Anyone and Anything

When I was younger, I had such a vivid imagination that I was able to create for myself three alter egos.  These alter egos each have slightly different personalities and slightly different powers.  Yes, these other-selves have powers -- magical, mystical and otherworldly powers.  They can summon dragons and other mythical creatures; they have weapons powered by mystic gems and the like; they can fly, teleport, move things with their mind.


They are eager companions during boring classes and long trips.  They are heroes of long unwritten adventures.  Most importantly, they were tools for retaliation against school bullies.  In my mind's eye, I see my alter egos use their powers to torment and torture my foes almost to the brink of death and nurse them back to health to torture them some more.  Many an afternoon were spent imagining new and elaborate tortures to my very real tormentors.  It may sound weak, but it was loads better than following them home and introducing them to the business end of a hammer.  I didn't want to be expelled.


School ended and imaginary friends faded.  And ShatterShards became the amalgamation of those three alter egos.  He lost the powers but gained a voice.  My voice.  The voice I use to bitch and rant about my problems; the voice I employ to ridicule my mundane experiences; the voice I muster to give form to my thoughts.  But no matter what aspect I use, it's still my voice, and a facet of my personality.  


It is still inherently me.


And not some mere fabrication.  It does not, however, compute that I am my blog nor my twitter account.  Though they may be facets of my personality, it can not and will not paint a complete picture of me.  But it is still me.


But the internet is a funny thing.  You can reinvent yourself and no one will be the wiser.  But like many technologies, it is its own boon and bane.  In your quest for reinvention, you may forget your self, and the webs of lies you weave may be the death of you.

But on the telephone line

I am anyone

I am anything I want to be

I can be a super model or

Norman Mailer

And you wouldn't know the difference

Or would you?

Who's to say now if the friends you've amassed are friends with you or with the persona you built around you?  And will they trust you again once the travesty of lies and half-truths have been unearthed?  I do not have the answer to that for I fear to tread it.


When I was little, I used to have such vivid imagination that I was able to conjure up imaginary personas for myself.  But it stayed where it should, which is inside my mind, because life is already too bizarre and grotesque as it is for my mental conjurings to add to the fray.










  

Nine Dangerous Things You Were Taught In School (2)

I filched this article from Forbes and I think that it is a good thing to keep in mind.  Bookish that I am, I need doses of these reminders every once in a while. Here's the rest of the article.
Part 1

Be aware of the insidious and unspoken lessons you learned as a child. To thrive in the world outside the classroom, you’re going to have to unlearn them.

Dangerous things you were taught in school:

6. Behaving yourself is as important as getting good marks.Whistle-blowing, questioning the status quo, and thinking your own thoughts are no-nos. Be quiet and get back on the assembly line.

7. Standardized tests measure your value.By value, I’m talking about future earning potential, not anything else that might have other kinds of value.

8. Days off are always more fun than sitting in the classroom.You are trained from a young age to base your life around dribbles of allocated vacation. Be grateful for them.

9. The purpose of your education is your future career.And so you will be taught to be a good worker. You have to teach yourself how to be something more.

Indestructible

There are times when one feels vulnerable.  I woke up today without a sense of balance; as if something was amiss.  I still don't know what is wrong, probably it's all in my head.  Thankfully I have a repertoire of obscure songs to perk me up. 


Don't look no more,
Cause it'll only make your eyes sore
Hey! Count your R.E.M's,
It's comforting the sanctuary there we have
We argue sometimes and we fear we put the knife in too deep
but even when madness heads, it's only gladness I keep inside
So give me a sign

Cause we are Indestructible
Yes we are
And you are my life-line
And we are Indestructible
Yes we are

Hey, hey, you can be wicked
And you know I can be fickle sometimes too, y'know
Maybe you're my better side
Or maybe you annoy me to the point of where I'm holding this
Gun against your head, but I never said we have the same free spirit,
tell me will you cry? Don't cry
So give me a sign

Cause we are Indestructible
Yeah we are
And you are my life-line
And we are Indestructible
Yes we are

You take me as I am, mister
I've a little red devil on my shoe
You always stay real strong
You can take the rough with the smooth
And I know that we forget what we mean to say
Too proud sometimes
Guess we're only human

Cause we are Indestructible
Yeah we are
And you are my life-line
We are Indestructible
Yes we are
So give me a sign

We just have to remember that even though we may be vulnerable, what harms us -- whether real or imagined -- couldn't destroy us without our consent.

Nine Dangerous Things You Were Taught In School

I filched this article from Forbes and I think that it is a good thing to keep in mind.  Bookish that I am, I need doses of these reminders every once in a while.  Happy Monday!  

Be aware of the insidious and unspoken lessons you learned as a child. To thrive in the world outside the classroom, you’re going to have to unlearn them.

Dangerous things you were taught in school:

1. The people in charge have all the answers.That’s why they are so wealthy and happy and healthy and powerful—ask any teacher.

2. Learning ends when you leave the classroom.Your fort building, trail forging, frog catching, friend making, game playing, and drawing won’t earn you any extra credit. Just watch TV.

3. The best and brightest follow the rules.You will be rewarded for your subordination, just not as much as your superiors, who, of course, have their own rules.

4. What the books say is always true.Now go read your creationism chapter. There will be a test.

5. There is a very clear, single path to success.It’s called college. Everyone can join the top 1% if they do well enough in school and ignore the basic math problem inherent in that idea.

God Save the Queen!

To the citizens of the United States of America from Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 


In light of your failure in recent years to nominate competent candidates for President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately. 


(You should look up 'revocation' in the Oxford English Dictionary.) 


Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories (except Kansas, which she does not fancy). 


Your new Prime Minister, David Cameron , will appoint a Governor for America without the need for further elections. 


Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire may be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed. 


To aid in the transition to a British Crown dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect: 


1. The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as 'colour,' 'favour,' 'labour' and 'neighbour.' Likewise, you will learn to spell 'doughnut' without skipping half the letters, and the suffix '-ize' will be replaced by the suffix '-ise.' Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. (look up 'vocabulary'). 


2. Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as ''like' and 'you know' is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. There is no such thing as U.S. English. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take into account the reinstated letter 'u'' and the elimination of '-ize.' 


3. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday. 


4. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers, or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not quite ready to be independent. Guns should only be used for shooting grouse. If you can't sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist, then you're not ready to shoot grouse. 


5. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. Although a permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public. 


6. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left side with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour. 


7. The former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling gasoline) of roughly $10/US gallon. Get used to it. 


8. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with catsup but with vinegar. 


9. The cold, tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as beer, and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as Lager. South African beer is also acceptable, as they are pound for pound the greatest sporting nation on earth and it can only be due to the beer. They are also part of the British Commonwealth - see what it did for them. American brands will be referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine, so that all can be sold without risk of further confusion.  


10. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie Macdowell attempt English dialogue in Four Weddings and a Funeral was an experience akin to having one's ears removed with a cheese grater. 


11. You will cease playing American football. There is only one kind of proper football; you call it soccer. Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies). 


12. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game which is not played outside ofAmerica. Since only 2.1% of you are aware there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. You will learn cricket, and we will let you face the South Africans first to take the sting out of their deliveries. 


13. You must tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us mad. 


14. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due (backdated to 1776). 


15. Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4 p.m. with proper cups, with saucers, and never mugs, with high quality biscuits (cookies) and cakes; plus strawberries (with cream) when in season. 


God Save the Queen! 

---- 

I first saw this post some years ago in light of G. W. Bush's re-election. I saw it posted in one of my networks earlier, and even now, it hasn't lost its bite. There is no denying the dryness and quirkiness of British humour (not humor).  :-)