Getting Into The Holiday Spirit – A Reminder

On By MaryIn Observations & MusingsLeave a comment

(I originally published this here on December 7, 2012)

Last year, during the Christmas holidays, I read a lot of posts from people disillusioned by all of the commercialism so prevalent during the holiday season. Please don’t despair!  Just because the holidays seem to have been co-opted by commercial interests doesn’t mean that the true spirit of the season has to be lost! It doesn’t matter what religion you practice or if you don’t practice any religion at all. There is still something beautiful to be shared and en-JOY-ed during this time of year.  Here are some points to ponder:

  1. We often get so caught up in our daily routines that every single day seems to be the same day & time just flies by without our noticing. During the holiday season, though, things start to look a lot different than on our “ordinary” days. Lights, colorful decorations and joyful music suddenly appear just about everywhere giving us the opportunity to be drawn out of the dream of our daily routines. Take advantage of this opportunity to truly “be there” and to reflect on your life.
  2. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I tend to develop a negative attitude towards the world and the people I encounter throughout the year.  Everyone seems so distant and self-centered and the news is always bad. But during the holiday season, a different spirit seems to permeate – not necessarily other people or the world in general, but within myself. I don’t know if it’s the pretty lights or the music or if it’s just the simple fact that I am now thinking about giving gifts to others instead of just thinking of myself as I do for most of the rest of the year. Whatever it is, I start to see people differently and my heart is filled with love instead of mistrust, disdain or indifference. Maybe I should reflect on this & ask myself if my life might be happier and more meaningful if  I looked at people through the lens of the Holiday Spirit all year long. In other words, maybe the problem is me and not them.
  3. The winter holidays are very interesting from a psychological perspective in that this is the time of the year when the days of sunlight are so short, everything is mostly grey and dead looking. And, yet, this is the time of year when humans choose to celebrate their most festive and extravagant holidays! If this doesn’t speak of a great spirit of Hope & Faith, I don’t know what does. Think about it:  If suddenly everything that supplied you with your life’s sustenance was suddenly dying and disappearing, wouldn’t the sane thing be to hoard as much as you could get your hands on? Instead, we prepare great feasts and give everything away. Think about this deeply.

So, don’t despair! Sure a lot of people are looking to make lots of money from the holidays – it only makes good business sense. But good business sense has nothing to do with the true Holiday Spirit. As stated in #3 above, the holiday season is really all about a glorious foolishness and madness wherein human beings choose Hope & Faith over Fear & Uncertainty! So, let’s all try to take advantage of the season to go a little crazy & to take a look around at the world and at each other and see if maybe there isn’t a little Love, Joy & Hope to be had.

To AI or not to AI? That is the Question

On By MaryIn Miscellaneous, Observations & MusingsLeave a comment

I have nothing at all against AI coming into being. It has just as much right to exist as the rest of us. But what I do think is important, is that we distinguish between human “intelligence” and artificial “intelligence.” My reasoning being the following:

While it’s true that much of human intelligence is gained in the same way that AI is learning: gaining knowledge from those who have gone before, there is a distinct difference. While we humans gain knowledge from others, we also gain knowledge from lived experience in the “real world”. We then couple those two things together, and hopefully gain wisdom. In addition to the ability to gain wisdom, humans also have something called “imagination”. Where does this come from? Is it possible for AI to have this “imagination”? I don’t know, and would like to explore these questions further at a later date.

In the meantime, I think that it is important to share some “real human shit”. In a world where it is becoming increasingly unclear as to whether content on the internet has been created by AI or by a human, I am committed to sharing only my very own imperfect ideas, art and music. When you come here, you can be assured that all of my content is created by a real live human being.

What do you think? Is that important to you? What do you think about human imagination and the possibility of AI having imagination? Join in on the conversation by clicking on the “Leave a Comment” link above or below. I would love to hear your thoughts.

The Party’s Over

On By MaryIn Miscellaneous, Observations & MusingsLeave a comment

Wouldn’t it be totally cool if RFK Jr. won the presidency  in 2024?

