Forever Young

Also known as "the depressing part of YouTube." I spend a lot of free time on YouTube, and eventually stumble onto things that are poignant. As probably everyone with an internet connection knows, the other day Glee actor Cory Monteith was found dead in a hotel room in Vancouver, Canada. As of yet, no cause of death has been released. I am not a "Gleek," nor do I watch the show, really. But at 31, it is always sad when a promising young person suddenly passes away.

It reminded me of a bunch of videos I had found the other night on YouTube, tributes to stars over the last 100 or so years who died young -- often before reaching their 30th or 40th birthdays. The tragic part about it, is the "what ifs" and the unfulfilled potential. People who at a very young age had accomplished a lot, had burst on the scene in a flash of blinding light. What else would they have been capable of?

And yet, when I watch these videos, and read about these people, sometimes I wonder. I wonder, is it better to have your youthful star burn brightly into the night, even if that star of passion must quickly flame out? Or it is better to live a measured life, slowly waiting for time and age to find you, while you go about doing whatever it is you do? The people in these videos, in many ways lived more than most who make it to two, three, four times their age. And they are forever remembered as their star was burning, not after it had long burned out. If nothing else, they had interesting lives, which is more than most can say. The real trick is, have the interesting life longer, keep the star burning long after day has broken. But very few people, it seems, in that way, get to have their cake and eat it too. But perhaps this is all romanticism. No matter how long you live, what matters is the life in the years, not the years in the life. How we all forget.

Incidentally, these lists are why I will never do drugs. Also, "the 27 club" is as tragic as it is unsettling. So many iconic figures (particularly from the Boomer generation) died at 27.

In case you are in need of quiet reflection:

A tribute to young musicians lost

It's sad to realize that the silent era is all but a fading memory now

The "27 club"

Forever young

To close, I leave some thoughts from smarter people than myself on the subject:

"They that love beyond the world can never be separated by it. Death cannot kill what never dies." ~William Penn.

"Oh how wrong we were to think that immortality meant never dying." ~Gerard Way.

"The question is not whether we will die, but how we will live." ~Joan Borysenko.

Random Things about D.C.

I have been in the District now for almost two months (more than halfway done with my time here...wow). In that time, I have observed some things about the city and its inhabitants that are idiosyncratic. Every city does have their idiosyncrasies, but DC seems to have a lot, and a lot of "ticks" that are rather unique to it. Here is a list of some of the more prominent things I have noticed:

1. Charter schools. On my walks to and from work, and around the city generally, I tend to observe the scenery and world around me (sometimes at the expense of looking where I am going...whoops). I have noticed something strange: I haven't seen one "normal" public school. All of the non-private schools are some form of Charter school, which is really more like a quasi-private public school. I know that charter schools are becoming more of a (somewhat controversial) thing in cities --Chicago has several, whose ads are always gracing the insides of El cars-- but Chicago and most cities also still have their regular "neighborhood" public schools. In two months here, I have yet to see one regular public school. This is actually one of the first things I noticed when I got here. It's weird, and gets me wondering if DC is on some kind of program or policy where all of its public schools are now charter?

2. There are three types of people (well, professionals anyway) in DC: 1)lawyers, 2) consultants, or 3)consultants who want to become lawyers, and vice versa. Literally everyone I have run into in DC --whether coworkers, or people at "networking" events, or the time on the Metro I randomly ran into a girl I graduated high school, operates in one of those three categories. I guess there is also the odd doctor, because people get sick and need hospitals, but like everyone else is a lawyer or a consultant. Even people who are not actively practicing in those areas, have some kind of degree (JD for law, idk what for consulting) that is geared towards law or consulting. I guess this is not surprising, since DC's industry is government, and government is mostly lawyers, and what private sector there is, is geared toward supporting or catering to government. But I have never really been in a city with such a generally homogenous group of people.

Image courtesy of memegenerator

3. No one is from here. Kind of an addendum to the above, but very few people I have met are from DC, or even the immediate surrounding area. Again, this makes sense, because it is the nation's capital, where people come from all over the land under the federal government's jurisdiction to (in theory anyway) govern the country. In a lot of cities --particularly New York and Chicago-- you get a lot of people that were born, raised, and stayed in the city or immediate surrounding areas, and have never left. Or they left briefly and then came back. Of course DC is physically smaller and has fewer people than these cities, so it is natural that there would be fewer native DC-ites, but just how few there are is kind of surprising.

