Texts as a form of communication sound like a great idea. Scratch that, they are a great idea. Revolutionary even. Yet the most humble SMS harbours a most evil of sides.
Introduced in the early nineties they were a great alternative to calling, which at the time cost an arm and a leg to make.
They were fast and convenient originally limiting you to 140 characters. It was concise and beautiful and most likely was where the idea behind Twitter came from.
They became such a powerful social tool for humanity that it’s spawned a whole new language called Textese. Maybe one of the most annoying languages in the world. It’s literally polluted every aspect of language.
But Textese isn’t what makes texts evil. What makes them inherently evil is the thing that made them so great in the first place. Their brevity.
The problem with having a text conversation is that something so brief and easy to send means they can be totally misconstrued. I’m sure the amount of relationships that have been destroyed by SMS’s is up there in the millions.
But having said that, they now form an integral part of our lives. And they can be fun. But most definitely in an evil way.
Since the ban on smoking indoors in public spaces the naughty ones have been forced outside into cattle pens they call the smoking area. But looking at it now, it’s interesting to see what this has meant for smokes and non smokers.
Working in clubs both before and after the ban there has been a clear difference. The government wanted to ostensibly stop the affect of second hand smoke on those innocent lambs who decided to destroy their livers instead of their lungs.
They thought that by ostracising the smokers by banishing them outside would cut don the amount of smokers and make people smoke less.
If anything, I’ve seen an increase of smokers as the people who don’t smoke accompany their smoking friends and gradually over time take up the themselves. It’s what happened to me.
Add to this the fact that now a new social culture has grown around the smoking area. In a club it’s certainly the easiest place to pick up members of the opposite sex. It’s quiet and you have the ultimate chat up line at your disposal. Got a light?
So instead of ostracising the smokers, the smokers have ostracised the non-smokers by creating their own little exclusive VIP area where entry is a cigarette. Well done government.
So today I got handed the keys to my first ever rented flat. An era of sofa surfing has come to an end and a new one is being ushered in.
It brings with it exciting new prospects and a certain freedom that many people take for granted. For there is a downside to sofa surfing that is overlooked.
Despite the sense of freedom and adventure, there is always that uncertainty of where you’ll lay your head for the night. Life becomes the ultimate blag as you traverse friends sofas or manage to blag a house sitting situation. Everything is exciting whether it be the massive highs or the unwieldy lows.
Having said that, having a place brings a massive burden of responsibility. There are bills to be paid and the ultimate consumer of wage; rent. And that’s all very grown up. To a certain extent, it robs you of your freedom to go anywhere and do anything.
And being a man, we all know how much we fear responsibility. Whether in the form of relationships or bills.
Although it’s probably safe to say that the pros outweigh the cons. Bring on the new era of responsibility and stable living!
Following on from yesterday’s topic of vanity I thought today would be a good day to talk about preening. Usually associated with what we think of as the animal world it’s a wonderful part of social interaction.
Preeening involves:
v. preened, preen·ing, preens
v.tr.
1. a. To smooth or clean (feathers) with the beak or bill.
b. To trim or clean (fur) with the tongue, as cats do.
2. To dress or groom (oneself) with elaborate care; primp.
3. To take pride or satisfaction in (oneself); gloat.
v.intr.
1. To dress up; primp.
2. To swell with pride; gloat or exult.
Normally associated with animals in the human world we do this by getting ready for a night out. Doing our hair and putting on respective war paints and tribal clothing.
Yet what happens when we’re fully dolled up and ready to roll. We have preened and in my friend group we use the world to describe what happens next.
You know that moment when you walk down the street with your mates and you’re having a good hair day. You feel, no, know that you look good and your sex is on fire (did I just say that?).
You see members of the opposite sex strutting down the street in the same fashion. They feel good and have confidence and own the pavement around them. It’s like mean girls in real life. That ‘blue steel’ expression fastens on their faces as they go into catwalk mode.
No one will look at each other yet they’ll all walk a little taller. They’ve already perved from afar and now as they pass it happens with the gracefulness of swan. Preening rocks.
Vanity is one of those ingrained things that all human beings must possess. One of the 7 deadly sins, it is the excessive admiration of ones own appearance or achievements. But is it something that we can avoid?
Of course there are varying levels of vanity. At it’s worse it [...] Continue Reading…
Recent Comments