Sunday, August 24, 2008

Secrets of Meeting and Keeping a Great Man

Seeing as how I had a very lazy day today, I figured I'd try to make up some productivity and write a blog. I know I promised a rant on why cruises are not really my thing, but seeing as how most of my readers have already heard this shpiel, I decided on a different topic. Lately, I've started paying attention to the ads that pop up on the side of facebook, and how they decide what to show who. For the past few weeks, being listed as single in my profile has meant I get pegged with every dating and dating self help advertisement on the planet. Today was one of my favorite: the Secrets of Meeting and Keeping a Great Man. Clicking on the link brought me to their website, which describes what you will encounter if you want to subscribe (which of course costs money). Here are some of the more interesting ones:

A) What goes on inside a man's mind... and how attraction works for him.
B) How to "cheat-proof" your relationship... and why he might be tempted.
C) The differences in how men and women think about dating... and why
most men want to keep you from being successful.
D) The seven secrets to communicating with a man that will create lasting love and affection.
E) The truth about men who aren't "emotionally available"... how to know if you've got one and what to do if you're dating one.
F) The five things women do that annoy men and kill intimacy.

Do guys who mark single also get such silly advertisements? Ok, I understand that the sexes don't always understand each other, but do we really need an outsider to analyze a person they've never met? Better yet, I'm a firm believer in chemistry- you either have it or you don't, and no book is going to tell you how to develop it with someone. Not to mention how annoying it is how these websites make their money off of the insecurities of lonely women. If only I had done X, I could've married the guy of my dreams already, instead of spending yet another Saturday night home with the cat...

Apart from the how to cheat-proof your relationship bit (I'm sorry, but one should never have to change their behavior to make sure their significant other remains faithful), there are some interesting answers to the above, many of which most of us already know. But for argument's sake, let's get them in writing (and my version will be free).

Here's my challenge to my readers: if you have thoughts/answers to any of the above, please post a comment. I will do the same, and we will see what kind of compilation we get :)

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Emotional Memory

Perhaps it's because we all get a bit nostalgic as the evening progresses, but tonight on the drive home from a party the songs on the radio seemed particularly poignant. Now, for clarification purposes, there were a number of songs that I had previously associated with one event, feeling, or person that happened to be played in a row. It seems that the older I get, the more songs seemed to be viscerally linked to things, people, and times. Yet what does that say about me, or about humans in general? For argument's sake, I'll list a few particularly relevant songs (and those who know me well may even be able to guess the associations):

1) Better as a memory
2) Then you stand
3) Born to fly
4) The reason

Now, mind you, I've never had anything close to an official song with friends or guys, but these songs evoke an unofficial emotional response. One of the coolest things to me is that the most basic emotions cross all types of socioeconomic and cultural boundaries. At the heart of most humans (sociopaths excluded) is an innate emotional compass with which we attempt to chart a course through social, professional, and familial interactions.

While our experiences may differ and affect our judgements, there is something intrinsic and almost animalistic about our feelings. Even our most difficult to define emotions (e.g. love, anger, pain) can be related and personalized by someone listening to a song. Multiple someones.

I'm not quite sure the point I was going for in all of the above (after all, it is 3am), but I think there's something to be said about emotional memory and the raw feelings shared by all. Perhaps it's another equalizer for us all.

Friday, August 01, 2008

Supernatural Rats

I just got back in the country. My cruise ponderings will follow shortly, but I came across this story and couldn't help but post it to my readers. Check out the link for the full article, but to get the jist:

And it seems that there really is no end to the sneakiness of the Jews. In fact, according to two Palestinian newspapers, their mortal foe has come up with a new plan to dislocate Jerusalem's Arabs from the area -- through the medium of supernatural rats.

Yup, the fiendish Jews have been secretly breeding a new species of giant rodent which can even chase away Arab cats.

According to the reports, these rats are twice as big as yer average rat, they are ferociously aggressive, they like to attack Arab children and they breed four times more often than a normal rat.

The rats are apparently being introduced into the area by Jews "who bring them in huge cages and release them onto the streets to make living there a nightmare for Arabs".

Terrifyingly, the rats even know the difference between Jew and Arab and they leave the Jews alone while terrorising the Arabs.


yeah... I think I'll just leave it at that.