It doesn't feel right to write today and not mention what happened seven years ago. I won't spend too long on this, but I just want to honor those lost, the civilians on the planes and in and near the buildings, and the firemen and police officers who rushed in to help. I just watched a documentary on the History channel, and I was feeling exactly like I did in ninth grade when I watched it all happen on TV. The same feeling I had both times I visited ground zero. One man who filmed that day from his apartment had clips of his video on the documentary. He was saying the exact same words my dad was that day. ...surreal...can't believe...all those people...
I was in New York during the huge blackout in August of 2003. It was unbelievably scary because everyone around us began panicking. Cell phones wouldn't work, and no one knew what was going on. All around us New Yorkers were trying to push down memories from two years before. People poured out of buildings and flooded the streets. And again, we all walked and walked and walked. It was a relief when radios started broadcasting that it was just a power outage. Then people began talking about the last time the power went out back in 1977. The city went berserk then--stealing, break-ins, etc. I think the community formed from 9/11 stopped that from happening in 2003. People were helping others, shop owners pulled their wares out on the street to sell tennis shoes and water, and it was a mass of bodies walking in all directions. It was like no building could possibly have any people left inside, but what a relief that the city was still intact. People slept out on the steps of libraries and in Central Park because the upper stories of apartments buildings were so hot. We were fortunate to be on the first floor, so we still had water and it stayed quite cool there. It was my favorite part of being there. We walked from Madison Square Park to 91st and 1st Avenue. I saw more of the city than I would have if I rode the subway, and it was wonderful to see so many people coming together as a community. I salute you New York.
I suppose the point of this blog is my honors class that I attended today. We watched a ted talk by Larry Lessig, a professor who was speaking out against unfair copyright laws. I agree with him that copyright laws are important. They make sure that people are paid for their work. The problem comes with the new internet fad of remixing. The art of using other people's music or video clips and creating something new with the pieces. Honestly, this is an art form, but a lot of distributors are claiming that their copyright laws should keep people from using this music for their amateur creations. These videos and song remixes are not being sold. They are being made for the love of the art. I believe, as does Larry Lessig, that this type of use should be acceptable under copyright laws. Truly, there are only 12 notes in the whole world, and there really are only a limited number of ways you can mix that up. Composers have been borrowing bits of other people's stuff for centuries! Think Isaac Newton "standing on the shoulders of giants." We all must use the creations and findings of others. An example in class was writing a research paper: it's basically a mashup of a bunch of other people's research. Yes we cite the authors and books, but do we site our parents for teaching us to talk? Do we cite our anyone for the local dialect we speak? Do we cite our conclusions to the morals we were brought up with or our religious leaders? No. In the remixes I've seen, the original artists are cited. Artists and distributors should take it as free advertising. I can't even tell you how many times I've seen videos on YouTube of mashups of songs or whatever, and I ended up buying one of the original artist's songs on iTunes, or went out and bought a whole album. Ok. Those are my basic thoughts on class today.
Well I just thought I'd mention that I'm feeling better about having synesthesia today. I even found out my best friend from high school associates colors to everything too. She told me I am yellow and Kelly is red. Cool, huh!? I knew I was being dumb the other day, but I really did feel kinda different and freaky. I had to keep reminding myself that nothing about me had changed. I've always been this way and I'm intelligent and happy and functional and have great friends and an awesome family and a wonderful man. Honestly, I'm not quite sure what Kelly is classified as right now. My boyfriend? that seems so un-Kelly it's ridiculous. He is neither a boy, nor merely a friend. He's my BEST friend; he's my life; he's me in male form, my other half--my other 7/8ths! And we've been through so much together, we're so much more than just boyfriend and girlfriend. Is he my unofficial-but-pretty-much-set-in-stone-fiance-ish? Well, yes, but that's quite a mouthful...he'll just have to be "my man" until he's back.
