The Most Powerful Photos of 2011

Saw this link on Facebook and had to share. Some of these are so painful to look at, some terrifying, some infuriating. Overall, it doesn't look like we've had a very good year. Almost made me think that maybe the world will end if things keep on the same track.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/the-most-powerful-photos-of-2011?sort=posted&z=2NNLJ6

GMMD409 Case Study 2: Transmedia

Transmedia is a developing form of storytelling that involves several parts of a story on different platforms. It is a very broad definition, but the point is that there is no set formula. Through transmedia, an author can take advantage of the many mediums available today: print, web sites, video games, videos, etc. This is different from crossmedia, which uses different platforms for the same content or just extras as an afterthought. Instead, each platform can have its own unique content, utilizing the advantages of each.

Users can acquire as many or few pieces of the story as they would like to personalize their experience. In the case of Michael Grant’s BZRK, people can buy the print book, then download a free app which gives them the option to buy each piece of additional content separately. Transmedia goes beyond a fictional story in a book, and creates an interactive world.

The possibilities are nearly endless. With a story, songs that a character is listening to can be made available, an alternate reality game, and maybe even eventually a social networking profile for each character, can be offered as parts of the story.

Somebody posted a link to this news story on Facebook and it's wonderful. I only see bad parents in the news most of the time, and its sickening. It's nice to see a story about a good, loving mother. Normally I'm constantly adding to the list of things I would never do or teach my future children. Finally, I can add to my list of parents who I wouldn't hate to be like.

"Lessons from Sharing the Story of My (Possibly) Gay 6-Year-Old Son"

On August 16 I learned what viral meant.

I wrote an essay about my oldest son and his love of a popular gay television character, Glee's Blaine, and how this crush led to him telling me he wanted to kiss boys, not girls. I naively posted it to a blog, thinking some fans of the show might think it was cute.

Within 24 hours it had been reposted and "liked" over 30,000 times on the blog's website. It wasn't long before messages started flooding in, other websites began posting it and people were commenting. The response was overwhelming positive. What I thought was a simple story about my kid and our family had clearly stuck a chord with a lot of people.

It also made some people uncomfortable. Of the criticisms, the most common is that my son is six years old and doesn't know anything about sex. While I fully acknowledge this may not be the end-all-and-be-all to my son's sexual orientation, I object to the idea that being gay is only about sexual acts. Our emotions and feelings, our attractions and compulsions, all contribute, not just our body parts. If my son had a crush on the star of iCarly, I doubt people would be saying he was too young to have those sexual feelings towards a girl. I think they would think it was an innocent schoolboy crush, which is exactly what it is.

Plus, for every comment I've read saying my son is too young, I have received multiple messages from adults saying "I knew when I was little, too."

It got me thinking and after awhile I started to feel like I knew this big secret that shouldn't be a secret at all: Every gay adult used to be a gay kid. It's not as if all children start off as straight until some time later when someone flips the gay switch. We are who we are from the very moment we are born.

The horrible and hate filled words of the Michele Bachmann's of the world take on a whole new level of disgusting when picturing them being screamed at a group of kindergartners and first graders. They are unnatural. They are sinners. They are going to hell. They are dirty, wrong and sick.

These people would tell my innocent little boy (who currently wants to be a fireman-ninja when he grows up) he is the biggest threat the American family... because he wants to kiss boys and not girls.

The reality is they are pounding these words of ignorance and hate into the ears and minds of gay children every day. And those children are hearing them. I know because many of those kids are now writing to me. Kids as young as 14 have sent me messages. So many are scared children, who sure as hell did not choose this for themselves, living in fear of their family finding out because they know full well what their mom and dad will say. And they tell me they wish I was their mom.

I want to keep all this talk, all these lies, all this hate, away from these kids. Of course, there is an inherent problem with that. We can't pick out the gay kids simply by looking, and behavior isn't a clear indicator (some little straight girls are tomboys, and some little gay boys love their monster trucks). The only way we can truly know someone's orientation is if they tell us, which for some doesn't happen until well into adulthood.

So the solution is obvious to me. Keep it away from all our kids. It's my responsibility as a mother, as a human being, to stand up and say "No more." No, you are not allowed to say those things in front of my children, not unless you want to deal with me. Because I will not allow any of my sons to be viciously attacked without seeing me defend them. They will never have to doubt for a second exactly where their parents stand, and never have to live in fear of who they are.

Because since August 16, I have learned that hate is the virus we all need to be worried about.

