Barack Obama does care about black people

Boom Goes the Dynamite

A classic.

Introducing... my new iPhone

So about 3 weeks ago, I became the proud owner of the new 3G iPhone and I LOVE it. I mean, I don't just love it, it sort of completes me. When I have a bad day, it makes me smile, with it's shiny little face and email updates. When I am sad, it makes me happy, with it's cute little apple self. When someone calls me and pisses me off, I no longer want to throw my phone out the window. I just simply hang up on said caller and then gently place the phone down on a solid surface so nothing happens to it. Really though, it is great and worth all the hassle I went through to get it. I had to wait almost a month for my little fruit to come in... I swear, people who adopt babies from foreign countries have a faster return rate than I did but not to worry, it all worked out. I know it's super materialistic and superficial and all that but it does allow myself to feel that much cooler than before. I like to think that it enhances the coolness that I already possess. Or think I possess. Or lack of knowledge about the coolness I secretly don't possess. Whatever, it works for me.

Speaking of working for me, I don't know how to operate this cute little maze of intricate electronic genius. I think maybe my fingers are too fat or my brain is too slow or my eyes get too easily distracted by all things shiny. Which ever one of those it is, it's really messin' me up. I get people's numbers and think I've saved them only to go to call that person and WHAMMO! No number to be found. (Granted the few times this happened, I had been enjoying some adult beverages...) I recently learned that I can no longer text and walk at the same time. The little darling is ultra sensitive and instead of writing, "Ok, girl. See u soon!" It comes out as "q# huek& Eed y xppj" which is no good for anyone. I am getting better at answering it, thank God for that. I think that was making not only me nuts but everyone who called me and could hear me talking just not to them, nuts too. And I am learning my way around all the settings, etc. So as you can see, it's been quite the process!

So, yeah, apple makes the cutest, best looking toys out there. I highly recommend this little dude... you know if you want to look cooler than you already are. Or pretend to be.

[OFFICIAL] Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Trailer

DUUUHHH!!

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Trailer

DUUUHHH!!!

Will Ferrell for Tiger Woods 2008 ESPYs

Where o where to place the blame?

I feel like a horrible person. Like all these crazy things keep happening in my life and that all these silly rumors keep surfacing. I have been feeling that way the past few weeks (minus my 5 glorious days of vacation, thanks to you Miss HEP!) and it's the pits. I had a breakdown of sorts last night because it feels like all these things that have been happening or that I've been ignoring are coming to a head and I'm losing all this ground and my cred. It's funny too, how it's all connected, how a falling out or a misinterpretation or a lie from one person can make it's way to another person who the first person doesn't even talk to but yet they believe it. Why is that? Why is it so much easier to believe the bad stuff? Why is it that you choose to believe the bad stuff first? Is it because that's what you hear first? Is it because you secretly don't trust the people you call (or called) friends? How did all this get so off track?

I feel like I need to reevaluate things in my life. I think I need to get over myself, in the since that I should get shut up, move on, and let it go. I need to stop being so selfish maybe and get back to that place where I was happy. I know it sounds so needy and so cliche and so whiny but I think it's true. I can't control anything else except the way that I react to the things that are thrown at me and truth be told, I haven't been doing the best job of that I could be. Or that I should be. Taking the high road is SO much harder. Believe me, I'd like nothing more than to just throw a few low blows but what good would it do? I know me and I know that if I did in fact do that, I would feel on top for about 27 minutes and then I would feel awful about it. That's not me, that's not how I want to be. And to be honest, I'm just so tired. I'm tired of the gaping mouths that cannot hold their tongues. I'm tired of the adolescent attitudes and the foresaking of friendships because of false statements. In short, I'm tired of the drama. I feel like it's time for me to fall off the radar. Just you know, disappear for awhile. Let things work themselves out and just sorta fade into the background for awhile. I have a million other things in my life to focus on, especially if I want to go back to school and I know that this too shall pass. And since I'm not dead yet, I guess it'll make me a tad stronger too.

