Girls vs. Grown Women

Women vs. Girls

Girls leave their schedule wide-open and wait for a guy to call and make plans.
Grown Women make their own plans and nicely tell the guy to get in where he fits.

Girls want to control the man in their life.
Grown women know that if he's truly hers, he doesn't need controlling.

Girls check you for not calling them.
Grown women are too busy to realize you hadn't.

Girls are afraid to be alone.
Grown women revel in it - using it as a time for personal growth.

Girls ignore the good guys.
Grown women ignore the bad guys.

Girls make you come home.
Grown women make you want to come home.

Girls worry about not being pretty and/or good enough for their man.
Grown women know that they are pretty and/or good enough for any man.

Girls try to monopolize all their man's time (i.e. don't want him hanging with his friends).
Grown women realize that a lil' bit of space makes the "together time" even more special - and goes to kick it with her friends.

Girls think a guy crying is weak.
Grown women offer their shoulder and a tissue.

Girls want to be spoiled and "tell" their man so.
Grown women "show" him and make him comfortable enough to reciprocate without fear of losing his "manhood".

Girls get hurt by one man and make all men pay for it.
Grown women know that that was just one man.

Girls fall in love and chase aimlessly after the object of their affection, ignoring all signs.
Grown women know that sometimes the one you love, doesn't always love you back and move on without bitterness.

Girls will read this and get an attitude.
Grown women will read this and pass it on to other grown women and their male friends.

I don't often pass along stuff like this. It's the type of thing that gets forwarded repeatedly, but I hadn't read this before....and I didn't get it from a forwarded email, so I thought it was worthwhile.

Hippo's Dentist Bill

Photos of this guy with his pumpkin have been on Yahoo's top emailed photo list for a few days now, but this one made me stop. Look at those teeth! I mean, I expected them to be large, but I did *not* expect them to be so....asymmetrical, unaligned, largly spaced, and crude. Can you imagine what a dentist would think of that mouth??

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Amazing Photos

I don't remember which picture of his that I ran across first. It may have been the crying one I used in a few posts back...I'm not sure, but it doesn't really matter. I followed the watermark on it back to his site and fell in love with some of his work. I contacted him that day and got a response the next, giving me permission to link to his site and to post some of his pictures here...so long as I gave him credit, obviously. And that's exactly what I'm going to do.....

On a side note, the pictures will appear here smaller than they do on his site, so if you see one that strikes you, definitely go view it there....

www.kevinthom.com

Artistic and Conceptual

These are a few taken from the Artistic and Conceptual portion of his portfolio (as is the one at the top of this entry). The desciption of that folder is "These photos were taken for no other reason than to attempt the creation of art. Most of them express some kind of concept or feeling. It is up to you to decide what it is."
Notice their expressions...
He has a few other shots similar to this one including a couple nude shots.....an object in the foreground is focused on and the background is blurred out of focus some. Another point on this one...I love how it's completely natural and not Photoshopped (You can tell by noticing that her forehead wasn't smoothed out during an editing process.)
This one is just absolutely gorgeous. So crisp, clean, and full of emotion (although which emotions/thoughts are dependent on the viewer.)

I've always been a sucker for black and white shots. I like the pose and expression, but I do think it could've used slightly more light.
He photographs women much more often than men, and I think it should stay that way. Not many (if any) of the male shots really jump out to me. In fact, I think the only reason I noticed this one is *because* it was a man...not necessarily the photo itself. The eyes are compelling, but it still doesn't have the same effect that many of the other photos do.

Glamour
More dramatic than the average portraits, my glamour photos seek to glorify the beauty of the female face and form. I use exotic lighting and compositions in these works.
I love this one. This guy certainly has a way of capturing expression. And again, this one appears unedited. If she were posing for a magazine, the hair on her arms would've been almost nonexistant in the end, her tummy (although beautiful as is) probably would've been altered, and the freckles/moles would've been more strategically placed. Sad, but true. I love the sheer beauty in this instead.
Again with the emotion....
This....I don't know about. It almost seems like she needs a Virginia Slim 100 (or the Canadian equivalent if that brand isn't sold there). She's young, but the photo has that feeling....like she just took a drag off a cigarette and is genetly letting the smoke come out of her lips. Elegant, almost.
This just screams attitude to me. I love it, lol.

