The Craigslist Files #173 - Yelling at No One
In today’s world we are often encouraged to be less open about the things that annoy us. This usually means keeping your trap shut when someone is pissing you off or doing something that you find offensive. And while this may, in the long run, be the best option considering the fact that everyone has widely varied views on what is acceptable and what is not, it still leads to pent up aggression.
Kicking the family dog is not the proper way to deal with such internal conflicts, though it has managed to become the butt of many a joke. One way to get it all out in the open without getting into a fist-fight is to use Craigslist. By posting your grievances somewhere on the site you can say what you feel needs to be said while avoiding unnecessary conflict. Of course, there’s always that one-in-a-million chance that the person you’re bitching about actually reads it and figures out who posted it, but hey, you can’t have everything perfect.
Here are some entertaining posts that I managed to dredge up from the Craigslist archives. Each features a person who has something to say to someone (or no one in particular) and they do it with a healthy amount of gusto and cynicism.
The first is a man who obviously feels that public displays of affection are unwarranted. Considering his description of the game he was at, he should probably be thankful that he did have something to watch aside from his team getting smacked around. Most likely, he is just a lonely guy and can’t deal with people spreading their love where all are free to see.
PDA couple, section 30 row 28 - m4wm
Ah, what can I say? Your obvious affection for each other was clear, even in the miserable weather during a miserable game. But a couple thoughts.
To the guy wearing the orange north face and a baseball cap - I understand, you really, REALLY like your girlfriend, but for fuck's sake, can you not lean over and kiss her every two seconds? Some of us are under six feet tall, and while I enjoyed watching the 20581 different ways you could smooch your girl, I would've enjoyed watching the game, however shitty, much more.
To the blonde girl wearing the blue - you might wanna watch out with your man. He could be a real clinger. And I don't know if you noticed the people in the row behind you noticing you, but I'm not sure if he's okay with your sticking your finger in his ass. Just sayin' - if that's how you roll, hey, no judgment, but he didn't seem overly excited when you jammed your digit(s) in his poop chute to the beat of "Hail to the Victors".
The next guy has a beef with the neighbors. This is something that I’m sure many of us can relate to immediately, especially if you lived through the first wave of car alarm technology, when even a cricket’s sneeze could set the damn things off. Personally, I recommend a good sledgehammer and some running shoes to the poor guy.
All I ever wanted was to be woken up by your car alarm.
No really, the sound of your car alarm going off six..sometimes seven times a day is truly a comforting sound. I especially like when it goes off at 1:00am...and then again at 5:00am. THANK YOU so much! Usually after the worst day of my life, it's the first and onlysound that I want to hear. I shouldn't be sleeping anyways as we all know that sleep is for the weak.
My cat would also like to thank you. As if having his entire life uprooted and moved to a strange new place isn't traumatizing enough, he gets to listen to the piercing sound of your pride and joy telling the world that the wind has blown. It's alright though, since you've got me up so early, I have plenty of time to try to coax him out from underneath the bed before I leave for work to experience the next worst day of my life.
I understand that protecting your belongings is important to you, but you're the fucking rudest person I've never met. If you don't fix that shit I'm going to do enough damage to get at least a full month of peace and quiet while it's in the shop.
This time around involves love at first sight. Or rather the complete opposite of that. I just hope the guy had the good sense to turn around and head back home. Better a bit late than trying to hang out smelling like somebody’s half-digested breakfast.
You puked on my leg - m4w
Me: Young, professional-looking law student heading to school a bit early.... Black coat, dark pants, nice shoes, brief case, coffee mug. It's job interview call-day for the law firms and I wanted to get to school early so I could sit down in a quiet place, relax, and answer the phone for half an hour.
You: Another passenger on the bus, possibly with swine flu or a nasty hangover. I never got to see your face but you obviously couldn't contain yourself when you saw me, as you vomited all over my leg as we got off the bus. Nothing like wiping other people's puke off your jeans with Subway napkins at 8 in the morning. Thanks.