But it's sooooo far away....

Gettin' it off my chest

Dear X,
So I guess this is it. I guess this was the divine intervention of the universe and maybe it was suppose to happen. I wish I could apologize for whatever it is that you believe I did but the truth is that you already chose to believe him and nothing I can say will change that. I'm shocked that you don't want to know my side of the story. Me, me who you've known for 8 years and who has never betrayed you and who has forgiven you, over him, who let's be honest, you don't even know. I don't know if it's simply easier for you to believe him because it makes you feel better, like it lessens the blow or something else that I don't understand. With you, I'm never sure. You have this amazing ability to take anything someone says, whether it's positive or negative and put the opposite spin on it. You always think someone is out to get you. That's simply not the case. I don't think that anyone thinks about you the way you think they do. Unfortunately, you are so self absorbed that you would never pick up on that. I wish you would seek the help that you and everyone else around you, who cares about you, knows that you need. I realize that you, like myself, have issues. We all have issues. Yours may just be more deep rooted than you'd like to admit. There's no shame in self improvement. I'm just worried that you think you don't need to change. If you didn't, you wouldn't be so lonely. If you are the company you keep, well, that says it all right there. I think I let you back in because I felt guilty. I felt guilty about not feeling guilty. (Like I said, I have my own issues.) And I feel sorry for you... no, not pity but more like I don't want to abandon you since you really have no one else. I don't think you know what it is to be happy with yourself, yourself, not your things, or to (at the risk of sounding overly cheesy) be able to love yourself. You're so visibly unhappy, like you can't stand to be in your own skin. I just wish you could see that and want to make a change. That doesn't mean that anything is "wrong" with you. If you can't self reflect or grow as a person, how can you become the person you wish you were? I don't think you're a bad person, I think you just got lost somewhere along the way. You are quite a force to be reckoned with and part of me was really drawn to that but I've changed and I can't ever go back to being that way. It's toxic to me. And you. I think maybe we've gotten to the point where we became poisonous to each other. (We rarely say nice things to each other and even when that happens, it's me complimenting you. That's not normal in a friendship.) It's hard, I know, because we were SO close for so long but it's evident, oh so obvious, that this can't continue. I can't have you in my life because I don't like who I am when you move in and try to take over.

Just so you know, I never wanted him. I still don't. You still care for him and I would never take advantage of that. He came on to me. He was doing right in front of you and I can't believe you didn't see it. (I did everything I could possibly think of to diffuse any sort of sexual anything. Why do you think I was talking about tennis?) I wish you would have seen it because that would have made it easier for me. What did I have to gain by telling you the truth? Really? Nothing but I did it anyway. I mean, what if I never told you? Would that have made it easier or would something else have eventually happened and made it worse? You tell me because I did what I thought was right and got burned. He's a jerk and just to prove that, he sent me a text the next day saying that I should have come over. It's not me, it never was. And no, it is absolutely not all about me. I don't know where you EVER got that idea. I pushed him away. I swear, he could have raped me and it would have been my fault. You're unbelievable.

Seeing as how I'm "dead" to you, you'll never read this and you'll never know what really happened. That's your choice and I accept that. Just makes me wonder if I really ever wanted someone like that in my life. I wish you nothing but the best and hope that we never have to run into each other because it would be horrible and awkward for us both. And I'm sorry to say, I have no idea how you would react (i.e. would you throw a beer bottle at my head? would you scream at me in the middle of the bar?) I hope you make it to LA because I know you'd be happy there and maybe things in your life would change for the better.

And so it is. I have no idea how to end this because I don't want to seem excessively dramatic and yet not dramatic enough.