Others
My internet has gotten incredibly slow over the last few minutes, and I don't have time or patience to continue going through each category. Those were the main two I wanted to touch anyway, so here are just a few more taken out of his others. He has Portraits, Nature, some Commerical Shots, a collection of Pregnancy photos, and some from his various travel experiences (which are still aamzing, by the way, even though they don't fit the norm of what I've been posting here).
Crisp, clean, insightful. (And again, oh so natural...notice the flecks of mascara that weren't edited out of an otherwise perfect shot?)
Cute, huh? It was taken in Thailand, by he way...
I like shots like this, too....

An example of his pregnancy shots. There's another there that shows the woman wearing a suit jacket instead, which instantly says to me "She can be a mother and a businesswoman at the same time."

Here's one from his Performers section....

Okay, this is the last one for now, but isn't he adorable? The titles is "Close to the Heart" which makes it even cuter, lol.

Links

So I started working on getting my links updated, and frankly, it's harder than I expected. It's one thing to try to write for anybody to see instead of a specific group....but it's a completely new task to try to find appropriate links for all to see. I know it probably shouldn't matter....technically, you should all see the same sides of me, I suppose, but that's not exactly how it works....and 'most' people are like that, so I know I'm not alone in it.

I have three routes I can go with this.

1. I can continue to try to go through my links and find ones that are appropriate for everyone.
2. I can list everything and most of you won't bother to go through them all....and the sheer volume of them would imply that I spend very little time at each, so it wouldn't have any bearing on how I'm seen....maybe, lol.
3. I can delete what I have already and not add any links period. Problem solved, right? Nope, not really, because there are a handful of people who have already asked me to link to them from here.
   

Anywho, we'll see. For now, I'm going to try to update the blog with a few of the things I've had sitting here waiting. I have tons of other things I 'should' be doing instead, but I really don't feel like moving, so I might as well make myself feel halfway productive by writing.

Econ Problem Part Two-The Dog

So I started that entry with the intent of talking about the dog. To give you the background, we were discussing (and when I say "discussing" what I really mean is, she was lecturing and we were falling asleep-minus those occasions where we snapped out of our dazes to help her out with her English).....<---And that's a broken sentence fragment where I got sidetracked and now I'm going to start over completely so you don't have to look back up for the beginning of the sentence (which now you may do anyway, but hey I tried). Okay, yeah, let's try that again, okay? So we were listening to her talk about Coase thereom crap. The example? Well Dick has a barking dog. Jane is his neighbor and she wants peace and quiet (Welcome to the club, Jane! And while I'm already inside the parentheses, let's talk about those names. Dick and Jane? You can tell these people aren't art majors....where's the creativity?? We've also learned about Bert and Ernie's water bottle needs and Tom and Huck's DVD business. Brilliant, I tell ya...)
So right. Dick-dog. Jane-peace. Well, the point was to figure out the social costs and what they should do about it. The solutions ranged from Dick merely keeping the dog because Jane's peac rights weren't enough for her to do anything....to Dick having to pay Jane to be allowed to keep the dog...to Jane paying Dick to get rid of it....to Dick having to get rid of the dog because he couldn't pay the fees that his imaginary town had suddenly implemented at the drop of the hat. To make things worse/better, they're given monetary values. What if...(this is an economist's idea of being open-minded, by the way) Jane's peace is worth $800 and Dick's dog is worth $500 to him. Then the numbers switch. Still with me? I hope not. This stuff is boring and makes me want to raise my hand to ask "What about the dog??" In fact, I almost did... Where does the dog go?? Is he/she sent to the pound? If so, then what are the social costs there? Who pays for that? Who pays for the dog to be euthanized when he's deemed unwanted? And what if the dog is merely dropped on the street (because who knows? Dick's cost of driving to the pound may not be worth it...and if he's that cheap, you know he's not going to shell out the cash and time to put up "free dog to good home" flyers or an ad in the paper)....Don't the social costs of having a stray dog wandering the streets--possibly howling, possibly injuring passerbys out of fear or hunger insanity, possibly causing the streets to look trashy or dangers and therefore, lowering the value of the town and consequently the houses within (including Dick and Jane's)--count for anything??
Yes, there's more...