4. People here talk in code. Again because DC is ground zero for government business and (more to the point) bureaucracy, there are lots of departments of the government all over the city. There are also just a lot of agencies --public interest, NGOs, think tanks, etc. And much of the work that is done in DC, is codified in and carried out pursuant to federal statutes. What do all of these three things have in common? If you guessed, "You can essentially boil the names of those entities down to easy-sounding acronyms," you'd be right: FEC, FTC, CII, SEC, ACLU, FOIA. All important and prominent thins within the District, all will fun acronyms. And for the most part, people only refer to these things by their acronyms. But, for the uninitiated, it means they pretty much speak in code: when every noun in a sentence is some kind of acronym, the sentence has no meaning if you don't know the acronym. May as well be speaking ancient Greek. So yeah, that took some getting used to. I guess that is why they call DC "alphabet city."

Pretty much this

Movie Project, aka Operation No Boredom

So, I haven't done much in the last couple weeks. It has been ungodly hot and humid here (really, people, we built a city on a drained swamp why, exactly?), and when it gets into the 90s and humid, and stays in the 80s and 90s late into the night, there is exactly one thing I want to do: stay put in my AC'd room and watch TV. Since I don't have TV here, I have been watching movies on Netflix and Amazon. It started one night with an inexplicable urge to watch Ghostbusters II, mostly because I wanted to watch the Statute of Liberty walk through downtown New York City. It has kind of grown from there. Since I have been watching a lot, I figured I would comment on them here, since many are old favorites.

Note: I am choosing these movies purely for their fun entertainment factor. Many of them are not what you would consider "high cinematic art" --there is no Schindler's List here-- they are movies to beat the heat. So please don't judge me for my movie taste :). Also, SPOILERS. I am going to post a clip of, and comment on, each of these videos. It will undoubtedly have SPOILERS. So if you have not seen these movies, this is your SPOILERS warning. In order of viewing:

1. Ghostbusters II

Full disclosure: I loved the Ghostbusters movies growing up. They were a legitimate feature of my childhood. I haven't watched Ghostbusters II as much as I have watched the first one, but it is definitely something I have seen before. I loved the movies because of their paranormal bent, and the sharp witticisms and wisecracks that only Bill Murray, Dan Ackyroyd, and Harold Ramis can bring. Apparently II wasn't well received at the box office. I am not sure why: it is not as good as the first one, which was basically comedy genius, but sequels rarely are. But it still had solid performances by the cast, and enough of that goofiness from the first movie to make it solidly entertaining. Also, the Statute of Liberty walks through downtown New York City, blaring Jackie Wilson. Awesome? I think so.

2. Analyze This

Mob movie as comedy. Starring Robert DeNiro and Billy Crystal, is about a New York-area Mob boss (DeNiro, naturally), who has a personal crisis and starts seeing a square shrink (Crystal), so that he can once again be able to do the things that mobsters do. That is, whack people without crying about it. It was a thoroughly entertaining movie, and has some great gag scenes --such as the "hit a pillow" scene-- that play up the more ridiculous aspects of both the Mafia lifestyle, and psychotherapy. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the movie was written by Harold Ramis.

3. Volcano

I wanted to watch a destruction movie, but I couldn't watch Independence Day yet (I'll get to that). So I chose Volcano, a movie from 1997 that asks, "what would happen if an active volcano emerged in downtown Los Angeles?" What happens is, a lot of people and things burning up, and the better part of Los Angeles getting covered in ash and lava (the native Northern Californian in me says: suck it, LA!). I hadn't seen the movie in several years, but it basically delivers what it promises: two hours of destruction and mayhem. So if that is what you are in the mood for, the movie does it pretty well. And while over-the-top, it does have strong performances, lead by Tommy Lee Jones (and a very young, pre-fame Don Cheadle, who I did not know was in the movie before I watched it this time). While definitely a "popcorn" flick, it (thankfully) doesn't stray too far into the melodrama and/or terrible acting trap that a lot of destruction movies get sucked into.

