So I find that I come across a lot of links throughout my time on teh tubes that I would like to make into a whole blog post, but, I find I just don’t have the emotional investment to write a WHOLE post based around said link when I do finally getting around to writing about it. So I had to steal an idea from a buddy of mine, Timmy, from Dangerous, Dirty and Unfun.

Now is not the Rhyme is proud to introduce it’s version of “Zelda Warriors.” (Tim, I’ll credit you whenever I do one of these. The blog post name is just too good to not use for something like this.)

In my ever-continuing quest to try and be more positive, I thought I’d share this link along because this was remarkably helpful.

16 First Steps to Creating the Life You Want From Some of the World’s Best Bloggers

This next link backs up a photo I posted recently. I specifically like the authors point that sexism towards women doesn’t just screw up women it screws up everybody. But the same can be said for sexism towards men. I shouldn’t be surprised that I was able to relate to this post so much but I am, and that’s really sad.

I can’t tell you how many self proclaimed feminists or just women in general that I know who strongly believe in equality between the sexes yet expect this of men and don’t bat an eye lash. (You know who you are, or hopefully you do.)

5 Stupid, Unfair and Sexist Things Expected of Men

The thing is…equality? Is going to take a LONG fucking time to be an actual thing. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try for equality. But, we can’t expect people to not expect. Considering feminism and equality has only been around relatively recently, like, in comparison to how long humans have even been on Earth? These concepts are pretty new and we’re expecting men and women to act completely different than how we’ve always acted because we’re only recently realizing that it’s not helping anything to not treat everything equal? We can’t shouldn’t expect but we also can’t expect people not to expect because really, it only makes sense. But, it will happen. We will continue to expect what is inherently right in our own minds until it affects our own comfort.

In this next link, I can’t believe I never put these together. I’m…speechless…

Why Back to the Future Is Secretly Horrifying

In this next link here’s an interesting compare and contrast from the unfair gender expectations rant above.

I hate that gender expectations exist. But I also prefer those “traditional roles” that genders have played for so long. However, I don’t fit into, nor could I fit into my normal expected male gender role. So I have to find someone who can flex. Because as much as I’d like a stay at home mom house wife sex pot, it wouldn’t be fair to her or myself to expect this of someone since I wouldn’t be able to fill the gap that she’d probably be looking for, the bread-winning macho lack of emotion showing male. So like everything in this world…I have to find some sort of middle ground.

My point is, I don’t see anything truly wrong with the images from the following link. And I wish people would stop thinking there is.

What Disney Princes and Princesses Teach Us About Relationships

Hopefully a friend of mine is reading this and will get this inside joke. And enjoy looking at this image as much as I.

Abbreviated ice cream flavor

I would have to say that my favorite videos online are post-dental surgery drugged up humor, I laugh at everything that is said.

Also, I don’t mean for this to be such a heavy DD&U post, but, a while back I also had to drive my earlier mentioned buddy Timmy back from the dentist to get his wisdom teeth pulled. And it was one of the funniest experiences of my life. I’ll tell you about some time. So these videos resonate some warm memories in my mind.

Brother and Sister’s Dental Odyssey

Unicorn After Wisdom Teeth

David After the Dentist

This is both awesome and terrifying at the same time.

10,000 bees billboard ad [World's first ad with live bees]

More companies / causes need to be this open to proposals like this. Take chances! And trust your designers!

BEEllboard

LOOK HOW MANY BEE’S THERE ARE! WTF! HOW’D THEY GET ALLOWED TO DO THIS? ESPECIALLY PEOPLE ARE DRIVING PAST WITH THEIR FUCKING TOP DOWN!!!!!!

No description necessary.

Cold Drinks

Sex sells. Or rather, hopefully it will.

These are two friends of mine who I met up with recently and we exchanged business cards. They then decided to stick them in their cleavage and take pictures, (I’ve cropped out their faces so they don’t show up all over the tubes when people Google ’suggestive advertising.’)

And don’t worry, I know some of you out there might find this post degrading to women, so I’ve decided to post an image of me doing the same with their business cards:

What is this book about?

Volume 4 mainly takes place around the events of Marvel’s Civil War.

