Thursday, October 27, 2011

Bad Asses, Jerk Whisperers, and Recognizing Our Own Awesome

Honey, I'm home!

I'd love to say that I've been absent from the blog for several weeks because I was whisked away on an exotic trip by a thrilling man.  Or because I was on the verge of a breakthrough on fixing every world problem.  Or because I've been in deep negotiations to sell my books for major motion pictures.

Lies, all lies.  Yes, I've traveled recently to the fabulous Novelists Inc. conference in St. Petersburg Beach, FL.  Yes, I've fixed a few snafus and problems, but only in my own world and not the global sense.  Major motion pictures?  Hell, I haven't even been to see a movie in a couple of months. 

The truth is that a whole bunch of things have been going on that add up to one big sum of something called daily life.

How about you? 

Although I haven't frequently blogged, I've been exploring social media to greater extent through Twitter.  I can't decide if I like it or think that it's a huge waste of time.  On one hand, I'm entertained by snippets of info zipping around like warblers drunk on fermenting berries.  Twitter's like the haiku of email or Facebook.  Make your point in 140 characters or less.  I love writing haiku, so this brevity challenge appeals to me.  On the other hand, some people tweet or retweet others' tweets in constant streams to the point where it becomes visual noise.  If I see a person list more than three Tweets in a row, I start to scroll past them to the next Tweeter, or is it Twitterer?  Done right, Twitter is amusing and fun.  Done wrong . . . ugh.

I hate the recent pages inflicted on us by Facebook, but I still go there every day to catch up, or try to catch up, on what's going on with friends, family and acquaintances.  Face it.  I can't call every single person every day.  With FB, I feel in the know in between chats and visits.

One of my friends recently posted this photograph.



Now that's a philosophy I can live with and remember everytime someone who is being a jerk tries to manipulate me. 

In addition to the written work, YouTube brings us more videos than we could ever have imagined.  What did all these everyday, super funny and creative people do to share their creations with the world before YouTube?

A friend brought one video to my attention and within days, multiple friends who live in different parts of the country and don't know each other are quoting it.  The thing has over 21 million views on YouTube.  21 million!  I'm sure you've seen it.  If not, click here.  Oh yeah, honey badgers are bad ass.

In that vein, I also want to share a very cool realization that came to the young daughter of a friend of mine. 

I don't care what you think about me.
Unless you think I'm AWESOME.
In which case, you're right.
Carry on.

More kids, and a huge number of adults, could benefit by recognizing and embracing our own awesomeness instead of fretting our lives away over other peoples' opinions.  This terrific saying has now been emblazoned on shirts, mugs and other articles.  Check them out here!  I definitely want a mug.

Go forth my friends, in all of your awesomeness.  Be bad ass honey badgers and get your needs met.