And finally, when you have no one specific person to bitch at, you can aim your frustrations in a wide area and maybe catch one of the bastards that are responsible for your troubles. Of course, in this case I don’t think this lady will get a response. It can be a hard place, the dating world of Craigslist and spam-bots certainly don’t make it easier. So here is a love letter to all the lonely bots out there in the world. Who knows? Maybe she’ll get lucky with this one and find the AI of her dreams.
Bot seeking Bot - w4m
Hi all!
Generically attractive, with slightly above average - yet almost believable - description and measurements here! I am in a loveless, sexless, or otherwise unfulfilled relationship or I am recently divorced! I am looking for a man who knows how to party, play, treat me like a lady, or be rough with me. I've thought about, never done, or heard about posting on here before. Can't wait to hear from, irritate, annoy, or distract you! Are you man, foolish, stupid, or just plain desperate enough to reply?
Talk to you. Steal from you, infect your pc soon,
Trixie, Megan, Jennifer, Sarah, or Lois
So, while you may not make any progress in whatever matter is torturing you, at least you can get a small bit of relief. Those people you will never meet again will somehow psychically know that you’re talking shit about them. The neighbor will stumble across your post and realize what a douchebag he’s been. And spam-bots of the world will become enlightened and decide they no longer wish to harass you as you search for your significant other.
Or, more likely than not, nothing will happen and everyone will go about their business as usual.
Election time behavior produces friendship fails
This election season was brutal, wasn't it? Not only did we have to hear both sides of the presidential candidates' camps doing their usual mudslinging, but it was everywhere you went online. I think that was the worst part of it, and what really raised people's ire the most.
Instead of passing along cute pictures of kittens who can't spell for crap and the occasional personal outrage at the lack of coffee delivery trucks, people were getting vocal about politics. Shudder.
I'm generally a very opinionated person, but I try to play my cards close to my vest when it comes to heated issues like politics, religion and which M&M actually tastes the best. These things spark passion in others, which doesn't bother me amongst strangers, but scares me amongst friends. I'm a peacekeeper by nature, and when this election season got down to the nitty gritty, people who I genuinely care about start to really rub me the wrong way with the way they presented their views.
I'm pretty easy going when it comes to others' opinions, even when they differ from my own. What was really rattling about the election season was how folks went for the throat with some serious ugliness, not in a political forum, but on everyday Twitter and Facebook feeds.
The thing that chapped my hide the most was that these “updates” were never in favor of their candidates, but usually hatefully and sarcastically about the opposing side. I love sarcasm, don't get me wrong, but on an everyday basis from the same people got to be unnerving, whether they felt similarly to me or not.
I have a lot of friends who see things differently from me and that's all good. If everyone felt the same way I do about everything, it would be way too Stepford for this girl. Still, the constant virtual smacks in the face led me to STRONGLY consider dropping some of my friends. So strongly, that I'm still having some trouble getting back to warm, fuzzy feelings about some of them.
Not liking people I like is a real problem for me. I feel like a failure in the friendship department because one issue has cast such an ugly hue over how I feel about people that usually make me smile. Are any of you struggling with post election friend issues too?
Dealing with success
In the blogging world, success is hard to come by, but when it does it can be exhilarating. It usually starts slow as you watch your page views gradually increase and your giveaways not only become more quality products, but the sheer number of entries begins to skyrocket.
It's possible that you may have even set and reached a goal you made at the beginning of your dad blogging journey. The last thing you want to do is take this success for granted and start sitting on your butt. Blogging is like a business and just because you've finally got a steady supply of customers doesn't mean you get to close the shop early.
It's easy to get sidetracked by success. I have seen many bloggers go from your average Joe to elitist because they found themselves in the midst of their 15 minutes of fame. Pretty soon, they start taking their friends and fellow bloggers for granted and even slow down on their blog.
