You don't know me.

Last night I had a weird conversation that sort of got under my skin.

I hate when people talk to you as if you have no idea where they're coming from. I knew exactly where this person was coming from. I've been there.

Just because I don't wear a giant sash that has all my problems displayed across my chest for all to see doesn't mean they aren't there.

She said something about feeling connected to humanity, and that's what motivates her "cause" and drives her. Then she pretty much said that I was not connected to humanity if I didn't feel the same drive.

But it's a good point.
Why don't I feel motivated to change things?
Is it because I don't care, or is it because I care too much? Maybe I'm just a coward, who tries to undermine the efforts of brave girls like this one.

No. I just think she wastes her time. And I don't want that kind of attention, personally. If anyone's gonna pay any attention to me, it better be for something positive.

Things to look forward to

Thank you for this, Bob Saget.
I heart penguins!
(AND Dane Cook is in this!)

Other things to look forward to...
*Jeru the damaja (a proper send-off for Julia)
*Guv on the 13th w/my roomies
*Carly's ok party this weekend (getting not ok!)
*Skye Edwards is working on a solo album!

The Spotlight Effect

spotlight effect n. The tendency to believe that other people are paying closer attention to one's appearance and behavior than they really are.

In Social Cognitive Psychology we learned about an experiment done to test different aspects of this phenomenon: participants wore a t-shirt depicting either a flattering or embarassing image and then had to estimate how many people noticed them and could remember what they were wearing. The results? People always overestimated.

Here's the truly interesting part. They did tests in advance to determine whose picture qualified as embarassing and whose picture would be flattering.

Flattering t-shirts depicted portraits of: Bob Marley, Jerry Seinfeld or Martin Luther King Jr.
Embarassing shirts depicted pictures of: Barry Manilow

Now he may not be the coolest guy, but you can wear all the Barry Manilow t-shirts you want and fewer people than you think will notice. Cool!

From http://www.fondationbrigittebardot.fr

"Blinded by their trust in the human being, the 15 day old baby seals are easily approached by hunters. They are then savagely beaten out of their senses with enormous clubs and cut up directly, despite the fact that some are still alive, in front of the very eyes of other small ones that are to be massacred only moments later. The tragedy is witnessed by powerless mothers that often stay for days next to the small one weltering in its blood, deprived of its fur and abandoned on the ice by its murderers; they try to warm up the naked corpse and feed it…"

This is a tough one. They're so cute! But as always, politics is not two-dimensional.

And then she goes a little too far...

This is why I hate radicals and no one listens to them. Because they're crazy.

Do you know Jesus?

A woman asked me this at the bus terminal last Friday (a wild/incredible but physically costly St. Patty's day) while I was waiting to go to Toronto. I said what I could to get rid of her, but in fact, I don't know Jesus, God or anything that isn't based on truth.

There are an estimated 10 million species on the Earth today. I think it's a little speciescentric that "God" is most typically represented by a human form in religions. Furthermore, it's conveniently ethnocentric that in most major religions this God reflects their own ethnicity (Buddha, Mohammed, Jesus). Maybe God is a praying mantis, or a shih-tzu.

I think I'll be able to instill a sense of morality in my children without an arbitrary set of rules. And I won't have to resort to using fear and guilt or the threat of Hell.
When they ask me where people go when they die I will simply tell them the truth: When we die, we go into the hearts and minds of people we loved.
And being remembered well should be motivation enough to do some good.

You Were a Coyote

Brutally honest, you encourage people to show their true selves. You laugh at life - none of it can be taken too seriously.

What Animal Were You In a Past Life?

Transparency

When I was a kid I kept a journal and wrote religiously. As I got older I started ripping pages out, afraid that someone would find it. After a while, every time I finished an entry I tore it up and threw it away.

I have a tendency to get rid of things.

A couple nights ago, with one impulsive click, I deleted my blog because I didn't want Pat to read it. He and I were talking about transparency...something that I wanted from him but couldn't give of myself.

Let's start again.