I love YouTube

If nothing else is, this should be enough;

"500 Internal Server Error
Sorry, something went wrong.

A team of highly trained monkeys has been dispatched to deal with this situation.

If you see them, show them this information:

q72CWN24gVjQGEtmHZI-pc1_RBj3-OQ_JA1qGsS5RVtwl2rTqAQQ2HYk7jto
4AgQviBEbCMmRqNpCkJmARiBqWG31uFiK12oAZOpE07T4ptAYdKFSMquiH1g
v0jE3gAT3q-1O316bpW9MzY2WD5is4NV2b_yZlGkUB_rjoxMv9lRdLTYu2Te
vUldHaYncG_-01ZBA59GnQMS8JTUrpsKMMyYcKVivxAayGSuMhV2zu43tZO8
lyaSXGzxp2BCqKHiqAbuloQT6HxVxUCMbSQbn4YuGyLNOSAzApLpeUVsaPWm
eSqGHaHpVNdK5g0mlKoFjKDF-kZpLOYwYudhC0qOYd-4NR7GCGXaYVPrW6vC
dc77dKFBHg6-_3vGDlTsFjFDjknW5fyrIHNf28zYgXMMFG584pnVFxoaf77e
TC9Hzzm1SyIQdfqP1W1zYImeeUrhwHIZozEsHpcug_ujFBkphsEl7a-vvwpJ
jI-O5DYeR7jusG-lPbFZfxHAuo94_cvoWHo5VsTz4jaNR3hIY3CWix9PpqTG
-05vpqiUXzOwrcj-fNT-M87IA3RG63gebArSZxxwQIMzcv7bpqFouWS-w7mQ
S-lgs6nrLAKuGOweaB19KVVGr-YTfp_t7LbNG-pG_Elkf_DNAWmTZJXFnDVl
W4qdSLuuyTiFy4ljz1M8iNBlLqUfc2lXt_DzIuWxOfYV3abJcFaw5fbAPlAM
DH0q2A5UZAygHN3orR3RGvtw46BpMDnKXfKs3i6sZ9fFmRX2azvUi-tFAySb
v-zxYmWI8iysLa8lsYSaB9jN1OBysiHqS3fNuxM4fE-II3AZMj01v-4lGAzs
2be_-80wvX7obEyMyoF1yFE7HQouqRuY0EPCBwC_T17VMULKpulcplppHNAM
yD2bVBGxWC6qjAQs8SafqokpXLbcatDxtDikjjAvqBg5A_a80yROGKptpUda
K-2fDYuAEqeYKTCKgU7lhRb27DNhN80LbqW1_TQLpy6gSsqyQoksEpXG7HKo
uk9-GrcbTrGHNv2bG22dpuUMTfSvXGoF67PxkasqKCESjz5lKZqNjvTw2V8Z
kIrWiSJYq5kIfsr2WMm2dyGVE69bvIo-K5PV21OExmrL2ZJESfIFg0qx6LgV
S2xfeIT67BfK6RX6P5CFyJ4tl5ZkUXgK9oWkP-06CywFfjLFeWGqOFuQLfsM
Gb3rPJ4v-CIj7uC3ufmQdyhBk2fuH6UFkTL5AgPWR5ndOApRS07JxCnfGfZo
MQ9Tjx-ZYcHSCjPFnlixcMDo8XxrWyOmp_TyKams8Pbc1gdAloh20g0S4yVS
sm0vNeEcFXlbeRsMc3ExYYRBj4kF6UoyVClWKcFgY-dHIHdiBCugq2RVaCWS
UuXIdx6bDsAxqSdqd3sKXnJT72JnqT-NFQ2VvCArEbzGPgykJ328BValUWVu
AMK2BbhnVinRTWNCpl8aZ2RxKYmKJHNeElcpZaIILUqtkCuOkUqdIvC2Sq1N
lYn9cN3cRpjgMNsEYJJws_AqC8gtz83eB6HKrFcWIwT1OMM8KIUEHKgxu8yS
FQJaLz7aVhbXZNw5aM3UH67V1y-UIJ4KzbfuQsi5jNAexFZzN9xZ1S6Vu0X7
nXQNiKJNLlStzBYsonfg-8oUxo3tlVEbbJ16FxZ2OK6UqT_jDz1sdr0utQ21
hqiPSbQaXtVnFpk7wqaNK0dE6kl94gqOfvCIjHWcUwRdYy8lDtoZYzB68FH3
W3yrvUAZqUDKERTRwDQDp_cNidF6q3rxTluz-PGduWLI1LFBrNko0QkYVXNg
zrtgKF74-uFUiGq9sV9acQ1bDMiRBVpV7dmfUndo0zOOjqHE_gWdFVg0PSNA