TN Couldn’t Decide Whether Andrea Jones Is Male Or Female, So They Arrested Her

A Facebook friend posted a link to this news story from queerty.com and I had to share it. This is so ridiculous. She had a gender reassignment surgery, so she is a female. End of story. If the social security office recognizes it, why wouldn't the DMV or police? Oh, right, because people let their own opinions get in the way of their jobs... or just being decent human beings.

TN Couldn’t Decide Whether Andrea Jones Is Male Or Female, So They Arrested Her

After Andrea Jones had gender reassignment surgery and was recognized as female by the Social Security office, she went into a Tennessee DMV office to change the gender on her driver’s license—but they denied her request.
So she walked out into the parking lot, removed her shirt and the police arrested her for indecent exposure, though it’s completely legal for men to go around shirtless.
Even the police report refers to Jones as a man, something she has responded to thusly: “If I was a male, I had the right to, when I stepped out the door, take off my shirt. It’s not right for the state to ask me to be both male and female. A choice needs to be made. They cannot hold me to both standards.”
She’s right. In the meanwhile she’s a female to the Social Security Administration, a male to the Department of Motor Vehicles and somewhere in between to the police.

Teacher Caught on Tape Bullying Student. Is a Camera a Kid's Only Advocate?

This is disgusting. I watched the video discussed in the story and it just blows my mind that a teacher would speak to a special needs student, jeez any student, this way. It was a simple request not to be called special. So you don't call him special. The way to encourage and mentor a student isn't to alienate them. And you don't get in his face and threaten him, even more so. People bitch and complain about living in my home town, but at least my teachers never made me feel worthless. This kind of thing never happened where I came from, so I have to give them that.

 

Teacher Caught on Tape Bullying Student. Is a Camera a Kid's Only Advocate?

The New Jersey teacher caught on video belittling his student.

Nobody believed Julio Artuz, a 15 year old New Jersey special education student, when he complained of being bullied by his teacher. So he caught the whole thing on tape. In footage captured in secret on his cellphone, Artuz is subjected to curses and berating from a man who's supposed to be a mentor.

Artuz's teacher says: "I will kick your [expletive] from here to kingdom come until I'm 80 years old."

"Don't threaten me," responds Artuz.

"What are you going to do? You gonna get a chopper and chop me?" asks his teacher as the rest of the class sits rubbernecking the heated argument.

What Jules did do was show his taped account to his parents and a local advocate of bullied students. After an NBC news affiliate in Philadelphia got hold of the footage (you can watch it here), the school immediately took action, placing the teacher on paid administrative leave pending an investigation.

Read more about students who challenged their schools and won
"The actions depicted on the video do not reflect the mission or culture of our school," said Gloucester Counter Special Services Superintendent Michael Dicken in a statement. "Our school district takes all bullying, harassment, and intimidation allegations seriously...we do not tolerate it."

While schools may not tolerate that kind of abuse of power, it takes a lot to make it stop. In a separate incident earlier this week, an Ohio special needs student came forward with an account of long-term bullying from her two teachers. She actually had to attend school wired with a recording device to capture proof of her teachers calling her "dumb", "lazy" and overweight. Another shocking incident this month involved a high school basketball coach who was captured on cell phone video making deeply offensive, racist remarks about students while in school.

"Statistically about 1 to 2 percent of teachers are actually involved in bullying students," says Dr. Joel Haber, a clinical psychologist who runs the anti-bullying website RespectU. "There needs to be a clear policy in schools not just for students bullying other students but for teachers as well. Teachers are humans too and this kind of thing does happen, so it needs to be managed early."

While more schools have introduced anti-bullying codes of conduct for students, teachers aren't always considered a threat.

It's a murky issue for many school administrators. Where's the bullying line when you're managing an unruly classroom? "Its blurry sure but you know when someone wants to make a kid feel bad, or when they're abusing their power as an authority figure," says Dr. Haber. "That's not the way a role model should be managing a student. "

A bullying teacher doesn't just threaten to knock a student's self-confidence, he can destroy a kid's confidence in his school. "Teachers are supposed to make students feel safe," Dr. Haber says. When school becomes a fearful environment because of a teacher, students suddenly think 'well who can I trust then?'"

In Artuz' case, his phone was best bet. It's possible nobody would have listened if they didn't see it firsthand. "When you watch a video like that live, it really creates a different image than if you were to just hear about," says Dr. Haber.

It's a powerful defense, especially for students who don't feel their complaints would be recognized otherwise. It also sends a message to teachers: watch how you speak to your students, someone might be taping you.

