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So I was just scrolling through my last posts on the main page and noted that the big bad thing that might have been headed my way is currently on delay, hopefully until a time when it is no longer such a big bad thing. =)
You know what I find to be one of the weirdest things? I want to say "when younger people die" but that's not the weird part. When a person dies, and they leave behind their facebook or their livejournal or whathaveyou. I mean it doesn't really matter what age they are, it's just weird. Because that part of them is frozen in time, and it's like another face, but one that isn't dead, just permanently stopped. For example this kid who went to my gradeschool hanged himself last year, and it's just weird to see posts on a facebook go from "hey X! how've you been [insert inside joke] lol you're crazy" to "you were a good guy, I'm going to miss you" or the even weirder (to me) third person "X was a great guy and I wish we'd had more time with him." Because then you are adressing him, his digital online self, but you are talking about him and not to him.
Yeah... I don't know if that made any sense to you. It just reminded me of a journal someone posted a long long time ago about a LJ user they knew who they thought committed suicide. Someone they did not know at all in real life, and never heard from again. And it's weird because the journal just sits there, not updating. (Although it might be weirder if it did update, you never know, haha.) But I mean, what happens? In 200 years if humanity's still around and our life length is about the same, what are companies like facebook and livejournal going to do with all these old pages? Probably delete them, but that's weird to me because it's practically living history. It's basically history unaltered. And honestly I think it'd be pretty cool to go digging through abandoned LJs for facts from the past, you know? On a related but tangential note: friending your parents/children on facebook? Kind of weird. It's just kind of one of those "they are creepy or trying too hard to be cool" type situations. I mean rarely there are parents who actually fit in with that scene, but generally not. In this case I told my mom to set up a facebook so she could see pictures when I post them, but I would block a lot of stuff. Not because it's bad, but... I dunno. It's weird to me? Maybe I'm just too paranoid about Big Brother type situations.
But back to the subject: This is the whole thing that started it (sort of). And apparently the girl who died wants everyone to wear their favorite shoes to her funeral. I can't quite explain why this sort of thing makes me feel relaxed, because death is really a big thing for me. (Look here, I almost cried in Indy IV and they only even MENTIONED that someone had died.) (By the way I plan on digging out my favorite pair of shoes to wear as well, just because. Guess sort of a Memorial Day thing. I have no idea which ones are my favorites though, maybe my LLAMA SHOOOOES) But it just reminds me of what my dad said about getting old, that he doesn't want to just sit around in a retirement home with the TV on. I remember him saying he wanted drum corps music blasted as loud as possible (because he'll be pretty deaf anyway), and I can't remember if he said it or if I made it up but that he wanted a model train running around the room. I also remember him saying he wants a HUGE crazy party when he dies, with all the family and friends, I think maybe just because it's an excuse for a party, and he doesn't want us to be sad. (When I think about things like that, it makes me wonder how religious my parents are. I mean my mom is away at a retreat but I've always got the impression from my dad that he doesn't really care as long as you're being nice to someone, except that he goes to mass every week and encourages Laura too as well. I dunno. I want to know but at the same time I can see it getting very awkward in any type family situation if they knew I was semi-agnostic. Seriously, you have no idea how big of a pressure point religion is in my family. Pretty much automatic HUGE FIGHT if it's us and my cousins and my grandparents.) ANYWAY, and then the other day we went to visit Nana and Papa's graves (and George's, and Grandma/Grandpa's parents, I forget which, the Cwioks) and we were talking about how we wanted to be buried. Laura started it like she always does, being cynical, but I can't remember exactly what she was critiquing. But I mentioned that I'd like my organs to be donated and the rest of it put to science and if I didn't die in any unusual way then to be buried in a natural way, just the pine-coffin-in-the-dirt thing. Put what you can to good use and the rest of it let it go back into the system. I really see no benefits to locking my body up with a bunch of preservatives so I can look good as a DB (lol) hundreds of years from now, whoopdefreakingdoo. I'd rather be remembered for what I did (crazy architecture? something awesome and Disney/COSI-like? something House On the Rock-ish?) and maybe have a wacked-out grave marker. Maybe.
Also, this topic always reminds me of my bequests from my senior year of Carroll when I was getting "killed" by the bass drums and all my stuff was going to band kids. ;) All I remember is like crazy socks to Alicia and my visor to Domer. Lol. Good times. (It also makes me usually think about exercising more so I can still maybe even run when I'm ooooold.)
