#2 Technologic Zombies

Technology runs OUR lives, from the transportation one uses to the medical care one receives. All this innovative technology is seemingly futuristic.Feeling the need to keep up, individuals buy into each upgrade thinking it is BETTER than the last(think Apple products). Being a Girl Scout(laugh now, then think of the cookies)one of the many montras was to,"leave everything BETTER than you found it." The definition of better seems to have changed since I learned that. 

Better used to mean 

"improved," 

now it seems to mean,

"self-serving regardless of the consequences." 

I think there will always be WAR, violence and genocide until it ends us. But with all this "improvement" our waste is literally TRASHING the planet. As if we have another planet that could sustain our lifestyles. Contrary to popular belief, I am no better than this, I am no better than you. 
The fact that I am typing this on a Mac, may make you think so but then again what is your definition of better?

In the article by Robert Samuels, "Breaking Down Borders..." I found his idea that,

"there are new rules for how to act in public places and how to socialize with and around one another" 

was completely relatable to my own experiences. He attributes it directly to technology,

"none of these changes would have happened without new technologies to break down borders." 

This statement led me to question what borders we are PUTTING UP in place of these technological ones. The idea of making basic eye contact with a passing person has

been OBLITERATED. I feel society has developed a social border against anyone face-to-face, it seems everyone in person is on a need-to-know basis. Is this better? 

I am partial to the positive convenience of technology. I feel that society is moving so fast, that even a week seems like an eternity(just imagine a week without your most beloved piece of technology). Everything in person seems replaceable by content online. 
I love having access to endless libraries of art, music, and writing by people who are in history books or just next door, directly at my fingertips. Call me a "hipster" or a "purist" but I don't watch T.V., I don't listen to the radio, I stick solely to the internet and I buy into convenience. Fortunately I still have a few redeeming qualities left, the main one being that I am human. I'm sure you think I live behind this screen however, I love live music, breathing the not-so-fresh Phoenix AIR, and saying "hi" to random strangers. I wouldn't trade the human experience for the virtual experience. Even if it is less "awkward" for some. Here's the video. 

One Less Sad Robot

I'm writing again.

I'm not entirely sure whether it's because it's a rainy day or my Aunt Josie wrote me back.

The tangible aspect of objects is incredible, it's unequivocally incredible HOW MUCH a physical letter can mean compared to an e-mail or even a phone call. 
I fear that when this generation is dead and gone, all that will be left are of it are phones, computers, and Facebook pages. 
I am so much more than my hours in front of screens and self-pictures.
Believe it or not, you are too.
That's why these letters are so precious. It's a piece of someone else, that was literally given to me, to keep forever. 

There's this movie Jim Carey (and Kate Winslet) star in, called, "Eternal Sunshine of an Absent Mind." It's sort of an artistic film for him to be in, but I liked it. It's about a couple, who break up and decide to have the other one erased from their mind, it's a sad concept. This movie was long enough ago (2004)that the couple had to turn in keep-sakes from the relationship. Not only did they have PRINTED photographs, but notes, letters and DRAWINGS... so much more than that old box of t-shirts and boxers. As an artist and a writer, I have many self-produced items that I HAUL around in each move because it reminds me of my personal history. I'm not referring to events per say but more my growth as a person. It's more VISIBLE in my own journaling, drawings, even high school papers than it is in ALL my computer content COMBINED.

Yes, I feel like a hipster-robot combination.

My parents used to save newspaper clippings, not that long ago. Without all these THINGS, these small trophies of accomplishments and failures; I worry that I will forget. I'll read one of my favorite books,then, some cliche movie will be made out of it. The mass public will LOVE this movie and people will FORGET the story, and I'll forget it with them. 
Beloved books sold like pirated goods: cheap, degraded, and mass produced to the point of forgetting what it all was about. I may love the movies even, but I still FORGET what I loved about the books. 
Words are a precious thing that we can save, REPEAT, and write. Words will never lose their meanings simply because someone put them on another sheet of paper. It's the reason tattoos are more often quotes rather than pictures these days. People are realizing that quotes are personal to all, while pictures are only personal to some. For instance, if you come across a picture of say, this lady here: 

WHO is that?

Right?

Versus hearing this quote: 

"I want to TASTE and GLORY in each day, 

and never be afraid to EXPERIENCE pain;

and never shut myself up in a numb core of non-feeling,

or stop QUESTIONING and CRITICIZING life and take the easy way out.

To LEARN and THINK:

to THINK and LIVE;

to LIVE and LEARN:

this always, with new insight, new understanding, and new love.” 

This is Sylvia Plath. 

This is the woman who seemed so HAPPY, so normal on the outside, yet stuck her head in her oven with her children STILL in the house. 

Words can tell us everything IF we listen. 
Have you ever heard the biblical term, "Brother's keeper"? If you haven't it basically refers to the concept of taking care of someone and caring for them so DEEPLY, even though it is not your responsibility. It's burden of choice.
This Valentine's Day, I encourage you to send positive thoughts to your "brothers" whether that be a classmate, or the cat lady next door, we ALL have felt alone. 
And what if YOU are alone? 
Well, from someone who knows THAT feeling, true happiness comes from within. 
No one can make you feel miserable unless YOU let them. 
No one can tell you that you're wrong.
You can choose to be happy, to be right, to be YOU. 
If you are waiting for that special someone to come along and make everything better, it's not going to happen. When your happiness depends on the presence of an individual, you are not truly happy. 

On that note,
If you're looking for a non-chick-flick romance story, you can find Eternal Sunshine of an Absent Mind on Netflix. 

If you do like the sappy stuff, any Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan combination will make you content: Sleepless in Seattle or You've Got Mail.

