Every Now and Then

Well, thanks to my fellow...minds?...December now has at least 10 posts, something I apparently wished for. Ok, really, I'll try and stop that annoying,aristocratic, tone...

In this order, please, maybe? (in this particular case, the video aspects aren't important...)

This is the new year. Instead of placing 08 on everything, I'll have to remember it's 09 now. As mentioned before, during these times, people make resolutions. They try to improve their lives, towards something they feel will better themselves. Personally New Years has never been a really special time for me. I don't make New Years resolutions. To be honest, I know I won't do them. Again, as stated before by ol' clam chowder down there somewhere, thinking like that isn't very helpful in any way. In fact, perhaps because of thinking like that, I'll never actually do one. But the thing is, I always tell myself these kinds of things. I always say, "Well, you're actually gonna do this", or "You're finally gonna do this...", and etc, blahblahblah. And well, it's not like I ever do anything. Everybody wants to get out of whatever they're in, but how many people are actually willing to do something about it?

Also, karma spoke about how we view ourselves. It's never quite what we want it to be, of course. There's always something that can be better, inside and out. What we want, what we wish for, it's always a dream. Sometimes, every now and then. those dreams are recognized. They are done, but they're never quite satisfied. There's always more to want, more to wish for. People view themselves in different lights all the time, as does society, other people. But there is an absolute? Disregarding the perspectives of people, are there people who deserve what they have, people who don't deserve what they have, people who are assholes that have amazing people in their lives, people are absolutely terrific, but there's nothing around them to show for it, people who deserve more? Thankfully, I'm none of those people, maybe... Or is this entirely in our(my) heads?...

I once read this one little line on his web page, something about the things life taught me. Sadly, i don't quite know what the web page was, or where to find it again. But one of the things was, "...the people important to you never stay long enough, the annoying people are there for too long, and the real pains in the asses are permanent." (or something along those lines...don't quite remember). In a way, anyone can relate to that. True or not, it does feel like the people you care for less are there more often than the ones you do care about. Those important few, are either not there for long enough, or just were never quite close enough.

Well...another thing I found was a picture of a little sign talking about what you would do if you knew you would not fail. As always, not sure on the specifics. But it's a funny thing, what you might do, or think of doing. All those things you've always wanted to do in your life. Also, if no one else was looking, if no one that didn't need to know didn't need to know, if everything was just right, what else would we do? Maybe if we all just started pretending that was all true...

Batman! Begins ----- <<You start to pretend to have fun and you might have a little bit by accident.>>

Another thing I found (......stumbling, obviously....again I don't know where it was), was the picture of a young woman holding up a sign that said, "I know I am unlovable, but I still hope." Now, that phrase can really apply to anything, not only love, but I'm sure a lot of people would like that one, it doesn't even have to be romantic love if you like. But I'm also sure that a lot of people think in such a way. <> And if you keep thinking like that, good (better) chance that it won't. But no matter how much we try to tell ourselves, we always hope. If there was no hope, there wouldn't be much of a point. Ha. if there was no point, why stay? It'd be sad of there was a person who lost all hope. Given up on everything. Given up on themselves. I hope I never come across such an instance in my life. There's pretty much enough hope cooked up for everyone. We may know full well that some things may never happen; and I probably won't do/become a number of things on my life. I know I won't be famous (whew, good thing too, I don't really want to be...), great and talented at anything, won't find their true love (person, place, or thing), won't accomplish much in the scope of others eyes, won't ever be content, or maybe even truly happy. But I'll live. I'm not a sad person, or at least I don't try to be one, or at least don't enjoy the thought of being one. "Life is too short to not be happy" my aunt once said. Hopefully this makes you go and out and do, but maybe some are banking on the fact that life really is short.

Hope is like gravy, it can go with a whole lot of things, but without it, things (like...chicken....)can get real dry........haha...dumb

taken a whole lot of words to say a whole lot of nothing

thanks for the picture....JRI?

-digitaldelay

Broken Hinges

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

That is half of a wonderful little poem by J.R.R Tolkien. I remembered the poem faintly from mind, but a part or two did strike me as oddly familiar. I really do think it’s magical, whether or not Tolkien intended for it to be allegoric or not. Every line in this poem speaks for itself, yet the meld together as one.