In case you don’t know, the premise of Marvel’s Civil War involves the introduction of a Superhuman Registration Act in the United States. The act required any person in the United States with superhuman abilities to register with the federal government as a “human weapon of mass destruction,” reveal his/her true identity to the authorities, and undergo proper training. Those who sign also have the option of working for the government, earning a salary and benefits such as those earned by other American civil servants. Characters within the superhuman community in the Marvel Universe split into two groups: one advocating the registration as a responsible obligation, and the other opposing the law on the grounds that it violates civil liberties and the protection that secret identities provide.

This also affects Blade because he also would have to register with the government, otherwise he’d also be hunted down. Blade registers and begins cooperating with S.H.I.E.L.D. (a fictional espionage and law-enforcement agency in the Marvel Comics Universe).

Various adventures ensue having registered and now working with S.H.I.E.L.D.

The series also revolves around this prophecy that Dracula has been researching for centuries now that he’s trying to fulfill that will resurrect all vampires who were ever ‘killed’ by manipulating Blade and Blade’s father, Lucas Cross. It’s pretty confusing, and to me the least interesting part of the book.

So, then…

Why should you read this book?

Like its title character ‘the Daywalker,’ the new Blade series also walks in two worlds – the supernatural world and the mainstream Marvel Universe. Marc Guggenheim, writer of Blade said this: “For, say, 95% of Blade’s previous incarnations, he was ghettoized in the supernatural corner of the Marvel Universe. He never interacted with any of the non-supernatural Marvel characters. Part of the mandate for this series is to get him out of that corner a bit, get him rubbing elbows with those characters who aren’t vampires, vampire hunters or sorcerers supreme.” And this series coming about during Marvel’s Civil War was a perfect time to carry out that mandate.

In the first couple issues Blade blew up a S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier, staked Dracula, met face-to-face with Dr. Doom, fought Spider-man, and was ordered to hunt down Wolverine because he became a registered superhuman who now works for the government; just to name a few examples.

Granted, an initial appeal to a character like Blade to select comic fans is the fact that he DOESN’T interact with other Marvel heroes and villains, but, he is a part of the Marvel Universe and it was long overdue that many of the characters in Marvel’s universe finally met up with him.

Maybe this is one of the reasons why this was Blade’s longest running solo book. Maybe people liked the series so much because he interacted with other things other than vampires. After all, Spider-man doesn’t just go against bank robbers, and Captain America doesn’t just go against Nazi war criminals, the Fantastic Four doesn’t just go after beings from other dimensions. Why does Blade have to be pigeon held to the supernatural?

The two issues I’m going to recommend you read, even though you should read the whole series, I’m recommending issues #1 and #10. (Yes they have cameo appearances by Spider-man, and that’s a reason I am recommending it) but that should be enough for you to want to read the rest of the series. Otherwise I’d recommend issues 2, 4, or 5. In issue 2 he meets up with Dr.Doom, in issue 4 he fights a vampiric Santa Claus, and in issue 5 he fights Wolverine.

If you’d like to buy the whole series you can buy the first half here and the second half here.

Most of you will not read this, I’m sure. But please, at least skim. Please? It’s not as ‘vegetarian extremist’ as you might think. In fact it might stick up for you…

In April I posted the following status message to my Facebook feed. Seeing some of peoples reaction from both the comments on Facebook and remarks made outside of Facebook, I was furious with what some people said in regards to what I said.

So I got into a discussion with a friend of mine, and I said to her “I can’t stand these meat-eating extremists who use excuses like protein, meat-tearing molars, “that’s why they were put on this Earth,” “they love meat too much to give up,” “it’s supposed to part of every meal”…etc. to justify eating meat. I don’t understand why they have to be so firmly against something entirely and not even be able to consider they might be wrong about how they feel and think, about what they’ve always known to be truth, about trying something different?”

And her response really got me thinking. She said:

“Well, I know for me, sometimes it’s hard to listen to vegetarians because I think why the vegetarians/vegans get so much disdain is that some of them are quite arrogant and seem to think because of their eating choices, they are somehow more moral than those who don’t adopt their lifestyle. Even if vegetarians/vegans ARE more moral nobody wants to be preached to about anything. Think about how you reacted when your parents told you to do something you didn’t like. Or a teacher or your boss. I equate the shoving it down our throats as the same thing. The only time people are okay with anything is when it clicks in their own head. When it affects them directly. When it interrupts their happiness and comfort. When they can justify it to themselves and not someone else justifying it for them.”

