Okay, I did it. I signed up for a Facebook account. For months now, I've been answering "leave me alone" to the question "So, are you on Facebook?" I've been inundated with requests for well over a year now, and it was becoming a badge of honor for me that I just politely declined all such suggestions.
I can't say that I gave in to peer pressure. That wasn't it. I guess I wasn't ready to see the wonders of Facebook and the glorious worlds that it would open up for me. And I'm still not ready to admit that I was wrong. But I am ready to admit the possibility that I may have been mistaken. But I'm waiting to see. Sort of like the jury in the Conrad Black trial. They came back to the judge and said, "We can't decide." I love the judge's response: "Get your ass back in there and decide!" Seems the United States of America has more than one "decider"--besides the big guy, I mean. George W. I wonder is he on Facebook? I should check and, if he's there, maybe give him a poke. God knows, he could use one.
I won't go into my reasons for not joining Facebook until now. I guess I just considered myself too busy or whatever. I guess we all are, for that matter. It's all about making and keeping connections, or re-connecting with old friends, from what I understand. Okay. I'll buy that. But, as with so many things, I am a skeptic, but I am willing to see the light. If Facebook performs wonders for my social life, such as it is in its current state, then I am willing to admit I was wrong about it and I will buy the snake oil, I will drink the Kool-Aid, I will salute the flag, and I will kiss its ring.
It reminds me of the whole Star Wars phenomenon. I was a kid when it came into the theatres for the very first time, but I didn't see it because I wasn't a sci-fi fan. Everyone kept trying to persuade me to go because it was the newest and coolest thing that I "just have to see." I resented the pressure, so I never went. I stayed home and watched the radio. Sometimes I even turned it on. Then there was The Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi. Never saw either one until I was in my late twenties. Finally, after years of mental abuse by friends and family, all clamoring: "But you HAVE to see Star Wars? How can you not?" Resistance was futile, I guess, because I gave in and rented it on home video, and you know what?
I didn't like it.
Everyone raved about Yoda as the great philosopher. But all I saw was a cute muppet who spewed dimestore philosophy to the starving masses who had never heard such "wisdom" before. George Lucas was using Yoda and Obi Wan Kenobe as mouthpieces for a string of philosophical pearls that he knew would keep audiences coming back time and again.
The sad part is, I did. When Parts I, II, and II came into the theatres, I went to see each of them, even though I grew increasingly disenchanted with each one. Critics raved how the final film in the series was the best one since the first one.
I didn't like it. Hated it, in fact. Barely sat through it all without walking out. (I've never walked out of a theatre while the movie was still playing. Unless I had to go the bathroom, of course.)
Anyway, so I tend to be a johnny-come-lately. I rented the Godfather I and II a few years ago and fell asleep--through BOTH of them. I was just tired. No commentary on the movies there. And it wasn't that I'd been avoiding the Godfather trilogy for any great philosophical reasons. I just never got around to renting it.
So now there's Facebook. After I'd successfully avoided MySpace for a couple of years, there's a new e-kid on the block. We'll have to see how it goes.
I'd say I'll give it a try, but as Yoda knows: "There is no try, only do or do not."
So I did. Anyone care to tell me why?
G
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Somewhere Over the Rainbow
I've been away for the past couple of weeks, spending some time beyond the overpass. I finished the first draft of my novel, Darwin Day, just before leaving and I'm pleased with it so far, but I'll be able to tell a lot better once revisions are complete. That always makes the difference.
My wife and I spent some time Twillingate, visiting her sister, and we had a great time, as we always do together. Saw tons of icebergs, flora and fauna, roamed the hills and beaches, and just relaxed. For me, it's probably the first time I've relaxed that much in nearly seven years, before the Ph.D. program began. Its a hard thing to describe. Something about the central part of this province is like heaven to me--just getting outdoors and not having so much traffic and noise around me all the time. It's like going to another planet...a better planet.
There's lots that I like about St. John's--mostly the bookstores, coffee shops, and movies. But I sometimes think I could give all of that up for a house and some land far from the madding crowd, somewhere in central Newfoundland.