S8r5ds8g7apps1pbzJbpzHieX3nv1E_E1Rm5B3WtQ6JBpzzrBFByHcpnu8RD
P4mIvkOIkwQbq57yxfg2ZqZdOiYmoBpv9XY4qV7lh5D_EexnhYp7YDVRUEuD
f-f41prCWQpRz6mrkxovUEwkxQWr1T63kHdYt2_u12vuhyKIw5wK0d8bPsYb
CEfpcHPoFrRMRkQLz4W-kdgHm7Gyc_QxNjTiNlVjIjeviKO4qFfx4aTXGd1Z
QqA-LcCFsVfg8kFfUa9f4xYFPmSI8VYIMLbpApwrH3P1vScuZtCVEZ8v4rPm
aLaZEcURVYCK-NF6cEHVhtbljUgCf1jfDT5k1yDmkRetj2DaR8wlfju39I-2
Mqj90KwbA_Hwb4Ha2M_pDrmfZA9pAFXtAWQlBQUkHTJVZfPtyMa3KfBzDPub
fJ_Qk9eHL1W8Igwvg3b7P79NNqw8Pe0HFBevWDyxUJQNdWZ1icZe90mi-OzV
-MsyRNCJJRFtRce_9wFH7BkvLDXDpcjohL8OQ3lb_LyUut3UdP7nlAN-kgIg
0OB7y_CCmpowBUsZ0ZbqRYVIzIfRU3iEKbhcxR_ni0cKvv0emqRQfy8L7dqo
rbY-hhVx2JrOKwtSx3VFwipm0lEm-HBvNU5fssnQUIO27JbcV7HYMCwD3NEu
VhYPoyRhDSSI3qBfg8POBCC2RrAXsYAm-mIgpwL6u1QZMkgDHWq8I0zBhELH
PN8HLFAEktgu8D5MB2h8o6LTT_SJDMUgUmIb7UUswgldPutgZeMesbfV_jG_
Sq0Utqx29YXOYao0-U3kFzLOCqyqxqFIFDmNde1gIEl-k8_lIhgqdRPTePBg
fQQ8O7lOtiRMcEJU72Gp9jUYQoLhr5mQhlILGEB106mobnHmZmskOi8LOe_Z
lW-w6PYYzT_6esz-bQzFs4DhMty3VRLM0BH0_J5tNYrB_K_XiYL4eyIb183W
XBZOWTr9LBKrEWYwJN4dkY732xM_iEKii9Qd6chE7iNI1rX_lOMeu_0BeQBH
vdSaZLmSTsc4QfPxd4kUNU8-pU12VsBqD7tk1JNSSH78Ih4TzrOkctUL1OT9
93PYnLOba2FTW4_jK69n5v155wLacOFSMdB0HWdfR7n2sn4wiYgffxuWEJjX
epOqI_XvUVDltq2oP0fUa8e-aeBZyiN3ZHIO1lfAPTDsxlJk8_atr8xSluHs
hNxsGUMhvoUhr2O49-g1QTlUk5DW9DTxcmIk3njKK6CzeU6KjCpaXWnnWnOG
Dry2wzkH6SIEHPXy9SOwWvdW8J8i4DT0aBdVmLdOrWF4PGL7kwWGDu-lyoB7
aR27w-VCdvEy6IKNlJkv4G4a75LV0EVZBQlb7-C8HSmiw3xnjb09pSw5WV8D
q0vyBbbfD_RYNbFTpQIkhf6xdJidB7Xvo6UGMgQfyStx7jMvyLsGlc7XXOYK
no7y4v963YSAOxEIlq2nq3L5gO-Wefo0zZabTTH0ouYDu5DnQz4ZDlCxMndU
VyyGZXUwgUSS3rAjP9i38WnlRoc4yhsUfQX2Ji_npqMhthlHkaVBSSK52TGp
NhNSCsrwvrb1CXxLmEi_73GffOObuEnKHDq4DWOngN7XPfjjzcNy6b_k_Ngp
u9u9OE-70YPTtXY0b4q_ODRT_tzls692ojHSjHr2fFunZXBsc2HQvr3exyEP
pnq0XLcRXPam6Ie0lMwFK_Z_tnCcsQmjofVfncMhOg268Ag13o6evjCtpkQf
2C2SDDVnIFaSgQ6DDbeMUpgBXzg0Oxfi06Rbw24q1JfuFfF7wikUHOsylSzg
yijlb71SU18vmJLwD_A8U14vwNHJHp60B5k2K3kS05JQhKO3hFaZTd2zjmsn
MCBb7CTcBTN0me1WYULgcQ5MFrP5wXISVj0SRxyqmr1a40bFqwx7K5gEaH6Q
KPQfMCL3x6Aa2vKSfLgmvQ2LB_uKA9mq_Ct4iIJZWbaZMmn5b8k2ts4d4ijq
o3TGnKrkEgGX5gUR7XDVe4-35EVbKFvkQeqSFYsfKUSFIFOkloCXLW7xp3EB
vzrv"

Thank you.