I really like what she wrote. Because I think it’s 100% accurate.

It’s still difficult to understand how someone can down a bunch of blue pills and turn a blind eye to imagery like this.

And say that it’s either a) completely natural b) we need this c) they have no feelings d) this doesn’t affect me

I just don’t get it.

She also said this:

“When you have two opposing viewpoints, there will be much debate and general unpleasantness. I suppose there is no other way. People will be people. No one wants to view the world as it is, (with shades of gray). Just as you feel meat eaters try to justify their lifestyle, so to will vegans try to justify theirs.”

I think I have more of a problem with what she said here than people turning a blind eye to straight up needless murder. Why? Because.

I don’t know man…we’re not cavemen anymore. We don’t need all the things we did when we were foraging for food and warmth. It’s the 21st century, we’ve allowed gay marriage (or will eventually), women’s rights, minority rights, ILLEGAL immigrant rights, built a civilized society, found other means of getting protein and nutrients…we’re fatter than we’ve ever been, we’re more unhealthy than we’ve ever been…I realize my friends words to be truth…that “the only time people are okay with anything is when it clicks in their own head. When it affects them directly. When it interrupts their happiness and comfort.” But, when is that time going to come and just listen, y’know? Listen to the world around you and what’s happening to it.

I understand you may not like extremists and the shock value of the imagery and not respect us for using it. But, someone has to stand up for these guys…so many of us can get behind gay marriage, women’s and minority rights but we draw a line if they’re not human beings? That they only exist for our sustainability?

If that’s true. Fine. They exist only to sustain ourselves. I can deal with that. The only thing I want anyone to consider and think about, is why are they treated like they are? In slaughter houses and factory farming, circuses and zoo’s? We treat murderers and rapists better than we do our own food! If you hold human beings higher than animals, then why give rights to people who clearly don’t care for human life? There’s no reason! I mean, South Park was right…we look at China and look at them weird for savagely killing dolphins, sharks, and whales? But we don’t look at ourselves and think what we’re doing is weird? We’re supposed to be the ’smarter country’ because we don’t stone people to death or kill rape victims? Or sacrifice people to gods?

I don’t know…

On a final note, to clarify things. I’ve never once said don’t eat meat, in fact, I still believe that we need it just not nearly as much as we think or desire to have. Seriously. If you do find something somewhere where I said that, well I’m here to say in finality…is that, all I ask…is two things…

1. Eat considerably less meat
2. Highly consider what you know to be truth might not be truth

Please just consider it often. If you’re not going to do it for me, the animals, a girl you like, a boy you like, the Earth, or others…then at the very least…do it for yourselves. After all, what goes around, comes around.

The reason why I’m even posting this is because PETA posted the photos and work of an Italian photographer Tommaso Ausili recently. They are part of a series titled “The Hidden Death.” The series explores the fact that “Neatly packaged meat in supermarkets is often completely detached in consumers’ minds from the process of its production.” I could say more, but the photos are so powerful that I will give my keyboard a rest and let the images speak for themselves.

I was going to post a bunch of graphic images and videos but, for now, I’ll take the advice and words of my friend and let you choose between the red pill and the blue pill.

For those of you who don’t know…Hipster runoff is a ironically humorous music blog run by “Carles,” a mysterious and quite possibly cult figure whose bizarre mixture of juvenile humor, satire, goofy artless lack of sophistication, and insanely written cultural critique has left everyone enthralled, terrorized, and completely confused. The blog started just like any blog. Someone / possibly various people writing about something they’re passionate about to get more readers to help spread their ideas and thoughts across the inter-tubes.

Hipster runoff is one of my favorite blogs. Has been for a few years now. Because I fancy my mind set to be that of a hipster, sans any physical characteristics usually attributed to hipsters.

So when I saw this Time article that rated Hipster runoff as one of the best blogs of 2010…well, I had to blog about it.

I’m skeptical to say the least about finding this out. I feel like I’m being punked or something. The idea that a blog dedicated to poking fun at hipsters is this popular? The idea that a blog that’s as hard to read as a lol cat image is this popular?

Maybe it’s the latent hipster in me that’s coming out more and more but, now that I realize Hipster runoff has gained this kind of popularity and status…the less I care for it.

Showing up on Time’s list really doesn’t bother me by itself, but, it’s kind of the icing on the cake.