Sometimes the things that are most important, most valued, are not always so apparent and blunt. Sometimes you just have to look a bit deeper, and you’ll find a wealth of what you were seeking in the first place. But maybe we just get lazy, we get too carried away, and we don’t realize what those things really are.

If you wander, you meander, you search, it doesn’t have to mean you don’t know what you’re doing. Maybe you just have nothing to do, maybe you really are searching. The lost are distracted, desperate, despondent, those who wander are not always so. You wander, because you have yet to find what you want, what you desire, or what you need. You wander to grow, to learn, to mature, and etc.

What is strong does not break. It’s as simple as that, almost, kind of, definitely, maybe… But it doesn’t if you’re old, weak, broken, withered, the strong are strong. It’s like something that sounds nice, an instrument, or anything. It may look ugly, feel terrible, but it sounds good. It can apply to people too, if you think someone is a great person, then sure, they’re great then.

A person can kind of be compared to a tree, which is a terrible metaphor; it flusters me to use it, but oh well. You start with your roots. These are the morals, the lessons, the values, you gain as a kid. This is where you become, well, you. You roots are who you are, and while what’s above may affect those roots, you roots generally remain. When you get older, it will be your family, your parents you (many of you I should say) look towards, even if you don’t realize it, it won’t be the others around you, at least not as much. Blood is thicker than water? Your branches are everything else around you. You soak in everything else, and they do affect your base, who you are, as well. But, strong roots, shouldn’t be affected by storms above.

That was an odd and bad poem dissection…no idea what I’m talking about…

Ah… and the Olympics…a magical event

This one event can bring the whole world together and connect people more than anything else almost. Athletics, oddly, does better than music, art, and etc. in that category. The others still vary, people from different places will like different kind of music, different kinds of art, literature. But anyone, anyone, whether from Africa, North America, Asia, and the other continents I didn’t mention (no offense meant to them in anyway…), can marvel at their accomplishments, and try to mimic them. Anybody can try to run, or swim, as long as they have a pool, and some ground. The same goes for the Paralympics.

Go World right?

-digital delay

Blind Pursuance

(thanks to artvisions.org for the image)

"Weigh what you want against what makes sense."

That's from my horoscope today (I don't check my horoscope everyday or anything...it just gets sent to my e-mail). Probably one of the better ones I've heard...those horoscopes can be really blunt and honest sometimes—and not in a good way.

Most people always plead for things that either 1. can't be done/achieved or 2. is against any factual belief. Take a little girl for example. How are you supposed to get her a unicorn, or take her to the land of cute, bubbly faeries when it's simply not possible? How are you going to make your son a Power Ranger? There are so many things that we all wish could be true, could be done. It's just too bad the world doesn't work that way.

I'm not saying that things cannot be done or achieved, though. Everyone always says "nothing is impossible." But everyone needs to keep in mind that it only applies to things that are "fact" and "makes sense". As much as I'd love to believe that someday I can fly, it's just not humanly possible. If you have a similar dream, such as piloting a plane, that's a dream worth pursuing. There's probably some human race in another galaxy far, far away that could fly, but as for now, Earth-humans just aren’t birds (who knows, there's probably a planet in some other galaxy that has living, breathing Pokemon).

Oh, and something that bothered me—deleting. It's so annoying when I accidentally delete a photo on my camera. Yes, I know that there's always a confirmation after you press the delete button ("Would you like to delete this?"), but sometimes I do it too quickly and it gets deleted. You see, back then, with the old, conventional cameras that use film, if you take a photo, you're stuck with it no matter what. The downside is that you can't review the photos. Now, with the digital cameras, you can review the photos, but you have the risk of accidentally deleting a photo. -sigh-

-the clam.

P.S. Keep it up, Michael Phelps!

What You'll Be Looking For

I’m just going to mention, perhaps discuss, some of the things that I think are really interesting, and stuff that I’ve been thinking about lately. One is the conformist and non-conformist thing going on. The whole thing where there’s one side that gives in to the pop culture and mainstream “media” (ahem…*c*r*a*p*…most of the time), and those who purposely try to stray away from those. But if you think about it, those two supposed black and white sides aren’t so different at all. If those people who try to be different think those other people are misguided and mislead, well, so are they. Pop culture or whatever thrives on people, solidarity, and collectiveness. Or for example, people going, have you heard about so and so, and so the chaos ensues. So, people do something, because other people do it right? Well if you think about, those who try to be different, only try to be different because of what other people do. They base their beliefs and actions on what other people do, just like the supposed mainstream jackals they so despise. Now the black and whites just become a mixed gray…

So you should just believe in what you believe, like what like. It's ok maybe for others to affect what you like and believe, but completely basing it off of someone else is not something that'll lead to much good. You shouldn't care if what you like is liked or disliked, popular or not, despised or not, but you still have to listen to others, feedback is important, especially if it's constructive.