Things That Skeeve Me Out More Than I Could Ever Put Into Words

In no particular order:

•  Dirty bathrooms (I expect it from public bathrooms, but private bathrooms... eek.) I've cleaned peoples bathrooms as opposed to just sucking it up and dealing. I know people got shit to do and cleaning might not be a top priority, so I don't judge. But I usually can't leave it alone.

• Hair clippings left on the sink
• Fuzz that accumulates on the toilet water tank cover
• Dirty shower floors
• Dirty toilets
• Dirty fingernails
• Smelly towels
• Moles (not little ones that could be called 'beauty marks' or 'freckles' but the big hairy ones. Anything bigger than the size of a pencil eraser)
• Any creature with more appendages than a person (this is why I dislike lobsters most)
• When a person's nose looks like their nostrils are constantly flared (especially when their eyebrows are slanted down towards each other as well). Pretty much anyone like this dude from Gossip Girl 

 

Shia LaBeouf is another example, I'm sometimes worried that when I go to a theater to see a movie with him in it, I'll be sucked into the black abyss that are his nostrils.

• Anything crawling on me that is not domesticated. I don't like killing bugs, but if it gets on me it's done for.
• Seeing someone's earwax buildup in their ears. Clean your god damn ears, people. It takes 2 seconds after you get out of the shower. Not that time consuming.
• Nose whistlers. I don't want to hear you whistle every time you exhale. Blow your nose.
• Mold and/or rust on dirty dishes.
• Prickly armpits. Growing out body hair doesn't both me, but if your pits are just prickly, I know it's not intentional and it makes me shudder.
• Feeling crumbs, dirt, etc stick to the bottom of my bare feet when I walk on non-carpeted floors. I cannot stand that feeling, makes me feel so dirty. I'll also place dirty feet here. Particularly seeing peoples dirty feet with stuff stuck to the bottom of them.

These are the biggest ones that come to mind. I may add some if I'm just forgetting them now. I guess I can chalk up a lot of these to bad hygiene. These things just gross me out so much I can hardly bare it.

Fantasy Assignment for Digital Photo

Kaleidoscope thing, 'cause I'm not sure what assignment that is due with so I'll just post it with this one for now. The smaller you make it the more trippy it looks.

GMMD409 Case Study: Mobile Devices and Tablets

Assignment: For this case study, review the current state of tablet and mobile devices. Write a report about the major players in the industry, and make a prediction on what devices, operating systems, and file formats will be dominating the industry in the next 10 years.
The rest of the assignment is after the jump break.

GMMD409: Beat Assignment

Hoping I'm doing this right since I don't have many guidelines. Wasn't sure what I needed, but figured I'd give it a shot anyway.

Air Conditioning Engineering Technology at SUNY Canton (after the jump break)

Digital Photo Portrait Assignment

 Formal

 

Group

Environmental

Informal

GMMD409 Survey Results

Just found out last minute that apparently this was due tonight according the syllabus (woops, can't believe I didn't catch that). I didn't see it on the unit overview, but I figured I would whip this up just in case it did happen to be due tonight.


This is a summary of the results I got in response to the survey link I posted earlier in this unit. The rest of the assignment is after the jump break.

GMMD409 News Story Assignment

(I know the assignment was for a "local event" but I was home in Rome that weekend, so this was local to me. )

Remsen Festival of the Arts (FoTA) 2011

The Remsen Barn Festival of the Arts was September 24^th and 25^th in Remsen, NY. Held annually during the last full weekend in September, the festival exhibits over 300 vendors. This year’s festival marked 32 years of handmade arts and crafts, farmers market and food vendors, clothing, and live entertainment lining Main St. Stretching about one third of a mile on both sides of the street, there is something for every taste.  

One of the many forms of live entertainment: Celtic Dance

Visitors enjoy free admission. Parking is $3.00, but guests are provided with free shuttle rides from the parking lots to the entrance of the blocked off portion of Main St.

 Vendors are cycled ever year so that visitors can see something new every time. This year’s “featured vendors”, according to the FOTA website, included the following:

Birds & Bees (candles)

Apple Hill Soaps

Buchmann's Toymaker Shop

Shabby Chic Garden

Sterling Works by Jody

Manny's Recycled Tire Products

Hand Candy Mittens

Memorable Crafts

Nature Signs

Creative Images

Faithful Friends (Pet Accessories)

Red Fox Farm Jams & Jellies

Busy B Apiaries

DeeDee Deserts

Full list at http://www.remsenbarnfestival.com/exhibitor_list.html

The festival is held rain or shine, but the rain does not stop thousands of people from visiting every year. From 10am to 6pm on Saturday and 10am to 5pm on Sunday, Main Street was packed on these unusually warm and sunny late September days. The number of visitors barely dwindled during the short bouts of rain on Saturday.

