Last week I read about the interesting study that found that unhappy people spend most of their time watching TV.  Happier people still watch TV, but don't turn to it as their single activity.   Most of their time tends to cover socializing and reading.  

So in what category do pokers and Tweeters fall into?  I'm referring to all us social media obsessed folk who turn to Hulu to watch TV, Facebook to socialize, Twitter to congregate, and Wikipedia to study.   I don't plop in front of the television quite as often as I used to when I was in college studying, but I do go online to catch the latest episode of the Office.  I may not head down to the local Starbucks to meet up with friends as often, but I do comment on photos they added of their late-night antics.  And although I'm still new to the Twitter phenomenon, I do see the great benefit in perusing the latest trends of the social media experts.  

I feel pretty happy,  though I undoubtedly have my ice-cream guzzling, SNL reruns, couch-hugging moments.   So how would the sociologists categorize the Facebook generation I'm proudly a part of? 

I already know wer're narcissistic, superficial, and lacking in genuine connections, but are we happy?  I'll Tweet about it and get back to you. 

A year older, a brain-wrinkle wiser.  

As much as I try to look at the positives of watching my years scuttle by, I can’t help but fall into the age-old trap (ha!) of fears and frets.  And I’m not just talking about wrinkles (though I’m still too young to worry about those, then again sooner or later we’ll start seeing newborns selling under-eye night cream.) 

I’m talking about the corner that every girl in her twenties gets pushed into.  That feeling you get when everyone starts to notice you’re not 21 anymore, thereby warranting the removal of fun in order to replace it with a ticking time bomb.

“Past 25?  Oh……………Really?   I…I thought you were…………I mean you really look much younger….but….have you……so haven’t you thought about…….”  And you know they’re automatically thinking brides, babies, or Botox.

And don’t worry if your friends and family are too kind to point that out!  Just flip on the old TV and be happily bombarded with pre-pubescent sex-symbols, aging creams, and the imminent disaster that awaits you at 30. 

Is this fanatical obsession with age a purely American creation?   Because I’ve heard of cultures that revere the beauty and wisdom that comes with age, while envying those that have accrued more years then them.  Or did I imagine that just to rock myself to sleep?  

I then think to myself, if tomorrow the social security administration (or whoever handles birth receipts) sent me a new birth certificate saying “sorry we made a mistake, you’re actually 10 years younger,”  how would that change my perception?

Would I feel legitimately young and therefore look young to myself?  Or would I look old, although I’m actually younger but I had spent too much time worrying about why everyone cares so much about age?   Or would I then realize that age is just a fleeting thought and if it wasn’t for the negative connotations that got served with my birthday cake each year, I would be focusing on what really mattered in life?  How can I be truly happy, advance myself, push it to the edge without going overboard, check off my bucket list including going to the Olympics even if it’s in the “how many shoe boxes can you balance” event,  AND all this while also being a bride, mother, and career woman.

Whew!  This age thing is tiring…………………………. I think I am getting old.

Do people still watch TV?  Specifically reality shows and sitcoms?

Do all the media channels just make us think that everyone's watching "Dancing with the Stars" and "The Hills"?

Or am I really the only one outside of the reality-addicted twilight circle?

Everytime I browse the AOL or Yahoo frontpage there's a unclickable video shot of who fell, who lost, who cried, and who died.

WHO CARES?

With the problems the world is faced with today you'd think we'd open our eyes and minds and really try to make the society and world a better place.   I mean, we should be doing that all the time of course but, hey, one step at a time.

I really believe that if you are going to watch TV, you should choose something educational, humourous, or inspirational. I wouldn't even watch the news since so much of it has become a superficial, fear-inducing, sensational bunch of crap.

But, hey, there's nothing wrong with a few unnecessary indulgences every once in a while.

Mine came in the form of the show "Pushing Daisies": a dramedy and "forensic fairy tale" based around a pie-maker who could bring the dead back to life.  It was funny, suspenseful, and just simply enjoyable to watch after a long days work.  So to hear last week that ABC was going to cancel it pretty much ruined my weekend and upcoming birthday.

Mais, c'est la vie.

Small losses like these prep us for the bigger disappointments in life.  And also make us realize that we should have many loves, many passions, and a resilient character.  

Or we could keep watching "The Hills" till Lauren's clothing line comes shooting out of our nostrils.