We took the early morning ferry to Fogo Island and spent the day just beating around there. Stopped at a bakery for some tea, homemade toast and partridgeberry jam. Drove around the island, just looking for places to stop, chat for a while, take some pictures, and, if possible, get into a bit of mischief. A life without mischief, you see, is hardly a life at all. And harm to none, of course, as the wiccans say. My favorite spot was this fairly secluded sandy beach. There was a light breeze blowing, with no people around, and we just walked, ran, and acted like children for an hour or so. Beaches turn me into a different person; that's probably the best way to describe it. No more grading essays, reading books, using computers, or talking on telephones. If there is a heaven, I'm pretty sure it doesn't have any of those things, especially the latter. Heaven would have books, of course, but only good books--the kind that you read because you want to or because you really enjoy them even if you didn't think you would. It wasn't a really warm day (surprise!), but I did manage to roll up the legs of my jeans and run like mad into the freezing cold, late-June water, and then scramble even more madly back to the shore. My feet felt all tingly and clean for the rest of the day. Hard to explain unless you've done it.
Right after we'd returned from Twillingate, we went out to Harbour Grace for the wedding event of the century. Had an even better time than I thought we would, danced a helluva lot, and partied till the late hours. In a respectable way, of course. There's something strange about family gatherings though. There's all of those expectations about how you should act, what you should say, how you should be. And--I don't know why--but I always seem to break all of those rules without even trying. (Okay, sometimes I try, but not always.) Somehow, I end up enjoying it all in spite of myself, mostly by trying not to take any of it too seriously even though most of the people (muggles, I guess you'd call them. Or adults who forget what it's like to be young and irresponsible, in a good way) want you to take it all way too seriously.
I'm glad to be back home, though. Probably heading out again sometime soon, but can't say where or when. It's just one of those summers. I'm mostly just working from home, not paying attention to any kind of schedule, going wherever the wind takes me. Been regimented for too long.
Now if the weather would only turn to summer and stay there for a couple of days....
Hope you're all enjoying a nice break too.
Gerard
I've been away for the past couple of weeks, spending some time beyond the overpass. I finished the first draft of my novel, Darwin Day, just before leaving and I'm pleased with it so far, but I'll be able to tell a lot better once revisions are complete. That always makes the difference.
My wife and I spent some time Twillingate, visiting her sister, and we had a great time, as we always do together. Saw tons of icebergs, flora and fauna, roamed the hills and beaches, and just relaxed. For me, it's probably the first time I've relaxed that much in nearly seven years, before the Ph.D. program began. Its a hard thing to describe. Something about the central part of this province is like heaven to me--just getting outdoors and not having so much traffic and noise around me all the time. It's like going to another planet...a better planet.
There's lots that I like about St. John's--mostly the bookstores, coffee shops, and movies. But I sometimes think I could give all of that up for a house and some land far from the madding crowd, somewhere in central Newfoundland.
We took the early morning ferry to Fogo Island and spent the day just beating around there. Stopped at a bakery for some tea, homemade toast and partridgeberry jam. Drove around the island, just looking for places to stop, chat for a while, take some pictures, and, if possible, get into a bit of mischief. A life without mischief, you see, is hardly a life at all. And harm to none, of course, as the wiccans say. My favorite spot was this fairly secluded sandy beach. There was a light breeze blowing, with no people around, and we just walked, ran, and acted like children for an hour or so. Beaches turn me into a different person; that's probably the best way to describe it. No more grading essays, reading books, using computers, or talking on telephones. If there is a heaven, I'm pretty sure it doesn't have any of those things, especially the latter. Heaven would have books, of course, but only good books--the kind that you read because you want to or because you really enjoy them even if you didn't think you would. It wasn't a really warm day (surprise!), but I did manage to roll up the legs of my jeans and run like mad into the freezing cold, late-June water, and then scramble even more madly back to the shore. My feet felt all tingly and clean for the rest of the day. Hard to explain unless you've done it.
Right after we'd returned from Twillingate, we went out to Harbour Grace for the wedding event of the century. Had an even better time than I thought we would, danced a helluva lot, and partied till the late hours. In a respectable way, of course. There's something strange about family gatherings though. There's all of those expectations about how you should act, what you should say, how you should be. And--I don't know why--but I always seem to break all of those rules without even trying. (Okay, sometimes I try, but not always.) Somehow, I end up enjoying it all in spite of myself, mostly by trying not to take any of it too seriously even though most of the people (muggles, I guess you'd call them. Or adults who forget what it's like to be young and irresponsible, in a good way) want you to take it all way too seriously.
I'm glad to be back home, though. Probably heading out again sometime soon, but can't say where or when. It's just one of those summers. I'm mostly just working from home, not paying attention to any kind of schedule, going wherever the wind takes me. Been regimented for too long.
Now if the weather would only turn to summer and stay there for a couple of days....
Hope you're all enjoying a nice break too.
Gerard
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