Who really thinks that most of the new these days isn’t over bloated, exaggerated, and is propaganda anyway?

Another thing I think is interesting is the whole punk/anarchist ideology. No, not the jackass who wanders neighborhoods being a, well, jackass. The ones that actually care about the ideology behind it are the ones. I’m not saying I’m one, I doubt I’m one, not even close, haha, doubt I’d even want to be one. But it’s still interesting to know about and read about. Anarchists believe in no government. They say that any government or authority basically sucks. But there are still several forms of anarchists, of course. One that is really interesting is the non-violence part of these groups. Some believe violence is necessary to achieve radical changes. But I read about one that believed so, until she visited the Soviet Union and saw stuff there that changed her mind. Then there are the punks. One group that is really interesting is the one that believes music and ideology are what define a punk. A guy with a Mohawk and ripped jeans could be some freaky Neo-Nazi who drives a Ferrari for all they care. They’re anti-consumerist too. So apparently some of them hate it when you buy and do stuff that just means you got screwed over so someone far a way could get rich.

Something else too is the feminist movement, which is by the way great, so don’t say anything just wait. But even some feminists today hate the modern feminist movement. It’s interesting also how that has affected men, and it has, which is often overlooked. Now people say there are stereotypes against women, which is true, and cruelly unjust. But, there are also stereotypes for women as well. And sometimes, things don’t always work out the way they should. These issues could get a bit sensitive too. Many women talk about equality, which is great. But at the same time, they go and ask for favors, as if nothing happened. And men are often discriminated against as well. In domestic issues, women are often favored. Custody cases, domestic abuse cases, etc. Now I’m not saying that men have been completely overlooked and women are wrong, it’s really not as black and white as that. It’s confusing and weird. Now, I’m not sure how many would want to read and extremely long article on it, but I did, so it can’t be that long. But it’s really interesting, in my opinion, haha… So here it is, posted by HuntanPeck near the top.

Elections are coming up. Who are you going for, or were? One thing I have to point out, that just pisses me off a lot. When someone says they support them, and the best they can give me, I’d be change, a women in charge, or an African-American. It's like saying you're going to vote for them just because they're a women, an African-American, an Asian, or their last name soudns like one of those badass movie character names (i.e. McClane, etc.) You know, I don’t give a shit what race they are, if they have an odd accent, what gender they are, maybe they used to be a sewage worker (no offense to sewage workers, I’m sure they’re great) and not a lawyer. It doesn’t matter people! Please, the person who is best for the job should be the one. That’s it, doesn’t matter if they’re an inspiration or whatnot. If they make you feel good great, doesn’t mean they’re right for the job though.

To end it, something sad. Randy Pausch has passed away. Don’t know if any of you saw his “last Lecture”. It truly was moving (kinda long, but I'm sure there are shorter versions). It is the saddest, most heart-wrenching, gut-punched, shoved-up-your-___-, happy, inspirational video about dreams (maybe?) ever. It could bring you to tears even when its not sad, or at least shouldn’t be. When I saw that video, I just went ****, I’m screwed, I’m so far behind, I’ve been doing everything wrong. Then I laughed and went, yea I already knew that. Here is a man, who has no regrets he says, who is maybe content with the life he lived, which is something we all try to do. Cheers to you Randy.

^^^

"Brick walls aren't there to keep you out, they're there to prove how badly you want something."

"Don't bail; the best of the gold is at the bottom of the barrel of crap."

(this one i can't remember too well...) "I'd rather see someone who's earnest than hip, hip is short term."

-digital delay

Erringly Straying

Hopes and expectations, in a way, are very different. Sometimes they’re extremely different, comparable, but nonetheless as different as peacocks and Gatorade. I’m sure plenty of people would like to become famous, make cruise-loads of money, and all that. But to be honest, do you expect to? Do you really tell yourself that in a few years, you’ll be rich and on top of the world. Even if your hopes and dreams aren’t exactly stardom, maybe just doing what you love, meeting someone you can love, and being perfectly happy with life, sometimes, you can laugh at yourself for things as simple as that. You don’t expect anything at all to change, but that doesn’t mean you’d sure like them to.