For a while now I’ve been reading less and less HRO (Hipster runoff), just because it’s so hard to keep up with the insane amount of posts they write in any given day. There’s just a lot of satire to take in now. I just felt like the blog was better when I could actually remember a funny post of theirs and reference back to it. Now there’s almost 9 sometimes it feels like 12 posts a day all about Wavves, GvB, Pitchfork, Uffie, unchill AZN bro, Best Coast, and Chillwave (to only name a few) is almost all they talk about now.

I miss the old HRO.

I appreciate the following they’ve created and the meme(s) they’ve started but…now…there’s less care put into it. Ever since they started the “Alt report.” It’s been like this hipster news organization version of the Onion. Spitting out stories left and right with less creativity put into what’s needlessly put into quotations. And that’s kind of the problem hipsters, bros, blipsters, indies, scenesters, etc have with the mainstream media.

When popularity in the mainstream crowd comes to something that was widely accepted by an independent crowd…there are more people to please. So you have to spread yourself and make your presence known more and often. Much like McDonalds and their franchise stores. I’m sure McDonalds had AMAZING food when it only had a 25 stores. But now that it’s got 31,000 stores their food sucks! Because it has to hire more people to train to try and make the food taste the same world wide.

It’s kind of the same with HRO. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that there are a few writers of HRO! Which means the more readers they have the more they have to post to keep their attention and keep people coming back. There’s more time they have to put into writing stories less creative and funny and more about just writing something to just write it to keep people on the site and keep people pleased.

But I suppose it’s what you want out of life, do you want great analytics and people who will forget what you write a week later? Or do you want not-so-great analytics and a cult following who remembers what you write regardless of numbers?

But I suppose a blog that once seemed actually geared towards hipsters love for ironic satire going in a mainstream direction is maybe…actually the whole point…

But, like with most things in regards to HRO, it’s true purpose and underlying theme is shrouded in mystery and left to interpretation.

I don’t know man…I’m vexed.

What the pinup models of old war time were to soldiers back then erotica and porn is to me today.

I’m not fully equating myself to a soldier in the field. But in a way I am.

I work in the field. I put my life on the line, literally, everyday to serve this country. I know it’s more romantic to glamorize the life and death of a soldier because the chances of them dying is higher than anyone in my office building. But I fail to see the TRUE difference between myself and a soldier other than statistics. Especially if you believe in the saying: “Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity.” Because in the end, I’m still serving this country, I’m giving the state a percentage of my income that pays other people so they may live within the American society. I won’t go into why I dislike America and all the things about it and why I put up with it. But I will say this…that what the pinup models of old war time were to soldiers back then erotica and porn is to me today.

The pinup was a reminder to troops of what awaited back home, and as us men go, served as the ultimate motivator to the male psyche– T&A. What can I say, we are simple creatures. Maybe you see it as an objectification of women, but the fact is it kept soldier’s morale up in dark, harrowing and uncertain times.

It doesn’t matter that you think there’s a difference between porn and erotica, the point of this is hope. Something to fight for. Something to come home to. Obviously, your mind immediately goes to the idea of the objectification of women. That’s fine. Then don’t equate for your struggle to survive with pinups, equate your struggles to survive to the picture you have hanging up of your family or your dog. After all, not every soldier had pinups in their tent. But some do/did. And so what if that’s what gives them hope. I suppose one would say that it’s false hope, that women like that don’t exist, well, you’d be wrong, because I know women like that, that do in fact exist. The falsity is in expecting that they’ll ALWAYS act how they do in the still frame of a pinup or in a porno video. It’s no less false or destructive than if a soldier looked at a portrait of his family of them smiling and laughing and expecting that, that’s all there ever was or will be. The expectation that his family will remain happy for all eternity like in the portrait. But fuck man, if that’s what it takes for him to have hope to have something to come home to? To have something worth fighting for? To come home alive? To come home happy? Then why the fuck not? It’s not the pinups (erotica, porn, family, portrait, etc.) that’s the problem, it’s the emotions we allow ourselves to have over the expectations we make in our head that’s the problem. The inability to not deal with things in a logical manner when things don’t go the way we wish them to go.

