Just a couple of Lists:

FIVE THINGS THAT I THINK ARE COOL:

1 - This book “Ignore Everybody!”(by Hugh Macleod)

2 – A new play by Christopher Durang
“Why Torture is Wrong and the People who Love them”

3 – Learning about the “32 bar song form” (A/A/B/A) & how many songs incorporate it

4 - This Video (which incorporates the 32 bar form!)


5 - Entire Anime series on Netflix. (like Rurouni Kenshin)



FIVE THINGS THAT I THINK ARE
*NOT* COOL:

1 – Braces. (I feel your pain)

2 – Wet Socks.

3 – Texting.

4 – Getting bit by small dogs.

5 – Insecurities about getting “old.”

Catching the "Catchphrase Fever!"

Sometimes I think it would be cool to have my very own catchphrase. I think this for a number of reasons:

First of all, catchphrases are “catchy,” which means they stick in people’s minds, making it easy for people to remember who you (the owner of said catchphrase) are. And since each catchphrase is (more or less) unique, people will begin to hang around you more just to hear you say it (it doesn’t sound the same coming from someone else) and further cement you into their memories. In fact, there are a number of famous people who are (more or less) remembered specifically for their catchphrases – thus making them immortal.

And in the end, isn’t that what we all really want?

(the correct answer is “yes”)

Secondly, catchphrases are great indicators for the type of person you are; they’re the so-called “trademark” of the user. The right catchphrase (witty & thoughtful) can create a great first impression at social settings and interviews, causing those around you to want to learn more about you (and how you came by such a witty catchphrase!)

And thirdly, catchphrases can be used to diffuse (or at least deflect) awkward situations: if the humor of the “catchiness” of the phrase doesn’t melt away the tension by putting a smile on everyone’s faces, then it’ll at least distract everyone as they wonder why the hell you chose to say your signature phrase there and then.

But then I think about the drawback to the catchphrase – that people will ultimately reduce you to it (as they do with most famous “catch phrasers”) – and move on with my life. I mean, look what happened to this guy:

Still though, if I had one, I wonder what would it be….!

ASIDE - I typed “catchphrase” into Google and found this:
Famous Political Catchphrases in the U.S.

"Selfish Kids"

I wanted to write a more “fun” post since my last four have been (semi) serious, but I’m dealing with a lot of stupid drama right now and my mind just can’t focus on anything fun right now.

And since I make it a rule not to blog about drama (of any kind) I’m just gonna ask for your two cents on a debate I had with a friend of mine.

I asked this friend if he ever wanted to have kids (someone earlier had asked me this and I wanted to get other people’s opinions) and he told me that, while he wanted kids, he preferred to adopt rather than have kids of his own.

When I asked him why he wanted to adopt, he replied that he thought bringing a child into this world when there are so many kids already without parents would be selfish.

This struck a chord with me (because it sounded like he felt there was something wrong with that) so I told him that I thought he was wrong: having a child isn’t selfish; it’s a natural & reasonable desire.

He relented a little, saying that maybe “selfish” was too strong of a word, but he insisted that having children served no other purpose than their own self-serving desire to have kids. Adopting, on the other hand, can spare a child from the foster-care system and improve two lives instead of adding one more to this over-populated earth.

I reiterated that wanting a child of your own but he kept insisting that it was only selfish / self-serving. I wanted to argue otherwise but, not really wanting kids myself, I couldn’t think of a way to diffuse his logic. (I know it’s flawed, but I just can’t see how!) Every other person I’ve asked has said they wanted them for “selfish” reasons too; they all basically wanted a little version of themselves to leave behind after they died.

(Interesting side note – Socrates (or Plato writing as Socrates) argued that having children was a way of achieving immortality and that this was the whole biological purpose of love – survival of the species. He also argued that another way of achieving this same kind of immortality was to be remembered as having thought of a great idea)

After thinking about it for a while, I can only come up with one reason to have your own child that isn’t entirely self-serving – to please your parents by giving them grandchildren.

I guess they *are* kind of cute, aren't they?

Anyway, as I said before, I just wanted to ask for your two cents with this post - what do you all think about having kids? Is it "selfish" / "self-serving" to want kids of your own? Is it wrong to be selfish in that way?

So this is embarrassing.....

But I guess you’re all going to see / hear about this anyway.

I have braces.

I got them on Tuesday (1/12/10) and have to keep them on for at least a couple of years.

Obviously, I wasn’t too happy after my dentist told me I should get them. But after weighing the pros & cons between getting / not getting them, I decided (foolishly) that it would be a “wise investment” to take advantage of my health insurance and get them while I’m still (relatively) young.

I have to admit that having them on now (as I type this) isn’t too uncomfortable. I can feel the pressure of my teeth being moved by the brackets, but it’s more of an annoyance than anything else.

Getting them put on was pretty painful, though.

The worst part about all this is that I’m not allowed to eat “certain foods” anymore…..and by that I mean any food I used to know & love.

Basically I can no longer eat hard/crunchy foods or sticky chewy food substances, which include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Crackers,
• corn chips,
• cheetos,
• apples,
• carrots,
• anything deep fried,
• nuts,
• seeds,
• steak,
• roast beef,
• most chocolates,
• cookies,
• beef jerky,
• caramel,
• bagels,
• most bun-type breads,
• croutons,
• ice cubes,

This experience has really opened my eyes to the discrimination that people with soft teeth face every day. I went to the market the day before to stock up on foods that I could eat and the only thing I could find was soup and canned tuna.

