the mouse pad

For the past few years, "social networking sites," such as MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter, have become increasingly popular on the Internet. These websites enable people to reconnect and keep in touch with old friends, and update friends on what is new in their lives.

However, sometimes we just want to be alone and don't feel like interacting with others. We all have those days where we'd just rather lock ourselves in our rooms and not be disturbed as we read, watch TV, or even go on the Internet without having other people bother us. For those times, I suggest that there ought to be "anti-social networking sites."  These sites, with names such as iNeedMySpace, getouttamyface-book, and Bitter, would be an opportunity for us to tell the world to just shut up and leave us alone! Some examples of status updates on these sites would be:

    "Maxine is not listening to you. See those headphones on my ears? That means I don't want to talk to you."

    "Billy is completely ignoring you. Go away!"

     "Oscar wants to tell you to SCRAM!"

These sites would also have a Dislike button (rather than a like button). Plus, when you get a friend request, your options would not be limited to "accept" or "ignore," but there would also be a "reject" option. If you chose to reject someone as a friend, they would get a message that says, "Tony has rejected your friend request, and wants to let you know to leave him alone and get a life, you LOSER!"

And for the truly hardcore anti-socialites among us, there'd be an option to create an Enemies List. If you REALLY don't want to friend someone, you can add them to your Enemies List. They would recieve a message saying, "Danielle has not only rejected your friend request, but she hasn't forgiven you for all the times you bullied her in middle school. You have now been added to her Enemies List."
 
Livejournal would also have its anti-social counterpart: NotDeadJournal! This would allow you to simply notify everyone that you are not dead yet. You would just say, "Phil is not dead yet. So you can stop worrying and LEAVE ME ALONE!"


**NOTE: I am not in an anti-social mood, nor do I advocate anti-social websites. Please do not take this satirical composition seriously.

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        I'm sure most of you have heard of this new device from Amazon.com known as "Kindle."  They advertise it as a "wireless reading device."  Basically, Kindle is to books what itunes is to CD's. You order a Kindle from Amazon. It comes in the mail and then you order any book of your choice, and it automatically downloads onto your Kindle, and you can take it anywhere and read it.  According to Amazon.com, Kindle has been selling at a tremendously high rate, and I've already spotted several people on the T using these gadgets.
        I must say I have mixed reactions to this new invention. On the one hand, it's great for the environment. With all this talk about "going green" and  "reducing our carbon footprint," just think of all the hundreds of forests of trees that could be saved if our reading materials are made out of megabytes rather than paper!  If Kindle eventually replaces paper books, it just might be the best thing we could do for our planet, not to mention Al Gore's dream come true. (No wonder he claimed to have invented the Internet. But I digress.)  
        Aside from the "green" factor, Kindle has several other advantages over books. Books take up a lot of space on shelves and in houses, and can often be carry to heavy around. Their paper turns yellow over time, they collect dust, and they can get ripped or torn. Kindle, on the other hand, is approximately the size of a folder, and it can store up to 1500 books.
       Nevertheless, I don't see myself getting a Kindle anytime soon. For starters, they cost nearly four hundred dollars. However, even if I were to win the lottery tommorow, I still wouldn't buy one. Why?
        The answer is simple:  I love books. I don't just mean I love to read; I love books themselves. I love being able to hold the actual, physical book in my hand. I love the way books feel. I love the way they smell. I like being able to fold over a page corner or underline text with a pen when I come across a passage of writing I find particularly interesting or inspirational; which I couldn't do on Kindle. I love going into a bookstore, picking up books that look interesting, and browsing through them. I often will discover new titles and authors this way. Somehow, it's just not the same ordering books on Amazon. Even when they come to my door in a box from UPS rather than instantly being downloaded onto a wireless tool, the whole experience of browsing around a bookstore is lost when you buy your books online. And let's not forget how many bookstores and publishing companies will go out of business and how many jobs will be lost if Kindle replaces books. 
       I have a horrid vision of myself thirty years in the future, saying to my great-niece or nephew, "See this, honey? It's called a book. This is what people used to read befored Kindle was invented. They stopped printing them back when your mommy was a little girl."  I shudder at the thought of books ever becoming outdated. I can handle sharing my photos on my laptop instead of a photo album, but there's just something Orwellian about books being replaced by technology. I can embrace the advantages and progression that technology brings us, but I'm just an old-fashioned sentimentalist when it comes to books. 
     And with that in mind, I'm going to log off the computer and go pick up a good, old-fashioned book made of dead trees.