And now for something completely different. Does anyone know how Burger King runs their toy promotions? I got the ant-box about two weeks ago (that thing actually surprised the shit out of me because I wasn't paying attention when I opened it) and then the boulder on Tuesday, and then the whip yesterday and today. After going from boulder to whip so fast I was kind of excited it was random because then there was less chance I missed the ones I wanted, but I don't know. Hopefully they will just show up at garage sales and stuff for super-cheap. ;D (The blacklight journal is my #1, and then the two temple-things. The others aren't particularly interesting.)
[EDIT]Woah, the monarchy of Nepal is now gone, it's Communist. Totally random but we had the princess of Nepal visit my first grade class.
Lawmakers in Nepal abolish the monarchy
By MATTHEW ROSENBERG, Associated Press WriterWed May 28, 4:10 PM ET
"The world's last Hindu kingdom became its newest secular republic Wednesday as Nepal's lawmakers, led by former communist insurgents, abolished the monarchy that had reigned over this Himalayan land for 239 years.
Throughout the day, thousands of people marched, danced and sang in the streets of Katmandu in anticipation of the vote, waving red hammer-and-sickle flags as dour King Gyanendra awaited his fate in the pink concrete palace that dominates the city's center.
He finally found out the fate of his throne late in the day when, as expected, the newly elected Constituent Assembly declared the country a republic and abolished the monarchy by a vote of 560-4. The assembly's 37 other members were not present.
"We have entered a new era today," said Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, calling Nepal's rebirth as a republic "the dream of the whole nation."
There was no immediate reaction from the 61-year-old king, who has remained silent in recent months as it became apparent that his days on the throne were numbered.
He now has 15 days to quit the 1970s-era palace and move to his large private residence in the city — or face the possibility of being removed by force.
As word of the republic's declaration spread through Katmandu, groups of celebrating young men yelled in the streets and set off firecrackers.
"The people in Nepal have defeated the autocrat Gyanendra," said Gopal Thapa, a 23-year-old supporter of the Maoists, the former rebels. "Nepal is now the people's republic."
All around him, a crowd celebrating outside the convention center, where the vote was held, chanted "Long live the republic!" and denounced Gyanendra as a thief.
Not since the Shah of Iran was deposed in the bloody 1979 Islamic revolution has one of the world's monarchs been forced from his throne.
But while the end of Nepal's royal dynasty may have come in a peaceful vote, the stage for the monarchy's demise was set by a communist insurgency that bled Nepal for a decade, and a 2001 palace massacre in which a gunman, allegedly the crown prince, assassinated King Birendra and much of the royal family before killing himself.
Gyanendra then assumed the throne. But the killings helped pierce the mystique surrounding a line of kings who had once been revered as reincarnations of the Hindu god Vishnu, and Gyanendra was dogged by rumors that he was somehow involved in the massacre.
His 2005 seizure of power from a civilian government only made matters worse. He said he needed total authority to crush the Maoists, but he quickly began locking up peaceful opponents and found himself beset by an intensifying insurgency and a faltering economy.
A year later, weeks of massive protests forced Gyanendra to restore democracy, after which the Maoists came out of the bush and began peace talks.
An interim government, meanwhile, slowly stripped away the trappings of a kingdom. Gyanendra lost command of the army, his portrait was replace by Mount Everest on the currency, the word "royal" removed from the name of the national airline, and references to the king were dropped from the national anthem.
Gyanendra, who is believed to be personally wealthy with interests in tourism, tea and tobacco, also endured other indignities. His $3.1 million annual allowance was taken away, as were the queen's beauticians and about half his ceremonial guard.
Then came April's vote for the assembly in which the fiercely republican Maoists won the most seats, all but sealing the fate of the dynasty, which dates to 1769 when a regional ruler conquered Katmandu and united Nepal.
With the king now gone, Nepalis are settling in for a three-day public holiday. But what comes next remains uncertain.
While the Maoists say they are committed capitalists and have no intention of nationalizing industries or setting up collective farms, they have promised to bring sweeping change to this largely impoverished country that in many place more closely resembles medieval Europe than a modern nation.
But they are struggling to form a government — Wednesday's opening assembly session was delayed for hours while they wrangled with other political parties over who should be president and what powers he should have. At the end of the day, they still did not have a deal.
Nepal also is still regularly bloodied by political violence, as evidenced by a string of small bombings that hit Katmandu this week, including two on Wednesday.
None of the bombs — which appeared to have been aimed at pro-republic politicians and activists — caused any serious injuries. But they underscored how difficult it will be to fashion lasting peace in Nepal, where supporters of every major political party have been linked to killings since the start of the peace process.
And even in victory, the Maoists worry many in Nepal. They still have 20,000 fighters in U.N.-monitored camps spread across the country and their former fighters were recently implicated in the abduction and murder of a Katmandu businessman.
In New York, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon congratulated Nepal's 27 million people on the assembly's first meeting and urged lawmakers "to form a new government as soon as possible," said U.N. deputy spokeswoman Marie Okabe."