Let's think about how Dick got the dog in the first place. Did he buy him/her? Is the dog a purebred with papers? Will, by getting rid of the dog, Dick get Jane's money 'and' the price of reselling the dog? What effects would that have? What if Dick gets an even more intrusive item to replace the dog now? How about he gets a huge surround sound system 'inside' his house, but now he keeps it so loud that it's more disturbing than the original dog? Is that better than the barking dog that may or may not actually bark constantly?
Or what about this? Could the dog indeed have positive externality? What if the dog attracts passerbys during the day because he/she is such a friendly dog? Or what if the dog is actually being trained as a seeing eye dog? Heck, what if Dick is blind....is Jane heartless enough to make him get rid of the dog....or is Dick blind enough (uh, metaphorically speaking) to not realize that if a dog can't be trained to not bark all night long, that he/she is unlikely to make an obedient guide dog anyway? 'Then' where does the dog go? Or what if the dog is a clown dog or has a special talent like the Airbud dog who shoots hoops? Wouldn't that attract a positive crowd to the area...which in turn, would do the opposite of the stray dog scenario....and would bring in tourism and possibly 'raise' equity value, right?
And can we talk about the dog's feelings now? Why doesn't the dog have a name? He/she doesn't even have a gender, does he/she? Why is he/she treated as an inanimated object? Will Dick have to pay for the psychiatric care that'll be needed because of this? Did the dog (doesn't that sound horrible...."the dog"....*shudders*) have a preconceived idea that he/she was actually wanted....that he/she was chosen to be loved and cared for....and to, in turn, love and care for his owner...his partner....his friend? How would the dog feel if he/she found out he/she was merely an object in a monetary economics problem? Can you imagine how devastating that might be? What effects would the dog's suicide have? Would the social costs rise when the other dogs in the area realized they were likely unloved and merely objects of figurative value?
What if it transferred over to other species, too? What if all the animals in the area began running away or committing suicide? If wildlife in general got word, oh my, what effects that would have, huh? And wouldn't the owners who actually loved their pets become depressed, and possibly committing suicide? Can you imagine the reaction? The media? The psychological evaluations? And even if the owners didn't kill themselves, by eliminating their pets, many of them may have no stress release or sense of comraderie as usual, which means, wouldn't health care prices rise even more? Would anyone really want to move into the area with this happening? Wouldn't the entire area become a ghost town because of everyone either dying or leaving before it could happen to them, too?
I could seriously continue on and on about this. I mean...I didn't even touch the consequences this could cause if the dog were actually a puppy at the time, or if the animals turned to other means to make themselves happy, and....yeah, that poor dog....:(

Econ Problem Part One-The Box

I made a mistake. I'll admit it. I came into this class expecting facts and figures...onet that always apply...ones that are absolute trughts. Accounting courses gave me that, more or less. And Marketing/Advertising courses claim no such thing and willingly give you 'possible' resources. But Econ....Econ falls somewhere in between, doesn't it? Only with a whole more funky, semi-useless graphs and a lot less creativity and thinking outside the box. In fact, unless I force myself to stay 'inside' the box, I struggle.

Jessi does not stay in the box.

Jessi sits cross-legged on top of the box.

The box is neither my friend nor my enemy. It is just a box. The box. And I merely survive on the outside of it. They've tried to force me inside on more than one occasion but that's not the box's fault. He was against it just as much as I was, but we tried anyway and have come to terms that we can coexist happily as long as we have our own space. My space is not inside.

Chasing Amy

So Dave sent me a link to the partial script that most of you have probably already heard or seen. It's been sitting in an opened tab on my screen for the last several days and now I'll post the very last bit of dialogue...the rest of it isn't relevant to my question.

Bob: No, idiot, it was a mistake. I wasn't disgusted with her, I was afraid. In that moment, I felt small, like I lacked experience, like I'd never be enough for her or something like that, you know what I'm saying? But what I did not get: she didn't care. She wasn't looking for that guy any more. She was looking for me, for the Bob. But by the time I figured this all out, it was too late. She had moved on. And all I had to show for it was some foolish pride which gave way to regret. She was the girl. I know that now. But I pushed her away. So I spend every day since then chasing Amy.

