By The Angry Drunk
Tomorrow, in the U.S. at least, is Thanksgiving. It may be difficult to tell sometimes based on conventional observance and media coverage but there is a deeper meaning to this holiday than four day weekends, shopping and gorging oneself on roasted fowl. Thanksgiving is about reflecting on what you are thankful for; although given the economy, the two wars that we’re engaged in, and the deteriorating environment it may sometimes be difficult to find things to be thankful for.
In the true spirit of the holiday, I want to reflect a little bit on what I am thankful for. There are many things I could write here, but I won’t. It’s too easy to make a facile list of ways in which I may happen to be better off than the average chump. Instead, I want to focus on the one thing that I am truly and honestly thankful for.
I am thankful for the friends in my life.
That’s it. It’s the bonds that we form with people in this world that bind us in the world; and true friends are the purest form of those bonds. I am lucky to have a great set of friends; both
Continue reading Giving Thanks
By The Angry Drunk
A couple of posts back I went on one of my semi-annual rants about “social networking” and the fact that the New Media Douchebag contingent that most promotes “social” technology is the group that least gets it. The group of friends that I mentioned in that previous post is a great example of people using “social networking” (in their case MySpace) to enhance, rather than replace actual relationships. For us, MySpace is basically nothing more than a community message board, where we can post pointless little messages or coordinate a happy hour. The real relationships are based in the real world.
There is another group of friends that I have that are utilizing “social networking” (again in the form of MySpace). This group is orthogonal to the first group I mentioned, but they illustrate the other way that services like MySpace and Facebook can actually act to bring people closer rather than act as a way for marketers to gather vast audiences. This group is comprised of people whom I have know, who I still consider friends, but who have drifted out of my life for one reason or another. MySpace is giving us a fairly simple
Continue reading More Reflections On ‘Social Networking’ and a Shameless Plug
By The Angry Drunk
So, I’m sitting here in my office, working diligently (seriously, for any potential employers out there, I’m working my ass off). I’m also seeing tweets fly by, and reading blog posts by Robert “I have more followers that God (literally, 31,617 vs 600 as of this posting)” Scoble shilling the latest New Media Douchebag Approved™ social blogging network whatever. Meanwhile, over in my email client a funny thing is happening. People I know, people I would even go so far as to call friends are emailing back and forth, planning a happy hour gathering for tomorrow (and incidentally accusing each other of being either hippies or red-necks).
Email! I know, it’s fucking shocking. I mean, it’s so 1990′s. No Loopt, no Twitter, not even a dynamic group blog leveraging social networks. Fucking email. Even worse, and I’m embarrassed to admit this, some of us will actually telephone people not on the mailing list to give them the heads up. We may even use landlines.
The point behind the snark here? This is what actual friends do; and this is the point that the New Media Douchebags fail to miss. Things like Twitter, and MySpace, and blogs, and Loopt are there to enhance the social experience, not replace it.
Continue reading Here’s One for All the New Media Douchebags in the House.
By The Angry Drunk
Today’s particular hangover has blunted the all-encompassing rage a bit; so even I have to admit that this piece by Cory Doctorow in InformationWeek is dead on. It probably explains why I have a grand total of 6 MySpace friends; and of those, one is mythical proto-hominid and one is a presidential candidate. Or it could be that winos aren’t known for their computer savvy.
Note to self…check if drunkspace.com is taken.
By The Angry Drunk
And here we are on Valentine’s Day, the national holiday of florists, Hallmark and the cock-suckers at DeBeers. Well, fuck diamonds, fuck “greeting” cards and fuck dead flowers. But to my true friends, to the ones that I love and adore…. Thank you for being in my life. May you live as long as you love, and love as long as you live.
By The Angry Drunk
Which is better, to have many people you call “friends,” or just a few that you hold dear in your heart? It seems to me that, for ages, society has told us that we’re not worthy unless we’re loved by many. Media tells us that being alone is a horrible thing. If someone dies, and only a few people attend the service, it’s sad. It doesn’t matter if the people who profess to be your “friend” are as phony as a three dollar bill, it’s just important that they all say they’re your buddy. Back when Sail Inn was still open, I would have said that I had lots of friends; and I would have been wrong. The truth is, there are only a few people in the world that I truly love, that I would call “friend,” and I’m fine with that. For anyone coming into this internet tide-water via MySpace, realize that I’m not condeming those who’s list of friends counts in the hundreds. Everyone is different, and I’m admittedly a sociopath. I’m just saying that, for myself, it’s the quality of the friendship that matters more than anything; and I’ve been lucky to have a very
Continue reading Friends
By The Angry Drunk
Well, this weekend was utter shit. Let’s keep the preamble short and get on to the bitchin’ ###Part The First, Wherein The Angry Drunk Is Fucked By Bureaucratic Fuckwittery The first hit came Saturday morning at the Motor Vehicle Department. To provide some background, I do not have a driver’s license. There are reasons for this, which I won’t go into now, but the bottom line is that I don’t have a license. Now, after a year of twice daily twenty mile bus rides I’ve decided to rectify the situation. So, after much wrangling to set up a time when someone with a working vehicle can accompany me on my quest, I schlepp my weary ass to the MDV Saturday morning.
Continue reading Shit Weekend
By The Angry Drunk
Even in the darkest night there is a Light that shines. A Light that guides us and keeps us and illuminates that which is Good and Worthy in ourselves. It is the Light that dispels fear, and hate, and sorrow. The Light may sometimes seem dim; it may even seem to fail entirely; but that is only a failure in our perception. The Light is always there, it cannot be extinguished.
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Brother, can you spare a dime?
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