 

Would it sound like a symphony orchestra or a rock band? A jazz quartet or a folk duo or a choir of a hundred vocalists? Would it sound like the waves of the ocean crashing on the shore or the wind rushing through the pine trees? Like the chirping of songbirds or the call of wild geese as they fly past the full moon? Like the sound of a waterfall or the sound of rain? Like the peaceful strum of guitar strings or the elegance of a harp? Like the sound of church bells or the sound of doorbells? Like the sound of a cat wailing or a wolf howling? What would your soul sound like?

So, I kept this blog on LiveJournal for a while; but then I kind of abandoned it after joining Facebook. It was just easier to update on Facebook since more people who I know on real life are on FB.

But still, there were parts of LiveJournal that I missed- such as the ability to write a blog that consisted of more than just one line, as well as being able to add pictures and videos to my blog entries. Yes, I know I can add pictures and videos to my Facebook account as well, but it's harder to give them the same kind of feel as Live Journal posts do. 

So I was very happy when I found out that Facebook allows you to import entries from an external blog! This way, I can update both my friends who are on Facebook as well as those who read my Live Journal.

Unfortunately, I can't think of anything clever or interesting to write about today.  Hopefully there will be more exciting posts in the future.

All over the state of Iowa (and perhaps beyond), gays and lesbians are holding up their flashlights, cell phones, and lighters and singing along with Dar Williams, "Iowa, Iowa, whoa, oh, oh, Iowa!"

Watch my latest video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6iob5Am0Aw

Congratulations to Barack Obama, the first black President of the United States!  I'm sure he will be a fine leader!

Go to Google Images and type in "Halloween" and the year you were born, then post some pictures!

( 1977 was a scary year! )

I just had to laugh when I saw the ad posted on my lj: "Do you have squirrel problems? We offer humane removal guarenteed!" For some reason, I found that hilarious. "Sir, can you help me? I've got squirrel problems!"

Last night, I saw Rachael Sage at Club Passim, and I got to meet her after the show! She was so awesome and funny and cool and sweet. I told her how much I loved her music and that I was a huge fan and that I have all her CD's, and naturally, she was thrilled and so appreciative that someone loved her music as much as I did. Seriously, I can't figure out why she isn't famous! She should be as well-known as Ani DiFranco or Tori Amos, if not bigger. For that matter, I don't understand why people bother to listen to Ani and Tori, when Rachael Sage is out there! (No offense to anyone who likes them- I have at least one CD by each of them- but Rachael is just so much better!)

Her show was great. She has such an awesome stage presence and she was cracking jokes and faking various accents throughout her performance. And her voice is simply gorgeous live! She sang: Lonely Streets, Unbeauty, Bravedancing, Wildflower, Chandelier, Angel in My View, plus a debut of a brand new song she had just written. As soon as she played the opening chords of "Wildflower" (which is my favorite) I let out a very loud cheer. She stopped playing, looked in my direction, and said, "Mo-om! I told you to stop following me around!" The only disappointment about the show is that it wasn't longer. She was the opening act for some Scottish act I'd never heard of- Julie Fowlis, I think? I stayed for Julie's performance, but left after the first few songs- I wasn't crazy about her.

I still can't believe that I got to meet Rachael Sage; and how awesome she is in real life! I hope that I get to see her again sometime soon!

Then click here!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZA2vsdI5EI

If you're on my friends list, I want to know 36 things about you. I don't care if we never talk, or if we already know everything about each other. Short and sweet is fine... you're on my list, so I want to know you better!