Does everyone have an "Amy" or "the one that got away" sort of person? I don't mean necessarily right now, but in general, in a person's life, is there usually that sort of person (even if stretched a bit to include a friend or a possible partner that never was)?

Say Goodbye

"How do you let it go? When you,
You just don't know? What's on,
The other side of the door
When you're walking out, talk about it
Girl I hope you understand
What I'm tryna say.
We just can't go on
Pretending that we get along
Girl how you not gonna see it?

There's never a right time to say goodbye
But I gotta make the first move
'Cause if I don't you gonna start hating me
Cause I really don't feel the way I once felt about you
Girl it's not you it's me.
I gotta gotta figure out what I need
There's never a right time to say goodbye
But we know that we gotta go
Our separate ways
And I know it's hard but I gotta do it,
And it's killing me
Cause there's never a right time
Right time to say goodbye

Listen to your heart
Girl you know,
We should be apart, baby I
I just can't do it
I, I just can't do it
Listen to your heart
Girl you know,
We should be apart, baby I
I just can't do it
And sometimes it makes me wanna cry
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
Do you hear me crying?"

Gangbanged Duck

No, I won't be getting into the details of what I think about rape, nor the social/psychological aspects under which it occurs for humans. I will put my heart out there for all those raped ducks, though.

Again, in my Anthro class today (I took notes on several things that were brought up that I wanted to mention here or in a couple other places....that were quite off topic for the class itself), the subject of rape came up, and a girl in the back proceeded to tell the story of how she witnessed a duck gangbang. It truly upset her because she couldn't do anything about it. The teacher went on to talk about how for ducks, and most other animals minus humans, it's about the biological drive to reproduce. Then she joked with "You should've seen what that duck was wearing!" to bring up the comparisons to humans, which worked quite well...but it left the subject of duck rape on my mind for some odd reason.

Because I have the tendency to include pictures in my posts (let's face it, it gets boring just reading some stuff, so an occasional photo is a nice addition), I, of course, looked up duck rape...and duck gangbangs, for that matter. I'll include a couple findings here, but that lead to yet another issue. In my Comm Ethics course, we've been discussing both rape...and in other areas, the issue of invading privacy with photos that we wouldn't necessarily want to see or deem appropriate to publish (such as funerals or hanged men). Sadly enough, it made me wonder if I should even post pictures of the duck being raped because it's so....wrong, in a sense. Some of you are going to automatically think "Uh, it's just a duck," but that's not really the point....

Anywho...here's the basic duck gangbang (oh geez....can you imagine how many random hits I'm going to get by people searching for sexual blogs? It's going to be like the time I mentioned the nude cowboy in NYC...*rolls eyes*):

Tragic, isn't it? :(

But no worries...here's the solution:


(Click so you can actually read it...)

Oh, The Wonders of Having Money

During a conversation about whether a guy will get a parking ticket for where he parked, regardless of his condition (he's on crutches after a drunken accident that he can't remember), the guy shrugged off the $100 fine that another told him about.

Guy A-"Money's not really an issue with you, is it?"
Guy B-Shrugs. "In the last week, I've spent $65,000 so no, not really."
Guy A-"On what??"
Guy B-"Well, I bought a hummer and--"
Guy A-Obviously shocked, "You bought a hummer??"
Guy B-Nonchalantly, "Yeah and I got this 106 inch (or did he say 116? 160?...over 100, it doesn't really matter if I heard him correctly, does it? lol) tv for my room and then a projecter, and..."

I exchanged looks with another guy on the other side of the room who had overheard the private conversation taking place in the middle of the room, and we both just kind of shook our heads. The two guys went on to discuss what kind of business he's in to make that kind of money, but beyond that, it didn't hold my attention for long. 65,000 dollars?? Regardless of how much money he makes, I can't help but think that's a bit ridiculous to just blow it within a few days....and he apparently does this on a regular basis. What college guy (or any guy, for that matter) really 'needs' that stuff anyway.....?

