Post 47: Text Talk and Shortcuts

LOL. TTYL. C U L8R. FML. OMG. O RLY. HMU. IDK. WBU. HRU. KK. IDC. WDYMBT? WWxD. JK. UOK. TBH. WTF. IMHO. BRB. G2G. JTLYK. FTW. NVM. BFF. BTW. NP. OTOH. PLZ. TTYS. N2S.

These are just SOME examples of things that come up in text conversations. They are also all things that kind of annoy me. You see, I don't really like these texting slang words. I understand where they came from and why at one time they were useful. Back when texting first became a feature, phones didn't have keyboards. They had number keys, number keys that you had to press sometime three or four times to get to the letter you want and if you messed up and went to far you had to start over again. So it makes sense shortcuts would come about to speed up the process. 

And I used these shortcuts up until the time that I got a phone with a keyboard. 

I no longer use any of them in conversations. Not even lol. Which seems pointless anyway because 90% of the time people use it. They don't actually laugh out loud. Sometimes they don't even crack a smile. 

Anyway, there are a lot of people who do still use them and there seem to be more and more each year. Which seems silly. We have keyboards now people. Why do we still need to talk in pointless abbreviations?

Another thing that I think that makes it silly is because, there are ways to still use shortcuts without having conversations look like they are in some weird code. I still type ttyl, but in settings I set it up so that if I do that on my phone it wil automatically correct to the full phrase. I also did it with names of places with long names. So it takes less time to type but doesn't look silly. 

I currently have 34 shortcuts set up. BHS and SG are two of my most used ones. (BHS- be home soon. SG - sounds good.) 

Anyway I just find I silly when texting people with shortcuts like that. Part of the reason is because it can become a habit and it shows up a lot in other places. People posting on Facebook from their computer use it, and I have heard professors complain and give examples of students using them in messages about their grades or class work.

What do you think? 

Do you think text talk should be as prevalent as it is?

Post 46: Prezi and Group Presentations

Let me start off by saying that I freaking love Prezi. Prezi is amazing. For those who don't know, Prezi is an online presentation creating site, where you can be make something like a powerpoint. But so much cooler, interesting and artistic looking. Seriously, I love Prezi.

I am almost look forward to presentations just as an excuse to use Prezi.

However, as much as I like Prezi, I am still not a presentation fan. I don't really like talking in front of people. Actually, I am not so bad at talking in front of people in general, but if I am not comfortable with the subject than it makes it hard. 

However, I still prefer presentations to group presentations. While it is nice not having to talking in front of people alone, the project itself is made easier when alone. 

When you are in a group with people then you have to work with them. And if they are not particularly good hard working, they are not very fluent in English, or don't like listening to other people's points of view then it can be a relatively frustrating experience. 

My partner for one of my classes is really nice. And she really does want to contribute a fair amount, but she is from Russia and her English isn't that great so it is hard. She didn't really understand the assignment description or the reading. And it is hard to explain what it is about to her as well. 

So, I might be doing a lot more of the work, but also trying to explain it to her and put it in a way she understands as well. Still, that is not necessarily a bad thing. Explaining it will mean that I know it well, arguably. 

So, this is a brief post, since my battery is starting to run low and I still have another two hours before class. I'm going to go work on the presentation for this class, because it is due in a few days and it seems like I will have a lot to do for it. 

What do you think about group presentations?

Have you ever used Prezi?

Post 45: Tragic Backstories

Recently, I was reading through some of my stories and realized I had given all my chacaracters kind-of dark backstories. Usually their parents being dead, cruel, or absent. I wondered why. I still don't really know. Even when they had the perfect parents, which a few characters had a pretty close model of, something else happened to them.

In order to determine why I looked at other characters with a sad back story; ones that I didn't create. 

One character who has a particularly emotional back story is Carl, from Up. His back story is one that, though brief, tells of a life-long love and heartbreaking loss. It inspires tears and sympathy. Something that was proven in class last week, when the short flashback series was played in class and we only got half way through it before several girls in class started crying. 

His back story sets up the plot, why he wants to go to that particular place. It also makes the viewers feel sympathy for him and makes viewers root for him to succeed. Without it, he would just be seen as a bitter old man trying to escape being sent to a retirement home. 

