Do you know what? I only just posted a blog, but going through the blogs of others has fired me up enough to write another one. Maybe they tie a bunch of related blogs together when you click the "Next Blog" button at the top of the screen, but for argument's sake let's pretend they don't.
I clicked that damned button about twenty times, and each blog was about just one thing: BABIES.
I love the fat, vomiting little creatures, I truly do, but if you find them reason enough to dedicate an entire blog to documenting every minute detail of their lives, you should seriously think about picking up a video camera instead. Or perhaps to start scrapbooking.
My point being; KEEP YOUR CHILDREN TO YOURSELF.
Each blog was by middle aged women, either talking about their wonderful children's first words, first steps, first belches, for God's sake! or their own struggle with infertility. Do you know whatI think? I think that blogs should be for the very young, or at least for the not-so-young with lives! I'm sure that children are just the most wonderful thing that can happen to a person, but to become so obsessed with your lovely husband and lovely infants is probably a sign that you should start writing a crappy romance novel. Because you probably read enough of them to know how it's done.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
The Holiday
Once in a while you watch a crappy movie, and it makes you cry. And once in a while you watch a pretty decent movie, and it makes you wish you were Julia Child. Is that so wrong?
The crappy movie made reference to is The Holiday, with Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz. Kate Winslet should mean the movie is awesome, but Cameron Diaz kind of overcomes her with crappiness. But Gangs of New York was still awesome, even with Diaz's terrible excuse for an Irish accent. I guess what I'm trying to say is that The Holiday and Julie & Julia are both decent chick flicks, on the rare occasion that that you can watch one without gagging. And Meryl Streep is bitchin'.
Do you know why I cried? Because a sweet little old man went to some thingamajig to be recognized for his writing (I think), and then was surprised when the room was filled with people cheering for him, and his sweet little wrinkled face simply bloomed with joy. God bless the elderly!
I think I have a wee bit of an old man complex, because I have no grandfathers of my own. This complex has no serious effects, it just gives me a strong urge to work at an old folks' home. And dress like I'm from the 20's-50's. And blast Buddy Holly or The Benny Goodman Orchestra when I pass someone elderly in the car. And cry when I see someone elderly smile, laugh, cry, or show any emotion, essentially. Like I said, no serious effects.
I just think we should all appreciate the elderly more than we do. But not the more modern elderly, like the ones who have DVD players (and know how to make them work), or the ones on TV who ride skateboards. I mean the ones who are losing their marbles, and can ramble on for hours about "the good old days". The ones whose children abandon them in homes where they're allowed to shower only twice a week. The ones who are injusticed or in pain, who are seen as "unuseful" by the younger public. I'll basically have to volunteer or work at an old folks' home, dress up all lovely so I can hear them say "Just like girls used to!", investigate the conditions they live in, and totally write a letter to someone... someone important.
I guess I'm just hormonal lately.
The crappy movie made reference to is The Holiday, with Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz. Kate Winslet should mean the movie is awesome, but Cameron Diaz kind of overcomes her with crappiness. But Gangs of New York was still awesome, even with Diaz's terrible excuse for an Irish accent. I guess what I'm trying to say is that The Holiday and Julie & Julia are both decent chick flicks, on the rare occasion that that you can watch one without gagging. And Meryl Streep is bitchin'.
Do you know why I cried? Because a sweet little old man went to some thingamajig to be recognized for his writing (I think), and then was surprised when the room was filled with people cheering for him, and his sweet little wrinkled face simply bloomed with joy. God bless the elderly!
I think I have a wee bit of an old man complex, because I have no grandfathers of my own. This complex has no serious effects, it just gives me a strong urge to work at an old folks' home. And dress like I'm from the 20's-50's. And blast Buddy Holly or The Benny Goodman Orchestra when I pass someone elderly in the car. And cry when I see someone elderly smile, laugh, cry, or show any emotion, essentially. Like I said, no serious effects.
I just think we should all appreciate the elderly more than we do. But not the more modern elderly, like the ones who have DVD players (and know how to make them work), or the ones on TV who ride skateboards. I mean the ones who are losing their marbles, and can ramble on for hours about "the good old days". The ones whose children abandon them in homes where they're allowed to shower only twice a week. The ones who are injusticed or in pain, who are seen as "unuseful" by the younger public. I'll basically have to volunteer or work at an old folks' home, dress up all lovely so I can hear them say "Just like girls used to!", investigate the conditions they live in, and totally write a letter to someone... someone important.
I guess I'm just hormonal lately.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Even Though They Call Me Witler.