A Handful of Dust

My life lately.

Why HELLO there,

Of all the blog joints, in all the towns, in all the world, you clicked on mine.
Lucky for you I have much to say.

Since my first post, it seems a lot has happened. I saw Cavalia's Odesseo and I am almost finished with my first ceramics project.

The fact that this is just clay that 
I molded with my bare hands, AMAZES me.

Somehow with all this ACTION trying to maintain some semblance of a life, my course work has been PILING up and I have started to SHUT myself in my room. 
I have been writing papers mainly and I started to think about how much I can accomplish when I am ALONE. 
There is a lot to be said for self-reliance, 
whether it is the entrepreneur,
the single parent, or the child who learned to read. 

FREE WRITING: painfully grasping 
an idea until it injures

I have a DEEP respect for those who are self-taught.




Writing my whole life story for my other classes has murdered any desire I had to write. 
I am trying to "free write" and trust me, it hurts when you are over-thinking every word.
Over-thinking is when I have an idea, and I analyze it until everything that I loved about it is GONE for some reason or another. It is what I do when doing assignments because I often worry about what the teacher will say or how they will grade it. 

When my high school art teacher noticed my fault in over-thinking, she stopped me to say that, 

"Whatever art you do needs to be for yourself. There's so much more behind those eyes than just a GIVER, you need to take so that when you give you have something left." 

Simple things people say have always stuck with me.

My Communication teacher seems to believe that there are categories of people:"introverts and EXTROVERTS" and different kinds of learners:"auditory, visual, and kinesthetic." 

Although this may apply to some, 

I categorize myself as an introvert who functions as an extrovert; a learner who 

need to SEE,HEAR,and FEEL everything to fully digest it. 

I realized that not everyone thinks like I do or does anything like I do for that matter. 
I don't think we fit into these categories that we're shoved into.

No matter how I try to communicate everything that is HAPPENING in my life or in my head, 

I can't. 

I can't capture the picture for you. 

Maybe the issue is that it happens all too FAST, or all at once, that it is 

indescribable, or that it doesn't exist in the world. 

SO DO COMMENT. 

If you were here before, I've updated my blog quite a bit with small improvements here and there such as the TAB feature so you can distinguish from my assigned posts and my self-generated ones. 

#1 Sunday Morning, the first assigned post, came out pretty nice, if I do say so myself. 

If you have not noticed, my LINKS are casually placed throughout my posts in RED. 

If for some reason it does not work or you have any suggestions, let me know. 

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#1 Sunday Morning

It's okay to STOP pedaling and LET go.

An appetite for life can inspire others to CRAVE the ground beneath their feet. There are few  people who can raise this need to live life to the FULLEST through a blog. However, I have found them. I will discuss three very different blogs today; 

Google, 

The Pioneer Woman, 

and 

Catalog Living.

1. GOOGLE: 

This blog is corporate, attracting suits and skirts alike but also the common "Googler." It is what one would expect from ONE of the most successful companies in the world. The blog markets to the reader their many "products" while calling out that inner muse. My attention was held through their graphics which include videos, photos and graphs of the company's latest actions. The layout is simplistic and clean so that the reader can focus on the content. The most recent post which has been trending on social media is Google Map's filming of the Grand Canyon so that,

"You’ll be happy you’re virtually hiking 

once you get to the 

STEEP inclines of the 

South Kaibab Trail." 

 I highly recommend taking a glance at this blog, simply reading it made me feel more productive.

2. THE PIONEER WOMAN: 

 A little awkward,right?

Ree Drummond is the blogger who established this creative piece which incorporates all the aspects of her busy life. Her blog is very ATTRACTIVE because of her down-to-earth personality, accessible posts, and relatable content. She has a variety of topics each approached with different yet appropriate tone. Reading her off-beat and sometimes awkward quips, I would have never realized she is somewhat famous.

The most interesting aspect of this blog was that the REAL people in her life are featured, explained, and incorporated into her updates. 
The blog even features her husband, "THE MARLBORO MAN," not only his chaps, but his link-worthy writing. 

Even though her blog would seem catered towards, "desperate housewives," I found her cooking section is definitely for both genders and her CHARM carries throughout the whole blog, no matter the topic.

3.CATALOG LIVING:

"We already had a
'Martha Stewart intervention'
with you!"

If you've ever walked into a model home, or even Ikea, and thought, "Who would buy this, WHY?" this page is for you. 

It's funny, short and conversational.

Yes, it appears the bear could not hold it.

Unfortunately, the blog as a whole is highly disappointing. It is almost TOO short for a blog and seemingly unprofessional based on it's casual yet inconsistent tones.

I was initially drawn to this blog based on my shared belief that RIDICULOUS things that are made by home decor places and then taken into homes and placed randomly among their things.To give you a better idea, think of that animatronic Bass fish now found in garage sales EVERYWHERE. 

There's videos if you were not
scarred enough
by this image.

This blog stood out because it has two writers that converse back and forth through their image captions. Out of the three blogs, I liked Catalog Living the least. 

WHAT made Google and Pioneer Woman so CAPTIVATING for me was the imagery. 

Both were successful in placing the reader in the moment. 

The writing became personal and interactive within each post. 

J.M. Barrie, the author of Peter Pan said,

“The reason birds can fly

 and we can't 

is simply because 

they have 

perfect faith, 

for to have faith

 is to have WINGS.” 

Through this idea, he was able to give generations of children the ability to fly.

WRITING, no matter the audience, is intended to reach out to the reader on an individual level. 

Forming this connection is what allows us to live VICARIOUSLY through writing and take leaps in our own REALITY. 

BLOGGING, believe it or not, can do precisely this.