Making Connections with Social Media

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Are we more connected with social media? Facebook is great at reminding me of people’s birthdays and I get to be a voyeur into their lives when they share photos of their latest activities, partners, children, grandchildren or pets. Really I do appreciate being reminded of someone’s birthday because I am very bad at remembering other than my immediate family.  At least I can see that people are still alive when I see their photos. I can wish them Happy Birthday on the right day. I like congratulating them on their achievements if they choose to share. I can click on “like” or make a  comment. But do I feel closer to them? Not really. It is a pseudo closeness.

I resisted Email at first because I felt that it was not a good substitute for letters or phone calls. Then I succumbed to using it because it was a practical way to keep in touch with a distant family member and my daughter when she was in college.

Now the latest form of communication I have adopted is texting. I can see the practicality of texting when I am running around doing a lot and need to quickly remind someone to pick something up at the market or that I am running late. But as an exclusive form of communication, or to check in and say hello, texting is not the best. It is better than nothing and I can use it to make dates to really get together in person or have a phone talk. If it is just having a conversation in abbreviations, I find I can not really get much of a sense of the person I am texting with. With blogging, texting, tweeting or posting on Facebook we do not get the total picture of the person even if we get a photo. What I mean by this is we do not get the body language and facial expression or tone of voice that communicates so much about what is really going on with someone else. We get a few sentences and maybe some emoticons.

We really need to slow down and talk with each other don’t we in order to maintain any real relationship? Do you feel Facebook and texting or tweeting helps to maintain your relationships? Or are you wanting something more? Do you find it distracting and superficial? Like making electronic small talk?

The need to be texting or reading our Facebook page or checking out what is posted on WordPress is a way to entertain ourselves and keep from being bored or lonely but at what cost? It has an addictive quality like playing a video game. It is momentarily distracting and entertaining. It does not make  a demand on us to think about much but the most superficial things. Besides affecting the quality of our relationships I would say it eats up a lot of time we could be using for something more meaningful.

If we let ourselves be controlled by social media it will impact the quality of our lives and what kind of society we live in. If we let ourselves be constantly seduced and distracted by social media it could keep us from fully living our lives. Do you try to balance the time you spend on social media with other activities? Do you make a special effort to un-plug? Do you think it is a good idea to make certain times off-limits to social media or texting like during dinner with your family/kids?

Here is an interesting TED talk on this issue:

Sherry Turkle TED talk Alone Together

Writer’s Quote Wednesday-Creativity

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“Creativeness often consists of merely turning up what is already there. Did you know that right and left shoes were thought up only a little more than a century ago? ”

–Bernice Fitz-Gibbon

Being creative is taking materials already available and putting them together in a new way. What do you think?

Bernice Fitz-Gibbon (1894-1982) was a retail advertising executive for stores like Marshall Field and Macys. She eventually had her own agency and was named to the Advertising Hall of Fame. She was very forward thinking for her era.

 

|Writer’s Quote Wednesday|

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Tangerines are from Tangiers

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For Stream of Consciousness Saturday we are given the prompt to write something that includes the letter “t.”  I am reminded of tangerines.

Every year at Christmas we hung up our special decorated Christmas stocking that our mother had made for us and labeled with our names. On Christmas morning we found our stockings filled with tangerines, whole walnuts and candy canes. I carried on this tradition when my kids were little and would include chocolate and small toys. I left out the whole walnuts for my kids.

Tangerines got their name from Tangiers, Morocco where they originated. The season of tangerines is from autumn to spring. Citrus fruit would have been considered a delicacy for many people in the world. After better transport became available citrus in winter was more common.

I remember growing up that citrus from California was considered a special gift along with dried fruit and dates. There was a company called  Mission Pak which shipped gift packs of oranges, dried fruit, dates and nuts to people in other parts of the country. We used to hear their jingle all the time  around the holidays. It went “Say the magic words, say Mission Pak and it’s on its merry way! No gift so bright, so gay, so light, give the Mission Pak magic way!”

Later in my life, after I had moved to LA, I would see gift packs like these at the Farmers Market on Fairfax. Tourists would buy them or have them shipped as gifts.

Did you get tangerines or oranges in your Christmas stocking? Do you remember Mission Pak? I really like the little Clementines that are seedless. They are a nice size for kids to have for snacks and no worry about spitting out or swallowing seeds.

6831078913_f7bd5c6893_z Photo courtesy of Orange County Archives

 

|LindaGHill|

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New Year

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“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language
And next year’s words await another voice.”–T.S. Eliot

 

I intended during my holiday hiatus to do some writing for my blog and maybe tinker with my blog page design. I wanted to think about possible topics for future posts.

Well I did not get anything accomplished because a flu bug derailed my plans. I do think it was not the worst bought of flu I have had. I do get the flu shot every year in hopes of preventing an  infection. But it was definitely enough to knock me out for about a week now. So no thinking about writing and no writing. I did finish reading 2 books the past couple of days which shows I am getting back in the swing.