Another character with a sad back story is Neal Caffrey, from White Collar. His back story boils down to an absent-father, who was not as upstanding a citizen as Neal was lead to believe, and a mother who was not particularly supportive, (basically, physically present but emotionally and psychologically absent). Neal runs away when he discovers his dad was a criminal and uses his natural street-smarts to make money, though not always legally. 

His back story sets up a kind of excuse. Growing up with out a father as a role-model and a mother who was only physically preset, it can be said that it was only natural he would turn out the way he did. And since he had always idealized his father as a hero, finding out his father was a criminal, he could have subconsciously thought that, that was his own future as well. 

It also adds an interesting dimension to his relationship with his partner. Perhaps, meant to further establish Peter's role as a father-figure. 

A third character who has a relatively tragic back story is Abbie from Sleepy Hollow. When she was young, she and her sister saw a pretty creepy thing. No one believed them, so she lied and said she didn't see anything. Her sister was committed, because she didn't change her story. And Abbie ended up causing a lot of trouble, juvenile delinquency and dating bad boys kind of things.

Looking at characters with dark back stories, it seems like it  not only sets up why they are the way they are on a psychological level but also can add foreshadowing. 

Abbie has to face that the things she saw were real and try and mend her relationship with her sister. Neal has to deal with his father and decide whether to follow in his father's footsteps or follow the lead of his father-figure, Peter. Carl takes "Ellie" on one final adventure, the one he promised her, and in a way he gets a son/grandson-figure that he had been missing. 

So, maybe that is why I do it. Or maybe, I just find happy back stories dull.

As for why I usually use the parents to create the negative back story, well that is easy, there are very few people who influence your life as much as your parents. Even when they aren't there, it influences you, as it did with Neal. And there is nothing more tragic for a child than losing one or both their parents whether their parents die or are just absent, as is the case in many Disney movies (Bambi, Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, Cinderella, Tarzan, The Lion King, Mulan, Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Little Mermaid, The Princess and the Frog, Atlantis, The Fox and the Hound, etc.)

What other characters do you think have sad back stories? 

Post 44: Friends and Parenting

I'm spoiled. Let's face it, it is true. I may not feel spoiled in my cramped bedroom. But, in the grand scheme of things, I am quite well off. I am in University, and my mom is still letting me live at home. She is even paying my phone bill while I am a full-time student. I pay for University, books and supplies as well, but just because it comes out of my bank account doesn't mean that my parent's money didn't go into my account first.

And, really looking at my Apple products alone in it is hard to claim I am anything but spoiled.

iPhone? Check. iPad? Check. iPod touch? Check. iPod Classic? Check. iPod shuffle? Double check.

True, I did buy one shuffle, and win the other. I did buy my iPod classic, but only as a replacement to one I was given. And all of that was with money I earned while working. However, the rest? They were Christmas or Birthday gifts.

But that being said, I don't think that I am spoiled rotten.

Though, I think I know some people who are. I say "I think", because I am not omniscient. I do not know all the sides to the story. I do not know everything that goes on in their lives, but from what I do know it does not paint a pleasing picture.

 (I am about to go off on a little tangent, it will come back around to something that makes sense in the end though, I assure you.)

Before I get too far into talking about people who have been spoiled kind of rotten, I want to talk a little bit about how sad it is when friends change. The friend I am going to use for the example, who isn't really a friend anymore, is a good example of friends that change dramatically, as well.

She used to be a tomboy. It was shocking if she wore a skirt. She isn't one anymore. Which would be fine, but it seems like the entire time she was acting like tomboy, it wasn't because that was who she was or what she liked, but rather that she didn't feel like she was pretty enough not to be a tomboy. I mean, she used to not really like having her picture taken. She was really shy, as well. Now she is not shy, and she loves having her picture taken. It wasn't just her looks that changed. It was her attitude. She seems almost stuck-up now. She just isn't the same person that I became friends with. And I could probably be friends with who she is now, but part of me is having trouble accepting such a drastic change. I am having trouble reconciling that the person I knew before and the person she is now are one and the same.

Anyway, she has also been acting kind of spoiled lately. For example, she recently bought a puppy and brought it home. Not bad in and of itself, unless you taken in to consideration that her dad said no. He has also ended up feeding it, cleaning up after, and taking care of it, even though he said no pets. Oh, yes, and did I mention that when he yelled at her for bringing it home, she yelled at him? She yelled at him! She is living in the house off of him, and she went against what he told her, and she was yelling at him. And apparently, cursing at him and insulting him as well.