You know what I find to be one of the weirdest things? I want to say "when younger people die" but that's not the weird part. When a person dies, and they leave behind their facebook or their livejournal or whathaveyou. I mean it doesn't really matter what age they are, it's just weird. Because that part of them is frozen in time, and it's like another face, but one that isn't dead, just permanently stopped. For example this kid who went to my gradeschool hanged himself last year, and it's just weird to see posts on a facebook go from "hey X! how've you been [insert inside joke] lol you're crazy" to "you were a good guy, I'm going to miss you" or the even weirder (to me) third person "X was a great guy and I wish we'd had more time with him." Because then you are adressing him, his digital online self, but you are talking about him and not to him.
Yeah... I don't know if that made any sense to you. It just reminded me of a journal someone posted a long long time ago about a LJ user they knew who they thought committed suicide. Someone they did not know at all in real life, and never heard from again. And it's weird because the journal just sits there, not updating. (Although it might be weirder if it did update, you never know, haha.) But I mean, what happens? In 200 years if humanity's still around and our life length is about the same, what are companies like facebook and livejournal going to do with all these old pages? Probably delete them, but that's weird to me because it's practically living history. It's basically history unaltered. And honestly I think it'd be pretty cool to go digging through abandoned LJs for facts from the past, you know? On a related but tangential note: friending your parents/children on facebook? Kind of weird. It's just kind of one of those "they are creepy or trying too hard to be cool" type situations. I mean rarely there are parents who actually fit in with that scene, but generally not. In this case I told my mom to set up a facebook so she could see pictures when I post them, but I would block a lot of stuff. Not because it's bad, but... I dunno. It's weird to me? Maybe I'm just too paranoid about Big Brother type situations.
But back to the subject: This is the whole thing that started it (sort of). And apparently the girl who died wants everyone to wear their favorite shoes to her funeral. I can't quite explain why this sort of thing makes me feel relaxed, because death is really a big thing for me. (Look here, I almost cried in Indy IV and they only even MENTIONED that someone had died.) (By the way I plan on digging out my favorite pair of shoes to wear as well, just because. Guess sort of a Memorial Day thing. I have no idea which ones are my favorites though, maybe my LLAMA SHOOOOES) But it just reminds me of what my dad said about getting old, that he doesn't want to just sit around in a retirement home with the TV on. I remember him saying he wanted drum corps music blasted as loud as possible (because he'll be pretty deaf anyway), and I can't remember if he said it or if I made it up but that he wanted a model train running around the room. I also remember him saying he wants a HUGE crazy party when he dies, with all the family and friends, I think maybe just because it's an excuse for a party, and he doesn't want us to be sad. (When I think about things like that, it makes me wonder how religious my parents are. I mean my mom is away at a retreat but I've always got the impression from my dad that he doesn't really care as long as you're being nice to someone, except that he goes to mass every week and encourages Laura too as well. I dunno. I want to know but at the same time I can see it getting very awkward in any type family situation if they knew I was semi-agnostic. Seriously, you have no idea how big of a pressure point religion is in my family. Pretty much automatic HUGE FIGHT if it's us and my cousins and my grandparents.) ANYWAY, and then the other day we went to visit Nana and Papa's graves (and George's, and Grandma/Grandpa's parents, I forget which, the Cwioks) and we were talking about how we wanted to be buried. Laura started it like she always does, being cynical, but I can't remember exactly what she was critiquing. But I mentioned that I'd like my organs to be donated and the rest of it put to science and if I didn't die in any unusual way then to be buried in a natural way, just the pine-coffin-in-the-dirt thing. Put what you can to good use and the rest of it let it go back into the system. I really see no benefits to locking my body up with a bunch of preservatives so I can look good as a DB (lol) hundreds of years from now, whoopdefreakingdoo. I'd rather be remembered for what I did (crazy architecture? something awesome and Disney/COSI-like? something House On the Rock-ish?) and maybe have a wacked-out grave marker. Maybe.
Also, this topic always reminds me of my bequests from my senior year of Carroll when I was getting "killed" by the bass drums and all my stuff was going to band kids. ;) All I remember is like crazy socks to Alicia and my visor to Domer. Lol. Good times. (It also makes me usually think about exercising more so I can still maybe even run when I'm ooooold.)
And now for something completely different. Does anyone know how Burger King runs their toy promotions? I got the ant-box about two weeks ago (that thing actually surprised the shit out of me because I wasn't paying attention when I opened it) and then the boulder on Tuesday, and then the whip yesterday and today. After going from boulder to whip so fast I was kind of excited it was random because then there was less chance I missed the ones I wanted, but I don't know. Hopefully they will just show up at garage sales and stuff for super-cheap. ;D (The blacklight journal is my #1, and then the two temple-things. The others aren't particularly interesting.)