Imagine this: People suddenly see that it really is possible to get rid of the ridiculously insane two party system in this country. Up come some Congressional elections and independents win these also. Suddenly things are getting done to the benefit of the people in this country instead of dogmatic adherence to the principles of one party or the other. Seriously. Why do we pay the salaries of these 535 elected assholes when we could save a whole lot of money by just electing 2, one from each party to fight it out with each other. We could get rid of the Capitol Building and turn it into rentable office space or condos or something and just put the two of them into a tiny Thunderdome-style tent and let them go at it. Think of the cost savings and the money making opportunities! Honestly, does it really matter who we elect to ruin…I mean run (is this really a typo though?) the country when they are only going to vote the “party line”? Two will do!

Instead, imagine a Congress filled with 535 people with no particular party affiliation, no obligation or expectation to vote in a particular way. We might actually solve some problems and create a great country again.

If you really want to Make America Great Again, vote 3rd party and say “fuck off” to the bloated elephants and stubborn asses that we seem to think we are stuck with now.

Hell is Other People

On By MaryIn Miscellaneous, Observations & MusingsLeave a comment

Once you realize the cold, hard truth – that no one, and I mean, no one gives a shit about you, life gets so much easier. No more conflict. No more expectations being dashed. No more hurt feelings. No more trying to convince anybody of anything. Fuck it. Fuck them. Fuck it all. Then you just go about your life doing your thing totally free. Sure, you yourself care about others, which kind of puts the kibosh on this theory, but you just ignore that fact and keep on keeping on. Occasionally, you have a meaningful and even beautiful encounter with another, but you know that it must remain brief and that you must move on before expectations begin to develop, fucking up the whole thing. And this is how you live until you die. Happy and free. Sartre was right: Hell IS other people, but he should have qualified that with Hell is other people with long-term proximity, obligations or expectations. Because, damn, sometimes other people are heavenly.

I’m Such a Fucking Liar, Apparently

On By MaryIn MiscellaneousLeave a comment

So, my last post was about me promising to post more frequently. That was like 5 years ago! Sorry for being such a fucking liar. It wasn’t intentional lying. Life just overtook me for a while, I guess. The best part is that I have made HUGE changes in my life since then. The best change that I have made is that I’m totally committed to being myself now. No more phony bullshit. In having totally accepted who I am and releasing the fear of expressing myself to everyone in my life just as I am, I have managed to accomplish many of my previous goals fairly effortlessly. So, if you’re offended by profanity and/or raw emotions or dirty truths or unpopular opinions, then I’m sorry to lose you. But I would much rather lose you than ever lose myself again. When I look back on many of the posts I previously made on this website, I want to vomit. Just look at my perfect and happy fucking life! Lies. Lies to myself even. I never thought I was the kind of person to put on a phony face, but apparently I was. That’s not an easy thing to learn about yourself, but is a very valuable lesson. It’s super scary to really get to know yourself and to be yourself in this world. But if you don’t, you will never really be alive. The name of this website is Naked on a Strange Planet, but I’m afraid I was too afraid to expose my “nakedness” (check out the About page) or to really express how strange this planet really is to me.

Summer Deep

On By MaryIn T.Rex Guitar TabsLeave a comment

From the Eponymous album

Bb Dm Gm
Summer Deep is in the hills again
Ab F
His lady is a lioness
Bb Dm Gm
Winds of birds blow through the fields again
Ab Cm
Invaders from the true worlds
Bb Dm Gm
A coat of grapes is on my back again
Ab F
I ride upon my zebra
Bb Dm Gm
Pteradactyl beak hat on my brow
Ab Cm
The truth is like a stranger
F
Be like you could
Gm
All my friends say (riff 1)
Bb Dm Gm
Summer Deep is in the hills again
Ab F
His lady is a lioness
Bb Dm Gm
Winds of birds blow through the fields again
Ab Cm
Invaders from the true worlds
Bb Dm Gm
A coat of grapes is on my back again
Ab F
I ride upon my zebra
Bb Dm Gm
Pteradactyl beak hat on my brow
Ab Cm
The truth is like a stranger
F
Be like you could
Gm
All my friends say (riff 1)
F
Be like you could
Gm
All my friends say (riff 1)
F
Be like you could
Gm
All my friends say (riff 2)

