T9 Speak

 In selecting a random thought, plucked idly from the recesses of my mind, I happened across a delectable nugget of little profundity but of entertaining value. It concerns language, a passion of mine, and of one of the people I admire most in this world. Someone passed comment of text speak and t9 language being annoying and not part of the english language and should somehow be outlawed, and this is where I dug in and sunk my teeth into this poor soul. To me it seems that these language snobs fail to remember their history. The english language is constantly evolving, it is a society driven beast. It absorbs the emotions and utterings of it's speakers and changes everyday. It is not rigid and does not follow the structure of other more static languages such as french. Therefore text speak, while admittedly being slightly annoying, is just as much a part of the language as the words written by Shelley and Shakespeare....

Communication and Relationships

It seems to me that the most important thing in our lives is not how many degrees we got in college, or how good our job is, or how much money we have, or what stupid sports car we drive. None of this means a goddamn thing in the grand scheme of things. What really matters is happiness. It's a fucking cliche but if you're truly happy then you could live in a cardboard box out back of a turkish prison and be totally content. And I think that the key to happiness is the reduction of stress. This could mean that you find something you love doing and you do it obsessively, but that doesn't leave much time for relationships. Relationships are what makes you happy. A good relationship with someone, be it a parent, a spouse, a family member, or a friend, is the key to true happiness. We all have flaws and faults that make us all imperfect and therefore incapable of being happy on our own. It is a rare type of person that can function effectively this way and I think they don't truly exist. So, if we can't live and be happy on our own then we need to find relationships that enrich our lives, fill our emotional gaps, and give as much as they take. The key to fully exploiting this relationship once you find it is communication. I can't be happy if something is weighing on my mind and I have no outlet for it. It helps so much for it to be brought out into the open, without fear of bias or judgement. In a good relationship you can feel safe in the knowledge that this will be the case. Now, there are also bad relationships, ones in which we seem to be giving all the time and not getting anything in return. These must be erased from your life. Sometimes this is hard because the relationship in question could be complicated by blood ties, or by legal ties, but nevertheless if you don't see them changing for the better then they are to be eradicated in the easiest way possible. That of course can take a level of courage you may not posess, but thats where the support you get from a good relationship can work in your favor. Essentially if you communicate effectively to the people in your life you'll find that the problems you face in your everyday life become less and less daunting, because with good relationships there is more than one passenger on the ship of you.

TED

I've been watching a lot of videos lately from the TED conferences, specifically the science talks, and by another order of magnitude of specificity, the astronomy/cosmology talks. I find myself in awe of not only the subjects of these talks but also in awe of the men and women that give them. When did scientists become accessible? When did they learn to be effective public speakers? It's awesome, literally. I am not a scientist, I am a writer, and therefore I do not have a deep understanding of the underlying nature of the universe; yet when I watch one of the talks, I actually feel like I understand, truly understand. There can be no better feeling than the absorption and comprehension of new knowledge. I highly recommend a trip to http://www.ted.com/ for any of you who have not had the privilege. Go, be merry, and learn.