Today some classmates and I had a talk about Hitler.
And I realized that I am a little more apathetic towards him than many of my peers. Perhaps this is because a large number of my family members were not wiped out during WWII, but perhaps it is because I don't see a point in fighting an argument that finished decades ago. And that is how I see it.
At a pro-life conference (I know, I know, everything I say seems to relate back to this cause, but I promise that I am preaching about something else today) we had one speaker tell us about a man he saw, who had a tattoo of a swastika crossed out on his arm. The speaker's daughter went up to that man and said, "It is so brave of you to make a statement like that. Thank you." Then she and her dad laughed at the man for the stupidity in the obvious statement he was making - Nazism is bad.
I would never deny the absolute horror of the Holocaust, nor would I do anything to try and play it down, I just don't have the energy to fight for something that everyone knows is wrong. At least, most everyone is Western society recognizes that genocide is wrong, prejudice is wrong, totalitarianism is wrong.
Do you know where I would stand up against anti-Semitism? Somewhere where it was an issue.
There is no point to standing up for a cause when everyone is already involved in supporting it. I wouldn't stand up in my school and say "Murder is wrong! We all have to stop killing!", because no one in my school is a murderer... yet. Though I think I know a lot of people who would get tattoos of the word "MURDER" crossed out on their arms.
And I realized that I am a little more apathetic towards him than many of my peers. Perhaps this is because a large number of my family members were not wiped out during WWII, but perhaps it is because I don't see a point in fighting an argument that finished decades ago. And that is how I see it.
At a pro-life conference (I know, I know, everything I say seems to relate back to this cause, but I promise that I am preaching about something else today) we had one speaker tell us about a man he saw, who had a tattoo of a swastika crossed out on his arm. The speaker's daughter went up to that man and said, "It is so brave of you to make a statement like that. Thank you." Then she and her dad laughed at the man for the stupidity in the obvious statement he was making - Nazism is bad.
I would never deny the absolute horror of the Holocaust, nor would I do anything to try and play it down, I just don't have the energy to fight for something that everyone knows is wrong. At least, most everyone is Western society recognizes that genocide is wrong, prejudice is wrong, totalitarianism is wrong.
Do you know where I would stand up against anti-Semitism? Somewhere where it was an issue.
There is no point to standing up for a cause when everyone is already involved in supporting it. I wouldn't stand up in my school and say "Murder is wrong! We all have to stop killing!", because no one in my school is a murderer... yet. Though I think I know a lot of people who would get tattoos of the word "MURDER" crossed out on their arms.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Party Lessons
Here are a few things I learned yesterday:
1. Bad situations are made much worse by alcohol.
2. They are made even worse when those who have consumed the alcohol begin to vomit.
3. Sometimes the people you think are creepy, but harmless become much less harmless when they have consumed alcohol.
4. Being sober is not always a bad thing. Sometimes it's very convenient. Though, sometimes it means you have to clean up vomit..
5. Cleaning up vomit makes you feel pretty good about yourself. Especially when the hostess is in tears.
If you haven't guessed it by now, I was at a party last night. A very, very drama-filled party. Long story short, a certain very drunk person decided to pin the hostess against a wall, and most everyone was useless to help due to excessive inebriation. Though, a certain few took the situation outside, and started a fight with that drunk person, his ride, and his ride's girlfriend, who I've heard is a shit-disturbing slutface. But that's just what I've heard.
I think the most important thing I realized yesterday was this:
6. Most people are cowards when it comes down to it, and stare at injustice rather than act.
1. Bad situations are made much worse by alcohol.
2. They are made even worse when those who have consumed the alcohol begin to vomit.
3. Sometimes the people you think are creepy, but harmless become much less harmless when they have consumed alcohol.
4. Being sober is not always a bad thing. Sometimes it's very convenient. Though, sometimes it means you have to clean up vomit..
5. Cleaning up vomit makes you feel pretty good about yourself. Especially when the hostess is in tears.
If you haven't guessed it by now, I was at a party last night. A very, very drama-filled party. Long story short, a certain very drunk person decided to pin the hostess against a wall, and most everyone was useless to help due to excessive inebriation. Though, a certain few took the situation outside, and started a fight with that drunk person, his ride, and his ride's girlfriend, who I've heard is a shit-disturbing slutface. But that's just what I've heard.
I think the most important thing I realized yesterday was this:
6. Most people are cowards when it comes down to it, and stare at injustice rather than act.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
You'll Be Surprised To Know I'm Getting 90% In Religion.
Once in a while, I like to wish something in my head, and entertain the fancy that there is a possibility of it coming true.