For more information on the Remsen FOTA including next year’s festival information, how to apply as a vendor, and FAQs, visit www.remsenbarnfestival.com

Digitial Photo Landscape Assignment (a little early. Waiting to post it to the class blog.)

Found this spot at random at some park in Canton? I thought it was too nice of a place to pass up since I had my camera with me.

Fly Creek Cider Mill

Fly Creek Cider Mill

 Made my friend pull over on the way home from Fly Creek to hop out and get this shot.

 

Windmills! One of my favorite views on the ride from Canton to my hometown.

Wish it wasn't so foggy that day so you could see them better.

Another spot I really like on the ride home

GMMD409 Survey Link

Please take my survey about the news media for my Issues in New Media Journalism class.
It is fairly quick and easy and would help me out with a future assignment. I may even pay you for your responses in ponies and rainbows. But no promises.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/X27M6PY

Digital Photo Black and White Assignment

Afroduck! Black & white makes the mud look slightly less unappealing.

Used hue/saturation and some contrast adjustments.

Duck pond at the Fly Creek Cider Mill. 

Used black and white adjustment, brightness/contrast adjustments.

 Line o' crosses. 

Used hue/saturation, brightness/contrast, and levels adjustments.

 Took this at the Utica Zombie Walk, so I felt like it needed to be a little darker than normal.

Black & white adjustment, and brightness/contrast.

 My zombie friend at the Utica Zombie Walk.

Black & white adjustment and brightness/contrast.

 My zombie-fied boyfriend at the Utica Zombie Walk. Reminds me of the iconic Frankenstein face.

Used hue/saturation, as well as levels adjustments and presets. I think I used brightness/contrast, too.

Southwest is getting all snooty again.

http://news.yahoo.com/leisha-haileys-bussing-fight-southwest-airlines-141326678.html

What is it with Southwest kicking famous people off of their flights for stupid reasons? First there were the two Kevin Smith incidents (one because of his weight, the other they wouldn't let him on a flight his bags including his wife's meds were already on). Then they kicked Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day off the flight he was on because he was wearing his pants too low and refused to pull them up.

Now they kicked Leisha Hailey off a flight for a supposedly quick innocent peck with her girlfriend. Hailey was offended by the stewardesses' comments, and the situation escalated to them getting kicked off. All because people are afraid of affection between two people of the same sex. If a straight couple were to do the same thing, the stewardesses would just say "Awhhh, you two are just so cute together" and hand them champagne and party hats.

Southwest prides themselves on being family-friendly, but Leesha Hailey was completely correct in saying, "Hate is not a family value". Why are people so offended by two people who love each other being affectionate?  Maybe the parents' Southwest is catering to just don't want their kids to see what love looks like so they don't have to fake it themselves?

I have no idea why this upsets me, but it does.

http://news.yahoo.com/latest-trend-hip-hop-womens-clothes-094351518.html

Just saw this on Yahoo! News. Apparently the "new trend in hip-hop" is wearing women's clothing. I was already annoyed enough when guys started acting like it was cool to wear pink. Don't get me wrong. This doesn't bother me because I'm opposed to men wearing woman's clothing. I am certainly not in the slightest. But isn't it peculiar that if a gay white man were to wear these clothes he'd be ridiculed endlessly. Actually from my experience, you can wear these things as long as you still harass other people about wearing the same thing.
I still remember in Junior High when a (straight) friend at the time borrowed his sister's shirt because he thought it'd be funny to wear it to school. Some macho douche started a fight with him at lunch, kept calling him a "fag" for wearing it. Who would have thought that if he just waited a couple years, he'd be a trendsetter. Hm.

GMMD409 Comparison Assignment

For this comparison of print newspaper, a television news program, and an online news site, I chose to cover the Google antitrust hearings. Google is currently under scrutiny about whether or not they rig search results. Currently, about two thirds of all internet searches go through Google. They control about ninety percent of mobile internet searches. The FTC, Justice Department, and the European Union are all investigating this matter. 

The rest of the assignment is after the jump break.

