Fear

Hi Everyone;

I just read a very interesting article on Milkboys. Please visit http://www.milkboys.org/article/eek-a-male/

Fear is baseless all too often, and in a global news network where they are begging for your eyes to see the products they are peddling, it has simply become a sales technique - all the sadder. The mind, if I recall my freshman psychology classes from way-back, generalizes very well. Stereotypes come about because it is simpler to lump a potential threat in with the "danger" file so to quickly react than it is to ponder if that saber-toothed tiger is hungry or playful.

But, unless you know something I don't, there are few of those particular tigers about anymore. And yet, we in America seem to be confounded and surrounded by fears. Personally, I blame the tv. If you watch long enough you will realize that you don't dare go outside for fear of getting robbed, killed, hit by a car, sun poisoning, air pollution, ya-da, ya-da. But, I don't dare stay inside for fear of being killed by falling furniture, asbestos, death by Doritos....it reminds me of an old joke where the man laments hearing that 90% of accidental deaths occur less than 3 miles from the home - - he hasn't been home since.

"One of the things which danger does to you after a time is -, well, to kill emotion. I don't think I shall ever feel anything again except fear. None of us can hate anymore - or love."---- Graham Greene - The Confidential

I have shared with you how I've lived my life in a form of fear. I've feared to be true to my desires because....what will people think? My fears have placed me in a position of loneliness and being alone (yes, they are separate issues). But, as you also know, I'm working on that.

"What are fears but voices airy?Whispering harm where harm is not.And deluding the unwaryTill the fatal bolt is shot!"---- Wordsworth

I keep coming back to the thoughts expressed in the Milkboys article. I hope you read it. It offers anecdotes of moments when men have been feared despite doing what can only be described as helpful. Also, men have feared to help because "what will be said?". What is the end of this path?

"Fear is a tyrant and a despot, more terrible than the rack, more potent than the snake."---- Edgar Wallace - The Clue of the Twisted Candle (1916)

When we begin to fear, we stop thinking. How often I've heard this statement! And, yet despite that simple understanding, it is easier to fear than it is to think, to understand, to hope and even to love. Fear becomes the master, the ruler, and the more we fear the greater our worship of that quiet killer.

What we fear comes to pass more speedily than what we hope."---- Publilius Syrus - Moral Sayings (1st C B.C.)

You have probably found yourself with two main thoughts if you've gotten this far...one being examples in your own life where you have seen fear or felt it and it's stopped you. The second....why is randy putting up all of these quotes? Well, to the second, I wanted to show that the simple understanding of the situation is so long in history, so deep in our culture's literature, so forward in our minds, and yet it still rules our days. Why?

Startled and Surprised...

I was so startled this weekend to come face to face with my school-age boy crush. After looking closer, I realized it wasn't him...but mostly becuase I don't think this picture is quite old enough. It sure looked like my friend.

You are probably lost. Sorry. I am referring to one of the very first posts I ever did. I wrote about a boy-crush I had when I was in school for a friend. I never told Tommy how I loved to just stare off into his eyes. At 13 that's a hard conversation to have. He had just recently died when I wrote that post, so you can imagine me seeing his picture now and how startled I would be.

When i started this blog, it was to speak about things that made me smile, that lifted my soul. It was to share with you a bit of my life.....the intimate bit; the things that were important to me. I have never given my name, for obvious reasons, but anyone reading this blog probably knows me better than someone who has known me by name and face for years. Well, I say all of that to say that I wanted to share with you my source for this picture and let you look for yourself. Maybe, like me, you will find someone who once took your breath away.

http://iminlovewith.tumblr.com/

Oh! I Think I'm In Love!

Ever since I saw this guy singing in a video I've had the hots. He is so damned cute! That grin of his!!! ok, I'm too old for this. I hope you enjoy young Mr. Rybak.

Wow, what a week....

Hi Everyone; I've had a difficult week. Not bad difficult, but challenging. It has me worn out a bit, feeling a bit mellow. I sat down today and thought about what I want to share with you. I decided that I wanted to share just a little love and support. I'll post the naughty pictures later ;).

This last picture has me feeling lonely. Well, maybe more than just the last one. Sometimes I get so immersed into work or my business that I lose track of days, then along comes a moment where I have some spare moments, some quiet moments, and I realize just how quiet things really are. A great friend, a wonderful heartstrong and smart man, blogged today about how he was going through his difficulties and yet he finished speaking about them with a phrase that left me with a smile and even a tear for him. He talked about his blessings....the wonderful things he has going for him. Chief among his blessings is his husband. That was so special in my mind.

We get caught in our troubles, sometimes. We become immersed in pain, in lonliness, in wanting a love we just can't have. We talk about the injustice of the world, the costs are rising and the income is falling....... and it is in this last picture, especially, for me that tells me that everything can be ok. I don't have someone special in my life. But, there will be a day, and I will hopefully remember this moment and be sure to count my blessings.

Suddenly, it's the end of the world....I guess.

I guess one has to assume that sooner or later it will happen. It snows....it snows a lot. Therefore, the first thing that must occur is the building of a large snowman. It takes a bit more to assume that only one part of the large snowman would be built, but considering it was done by 18 yr. olds, it isn't that big a stretch of the imagination.

Who knew that posting yourself riding on a 7-foot tall snow penis could land you in such hot water?

Such is the case of a high school band director, who was pranked by former students. They built this monument to him in his own front yard. So, the teacher posed with it and posted it on his "facebook page"....done on his home computer and not on the school equipment. Also, the facebook page is not a part of his work place communication.

The question: should this activity, done at home and on his own time, effect his employment?

At what point are we private citizens and at what point do we remain responsible to the company for our private activities?

As you can imagine, this made it to the news.

http://www.wndu.com/hometop/headlines/Teachers_posts_photos_of_seven_foot_tall_snow_penis_114174529.html?storySection=comments

As computer users, bloggers and readers, surfers, etc., this may effect us all in how we spend our private times away from our jobs. What are your thoughts?

One of the really interesting portions of the link listed above is the other comments on that page. One was about priorities, which I found interesting. Another was about good choices, which I found sage. Take a look.