The funny thing is, those very expectations could get in the way of those hopes, those dreams. If you don’t expect much at all to happen, there’s a good chance nothing at all will. Just because something is improbable, that doesn’t make it impossible to do. If you never expect to achieve your dreams, it means you never really tried to in the first place. Goals are achievable, well, because if they weren’t, there wouldn’t be too many albums, movies, and T.V. shows going around know would there?

Too often, those expectations get in the way of those dreams.

Hopefully, those dreams are reasonable…but then again…that’d be a bit contradictory…

Or maybe…those people decided to become whatever they are because they couldn't figure out anything else they wanted to be.

-digital delay

HELLO, Greetings, Salutations...

It's probably the first word a baby learns.

The first word you say when you greet someone.

The first word you say when you pick up the phone.

The word that you say when you're frustrated by your stupidity ("HELLO?! What was I even THINKING?")

It's such a universal word. You can go to another part of the world, and say "Hello", and they will understand. (So, technically, you know at least one word in every language). The very word itself brings a sense of hospitality when you greet someone. What a simple, yet, sophisticated word it is.

Of course, "Hello" may not always be so kind. It all depends on the tone in which you say the word. Are you greeting a houseguest? Are you greeting an enemy? Are you reluctantly greeting someone that you didn't want to meet? They all belong in a different tone of voice.

As you already know (and I assume that you do...if you're capable of reading this article, then you're old enough), "Hello" has many uses. That is why you can see the word being used in every aspect of life. Maybe it's that Target commercial..."You say goodbuy [they changed it to goodbuy for the commercial version], I say hello, I say hello." Or maybe it's Lionel Richie's infamous Hello song? Oh, and how about that little voice that suddenly pops out of your Motorola phone when you turn it on?..."Hello, Moto."

You yell "Hello?" in a store to see if anybody is there. You ask "Hello?" to see if someone has occupied a fitting room. You say "Hello?" while poking an animal to see if it's dead. You say "Hello" to someone because...well, you have nothing else to say to them.

But as always, "Hello" will always become the start of something new. Try saying "Hello" to new dreams, and greet the future. Don't mind saying "Hello" to a new student in your class. Who knows? They might become a life-long pal.

-the clam.

P.S. I just noticed--this is our 50th article on the blog! -throws confetti- Here's to another 50...or 100...or 1000...or 10000000000000 more!

Brighter Than Sunshine

I've been searching for things. Important things.
Inspiration.
Motivation.
Ideas.
Just ordinary thoughts.


Have you ever felt the need that you are missing out on something in your life? Maybe even someone or someplace?
Maybe you have a desire to travel the world and go to places like Paris or Italy, Tokyo or Alaska. Or, if you'd prefer, a made-up land, like NeverNeverLand or World's End, Narnia or La-La Land?

Have you ever dreamed of being in a fairytale or fantasy?
It's like, this moment of awe, and then it's gone. Sometimes I just wish it could stay...for a bit longer. Or maybe it would even take me into the Make-Believe World, the Disney World, with the storybook endings and fairytales coming true...?

But no. Since we're in reality, we should think realistically.
Have you ever thought of where your life would be, say, five years from now? Or ten? I'm not talking 'what you want to be when you grow up' if you do grow up, I'm talking the BIG PICTURE: 'He's going to be living in a two bed-room apartment on Main Street of New York City, working part-time bagging grocery bags at the Wal-Mart two blocks down (every Monday through Friday), while he takes Intern Prep classes at the local College to become a somebody.' You know what I mean? Have you ever planned your life out that specifically?



You're twenty-one.
Have you ever fantasized about meeting your true love? When that's going to happen, where you're going to be, what it's going to be like, or who it would be? How would you know for sure that s/he is the one? Either you just have that feeling or, that's right, you just don't know.
How's your wedding going to be like? Life after that? You just don't know.

You're thirteen.
Ever imagined your first kiss? What it would be like? Who with? Where? More importantly, HOW that would work? I mean, there must be millions of thoughts running through your mind...

