Why and how to blog

I constantly see blogs talking about how many viewers they have or how many clicks they got on a certain post or day. I also see the number of likes and comments they get and sometimes it amazes me. Then I come to my humble blog and see my single-digit comments and likes and my double-digit views and you know what? I love it!

Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to interact with more people through my blog, of course. But it’s so much fun when I see that someone liked or commented on what I wrote/posted that I don’t really care how many people did it. Most people will read a blog post and move on, not even leaving their mark in here. And it’s okay. Maybe they didn’t like what I said, maybe it didn’t matter to them as much, or maybe it did.

Maybe, just maybe, what they saw here, be it a post, a video, a review, did make an impression, did make them think. And that, to me, is more important than whether or not they say something to me. I guess that’s the reason why I have this blog, as a way to communicate with people I don’t yet know, and I like it. No, scratch that, I love it!

I’m now thinking of a poem I love by Emily Dickinson that I already talked about way back when I first started this blog. I guess, to me, if I can reach one person, only one, it won’t be in vain. We can’t change the whole world, but we can (and should) try. And the way to do that is by reaching one person and doing one small thing.

Here’s a video by Vi Hart that talks about reaching people and how to do it. I think it has the message I’m trying to convey. Don’t stress over the numbers of views/comments/likes. Do what you want to do because that is the message you want to send. And if you reach one person, great! That means you’re doing it right.

 

Dealing with negative comments

This is a video created by Vi Hart, and I know that I’ve been posting a lot of videos lately, but I’ve been struggling with writing and trying to make my stories the way I want them to be and the videos help me.

Anyway, this one is about negative comments, and although she’s talking about comments on YouTube, this can be applied to comments on blogs and even on our own work.

So always remember: you have no power over them that they don’t give you, and most importantly, they have no power over you that you don’t give them. You don’t make things for their approval. You make them because it’s in you to create. So create something. And then share it. Because you are capable of more than you realize.

 

Walk on the Wild Side

Why am I only know getting to know about this?

Anyway, last night I spent hours watching the Walk on the Wild Side videos and laughing. This is a compilation of excerpts taken from the BBC One show Funny Talking Animals – Walk On The Wild Side and pieced together by DJ Shamrock for comedic effect.

 

Guys in Labor. Yep, you read that right.

Last Wednesday I got sick. Real sick. And I’ve been sick since then. Great, huh? I’m not sure what gets me more annoyed, the fact that I was too tired to even walk to the kitchen and make something to eat and, therefore, didn’t leave the house for days, or that I didn’t have energy to even read. But anyway, right now I’m medicated and on my way to complete recover. I’m crossing my fingers, at least. However, I’m a little confused about the medicine the doctor gave me, since it’s supposed to lower my immune system (the one I thought I needed to fight this thing) and tells me to avoid sick people (wait a minute, am I not sick? should I avoid myself?). But I’ll give it a try. I have to.

Anyway, ever since I got sick not many things got me happy. Yesterday I did laugh a whole lot watching Diane Keaton’s interview on The Ellen DeGeneres show. But then today my friend Mel posted this video on her Facebook and I just had to share it here.

It’s about two Dutch TV hosts (Dennis Storm and Valerio Zeno) who decided to be hooked up to a contraction machine to simulate labor pain. Because who doesn’t want to experience that, right? In fact, it is a type of experience very hard to describe, unless you’ve been through it. The best way I saw it described was that someone was twisting her insides and trying to rip them out of her body. But those two brave nut-jobs decided to go and see what the fuss was all about.

 

Harry Potter in 99 seconds

Another video by Jon Cozart, but this time he’s singing about Harry Potter. And no, I don’t know the kid. Just happened to see one of his videos and thought I’d share them with you.

The best thing in this video, in my opinion, is the way he ends the song. I’ve read all the books and I’ve seen all the movies, but I do know of people who have yet to read and/or watch them (I know, it comes as a shock to me, too).

 

Acts of kindness for Boston

By now I’m assuming you already know what happened April 15th in Boston, so I’m not going into any details.

When something like that happens I can’t help but wonder what has gone wrong? What happened to the human race? What goes through a person’s mind to think that anything that even resembles something that could hurt another human being is okay?

I can’t answer those questions. I can only formulate assumptions as to why someone would have so much hate in their hearts. I can only formulate theories that try to explain what happened to them to lead to such actions. But none of them give me any piece of mind. They make me sad. They make me angry.

So I try to focus my energy on things that are the complete opposite of their actions.

I focus on the image of 78-year-old Bill Iffrig, knocked over by the blast near the finish line, who then picked himself back up and finished the race.

I focus on the first responders who risked their lives without a second thought to rescue and help people.

I focus on the man who used his own belt as a tourniquet and on many others who ripped off their own clothes to help the injured.

I focus on the reports of runners in the marathon who continued past the finish line to area hospitals to donate blood, and on the many, many others who were not even part of the marathon and volunteered as blood donors.

I focus on the many Boston restaurants that not only offered nearby strangers a place to get away from the chaos, charge a phone, use a restroom, and rest, but that also fed those strangers, stating “pay only if you can.”

I focus on the person who picked up the checks of 7 tables (24 people all together).

I focus on the hundreds of people who opened their own homes and offered a bed, a couch, a bathroom, a warm plate of food to the ones affected by this tragedy, either because they were not able to go back to their hotel or had to be there for others who were injured.