Listen, I’m single, have been my entire life. Sometimes by choice, sometimes not. It’s never been because I expect women to act like a still pinup model or a porno actress all the time. It’s for other reasons that are unrelated to this post. But, being single for 27 years out of your life, barely ever getting to see friends, and working in an office 9-5 then coming home to having to do more work is very much like a war, especially since I didn’t enlist into this kind of life, I was drafted. And to be perfectly honest, one of the few things that gets through the day is erotica (pinups, porn, etc). It gives me hope that I’ll one day I’ll find the girl whom I’m both attracted to mentally and physically. It’s keeps up my morale. It motivates me to finish my work so I can find my girl. It keeps me happy from having to sit-down for 12-13 hours a day, being degraded at work and by others, being paid far considerably less for doing more, and generally being 27 years old and seeing others live lives I work very hard at making my own. Objectification or not…it makes me happy. It makes me want to be a better man. That should be enough.

Long live the pinup.

What is this book about?

For those of you who don’t know, Blade is a superhero vampire hunter. Blade was born in a whorehouse in the Soho neighborhood of London, England at some time in the late nineteenth century. Blade’s mother, Tara Brooks, was a prostitute at Madame Vanity’s Brothel. When his mother experienced severe labor complications, a doctor was summoned who was in actuality Deacon Frost, a vampire who feasted on her during Blade’s birth and killed her. However, this inadvertently passed along certain enzymes in his own blood to the infant. This resulted in Blade’s quasi-vampiric abilities, including a greatly prolonged lifespan and the ability to sense supernatural creatures, as well as an immunity to complete vampirism.

This story takes place after Blade becomes a solo vampire-hunter in New Orleans after he helped Hannibal King defeat their nemesis Deacon Frost. Blade decides to remain in New Orleans.

He comes into contact with the vampire Ulysses Sojourner who was in New Orleans to hold a meeting for the nationwide undead unification, along with his former ally, Morbius, the Living Vampire, who was under Sojourner’s mental thrall.

Why should you read this book?

A Strange Tales miniseries featuring Man-Thing and Werewolf by Night was published in 1998 to tie up plot lines after their individual series had been canceled. Blade’s first volume was just that, his first solo title book under the Strange Tales imprint. Ironically, although four issues were solicited for Man-thing and Werewolf by night, only two issues of this volume saw print, and the conclusions of those storylines were never released. I’m pretty sure this was also the case with Blade’s series as well. Only because, I have the three issues that WERE published under the Strange Tales imprint for his series and I feel like it still ends with unanswered questions. Plus it was never officially released as a “mini-series” with a definitive end to the titles numbering.

And it’s of no surprise that the reason the title came out to begin with was to coincide with the release of the feature length blockbuster hit, Blade. Which so began comic characters matching their movie counterparts. So like, for instance, in the Spider-man films the movie character has organic web shooters instead of mechanical one’s so editors and chairmen gave the comic character organic web shooters as well. In the Superman Returns movie, Superman and Lois Lane had a kid so they gave Superman and Lois Lane in the comics as kid as well. And with the Blade movies, the character could walk around in the daytime, whereas the comic character couldn’t. So to match what was happening, within the movies, editors and chairmen gave Blade the ability to walk around in the daytime. Which I feel was the whole point of creating Blade Volume: 1.

But since it seems as though it was canceled and left without finances to finish the book they had Blade follow Morbius to New York (Spider-man Volume: 2 # 8), where, while teamed with Spider-Man, Blade was bitten by Morbius. Blade’s blood enzymes reacted unexpectedly with Morbius’s unique form of vampirism to grant Blade many vampire strengths while eliminating weaknesses inherent to a vampire, most notably the weakness to sunlight. It was at this time that Blade assumed the unofficial title of “Daywalker” among his prey. Now, officially coinciding with the film. I think they mean’t to do this all along in his own title but it lost funding so they tied it up in a Spider-man book.

I’m not a GIANT fan of this series, but I do LOVE the Spider-man book where Blade gets his ‘Daywalker’ powers. But I feel like those titles go hand in hand and you can’t read one without the other. So yes, I do highly recommend this book. Because although I’m not always keen on comic characters matching their movie counterparts, I do like how this one was handled.