I have another example, I can't talk too much about because it was a long while ago andI had even forgotten about it until I was reading a blog I had kept years ago. 

Basically, there is a guy and he has practice for a sport he is in from like 6 until 9 p.m. His mom orders dinner for him. There is an issue with her card, but her phone is dead and she doesn't know that the food wasn't ordered. He freaks out. Calls everyone they know. Then when the mom gets home and finds out what happened, she gets yelled at and accused of being a bad parent by her kid. 

Which is kind of ridiculous because there is always food in their house. Always. And to be totally honest, I don't think I have ever been to anyone's house and found that they actually had nothing to eat. It wasn't like he was going to starve. He just didn't want to cook. 

And since the mom didn't even know, and had no way of knowing, what was wrong- it wasn't her fault. Not to mention, even if it was, kids should not yell at their parents. 

My mom and I get into fights, yes. I talk back, more than I should, but I have only ever actually yelled at her once, as far as I can recall. And it was when she implied some things about some of my friends that were neither kind nor true. Though, perhaps they were not all that far from the truth, seeing how things have unfolded as time went on. 

It didn't go over well. And even then, I neither cursed at her or called her names.

Anyway, I feel like I haven't really gotten to where I wanted to with this post. But it is starting to get on the longer side, and I stopped and started again after some time had passed and I don't really remember where it is that I wanted to go. 

So, I think I will end it here. 

Do you know anyone that is spoiled rotten?

What do you think it means to be spoiled?

Post 43: Sympathetic Bad Guys and Evil-doers

Recently, I was confronted by a major twist in a TV show I watch. Without revealing too many spoilers I want to share what happened.

Basically there is what is seen as one of the worst serial killers in the city of Santa Barbara. The killer is called Mr. Yang. He kidnaps and then kills young women and he teases the police along the way with clues, hinting that if they figure it out in time the person won't die. This character reappears in three episodes. 

The first episode she and the main character go head to head, the killer kidnaps his mother. But in the end they catch her. Yeah, it turns out to be a her. But she goes to jail. In the second episode, Mr. Ying first appears and kidnaps his girlfriend and a woman he works with who he is in love with. He tries to make him choose which one will live and which will die. They consult with Mr. Yang to try and catch him. They don't catch him but no one dies.

The third episode Mr. Ying is back. And this is where the big twist hits. Mr. Ying was the killer all along. Mr. Yang, she kidnapped people and she sent clues to the police but she never actually killed anyone. 

She was also Mr. Ying's daughter and prodigy. He was a horrible psychologically and physically abusive father that tried to train her to assist him in the murders. But in her own crazy way she cared about the main character and in the end her first kill was her father, to save the main character.

She is hated by so many as a killer. She was locked in a cell. She was treated horribly.

And in the end the main character asks her why she didn't say anything, perhaps not that it was her dad because as crazy as she is and as mean as he was he was still her dad, but why she didn't say that it wasn't her. She said that she was just as responsible, because she knew and didn't

stop him. 

And this got me thinking about other bad guys, or rather "bad guys", and I started to wonder if perhaps there were others that were labelled harsher than others. 

The first two that came to mind are not from crime shows or movies that, I guess, would be typically suspected but from Disney. The first is Gaston From Beauty and the Beast. The second is Stevie from Wizards of Waverley Place.

Gaston is a jerk, don't get me wrong. But did he deserve to die? Did he deserve to be branded the villain? 

Let us take a look at the story, not from Belle's perspective but Gaston's.

The first time he hears about the beast it is from Maurice. Maurice says Belle has been kidnapped by a monster, a vicious monster. Then he hears about the Beast again from Belle, and she shows him the mirror. In the mirror Beast is growling  or possibly groaning but it looks like growling, and is rather frightening. And considering the fact Belle herself was both horrified and frightened by the Beast's appearance, they probably felt the same. And her saying he was kind and gentile, could have just been Stockholm Syndrome, not that Gaston would know the term. But still, really, as far as he knows at this point there is a beast who looks scary and kidnapped Belle and kept her in a castle for quite awhile.  

As the typical stereo-type hunter guy/epic hero, he goes off to kill the Beast. While, yes, some of it is clearly out of jealousy, it is possible that there was more to it than just that. 