Comment here in your own LJ and also repost a blank one, should you feel inclined.

01) Are you currently in a serious relationship?
Yes, I'm married

02) What was your dream growing up?
To be a writer

03) What talent do you wish you had?
Being organized

04) If I bought you a drink what would it be?
It would have to be soda since I don't drink- perhaps root beer

05) Favorite vegetable?
Tomatoes, summer squash, green beans

06) What was the last book you read?
Just finished Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

07) What zodiac sign are you?
Gemini

08) Any Tattoos and/or Piercings? Explain where.
No tattoos, pierced ears

09) Worst Habit?
Fidgeting, procrastinating

10) If you saw me walking down the street would you offer me a ride?
Well no because I don't drive

11) What is your favorite sport?
Baseball

12) Do you have a Pessimistic or Optimistic attitude?
Most of the time optimistic, but I can be pessimistic sometimes

13) What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator?
Panic

14) Worst thing to ever happen to you?
I once passed out and wound up in the ER

15) Tell me one weird fact about you.
I was born three days after my father's birthday and four days after my mom's birthday.

16) Do you have any pets?
Benny the guinea pig

17) What is your favorite color?
Purple

18) What is your religion?
Progressive Catholic


19) Do you think clowns are cute or scary?
Neither- I think they are funny!

20) If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be?
My weight- I want to be thinner

21) What are you listening to right now?
Tom's Diner by Suzanne Vega (you know, that one that goes "da da da da, da da da da, da da dadadada"

22) What color eyes do you have?
Green

23) Ever been arrested?
Nope

24) Bottle or can soda?
Bottle

25) If you won $10,000 today, what would you do with it?
Put it in the bank

27) What's your favorite place to hang out?
The beach

28) Do you believe in ghosts?
I neither affirm nor deny the existence of ghosts- I'm an aghostnic.

29) Favorite thing to do in your spare time?
Read, go online

30) Do you swear a lot?
I've been known to drop an ocassional F bomb

31) Biggest pet peeve?
Being interrupted while trying to concentrate on something

32) Favorite animal?
Guinea pigs, mice, rabbits

33) Do you believe/appreciate romance?
Yes

34) Favourite and least favourite food?
Fave- lasagna, least fave- cooked spinach

35) Do you believe in God?
Of course!

36) Will you repost this so I can fill it out and do the same for you?

I've seen lots of unusual and odd things happening on Boston Common, but I think what I saw today tops them all. There was a woman feeding a huge flock of pigeons, and some of them were landing on her hands and arms, and eating right out of her hands! I couldn't believe my eyes at first and I went to get a closer look. Sure enough, there was a real live bird on her hand! Weird! I wonder why anyone would want to let PIGEONS land on their hands, of all things! It reminded me a little of the Bird Woman in Mary Poppins.

This weekend, I met someone who is just as obsessed with strawberries and Monty Python as I am. Between the two of us, I think we finished the entire bowl of strawberries; and we wound up quoting MP all night!

"I fart in your general direction!"
"Your mother was a hamster and your father smells of elderberries!"

Also, congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Doherty on their status as newlyweds!

Apparently, someone who works for Macy's read my last blog entry (here's a link to it for those of you who may have missed it) .  Perhaps they misunderstood my username and thought that I was a fashion consultant for their department store.  All I know is that when I walked through Macy's today, there was hardly a Day-Glo shirt or 80's-style item in the store. Instead, I saw several plaid jackets, ribbed blouses, and long sleeved floral print minidresses that looked just like the ones I wore during my high school and college years! So perhaps the 90's have come back and I won't have to drive out to Seattle in a Ford Taurus after all.  Good thing, too, because I highly doubt the retro 90's trend will extend to gas prices being what they were in the 1990's! 





(Macy's department store, by the way,  was not the inspiration for my screen name, and neither was the singer Macy Gray, who I detest.  In case you're wondering how I chose it, read this .)