I think the only question I have is, you can clearly see in the enlarged image, on the right, that Blade was walking around in the daytime. But he didn’t get his ‘Daywalker’ abilities until after this particular panel. I don’t know man, the late nineties when Marvel was going bankrupt was an odd time to try and follow comics…

Although, one has to wonder, where is the drama in Blade comics now? He basically can never die. There’s no sense of fear and tension within the book because Blade essentially can’t lose. It’s a little absurd. But, somehow they pull it off nicely where his stories still make for interesting books. After all, Blade has nothing to worry about in terms of sales considering vampires are pretty hott right now…

You can purchase the titles here and the Spider-man issue here.

Someone once said that intelligence is knowing when to let go.

Nearly everyone in the world seems to ‘let go’ at some point. They give in, give up, and the fire to try and control a situation that otherwise seems uncontrollable, or is told to you that it is, burns out.

That the sun setting is uncontrollable. That slowing down time is uncontrollable. That making someone feel something they don’t, is uncontrollable. That life, in general, is uncontrollable.

Maybe it’s uncontrollable because everyone gives in. Everyone’s fire burns out. Everyone stops fighting and accepts that, this is how it is…

This. Is. How. It. Is.

Who decides that?

Science?

God?

No. We do.

We tell ourselves that we have no control over these things because they’re bigger than ourselves.

We tell ourselves that because the sun has always set, this is how it will always be. That it is a definitive truth.

And by telling ourselves that something is a definitive truth, we don’t allow ourselves to think that there’s another way.

These things ARE bigger than ourselves! But not collectively. The sun continues to set because we allow it to. Time continues to pass because we allow it to. People feel less youthful in their old age because they allow themselves to. By saying, “this is how it is.”

Do you know what would happen if everyone in the world said “the sun will not set tomorrow.” The collective mind of everyone thinking the same thing would come up with a solution to let the sun not set.

But that’s just it, we condone and promote independent thinking. That everyone is right. Rather, everyone can be “right.”

We as humans love this. It’s what makes us unique, and it makes us feel like we have purpose in an otherwise seemingly purposeless life of breeding, adaptation and evolution; If you’re a religious person then your outcome is a little more romantic, so maybe this post doesn’t apply to you if that’s the case.

And because of this, the troglodytes always win.

What I mean is, people who are unacquainted with how the world truly works always win.

Ah, but wait…how does the world truly work?

The way the world currently “works” is to give in. Be “intelligent.” Fit in with others. Share ideas, concepts and “educate” those not “educated.” Be “right,” and feel good knowing you are.

Great. So educate those people. Share those ideas. Those concepts. Still doesn’t help in making bigger leaps to the betterment of the world. They’re just babysteps that continue to repeat itself over time.

Because once someone is “educated” and those ideas and concepts shared…collectively you may get a good portion of humanity to think similarly. But when push comes to shove…inhibitions will be made known and peoples devotion to those ideas and concepts will sway because everyone is right. Everyone has an opinion for how the world should be and how it “works.” And no one feels as though they have to be sorry for feeling that way.

So the troglodytes always win.

And the people who do have the passion and the fire to not give up have to give in.

They have to meet people half way. For, if you wish to have human connections (friends, girlfriends, family) you have to act like a “sane” and “rational” person. You can’t go around saying, “you can stop time if we all will it to stop.” You’ll be thrown in the nuthouse. Your kids taken away. Your girlfriend will break up with you. Your friends won’t want to hang out with you. But in order to be open minded in this society you can only be so open minded “that your brain doesn’t fall out.” You’re to have limits on how open minded you can be. Otherwise people, rather the people you wish were in your life won’t be. Because letting go and meeting people half way means you lose something of yourself and they have to lose nothing. They’re content living in their world, meanwhile we’re not. But we have to be for them, so we can have them in our lives. Letting go apparently can’t be on their end. It apparently has to be on our ends. They can’t see our world, we’re forced to see theirs.

Which does no good.

Nothing gets done that way.

The world eludes us because it becomes itself again.

We talk about change, and wanting greater things for ourselves, but we’re so consumed by our petty differences.

And I don’t mean race and religion…I mean opinions.

The opinions we hold so dear about everything, ANYTHING!

But god forbid we give those up to create a better life for ourselves. God forbid we sacrifice our own comfort and happy feelings about feeling as though we’re right for the sake of a greater cause.

But I suppose whoever said: “that intelligence is knowing when to let go.” Is probably right. Which is unfortunate.

