Category Archives: Social Media

Creative Writing, Education, Positivity, Sharing, Social Media

Did You Know?

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It occurred to me recently that a lot of us on social media tend to rage about those things in society which we are against. It is good and right, in my view, to express our righteous indignation about those things that don’t square with our values and harm people. I would never suggest in a million years that any of us ought to stay quiet and comply in the face of injustice.

Yet don’t you agree there is value in expressing that with which we are in favor of? The things we are “pro” instead of “con”?

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of something I am “pro” is education.

I don’t think I need to go into great detail here as to why that is, especially given the fact that I’ve got smart readers who no doubt consider themselves to be pro-education. I will say that critical thinking is something I value deeply and education is the key.

Now comes the part where I answer the question posed in the title of this little blog post.

You can take classes online at Harvard for free!

I learned this from someone I recently met. As a person who knows for certain that if I won the lottery, I’d waste no time applying to colleges to get my MFA (or maybe my MBA. Or a Master’s in Sociology or Psychology), this really intrigued me. I love learning. Always have, and always will.

Naturally, I had to check it out. There is quite the bevy of classes available, which was a sweet little surprise. I haven’t made the time to actually attempt to register myself for any of these free classes so I can’t vouch for what the process would be. There weren’t any classes available that really jumped out at me but it’s sure nice to know that this is a potential option. Though one I saw about omens, oracles, and prophecies sounds interesting.

Now, it wouldn’t be as much fun, perhaps, as I can imagine it was for a former client of mine from back when I was a social worker, who regularly “audited” college classes at the local university. He’d mosey over to the nearby state university and sit amongst the enrolled students (though in retrospect he may have been creeping on them) and listen to the professor’s lectures. No need to take notes or run to the campus library or the local coffee shop to do actual homework. I wish I could recall what classes he audited.

Please share in the comments if you have taken any of these free online classes via Harvard, or, if you happen to take a minute to peruse the offerings, which class or classes you’d be liable to take.

As always, I shall end this post with a song. It’s a favorite of mine from Steely Dan. You might want to get your dancing shoes on for this one!

Childhood, GenX, Mindset, Social Media

P is for Precious

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Several months ago, I read a blog post asking “What are you precious about?”

I think that’s a really great question. It’s one that I’ve been periodically chewing on all this time. What does it mean though, to be “precious” about something? From my perch, it means being firmly attached to something at the soul level. So attached that you would be hard-pressed to change your mind about it. So attached that you are unable to see how it may be problematic. How it may be clouding your vision or negatively impacting your interactions with others. Sort of like that proverbial hill you’d be willing to die on.

Maybe you’re precious about a belief or an opinion. Maybe it’s a relationship or an attitude.

My (perhaps unpopular) opinion is that my generation, Gen X (born between 1965 and 1981), is overly precious about their identity as kids who were brought up in the “glory” days of the 70’s and the 80’s.

What makes me say this is my participation (I use this term loosely, as I am more of a lurker there than an active contributor) in a Facebook group for Gen X’rs.

I do realize that this FB group I’m in is but a sampling of the Gen X community, but the attitude of some of these fellow Gen X’rs is really something. The cutting sarcasm, the “f your feelings”, the “ok, boomer” and “you must really be a millenial” comments abound in this group.

Now, I can be as sarcastic as the next guy, and believe me when I say that I’ve certainly rolled my eyes and slung snarky retorts as a result of my Gen-X influenced sense of humor…but man! Some of these Gen X r’s are on such high horses about how tough they are because they survived being latch-key kids who drank from garden hoses in their backyards. It’s like they have a chip on their shoulders, an armor they wear at all times. I think this hampers their ability to have compassion for others, especially those in different generations. I really think that’s a crying shame.

How I see it is that we all had absolutely no say whatsoever about the fact that we were born in whatever era we were born in. Being born between 1965 and 1981 didn’t give us superpowers. Being raised in the 70’s and 80’s didn’t either. Gen X is no more special than any other generation.

That’s not to say that being Gen X isn’t an important part of my identity. Of course it is. My sense of humor was shaped in my pre-teen and teenage years through consuming Saturday Night Life, Late Night with David Letterman, and SCTV. And I think that gave me a great sense of humor, thankyouverymuch. I and my fellow Gen X’rs benefited from being raised at a time when the American economy was good. We grew up before the rise of gun violence in this country. We were safe and secure from so much.

