.
You don’t even have to look at politics to see the wave of emotion based decisions that has hit this nation. The media love to play things up in order to get ratings and people usually fall for it hook, line, and sinker. One example would be the crisis at Fukushima as a result of the Great Eastern Earthquake and subsequent tsunami that hit Japan in March 2011. The nuclear power plant at Fukushima was on the verge of a meltdown and the media were hypothesizing what would happen should it occur. This had some people in the US in a frenzy! Some people in East Texas were even going into the pharmacy where my mom works asking for Potassium Iodide pills for fear of the radiation reaching them, even after some nuclear scientists went on the news to tell the people that the amount of radiation that would make it here was minimal. I even saw one meteorologist on Nancy Grace, saying how the radiation found on the coast of California may not even be from Japan due to the fact that many things emit radiation naturally. (Ever eaten a banana? Then, you’ve ingested radiation!) Nancy Grace went ballistic on him! Basically, telling him he was wrong and said brought up the fact that she’s a trial lawyer… This is what happens when someone clings to emotion over reason. They may take a fact that coincides with what they are feeling and run with it, totally ignoring the other facts. They see a dead tree in a forest and claim the whole forest is dying! The media have done this with everything from the Toyota gas pedal sticking story to swine flu. To see how the media can get people’s emotions to run rampant look at these statistics: an estimated 12,000 people died from swine flu in 2009, yet it is estimated that the regular flu kills around 36,000 people per year. How many people do you see running around terrified of the normal flu?
Things would go so much better if people would just stop and think about something before getting their emotions involved. It wouldn’t solve all the problems, for after all, we are still human and limited in our knowledge and understanding. But at least it would get people to start educating themselves on a subject before spouting off what they heard someone else said. At the very least, we wouldn’t have to see all the posts on Facebook about Facebook’s plan to charge a monthly fee every year or so, when it states clearly on the login page that it will always be free.
Sad Sappy Sucker by Justin Bristow
I am 27 going on 72. I am growing old before my time.
I wake up before 6:00 a.m. every morning, weekends included.
Any conversation with me inevitably turns into either 1) political debate or 2) the bashing of this “younger generation”, with their unappreciative, mannerless demeanor and their unjustified sense of entitlement. And their lack of getting whoopin's.
I listen to a lot of AM radio, and start many sentences with “When I was a kid...”.
A night out with the wife (rare) usually consists of a matinee movie (cheaper) and dinner before 5:00.
I take midday naps, yet still can’t keep my eyes open past 9:45 p.m.
I have gout.
The sadness of my existence was first brought to my attention by my parents, ages 51 and 52. One afternoon, after a particularly long rant on the sad state of our economy and the Obama Administration’s attempt to murder American values, my mother told me she was worried.
She told me how I am constantly grumpy. How I have bags under my eyes that no 27 year old should have. She told me that I seem to always focus on the negative in people and in situations. That I just don’t look healthy.
A few days later, my father voiced his concern. After an evening of listening to me complain about high school students thinking they are hilarious when all they really are is inconsiderate and rude, he simply asked “When did you get so old?”.
It was a rhetorical question, but it made me search for some answers. How did I get this way? What can I do to change?
I never intended for this to happen, and I definitely did not see it coming. Teenage me was certain that I was going to be the life of ALL the grown up parties. I was sure that my quick wit and charm, partnered with my devastatingly good looks, were going to make so many people aspire to be my friend that some sort of application process was going to have to be developed. Yessir, I was destined for black tie events and $100 a plate fund raiser dinners. Guys’ trips to Vegas and exclusive golf outings. AND I was going to win a Grammy.
So what happened? What caused an eighteen year old with all the social aspirations in the world to turn into a twenty-seven year old whose half of the couch has a perfect (and oh so comfortable) indentation of his posterior?
Introspective Soul Searching Time!
Having to take a look inside yourself in order to determine why you are the way you are is not an easy task. Luckily, it happens to be one of my favorite past-times, so let’s dig shall we?
I am very passionate, very emotional, have a short temper and a good memory. Grumpiness explained. When you emotionally connect to an idea or belief as strongly as I do, you can’t help but take attacks on that idea or belief personal. Seeing as I am a Christian and a fiscally conservative Republican, my ideas and beliefs are constantly being attacked and belittled by the mainstream media. I mean, turn on CNN for five minutes and you’ll probably hear at least one story on how wacky and hateful Christians are and at least two stories on how unintelligent and stingy Republicans can be.
I can’t help but take things like that personal (emotional). Wouldn’t you? I am not wacky or hateful, nor am I unintelligent or stingy. Yet, to be irresponsibly characterized as all four simply because I believe what I believe riles me up to no end (passionate). I get downright angry (short temper). This anger then begins to consume me, and I never seem to let it go. It nestles itself deep in my gut, where it sits and festers. I begin to harp on everything that was said. I’ll remember every insult, every quip, every verbal barb (good memory), each one stinging more than the last. The anger grows. The anger grows, but never leaves. It just sits there, putting a permanent damper on my outward mood. Grumpy.
