Sunday, March 29, 2015

"Funny, old people, and the internet"

You know what's funny? People getting surprised. I love it. I love that kind of funny. I also love puns, clever turns of phrase, and surprise endings. Sometimes a well-timed fart can also be kind of funny.
You know what I DON'T think is funny? People belittling things they don't understand to an exclusive group who don't have the intelligence or to speak for or against in an educated manner. It's even less funny when an individual tries to pull that crap when they're with a group of intelligent people… And gets shot down all ways to hell… and then gets all offended that no one understood that they were trying to be "funny".
Funny is subjective. And if I am the subject, and I'm not laughing… then your crap isn't funny.
I don't understand old people. I mean, maybe I will someday. But right now… I don't get it.
I think older people are supposed to have wisdom, to be supportive and advocate for youth. To really lead by example and mentor those who are going through the grind of life. Why isn't that a thing? When did that end? When do old people turn into dull, repetitive versions of themselves where the only advice they seem to offer is, "Put on a coat."
Maybe it's just my old people. Maybe they are the exception, and other people have supportive old relatives and friends who give good advice.
I mean, there are some nuggets of gold in there. And there is no end of love. But sometimes I just want to shout, "WOULD THIS ADVICE HAVE HELPED YOU???"
Old people who use Facebook. I mean, post whatever, like photos, say sweet things like grandparents and great aunts and uncles are supposed to… but don't try to crack racist and bigoted things on my profile pics. Don't try to crack jokes about sexuality on shared videos. It's just not… attractive! It doesn't look intelligent! And it's so rarely the relatives we know and love dearly… it's like the old people who live hours away that we see once every few years.
I have had to delete posts and photos just because the comments got out of hand.
The internet is a weird place, because you can post whatever you want and you can do it with almost complete anonymity. I never comment on Youtube, because, let's face it, that's basically saying, "Please! Cyber Bully me!!" Plus, I don't really ever feel the need to throw my two cents into a mess with 30,000 other people on a video about a cat and a baby singing "Let It Go" while playing video games, you know? (No… that's not a real video.) But this one time, I made an exception. The video had made enough of an impression on me that I broke my rule and commented.
It was a silly video of a young frenchman named Jerome who goes around doing silly and surprising things in public places (and as I've said, surprise is my favorite). You could call them "pranks" but they are to make people smile and not mean, you know? And I feel like the word "prank" has a negative connotation. Anyway, Jerome has this amazing smile: it's huge, it's constant, and it is contagious. I never stopped smiling once when I was watching his video. WHICH IS WHY HE MAKES VIDEOS.  Anyway, I commented, "His smile is so contagious! My face hurts from smiling so much!" And that's it. I mean… I don't know if that is some secret urban way of saying, "I want his penis." but the response I got was so surprising… Some weirdo troll commented directly to my post, "asshole slut spotted".
I just… didn't even know what to think. If smiling is slutty… the world is FULL OF SLUTS!!! My pastor must be a slut. My best friend's baby girl must be a slut. HELL!! Sometimes my DOG looks like he's smiling… Stupid slut.
I don't know when men began feeling powerful by slut-shaming women into silence… but I learned my lesson. No more commenting on youtube for me, thank you very much. Normally, I would feel the need to call up arms and exert my intelligence. Explain myself. Engage. But why would I want to make some jerk in his basement feel powerful by letting him know he'd gotten a rise out of me? Isn't that exactly what he'd want?
My retaliation was a simple click click click. "Erase. Report. Block." No skin off my nose, and now his thoughtless, ignorant comment is forever lost in cyber space. My comment remains.

Friday, March 6, 2015

Sooooo…

It's hard to stay active. It's really really hard to stay motivated. I mean, you feel like you're doing all this work, but with very little to show for it.
And it's hard.
But I have still be running. not as much as I wish I was. I ran every day except Monday this week (That was because it was my BIRTHDAY!!!).
Anyway.
I don't really feel that motivated to write, so here's a pretentious poem about drinking yourself to death as a way to escape. (Something I actually know nothing about!)

"Let's run" the cave cries hollowly.
"Let's go where it can't find us."
Valleys and folds and meadows stretch out, 
Beckoning us to run.
The night is bright, the moon is high
And the moonshine trickles
Yeah
The moonshine trickles like blood
Down her mountainous sides.

She's breathing, her heartbeat loud
Pounding through the trees.
We won't run.
Where would we go?
The moonshine finds us everywhere, 
Yeah
The moonshine knows how to find us,
No matter where we go.

"Too late to run." the river whispers.
"No time left, you'll end up here."
She's fought so long to put this behind us, 
beneath our mountain lair. 
But somehow we lay in the moonshine
Yeah.
The moonshine lays with us here.

She'll lay there still by morning.
Her breath escaped for good.
She'll dream of running through the moonlight,
With moonshine in her throat
Yeah
With moonshine mixed in her blood
Blood that sits there cold.

We cry for freedom from the obsession, 
Feeling lost with no where to go
The horizon seems close enough to touch,
But covered in moonshine, 
Yeah.
Always covered in moonshine

And we're drenched in our fear.