The Times They Are A’Changing

The land of Twitter is a very interesting place. The reasons for my involvement have changed and evolved slightly over time, but for the most part, I participate to keep up with what’s happening and to chat with people with at least one common interest, one Mr. David Cook. My core group consists of a wide range of personalities and backgrounds, but another commonality is that everyone, at one time or another, has had me literally laughing hysterically at some smart witty comment. The place is just plain fun. Over time, we have shed our clothes, so to speak, and have exposed more of our personal selves completely unrelated to that original common bond that brought us here.  I have grown to admire and respect a great number of people for many different reasons, which is why loosing one of those people has had a greater effect than one would expect.

Not too long ago, that experience of loosing a much admired and respected follower hit me harder than it probably should have. It felt like she was breaking up with me. Dumb, I know. Or maybe it wasn’t as off the wall as I thought. It made me realize that I need to stand up for myself and my mental well being, just as this person did.  I have, for a long time now, been ignoring and trying to pass over comments that bother me, biting my tongue and holding my fingers when what I really want to do is comment or debate. This particular person left me because of a comment I made, and rather than engage, she eliminated the source (something I haven’t had the courage to do). At first, it didn’t really make sense to me, but looking at it from that point of view I thought, maybe it’s time to free myself.

So here I am, making my stand, and on my way to taking charge of my Twitter. I’m just so tired of hiding in the shadows, and if this costs me more, then so be it.

I know that the vast majority of my core group are not of the same political persuasion as I am, so I generally keep my beliefs (especially political ones) to myself.  I don’t think that it serves any purpose to alienate anyone, especially since political discussion is not the reason I tweet. But here in my own blog I will strip off a layer and state for the record that I am a registered Republican, fiscally conservative, but socially, leaning slightly over the left side of the fence. The comment that I made was at a weak moment when I let down my guard and made a rare comment about our President. I should have known better than to put it out there, but he was on my TV, preempting a show I wanted to watch, saying things I had no interest in and I just wanted him to shut up.  I’ve always been respectful of the presidency, but this guy just yanks my chain. I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt in the beginning, but when he came out and said “We don’t mind the Republicans joining us. They can come for a ride, but they gotta sit in back.”, it really pissed me off and he lost all of my respect. It was racist and insulting and very unpresidential. He continues to be rude and condescending and disrespectful to me and those of us who don’t agree with him, so my opinion is not likely to change. I won’t even start to get into what I think of what his policies are doing to this economy. Everything is worse, not better, I mean seriously, is anyone better off than they were 4 years ago?  I’m feeling it first hand in my family and my business. Everything I’ve worked for over the last 37 years is being destroyed and I’m not happy about it. And no, I will not eat my fucking peas.  I also am tired of the blame game… grow some balls and take some responsibility.  I could go on and on, but I’m not going to force feed anyone since that’s the thing that has brought me to this point. I just feel the need to explain, in part, why I feel the way I do.

There… that feels better.

I generally don’t have a problem with people stating opinions and having an educated debate, but I don’t respect those opinions that are built on half truths, misrepresented sound bites and just blind emotion. I see far too much of that in my timeline lately and I know it’s going to get worse as the political season heats up. I just don’t understand how people can be so hateful towards people they don’t even know or understand. It’s not just politics either, it’s other artists and entertainers and far too often, certain reality show contestants who are ripped to shreds for no good reason. It bothers me even more when the target is someone I actually like. Again, I’m usually in the minority on that front. I just can’t take it sitting down anymore.

So there it is. I simply think it’s time for me to eliminate the potential confrontations. All I want to do is have fun and enjoy myself in this virtual world. My hope here is that by understanding where I’m coming from, people will understand why I have to do what I have to do.  Besides, getting it out and writing it down is great therapy. (Gee, where have I heard that before?)

I don’t see mass deletion in my future, but I will from time to time, be unfollowing some people based on general attitude or specific tweets that make me uncomfortable, upset, or just plain uninterested.  Some may prove to be quite surprising even to me.  Even I don’t know who or when it will be at this exact moment, but I’ll know when I see it.  I hope that this will clarify my reasoning and unspecifically answer the inevitable question, “Why did you unfollow me?”  Trust me, it’s not that I don’t like you. The truth is, I haven’t met anyone in person, so our relationship is a virtual one, and I can’t “not” like you if I don’t really know you. I only know your words, and they reflect what I “think” I know about you.  I just feel that I have been compromising myself in an effort to not confront or insult people I don’t even know. I simply need to stay true to myself in the real world.

I suspect that perhaps, down the road, when the band gets on the road, we’ll have something else to talk about and I’ll refollow people (if I’m allowed). I guess in a sense, I’m not writing anyone off, I’m just taking a much needed vacation from some family members.

I wore it thin and my filter broke....