It might seem antisocial to stare at a screen. But it's not. Not in the same way it is to put earbuds in and drown out the world (If anyone feels like buying me those ladybug earbuds, concider this your invitation to do so.) We're just getting more used to what the screen has to offer. I might even say that for once things are catching up with me as I've been doing it for a long time. In my teens I was begged to go offline, so I don't lose touch with reality. What reality? So I can spend time with my real friends. What real friends? Even if I'm worlds apart from some of them I still concider them my friends. What's the reasoning, if you're more than X amount of miles apart you can't be friends? Either way, that's not really worth discussing. Your friends are the ones you hold close to heart and enjoy talking to.

I'd just like to take a moment to raise a toast to the Internet today, for bringing me so many enjoyable things. I'll nod to Spotify especially and I will exemplify what brought this to mind this morning. I was talking to a friend about cats. Yes cats. I needed to illustrate a toy, so I simply used my phone to make a video, uploaded said video to YouTube and give my friend the link through an instant messenger program. All within 5 minutes of having started a textual conversation about it.

So at all those times you worry about the development into something superficial, where looks matter more than ever, keep in mind there is a place where you don't have much other than words. An occational picture, a few links, a couple of lols and being told how great you are even when you're wearing your reading glasses and unmatched socks. You're obviously there already if you're reading this.

All the downsides of the Internet are here. That's true, but it doesn't differ too much from that real world I was supposed to spend more time in as a teenager. People are people no matter where they go. There will be mean ones, shallow ones, stupid ones, pitiful ones. I suppose the difference is that you can't really tell your semi-bully of a coworker s/he's being a troll. I've said it before, and I'll say it again; The sky is full of stars, your bed is full of roses and the Internet's full of troll. Take care of yourself and enjoy it.

Ha, yes

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Dumbo

It wasn't that long ago I realized just how old the movie Dumbo is. The marketing department of Disney is doing great work, as it wasn't long after that realization it was rereleased on dvd, and ever since I heard that I've been having a whiny little voice in me wanting to get it. What my little whiny voice tells me usually leaks whininess out of my mouth so here I am, fresh from watching it. I do understand whole heartedly why it made me cry when I was a child, it still does. The scene where he happily walks up to the children that are mocking him, simply because he doesn't understand it breaks my heart. It never fails.

Isn't that the perfect example of what we all fear in the emotional retardedness in the world? To walk into it, unguarded and unexpectedly being the one laughed at, the one excluded and the joke told. Or maybe not all of us fear it at all, perhaps some never think like that and deem me weird for shattering when I sense a repulsive atmosphere of mockery. When I interrupt a topic even when I've been quiet because I feel that brick wall approaching or how my stomach turns when I see a child walking with its head bent in front of a group of other kids. Only those ones that have been in that position knows it's always worse to walk in front than after. Walking behind you know what they're doing and if they're looking at you, if you walk in front you don't have that luxury, nor do you know if you can turn around and see if they're still there.

My claws come out and I growl from voids I don't like exposing when I can do something about it. I make it a point to speak to those who aren't spoken to and stand in the way if I can to take the heat. It's at those times when I know that an "it's ok, it's not your fault" would be too much, and a "hello" would be too little I want to tear my hair out.

I've read too much on bullying and I don't care about the argument of that it's the offender that's the real victim, and that they learn that behaviour from home. It's sad yes, but being treated badly is never an excuse for doing the same thing to someone else. The classic idea of two wrongs don't make a right. Some lack the depth of understanding how others feel. If you don't like something done to you, why on earth would you want to put someone else through that? Is it the whole misery loves company bit? And oh yes, I wish I could say it's "just" children, we all know it's not true. It happens everywhere, at universities, workplaces, online communities and sports clubs. There are times where I doubt that mankind is capable of in fact being kind.

Being sweet will never get you half as far in life as being mean, but I much rather be able to live with myself and up to my own ideals, I just can't ignore that stabbing feeling or faces turned around, a person trying to turn the other cheek even if the cheeks are vastly outnumbered by the amount of slaps handed out by those who just couldn't care less. There are many ways to break someone's spirit and that's a crime I hope I never commit. If I've done it to you, I apologize and I'm truly sorry.