I now understand why the elderly love breakfast so much. The majority of breakfast foods (with the exception of toasted breads) are soft and easy to chew. But even eating that is difficult for me now. (hope that goes away)

Also – I’m not allowed carbonated beverages (like soda) or whitening toothpaste - which is nearly every brand of toothpaste these days. Only Colgate still has a kind of toothpaste without whitening in it.

So yeah – I have braces and I hate it.

Expect my blog to become a lot more whiny as I think of new things I can’t eat!

Something interesting I've noticed, though, about getting braces is that - everyone who *doesn't* tell you that they look good on you (those liars) eventually tells you the problems they have with their teeth & gums. I now know the full orthodontic history of my roommate, several friends and an entire branch of my family tree!

SIDENOTE - I only told my boss & 2 other co-workers that I was getting braces. And since my desk is pretty secluded / I’m pretty quiet at work, I wonder how long it’ll be before anyone else finds out I have braces. I’m betting two weeks. Anyone else want to guess? Winner will receive a copy of the “It’s a Wonderful Life” DVD 2-Disc box set. (for serious)

For the Fun of it

As most of you know, I’m a big fan of swing – the lindy hop in particular.

In fact, as soon as I got a car (which I’m forever grateful for, Nico) I drove on down, took me some free lessons and learned me to dance.

And I like to think that I’ve gotten pretty decent at it after five years.

But I recently joined this lindy hop dance practice group to basically become a better dancer. The people in this group are all really good dancers….and they’re constantly critiquing my form.

I understand why they’re doing this. See, everyone in the group takes this advanced class at the Lindygroove (where I go to dance) except me. Why? Because you have to *audition* to get into the advanced class. The instructors there like your form to be a certain way because it helps you learn what they teach you, I guess….

Everyone in the group wants me in the class because we tend to go over a lot of the stuff they learn there. And I actually did try out for it (the class) a few years back……..but didn’t get in. That was a harsh blow to the ole’ self-confidence, I tell ya. For a while afterwards, I focused a lot on making sure I was doing everything as I should’ve been….and it actually made me worse.

Eventually, though, I shook it off because I realized that this course of action didn’t make any sense. At that point, I knew I was a pretty good dancer - maybe not up to their standards, but decent enough. So why put myself through all the criticism and self-consciousness of getting someone else’s approval?? The whole point of lindy hop (or any hobby really) is to have fun. And I felt that if I did end up taking the class, I’d be more worried about where I was stepping or correcting my posture than anything else.

And that’s kind of how I still feel about trying out for that class.

I’ve heard a lot of people argue the opposite though: if you really like something, you’ll strive to improve at it because that’ll make it more fun….and I guess that’s the logic that I’m subscribing to at the moment.

When Friends Meet Friends

So here’s something I noticed a while ago that I noticed again (re-noticed?) when I went back home for the Holidays….!

I have several different groups of friends that don’t like each other.

“I don’t know why you hang out with them.”
“Really? You still keep in touch with him?”
“I don’t care for [that person] Maybe later.”

So when I went back home, I found myself hanging out with everyone in shifts.

It seems very fitting to me that this happened with the people that I knew from high school because this all seems very “high school” to me. (All those cliques, etc.)

The MPSA theatre crowd still hang only with each other
High school grudges still linger (fester?) from when we were sixteen
Old bf/gfs still don’t want to see each other
And some old classmates still think of themselves as “too cool” for the rest of the school.

This was a common occurrence whenever a group of my friends met with another ~ they immediately dislike each other. There were all these dividing factors amongst everyone:

IB honors vs. AP Honors
Chemistry vs. Physics
Band vs. Theatre vs. Yearbook vs. Visual Arts

Even the friends I made during boy scouts couldn’t get along with my friends from school….and it strikes me as weird how some things never change.

I’m sure I’m guilty of this too ~ my ten year high school reunion is coming up next year and I’m pretty sure I’m not going to go. There are a ton of people from school that I just don’t really care to keep up with and I’m not that curious about everyone else. So why bother, amIrite?

But if one of those people were to call me up and ask to hang out, I wouldn’t say no.

I gotta find out how they got my number, don’t I?

P.S. - did you see my New years resolution list? I hope by having one written down in a place where I can see it constantly, I'll work harder to accomplish all that.

How many is Too many?

Just so everyone knows, I’m moving here from Xanga for a year to see what Blogspot (Blogger?) has to offer me.

If I like it, I’ll stay.
If not, I’ll move back to Xanga
…..(or go on to Wordpress)

But I figured that since all the people I know in real life seem to use this site, there must be something good about it.

(I am digging all these “lists” that I can make on the side panels)

Plus I already use this site for my other blog ~ Stuff Raptor Jesus Likes (although I haven’t thought of something that Raptor Jesus likes in over 6 months) ~ so I figured, “why not just move altogether?”

Perhaps the change will prompt me to think of more things Raptor Jesus likes?

In any case, that’s now 3 blogs that I (somewhat) manage.

I’ve heard that this isn’t an uncommon thing – a lot of people will keep more than one blog, devoting at least one or more to specific topics or themes while keeping at least one personal “journal / diary” type blog for themselves.

Anyway, on the off-chance that I *do* already have a following (of real life friends + xanga subscribers who also own blogspot accounts), I ask the following question:

How many blogs do you (currently) have?
(de-activated / neglected for over a year blogs don’t count)