And if you think about it, Belle might have a small amount of Stockholm going on. I mean, he locked her in her room. He refused to give her food unless she did what he wanted her too. He yelled at her a lot. The main thing he did for her to label him as nice in the beginning is stopping her from dying. When that wasn't even his main goal. He left to drag her back, and saved her partially so he could do so and partially cause he wasn't going to watch her be killed after finding her. 

After that, they start to be 'friends' based on the fact that he stopped screaming at her and he wasn't as scary as before. Then, he gives her use of his library. And she acts like it is a grand gesture. He doesn't even know how to read anymore or use the library, she already has free reign of the house anyway, and she is still being held prisoner. And considering she thinks that he and the animate-inanimate objects are the only "people" she will ever talk with, it makes sense she would form attachments to them. 

Also, as far as locking Maurice up. It was kind of justified. Maurice's inventions are dangerous. They involve axes and throwing things. They also have a tendency to explode. All things that could cause himself or someone else harm. And he does seem absolutely crazy when talking about a beast, so the fact that he hasn't been locked up yet seems like a minor miracle.

So, while Gaston did not have always have the best intentions, I don't think he really deserved to die.

Next, I want to look at Stevie. Who technically died in the series with little to no remorse. (Alex turned her into a statue, Max broke the statue.)

She was labelled as evil because she didn't want to give up her powers. Which makes sense, no one does. 

But she had plan to break the machine things that took the powers of wizards to give them only to one. Let me further explain for those who haven't seen the show.

Basically, how it works is that in a wizard family only one member of each generation gets the full family powers. If you are an only child, you get them. If you have siblings, you have to compete for them. 

If you lose, you not only don't get more power, you lose the power you have.

Stevie wanted to change this because her brother was more studious, and had won the competition. She didn't want to take anyone's powers away. She didn't want to hurt anyone, in fact this really would have benefited more people than anything else. But it was against the rules and against tradition. So, she was brand as evil.

Alex stops her. Everyone is happy. Max breaks the statue. And everyone laughs. Like they didn't just technically kill someone. 

Stevie was always a kind of "bad girl" character, so she would fit next to Alex who had a similar image. But in some ways she actually proved nicer. In an earlier episode, she helped Justin get elected. Then, in another episode when they planned on tricking Alex's brother, Stevie pulled the plug on the prank because she didn't want to cause a fight between the two siblings that would keep them apart.

Maybe she wasn't really killed, but I don't think she was really evil either. Especially not compared to some of the other bad guys they had on the show that were looking to cause people harm.

Any other bad guys or villains that you think didn't deserve that title? That didn't deserve to die?

Post 42: Enemies and Hate

This post is much lighter than the title would suggest, I promise. You see, I don't want to talk about hate, as in the intense, passionate hatred, but the 'hate' that people use to describe anything they don't really like.

Both 'hate' and 'love', are words I think are widely overused. Not in the same way as "YOLO", though. If you haven't heard of YOLO, count yourself lucky. I won't explain it here. I might make a post about it at a later date, because it is something I think I would enjoy ranting about. But if you have, you might understand what I mean. 

'Hate' and 'love' however, are words that people throw out there as if they didn't have any real, or deep, meaning behind them. 

"I hate Mondays", "I hate bananas", and "I hate being bored". No, that feeling isn't hatred. It it is dislike.  You dislike Mondays, you dislike bananas and you dislike being bored. What bugs me about it the most is one particular case where people "hate", the 'just don't want to' hate. 

This comes up with "I hate bananas", when the person has never tried one in their life. I, myself, am guilty of this when I was younger with peanut butter. I used to say that I hated it. But I didn't hate it. I could eat it, I liked certain things that had it, and it wasn't like it made me sick or anything. I just didn't like it. But, when someone offered me a peanut butter sandwich, I would still say, "Ew, no. I hate peanut butter." I don't anymore, and haven't for a while. 

This also comes up with "I hate being bored". Which really means, "I don't want to be bored." If they truly hated being bored, they would do something about it instead of just complaining about being bored. 

Anyway, this all comes up because I saw talk on Facebook about how much this girl hates someone, even calls them her enemy. 

I didn't know that people had enemies outside of works of fiction. But, she went on and on about this girl, anyway. And a lot of what she accused her of doing, were things that she did herself. 

For the sake of clarity, let us call the girl who posted Beth, and the person she was ranting about Mary. 