So, that's it. Maybe one day, we can put this behind us and get on with getting on... until then,

Me

The Ruination of Facebook

Once upon a time, in the not to distant past, there was a place found on the internet where college students could share pictures, information, and keep in touch with classmates and high school friends at different universities. It was a tool, that used properly, was even useful in expanding learning outside of the classroom. It was free from banner ads and embedded ads, and it was simple and easy to use. It started out at just a few universities but slowly spread to college campuses across the country. Pretty soon you couldn't find a college student who didn't know what Facebook was.

Today, the game has changed. No longer exclusive to college students, Facebook has become an open cesspool for anyone with a computer. Where once was a place to communicate with friends, is now a "junk drawer" for 'applications', banner ads, spam, and middle schoolers trying to post pictures of themselves in their most inappropriate poses. What was once a convenient and easy way to see what your friends were up to or what kinds of things were going on around campus; is now an, almost impossible to navigate, mess of applications that people have made to try and make money or, at the very least, waste hours of your time.

When we look back at the progression of Facebook, it is pretty easy to see where the transformation from positive social technology to viral mass marketing tool and pedophile playground occurred.

The first big change was the introduction of the 'News Feed'. All of a sudden your friends, and those you added to be nice, could see every time you made an update to your profile or someone wrote on your wall. So bad was the initial launch of this new feature, that Facebook had to temporarily suspend it until they could make the appropriate fixes to their security policy. Enter Phase 2 of the transformation. With the addition of the 'News Feed', Facebook had to instill security measures where people could pick or choose what updates got televised on the News Feed. Most people, concerned with the absolute creepiness-factor of it all and the sheer threat of a cyber-stalker, realized that it was safest to just prevent everything from being shown on the News Feed.

Next, and probably the biggest factor in the ruination, was the opening of Facebook to the general public. In just 1 day, Facebook went from an online community of college students in the same general position to a community of Tom, Dick, and Harrys which included everything from middle schoolers to pedophiles to teachers and parents. The first two, I might note, don't necessarily go well together. A sanctuary for a group of people with generally similar views, experiences, etc. had become open to the evils of the ignorant public. It wasn't long before little siblings became curious of Facebook, followed by parents, and soon companies and businesses were looking into Facebook for information about potential employees and as a tool for advertising. Pandora's box had been opened.

Finally, was the introduction of 3rd party applications. Although, one of the bullet points of Web 2.0 and social networking, Applications were the final piece of the puzzle to ruining Facebook. Anyone with some programming knowledge was able to create an application that could be added to someone's Facebook page. Applications ranged from enhanced versions of Facebook features that already existed to full-fledged games, and the one thing that all of the applications had in common was the ability to send any updates to the News Feed. Now, not only can your friends see when you make profile updates but they can also see when your ninja kills a pirate or what celebrity you resemble. Facebook pages and News Feeds, alike, have become polluted with useless applications, unimportant information, and stupid ads. Some of the applications even make you send your friends invites to install the app on their page just for you to get to the end point of the app. Most of these applications aren't designed so they are easy to use, but rather for the user to unassumingly click on an indescrete link that takes them to some other site trying to sell them something. And so, once again, the security issues comes into play; and people realize that instead of having to sift through pages of pointless News Feeds, it is easier to just block all updates from coming to the News Feed.

Thus, we are left with an online community of pages that people don't update often or look at because they are afraid of being bombarded with News Feeds, ads, and spam. A place where people have become so cautious about what is televised to everyone, that they choose to not share any information at all. Where it was once commonplace to see people using Facebook walls almost like instant messaging, we are left with the equivalent of grafitti on an overpass where walls are written on sporatically. No longer can you simply sign on and see what your friends are up to or how they are doing. Instead you either have to search for their profile in your friends list and see if they have made any updates or changes, or you have to be satisfied with reading about how they got a personal high score in Word Twist.

Due to the greed and ignorance of America, a site that was a great tool for social communication amongst, atleast somewhat, semi-intellectual college students, and had loads of potential has become a site of pointless procrastination for the masses.