A few months ago, when I saw a college girl walking around Boston wearing neon pink leggings, I figured she was just making a fashion statement, albeit a very dated one. But lately, I've seen more and more teens and early 20-somethings wearing attire that looks like the clothing that was last seen when Bush Senior was president. It seems that I can't go anywhere without seeing Day-Glo colors and glittery foil T-shirts. Just yesterday, I sat next to a guy on the T wearing sneakers the color of Orange Crush. Ugh, this hideous retro fashion reminds me of my middle school years- not exactly the most pleasant memories.
And it's not just fashion that seems to be stuck in the late 80's and early 90's. The New Kids on the Block have reunited, and they are back on tour, for pete's sake! And what's even crazier is that GROWN WOMEN of my generation are paying HUNDREDS of dollars to see them in concert! Huh? What's going on here?
And it gets even worse. I just read the other day that 90210 is coming back to TV, complete with Shannon Doherty and the rest of the original cast. Let's get real, folks: does that really need to happen? I've never heard of any TV show going back on the air after it was canceled. Why does it have to be the cheesiest one in history that gets the honor of returning?
Oh, I know what you're thinking. Yes, I admit that I was once guilty of liking all these fads when they were popular. I had a whole wardrobe full of fluorescent colored clothing that I thought was "totally radical," I thought that Joey McIntyre and Donnie Walberg of NKOTB were "wicked cute," and I faithfully watched 90120 every week and had a poster of Luke Perry hanging up on my wall. But that was twenty years ago! Things have changed a lot since then.
I know, it's retro now, and retro is cool. It seems that whatever was popular 20 years prior always makes a comeback. In the '70's, the '50's were hot; in the '80's, the '60's were in; in the '90's, the '70's were popular; and now that it's the '00's, it makes perfect sense that the '80's are the cool decade to look back at. I think it's because when people come of age, they try to imitate the trends and fads that were popular when their parents came of age. My parents were Baby Boomers, and I've come to have a fascination with the 60's and 70's from hearing all their stories over the years. It makes perfect sense that today's college students are fascinated with the '80's, since they were born in the early 1990's, which means their parents came of age when New Kids on the Block first came on the scene.
However, the retro scene brings some good news. If the trend of idolizing the fads of twenty years earlier continues, then in a few years the 90's will be cool again! Flannel will make a comeback, the Smashing Pumpkins and Phish will get back together, and "My So Called Life," "Friends," and maybe even "Seinfeld" will go back on the air. In fact, the seeds of a '90's revival are already in the air. The Gin Blossoms and Toad the West Sprocket are both back together and are currently touring. A few fashion magazines have shown plaid prints and ribbed sweaters. Now that is a revival I certainly could deal with!
Until then, I guess I'll just have to deal with the neon-clad, 90210-watching college students around me, and be thankful that we've yet to see a revival of the worst '80's trend ever- big hair! If that ever happens, then I'm outta here. I'm going to drive off to Seattle in a green Ford Taurus like the one my mom had in the 1990's, while drinking Mango Madness Snapple and listening to a mix tape I made (yes, tape, not CD, that's important) of songs by Dave Matthews Band, Alanis Morrisette, Jewel, and of course some Nirvana.

Now that would rock the house, dude!

Your result for The Perception Personality Image Test...

NFPC - The Artist

Nature, Foreground, Big Picture, and Color

Take The Perception Personality Image Test at HelloQuizzy

I just found out that not one, but TWO of my favorite singer-songwriters of all time will be releasing new CD's this fall! Dar Williams' new CD is called "The Promised Land" and Vonda Shepard's is called "From The Sun." I just preordered them both. I can't wait to hear them! I'm really excited about Vonda's because she hasn't released anything in a LONG time and she's been on hiatus for a while (she took time off to have a baby.) I heard clips of Dar's on youtube and I can't wait to hear her CD, too!


Promo for Dar's new CD:


Promo for Vonda's new CD:


Also, this fall, my new favorite singer, Rachael Sage will be coming to Boston. Can't wait to see her show!

The video from Rachael's most recent single:




So I'm quite excited about all the great music coming my way this fall!