I think this is called praying.
And once in a while, I almost believe that someone out there can hear me, and truly wants to grant my wish.
I think this is called a religious urge.
This unsteadies me, as I am a proud Agnostic. Who is proud of indecision, you may ask? I absolutely am, as I consider it the only sane way to be. Wholeheartedly believing that something unproven exists makes just as little sense as believing it doesn't. There are those Atheists who will back their arguments with science, but science can only go so far; besides, I think anyone who believes too thoroughly in science loses themselves, and is possibly insane. In contrast, there are those Believers who claim that they have personally witnessed divine intervention. These people are almost definitely insane.
Most of us, including myself in many cases, get so tired of wracking our brains in search of a definite answer that we decide not to think of the divine at all. When asked one's opinion on religion, one will often respond "...I dunno". This disgusts me just a tad. When asked what I believe, I often begin a long, rambling, poetic explanation of what I have summarized above. Perhaps this is worse.
I guess you could say I don't believe in short answers.
I think this is called praying.
And once in a while, I almost believe that someone out there can hear me, and truly wants to grant my wish.
I think this is called a religious urge.
This unsteadies me, as I am a proud Agnostic. Who is proud of indecision, you may ask? I absolutely am, as I consider it the only sane way to be. Wholeheartedly believing that something unproven exists makes just as little sense as believing it doesn't. There are those Atheists who will back their arguments with science, but science can only go so far; besides, I think anyone who believes too thoroughly in science loses themselves, and is possibly insane. In contrast, there are those Believers who claim that they have personally witnessed divine intervention. These people are almost definitely insane.
Most of us, including myself in many cases, get so tired of wracking our brains in search of a definite answer that we decide not to think of the divine at all. When asked one's opinion on religion, one will often respond "...I dunno". This disgusts me just a tad. When asked what I believe, I often begin a long, rambling, poetic explanation of what I have summarized above. Perhaps this is worse.
I guess you could say I don't believe in short answers.
Friday, October 23, 2009
A Summary of My Philosophy
I was taken to another place today as I walked up the stairs to the cafeteria. The stairwell was filled with the smell of food, and - although I don't know what it was, exactly - it reminded me of somewhere I've been before. I think it was the cafeteria at the ROM. They say that one's sense of smell is the most able to recall vivid memories, and although this one was not particularly detailed or specific, it did hit me almost before I realized that there was something to smell other than overly-cologned niners and chewing gum.
I miss going to the ROM with my parents. I never expected them to grow out of it before I did.
I started reading A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man the other day, and am really enjoying it. I feel (or should that be fear?) that part of the reason for this is that James Joyce is Irish, and I am Irish, and my sense of patriotism has influenced my taste in books. I resent the idea of this, as I resent patriotism in most forms. Blind patriotism, that is. In the book that I just finished, Vonnegut said;
"Say what you will about the sweet miracle of questionless faith, I consider a capacity for it terrifying and absolutely vile."
I think that this quote is the perfect punctuation to any argument regarding extreme belief in one person, system, country, god, or anything at all else. It is an essential realization; that to believe something so thoroughly as never to question it is nothing less than dangerous. Please, if it's not too awful, allow me to quote part of something that I have written, but kept private:
"What if:
What if murder is the only way to live?
What if my existence destroys another's?
What if evil is power?
What if war is the only way to make peace?
What is there is no hope for a perfect existence?
Ignorant people ignore these "What if"'s for fear of being caught in a moral dilemma. From childhood, they are trained not to think this way. Their parents destroy the grey areas of right and wrong, managing to subdue their children's curiosity using one tool: The Bible. The church tells its followers to obey the Bible, because it is the Word of God, the Almighty Creator, the questioning of whom will lead to a fiery afterlife. With such a fate always forefront in one's mind, it is almost impossible to do anything but block out the source of doubt, the "What if'''s.
For this reason, when faced with controversial subjects, devout Christians' brains will often short-circuit, causing them to form mobs, and engage in senseless protests and rallies. Poor souls, what else can they do?"
I realize that this sounds quite judgmental, and that Christians are not all about rallying, but this is how I felt at the time. I am also not the antichrist. I am an Agnostic, who has been to church almost every Sunday of her life. I am pro-life, do not believe in the death penalty, and love everyone in the world based on principle. I am glad for the morals I have been taught by the Catholic school system and church, but have trouble believing without proof.