4. Deep Impact

Also known as the "other" apocalypse-by-huge-asteroid movie to come out the same year as Armageddon, this movie is about --you guessed it-- the peril Earth is put in when it is discovered that a huge asteroid is going to come crashing down and send us all into nuclear winter. Particularly since it came out around the same time as Armageddon, it is usually disfavorably compared to that movie. I can't decide if it is worse, better, or the same. Because while the premise is the same, they are very different movies. One, Deep Impact is much darker: (HUGE SPOILER ALERT) unlike in Armageddon, Earth isn't totally able to stop disaster. They are able to spare total extinction, but a part of the asteroid still hits Earth, and basically puts the entire east coast (and pretty much most of its inhabitants) under 1,000 feet of water. Also, Armageddon primarily focused on the oil workers sent up to blow up the asteroid, their training, and the salvation mission (and Ben Affleck and Liv Tyler). Deep Impact casts a slightly wider net: while it does tell the story of those sent to destroy the asteroid, it also focuses on other people who are involved in, and are effected by, the discovery of the asteroid. More than Armageddon, the focus seems to be on the way an "extinction-level event" would impact how we live what would be the last moments of our lives, and how it would effect the relationships with the people we care about. In that way, it is kind of interesting. Also, Morgan Freeman plays the president of the United States, because of course he does.

5. Sleepy Hollow

This movie is not that cartoon that we all grew up with. It's a bone fide horror movie. I love horror movies (not those crappy slasher movies, but things like The Shining or Amityville Horror). Starring Johnny Depp in a characteristically Johnny Depp-offbeat-creepy role in a creepy movie, the movie is really part horror and part Sherlock Holmes. It is 20 years after the American Revolution, and Johnny Depp (aka Ichabod Crane), a New York City police detective, is sent upstate to investigate the gruesome murders/decapitations of several prominent citizens of the town, Sleepy Hollow (which is actually a real place). He learns that the town citizens blame the murders on an evil spirit known as the headless horseman but Depp, a "modern man of the (almost) 19th century," is determined to use logic and science to discover what he believes to be the mortal murderer. So much of the movie is Depp following clues and piecing things together, all while the horseman keeps picking off victims. It was a really good mystery and horror movie, and it had me fooled: (SPOILER) like Depp's character, I assumed the supernatural horseman would be revealed, in the end, to be a mortal murderer, using superstition as a cover for his crimes. Nope, the horseman is definitely dead, and definitely an evil spirit. But, there is a mortal culprit behind the horseman's deeds. Depp leads a strong cast that includes Cristina Ricci and Michael Gambon (yes, Dumbledore). Also a brief cameo by Christopher Lee (yes, Saruman). I personally liked it because it combined three of my favorite movie genres: period, horror, and mystery.

6. Soylent Green

SOYLENT GREEN IS PEOPLE! One of the most iconic movie lines from cinematic history. Starring Charleton Heston(fun fact: my grandmother starred opposite Charleton Heston in their high school play, (obviously) before he was famous), the now-familiar (and often cliched) movie tells of a dystopian future where there are too many people and not enough food to go around. So guess what they do to fix that? I have to admit, I am not usually a big fan of dystopian-future movies; particularly ones from the 70s give off kind of a weird (and dated) vibe, but it was worth it to finally see a movie that has become very ingrained in popular consciousness. It was an OK movie -- entertaining, a bit melodramatic, but ultimately not my favorite genre . It was interesting to see, as my dad would say, "what the future used to look like" -- that is, what people thought "the future" (which today would either be the present or the near future) was going to be like. Apparently, stylistically and in fashion, very much like the mod 60s and 70s. Obviously, they didn't get a lot right. One theme that was very prevalent in the movie was the effects of environmental degradation, particularly global warming, and how it exacerbates the dystopian human condition. This movie came out before environmentalism was "cool," and "going green" was mainstream, so I was curious whether or not it represented one of the earliest moves by Hollywood to get onboard with the whole "green" thing.

7. The Usual Suspects

Who is Keyser Soze? The Usual Suspects has become a modern classic and a cult hit, and for good reason. It is basically another detective/whodunit movie: After a boat blows up in a Southern California harbor, killing 23 people aboard, a federal detective from New York flies out and interviews Kevin Spacey, the only witness to survive the explosion, in order to figure out what went down. The story is very well put together, and leaves the viewer guessing --particularly in light of the ending-- what from the story is true, and what is fiction. Spacey does a great job as Victor Kint. I had seen the movie when I was younger, but I don't think I really "got" it; a lot went over my head. As far as crime mysteries go, this movie is really great. By now most people know the "big twist" --and I did going into it-- but honestly, I don't think it detracts too much from enjoying the film, because unlike a lot of movies that use the "big twist ending" device, the story leading up to and setting up the twist is compelling and well-done in and of itself. Like, it would be a good movie even without the twist ending. All the acting performances are strong, and it is just a very well put-togther film.