Beth called Mary fake, because Mary used to like Twilight and now Mary is acting like Twilight sucks because everyone else is. I happen to know for a fact that Beth used to have a giant Twilight poster in her room, not ironically and not to use as a dart board. Beth called Mary a s***, because she said Mary lost her virginity really young and has had sex with multiple guys. Well, I got a text from Beth the day after she lost her virginity when she was 13. And I happen to know, she has slept with people since then. 

This went on for awhile, and because Facebook is the place for drama and is often times like a live soap opera, I kept reading. Then I put on my "I've taken an Intro to Psychology class" hat and started thinking about why she was so upset with this girl. 

At first, I was really worried. I was thinking, what if she hates this girl for having all the same negative qualities as herself, because really she hates herself? Because she was my friend, I started looking through her posts to see if they had become more depressing lately and I sent her a message to see if she was alright. 

But, while going through her posts, I noticed that Mary and Beth had gotten into a fight before. They had called each other names, enemies, said they hated each other, and then made up. In fact, they had done it several times before. 

So, after a few days, I signed in to Facebook and Beth updated her status as going to Jamba Juice, with Mary. 

Which proves three things nothing on Facebook should be taken seriously, enemies belong in fiction, and maybe we need to rethink what words we use. Hate seems like a really strong word to use for a friend you are just fighting with. And things worked out as well as they could for Mary and Beth, but what if Mary had taken hate to mean something more than just dislike (or as the case was, unhappiness or current disapproval), what if she took it to mean real hatred? What if she thought they really were enemies? 

It could have ruined their friendship. 

Though, it doesn't seem all that strong anyway. But, my point is, that we overuse the word hate. It rolls of the tongue better than dislike but, at least for me, it really means something much darker and deeper. And it should not be used as synonymous. 

What do you think? 

Is there anything that you hate? How about things you "hate"?

Post 41: FML and Marriage Proposals

I recently got a new app called FML. For those who don't know what it is, it is basically an app form of the social website where people post something bad that happened to them that day. Usually they are short, Tweet-size, so like 50 words. People then vote on whether or not the person who posted really does have some bad luck going their way, or if it was their fault.

For example, a highly rated, "I agree, your life sucks" post was:

"Today, it's my 18th birthday. My parents got me a $5 gift certificate to iTunes. It came for free with the iPhone they just bought my sister for her middle school graduation." 

An example of a highly rated, "You deserved it" post was:

"Today, I was at the mall shoplifting when a girl who looked my age pointed to a shirt I had in my bag. "Stole that, huh?" she asked smiling. She looked pretty cool, so I nodded and asked if she stole the jeans she was wearing, which were from the store. Turns out she didn't, she's the store manager."

So, you can kind of get the idea of which ends up where. Self-pity, karma and people having to deal with the consequences of the stupid things they've done end up in the YDI (you deserved it) side. While, things that involve people being screwed over by fate or someone else end up in the YLS (your life sucks) side. 

Sometimes, they are pretty funny. Sometimes, they are sad. And more often than you might suspect, I question whether they aren't made up. Like ones dealing with partners having an affair. 

I don't know about you, but that is not something I am going to share on a site like this. I mean, one of the highest rated YLS posts is about a woman who was dropped off at work and received a text five minutes later saying, "I just dropped the b**** off at work, I'll be there in a few minutes baby, miss you." And later in the text conversation indicated he thought that he was texting someone else. So, after being insulted and finding out her husband had an affair, would she on that same day sign into a website to post about it?

Anyway, one of the posts I cam across recently was a guy that was upset. He asked his girlfriend's father to marry him and his potential, future father-in-law told him no. And called him a sexist idiot for asking. This is one that I like, not because of the post but because the conversation in the comments is usually interesting. 

Which it was. 

Some people agreed, they said that asking the father dates back to when daughters were seen as property and they needed their father's permission. Some even said it amounted to little more than a business transaction. Which I can see merit for. 

On the other hand, some people (mostly girls) argued that it was the most romantic thing a guy could do. And claimed it was a great way to include the family and show them respect. I can see this side as well. 

But these points got me thinking, is it really either?

Permission, in most cultures, is no longer needed. So it isn't sexist, he didn't mean it that way. He was just doing something that is still seen by some as tradition. But the tradition itself seems kind of hollow and pointless. 

If he says no, then what? Does the guy no longer ask his girlfriend to marry him? What if the daughter finds out? Won't that cause a lot of tension and ill-feelings between the father and daughter? What if he asks anyway, and they get married? Won't that pretty much ensure that the he and his father-in-law never have a good relationship?