You know how people are complaining about how the Twilight books raise girls' expectations for a guy they'll never find because he doesn't exist? Well, Kelly is better than Edward. (And yes, I hate to admit I read the books...it was one of those "oh I'm at home for the summer, my family's all busy, Kelly's 6,000 miles away, the books are right there on the shelf, and I'm bored, so let's see what the heck all this hype is about." So I read them, was somewhat intrigued by the storyline, but I'm not a big fan, either. I confess, Edward's pretty cool, but I liked reading about him just because the sweet things he'd do or say reminded me of Kelly. The perfect gentleman.) But really, I'm not saying that girls need to find someone super-unbelievably-sexy-hot (though Kelly is) or really athletic or strong, or someone who doesn't age, or has 9 doctral degrees! But really, don't settle for someone who doesn't treat you right. Guys ought to open doors, be kind, compliment, and be patient and accepting and willing to sacrifice everything for you if he really loves you. I'm not saying girls should make him sacrifice everything, but the willingness is kinda vital for marriage. Of course girls have to be likable and nice and patient and grateful and willing to sacrifice everything for him too. It's definitely a team effort. You can't expect someone to be perfect to you if you are a big jerk all the time. But I really think it's so tragic when you hear of a girl who marries someone who chains her to an engine block while he's gone. Or men who don't allow their wives access to money or let them have a job. Or even when a girl marries some guy who is always critical and says hateful things like she needs to lose weight when she's 110 lbs, or that she isn't doing a good job with the kids when he never helps out at all and she's doing her best, or whatever. And it's equally sad when a wonderful guy is married to a spiteful girl who always nags and doesn't appreciate all he does for her.
You know what I'm saying, right? I can't cover all the bases, and I'm not just saying that guys can be bad spouses. Girls can be too, of course. But as I am a girl, I tend to associate more with the feminine gender, so don't be mad. My point is don't settle. If music is your life and the guy you're dating is completely tone deaf and claims there is no such thing as a beat, that may cause problems when you have absolutely nothing in common and nothing to talk about. If you are quiet and easily embarrassed, and your guy does ridiculous things at Walmart, is very obnoxious, has no social skills, and doesn't think before he speaks, you're gonna spend the rest of your life apologizing for him! Ok. I'm done ranting. It's just that I found my perfect man and I wish everyone could be as happy as I am. I love Kelly. I love him I love him I love him I love him. Even if he came home and dumped me, all the waiting I've done would still be worth it. He is SO worth it. (And anyway, I have a sneaky little feeling he's not going to dump me.) I love Kelly.I was in New York during the huge blackout in August of 2003. It was unbelievably scary because everyone around us began panicking. Cell phones wouldn't work, and no one knew what was going on. All around us New Yorkers were trying to push down memories from two years before. People poured out of buildings and flooded the streets. And again, we all walked and walked and walked. It was a relief when radios started broadcasting that it was just a power outage. Then people began talking about the last time the power went out back in 1977. The city went berserk then--stealing, break-ins, etc. I think the community formed from 9/11 stopped that from happening in 2003. People were helping others, shop owners pulled their wares out on the street to sell tennis shoes and water, and it was a mass of bodies walking in all directions. It was like no building could possibly have any people left inside, but what a relief that the city was still intact. People slept out on the steps of libraries and in Central Park because the upper stories of apartments buildings were so hot. We were fortunate to be on the first floor, so we still had water and it stayed quite cool there. It was my favorite part of being there. We walked from Madison Square Park to 91st and 1st Avenue. I saw more of the city than I would have if I rode the subway, and it was wonderful to see so many people coming together as a community. I salute you New York.
