(definition further explained in this post if you still aren't satisfied)

Friday, July 9, 2010

Bring an umbrella! It's our first RAINY day!

It's a RAINY day!


(That stands for Random Assorted Ideas that were New Yesterday.)

Yes, I just made that up.  Deal with it.  Pretend it's been here all along.

It's time for a RAINY Day because I have an odd accumulation of post ideas and some of them aren't big enough to be posts by themselves.  Others have been sitting to the side and waiting for their moment to shine for so long that their five-o-clock shadows are turning into full-fledged hobo beards.  Believe me, it's time!
First Drop:
Our culture differentiates between rappers and poets.  Buy why?  They both do the same thing, right?  They put words in rhythm and often rhyme to deliver a point in a flowing kind of way.  Maybe the artists themselves are fueling this distinction?  I've thought about this lately because, as anyone who listens to the radio can tell, music is definitely gravitating toward rap right now.  It's been going in a psuedo-pop-rap kind of thing a lot, but lately, we've actually been going back to real rap a bit with songs like "Airplanes" and Eminem coming back by teaming up with random female pop singers all over the place.  Wait...is that sentence an oxymoron or just ironic?

Second Drop: 
I had lunch with an old friend this week!  I hadn't seen him in a year.  I know that probably doesn't seem like much to some of you, but I'm only in college, so a year can seem like a long time!  The really weird part was that I had expected things to be very different from the way they used to be (since someone had informed me that this guy had changed a lot), but for the most part, hanging out with him felt so natural that it stunned me how easily things felt the same way as they used to.  The bad part of this is that I have a terrible habit of messing with him a little too much, quickly approaching an insensitive level.  Don't worry, readers.  I will definitely work on this!  Anyway, my point with this is that some things never change.  It's interesting to see how people that are familiar to you can be like cuddling with your favorite childhood doll or eating a food that was your staple as a kid.  Familiarity can be amazingly comforting.  (Of course, it can also remind you of a former version of yourself that you'd rather forget, but it's better when you can dredge up mostly fond memories.)

Third Drop: 
If you know that a feeling isn't permanent, does that cheapen it?  Emotions are powerful, and sometimes you can astound yourself with the things you'll do just because you're reacting to the way you feel.  If you know that you're feeling something that you aren't going to feel forever, does that change anything?  Maybe it just causes other people not to take it as seriously as you do.  I find that my emotions are usually just as potent as ever even when I realize that I'll get over them, whether it's lovesickness or happiness or whatever.  How about you?

Fourth Drop:
If cash is made of paper, doesn't that mean that we basically barter for goods and services with trees?  That forests are our currency?  I'm glad we thought to cut them before we started carting around trees to bargain with.  Or maybe that idea came later...can't you just imagine our ancient ancestors hefting uprooted trees around in the hope of getting a sofa or a haircut or maybe some pantaloons?



Fifth Drop:
Don't you hate it when your friend is doing something unhealthy and you can't tell them because not only would they not listen to you because they don't want to be told what to do, but they claim that they already know it's unhealthy but they laugh when they say it and don't seem to care?  You worry for them but can't do anything about it.  You have to stand back and see how it plays out.

Sixth Drop: 
Here's what Jamie (my brother) said to Michaela (my friend) today when we were sitting around her apartment:
"You have sesame seeds on your table.  You can plant them and grow a sesame!"
That's just way too funny not to share.

So there we have it, folks!  The first RAINY day on Lantern of Lightning!

Did you like it?

10 comments:

Cheeseboy said...

I've learned that good friends are good friends and no matter how often you see them, things are generally the same.

Not sure if it is the same fore women though...

Heather said...

Trees? Nah, our ancestors went for the hard stuff. Don't you love keeping up with the Joneses?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Yap_Stone_Money.jpg

Great post, as always!!

Deidra said...

Cheeseboy--I don't know. Almost all of my friends are guys. :) So far it seems to apply...

Heather--DANG. THAT is some money I'm glad I don't have to carry in my pockets! Thanks for the compliment, and the helpful link!

Ethan said...

1.
I. I did point out the other day that a specific culture was rather popular in America these days.
II. The mistake you make is listening to local radio. I've told you before, the locals have no taste in music.
III. 840am is okay as long as their not going on about sports.

2.
I. I once heard that people's fundamental sense of self, their morals and core way of thinking about things, is primarily setup by the time someone is about 7.
II. You're a young adaptable person that can get along with most anybody, so don't get too exited just because you feel comfortable around someone.
III. I used to get really attached to people quickly just like you do, but then I realized that people do that when there is a hole (or a perceived hole) in their life.

3.
I. Emotions are powerful and ever changing; many never learn how to master them.
II. Socrates figured that to see the world clearly and logically one must first learn to sever their mind from emotion's pull.

4.
I. Cash is actually mostly linen fibers, that's why it feels different then regular paper.
II. "One can never have too many Pantaloons" :)

5.
I. YES! I do hate it.
II. NO, there's no changing people for the better.
III. yes, it's a full time job keeping your own life in order.

6. if they were for eating then they have been baked and thus the baby inside the seed is dead. :(

Jamie Evans said...

Hey now, Ethan... there's still hope for the baby. Okay, maybe not...
Don't be negative.

;)

Of course one sees the world more rationally when emotions are severed, but once that happens there is no point in looking at the world. Why bother looking around at the world if you can't enjoy the beauty, cringe at the horror, and marvel at the sheer majesty of it all? Emotions are not liabilities to our logic, they are vital to our humanity. Logic and emotions and all aspects of us are vital to our humanity.

Anonymous said...

1) didnt i tell you rap was poetry? its sometimes just obscene.

2) just because its unhealthy, doesnt mean it isnt fun.

;)

-the wilderBEAST!

Kaely said...

1. I've always considered rappers poets. Especially the great ones. It takes talent. Eminem is my all time favortie poet, and that comes from someone who loves Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, and Edgar Allen Poe. I have to wonder if it's because I feel like relate to him a lot easier. But no matter what, he's an amazing artist, and he is definitely classified as a poet in my mind.

2. ...sometimes a little too comfortable...

3. I think that when I'm feeling a particularly potent feeling I generally don't think about how long it's going to last. So I guess it's never really affected me much. I'm not sure...hmm.

4. ... :) you make me smile...sometimes ;)

5. yup :/ allll da times

6. ^_^

7. And I honestly think this has been one of my favorite posts. I look forward to the next one.

Deidra said...

Ethan--Thanks as always for commenting. There was a backhanded compliment in there that I don't know how to respond to except to laugh! Although there's no way I laughed as heard as I did at your last statement. That's gold! Hilarious!

Jamie--Amazing. :) Well said. Sometimes I try to make this point to Ethan but I don't know if he ever gets it when I say it.

the wilderBEAST--So excited to see your first comment!

Kaely--Eminem's honesty stands out to me when I look at his lyrics. He's definitely one of the most impressive artists...ever.
I'm glad you liked the randomness!

Ethan said...

What?
I gave a backhanded complement?
where? I usually give them on purpose, so it takes me aback when I don't remember giving one. Maybe I can explain?

Kaely said...

see, you're talking about Eminem and backhanded compliments at the same time and know you've got one of his lines stuck on replay in my head:

"I'm so bad I can b**** slap a backhanded compliment"