It puts the father in an awkward position. He has all these things to think about if he says no. Plus, he is thinking about his daughter's happiness as well. 

So, what if he doesn't like the guy but with all these things in mind, says yes anyway? And then the boyfriend chickens out and doesn't ask? Or the daughter says no? 

And if he only approved to avoid potentially negative consequences not because he actually wanted them to get married, doesn't it seem like it was pointless to ask? And what if the boyfriend was going to ask anyway, doesn't that make it even more pointless?

Also, for the FML, after asking permission and the father saying no, if he doesn't ask does that mean that he is listening to the father and, therefore, further establishing that he needs permission because the father does control who the daughter marries?

Anyway, that is just what I thought. I don't think that it is sexist unless it was meant to be. Like if the boyfriend really thought that it was within the father's power to give his daughter to him. But, my guess is, he was just trying to be polite. I don't really think it is all that romantic, either. So, I remain on the fence about it. 

What do you think?

Post 40: Friendzone and Movies

There are a lot of jokes and complaints about people who are stuck in the 'friendzone'. For those who don't know what the friendzone is, I'd say you are lucky. Except that, just because you don't know it doesn't mean you haven't had dealings with it.

The friendzone is the metaphorical place you are put when you are in love with someone, but they just see you as a friend. That is basically what it is, but when people reference it is usually more related to times where they've tried to get out and were pushed back in, or find themselves doing something they normally wouldn't because they love that person.

For example, a guy painting a girl's nails, a girl going to a sports game, or someone letting themselves be used as furniture for the other person if they are only willing to do it because they like the person as more than friend and are hoping this will somehow sway the person into thinking otherwise.

While it is more common to see and hear about guy's being put in the friendzone, anyone can end up in the friendzone.

When girls end up in the friendzone, they often hear that it is good to have a female friend who can be "one of the guys". They tend to hear about how good it is to have someone to talk to about their relationships with other girls or someone to talk about things their other guy friends don't want to talk about.

Guys tend to hear more of the "its so good having a guy to talk to". Guys in the friendzone often hear how nice it is to have a male friend they can relax with and be themselves without having to worry about acting the way they would in front of guy they were romantically interested in. (For some that means,2. wearing PJs, unbrushed hair and eating large amounts of unhealthy food in a manner that would frighten some.)

What I have seen of the friendzone, people put themselves in it and they keep themselves in it, most of the time. I am sure that it is not always the case, but it does seem that way most of the time. People don't say anything, they just assume that the other person will figure it out. People are thick, people are naive, and people are blind about these things.

Also, I find that when a person likes someone they often second guess these things. They may see the signs and ignore them because they don't want to jump to the conclusion and be wrong. So it ends up with two people with mutual feelings not saying anything. Until someone moves on.

The 'friendzone' is often explored in movies and TV shows. Though, they are even more extreme.

However, in media I find that the the people not only put themselves in the friendzone. They seem to enjoy staying there, they keep themselves in this "it is better than nothing" mentality and so they don't try anything or say anything until the person they liked has moved on. Then, they suddenly through a fit and act like they have been betrayed.

In Made of Honour and My Best Friend's Wedding, which are basically the same, are just like that. They are friends, distant friends, but then suddenly the person likes someone else and instead of letting them be happy they try to ruin their wedding. It isn't even like they pulled them aside and said how they felt. They actually tried to sabotage the wedding. As if, the wedding falling apart is all it will really take for them to end up together.

It happens in Beauty and the Beast (2012). Evan is content with being a flirtacious friend and co-worker, until it seems like some else is interested in her. Then suddenly he is getting drunk and kissing her, and he can no longer contain his feelings.

It happens in Mortal Instruments, as well. Simon has been friends with Clary for years, but has always liked her. But doesn't say anything, then she kisses Jace and suddenly he shows up in her bedroom in like the middle of the night. And he is upset with her for being interested in Jace. Seriously, he has this whole 'how dare you like someone other than me, even though we have been friends for years and you didn't know that I liked you as more than a friend!" attitude.

It happens in You're Beautiful. The guy literally likes her from the first episode on and never tells her. He hints at it constantly. He even does the, 'there is this girl I like but she doesn't seem to notice me' bit when talking to her ABOUT her. And then he finds out she likes someone else, and he gets frustrated with her and feels hurt and betrayed. You have been right next to her for SO long. If you had said something earlier, maybe it would have made a difference.

