re: mulitiply sarcasmic or today's angst brought to you by the letter S

Sarcasm is the refuge of small minds or so they say. There are so many quotes and quips denouncing sarcasm that to list them would take two internets.

But it gets damned more than it deserves. I'm not completely endorsing it - rather I'm defending the necessity of unpleasant things. Some people are sarcastic because they are terrible, others because they feel terrible, and sometimes it's the habit of terrible feelings past.

To wit: "Sarcasm: the last refuge of modest and chaste souled people when the privacy of their soul is coarsly and intrusivley invaded." Dostoevsky

Perhaps that feeling of invasion - or fear thereof - lasts longer than the invasion itself and so that sarcasm you developed carries over as your go-to defense mechanism. The sarcastic are, or were once, insecure people. But so is everyone really, at least a little.

Let's not get too melodramatic - the sarcastic are not all broken or fragile or pathetic. But they were, once, and the sarcasm is the scar of where they broke once or were afraid of breaking. But scar tissue is not inherently unhealthy - it can cause problems, even prevent growth, but it's also a sign of healing and re-growth.

And it has to be because I am at my least sarcastic when I feel most comfortable - except when I'm my most sarcastic when I feel most comfortable. So embrace the 'casm where it is the space allowing two objects to exist.

To wit: "Sarcasm and compassion are two of the qualities that make life on earth tolerable." Nick Hornby.

re: no babies OR how much of a revolution is the Pill really?

So this is a little bit fantastic.

And the point about "haven't yet figured out how to safely and easily kill sperm" is moot because the resources haven't been put into finding one. Same for a lot of things that rich white men aren't really invested in. (ouch)

Why Is There No Sperm-Killing Birth Control Pill?
[from Scienceblog via Jezebel.com]

Greg Laden at Science Blogs tests the theory that men only want to spread their seed, and questions why it is that there's no male birth control pill.

I mean, other than the potentially obvious reason that scientists haven't yet figured out how to safely and easily kill sperm while maintaining a man's potential to continue creating it. Laden says it's about control.

Read the rest of the commentary.

Read the original (always read the original guys).

re: actual first paid web writing on the web

I can't believe! Of course I've been paid to write before! It wasn't a major corporation but a small one, a not for profit BIA from which I learned a lot.

These profiles, Burnaby Dental, On the Rocks Curling, DeliJohn Market, Urban Seafood, Custodio Photography, Making Memories with Scrapbooking are by yours truly.
They aren't permanent pages so I'll have to get a new strategy for this post soon, were finished ages ago and were posted slightly less ages ago as my pictures had to be re-taken.

Read them, it won't be boring (it probably will be though).

Also, I finished a lot of content for their project pages, and I helped develop that nifty catch phrase/brand "Life as it should be." What I'm saying is, I'm a freaking marketing dynamo.

Anywhere, I learned all about the golden corporate voice writing for this website.

re: Web writing on the web - the man pays really well guys

So I'm tempting the corporate gods by posting this but I'm so damn proud of myself.

I don't care that it's not high faluting, and I don't care that it's corporate, and I really don't care if writing for a utility is not your idea of creativity. It takes another type of creativity to do this, think about it like problem solving.

But I wrote something and a major corporation allowed themselves to be associated with it in public. So, pride.

Now I've done a lot for the internal site which is too cool for you guys to see.
But I can show you these sections that I researched and developed and was the main writer for
Careers Main Page
Field Ops, Engineering, Marketing and Relief descriptions
Living in BC

Of course, there was a process that cleans out much of my voice.
That's the corporate voice - master that and you're golden for hire.

And of course, I didn't choose that picture.

Bye.

re: Rollercoasters OR the larger than life is life

Here is another Peak gem, this one about a cool lady, Alison Norlen, and her exhibition at the SFU Gallery.

Alison Norlen takes us to sensational places
By Maegan Thomas, Associate Staff Contributor

“Roller Coaster — it’s a great symbol for this exhibition. A roller coaster is not just a physical journey, it’s a psychological journey. Roller coasters can be exciting, fun, but also scary and a little dangerous.”

Alison Norlen presents a sampling of her work at the SFU Gallery, highlighting her ongoing affair with fantastic landscapes and her transition to the melancholy and monolithic. She spoke with me about her subjects and style.

Finish the article! (I'll know if you don't)