Spam Logic

"cease struggling as he was dropped, so that his bonds did not tighten.bounds of credibility that it was seeking me. My back trail was now soI felt rather than saw the Captain's indecision. But that did not lastto its source." I thought that he spoke the truth. Being small andinto a half crouch, their weapons out and ready. But they had notrest upon. TWELVE We came to the foot of the ramp and there they bidcame the two crewmen with other equipment. Then I became the object of"One is on the underside and too small for you. There can be noout, to see the ship. A very faint chance had come true, as I hadelse it is so utterly alien to us that we are repelled. There areson? And if I were recognized, could such a relationship be useful towithering reply. "Right, or straight ahead?" "Straight ahead," I said,"

That came out of a spam email....for what, I'm not sure, but I knew it was junk. From my gmail account, 99.9% of the spam is filtered out automatically, so I had to open this one and see what let it come through. Of course, it's always the words that they tack onto the bottom, in hopes of getting you to open it. It worked. I've read some amazing stories at the ends of those things that make them worth opening (because I'm certainly not going to pay attention to whatever they're trying to sell me). Yeah, yeah, I know, I shouldn't open them in the first place, but it happnes maybe once every 6 months, so whatever.

I remember reading one about the sunset over this couple's house and the thoughts of dying that entered his the guy's head, etc. It was better written than the sample above and completely logical....too bad he couldn't sell me his item by doing so. I wonder if the guy went ahead and killed himself because he wasn't making enough off his boss' products for him to be happy. And I wonder if this guy actually went straight ahead....and what if he should've gone right? I wonder how that would've changed the story that he didn't actually finish telling anyway....

What is a friend?

I left this in a note to a "friend":

And I hate to sound like I'm holding a grudge or being nit picky, but do you know what it means to be a friend? I will accept your request and there is no need for you to answer that question for me, but I want it to at least cross your mind for consideration.

It's really not relevant what happened with that person, nor do I care to discuss the details of what I think about him/her, the circumstances, or the possible future between the two of us.....but it did make me wonder what people consider "friends."

I asked some people from a set of forums I visit, in hopes of figuring out what people really view as 'friends' (I asked for another purpose, too, but this fit right in...) I thought maybe I had my standards set too high. I've never really had any problems with my friends before....they're always carefully chosen and it's taken years to build many of the friendships....but in the last year, I've 'lost' a couple for various reasons. My philosophy has always been that if the friendship can be 'fail', then the person wasn't really a true friend in the first place. As far as I'm concerned, that still stands true.

I have different levels of 'friends'....those select few who I'm very close to....those who don't quite reach that standard, but I'm still on really good terms with....those who consider me a friend without a doubt, but whom I know I couldn't go to with much, and know very little about me....and those that rank lower as acquaintances, but who are slightly more than just people I know in passing...(and any gray area in between, of course, but only the top two really get the 'friend' label....the others fall more into the 'buddy' category...) On any level, though, if they can be disposed of or they can dispose of me and any level of relationship with me at the drop of a hat, then I have no reason for them to be in my life. Period.

Anywho, a few of the things that kept being mentioned were trust, loyalty, each bringing something different to the friendship, being there for each other, respect, understanding, listens, etc. It turns out, the definition and expectations really aren't that much different than they were in the past. Obviously, everybody has their own qualities they look for in friends....some are very lenient, some are very harsh....but the core qualities of a 'true' friend are pretty much in the same categories.

It looks like I just faltered with these select people. I know they didn't set out to intentionally do what each of them did, but in the end, that part doesn't even matter....even the actual scenarios and end consequences don't really matter at this point. They're simply not things I choose to dwell on, but I wonder if I've second guessed some of my choices with other friends because of my uncertainty? Honestly, I don't think I've been put into many situations where I could have, but the possibility is still there.


Back to the point.....What is a friend?

Sir Dave gave this response:

Friends are those who can make you smile, help you cope with issues, share their life with you, and are willing to spend time with you when you're lonely. Friends are willing to make compromises and sacrifices for you if necessary, and friends will share your hopes, pains, joys, and victories. They are your true equals, and while you might not always agree with them, there will never be a dispute over how much you care for each other. Friends don't keep score; that is, if a friend buys you dinner one night, you don't "owe them" anything. And, a friend will never ask you to do anything for the sake of taking advantage of you.