• How are you actually supposed to kiss someone?
• Am I doing this right? I mean, it's not like someone actually taught you, right????? Picture this: 'Who taught you how to kiss like that?'...'My older brother...' Can you say awkward!?
• What if I'm wearing glasses?
• What if I have on braces?
• What are you supposed to do with your...nevermind.
• What to do...
  

You might turn out to be the most amazing kisser in the world...or the absolute worst.
Is it something you just...pick up? Who knows.....You'll figure it out, you're smart ;]

What kind of person are you?
Are you the type of person that would sit back, watch Global Warming and other problems occur right before your eyes?
Or are you the one that would actually get up off your lazy @$$ and do something about it?
You might say 'Fuck the world' today, but tomorrow you might actually care.

Be BRIGHT [brighter than sunshine!] and SPONTANEOUS.
Be romantic and FUNNY, relaxed and SERIOUS.
Be POSITIVE and INTELLIGENT, OPTIMISTIC and DAZZLING.
Feel FREE and LIVE LIFE.
First and foremost, be YOURSELF.

My advice to you.
*Peace Out*

- my.great.ESCAPE

((...Woah, that's a lot of bullcrap right there. Don't listen to me. They're just guidelines and things to think about anyway. And believe me, that one part [with the bullets?] was really awkward for me to write.))

Finer Feelings

Have you ever stopped and tried to appreciate everything around for you? Just for a few seconds maybe? Sometimes it can be difficult to do. Still, everyone should do it every now and then. Just imagine, your job just plain sucks. Your co-workers are terrible, and the pay doesn't match the workload. Yet, I'm sure you can think of a million other jobs that could be much worse. Perhaps your parents are treating you "unfairly". At least they provide shelter and food to you. They really do love (at least, they're supposed to) you, since during the course of your life they've probably spent hundreds of thousands of dollars raising you, maybe more. Imagine what would happen if they kept all that money, maybe they'd be living some adventurously fun, exciting life, carefree.

Still, guess you have the right to whine every once in a while. Sometimes, it shocks me how unappreciative I am. What a hypocrite.

For those of you who love your job, your situation, wherever you're at at the moment, maybe living your dreams, then congrats. Most of the rest of the world is quite envious of you. Hope you can continue doing what you do best, and loving it. Also, for everyone else's sake, let's hope you can actually do your job well (they're are plenty out there who can't...). If they don't realize it, they're probably ignorant, or arrogant...Though, they'd probably go all crazy if you say it (say it ain't so, it's probably your fault, not mine, don't blame me....blahblah).

You Talk Way Too Much (i try to tell myself to shut up more......it has never really worked...)

I always laugh at this, so will you
That's a great show

on the subject of sparta....this is funny too

prs

"I don't care about my Guilty Pleasure..." Oh, yeah RIGHT!

Muahaha.



(By the way, Acquired Minds now includes the "Email This Post" feature. If you like any of our posts, just click 'Email This Post' at the bottom of the post, and send them to any person/people you want!)

So anyhow...

Time to talk about Guilty Pleasures. You know you have 'em...oh yeah, you definitely do. Don't deny it. I can see it in your imaginary face.

Trust me, you're not alone. Your guilty pleasure might be dancing—and hey, nothing's wrong with that. Someone else's might be cooking...yummy.

Personally, mine is....is...is...

Is...

Is...

Is...

Okay okay, I'll tell you...I love to sing. *someone chokes out of disbelief* In fact, it's not even a guilty pleasure...it's sort of my passion. It's really weird telling this to the world, especially because I've never been public about it. The only one time I actually sing to a certain other person is my aunt. She's my singing buddy, right Tina? ;). And that's mainly because she introduced me to the world of music, and I have a lot to thank her for.

But of course, if you all know, I'm seriously shy. I don't know why, but it's in my head, and I can't get it out. That's why I hesitate to do any sort of public speaking (let alone, sing). I know this is a main problem to a lot of other people out there too. They're too afraid to show what their passion is, their ultimate dream. This brings it all back to my peer pressure article back down there. People are too afraid to do what they love to do the most because they're afraid of what their friends and family might think of it (same case as for me). And you know what, I know I'm a hypocrite in saying this, but just show people your real natural talent. Sometime in the future, whether it's near or far, you'll see the benefits of expressing yourself.

So remember—be as genuine to yourself as much as possible. You won't regret it.

-the clam.