À bientôt!

With the world economy the way it is, everyone and everything suffers:  Nascar, jobs, boats, unnecessary fluff stores, Michael Jackson, gas prices(yeah!), state troopers, our health, horses, and luxury brands. 

No one wants to shop, travel, study or even start their own business.  All they really want to do is play games, commit crimes, drink, and fiil their SUVs up with cheap gas.

Am I the only one who sees a problem with that?  We have less spending money, so we go and numb our pains with games and booze.   

Shouldn't we being upping our charity-giving, health-caring, fitness-seeking, energy-renewing activities?  Just like a bout of depression, one most effectively deals with slumps in their life by improving their health, psyche, and spirit.

Because it seems that two things suffer most in this type of a crisis; the poor and our moods. 

So don't watch TV, eat junk food, or excercise in the mall. 

Instead give to your local charity or Salvation Army, work on improving yourself, sign up for yoga, shop local, get a massage, spend time with your family, or volunteer.

And it's ok if you don't buy Uncle Joe that flat-screen TV this year.  Instead, ask him to join you on your charity rounds and bring the kids and cousins too.  I'm sure it will be much more memorable than the money clip you bought Cousin Mo last year.

Forget Hillary Clinton! 

I believe these seven unrealized candidates could take this position fourth in line from the presidency and rock it!

1.  Oprah - Who hasn't thought of Oprah joining the Obama administration? She's a great communicator and therapist, and with the money she's rollin' in could single-handedly rebuild Iraq.

2.  Beyonce - A diva with both beauty and brains. I'm sorry but a lady like this can seriously conquer.

3.  Britney Spears - You may laugh now, but who better to pull us out of the gutter by resconstucting the damaged image of America?

4.  Tie between Angelina Jolie and Madonna - Both are world-renowned, invariably civic-minded, and their excellent international connections on almost every continent wouldn't hurt either.

5.  Arnold Shwarzenegger -  I'd only recommend fear as a last resort, but the terminating image he's built around the globe may do wonders for our national security situation. 

6.  Sarah Palin - Awwww, yes, I said it.  Why?  What better way to confuse the terrorists than with a constant stream of jumbling reiterations.   No offense to the governor, though.  She's hot and so could easily distract the bad guys as we slip past and bring democracy.  Plus, she's already friendly with that French dude.

7. And of course, Stephen Colbert - His uncanny ability to work both sides of the ideological spectrum could finally help bring our bipartisan country together.

Or he could just flip off the world leaders who piss him off.

Who'd you pick?

I believe any type of discrimination towards President-Elect Barack Obama at this point is actually discrimination towards his image.  But in the minds of the accusers, they’re one in the same.   Disagreement with his proposals or policies based on sound judgment is one thing; but hatred and anger, the emotions that seem to be running high in the population that voted “against him” (yes, voting against a candidate is entirely possible…look at the Kerry/Bush election) is completely different and just throws us instantly back into the era of crazy McCarthyism. 

Many people just can’t seem to restrain their blatant bigotry any longer, and so begin to throw out baseless claims and fear-mongering stories (my favorite is how he’s a secret Muslim and will inject both Sharia and Marxism into the constitution; wow, now that would be a first.)  This has been happening all along, but now it’s like they unleashed their inner demons, and are setting us up for the apocalypse (amuse yourselves here.)

Anyboo,

I read a great article yesterday interviewing Bill Cosby as he walked up to the voting booth to vote for the first African American president, and it mentioned the possibility of the Cosby Show being one of the factors carving out the path to that historic moment.  Researchers even had a name for it; “the Huxtable effect”, named after the famous family in the show.   “The Huxtable effect” theory speculated that by the Cosby Show establishing the first appealing black family living a normal upper-middle class life, young TV viewers were set up to begin the erosion of remaining stereotypes.  Cosby seemed split on that theory but acknowledged his attempt to help break down racial barriers. 

Either way, I’m just happy to see him enjoy this historic moment, as well as Martin Luther King Jr.’s children, the 106 year-old woman mentioned in Obama’s speech, and every other African-American and minority; or everyone else who was moved to tears by that heart-warming moment when he walked onto the stage with his family.   I believe many people who didn’t support him or vote for him still felt the global sigh of relief in seeing this country move forward.