Re: Gah!

Maybe it's this aspect of baby blogging and status updates that bothers me?

Gah!

If I come across another blog about a parent blogging about their child's miracles, or see another status update about what somebody's child is doing I'm going to vomit. Don't get me wrong, I can understand you're proud of your offspring, but seriously, people have been having babies as long as there world has had human beings.

I like to find interesting blogs that aren't too selfabsorbed and selfanalytical, but rather culture observing and questioning. That calls on people with agile minds to relieve my boredom and slentriant way of being, sort of like a recepie where someone sticks a frozen hotdog in a meatloaf. Anecdotes about kids doesn't do it as the full background of thoughts. Misunderstand me correctly, if the child does something fun, by all means share, but does the world really need to know what colour poop it had this morning? And then, taking on the bigger perspective, isn't this taking away from the children themselves? What if the child grows up to never want to share a personal detail online, ever? That choice has already been taken away. So, please, show your children some respect and assume that it will have some integrity later in life.

As a whole it seems that blogs and websites are becoming more streamlined, perhpas it's just that my intrests vary and I'm too lazy to find new watering holes. So, could someone please make something in any shape or form that takes a little from a lot and skips all the stuff I'm not really that interested in?

Indivuals aren't that interesting unless you actually know them and what's going on in their lives, stranger's kids aren't that interesting either, unless you love them and care for them, books are interesting, observations and conclusions are interesting, so are movies to an extent, history, sure. Turtles wearing backpacks and skipping on lilly pads - sure win.

EDIT: I'd also like to add that I have a tendency to end up on way too many political blogs, so if you share intrests with me, it seems you're either a mother who reads while your child sleeps or a political activist. I hope that doesn't say too much about me.

Me, me, me

Some things I've learned today taking quizzes on Facebook; In a previous life I owned a bordello, stupidity pisses me off, my inner crazy bitch is Sylvia Plath and my soulmate is Johnny Depp. It's all very self indulgent. The person that matters the most to ourselves is in fact oneself. I remember taking quizzes in the teen magazines as well, the difference is that places like Facebook allow us to broadcast our result and with that making us seem rather witty and important. Do I honestly think my Facebook friends care about who I was in a previous life? No, not really. Do I think the people who actually care about me would get a laugh out of it? Possibly.

I can't even call it selfishness, when it's more self fascination. It's almost as if we should be suprised about the results of them, some stranger composing them, like an all mighty god telling us who we are, identifying our cores based on what colours we like, which music we listen to, what TV shows we watch and so on and so forth. As if everyone cares so much about us that they know us better than we could ever know ourselves. A camera sweeping over my face as my eyes sparkle in the special on TV about my wonderful life, all the grand things I've done and how I changed the world. Or when I accept my award, my gorgeous dress the flashes going off to capture a bit of me, the audicene applauding until the palms of their hands turn red. All good daydreams, and the Internet makes it possible.

Thing is, and this is something I've brought up before, when everyone's special, noone's special. Also, and again subject of an older blog post, with all the possibilities of the Internet, in all the ways we could become wiser we focus on the topic we love the most - ourselves. From time to time I do a Google image search with "self portrait" and giggle at the results. This, my friends, is how we want the world to remember us, as quirky different people, an ocean of individuals all trying to peak and be better, prettier, sexier, witter and more googleable. What you need to remember is that when everyone's selfish, noone cares about you either.

A world of cute

Apart from porn, news, social arenas spam the Internet is really about cute. Cute and humor. Why is that? Is it that the world has grown so cold and harsh that we need the escape of baby animals to cling to our humanity? We read about a war or two, then surf right on to bunnies, kittens and puppies to even the score a bit.

I really think it's so. The more accessible the Internet becomes the more horrors we're exposed to, just like TV brought images of war and terrors into our livingrooms we now are expected to know more about them via the Internet, analyse them and understand them, so the need for something to weigh up for it is greater. The whole yin and yang idea.

I don't mind. I love cute. I just wish we didn't have any nightmares to compensate for.

Things that grew in the 00s

This is pretty much a rip off of this article, but as always, my added notes and comments.

First, Melodifestivalen. Second, reality shows. Third, talent shows. Fourth, grand movie openings. And fifth, royalism. Actually, now looking at it this isn't a ripoff at all, because I can sum it up in one word - exposure. So I think I'll write about that instead, and ponder why DN lists these particular things. What's even more interesting is that Dagens Nyheter links to YouTube!