Riff 1

-|———————————————————-——|

-|—————————————————-————|

-|————-5b(7)—(7)b5—3—5——————|

-|——————————————————-———|

-|-6—-5—————————–————————|

-|———————————————-——————|

Riff 2

-|———————————–—————————————————————————-—–————-|

-|————————————–—————————————————————————-——–——-|

-|————–—5b(7)—(7)b5—3—5——-3—————————————————————–——|

-|——————————————————————5—3—5b(7)—(7)b5—3—5——3——–—|

-|-6-5————————————————————————————————————-—-5-3-|

-|—————————————————————————————-——————-———————-|

-|—————————————————————————————————-3——————-|

-|—————————————————————————————————-3——————-|

-|—————————————————————————————————-4——————-|

-|——————————————————————————–————-——-5——————-|

-|-5b(7)—(7)b5—3—5——3————————–———————————5——————-|

-|———————————————5b(6)—(6)b5—3-3-3-3——3———3——————-|

Wow, The Times They Have-a Changed

On By MaryIn MiscellaneousLeave a comment

I haven’t posted anything here for a very long time. Wow. Things sure have changed, both in the world and in my own life. I feel like I’m really starting this blog over again from scratch. I will leave all the old stuff, though, even though quite a bit of material that I linked to way back then is gone now. Time is like water, flowing and eroding and shaping everything in its path. And deleting YouTube videos and websites apparently. I will try to go through my old posts and remove some of the ones that are mere links to now non-existent stuff.

WordPress has changed a lot too – for the better, in my opinion. I really like the new post editor and settings page. It’s a lot easier to use than I remember. I hope to be posting a few times a week now and get back to what I used to love doing and to the WordPress community that I used to love being a part of. I’m really glad to see that two of my favorite fellow bloggers are still around – Matt over at The Left Hand of Ehud and Paul at Return to the 80s. If you haven’t already, you should definitely check them out.

 

Getting Into The Holiday Spirit

On By MaryIn Observations & MusingsLeave a comment

Last year, during the Christmas holidays, I read a lot of posts from people disillusioned by all of the commercialism so prevalent during the holiday season. Please don’t despair!  Just because the holidays seem to have been co-opted by commercial interests doesn’t mean that the true spirit of the season has to be lost! It doesn’t matter what religion you practice or if you don’t practice any religion at all. There is still something beautiful to be shared and en-JOY-ed during this time of year.  Here are some points to ponder:

  1. We often get so caught up in our daily routines that every single day seems to be the same day & time just flies by without our noticing. During the holiday season, though, things start to look a lot different than on our “ordinary” days. Lights, colorful decorations and joyful music suddenly appear just about everywhere giving us the opportunity to be drawn out of the dream of our daily routines. Take advantage of this opportunity to truly “be there” and to reflect on your life.
  2. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I tend to develop a negative attitude towards the world and the people I encounter throughout the year.  Everyone seems so distant and self-centered and the news is always bad. But during the holiday season, a different spirit seems to permeate – not necessarily other people or the world in general, but within myself. I don’t know if it’s the pretty lights or the music or if it’s just the simple fact that I am now thinking about giving gifts to others instead of just thinking of myself as I do for most of the rest of the year. Whatever it is, I start to see people differently and my heart is filled with love instead of mistrust, disdain or indifference. Maybe I should reflect on this & ask myself if my life might be happier and more meaningful if  I looked at people through the lens of the Holiday Spirit all year long. In other words, maybe the problem is me and not them.
  3. The winter holidays are very interesting from a psychological perspective in that this is the time of the year when the days of sunlight are so short, everything is mostly grey and dead looking. And, yet, this is the time of year when humans choose to celebrate their most festive and extravagant holidays! If this doesn’t speak of a great spirit of Hope & Faith, I don’t know what does. Think about it:  If suddenly everything that supplied you with your life’s sustenance was suddenly dying and disappearing, wouldn’t the sane thing be to hoard as much as you could get your hands on? Instead, we prepare great feasts and give everything away. Think about this deeply.

So, don’t despair! Sure a lot of people are looking to make lots of money from the holidays – it only makes good business sense. But good business sense has nothing to do with the true Holiday Spirit. As stated in #3 above, the holiday season is really all about a glorious foolishness and madness wherein human beings choose Hope & Faith over Fear & Uncertainty! So, let’s all try to take advantage of the season to go a little crazy & to take a look around at the world and at each other and see if maybe there isn’t a little Love, Joy & Hope to be had.