The best thing to me, however, about being a Gen X’r is how much freedom we had as kids. We were not over-scheduled. We were left to our own devices to a large extent. I think this has resulted in my generation being creative, independent, and self-sufficient. Scrappy and resourceful.

If my generation could just take their cynicism down a notch or two by recognizing how precious they are about their Gen X identity, that’d be great.

Now, for a quintessential 80’s tune that to me is the rallying cry of Gen X. Check it out-it’s RAD!

Curiosity, Humor, Names, Social Media, Women

Knock it Off

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I wonder who on earth came up with the idea to refer to an American female who exudes privilege and demands to speak to your manager, “Karen”?

If their identity was ever determined, I’d ask them “Why….just why?” Was there a woman named Karen that hurt them?

Think of all the wonderful women named Karen out there. My aunt, who spelled her name “Karyn”, God rest her soul, was a wonderful human being. She gave great hugs, had a boisterous laugh, and loved her family fiercely. It warmed my heart when I received a Christmas card from her, maybe a year before she passed, in which she wrote, “I love you”.

Then there’s Karen, the lady who was the program director for the non-profit I work at prior to my employment there, who always finds time to volunteer to help our clients.

And the wonderful, big-hearted, kind, and faithful Karen I knew and admired so much from the church Mr. NOA and I attended in the early to mid-2000’s.

If one must come up with one single female name for this type of woman, shouldn’t it be Judith?

Amanda Peet as Judith in a favorite comedy of mine, “Saving Silverman”

I’m kidding around here a bit, but bear with me.

Imagine your name is Karen. Or Judith, for that matter. Your name-the one your parents lovingly gave you, has been co-opted. Your name is now synonymous with this image of an uptight, screechy, demanding woman who is shunned from society based on her actions.

That’s got to suck, right?

This is but a minor example of how social media has given us permission to spout off in judgement of others. It’s not healthy for any of us. I am guilty of spouting off and I imagine you are too. It’s human nature. But not the best of human nature.

I think those of us using the name “Karen” in this way ought to knock it off. Surely, if we feel compelled to call out the abhorrent behavior of a female in public, there’s got to be a way to refer to said female beyond using an actual legit name. Maybe call her “Cruella”, or “Maleficent”? Just a thought.

To no one’s surprise, I’m certain, I’m going to sign off with a song performed by a most beloved “Karen”. Her voice is the auditory version of butter, don’t you think?

***Image of Judith courtesy of https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Saving-Silverman-Blu-ray/29787/***

Blogging Community, Social Media, Words

New Words and Smart People

16 Comments

One piece of advice I’ve heard numerous times over the years goes something like this: surround yourself with people smarter than you.

This is great advice, don’t you think? While it does require one to keep their ego in check, the rewards are great when you do it.

It applies not only in real life, where, arguably, oftentimes we don’t have full control of who we interact with day to day, but also in the virtual world (where, it could be argued, we do have full control of who we interact with).

A recent example can be found in a comment one of my fabulous blogger friends made on a recent post of mine. In response to a comment I made about exiting the “dead bird app” (thanks Valerie Bertinelli for that epic descriptor), my blogger friend said she’s still on the aforementioned app but is not “twitterpated” with it.

Now, “twitterpated” is not a word I’ve ever heard (and I would guess many of you have not either). My first thought was that she had made up this silly word. Or maybe it was a weird typo. I thought about it for a bit and figured that the “pated” portion of the word was like the word “sated”, as in being satisfied.

I looked at the comment again a few days later, and thought perhaps I ought to google the word, for shits and giggles, you know? Not at all expecting that it was indeed a “real” word.

Alas-twitterpated is a real word! Per dictionary.com it means “excited or overcome by romantic feelings; smitten”. Now, I think I can assume that my lovely blogger friend, Crystal btw, was not trying to say she was not overcome by romantic feelings about the dead bird app, because that would be a ridiculous thing to say. No app should compel romantic feelings, right? Well, maybe a dating app for those who are single I suppose.

She was saying she was not “smitten” with the app. Though “twitterpated” is a much more fun and unusual way to say that, without a doubt. I was not twitterpated with the dead bird app either, that’s why I dumped it.

This is all to say that I appreciate those who are smarter than I. There’s loads of people who are, of course. And there’s ways I might be a little smarter than others. We all have something to offer.

Surrounding ourselves as much as we possibly can, IRL and online, by folks who are smarter than us has the potential to teach us so much. And if we are lucky, their “smarts” might just rub off a little on us.