The Line of Pressure

You know, you go to a restaurant and you get the bill. You think, "hmmm...what should I tip them?" But you go and get fast food or something quick, and you run that credit card...then you get the slip back with that dreaded tip line. There is so much pressure as you sign. First of all, they're looking over your shoulder. Secondly, you feel like you should probably put a total so that they don't charge you for a tip when you didn't put one down. Doesn't it feel like insult to injury when you write down that total definitively saying, "I don't want to tip"? Basically, I never know what to do...so I usually give in and tip a dollar just so that I don't feel so bad about it. Yes, I'm the sucker that gives into the pressure. And now I have no money.

Bratty Bratz

My younger sister and I used to fight constantly. When we were little, we would simply pick fights with each other. Its strange how often siblings do this. I remember getting into verbal fights, bantering back and forth, for quite awhile...and for some reason frequently in the car. Life is not like Full House despite what many people might think. In fact, its as far from that as possible. If I have to hear another "Sorry Deej" from Stephanie I might hurl. I'm pretty sure that parents make their kids watch these shows with hope that their kids will mimick this lifestyle...but of course that doesn't happen, kids just mimic video games and other violence.

For me, it was an ultimate satisfaction to call my sister the dreaded "b" word...BRAT! She would give me a great gift of appaulled reaction...and I knew that this was the key to winning the fight. Doesn't it seem weird that little kids are now calling each other names that we never would have dreamnt of voicing, especially in the presence of our family. But nonetheless, kids today shout a completely different "b" word towards each other, siblings, and maybe even authorities (i.e. teachers, parents, etc.). What has happened? Is there going to be a new "s" word...

The Dreaded "D" Word

This might be a bit more serious than most of my previous posts, but I've lately been thinking a lot about what many people label, "The plague to American families...divorce." Sometimes, I wonder what this does to influence the youth of today. I come from a divorced home, but have not thought about it much on the grand scheme of things. Last night thanks to the miracle of DVR, I watched the teen drama, One Tree Hill. One thing that the character Brooke Davis says as she's applying to be an adoptive parent is, "I don't come from a two parent household, I come from a no parent household." Her reasoning for this was to point out the neglect that she had growing up by her parents. Obviously, this is fictional and a little extreme, but I started to wonder how divorce and "broken homes" are viewed by the younger generation. With the frequency of divorce or even kids brought into the world to a single parent home, one has to wonder what the perspective is. Brooke was obviously upset about the lack of direction and support she was given, but at the same time, blame was strictly put on her parents. But then we see movies like Juno, where Juno McGuff flippently talks about sex and having a baby, but when it comes to divorce she seems to break down and still find so much value in a "traditional" home. Overall, yes, "broken" homes are everywhere, and you have to entertain the idea that there are probably many "broken" homes where there has been no sign of divorce as of yet. But I haven't lost faith in the All-American family...but I don't know exactly what that family unit looks like. Regardless of the specific events, I tend to think that no matter what, most kids are going to take a divorce or separation pretty hard, but how that affects the majority of young people, since so many come from a home that has experienced this, might begin to think of divorce as benign. Hopefully, morals are not inextricably attached to this ideal of family.

A Little Tunage

What do you think Connor Oberst's message is in this song? What was he trying to say? I really love that Bright Eyes frequently writes in a unique narrative format that paints a picture, but not a picture that seems to fit together completely. In some ways, I like to think of his lyrical genius much like many thought of various impressionistic artists and abstract/multi-media artists during their revolutionary upswing. His song fits in a way that seems so unfitting. What message do you get?

The Cleanse Song

Hear the chimes, did you know that the wind when it blows
It is older than Rome and all of this sorrow
See the new pyramids down in old Manhattan
From the roof of a friend's I watched an empire ending
Heard it loud and long the river's Om
Time marching on to a madman's drum

Don't forget what you've learned all you give is returned
And if life seems absurd what you need is some laughter
And a season to sleep and a place to get clean
Maybe Los Angeles, somewhere no one's expecting
On a detox walk through a Glendale Park over sidewalk chalk
Someone wrote in red, "start over"
So I muffled my scream on an Oxnard beach
Full of fever dreams that scare you sober
Into saltless dinners

Take the fruit from the tree, break the skin with your teeth
Is it bitter or sweet? All depends on your timing
Like a meeting of chance with the train station glance
Many lifetimes had past in a instant reminded
Of a millstone house in a seaside town
When your heart gave out in a mission bed
So your wife gave birth to a funeral dirge
You woke up purged as a wailing infant
In Krug Thep, Thailand

Hear the chimes, did you know that the wind when it blows
It is older than Rome and our joy and our sorrow

Gal Pals

What makes girls think that its cool to dress like each other, then go out for the day? It never works out well...I mean, who told girls that this was a good idea?