Westboro Church serenaded by Foo Fighters before concert - NBCActionNews.com - Kansas City

Westboro Church serenaded by Foo Fighters before concert - NBCActionNews.com - Kansas City


Westboro Baptist Church is one of the few things I really hate and get worked up about, so I love any kind of counter-protest towards them. Anything to see them get shut down. It's made even better by the fact that it's Foo Fighters putting so much into mocking them. Wonderful.

Oh, just a walk in the graveyard. That's all.

For as long as I can remember, cemeteries have always been oddly comfortable to me. Hospitals, churches, funerals, no way, I'll avoid them any way possible. But cemeteries just feel familiar. So I took a little break and popped on down to the cemetery here in Canton. I've passed it a million times and always wanted to go in, but never had a good camera til recently. The place is absolutely fantastic. Some of the stones look like something straight out of a horror movie, which is so damn exciting for a weirdo like me. It was a bit bright out today, but I'm still happy with how these came out. Here are some of my favorites after the break.

Geek Show! Neil Gaiman, Amanda Palmer Hit the Road

Geek Show! Neil Gaiman, Amanda Palmer Hit the Road


Had to reblog this. Amanda Palmer is my hero.

Don't bother reading this if you don't want to read some ranting.

This is just another one of those things that I feel like I have to stay up past my bedtime to get out there. It seems that once again, I can't tell if I'm the one who is wrong, or if the world is really that cruel.
A rant on the end of struggling with friendships and being treated like chopped liver follows this break. I can't guarantee my language will remain very ladylike.

I love these little guys. I think I'm going to try to make some this year. Here is a fun little arts and crafts tutorial to make them, 'cause that's the kind of mood I'm in right now.

I'm forcing myself to stay awake long enough to post this, though I'm so very tired and getting sick.
My sinuses always act up when the seasons are changing and my nose gets stuffy and my sinuses hurt. I'm so happy fall is here, but I'm not happy that I can barely breathe out of my nose right now.

Nothing exciting has happened lately, just been doing a whole lot of homework, trying to get ahead. I know if I don't get in the habit now I'm going to fall back to my old ways of doing everything an hour before it's due and going crazy. Feeling rushed is one of the things I hate most, yet I always seem to put myself in that situation. I had a few issues with that last semester, but it was definitely an improvement. This year I do not plan on playing that game anymore.

I've been playing with my camera a lot the last couple days to try to get familiar with it. I guess I'll post a couple pictures I took walking around Clarkson campus with TJ. Those will be after the jump because apparently on blogger you can't end a break? I'm used to being able to just have a small section put behind a link and continuing on after it with livejournal. Oh, wow, it's been a while since I've even thought about livejournal. Anyhoo....




Once we go back home the next couple of weekends, I know I'll have much more interesting things to photograph. I'm so excited for Remsen Barnfest on September 24th and 25th. I look forward to it every year (even though it always rains). I love to go and look at the crafts, sample the foods, buy spices, and even get some early Christmas shopping done. Plus it's in a beautiful little area and everything's just so autumnal, it's what keeps me from being disappointed that I've yet to live inside a Halloween movie.
Then after that comes October, and AHHH, I'm just so ready for October. Apple cider and apple tastings at the Fly Creek Cider Mill, having the bejeesus scared out of me (and admiring/learning from the special effects makeup!) at Cayo Industrial and Screamers' Hallow, and seeing everyone who is awesome at various Halloween parties. October just pulls me out of whatever slump I've put myself into throughout the year. I don't feel like a sad mopey depressed person most of the year. But when fall hits I just come alive and I wonder where I was the whole rest of the year.

Well, now I've excited myself out of being tired. I don't know what else to say right now, so I think I'll end this here on a happy note.

Pictures are here, just click the link.

Freddie Mercuryyyy!

I'm three and a half hours late, but yesterday would have been Freddie Mercury's 65th birthday. Google made this super awesome tribute video that I instantly fell in love with. It's nice to see Google doing something fun for no real reason.

The only thing I don't like about it is that I get into the song and it cuts it off so soon. It's so good though, I love the references to Queen's music videos and the fact that  Freddie's shooting things with rainbows. It's 100% fabulous. 

I would love to eventually be able to make something like this. That's dreamin' kinda big for me, I know.

It's a shame he went so soon. I'd definitely consider him (and Queen in general) to be one of the greatest musicians ever. He could have taught these "artists" we have in the music industry now a thing or nine.

We finished the latest season of Big Bang Theory and I'm pretty sad about it.
I can never get enough of tv shows so I have my own little marathons, then I run out and have to face the daunting task of finding an equally entertaining show to hold me over til next season.