Anyway, for all those in the friendzone, stop and think. How did you end up in the friendzone? Did you tell the person how you feel? If not, can you really complain about being only a friend to someone?

And if you did and they still sent you to the friendzone, might I recommend not going out of your way for them. I don't mean don't be a friend. But, your going out of your way for them is not likely to change their mind.

Also, I just want to briefly mention the 'friendzone' thing in Harry Potter. Ron was technically never in the friendzone. Hermione and Ron liked each other. They just didn't say anything to each other about it. So, she dated Krum. He dated the annoying girl, whose name I don't remember. But, they still liked each other as more than friends.

Post 39: Feminism and Equality

I'd like to start off by saying that I don't think people should be treated differently because of their gender, race, sexuality, religion, age, or income.

I do think that not everyone should be treated equally. I think they should be treated based on their actions, behaviour, and personality. If someone is rude and always treating people like dirt, I don't think they deserve to be treated with the same compassion as someone who is always kind and thinking of others first.

I don't mean to say that these rude people should be treated badly, what I am saying is that I will be less inclined to go out of my way to help them and it is understandable, to me, if others would be too.

This post I want to talk a little bit about the feminism that can be seen online. A lot of times, people who claim that they are looking for equality, aren't. Or, perhaps, they don't even realize that they aren't treating people equally.

Recently, on Facebook one of the people on my friends' list was complaining about how she dropped out of University and how her room mate was threatening to kick her out. He had told her that he would do it if she wasn't enrolled in University. So, it isn't like it came out of no where.

Anyway, the discussion in the comments was all about he was a horrible person for doing that and how dare he kick a girl out on the streets like that? There was a lot of emphasis on the "to a girl". She is over 20. She isn't a child. Someone younger than her not only was kicked out of her house, but moved across the country by herself.

She is perfectly capable of getting a job, or enrolling in classes at a different school. But everyone is acting like because she is a girl, she should be treated like she is incapable. And it was girls who were talking about this!

It comes up in times when women insist men open doors for them, women go first, and things like that. It is like they are saying yes, we want equality. But we also want all the perks that come with you thinking that we are weaker or more fragile, but without you actually thinking of us that way.

Equality isn't like that. It is entirely possible for a woman to open the door for a man. Why can't we just open the door when there are other people coming? Why does there gender matter?

Post 38: Extremes and Passing Fads

I find it interesting that it seems that people no longer dwell in the grey-zone when it comes to celebrities. What I mean by this is, that a lot of people these seem to love or hate a celebrity, but rarely fall in the area in between. I understand that it is the extreme-fanatics and haters are most likely to share their opinion and are most vocal about it.

However, it seems pretty common that people love or hate a celebrity. Justin Bieber has fans that would go to the extreme of causing themselves harm to get him to stop him from smoking marijuana. While on the other hand, there are many people who constantly insult and slander him by insinuating he is gay, a girl, or deserves to die because they dislike his music. Miley Cyrus has loyal fans who aspire to be like her, saying her 'not exactly model behavior' is just her defining herself. Others say she should disappear because of her behavior.

It isn't just celebrities that seem to be stuck in the either love-or-hate view. Movies and T.V. shows are being put their as well. 

Twilight is something people seem to either love or hate. Some people even go so far as to make jokes about killing or wishing for the death of the writer. No one seems to simply say, "I didn't like it, I wouldn't read it. So, that is that. But that doesn't mean that the writer should suffer for it."

Same with Justin and Miley, no one seems to say, "I don't like their music, so I won't listen to it. But that doesn't mean  that I hate the artist." You may disagree with their choices, but unless you have met them you don't really know them. Most of the information about them is based on rumors and gossip made up by the media for entertainment. You can pick up two magazines and find completely opposite things. 

It was funny, when I was at the newsstand in the airport recently I saw two magazines right next to each other. One reporting a potential proposal between a couple, the other reporting a potential break up of that same couple. 

Anyway, before I get two side-tracked I want to go back to Twilight. No, I don't want to actually talk about the book or movie, I want to talk about what people say about Twilight. 

When Twilight first came out, I will admit I was really excited. I like vampires, and am a massive Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan. I started reading it, and it wasn't the best book ever. It was drama, it was romance, but it wasn't anything new. Vampire/Human love relationships are not a new thing. And I have, and had, read quite a few really good stories with that plot online by unpublished authors. 