Because he/she has given in to fit in. To feel comfortable in their lives without struggling and warring against everything and everyone. They’ve stopped sacrificing and started giving in. If you can’t beat ‘em join ‘em.

They’ve joined the troglodytes.

The funny thing is, we need opinions to collectively brainstorm on how to make things better. But again, the issues lie on letting our own go, for the betterment of the world. We all have opinions, but we’re not willing to sacrifice our own to meet someone else eye to eye. Truly eye to eye, where great strides can be made to change things.

So whose opinion is THE opinion that we follow. We may never know. I could speculate forever, but…I suppose this is why we don’t follow only one person. Either we don’t have the faith that their vision is the “correct” one, we’re too selfish to consider their vision to the be the “correct” one, or we hold independent thought in such high revere regardless of the consequences it may have.

I feel like the so-called “intelligent” people are cutting off their noses to spite their own face.

Meaning, I feel like the “intelligent” people hate how the world is (their face), but since the world’s problems are bigger than us individually, people give in succumb to “this is how it is,” but the reason they give in is because opinions are held in such high regard and revere so nothing can get done, truly, because no one is willing to consider that someone else may be right (cutting off their noses). The world’s situation does suck, but, we’re only making it harder for ourselves to make things better by not considering other may be right. By giving in to fit in.

And yes, this includes me. I was raised by, taught by, and grew up with these so-called “intelligent” people after all…

But fuck…what is reality, right? Reality appears to be the state of the world as it really is rather than as what you might want it to be.

Looks like I have to give in if I want friends, family, and a girlfriend.

PS: I’m not allowing comments on this post because it goes against everything I’ve been talking about in it.

The other night I had a dream where I was in a hospital and I was in the front desk area, and all of a sudden Lady Gaga showed up and started dancing, and everyone is standing around her watching her with her back-up dancers…and then she tapped on the glass, and said “Miles! Dance with me!” So I did. The dream ends with me walking around with Lady Gaga holding hands dodging fans and kissing in Boston’s public garden.

I had a similar dream back in the 6th grade about Cindy Crawford. Cindy Crawford was driving the mini-bus I took to school back then. No one else recognized her but me. She was incognito. So, she dropped everyone else off and she kept driving past my street, and past the edge of town to towns I had never been before. She, stopped at a mini golf place and we played a round, all the while touching and kissing each other like couples do when they’re in love. (You’ll have to ignore the fact that I was in 6th grade and a supermodel was basically molesting a child). At some point in the dream me and Cindy had a conversation about having a television show together. And in the dream it came to fruition. We had a show together but lived in my hometown. We were a famous celebrity couple. And that’s how it ends.

Now I’m not one to believe in dreams, despite being a HUGE fan of Sandman and as a result believing and following Neil Gaiman’s words and teachings to be truth; but this dream struck a chord in me that I must talk about.

It has to do with women. It’s all about attractive, material, exciting, able-to-introduce-me-to-new-things women, being nice to me and generally being attracted and interested in me and giving me avenues in which help me achieve my goals and dreams. Whether that be professionally or personally.

In the past I would say, that dreams mean nothing. It’s just electric brain synapses crossing causing strange outcomes and thoughts. And in a way, I still think that’s all dreams are…but that doesn’t mean they don’t serve a purpose. That what the brain is pulling together as a ‘dream’ isn’t something that’s real. I feel like it’s telling you very real things about yourself and the world.

And I suppose the only thing I really have to say here, is that I hope the dream was telling me something. Because, Lady Gaga was really nice and I can only hope that either her or her someone like her shows me a whole new world because those dreams made me feel pretty good.

PS: I swear to god, if someone posts a comment with a link to this scene I’m going to delete it.

Alana Joy has a Tumblr blog I read daily that consists of thoughts, musings, photos and videos that she shares with the world. But she also has a few others that I read as well. Alana joy, her Twitter account, her dailybooth account, and Life on blast. (I swear I’m not obsessed, just intrigued when I find legitimately smart/attractive women out there).

(Just a quick note: I know plenty of intelligent beautiful women, but, their thoughts and feelings are all mostly one sided, they all lean towards one way of thinking. To me, intelligence, is the open mind, a true open mind. And this chick? Alana Joy? Based on her writing…has one. She takes the cake.)