There are simple steps to take in order to fix this problem, some of which I have already begun to take.
I have attempted to limit how much I pay attention to what the media is reporting. I used to go to CNN.com daily just so I could find something to get angry about. Not healthy. I’ve also cut back on how much I listen to AM radio. When anger so easily burns inside of you, there is no greater accelerant than Rush Limbough. Also, not healthy. The hardest thing I’ve had to work on is trying not to take things so personally. I’m sure the pretty ladies on CNN or the wordsmiths I read in magazines are not attacking me. They are just trying to make something enjoyable to watch or read, much like I am doing with this blog, and realizing this has helped me come a long way.
Or I may just be grumpy because I’m not getting enough sleep. Whatevs.
Now on to the issue of the dullness that is my social life.
Two words: Socially Awkward.
Have you ever seen the internet sensation Socially Awkward Penguin? If not, go here.
Almost every one of these memes describe me perfectly. I’ve been referred to as socially retarded, but for the sake of political correctness, let’s just say I’m socially special needs. And have been my whole life.
In school, if the teacher said group project, I cried “Why God?”. When walking down the street and a stranger says hello, I say “er thank yo..I um...I mean, hi”. When making a phone call and it goes to voicemail.........Avoided Social Interaction Victory Dance! (which usually goes a little something like this: )
This all stems from a desire for acceptance / fear of rejection; which means that I break life’s most virtuous and all-mighty rule: I CARE WHAT PEOPLE THINK!
Jaw-drop and gasp all you want, it’s true. My entire life I’ve had a desire to be admired. An aching to be popular. The problem was, however, that I so badly wanted to be liked that I would never take any chances, in fear that people DISLIKING me would possibly be the outcome. I began to shut down. I quit speaking up in group settings. I started avoiding eye contact. I became the quiet kid.
Now don’t get me wrong, I am not a friendless loner. I do have friends, and great ones at that. But these are friends that I’ve had for years and years. It’s the making of new ones that has me stumped, as well as sitting at home on the weekends. You see, the majority of my life-long friends have moved away. Some are five hours away, some are six. One is even eight.
Them being so far away + the inability to make new friends = Nothing to do.
The friends I have that are close are usually bogged down with work, or they live the same boring existence that I do and when we get together we always 1) talk politics and 2) complain about the youth of America. At their house. In the world’s tiniest town. In the middle of nowhere. We’re asleep by 10:00 p.m.. Fridays. Never make it through Letterman. 27 going on 72.
But things will get better and the sun will rise tomorrow. I am now in a job that forces me to socially interact with literally hundreds of strangers a day, many of whom just so happen to be the youth of America. And you know what? I’m starting to realize they are not that bad. I’m getting better at being a conversation starter. I’m getting even better at being a conversation continuer. Who knew I could say things that can make a stranger laugh? Who knew people I’ve known less than a year would be calling me on the phone to ask my opinion on things? And then thank me when I give it, instead of call me stupid, threaten to never speak to me again, and angrily hang up.
Yep. Things are looking up. Who knows, I may still be destined for Vegas trips and fund raiser dinners. I most definitely will win a Grammy.
I wake up before 6:00 a.m. every morning, weekends included.
Any conversation with me inevitably turns into either 1) political debate or 2) the bashing of this “younger generation”, with their unappreciative, mannerless demeanor and their unjustified sense of entitlement. And their lack of getting whoopin's.
I listen to a lot of AM radio, and start many sentences with “When I was a kid...”.
A night out with the wife (rare) usually consists of a matinee movie (cheaper) and dinner before 5:00.
I take midday naps, yet still can’t keep my eyes open past 9:45 p.m.
I have gout.
The sadness of my existence was first brought to my attention by my parents, ages 51 and 52. One afternoon, after a particularly long rant on the sad state of our economy and the Obama Administration’s attempt to murder American values, my mother told me she was worried.
She told me how I am constantly grumpy. How I have bags under my eyes that no 27 year old should have. She told me that I seem to always focus on the negative in people and in situations. That I just don’t look healthy.
A few days later, my father voiced his concern. After an evening of listening to me complain about high school students thinking they are hilarious when all they really are is inconsiderate and rude, he simply asked “When did you get so old?”.
It was a rhetorical question, but it made me search for some answers. How did I get this way? What can I do to change?
I never intended for this to happen, and I definitely did not see it coming. Teenage me was certain that I was going to be the life of ALL the grown up parties. I was sure that my quick wit and charm, partnered with my devastatingly good looks, were going to make so many people aspire to be my friend that some sort of application process was going to have to be developed. Yessir, I was destined for black tie events and $100 a plate fund raiser dinners. Guys’ trips to Vegas and exclusive golf outings. AND I was going to win a Grammy.