Which leads me to the first thing that annoyed me about the book. Not that it was bad, but that there are better authors out there who still haven't received the recognition for their skill that they deserve, more that Meyer. I also was bugged by the sparkly thing. 

Anyway, at the time I had quite a few friends who were also reading Twilight. Some, really liked it. At least, they said they did. A few even had posters on their walls. Some pre-ordered all the sequels. When Twilight was 'in' and everyone was talking about how great it was, they were all for it. 

A couple years later, and now Twilight isn't as popular. There are many more Twilight-haters and suddenly, they hate Twilight. I would understand if their opinion of the book changed later on, but they act like they never liked it. I know they liked. I find it frustrating. If they like it, why not say so. If they don't, why ever say that they did.

I'm not embarrassed to admit that I like Justin Bieber's song, "As Long As You Love Me". I still sometimes watch Sponge Bob and as of late, I am a little bit obsessed with the Muppets. 

Why hide what you like because someone else may not also like it? I mean, I do understand why they would do it. They're scared of what people will think, but it just seems like they would be happier if they didn't worry about it. And why hate? I mean, what is wrong with good, old-fashioned indifference?

Have you ever changed your view when popular opinion changed?

Did you ever like Twilight? 

Post 37: Procrastination and Reality TV - Love

I want to say that this post was inspired by something I was doing productively, but it wasn't. I was procrastinating. I am a master procrastinator. I can write a B+/A 5-page paper in 4 hours if I have to. I did once, (which is how I know). I still write them in 4-hours, but I do it days before it is due so I can come back after awhile and check it to make sure it makes sense and is well-written.

Today, I found myself bored with my essay topic (Philosophy- Metaphysics) and found my mind wandering. I would like to clarify that I don't actually find the essay-writing as boring and tedious as I think it will be. It is like...eating an apple, I generally accept that I like apples but I don't realize how much I like them until I take that first bite. These essays are like that, after the first page and a half. The first page and a half is a lot of talking about an argument and summarizing, the last part though is when I get to argue my opinion and then provide counter-arguments and then responses to those. And I actually quite enjoy that.

But, I hadn't gotten to that part of the essay yet. So, I was kind of unfocused and talked myself into browsing YouTube a bit before I continued. Which in theory doesn't sound like a bad idea at the time, it sounds like a 'I will just clear my mind' thing, but ends up being a 'oh, look it has been two hours' thing.

So, while I was browsing YouTube I saw part of the Step-ford Wives movie, the newer one and it talks about a reality TV show called, "I Can Do Better" about how they take a married couple, separate them and pair them up with prostitutes/really attractive people and then at the end they can stay with the people or they can go back with their spouse. It called them prostitutes, but I don't know if that is actually what they were. I mean, they looked more like models. And from the prostitutes I have seen while driving through down town, they don't look like that. If they did, they probably wouldn't be prostitutes.

Anyway, I am genuinely surprised that it isn't a real show. Or rather, that there isn't something similar.

The closest I know of is "Parental Control" where parents who don't approve of who their kids are dating pick a new potential partner and then the person has to watch their girlfriend/boyfriend date them while they watch with the parents that hate them. It is pretty bad, but like a train wreck some part of me wants to watch the chaos unfold. (Though, I never understood that expression. As it is I try and avoid looking at car accidents, no matter how big because the potential gore factor alone freaks me out.)

But both this fictional show and this reality TV show bring up an interesting point for me. A point that comes up in TV shows all the time.

What does it mean to love someone?

In Grey's Anatomy, a show my mother loves a lot, there is a character who goes to her ex-boyfriend and says she loves him. He says she is engaged. And she basically responds that if he loves her, she will dump her fiance.

If she truly loved him, what would it matter if he loved her or not in whether she would call off the wedding or not? She clearly doesn't love her fiance or she wouldn't be so willing to call off the wedding. But she doesn't love her ex-boyfriend enough to call off the wedding before he says he loves her too. So, it is like she is taking that metaphor about only leaving one boat when one foot is securely on another boat seriously.

In "Parental Control" whoever it is almost always says they are in love with the person their parents hate, and yet all it takes is one date with someone else and they are willing to end that relationship?

Why? Because they feel like they can do better.

I don't know how others feel, but I don't think I would want to be with someone who seems kind of wishy-washy about the way they feel. If they were willing to dump someone they had dated for years after one date before, isn't it likely they might do the same thing again to me?