I focus on the people from all over the country who decided to buy a drink, donate money or time, and leave happy/inspiring notes to people they knew but also to complete strangers, showing us that acts of kindness are not only restricted to a geographical location.

To all of them, to all of you, I say: THANK YOU! Thank you for restoring my/our faith in humanity.

Read more:

15 acts of kindness during the Boston blasts – KSHB.com

Boston marathon acts of kindness – Mashable.com

26 acts of kindness in the wake of the Boston marathon tragedy – NBCnews.com

 

Ginger, the Cleptocat attacks again

Yeah, I know, I know, I should have known she’d do that. I know that. But I was hoping she wouldn’t…

So I had an allergic reaction and my lips blew up to the size of a house. Okay, maybe not that much, but they were (and still are a little) huge! Okay, maybe not huge, but bigger than normal. The first day it seemed like a lip procedure done wrong. You know when people inject fat (or whatever it is that they do inject) and their lips get huge and they look like three times bigger than they should be? Yeah, not that bad, but close. To be honest my boss didn’t even notice it. She said it looked like my lipstick was not right and it was a little smeared on the edges. I’m still trying to decide what’s worst, for people to think I have something contagious or for them to doubt my ability to properly apply lip gloss.

Anyway, my lips needed some sort of lip balm to keep them moisture. My biggest problem was that I don’t really buy those things because I never remember to put them on. Sure, it’s a little complicated during winter months, but I never had a big problem with my lips, so I never bothered about them. So when this happened, I had to find a lip balm. By sheer luck I had one. A Burt’s Bees one, which does sting a lot when you apply (another reason why I don’t like to apply them).

By now you are wondering, “What does the cat have to do with any of that?” And I assure you, this is needed background information. Of course I could have just said, “I needed a lip balm and only had one,” but what’s the fun on summarizing it like that?

Anyway, so I apply the Burt’s Bees thing and put it next to my bed, on my nightstand, so I could easily reach for it in the morning (or in the middle of the night, if necessary) to reapply the thing. Big mistake. Huge mistake, actually.

Ginger, as you already know, thinks that anything that is small enough to be carried around the house by her is a toy. The fact that she took the lip balm shouldn’t surprise me. However, the fact that it’s been 3 days and I have yet to find the thing does surprise me. I’m curious to know where she hid it.

This is not my cat (or even my lip balm) but you get the idea.

But the worst part was her poker face when I inquired her about the lip balm in the morning. She didn’t even get up, just stared at me from her spot on the covers as if I was the crazy one. I swear I’m not. I know I had a lip balm. And one day I will find it.

In the mean time I ended up having to buy a new lip balm. Okay, Ginger, you win this time. But mark my words: I will find my Burt’s Bees. Yes, I will!

 

Here’s what happened after all their dreams came true

Just saw this today and couldn’t resist. I had to post it.

This video, made by the talented Jon Cozart, went viral, with almost 8 million views already. Whether or not you agree with the political views expressed in the song, it’s hard not to be impressed by what he’s doing.

Warning: Not for children! At least not for little ones. After all, he starts by saying, “If you’ve ever wondered why Disney’s tales all end in lies, here’s what happened after all their dreams came true.”

 

How to defeat your enemies

T-Boy (he likes dinosaurs, that’s why I call him that) was watching a TV show yesterday called Ninjago. Since I don’t know what the show is I should do some research to first get to know the show and then do a brief explanation here, but that would take time. Instead, you’re left with my version of the show: it’s about legos, and they are ninjas, and one of them is the master and the others are learning from the master. That’s it. Kind of a teenage mutant ninja turtles but with less turtles and less pizza.

Anyway, I didn’t really sit there to watch the show, but the little bit I heard was about the ninjas trying to answer some riddle from the master. They’d come with a solution and it was always wrong (of course). Instead of watching the show I tried to distract T-Boy. I was not very successful at that, so I agreed to let him watch the last 5 minutes of the show in peace. He was really invested in it.

At the end the master tells his lego-ninjas: “The secret to defeat your enemies is to become their friend.” T-Boy’s expression was priceless, combined with an “Ah” that I’m sure meant what an interesting concept! Maybe I’ll try that next time. And that’s when I was reminded that as much as we may not like the idea of children watching TV shows all the time, if chosen wisely, they can help us teach them valuable lessons. Not that Ninjago is the best show ever (please, I’ve only watched a few minutes of one show) or that I’m advocating that children should watch more TV (I certainly am not saying that), but there is a team of people working behind TV shows and they do (in some cases) try to send good messages to the children.

Did you watch Dungeons & Dragons? Boy, that was a fun show!

I remember when I was a child and all the TV shows I used to watch. And boy, did I watch TV! The TV was always on. Always. I watched Thundercats, Dungeons & Dragons, Tom & Jerry, Flintstones, Jetsons, Smurfs, Snorks, and so many others. I remember I used to love play-dough as well, and I’d make things from TV shows for my playmobil, like a tiny shell with tiny colored pencils inside. Well, of course it was tiny, have you seen the size of a playmobil’s hand?

I had this! This exact one!

Oh, boy, what a sweet childhood I had. Maybe it’s time to get the box of play-dough out. Maybe I’ll make something the legos can use…

Remember the Snorks?