I read Michael Connelly’s latest book “The Burning Room” about one of my favorite detectives Harry Bosch and I read John Grisham’s book “Gray Mountain,” and liked the themes of little guy against big corrupt corporations and environmental issues. I have had several books waiting to be read and it is good to start getting into them. I read Louise Penny’s latest ” The Long Way Home” before Christmas. Still love Inspector Gamache and Ruth the curmudgeon-y Quebecer Poet with her pet duck Rosa.

The Christmas holiday time was great although my energy level was affected by this flu bug that was starting to do its work. I got to spend time with both of my kids. We did travel up north and had fun visiting my daughter. It was colder but there was sunshine.

Just waiting for my energy level to get up to normal. Still feel like taking a nap. Looks like it will be a quiet New Years as I recuperate. We’re thinking about Chinese food and DVDs.

Happy New Year!

My Excuse with a Few Synonyms Added

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images Origin of the domestic dog via wikipedia

I can’t submit my post about the word “excuse”

because my dog ate my lap top.

And I don’t have a dog.

Can you let that slide?

It is not a cop out.

Will you let me off the hook?

I am really having trouble with this prompt.

This is my apology.

For not having a post.

Can you hear my plea?

This is my plea bargain.

I promise to write something better after New Years.

|LindaGHill|

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A Few Favorite Things for the Holidays

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untitled Unknown Children, probably Carolers by Louisa Anne Marchioness via wikimedia

The best thing about the holidays for me is getting together with my kids. I do not get into a lot of shopping, decorating, sending out holiday cards, knitting, baking or making eggnogs. My husband sometimes will make the eggnog. I try not to drink more than one serving because it is a bit fattening but very tasty. I did have a pint of eggnog ice cream in the freezer and now somehow it is gone.

I appreciate all the yummy things Trader Joes  has on sale this time of year like Honey Walnut Fig Cream Cheese. Another great invention of theirs is Slicing Brie which is a little log of brie that you can slice for crackers. Great for entertaining or snacking. Guaranteed to add several more inches and pounds.

I do contact friends and family at least by email or Facebook to wish them happy which ever holiday they are celebrating. I give money to the Santa ringing the bell in front of the Salvation Army kettle. I like to buy a toy for Toys for Tots.

There is something else I like about the holidays. It is listening to the Christmas music on the radio. At least at the beginning of the season. They start playing it right after Thanksgiving. By the time Christmas rolls around I have had enough.

Many of the songs or carols take me back to when I was in Catholic school. They still raise my spirits when I first hear them. Like Come All Ye Faithful, The First Noel, Little Town of Bethlehem, Joy to the World, Silent Night and Angels We Have Heard on High. We used to sing some of them in Latin. Angels We Have Heard on High has the phrase ” Gloria, in excelsis Deo” ( Glory to God in the Highest)  and O Come all Ye Faithful in Latin is Adeste Fideles and here in part:

Adeste Fideles laeti triumphantes,
Venite, venite in Bethlehem.
Natum videte, Regem Angelorum;

Refrain:

Venite adoremus,
venite adoremus,
venite adoremus
Dominum!

I have a memory of singing that carol in a choir with my classmates. I don’t think we sounded like this via You Tube by Julio Fernanadez:

Others I like are Hark the Herald Angels Sing, We Three Kings of Orient Are, and Deck the Halls. There are others that I have learned later in life The Holly and the Ivy and O Come Emmanuel. I think O Come Emmanuel is beautiful. I first heard The Holly and the Ivy in an old  British film of the same title.

Of course we all sang Jingle Bells, Frosty the Snowman, Santa Claus is Coming to Town and Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer.

Do you have any favorite holiday songs?

My Writing Space

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Guilty Pleasure

My Writing Space

At present I do not have a separate room where I do my writing. I sit at our kitchen table and write on my laptop. I do have a couple of open rooms in the house that I could convert to a physical space for myself to write. These were my kids bedrooms. One still contains some of my daughters furniture and other belongings.  At some point in the near future I envision setting up one of these bedrooms for myself.

For so many years when my kids were growing up I did not have a space for myself in the house. I often thought how nice it would be to have a room to use as an office or just for my own space. Maybe it is because I have gotten so used to not having a room of my own that I haven’t set one of our bedrooms up for myself yet.

The environment can be less than ideal in a shared space like the kitchen. My husband often works at home. He can be going in and out of the room and talking to me. There have been many times when I get pretty irritable about being interrupted when I am on my blog. Especially when I am writing and organizing my thoughts. If the radio is on with music or news this can be another irritation. On my own I work in the quiet.

Space for writing is not just physical. It is psychological as well. It is taking the time out of the day to sit down, ponder and allow the creative process to begin. I need to carve out the time every day for myself to be creative in this way. To make a writing space in my day and in my life.

katgotyourtongueThis post is for the writing event on Kat’s blog Dandelion Fuzz. The event is open to all interested bloggers. Click on the link for more info.