Pet Peeve #2

Two days ago, a legendary, tech icon, passed away at a very young age.

Facebook and other Social Networking sites were inundated with posts about how the world would miss Steve Jobs - how his entrepreneurship and passion led to some of the greatest inventions of our time.

And then there were those who went to the other extreme, and posted status updates bashing Jobs-lovers everywhere.

Their comments revolved around the lines of "Okay, Steve Jobs died. Get over it," as though looking to simply oppose the general public.

The interesting thing is, the people who wanted to quickly get over the demise of a man who had a clear hand in changing the world as we once knew it, are the same people who update their statuses with the most mundane things.

"It's time to go to the gym!" or "How about this crazy weather!" I'm riveted, jumping out of my seat at the hilarity and interest levels your statuses entail!

Seriously, have some respect. Yes, without Steve Jobs, the world would not have ended, and yes, the technological breakthroughs that have happened would have surely happened without him at some point.

But the hypocrisy of "moving on" from a culturally historical landmark, when those same people need to get a move on with their own lives is truly frustrating.

You don't care that Jobs died? Don't bother telling the rest of us that, or else sleep with one eye open because the millions of people with iPhones and iPods will surely find you.

Endings and Beginnings

I wish I had my head in the sand at the age of 9 when the school librarian asked me if I wanted to read this new book that just came out.

I walked into the library at Twin Creeks Elementary, just looking for something to do, somewhere to go with my active imagination while my peers were still lost in something I'd surpassed, wondering what the next adventure would be. They, frought with peril as to how to finish, the ink gliding across their drooping eyelids, were lost in the real world of television and video games.

I saw, and see, books the way children saw, and continue to see, movies and video games - my escape. And I knew, if I could visualize what I was reading, feel that I was physically in the story, it was worth reading, worth getting my young hopes up for. Hopes, that never rose as high with other activities that did the imagining for the viewer.

And somehow,I wish that we had a longer lunch recess that day, or that the library was arbitrarily closed, so that the feeling I'm left with now, over 12 years later, wouldn't be so strong, so oddly controlling. Honestly, as strange as it is to say, I feel that I'm going through a breakup with my childhood. I have to say goodbye to "The Boy Who Lived", and yet, really don't want to. My mind and heart are in different worlds, each pulling at the other to join them in their reality.

If I had just walked away, I wouldn't have this annoying feeling that I'm losing something very important to me, something that's been with me for over a decade. The most formidable years of my life were spent in Hogwarts learning of a whole new world I wish I could have transported to somehow. I should have stopped myself from staring at the colorful cover carrying the boy with a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead riding a broomstick, should have turned away and told Mrs. Librarian that I didn't know how to read. I should have lied and ran away.

And now, with the second part of the seventh Harry Potter movie series coming out in less than 24 hours, I'm left to wonder what I'm supposed to do with myself. Will there ever be another series that leaves me desiring more? Will I ever find another 1000 page book in less than 8 hours simply to reach the end, to know who died and who lived, to understand the wise words of professors and laugh out loud at the humor of twin boys who joke for a living?

Yes.

It's pushed me to realize that I may never find another series such as this one, but never reading one isn't entirely out of the question. It's pushed me into Starbucks and Pete's Coffee, with my laptop and notebook in hand, creating characters and ideas from whatever pops into my head at the time. It's pushed me to see that one's dreams don't stop at watching someone else live them; one's dreams, though delicately finite and fleeting, should propel you into alternate universes, ones that you create.

It's pushed me to see that Hogwarts didn't just show me Harry's life, but Rowling's life. And yes, I will miss it, but regret it? Never. For through it, my body grew with age, my heart with compassion, and most importantly, my mind with endless possibilities and consequent daydreams.

So until the first chapters of my fantasies come through the wire to those trusted enough to read it, I'm putting below my favorite quotes from my favorite book series, for you avid readers to ponder. Enjoy!
_____________________________________________________________________________________