And I think regardless of who we voted for, we can all agree that THIS is an awesome game!

Barack Hussein Obama.......(cue scary Halloween music)

Stop it! Please just stop it! Stop saying his name as if it were a very dirty
word. Stop saying his name as if fireballs were going to come flying out of our mouths
and laser beams shoot out of our eyes.  Actually that would be pretty cool, I
take it back.

But seriously, what the freak is wrong with us? Who the heck cares what his name
is? Are we that measurably shallow? The name of a person now legitimately
exceeds his credentials? Confucius and Aristotle would roll in their graves.

Ok, fine. So, Snoop Doggy Dog might not fly over with the American and global
society......but it's a freakin made up name!

Yo, peeps, listen up......President Snoop in da hizzy!!   Raise up yo gin n' juice to the may-an!

Hmmmmm..........

So, after about  5 days, I still find it pretty surreal to think about who the new president is.  I mean it still feels as if it's six months ago and we're in the middle of the presidential campaigning.  I guess that happens when you've been following something for so long and it gradually builds up over time, so you begin to naturally expect some kind of gratifying and over-the-top finale - like in a show, or a video game.

I mean the election seriously unfolded like a Mortal Kombat video game......funny but actually pretty sad.  The potential leaders of our crumbling country were usually too busy character assassinating each other to think about how to save the country from financial terrorists.

Most of us don't even really know why we love or hate someone or something anymore. We just let other's paddles steer us down unknown rivers of beliefs - beliefs that our own subconscious feelings should be navigating.

Ok, I know we've come to a point in our society where the "thought" of abortion (or no abortion) trumps the presence of integrity in our future political leaders. Fine, I get it. Those who run the country don't have to be honest or compassionate or intelligent or dignified or well-read. I accept that, and that's partly the reason why I decided to avoid running for a political office in the future. If the people have more faith in their hair stylists than their political and religious leaders (guilty as charged, hi Joe!) than you can't blame me. So maybe my idea of fusing politics and fashion isn't that bad of an idea. Because what woman have you met that doesn't put full faith in that little black dress on a Friday night? I think I heard more about the colors of Obama and McCain's ties than the subprime mortgage crisis. Case closed.

First blog entry, wow. Never thought this would happen but here I go....

I'd like to speak (write) to whoever would like to listen about the things I think about each day when certain ideas/topics/news items arise.  Maybe it's to validate my existence; or maybe it's just to know someone out there is also thinking the same thoughts as me and I'm not crazy/idealistic/confused.

 First off....

So happy to be part of a country that finally elected the first African American President.  Americans were able to prove their humanity to the world after a long, dark period, and I love that I was part of that history.  I have always been proud to be an American, but now I'm glowing

.

Second....

As mentioned previously I am an American, but I have so many labels these days that I'm worried I'll soon lose count.  I'm not going to rattle off my long list of titles, but instead will give clues throughout my entries (If anyone cares to figure out what the hell I am or even read my thoughts; I take comfort in the fact that my mom will currently be my most outspoken fan.........and critic)

ok......first clue, I have been/could be/might be discriminated based on some of these labels, though my counterparts have and still are fighting to disconnect the images that come to mind when said labels are mentioned..............so I guess wish me luck.  Also I love very flavorful food and gossiping about the minute details of others' existence (wow, how therapeutic to come to terms with this)

On to other thoughts...

Does anyone else's skin crawl when people so openly express their racist/close-minded/isolated thinking? Maybe that answer is a given...but it sometimes seems so very easy to gloss over the observance of outright sillyness in someone elses thought process. Why don't we call them out?  Why do we pretend that the snake is not poisonous while simultaneously letting the venom work its way into the body of society? Am I losing you?  By now, I'm sure some people out there think this blog is about either jewellry or zoology.

And now you may come to the point of asking "What the heck is this blog about anyway?"

I've been advised when writing a blog to keep it simple and specific......and I am going to do the complete opposite.  I have lots of passions and lots of comments. So if you're interested in politics, philosophy, human rights, fashion, psychology, technology, culture, animals, and other things that fascinate me, you've come to the right place. Granted I'll be talking about these things through the lens of my own experience, I hope at least one person walks away with a new perspective, a better understanding, or at least some mild amusement.

Thanks for your time nation. Back to work