[EDIT]Woah, the monarchy of Nepal is now gone, it's Communist. Totally random but we had the princess of Nepal visit my first grade class.
Lawmakers in Nepal abolish the monarchy
By MATTHEW ROSENBERG, Associated Press WriterWed May 28, 4:10 PM ET
"The world's last Hindu kingdom became its newest secular republic Wednesday as Nepal's lawmakers, led by former communist insurgents, abolished the monarchy that had reigned over this Himalayan land for 239 years.
Throughout the day, thousands of people marched, danced and sang in the streets of Katmandu in anticipation of the vote, waving red hammer-and-sickle flags as dour King Gyanendra awaited his fate in the pink concrete palace that dominates the city's center.
He finally found out the fate of his throne late in the day when, as expected, the newly elected Constituent Assembly declared the country a republic and abolished the monarchy by a vote of 560-4. The assembly's 37 other members were not present.
"We have entered a new era today," said Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, calling Nepal's rebirth as a republic "the dream of the whole nation."
There was no immediate reaction from the 61-year-old king, who has remained silent in recent months as it became apparent that his days on the throne were numbered.
He now has 15 days to quit the 1970s-era palace and move to his large private residence in the city — or face the possibility of being removed by force.
As word of the republic's declaration spread through Katmandu, groups of celebrating young men yelled in the streets and set off firecrackers.
"The people in Nepal have defeated the autocrat Gyanendra," said Gopal Thapa, a 23-year-old supporter of the Maoists, the former rebels. "Nepal is now the people's republic."
All around him, a crowd celebrating outside the convention center, where the vote was held, chanted "Long live the republic!" and denounced Gyanendra as a thief.
Not since the Shah of Iran was deposed in the bloody 1979 Islamic revolution has one of the world's monarchs been forced from his throne.
But while the end of Nepal's royal dynasty may have come in a peaceful vote, the stage for the monarchy's demise was set by a communist insurgency that bled Nepal for a decade, and a 2001 palace massacre in which a gunman, allegedly the crown prince, assassinated King Birendra and much of the royal family before killing himself.
Gyanendra then assumed the throne. But the killings helped pierce the mystique surrounding a line of kings who had once been revered as reincarnations of the Hindu god Vishnu, and Gyanendra was dogged by rumors that he was somehow involved in the massacre.
His 2005 seizure of power from a civilian government only made matters worse. He said he needed total authority to crush the Maoists, but he quickly began locking up peaceful opponents and found himself beset by an intensifying insurgency and a faltering economy.
A year later, weeks of massive protests forced Gyanendra to restore democracy, after which the Maoists came out of the bush and began peace talks.
An interim government, meanwhile, slowly stripped away the trappings of a kingdom. Gyanendra lost command of the army, his portrait was replace by Mount Everest on the currency, the word "royal" removed from the name of the national airline, and references to the king were dropped from the national anthem.
Gyanendra, who is believed to be personally wealthy with interests in tourism, tea and tobacco, also endured other indignities. His $3.1 million annual allowance was taken away, as were the queen's beauticians and about half his ceremonial guard.
Then came April's vote for the assembly in which the fiercely republican Maoists won the most seats, all but sealing the fate of the dynasty, which dates to 1769 when a regional ruler conquered Katmandu and united Nepal.
With the king now gone, Nepalis are settling in for a three-day public holiday. But what comes next remains uncertain.
While the Maoists say they are committed capitalists and have no intention of nationalizing industries or setting up collective farms, they have promised to bring sweeping change to this largely impoverished country that in many place more closely resembles medieval Europe than a modern nation.
But they are struggling to form a government — Wednesday's opening assembly session was delayed for hours while they wrangled with other political parties over who should be president and what powers he should have. At the end of the day, they still did not have a deal.
Nepal also is still regularly bloodied by political violence, as evidenced by a string of small bombings that hit Katmandu this week, including two on Wednesday.
None of the bombs — which appeared to have been aimed at pro-republic politicians and activists — caused any serious injuries. But they underscored how difficult it will be to fashion lasting peace in Nepal, where supporters of every major political party have been linked to killings since the start of the peace process.
And even in victory, the Maoists worry many in Nepal. They still have 20,000 fighters in U.N.-monitored camps spread across the country and their former fighters were recently implicated in the abduction and murder of a Katmandu businessman.
In New York, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon congratulated Nepal's 27 million people on the assembly's first meeting and urged lawmakers "to form a new government as soon as possible," said U.N. deputy spokeswoman Marie Okabe."