I suppose the point of this blog is my honors class that I attended today. We watched a ted talk by Larry Lessig, a professor who was speaking out against unfair copyright laws. I agree with him that copyright laws are important. They make sure that people are paid for their work. The problem comes with the new internet fad of remixing. The art of using other people's music or video clips and creating something new with the pieces. Honestly, this is an art form, but a lot of distributors are claiming that their copyright laws should keep people from using this music for their amateur creations. These videos and song remixes are not being sold. They are being made for the love of the art. I believe, as does Larry Lessig, that this type of use should be acceptable under copyright laws. Truly, there are only 12 notes in the whole world, and there really are only a limited number of ways you can mix that up. Composers have been borrowing bits of other people's stuff for centuries! Think Isaac Newton "standing on the shoulders of giants." We all must use the creations and findings of others. An example in class was writing a research paper: it's basically a mashup of a bunch of other people's research. Yes we cite the authors and books, but do we site our parents for teaching us to talk? Do we cite our anyone for the local dialect we speak? Do we cite our conclusions to the morals we were brought up with or our religious leaders? No. In the remixes I've seen, the original artists are cited. Artists and distributors should take it as free advertising. I can't even tell you how many times I've seen videos on YouTube of mashups of songs or whatever, and I ended up buying one of the original artist's songs on iTunes, or went out and bought a whole album. Ok. Those are my basic thoughts on class today.
Well I just thought I'd mention that I'm feeling better about having synesthesia today. I even found out my best friend from high school associates colors to everything too. She told me I am yellow and Kelly is red. Cool, huh!? I knew I was being dumb the other day, but I really did feel kinda different and freaky. I had to keep reminding myself that nothing about me had changed. I've always been this way and I'm intelligent and happy and functional and have great friends and an awesome family and a wonderful man. Honestly, I'm not quite sure what Kelly is classified as right now. My boyfriend? that seems so un-Kelly it's ridiculous. He is neither a boy, nor merely a friend. He's my BEST friend; he's my life; he's me in male form, my other half--my other 7/8ths! And we've been through so much together, we're so much more than just boyfriend and girlfriend. Is he my unofficial-but-pretty-much-set-in-stone-fiance-ish? Well, yes, but that's quite a mouthful...he'll just have to be "my man" until he's back.
You know how people are complaining about how the Twilight books raise girls' expectations for a guy they'll never find because he doesn't exist? Well, Kelly is better than Edward. (And yes, I hate to admit I read the books...it was one of those "oh I'm at home for the summer, my family's all busy, Kelly's 6,000 miles away, the books are right there on the shelf, and I'm bored, so let's see what the heck all this hype is about." So I read them, was somewhat intrigued by the storyline, but I'm not a big fan, either. I confess, Edward's pretty cool, but I liked reading about him just because the sweet things he'd do or say reminded me of Kelly. The perfect gentleman.) But really, I'm not saying that girls need to find someone super-unbelievably-sexy-hot (though Kelly is) or really athletic or strong, or someone who doesn't age, or has 9 doctral degrees! But really, don't settle for someone who doesn't treat you right. Guys ought to open doors, be kind, compliment, and be patient and accepting and willing to sacrifice everything for you if he really loves you. I'm not saying girls should make him sacrifice everything, but the willingness is kinda vital for marriage. Of course girls have to be likable and nice and patient and grateful and willing to sacrifice everything for him too. It's definitely a team effort. You can't expect someone to be perfect to you if you are a big jerk all the time. But I really think it's so tragic when you hear of a girl who marries someone who chains her to an engine block while he's gone. Or men who don't allow their wives access to money or let them have a job. Or even when a girl marries some guy who is always critical and says hateful things like she needs to lose weight when she's 110 lbs, or that she isn't doing a good job with the kids when he never helps out at all and she's doing her best, or whatever. And it's equally sad when a wonderful guy is married to a spiteful girl who always nags and doesn't appreciate all he does for her.
(Admittedly not the best pictures of either of us, but are you feelin' the love here?)
1 comment:
I'm feeling the love! Dani you're amazing and not a freak. And I love you and Kelly! I was wondering how long it would take til a Kelly picture came up ;-)
And bytheway I totally agree with you on girls marrying men who don't treat them right. If they don't do it before you get married they're not gonna change!
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