Despite some of my Christian-esque beliefs, I have not been successfully brainwashed. I think that most people on Earth are awful and I would not mourn their deaths, I just won't be the one to kill them. If a meteor, or a crazy man with nuclear weapons comes and wipes them all out, I won't shed a tear. And yet I am a moral person, and I do my part to keep us going by recycling, donating to charities, and not supporting any form of what I consider to be legalized murder. That is, war, abortion, or capital punishment.
I have principles. And for this reason I can never be a true artist.
I miss going to the ROM with my parents. I never expected them to grow out of it before I did.
I started reading A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man the other day, and am really enjoying it. I feel (or should that be fear?) that part of the reason for this is that James Joyce is Irish, and I am Irish, and my sense of patriotism has influenced my taste in books. I resent the idea of this, as I resent patriotism in most forms. Blind patriotism, that is. In the book that I just finished, Vonnegut said;
"Say what you will about the sweet miracle of questionless faith, I consider a capacity for it terrifying and absolutely vile."
I think that this quote is the perfect punctuation to any argument regarding extreme belief in one person, system, country, god, or anything at all else. It is an essential realization; that to believe something so thoroughly as never to question it is nothing less than dangerous. Please, if it's not too awful, allow me to quote part of something that I have written, but kept private:
"What if:
What if murder is the only way to live?
What if my existence destroys another's?
What if evil is power?
What if war is the only way to make peace?
What is there is no hope for a perfect existence?
Ignorant people ignore these "What if"'s for fear of being caught in a moral dilemma. From childhood, they are trained not to think this way. Their parents destroy the grey areas of right and wrong, managing to subdue their children's curiosity using one tool: The Bible. The church tells its followers to obey the Bible, because it is the Word of God, the Almighty Creator, the questioning of whom will lead to a fiery afterlife. With such a fate always forefront in one's mind, it is almost impossible to do anything but block out the source of doubt, the "What if'''s.
For this reason, when faced with controversial subjects, devout Christians' brains will often short-circuit, causing them to form mobs, and engage in senseless protests and rallies. Poor souls, what else can they do?"
I realize that this sounds quite judgmental, and that Christians are not all about rallying, but this is how I felt at the time. I am also not the antichrist. I am an Agnostic, who has been to church almost every Sunday of her life. I am pro-life, do not believe in the death penalty, and love everyone in the world based on principle. I am glad for the morals I have been taught by the Catholic school system and church, but have trouble believing without proof.
Despite some of my Christian-esque beliefs, I have not been successfully brainwashed. I think that most people on Earth are awful and I would not mourn their deaths, I just won't be the one to kill them. If a meteor, or a crazy man with nuclear weapons comes and wipes them all out, I won't shed a tear. And yet I am a moral person, and I do my part to keep us going by recycling, donating to charities, and not supporting any form of what I consider to be legalized murder. That is, war, abortion, or capital punishment.
I have principles. And for this reason I can never be a true artist.
Monday, October 19, 2009
The Waterboys - Don't Bang The Drum
The significance of the blog title is this; it is the name of the song that I'm listening to. It's the first time that I've put this record on, and I'm fairly impressed.
The significance of my blog series title is this; it's the first intelligent thing that came to mind. I hate coming up with titles for things that haven't even been made yet, but I don't think I'll change my mind about this one. The title is a spin on the title of James Joyce's novel, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. I haven't even read it yet. Well, I read the first page or so at Chapters. I would have read more, but I had it in my lap on the floor, but thought better of my position when someone nearly tripped over me.
That happens to me a lot at Chapters.
It's a Steve pick, so I think I'll enjoy it. Another of his picks is Kurt Vonnegut's Mother Night, which I am nearly done. My situation with Steve is like that of Seinfeld's Elaine with what's-his-name, whose picks at the video store she adores. I have a healthy infatuation with Steve, whom I have only glimpsed once, and almost had the chance to speak with as I purchased his pick. I think I'll have to get a job there.
The significance of my blog series title is this; it's the first intelligent thing that came to mind. I hate coming up with titles for things that haven't even been made yet, but I don't think I'll change my mind about this one. The title is a spin on the title of James Joyce's novel, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. I haven't even read it yet. Well, I read the first page or so at Chapters. I would have read more, but I had it in my lap on the floor, but thought better of my position when someone nearly tripped over me.
That happens to me a lot at Chapters.
It's a Steve pick, so I think I'll enjoy it. Another of his picks is Kurt Vonnegut's Mother Night, which I am nearly done. My situation with Steve is like that of Seinfeld's Elaine with what's-his-name, whose picks at the video store she adores. I have a healthy infatuation with Steve, whom I have only glimpsed once, and almost had the chance to speak with as I purchased his pick. I think I'll have to get a job there.
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