8. Independence Day

Independence Day. What is there to say? It is the megablockbuster alien invasion/destruction movie that really launched Will Smith into A-list stardom. For the five people who don't know the film, basically a hostile alien force descends on Earth, destroying its major cities, in the couple days leading up to July 4. Smith, along with Jeff Goldblum, are tasked with finding a way to fight back before all of humanity is wiped out. I really like the film: it has some good one-liners, has plenty of explosions and destructions, is a quasi-war movie, and features one of the better "inspirational" movie speeches (in my opinion) out there, right up with the "FREEEEDOMMMM!" speech given by Mel Gibson in Braveheart. A lot of people don't like the movie because they think it the plot, and how it is resolved, is ridiculous. And it is. But you know what? The movie is about rote entertainment: come in, watch, be entertained. Get lost in a movie for a couple hours. If the movie is compelling for other reasons, I don't need anything to make total, 100% logical sense. And for a movie that really is just about spectacle, some comedy, and aliens, it does its job well. I really like it for what it is. In fact, it kind of has become a mini tradition of mine to watch "ID4," as it has come to be called, on actual Independence Day (the final climatic battle between mankind and the aliens occurs on July 4).

9. Labyrinth

Holy 80s, Batman! I loved this movie growing up as a kid, and would regularly watch it when it popped up on TV. Last night, when I was feeling a bit under-the-weather, I decided to watch it in the spirit of, how much does a movie from your childhood change when you watch it as an adult. You know what I mean: references, insinuations, jokes, and plotlines that kind of went over your head as a kid, that you "get" seeing it as an adult, and it changes your understanding of the movie (for better or worse). Granted, it has literally been probably a decade or more since I last saw the movie, but at least from what I can remember, a surprising amount of the movie, was about the same as I remember it. A few minor details about why characters did things were more clear than I remember them being as a kid, but for the most part it was the same movie. So either the movie didn't have a lot for adults-only things to "get," I was an unusually perceptive child, or I mentally haven't progressed beyond that of a 10-year-old. There were a couple major differences that I noticed now, though: first, wow is this movies from the 80s. I mean it was --it was made in 1986-- but if a movie could encapsulate the over-the-top pop culture of the 80s, this is that movie. Hello, copious amounts of syth music! Secondly, awkward sexual tension. So David Bowie plays Jareth, the Goblin King, and Jennifer Connolly plays Sarah, sent into the Labyrinth to find her baby brother, who has been kidnapped by the Goblin King (you had to be there). As she makes her way through the Labyrinth, Sarah has several run-ins with Jareth, before she ultimately reaches the castle where her baby bro is kept. And, at least on the part of Jareth, there is definitely an undertone of attraction and sexual tension towards Sarah. Which is cool... until you realize that Jareth/Bowie is like 30-something, and Sarah is supposed to be like 13. So, ew. I really liked the movie growing up; I can't say I like it as much after a more "mature" viewing, but it still held my attention, and is a good piece of fantasy moviemaking by the same guy that brought you the Muppets.

That's it for this addition of Operation No Boredom. I am sure there will be more movie viewings to come.

On Kangaroos and Happiness

My languishing while I wait to start work has engendered a bit of insomnia on my part (not so much insomnia, more like I have nothing to wake up for, so I wake up later and thus go to bed later. It is a vicious cycle). So I have taken to YouTube as part of my late-night hanging out.

Last night I found myself on YouTube, watching a two-part, very good BBC documentary (side note: BBC always has consistently quality programming. Like seriously, why do they get Doctor Who and we get Keeping Up with the Kardashians? There is more quality programming on two BBC channels than the whole of American television. But I digress) about this hardcore, rugged Australian man who cares for and rehabilitates orphaned kangaroos at his sanctuary in the middle-of-no where outback. The two-part series was entitled Kangaroo Dundee, and aired on BBC a couple months ago, apparently. The man, Chris Barnes, lives in a literal shack (no electricity, a glorified Bunsen burner as his stove) on his land, where he cares for "'roos" for a living. Ever since the show aired, the guy has been getting thousands of dollars worth of donations, plus ten marriage proposals from random British women (and it is not hard to see why: six feet, seven inches tall, pretty attractive, rugged Australian man with a cool accent. Plus he tenderly cares for cute baby 'roos for a living, and is totally --and adorably-- devoted to them. It's like the perfect chick-attracting formula). The show was endearing to watch, sometimes made you laugh, sometimes cry. But it was just so heartwarming to see someone give his all to help helpless creatures, and to see the kind of happiness such a simple living caring for these animals brought to this man.