So what happened? What caused an eighteen year old with all the social aspirations in the world to turn into a twenty-seven year old whose half of the couch has a perfect (and oh so comfortable) indentation of his posterior?
Introspective Soul Searching Time!
Having to take a look inside yourself in order to determine why you are the way you are is not an easy task. Luckily, it happens to be one of my favorite past-times, so let’s dig shall we?
I am very passionate, very emotional, have a short temper and a good memory. Grumpiness explained. When you emotionally connect to an idea or belief as strongly as I do, you can’t help but take attacks on that idea or belief personal. Seeing as I am a Christian and a fiscally conservative Republican, my ideas and beliefs are constantly being attacked and belittled by the mainstream media. I mean, turn on CNN for five minutes and you’ll probably hear at least one story on how wacky and hateful Christians are and at least two stories on how unintelligent and stingy Republicans can be.
I can’t help but take things like that personal (emotional). Wouldn’t you? I am not wacky or hateful, nor am I unintelligent or stingy. Yet, to be irresponsibly characterized as all four simply because I believe what I believe riles me up to no end (passionate). I get downright angry (short temper). This anger then begins to consume me, and I never seem to let it go. It nestles itself deep in my gut, where it sits and festers. I begin to harp on everything that was said. I’ll remember every insult, every quip, every verbal barb (good memory), each one stinging more than the last. The anger grows. The anger grows, but never leaves. It just sits there, putting a permanent damper on my outward mood. Grumpy.
There are simple steps to take in order to fix this problem, some of which I have already begun to take.
I have attempted to limit how much I pay attention to what the media is reporting. I used to go to CNN.com daily just so I could find something to get angry about. Not healthy. I’ve also cut back on how much I listen to AM radio. When anger so easily burns inside of you, there is no greater accelerant than Rush Limbough. Also, not healthy. The hardest thing I’ve had to work on is trying not to take things so personally. I’m sure the pretty ladies on CNN or the wordsmiths I read in magazines are not attacking me. They are just trying to make something enjoyable to watch or read, much like I am doing with this blog, and realizing this has helped me come a long way.
Or I may just be grumpy because I’m not getting enough sleep. Whatevs.
Now on to the issue of the dullness that is my social life.
Two words: Socially Awkward.
Have you ever seen the internet sensation Socially Awkward Penguin? If not, go here.
Almost every one of these memes describe me perfectly. I’ve been referred to as socially retarded, but for the sake of political correctness, let’s just say I’m socially special needs. And have been my whole life.
In school, if the teacher said group project, I cried “Why God?”. When walking down the street and a stranger says hello, I say “er thank yo..I um...I mean, hi”. When making a phone call and it goes to voicemail.........Avoided Social Interaction Victory Dance! (which usually goes a little something like this: )
This all stems from a desire for acceptance / fear of rejection; which means that I break life’s most virtuous and all-mighty rule: I CARE WHAT PEOPLE THINK!
Jaw-drop and gasp all you want, it’s true. My entire life I’ve had a desire to be admired. An aching to be popular. The problem was, however, that I so badly wanted to be liked that I would never take any chances, in fear that people DISLIKING me would possibly be the outcome. I began to shut down. I quit speaking up in group settings. I started avoiding eye contact. I became the quiet kid.
Now don’t get me wrong, I am not a friendless loner. I do have friends, and great ones at that. But these are friends that I’ve had for years and years. It’s the making of new ones that has me stumped, as well as sitting at home on the weekends. You see, the majority of my life-long friends have moved away. Some are five hours away, some are six. One is even eight.
Them being so far away + the inability to make new friends = Nothing to do.
The friends I have that are close are usually bogged down with work, or they live the same boring existence that I do and when we get together we always 1) talk politics and 2) complain about the youth of America. At their house. In the world’s tiniest town. In the middle of nowhere. We’re asleep by 10:00 p.m.. Fridays. Never make it through Letterman. 27 going on 72.
But things will get better and the sun will rise tomorrow. I am now in a job that forces me to socially interact with literally hundreds of strangers a day, many of whom just so happen to be the youth of America. And you know what? I’m starting to realize they are not that bad. I’m getting better at being a conversation starter. I’m getting even better at being a conversation continuer. Who knew I could say things that can make a stranger laugh? Who knew people I’ve known less than a year would be calling me on the phone to ask my opinion on things? And then thank me when I give it, instead of call me stupid, threaten to never speak to me again, and angrily hang up.
Yep. Things are looking up. Who knows, I may still be destined for Vegas trips and fund raiser dinners. I most definitely will win a Grammy.
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