I can't help but wonder how many people exist that can actually fill those shoes on every level....

Wikipedia says that friendship is:

.....a term used to denote co-operative and supportive behaviour between two or more social entities. This article focuses on the notion specific to interpersonal relationships. In this sense, the term connotes a relationship which involves mutual knowledge, esteem, and affection. Friends will welcome each other's company and exhibit loyalty towards each other, often to the point of altruism. Their tastes will usually be similar and may converge, and they will share enjoyable activities. They will also engage in mutually helping behavior, such as exchange of advice and the sharing of hardship. A friend is someone who may often demonstrate reciprocating and reflective behaviors. Yet for many, friendship is nothing more than the trust that someone or something will not harm them.

Value that is found in friendships is often the result of a friend demonstrating on a consistent basis:

• the tendency to desire what is best for each other
• sympathy and empathy
• honesty, perhaps in situations where it may be difficult for others to speak the truth
• mutual understanding.

Again, so many of the same traits are being repeated over and over and over and over again. If so many people at least somewhat agree what being a 'friend' means, then why do I keep hearing all the stories about friendships breaking up, friendship drama/hatred, and vengeful 'friends', and why were my own expectations failed when I always choose so carefully?

Never Too Young?

"It's never too young to grow up."

I was on the phone with someone tonight....someone who is much older and should definitely know better....and these words echoed in my ears. When the person heard my hestitancy to even respond to the comment, they tried to laugh it off: "Well look at me, I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up...." which didn't exactly make sense considering the context, but I'll give 'em a couple points for effort.

The conversation was involving a young preteen who has had to step up her responsibility to help take care of some younger children. We were discussing how hard it has been for her on some levels because she's not used to that kind of responsibility at all. I was instantly reminded of how I stepped up in a similar, but definitely different, situation, but it wasn't that unnatural for me. I obviously had to grow up a lot, but I'd already done quite a bit of it anyway....and I was a bit older than the girl in the conversation is. The person on the phone (I'm sorry this is all in third person and vague, but I don't want to give names on this one) mentioned the maturing she had done, and I said it wasn't an entirely bad thing either, because she'd needed to step it up a bit....which is when the person said "It's never too young to grow up," and I can't help but hang on those words some.

Sometimes it 'is' too young to grow up....no matter how much of a child you are at heart, you can never replace those childhood years. So many children are forced to grow up long before their time, whether it's because of something like this where a child starts caring for other children....or more extreme like losing parents (whether to death, drugs, or what not), rape, getting involved in things they shouldn't at a young age, etc. No one should be deprived of their young years and it's unfortunate that many do. Granted, there's the opposite extreme of those who wait too long to grow up (and I'm not talking about those who stay fun and alive....but those who seriously never get on with life on their own), but this is completely different.

I honestly hope I never hear someone utter those words again. A person 'can' be too young to grow up....what's the rush, anyway?

Professional Advice?

Hey sexy, what's goin' on? Probably workin' hard at the big....OH-HI-OH State University. I know you're probably in class or asleep....which sleep is good for you, ya know? I got a new phone. This is the new phone number. *555-5555* Give me a call sometime. I really need to talk to you. I got some shit goin' on and I need professional advice. Alright, I'll talk to you later. Bye.

That would be the voicemail left on my phone by my best friend. She started off perky and within seconds she sounded horrible. I have yet to get back ahold of her, despite attempts, but I can guarantee she's in the process of convincing herself to stay with her fiance....even though we all know she needs to go. She probably won't even return my phone call for a few days because things will have blown over a bit, and she'll be cautious to tell me. She knows I'll back her no matter what, and she'll tell me everything....but she doesn't want to admit most of the stuff out loud. She's staying because of her comfort zone. It may not be 'wonderful', but at least she knows how things are going to go. *Sigh*

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Post Secret

Every Sunday, I check the PostSecret website. Sometimes I skim through them without much thought. I can only relate to some things so much, and if they don't have an immediate effect on me, I move on. Other times, I may frequent the site a few more times throughout the week for a reminder....and yet other times, I save the post cards that really hit home for me. When I get around to adding a set of links, they'll be included. In the beginning, it didn't mean much of anything to me....I just found it to be an interesting set up. Now, it really has become a habit...a ritual....and I enjoy it for the most part.