Which brings me to my main point: I have noticed something in watching a lot of animal videos and animal mini-documentaries on YouTube (did I mention I have a lot of time to kill right now). Namely, it seems like the people that work with these animals, which often entails giving up a lot of the "creature comforts" that those of us living in modern society have come to expect, seem to be a lot happier and a lot more fulfilled in what they are doing than the people who stay in the hubs of modern society, and pursue jobs and careers that allow them to try to keep up with all the "creature comforts" of that aforementioned society. "Kangaroo Dundee" doesn't have an easy life: he lives alone in the outback (a place, as Cracked.com likes to remind us, whose pass time seems to be devising ways to kill us), battling the elements (mostly for his 'roos, not himself), and has basically forgone most of what makes modern living "easy" (and hygienic). And yet watching the documentary, I could tell that he has found a peace and a satisfaction in his life that is very rarely seen. He seems to be "living" a lot more than a lot of people. I wonder that, in eschewing a traditional modern life, and in devoting himself to these animals, he has discovered something that all of us stuck in the endless cycles of job-bills-money-relationships-commitments-"having things" --the "treadmill" that you often hear modern society compared to-- are missing. And maybe can never have while we run the treadmill. Perhaps there is something to be said for the "simple life." Perhaps we really don't need all of this "stuff" -- and all of the things we are told we need to do to obtain said "stuff" -- that we are told we need.

I am not stupid. I know that I have been fully acclimated to the pace and standards of the modern Western society. I would probably freak out at not having electricity or a real stove. But then I remember being a kid -- and I mean a young kid, prior to middle school -- I always liked going out into the wilderness, or playing in the creek beds in the hills near my childhood home. Mud and dirt and all of that didn't bother me as much, and I think I was more tolerant of less-nice conditions. Over time, that became less and less true. I imagine this might be true for a lot of people. I wonder if, in this transformation as we grow up and adaptation to modern expectations, we don't lose something. I think most people would give an arm or a leg to be as contented as the guy in the Kangaroo Dundee documentary appears to be. May we all be as happy and fulfilled as Kangaroo Dundee.

Also, you should visit his website, and if you have the means, totally donate to his cause. Because, adorable kangaroos.

California Again

I am sitting here, again back at my parents' house in California. While I was away, they redid the kitchen. It looks really nice, but I have to say that it is a little weird to see the kitchen I grew up with like, disappeared. Flight from Arizona was uneventful, which is the best kind of flight, really. I have to say, the Phoenix airport is like, really nice. In terms of non-crappy shops and eateries. They had a Brighton Collections store. But it kind of has a stupid name -- Phoenix "Sky Harbor." It kind of sounds like a poorly-conceived base for superheroes in a comic book or something.

So here I am, looking towards a pretty uneventful week. Which is nice. It's my parents' wedding anniversary on Tuesday, so I am trying to think what I can get the both of them that is under $100. And I am trying to be more original than a bottle of champagne, even if it would be a nice bottle. So that is probably my mission for tomorrow, amongst some other more mundane errands.

Not going to lie, one of my most favorite parts of coming back to California is getting to see my parents' dog, Coco. Coco (aka Kokomo... don't ask, it's kind of complicated) is an adorable 9-year-old German-Shepard/Golden Retriever mix. He is a very sweet dog, but bless his heart, he is not the smartest of animals. Is actually the only dog I have ever known that legitimately chases his tail. It's kind of awesome to watch. If I ever catch him in the act I will try to capture it on video and upload it. But he is just a real sweetie. If you have read this blog, then you know I LOVE PUPPIES (aka Doggies). So I pretty much spent the first ten minutes I was home cuddling the puppy. :-) I miss having a doggie, but it was gratifying to know that after 9 month, Coco still remembered me.

Coco, the cutie puppy

And because I love dogs, and because I use any excuse to add doggie videos to this blog, in honor of being around one again, here is a posting of my favorite Youtube doggie video. I know, it is old news, as many people know about Mishka the Talking Husky. But even though it is an oldie, it is a goodie.