What I think the difference really is all about is the general acceptance of the narcissism and the "love me" attitude, for the sole reason that the arenas have grown incredibly. This is in it's turn, due to technology. In 1999 we simply didn't have camera phones and Internet usage wasn't as high as now, nor did we have the speed we now possess. (Yes, I used the word possess just to show that I know how to spell it - what a show off!)

Anyone can be a star in the YouTube age. Commerical arenas aren't more stupid than that they want a piece of that cake too, hence all the endless Idols and copy cats. Then it's the simple spiral effect, it worked for channel blabla, then of course channel ughugh has to do it too, and tada, we have a phenomenon typical of the age we live in.

This personalization continues, screen names and anonymous chats have been replaced by real names and Facebook. We gather those we know closer because we know so many strangers. This is where royalism comes in. What's more familiar than kings and queens? When fifteen minutes of fame has been reduced to fifteen seconds of lame we need something substantial, something we know will last. Royalty and royalism have been around for centuries, it'd be naive to think they're going anywhere, no matter how much we focus on the little person.

We need the contrast between the new and the old, the fast and the slow. And even if the article doesn't say much else, it is an illustration of this.

Reruns, part one

(Originally posted August 12 2009)

What became of it

When Internet had it's big breakthrough of becoming mainstream in the mid 90's or so we were all lured here for different reasons, information, politics, nudity, communication, whatever. But what has the 21st century done with this goldrush? The focus has shifted to the users. It's all about US. (Or as I'd like to think ME, ME, ME)

You don't have to write well to be something big online. You don't have to tell the story about your trip. A fast update on Twitter such as "I'm on a train" is enough. A waterout of language if you wish. The focus on text was an issue when I was in high school and we were getting some rather basic information about how to use the Internet. It was discrimiating to those who didn't read an/or write well.

Well that has been taken care of for sure! There's no room for any length it seems. It's all statusmessages and small updates, you don't really learn much of anything, do you? I would have thought these short messages would have become way more popular earlier on when we paid by the minute for the time we spent online. Well, maybe that still holds as a lot of people seem to twitter and facebook through the browser on their phones.

But who are we kidding, really? WIth the endless possibilites of a masscommunication tool we are stuck updating people about sitting on a train, having breakfast, or going to the cornerstore for milk. Does anyone care? I don't. I don't care about different things online than I do offline. If you don't have anything of weight to tell me I don't want to hear it.

We upload videos of ourselves to YouTube and update strangers on our bathroom habits. I'm ashamed. I do it too. I want to be noticed in a medium everyone has access to. (Not everyone, but you know what I mean) I want to be heard, embraced and accepted. Though I'm fighting the same issues here as I do offline. My thoughts are too swirly, I prefer to call it trail of thoughts rather than a train of thoughts as a trail can lead you anywhere but a train has a set destination. Can you tell I just read an update about someone being on a train?

I like reading wellwritten posts that get my head going. So much for being an intellectual snob huh? If I can't be a snob where we had endless possibilites I might have to reinvent myself, so here we go.

What are you doing right now?
Waiting

The sky is full of stars, your bed is full of roses and the Internet is full of trolls

The Internet is a wondeful invention. We don't actually have to know much of anything, it's a simple act of doing a quick search. Of course it means we have to reevaluate the information, judge it harder and harsher, give it another generation and it will be done automatically. I don't mean that there'll be an application in your browser that does it for you, I was, in fact, referring to your brain here.

But at times it seems that not all internet users have brain, and if they do it's simply a wicked ones. Like the bullies that'd push you off the swing at the playground just because they could, people come online, seemly for the only reason to be mean and, as I understand it, take out frustrations. They're everywhere, take a moment to read comments on YouTube for instance. How many of those are actually relevant to the video posted?

People register on cat forums just to post about how they love to torture cats, they come in chatrooms for the only reason to call some people whores and others retards. I ask you, what is the point? What is it about the Internet arena that opens up for the assholish behaviour we don't accept anywhere else? And what is the point of being a troll?

It probably says more about the trolls' offline life than they'd like to know. I see pitiful people who lack power and the only way they can feel better about themselves is in pixeled insults. I'm a bit jaded by now, I have a built in application in that brain I mentioned before, I've learned to simply overlook it most of the time. But what about those who haven't been coming online since the mid 1990's, that are just now getting to know the technology, what kind of impression do they get? Is the social aspects of the Internet really worth the hassle of trolls, bots and spammers? There's so much to sift through to find the good bits.

Even nicer people must sometimes have a harsher tone than they intended simply because being sweet doesn't pay off. It's a hard arena with very spiky and sharp corners. Take great care of yourself in this adventure we call the Internet.