They stop networking and reaching out to their fans because they think they don't need to anymore. They have arrived at their destination. In reality, the opposite it true. When you reach a level of success, then you are obligated to maintain that service or even go bigger.
If you slow down even a little, then most likely you're going to start losing those page views. You should never forget that you made that success through hard work and that it's going to take hard work to keep it.
Jack Deth and Trancers
The 80s really were the heyday of R-movies since cable and video rental allowed lower budget movies to be seen by a large audience. Charles Band created an amazing series called Trancers that starred Tim Thomerson as Jack Deth.
A cop from the future that is sent back in time to find and defeat evil Trancers. Trancers are kind of a mix between a hypnotized person and zombie. The first movie in the series has Helen Hunt in one of her early roles and b-list star Telma Hopkins.
At its heart, Trancers and lets face it all the other Trancers that followed had a pretty standard action movie formula. There was lots of sarcasm and bad humor, things being blown up and one-liners galore. As a kid, I loved these movies and watched them over and over again, but then Band started getting desperate.
Charles Band used to be a prolific filmmaker who specialized in B-movies like Trancers, Puppet Master, Dollman, etc. He created a really amazing career in the 80s, but today he's pretty much relegated to hocking his puppets on the road and offering hundreds of people executive producer credits if they donate $100 to his next movie.
The final Trancers movie had Jack transported to Medieval times to take on a new breed of Trancer. It was pathetic and I think Tim Thomerson even had to say he wasn't doing it again. Don't let the later movies keep you from watching the first set. It's truly a great film that shows that the 80s were the era of the B-movie.
The difference in Dean
Since he first came on the scene, Garth has quickly become one of my favorite characters on the show. D.J. Qualls has a knack for playing the innocent and naive kid even though he's experienced. The brothers found themselves battling a hyperpossessing civil war ghost with Garth and the battle between good and evil once again took on shades of gray.
The first revelations we find is that Garth has become the new Bobby since Sam quit the biz and Dean got stuck in purgatory. Garth even wears an old had that Bobby gave him and has taken to using some of his phrases as well. It's weird to think as Garth as a treasure trove of supernatural knowledge, but he's apparently doing pretty good as he received several calls from hunters.
Needless to day, Dean didn't take this well. Bobby was like a father to him and seeing Garth butcher his phrases and wear his hat was too much for him. Dean lashed out at Garth and hurt his feeling, but Garth shot it right back at him saying that Bobby's death wasn't just felt by the brothers, but by the entire hunting community. Dean ultimately realized that Garth actually knows what he's doing and gave him his blessing.
Sam and Dean also had it out again...like they do every season...and Dean admitted that he wasn't the same person he was a few years ago. Dean killed Sam's childhood friend in cold blood just because she had killed a few humans to keep her son from starving, but he wouldn't kill Benny who could very well kill again.
I was wondering when this would come up, but as the episode ended there was little resolution...as usual.
World Buskers Festival
For ten days each year in January, the city of Christchurch, New Zealand fills its streets with thousands of “buskers.” For those not in-the-know, a busker is a person who puts on performances in public places, usually hoping for money in return for his or her entertainment. This festival brings together some of the best street acts in the world, gathering them in one place to create an atmosphere of fun and craziness.
This is truly a celebration of all things strange and unique. Since its inception, the World Buskers Festival has become the largest outdoor festival in the country and one of the biggest street festivals in the entire world. The types of entertainment one might expect to see at this event range from those of a carnival-esque nature to acrobatics to music and plenty more. These performances are put on all throughout the streets as well as at many indoor venues.
A small list of busker specialties includes circus acts, comedy, magic, musical performances, fire acts and dancing. Many are so strange that they defy any sort of rational classification. Almost all the shows are free to attend, though some of the venues at night may charge. Since most of the shows are free, the performers rely, just as they do normally, on the good graces of their audience. They get paid exactly what people choose to contribute to them each time they put on a show.