I love this show because I relate to the guys' social awkwardness, and to Penny's constant confusion.
I feel like her whenever TJ talks to me about anything having to do with school (he's double majoring in computer and electrical engineering). Except I do actually care what he has to say (she usually doesn't).

Not to mention the show is just freakin' brilliant and beyond hilarious.
It didn't help that we finished How I Met Your Mother that same night so it was double the disappointment.

I doubt anyone will answer this, but I am open to suggestions for new shows to watch at dinner time. We prefer comedies for dinner time, but anything is good, I'd get to it eventually.

Maybe I'm a skeptic, or maybe some people just don't get it.

When I went back to Rome this weekend, we decided to pop into Hot Topic to check out the clearance as we usually do. TJ was wearing the Alkaline Trio shirt that we picked up at their show last year, and one of the employees complimented him on it and started talking to us about their new album Damnesia. It is just an acoustic rearrangement of a bunch of their old songs (plus 2 new songs), but as soon as we got home I had to get my hands on that album. I've had it playing in my car ever since. I'm loving it, but two of the songs really got me thinking, especially in regards to the order in which they are on the album.

The songs I'm talking about here are Clavicle and Mercy Me. (Click each title for full lyrics.)

The song Clavicle is this song about this girl that the narrator  met 6 months ago and he’s already writing this song about her and how he can’t stop thinking about her, etc. Then Mercy Me, the next track, is a self-loathing break-up song. I found it funny that this song about this guy going crazy about this girl he just met is immediately followed by a break-up.

It got me thinking about how I’m seeing WAY too many people who are moving way too fast in relationships and it never ends well. I can’t say names because I’m way too non-confrontational for that. But I will say that going through my Facebook News Feed just makes me say “Oh, honey”, to quite a few girls I’m friends with. I’m ashamed to say it makes me question my judge of character of the people I surround myself. I love my friends to death, but gee do I wonder if they ever take a second to think about the things they say to the public. There’s no way that every guy a girl dates for two weeks is “the love of my life”, “the best thing that ever happened to me”, “my everything”, and so on. These same girls need a slap in the head for the fact that they can even hit the Share button after they’ve posted “You’re amazing to me. I can’t imagine my life without you in it, baby!” You can’t imagine it?! Just think about your life three weeks ago. In a week after you break up, after a couple Kleenex and some Ben and Jerry’s, that’s exactly what your life will go back to. Then you’ll forget it ever happened and repeat the cycle.

I don’t know if I was taught differently from other people, but I never abuse the term love in regards to romance, and it really bothers me that girls will be on Facebook telling their boyfriend of 1 day and 14 hours how much they love them and miss them already. It’s not a jealousy thing. It’s not like I’m just bothered by them because they have no problem finding these 3968 men to go through like tissues. And I’m not a bitter woman who doesn’t believe in love. I’ve been with my boyfriend for six and a half years, and even with him we didn’t throw that word around until we were sure. That certainly wasn’t before we had even learned each other’s last names like some of these girls. It’s just that at this point, it’s not love, it’s the excitement of someone actually giving you the time of day.

I guess I just don’t really understand. Do these girls genuinely think that this guy they just met is the one every single time? Or they so happy that they get to change their relationship status to “In a relationship” that they just go way overboard?  Do they really think it’s smart to tell their selves to get so attached and trust these guys when they barely know a thing about them? 

When this kind of thing repeatedly happens – move way too fast, sudden harsh breakup, complain about how much you hate them and say you’ll be better without you – on a regular basis, you really need to start wondering about your judgement. 

Once again, maybe it’s just me, but I won’t just give my complete trust to someone just ‘cause they asked me to “go steady” (I don’t know why  I love that term). But obviously it’s worked for me as I’m not currently crying while watching the Notebook and eating a half-gallon of ice cream with a shovel.

Here’s a crazy idea for a logical series of events: meet, spend time together, start getting to know each other, earn each other’s trust, THEN think about getting serious.

Just for clarification, this is NOT a logical series of events: meet, tell them you love them, learn their last name and age, move in together, go on first real date.

Maybeee then you’ll know what you’re getting yourself into, and your relationship can last a nice long time. And you can appreciate the word love and all the great stuff that comes with it.  You won’t be so damn surprised when you find out how much of a liar and a horrible person he is. Even better, you won’t have to whine about the same situation on Facebook every month. Yes, I’d appreciate that greatly.

</rant>

Okay, so maybe this was all a bit harsh. Let me play nice and just say this: girls, please please please stop jumping into relationships so fast. You’ve got all the time in the world to find “the one”, there’s absolutely no rush.