Have I ever sent in a card? Nope, not yet (although even if I had, I'm not sure I'd admit it....). The temptation has been there numerous times. Everyone has his/her own secrets...whether positive, negative, or neutral, they're there. I had one heck of a scare one time when I ran across a postcard that sent goose bumps all over my body....the person in the picture....the words on the card....I still honestly don't know if I know the maker of that card, but even if it's just a coincidental similarity, I can relate more than anyone will ever know....and if I do know the creator, I feel the urge to say I'm sorry, but I don't sincerely feel it.

Anywho, the intent of this post was to actually comment on a few of today's current postcards....



This is the first that stood out to me. I've never regretted starting a blog...yet...but I've certainly given way too much thought to what can and can't be said because of the horror stories I've read. I wonder if I'll ever feel like I "wish I'd never started these blogs.".....

Would I trade 'everything'?

I don't think I can. Obviously, I will make my mark on the world, and I'll have an impact on various things. In a sense, I will 'change' the world....but I really don't have the desire to 'change the world' than any other person. I prefer to effect the lives of others on a more individual basis and if it has a more powerful impact, then wonderful....if not, I know I made a difference to those people, and that's more than plenty for me. I don't even know what I would change the world 'to'....

I know these people. My secret? They don't know I know...

I can't help but wonder if it actually did. And I wonder if the person was drunk when he/she discovered his/her secret had been published online. I wonder what thoughts went through the mind. I wonder if the person was drunk when this postcard was created....

Meaning?

Meaning?


This is one of those photos where I couldn't help but stop and look at her. I took a few seconds to wonder what she's thinking....feeling....wanting....needing. The photo itself is simple and it could've been completely random with just a few digital tweaks....but at the same time, it could hold so much meaning. People relate to things differently. One person may relate because he/she views pain in her eyes....another may see a seductive Asian....another, a lonely woman....another, an innocent child just entering adulthood and not knowing where to go.....or maybe she's lost in thought....where has she been, where is she going? Maybe she's perfectly happy, and contemplating getting paid to pose for this shot. The possibilities are endless and most don't care...or don't notice....but just a few seconds can give hidden insight to almost anything, even if it's not really there....

Love on the Rocks

Love....

It won't let me link directly, but I didn't want to pass it up entirely either....

The Revenge of the Flip Flops

If you've ever heard my rant about flip flops, you know I absolutely despise them. Actually, I don't really like wearing shoes of any sort, but if I have to, I definitely don't want to shove a piece of crappy plastic or cloth between my toes, and then go flopping around all over the place. Literally. People are noisy little critters in those sorry excuses for shoes!

Shoe (n.)-an external covering for the human foot....

Over the summer, I was wearing a pair of a friend. My own favorite sandals had gotten too wet and used and after 2.5 wonderful years together, they began to deteriorate. She talked me into buying a pair of flip flops for myself, but they were the ugliest pair I'd ever seen. (Fyi, my mom liked them, so they were passed to her as soon as I went home a few weeks later). The friend wanted to wear mine, so I was wearing hers. Long story a bit longer, I was walking down a gravel path and suddenly found myself in pain. A rock had shoved all the way through the "shoe" including the leather/vinyl-y type layer on top that posed as being tougher than the really cheap foam type ones. I checked my foot, and this lovely rock had actually broken the skin. Wonderful. So I kept walking, and within a few steps in the pitch black area, I had to stop again because something kept stabbing me. I was with another friend, so we stepped over into a better lit area. Walking barefooted across the rocks felt better, by the way. So we checked the "shoe" again and can see through the small hole now formed, but it's smaller than a pencil top eraser, so we assumed that a larger rock had punctured it, and left behind only where the tip had gone through. We repeated this process of stinging pain and checking a few more times before we finally found the culprit. This wonderful flip flop's thick layer on both top and bottom had trapped a small rock inside, which continued to try to torture me gradually with each step.