"The Dark Arts are many, varied, ever-changing and eternal. Fighting them is like fighting a many-headed monster, which, each time a neck is severed, sprouts a head even fiercer and cleverer than before. You are fighting that which is unfixed, mutating, indestructible."
--
"The mind is not a book, to be opened at will and examined at leisure. Thoughts are not etched on the inside of skulls, to be perused by any invader. The mind is a complex and many-layered thing."
--
"Oh, very good," interrupted Snape, his lip curling. "Yes, it is easy to see that nearly six years of magical education have not been wasted on you, Potter. 'Ghosts are transparent.'"
--
"To the well organized mind, death is but the next great adventure."
--
"Humans have a knack for choosing precisely the things that are worst for them."
--
"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live."
--
"It’s the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more."
--
"It is important to fight, and fight again, and keep fighting, for only then can evil be kept at bay, though never quite eradicated."
--
"You don't want to bottle your anger up like that, Harry, let it all out," said Fred, beaming. "There might be a couple people fifty miles away who didn't hear you."
--
So top grade's O for 'Outstanding,'" she [Hermione] was saying, "and then there's A-"
"No, E," George corrected her, "E for 'Exceeds Expectations.' And I've always thought Fred and I should've got E in everything, because we exceeded expectations just by turning up for the exams."
--
"Harry!" said Fred, elbowing Percy out of the way and bowing deeply. "Simply splendid to see you, old boy--"
"Marvelous," said George, pushing Fred aside and seizing Harry's hand in turn. "Absolutely spiffing."
Percy scowled.
"That's enough, now," said Mrs. Weasley.
"Mum!" said Fred as though he'd only just spotted her and seizing her hand too. "How really corking to see you--"
---
Until next time...

Muted Whispers

Muted shouts augmented to whispers
As the relentless patriot strives for truth.

Signs and postings shredded to pieces
As the government looks down in wonder.

The child-bearing mother fears the life her unborn will endure
Yet jumps into the protest, in hope

The hard-working father detests the hypocrisy of it all
Yet dives into the thick of that which he hates

And I rest on the other side of the world,
Waiting.
Watching.
Listening.

Predicting that the outcome will remove all hope
All balance
The walls of “democracy” will be torn down,
Demolished.

That which cages will be longed for by those who annihilated it
And the land of our fathers will continue into corruption
And the whispers will dissipate into their blood.

Clarity

A thin film of dust and grime cover the windows to the Holy place
Smiles sifting through to specific sources, attempting to acquire their attention
But the attempt is forged, unwilling to yield to minute change
The film mounts daily, creating the barrier so ill-advised
brick-like material forming over warm, rushing pain

She looks in from the fresh outdoors, smelling fine oak and pine
but seeing only yellow eyes glaring back at her.
More filth is thrown at the window from the inside
blocking out those who dare to peek inside
those who dare question the workings of this mysterious place.

He comforts her, showing her that He lives in more places than just the one
where the light is brighter, the windows are cleaner
the smiles are genuine.

She looks up and wonders,
the possibilities of truth
the possibilities of joy, peace, understanding
attributes hardly attained, though so thoroughly searched for

Tears are shed over a lost home, burnt down by the ego and envy
But renewed by the everlasting knowledge that more lies beyond
the unconditional love that awaits its return
the clarity that breaks through the night

Sister's Legalization Video

Pet Peeve #1

Over time I've found that there are certain things or people that really bother me and I know you're dying to know what and who so here it goes - my first entry.

Journalists.

Journalists who insert pages of quotes and information supporting one side of a multi-faceted argument and then add a tidbit of information supporting all other sides. And then they call them selves unbiased.

I realize that everyone is biased in some sense or another (we're all human, after all), but when one writes an article with clear lines as to what they think and what they want their audience to think, that's got unethical and downright unprofessional written all over it.

Journalists who tweak the facts to make it look like what they're saying is Biblical. A statistic about Dalmations and a statistic about dogs (in general) do not say the same thing, nor does one make the other inaccurate. And yet article after article, especially those found at the most random times of day, include statistics/quotes that are written in a way so that the reader follows along and gets all riled up about something that was written incorrectly.

Which leads me to the other aspect of this pet peeve: The audience.

Articles are intentionally written to target those with a 5th grade reading level, depending on the subject and publication. We write to explain, to inform, to seek the truth in complicated situations, to understand and relay multiple sides of a hotly debated topic.

However, because we know that some journalists sway the truth to forward their own agenda (ugh), the people reading or watching anything need to be wary and read carefully, think critically.

In a world where everything needs to come at lightning speed, the internet assists journalists to write and hit send within minutes, and allows the reader to read quickly and extract the information they need to understand what's happening around them, or just to have a conversation starter.

But if we, the readers, stopped to pay attention to the details, to really figure out what's being said, to read multiple sources and use common sense to finally come to some sort of decision in our minds, we'd be the start of something great!

Imagine, a world of people who don't naively and blindly follow the media at every jump and turn, who see the dangers in reading or hearing one thing and assuming its fact. I can see the angels playing their harps and trumpets in joy at the very thought.

Until people begin to see the truth shining through the cracks of white lies and cover-ups, through the fog and filth that creates a thick film over their glasses, the world will continue to be run by people who hold the truth and know how to hide it.

Good thing there's lasik surgery nowadays.

interesting

http://financiallyfit.yahoo.com/finance/article-109945-5752-5-the-millionaires-retirement-plan