Some of the performers have become so popular that visitors will have to book seats to their shows. Unfortunately, you’re not allowed to do that ahead of time, so it’s first come first served. Some of the shows are of an adult nature as well, so there’s an age limitation to attend.
This year the World Buskers Festival runs from January 17th to the 27th. If you like your vacations active, fun and unusual, a trip to New Zealand at this time might be right up your alley. Enjoy these unique performances in a city that is known for its great party atmosphere.
A prayer for the country to get back on track
I've been a registered voter and have cast my vote in several presidential elections since I turned 18, but none ever felt as tense as this one. For a long time, I thought it was the candidates themselves who had everyone so divided and passionate, but in retrospect, now that the election day has passed, I'm thinking what made this run so different, and tense, was social media.
Don't get me wrong: I'm a huge fan of social media, and this isn't an attempt to make excuses for some truly ugly behavior on the Internet. People are responsible for their conduct on the Web as well as in real life.
Where social media comes into play in the bitterness of the 2012 election season is ironically how connected we truly are to one another. While Facebook was around in 2008, it certainly didn't have the punch that it does now. Nowadays, hundreds of millions of people worldwide are using Facebook alone, and everyone has an opinion. When you factor in Twitter and all of the millions of blogs and sites that we use and share every day, it's no wonder that this has been the most “in your face” election ever.
In the past, many kept their personal political feelings close to their vests unless they knew they were surrounded with like-minded individuals. It was the surefire way not to start a debate or argument with people you cared about at any given time.
Social media has turned that mindset on its ear, sometimes unintentionally. There are so many applications that people are using online now, that everything from what music you're listening to right down to what articles you're reading are posted in your Facebook feeds, and you might not even realize it. Others, of course, openly shared their political beliefs and frustrations on a regular basis, knowing that everyone would see it--and not just those who felt the same way.
In both cases, whether it was meant to or not, putting these views out there for the world to see sparked debate and sometimes, anger. Suddenly, you were seeing the high school pal who's occasional memes and quips made you chuckle in a totally different light. His politics was clearly not your politics, and it irritated you that it was showing up in your feed.
These posts started to feel like challenges and personal violations for everyone on both sides of the fence, and, after a while, people were responding by blocking, hiding and unfriending friends and family online and, in some cases, real life.
Now that the election is over, there are people who still feel very passionately about it and continue to rant or cheer on social media networks. In my humble opinion, it needs to stop, not in the interest of censorship, but reconnecting as friends and family. It's time to move forward, regardless of whether the results were in our favors or not. I'm praying for our country to become unified again, because we need to work together to find solutions to some very serious issues that just can't be tackled by a divided nation.
What are your thoughts?
The Decades Festival of Cork, Ireland
Every August, the city of Cork transforms into a location filled with the cultures of the past. This city is already famous for its many great festivals, and the Decades Festival is another unique one that nearly everyone can enjoy. Though it was only begun just a few short years ago, it’s already catching on and is likely to continue to entertain both the locals and visitors to Cork for many decades to come.
During the Decades Festival, venues all over the city transform into places from the past. Dozens of pubs participate in the event, each picking a different theme and attempting to change their place of business into a representation of the era they choose. From the roaring 20s to the war-era 1940s to the 70s disco scene and even the age of punk rock, whatever you can think of from the last 100 years is likely there somewhere.
As part of the transformation, the pubs alter their interiors, putting up decorations and even having their staff dress in period costumes. Music, drinks, food and entertainment are just a few elements that one might expect to find out of our current time. Each venue also encourages their customers to arrive in costume to complete the picture and help to create an environment that all who attend can enjoy.
Best of all, there are no charges involved in Decades other than what one normally might incur from drinks, food and covers. This is, essentially, one big costume party that’s been broken into many disparate parts. And to make things even better, the legal limitations governing when bars must close are lengthened a bit, so the party can keep going.
