exuberating

excerpt from a recent aaron karo ruminations....


-I was hitting on a girl recently who told me how her job takes her around the world, and that she finds travel “exuberating.” As we continued talking, I discreetly tweeted that this wasted chick had just made up a word by combining “exuberant” and “exhilarating.” Only later when I Googled it did I realize it’s actually a real word. Now, granted, given the situation, I’m 100% positive that she stumbled upon it and did not use it on purpose, but nevertheless I feel humbled. I guess the world can learn a lot from slurring drunk chicks.


http://www.ruminations.com/column/178


ps. the blogger headline is highlighted as a misspelled word. 

hit of the day....

"Take Back The City" Snow Patrol

Take back the city for yourself tonight
Or I’ll take back the city for me
Take back the city for yourself tonight
Whoa

God knows you put your life in two a times
And it’s both cradled you and crushed
But now it’s time to make your own demands
Whoa

All these years later and it’s killing me
Your broken records and words
Ten thousand craters where it all should be 
Whoa

No need to put your words into my mouth
Don’t need convincing at all
I love this place enough to have no doubt
Whoa

It’s a mess
It’s a start
It’s a flawed work of art
Your city, your call
Every crack, every wall
Pick a side, pick a fight
Get your epitaph right
You can sing ‘til you drop
Cause the fun just never stops

I love this city tonight 
I love this city always
It bears it’s teeth like a light
And spits me out after days
But we’re all gluttons for it 
We know what’s wrong and it’s right
For every time it’s been hit
Take back the city tonight

Tell me you never wanted more from this
And I will stop talking now
One perfect partner, one eternal kiss
Whoa

Take back the city for yourself tonight
Or I’ll take back the city for me
Take back the city for yourself tonight
Whoa

It’s a mess
It’s a start
It’s a flawed work of art
Your city, your call
Every crack, every wall
Pick a side, pick a fight
Get your epitaph right
You can sing ‘til you drop
Cause the fun just never stops

I love this city tonight 
I love this city always
It bears it’s teeth like a light
And spits me out after days
But we’re all gluttons for it 
We know what’s wrong and it’s right
For every time it’s been hit
Take back the city tonight

I love this city tonight 
I love this city always
It bears it’s teeth like a light
And spits me out after days
But we’re all gluttons for it 
We know what’s wrong and it’s right
For every time it’s been hit
Take back the city tonight

I love this city tonight 
I love this city always
I love this city tonight 
I love this city always 

perspective

watch this....

me am

growing up i was constantly reminded that if i  added the "am" after i or me i would know which was the proper use. 


i still don't really stop and think about the am, i just say me or i. sometimes i hear the haunting reminder but i honestly just laugh about it.


i have never been one for conforming to "the rules" just because someone made it so. for instance, not a fan of caps. maybe its lazy typing (i also do not type with the "right" fingers on the "right" keys) but i think its much more an aesthetics thing. i like the way the lower case letters look. except in a few people's handwriting that is all caps - and i envy it. weird i know!


but i never liked all the rules that went along with writing. i think that's a big part why i didn't pursue a career (paid at least!) in writing. the rules always took away the pleasure of the expression, the art of writing... 


in the beginning of my dream internship at an advertising agency, the creative director told me that "..." was not to be used in advertising. it wasn't good. period. i could have quit right then but there are actually some rules i follow. 


so, i use the "..." and did in my various work beyond there, but, i wasn't going to quit my internship on the spot, or not follow through with my degree....i just wasn't necessarily going to be doing anything related to it for a career... 


i obviously use more than needed commas, or so i have been told. but i write as i think and i need to denote a pause somehow, when i pause for thought. maybe it's cocky. 


i like changing spelling of words to suit my fancy, shorten words (again maybe laziness but maybe aesthetics....) and on the rare occasion i have enjoyed (making) a word longer. hott. "(it's) so hott (it) got an extra t"...kerry.  (www.kerrykrenzin.com)


i specifically like adding/using k's, x's, and words with z's. k because my name starts with a k, and most people will never ever ever remember that. i once got a note on a self-addressed envelope addressed to "cori". and even in emails when using my email that has my name in it, still - dear cori. i like x's and z's because they're just not used enough. and they're "hard" letters. if you don't get that i don't know what to tell you. it made my first sighting of zzyzx road very very exciting. well, that and something else. i really pretty much wish i could live on that street. if it wasn't in the middle of nowhere. would just be a bad ass address.  

i don't know why/what differentiates my use of "..." versus "-" versus ",". they're all pauses. different kinds somehow.


i doubt i could ever be a legitimate paid writer, as i doubt i will ever conform to any writing style out of a text/hand book. not to pat myself on the back, but i could count on one hand the number of non "A" papers i got throughout my whole life, mostly because the few that were not, were very impactful for reasons much greater than the grade itself). furthermore i took a variety of writing courses from creative writing to journalism, copy writing, scriptwriting, copy editing, press writing, and so on, and seemingly did so well enough. i just "abhorred" the rules. that "abhorred" is a quirky reference to my father, also a "writer". he, i think, thrives on those rules? (i just LOL'd remembering some funny moments. and i would NEVER use LOL like that had it not been a hank moody reference. i doubt you're keeping up with me. whoever YOU are...)