Granted this can happen with any shoe. We've all either had a nail shoved through our sneaker/boo or known someone who has. But when you take off the shoe, you can visibly see the nail. You can grab a pair of pliers, pull it out, and as long as you've had a tetanus shot, you'll probably be fine. Even if it goes through your foot, it's likely to be at least partially your own fault given how aware you are of your surroundings. Is that how flip flops work? Of course not!! No, those horrendous wannabes that stalk the feet of at least half the population are out to get people! Innocently walking in what seem to be safe places, is suddenly like walking into an S&M's house and saying "hey, how about you stab me every so often without telling me when, and then leave it in me while I try to guess what kind of knife you're using!"

A person could easily tell me I'm overreacting. After all, not everyone gets rocks stuck in the soles of their flip flops. But let's talk about the design of the floppy creatures:

My little cousin asked why they're called flip flops and we (my mother and I) demonstrated the sound they make when a person walks. "Flip, flop, flip flop, flip flop!" We've already talked about how annoying that can be and yes, I know 'some' people avoid that by how they walk in them, so don't argue with me about it. They're held on only by the piece of "whatever" between the toes and typically two straps of matching "whatever" that loosely catch the foot after a 'flop.' the back of the f.f. doesn't usually come up all the way with the foot, leaving the bottom of the foot completely exposed to the dangers of the world. Rocks....sticks....rotting animal bones....all can easily be flipped up between the "shoe" and foot as a person walks, allowing the f.f.s to take unnoticed revenge on its unsuspecting wearers.

Now, because I end my little rant about how pathetic f.f.s are, I would like to point out their best use. If any of you read the entry on my camp blog or you had the pleasure of hearing my ant story, you already know that f.f.s made the best weapon against ants when they invaded our crackerbox of a room over the summer. I tried hairspray, my sandals, and a pair of sneakers before realizing that the previously mentioned design creates one heck of a "smack!" (imagine the sound of a wet towel that's been twisted and whipped at an innocent bystander...that's the sound). The momentum it gains and the flexibility of the floppiness is amazing and it takes the effort out of ant slaughtering. It's no longer "all in the wrist," but rather "all in the flip flop." I still grin thinking about our freshly speckled carpet.

Nonetheless, all things considered, beware of the flip flop....

(2 comments)

Blurry vs. Focused--Ah, What a Unified Pair

"A child watches a jaguar cub at La Aurora zoo in Guatemala city, in 2003. The United States announced its biggest ever "debt-for-nature" swap, forgiving 24 million dollars of Guatemala's foreign debt to Washington in exchange for a pledge to protect tropical forests in the central American nation."

No, I'm not going to talk about debt, nature, politics, or why that poor little jaguar looks so pitiful. Instead, I want to point out why I like this kind of photography. Many (most?) of the photos we see with basic news articles today, aren't of that great of quality....they're boring, plain, straight on, let's-get-to-the-point photos, and although some really jump out at the reader, most of them don't. This one doesn't necessarily either, and I've definitely seen better, but for a news article on Yahoo, of all places, I like to see that it's not just some random photo pulled from a file (well, actually, if you notice the date, it really is, but hey, at least it has substance and personality...yes, a photo can have those things, lol).

Anywho, the basic concept is what I wanted to point out, so stop harrassing me about personifying objects and let me get on with it. By focusing on the jaguar, and allowing the back to blur some, you still get the best of both worlds....but one at a time....instead of seeing them both as once, they appear as two separate, yet united subjects. There are better examples of this out there, obviously, but I ran across this one today, and so here it is.

And did I mention that they both look sad and alone? Awwww....

I quit....

Okay, so I quit playing for a bit, and now I'm ready to add a couple of my recent entries to the other place. I didn't find a way to backdate my entries (it's probably here somewhere, but I'm blind for now), so they'll just be added as they were, with today's date and such. No biggie.

Testing, testing....

Alrighty, so I've been using a new Xanga account for the last few days, but decided to switch over to this before I got too far along. I'll be posting the entries I had there shortly. For now, I find myself exploring all the options here. I haven't decided if I like it yet or not, but I think it'll do....