Thursday, April 16, 2009

You Complete Me? No.

In the final scenes of Jerry Maguire, Tom Cruise stammers through the door of his wife's place, falls into the mitts of a gaggle of man-thrashing women and declares his love for Dorothy by saying, "I love you. You... you complete me. And I just..."

Of course, as we know, Dorothy, welling up with tears, replies, "Shut up, just shut up. You had me at, 'Hello.'"

We loved it. A great scene. Many of us also had tears in our eyes... the good ones win. Yea!

But, over the years, I've discovered that I don't need to be "completed." I'm not missing some vital part of myself; an empty void that only she can fill. Nor do I want to be with someone that feels that she has an empty spot inside of her. I'm looking for a woman that makes us a couple that can accomplish great things. We don't complete each other, we enhance each other. Though, I admit, "You enhance me," just doesn't have the same ring to it.

So, on that note, it's not, "You complete me."

It's, "You help me complete this bottle so I don't drink the whole damn thing by myself."

That's true love.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

You Wanna Thumb Me Up?

Milktoast for the Lazy.
The Facebook feature that allows for you to "Like" something is worthless.
  • I don't need to be validated.
  • It adds nothing to the conversation.
  • There is no Bank of Like.
So, what's the point? "Like" is the lazy person's way to avoid making a comment. It's just like the "wink" on Match.com. Neither of them say anything about the person doing the liking and winking. Tell me why you like it, eh, and we'll learn something about each other.

Friends say:
  • I know- it's so vanilla laze-a$$, it makes me want to puke ecru all over lilac walls.
  • Commenting for people who can't be bothered commenting.
  • It would be fun if there was a "dislike."
Now, there's an idea. What we really need is an accounting system for "Likes" and "Dislikes" of which there could only be a limited number of them in the FBverse. Let's say... when you write something of interest, then I can spend my "Likes/Dislikes" on it, reducing my inventory by one and increasing your inventory by one. Add a Digg like ranking mechanism and we can begin to see what/who people like/dislike the most. It's exactly what we need, cliques on FB: the jocks, the smokers, the cheerleaders, the sluts, the nerds... yeah, Pink Ladies and T-Birds.

In order to maintain a Facebook economy of free-flowing currency, the government institution could print new Likes for every new user that signs up; a one-time liberal grant that doesn't require them to have done anything to earn it. However, if they don't spend them, then a federal institutional bailout seizure will occur that liberates the Likes from hoarders or the non-believers and puts them back into circulation.

Facebook, could you get on this?

It reminds me of all the people that open an evite and are too lazy to check one of three RSVP boxes. How hard is it to check a box and tell the host that you're a yes, no or maybe?

Yawn.

Truthfully, enough with the sarcasm, Americans die for their point accumulation: airline miles, credit cards, Dave & Busters, KC Hopps Restaurants, online forums... points = status. Many organizations have capitalized on this. We desire to see our name in lights. In most cases, points don't mean a whole lot or people never use them.

I'm serious about the economy of points (or "Likes"). In that system, we must earn them and choose to spend them, donate them and save them. It makes for a much more interesting scenario than what it takes to burn .01 calories clicking a button. It takes thought... ooo, danger Will Robinson.

Turn Facebook "Likes" into an economy and you'll be careful where you stick that thumb instead of thumbing everyone in sight.

So, from now on, you can thumb me if you like, but I prefer a little wine and conversation first.

Temperament of the Warrior of Light

From Paulo Coelho's latest newsletter:

"The Warrior of Light can afford to live each day different from the next. He is not afraid of crying over old regrets or feeling happy at new discoveries. When he feels that the hour has come, he casts everything aside and departs for the adventure he has dreamed so long about. When he understands that he is at the limit of his endurance, he leaves the fight, without feeling apologetic for having done one or two crazy and quite unexpected things."

Now, if I would only just listen and cast everything aside...

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

14/52: "Sheepfarmer's Daughter" by Elizabeth Moon

Book #14 = "Sheepfarmer's Daughter" by Elizabeth Moon, 3.5/5 Stars
Just finished book one of the "The Deeds of Paksenarrion" trilogy ("Sheepfarmer's Daughter"), and although many people praise the work for Moon's technical perfection in the mannerisms and tactics of mercenaries, I find all that detail to fly in one ear and out the other giving it a real repetitive nature. Fortunately, Paks' inner turmoil as she is passionately in self-denial about accomplishing her dreams has captivated me and I can't wait to start the second book.

I think we all struggle to invent/reinvent ourselves and often must deal with the loyalty versus ecstasy conundrum when we begin to realize that we really can accomplish our dreams... sometimes to the dismay of those that have helped us to do so because we have to leave them behind.

GOAL: 52 books in 52 weeks!

Book #13 = "Love Is The Killer App" by Tim Sanders, 4/5 Stars
Book #12 = "Fight Club" by Chuck Palahniuk, 4.5/5 Stars
Book #11 = "The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger, 5/5 Stars
Book #10 = "The Finder" by Colin Harrison, 3.5/5 Stars
Book #9 = "Veronika Decides To Die" by Paulo Coelho, 1/5 Stars
Book #8 = "By The River Piedra I Sat Down & Wept" by Paulo Coelho, 3/5 Stars
Book #7 = "Stiff" by Mary Roach, 2/5 Stars
Book #6 = "Love in the Time of Cholera" by Gabriel Garcia-Marquez, 1/5 Stars
Book #5 = "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy, 3/5 Stars
Book #4 = "Eleven Minutes" by Paulo Coelho, 2/5 Stars
Book #3 = "The Good Guy" by Dean Koontz, 3/5 Stars
Book #2 = "My Ishmael" by Dan Quinn, 2/5 Stars

Book #1 = "The Zahir" by Paulo Coelho, 3.5/5 Stars

READ MORE!