CAPS. for yelling or VERY very important emphasizing. (changed emphasis to emphasizing to get in a z....)


so, i apologize now, and likely only now, for my abhorring grammar, spelling errors (which i promise you is almost always intentional as i always spell check...), lowercase letters, abbreviations, extra punctuation and such. i hope, you can read past that, and read just simply what i write, the content, the words, and not be too concerned with all the rules...

i came across this seth godin blog recently and i think it nicely applies here....

Interpreting criticism

Heartfelt criticism of your idea or your art is usually right (except when it isn't...)

Check out this letter from the publisher of a magazine you've never heard of to the founder of a little magazine called Readers Digest:

But, personally, I don't see how you will be able to get enough subscribers to support it. It is expensive for its size. It isn't illustrated... I have my doubts about the undertaking as a publishing venture.

Of course, he was right--given his assumptions. And that's the except part.

Criticism of your idea is usually based on assumptions about the world as it is. Jackson Pollock could never have made it as an painter in the world as it was. And Harry Potter was rejected by just about everyone because for it to succeed the way kids read would have to change.

The useful element of this sort of criticism isn't that the fact that people embracing the status quo don't like your idea. Of course they don't. The interesting question is: what about the world as it is would have to change for your idea to be important?

In the case of Readers Digest, the key thing that changed was the makeup of who was reading magazines. Most of the people (and it was a lot of people) who subscribed to the Digest didn't read other magazines. And so comparing to other magazines made no sense, except to say, "this is so different from other magazines, the only way you're going to succeed is by selling it to millions of people who don't read those magazines." And Starbucks had no chance if they were going to focus on the sort of person who bought coffee at Dunkin Donuts or a diner, and the iPad couldn't possibly succeed if people were content to use computers the way they were already using them.

Keep that in mind the next time a gatekeeper or successful tastemaker explains why you're going to fail.

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/09/interpreting-criticism.html

ruminations...

my first blog crush, started awhile ago. actually picked up a book or two and now wanna see his stand up comedy show. ...stalkerish. obsessive. is writing art?....

aaron karo, ruminations.com, aaronkaro.com

http://www.ruminations.com/column


from a recent blog..... i put in bold a few i particularly like.

-Even if I’m explicitly reminded to “read from the bottom up” when forwarded an entertaining email conversation, I still read from the top down and ruin it.

-Utilizing both a smiley face and parentheses in the same sentence is a complex maneuver few should attempt.

-Ever notice that in Word when you right click on a plural term in order to find a synonym it merely gives you the singular version of the same word? No one wins.

-Have you ever mistaken a soap dispenser for a hand sanitizer dispenser and spent five minutes futilely rubbing soap into your dry hands?

-I last lived with a roommate five years ago and 3,000 miles away, but I’m still finding his shit. The other day I called Brian and said, “Dude, I’m pretty sure I have your pillow case.” “No way,” he responded, “How do you know?” “Well, for starters,” I said, “it has your name written in it.”

-Time Warner Cable just signed me up for “PowerBoost,” which is supposed to make my Internet faster for a few extra bucks a month. Clearly this is the 21st century version of being sold magic beans.

-You know you’re not religious when people offer you salutations for holidays you had no idea were happening.

-This morning my treadmill abruptly stopped mid-run and the screen read: “Maintenance necessary.” That’s just a low blow.

-I actually bought the Axe shower tool. Now I feel like one.

-And, finally, I’m the oldest child and my parents had me five years after they were married. I think five years is a good number. You get to enjoy each other’s company for a while (and make sure you don’t get divorced) before starting to pop out babies. The problem is, with people getting married later and later these days, waiting so long to conceive isn’t always an option. This has a disproportionately adverse effect on women, who now face dual pressure – from society to get married, and from biology to have kids. Meanwhile, I can stick to dating twenty-three-year-olds and not worry about either. The fact is, though, women are saints for putting up with all this. As I wrote in Ruminations #111, my mom left her career to stay home and raise my sister and me, only to return to the workforce shortly thereafter because I was such a pain in the ass. It would not be an exaggeration to say that I owe my life to my mom. And she owes hers to daycare. Fuck me.

inspiration not motivation

so in the challenge to blog more myself i have been on a quest to find (or stalking...) other blogs. is that wrong? i dunno...but it was recently suggested to me to look for inspiration, not motivation. and this blog in particular has indeed inspired me.... check out this archived post for example ;)
Mission Statement 

Let the first act of every morning be to make the following resolution:

I will live a life of choice by pausing between stimulus and response to proactively choose a response that is deeply integrated with my recognized principles and values.  In every situation, I increase my ability to act with integrity as I pause to ask with intent, listen without excuse, and act with courage

I seize the day and refuse to waste a single moment that I could otherwise use to better myself or work towards my goals.

I treat people honestly and fairly in all encounters.

I ensure that there is no blunting of passions by excercising a firm, healthy disciple over desires.

I tactfully and respectfully stand up for my beliefs and values, for goodness must have some edge to it, or else it is none.

I will, above all, live with passion and a sense of urgency as I understand that this gift is not promised to be here tomorrow.

www.thisruggedlife.blogspot.com

rough drafts

saw this license plate frame the other day and had to smile :)


"writers do it over and over and over again"


yep.