So if you happen to be visiting Ireland during this time, definitely take a stop through Cork. Make sure to bring a costume or two though, so you don’t end up looking like a time-tourist.
Protect your teeth this Thanksgiving
During the holidays, people tend to indulge a lot more at the dinner table. This is especially true on Thanksgiving, a day when we celebrate by eating exorbitant amounts of food. This Thanksgiving, remember to protect your teeth by following a few rules.
Don't chew on any bones.
That giant bird on your dining room table is sure to have some small bones hiding out of sight. Be careful that your bites don't contain any. It's also wise not to gnaw on any bones to remove excess turkey. Instead, use a fork or knife to pull away any meat from the bones. Biting on bones is one of the most common reasons why people chip teeth. You don't want to take an emergency visit to the dentist because of a broken tooth.
Drink lots of water.
That pumpkin pie, pecan cluster and chocolate cream cake may look and taste delicious, but they are packed full of sugar. This excessive sugar intake isn't only hard on your pancreas, it is also tough on tooth enamel. To prevent Thanksgiving Day cavities, it is smart to drink a lot of water between dishes. Water rinses away any sugar or bacteria residing in your mouth. The cleaner your mouth, the less likely you will be to develop a cavity.
Take smaller bites.
Eating all of those chewy side dishes will really exercise your jaw. As someone who suffers from TMJ, I know that chewing too much can cause jaw pain. Taking smaller bites will reduce the strain on your jaw. Plus, you may even save a few calories by eating less.
Floss before going to bed.
After chowing down on turkey and carbohydrates, you will be ready to turn in at the end of the night. Be sure to brush and floss before bed. Bacteria loves to grow while you are sleeping, so take care of your teeth before turning in for the evening. You may even be surprised by how much leftover turkey is found in-between your teeth.
YouTube Nation - Unseen Worlds
Despite the fact that the world is a vast and wondrous place, most people will never travel much further than where they were born. Some have no choice, being confined by the burdens that real life chains us with. But even those of us to do possess this option often take advantage of it far too little. There are peoples all over the world that we will never see and never understand and for that our minds will suffer from lack of expansion.
Now, however, that condition is changing. As those with a more adventurous nature and the ways and means to exercise it head out to look into the hidden places of the world - those places without a television in every home and a cell phone in every pocket - they use their portable technology to make videos of these faraway occurrences. We at home, bereft of wanderlust or busy with our lives, find ourselves in the unique position of being just a mouse-click from these thousands-of-miles away people and events.
This week I’ve brought together some interesting rituals and peoples for your viewing pleasure. These are just a few samples of what YouTube has to offer on the subject. There are many, many more. And if you can’t be one of the adventurous ones, it is still possible to pretend you are via remote video.
The first one comes out of Bali and involves a presentation of a ritual dance. No doubt this is the same sort of thing one might see if they went as a tourist, so it’s not truly a “hidden” bit of the world. Still, it’s a cultural phenomenon that most people will never witness first-hand.
The next is from Thailand, showing a ritual involving an elephant blessing. While I’m personally not quite sure what is going on here, a lot can certainly be implied. Unfortunately, there are some pieces of information that YouTube doesn’t always provide. And for that I recommend picking up a book if you happen to be interested (reading is good too).
And the final video comes from Africa and features an in-depth exploration of one of the religious aspects that encompasses the lives of the Ashanti people, along with some other bits and pieces. It’s a long video, but very informative about this particular cultural phenomenon. If you have the time to watch, I highly recommend it.
So, as I’ve said on more than one occasion before this, YouTube isn’t always just about cute animals and people getting drunk and doing stupid crap in front of a camera. It can be educational as well. And for those of us that can’t afford to travel around the world and experience everything that this planet’s people have to offer, a glimpse through the eyes of another can often give us insight into what truly makes our world the unique and diverse place that it is.
Until next time, use your computer for something more than video games and porn. You never know what you might learn.