half-life fads

mouse count: 4

so it turns out that i'm a fad... people meet me... i'm new and different... refreshing... people are somehow able to be themselves around me... but then... the half-lives start kicking in... and the fad fades out... i'm always there... into infinity... but somehow i get smaller and smaller and i just fade away...
phase one= "favorite toy phase" you play the game every waking moment, you miss it and think about it when you aren't with it, you love it and its the best time you've every had.
phase two= "show and tell phase" you don't play the game all the time... but when it comes up you tell people that don't know that you have the game... and you bring it around to show them... you monopolize it when the they come over to play... because its still your favorite game.
phase three="closet space phase" you're really busy and don't really think about the game that much... and eventually you're cleaning one day... and you really just don't have room for the game anymore... you'll see it when you shove other things in the closet with it... and you'll think... i should play with that some time... *smirk* and go about
phase four="remember that one game? phase" game's still there... but not played with... just remembered that it was fun one time... a lot of fun... but that was a long time ago...


so i've got half-lives... never fully disappearing... but fading slowly... i'm the old favorite game... and i'm the passing fad.

don't get me wrong here... this sorta sounds depressing... but its not... i'm not upset about this. it actually helped me a lot... i was able to let go of things that i had been holding on to... they moved on and so should i... i was holding on to nothing and this little realization helped me to get that...

:) it's getting better all the time

privacy invasion

gmail is creepy. so i realized this today after katie, one of my pharmacists, pointed this out to me... and i varified it was true... gmail finds keywords in the emails we send and filters "sponsered advertisements" to those keywords... for example... one of my recent emails discussed college entrance essays and MCAT scores, and i had a bunch of advertisements on the side of my bar offering MCAT studying, writing improvement, etc. i'm sorry that's just creepy.

so here's my question...

how far should advertisers go? how far should companies dig into your privacy to specialize results to your specific interests? is this helpful or just creepy?

er... i suppose it could be helpful... but honestly... i just feel a little violated. supposedly they are not providing other companies with my person information provided in emails... but who's to say that if they aren't now... what going to stop them? and yes, i know blogger is in sync with google... it just still all creeps me out. i just thought i'd let you all in on something i realized today...and see what you all thought of this as well...

presenting to the jury

exhibit a. i'm in a class called US and the middle east. and one of my professors told us a story of a class he took while in college... the class was something along the lines of israeli history or jewish history... and the professor walks up to the front of the room the first day of class and says simply, "by a show of hands, who thinks it could happen again?" everyone in the room except the two white kids in the room, my prof being one of those kids, raises their hand.

could what happen? well... that answer is clear. obviously the professor was talking about the holocaust. and went on to suggest a certain level of uncertainty and fear expressed by israeli/jewish people, and how their level of "security" is a direct reflection of that fear.

now... here's the catch... how can you pose the question "could it happen again." the could in this sentance suggests a future possible occurance... it IS happening... its happening all over the world. its happening right in front of their eyes, only this time its not their specific ethnicity. its even caused by many of them. I am a firm believer that israeli and jewish people should be at the forefront of a war AGAINST violence and pushing people from their homes. they know what its like, how painful and unfair it is... so how could they be so blind? how could they ask if it could happen again, when its all around them. i dislike selfishness.

please don't get me wrong. I don't hate jewish people or israeli people. i'm not anti-semetic... this is impossible, as arabs are a semetic people as well... my passport says israeli citizen... and i have jewish friends. i dislike violent people.

exhibit b. i attended a lecture on tuesday presented by an israeli professor. He was against violence in the middle east and i really appreciated his lecture. it was realistic. no one can get rid of anyone else. its not going to happen. a compromise must be found... towards the end of the lecture, as questions were allowed on the floor, a certain sir expressed his opionion that an example must be made... arabs must be taught respect and nothing else can ever solve the conflict. they are merely terrorist that want nothing but death to israelis and israel...

now really? no. they are all in all a peaceful people. what THEY want is justice. their homes back... peace... not having to live in fear or discrimination... arabs have a strong tie to their family and land... these are things that have been taken away from them... just like the jewish people during the holocaust. so why are jews/israelis protecting themselves and arabs are committing hostile acts of terror. i dislike double standards.

exhibit c. i was watching an interview on sky news that i blogged about previously, i believe... anyhow, one of the arguments made was in regards to perspective. sure, america and israel views hezbollah and hamas and other organizations as terrorist organizations... but if you swith glasses and look at it as a person expelled from say... your home in the west bank... or maybe you are just a resident in the region, perhaps a civilian in the recently devastated lebanon, and see the happenings that occur each day... you would probably view israel and america as the terrorists... attacking civilians everyday for whatever "cause". i dislike closed-minded individuals.

you be the jury.(i loved those books growing up)