Apparently, Huskies can do this because they howl, they don't bark

On a completely unrelated note, I rediscovered the best scene from the Ben Stiller movie, Tropic Thunder. It is played for you below:

Seriously, Tom Cruise should have gotten an Oscar for his performance in that movie -- he was definitely the best and strongest part of that film. Also, after having seen this movie and the more recent Rock of Ages, I am pretty convinced that Tom Cruise is at his best when he plays completely crazy, over-the-top, off-the-wall characters. He does it so well, and so convincingly. It's kind of awesome. And I personally like this clip because, other than being hilarious, it is actually kind of cathartic: if I am really pissed off at someone, I can just play this clip and pretend that I am Tom Cruise/Less Grossman, and the person that I am pissed at is Flaming Dragon. :). So there's that.

Also, as a bonus, this clip:

That's about it for today. Not much to report, and I realize the post was kind of random, but am trying to get back into a semi-regular blogging pattern, even if only for spring break.

I, Misanthrope

I have decided to stop fighting the fact that I am a misanthrope.

Even from a young age, I always tended to prefer the "antagonist" or "flawed heroes" in stories. I found the goody-goody types annoying, and if they weren't just out-and-out evil for no reason, I quickly identified with these "darker" characters because they were the only honest ones-- the only ones to point out the hypocrisy of the so-called pretty-boy heroes or Pollyanna princesses in distress. When I was 11 or 12, one of my favorite characters was Daria, from the MTV show by the same name. I appreciated and identified with her cynicism, because it was honest. And Dr. House from House, is pretty much my definition of awesome.

I think initially, I was at one point genuinely personable and naive and willing to give people the benefit of the doubt. But then I started interacting with them. I think the tragic events of the last day in Colorado, just proves my point. I might be called maladjusted or mean or imbalanced because of this, but is a world in which I cannot even go to the theaters without fearing that my "fellow man" might shoot me, a world that I really want to "adjust" or conform to? Is that one that I really want to accept? These bouts of violence are obviously extreme, and not everyone is crazy. But even in the everyday: people gossip, people judge, people try to use whatever influence they have over you-- be it a relationship, monetary, numbers-- to get you to do and think as they do. And if that doesn't work, often they resort to out-and-out force. Whether it is two guys beating the crap out of each other, or the passive-agressive "office politics," it just doesn't seem that species homo sapien sapiens is a very agreeable species. Today at work, we listened to a whole talk where the guy giving it explains how it is a very common practice in Russia for business people-- or really anyone who has a little money-- to bribe the government to drum up a sham criminal prosecution against someone with whom they have a dispute. Nice.

Also telling is the number of highly-educated, influential and profound thinkers over the years who were self-avowed misanthropes, or at least displayed misanthropic tendencies. Jonathan Swift. Sartre. Kurt Vonnegut. Mark Twain. Heiddeger. Oscar Wilde. Jane Austen. Hell, even Albert Einstein famously said, "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity. And I am not sure about the universe." Considering the intellectual prowess of that list, I think that is at least strong circumstantial evidence that I am not wrong in coming to this conclusion about people generally.

A poignant example of what I am talking about, both in its substance and in the context I found it in-- namely, abandoned on the street being stepped on in the rain-- is this sign I saw when I was walking home. It is rather telling.

But rather then rant and vent, I am posting videos for you all that are much more entertaining than listening to me whine. They express my frustration in a way I never could, because it is no longer socially-acceptable to tell people off, no matter how much they might deserve it. Courtesy of Youtube. I unfortunately cannot claim credit for their creation; whoever did compile this, is awesome. Enjoy!

200 of the best movie insults of all time

Incidentally, I deleted my Facebook account. Technically it is only de-activated, but so long as I don't sign on to it for 14 days, it will be permanently deleted. As you may have gathered, I am not shy about sharing my opinion, regardless of what people think, and did so frequently on my Facebook. I got tired, however, of constantly defending myself from peoples' mindless drivel, in replies to things I posted, on my own wall. So, I shut it down. This probably won't help my readership on this blog, considering that much of the traffic comes from the link that was on my Facebook page. Oh well.

And finally, since I like quotes so much, I think I will end with a few from famous people, relevant to tonight's topic:

“Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.” ― Marilyn Monroe

“Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.” ― Ernest Hemingway

“I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet.” ― Mahatma Gandhi

“Those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind.” ― Bernard M. Baruch

“I wrote the story myself. It's about a girl who lost her reputation and never missed it.” ― Mae West

And finally, another gem from the incomparable Marilyn Monroe:

“When it comes down to it, I let them think what they want. If they care enough to bother with what I do, then I'm already better than them.” ― Marilyn Monroe