I'm feeling a little (just a little) "morning after" remorse today after the AI season finale and well, most of the season for that matter.  I have a lot of feelings floating around in my brain, in part regarding the twitter drama of the night, and my involvement in part of it. I'll try to keep it short and to the point, but I need to get this out.

My frustration with my twitter peeps is very real, but I lost my cool and it's very unlike me to do that.  Not all of them of course, but a few who just push my buttons once in a while. I know, I know.... just unfollow, but that's not it, and it's not always the same people.   Most of the time Twitter is my happy place, I've said it a thousand times, but sometimes I wonder how people who are normally pleasant and witty and funny can at times be so mean and insulting. Geez Louise.... It makes my head spin.

I realize that we all have different tastes in music. Our ears hear different things, and I kind of wish I understood the science of that, but I don't. One person will love the sound of a voice, and another hearing the same thing finds the noise painful.  That I understand, but what irks me is that neither of those people are right or wrong, just different. Am I the only one who sees that?  I fail to see the need to proclaim that the person sucks, or can't sing at all, or whatever attack is felt necessary.  It's simple, you don't like it, fine, but why be so hurtful. It's also insulting and painful to the person who actually likes it or is a fan.  Trust me, I know the feeling. All Cook fans should understand that too. How do we feel when someone trashes Dave? It hurts.

I've heard all the arguments before, and this has nothing to do with freedom of speech, or political correctness. It's about being considerate of others feelings.  Which is exactly how David operates, even though some think he's just being PC for the sake of appearance. I think he genuinely cares about people's feelings, and as a result, chooses his words carefully.  There's nothing wrong with that.  People tell me I should go ahead and state my opinions, but whenever I do, I'm attacked (directly and indirectly) because apparently I'm in the minority and an easy target. I'm also fairly conservative and reserved, which makes me not so quick to look for or encourage an argument.  So that's my deal. When it comes to past Idols, I keep quiet about my true feelings about Archie, Kris and especially Lee, because I don't want to make people feel bad. It serves no purpose.  However, that's exactly what got me in hot water this time.

After a season of seeing people trash this year's contestants, who in my opinion, were all talented in their own way, even if I didn't like their style or vocal tone. And then all the whining and moaning about Lee not being invited to perform at the finale, I just lost it.

So here's the way it is.  None of us knows what Lee's relationship is with the record company, 19, and whoever books the talent (I use that word loosely) for the finale. He certainly hasn't performed to what I would assume the label had expected.  We know from our experience following David, that the upfront money they get for their record deals gets paid back from what they earn.  Looking at the numbers, I doubt Lee has earned his keep, so to speak. There's a possibility that his relationship with the record isn't all that stellar. Only they know.  If they see someone who is a bigger draw with more fans, that person is going to get the gig. It's business, plain and simple. Personally, I don't like Lee. I don't like his voice, and he always sounds off key to "my ears", and judging by his success or lack thereof, I'm not alone. But that's not the point.

The point is, that all the complaining to and about TPTB was not going to change the fact that Lee wasn't performing.  Period.  All of the nasty comments were not going to make them change their minds or even feel bad about it. Furthermore, if Lee was that upset about it, I don't think he would have showed up steaming, just to sit in the audience. It seems to me that his brother was the one who started the big stink in the first place. I won't even elaborate on that.

So I stand by my feeling that it happened (or didn't in this case). It is what it is. Just get over it and move on.
If some people were offended by that, I'm sorry you feel that way, but that's my story and I'm sticking with it.

Introduction

How did I get here?

Well, there was this guy. He sang really well, and wasn't too bad to look at either.
So I decided to follow his career, and somewhere along the way, I was sucked in, big time.

I learned about social networking, blogs and threads, chats and listening to concerts over cell phones. What?  Yea, cellphones. Then there was MySpace and Facebook and then Twitter. Oh boy did that one get me.  Not only did it introduce me to a whole new form of socializing, but solidly planted me in the middle of a group of people who, even though we come from many different places, and have many different views on life and life's issues, we have a solid common bond. The love for a single musician. Thank you David Cook.

Even though I haven't met most of my "friends" in person, I feel like I really know them. I enjoy the sharing of thoughts on everything from music to family and the entire spectrum of our lives, but most of all, I love the laughter.

So I have arrived here with my own Blog. A place to share my thoughts, my views, and my frustrations. Not in 140 characters, not in the heat of a discussion, just a place to clear my mind of whatever moves me at any particular time.  A place for you to get to know me better, if you so choose, to dig a little deeper into my brain.  Who knows, maybe I'll learn a little about myself along the way.

It's time to go for now. I'm off the the wedding of someone very special to me.  One of my son's best friends, who has adopted me as her other Mom. It may sound strange, but this is my first commitment ceremony. 
Being from the old school, this is going to be a new experience for me, but I'm extremely excited and happy for her.Congratulations to Heather and Mary. Love you guys.