It’s hard to write a post as a guy about a girl whom you’ve never met before in this day and age without coming off like a major creep. But here goes…

She posted some things recently that’s really got my gears turning. You should read them too.

Understand less to understand more

I feel like she basically feels similarly as I do in regards to this post but she speaks with less negativity and more intelligently.
It makes me feel a little better knowing that someone else feels as I do, (at least that’s how I interpret what she says). It gives me hope.

I almost wish I waited to write the post so I could’ve modeled it after hers.

I guess what amazes me about her and most of the thoughts she posts, is that they’re almost identical to mine! Which shouldn’t surprise me, since, it’s bound to happen that someone will think similarly to me, at some point. But like I said in this post: “I almost never run across people who agree with me. And just so you understand I don’t NEED people to agree with me per se, I just need a balance. A balance of people who disagree and agree with me. And right now, there is no balance. Right now, it’s just the world constantly telling me I’m an idiot and that I’m wrong. Imagine the effect that would have on you and your confidence.”

I’m not sure I can add too much more than what she already wrote, I suppose all I wanted to say was that what she wrote was insanely helpful. And I think it will help me in the future. Thank you <3

Myspace or yours reminiscing thoughts on sharing

The irony is not lost on me that I’m writing about a girl whom I’ve never met, collecting data that I can find about her online, while she writes posts about her wondering about whether or not to share certain information online. Probably to stop posts like the very one you’re reading right now from happening.

Either way, she’s great at advertising and marketing herself, and since nothing I have to say in this post is negative at all, I suppose, any publicity is good publicity.

At one point in the post she says this:

Now, there’s more to think about besides what will my friends think if I share my opinions honestly… it’s what will clients think? What will my peers think?

That’s something I’ve had on my mind quite a bit lately…I hate censorship in all forms. And I feel like even feeling as though you have to or should be selective in what you say at certain times is still censorship. In fact, to me, it’s the worst kind. It’s the kind that’s widely accepted and hardly ever questioned.

I say things I shouldn’t at work and in my personal life, I say things about people online I shouldn’t, about clients and people I work with and friends as well. But as a staunch believer in abolishing censorship in all it’s forms, I’m not sure I can pick and choose what to say when. And truly be okay with myself knowing that I do that when I preach something else.

She says “Maturity brings the understanding that the things you say about the people in your life live online forever.” But like my post, Troglodytes always win, is indication that this is something I have a hard believing to be truth.

But she is slightly older than me, so maybe she knows something I don’t yet.

OR, maybe I know something she doesn’t.

Porn, Disney, and expectations

Alana Joy posted the above image recently.

And added a thought below that reads…

“The moral of the story really isn’t about porn, Disney, or expectations. It’s that their backs are to each other…”

Well, I could only speculate what she meant by that.
So luckily, she has a formspring account. So I asked her what she meant…isn’t the internet awesome :)

Here is her response:

“Instead of looking for someone to fill these fantasy roles of “prince charming” and “insatiable whore” that society has hammered into our heads since a little girl first heard the story of Cinderella or since a little boy sneaks a peak at his fathers Playboy: we should be looking at the beautiful people around us who only want what we want. To be loved for the infinite variables we each have to offer. If they were facing each other, rather than looking out into the world… they could play out their fantasies without expecting them to be real all the time. No man is always “prince charming”. No woman is always an “insatiable whore”… but that doesn’t mean they never are. We are these things and we are also other things… They could have what it is they really want, if they looked to each other instead of to a dream that doesn’t exist outside of the media and popular culture.”

I think she’s right. Even though I tend to write things that would make people think otherwise.

It’s interesting to think where my mind went the first time I read what she wrote. My mind immediately went to the surface of things. I immediately thought, “What’s ‘turning around’ going to do for them? When they turn around, Prince Charming and the insatiable whore won’t be there.” I didn’t think of those two things as concepts…rather, I thought of those two things as physical attraction.

After all, these don’t exactly look comparable…to me at least:

I do want the ‘insatiable whore,’ but I also don’t want someone whom I’m not inherently attracted to.

Well, I feel like the point of me writing about her has been lost…

My point is, I think she’s a wonderful human being with great skill as both a media creator and as someone who is able to market herself very well. I’ve learned a lot from her based on her online presence that’s both helped my life as a man, someone in the creative field, and as a free-thinking open-minded individual.

Please read and enjoy her work and thoughts as much as I.