taking a break

Yesterday I took a break from the internet for 24 hours. This was my way of protesting SOPA. I decided that if the sites that I used on a daily basis weren't willing to black-out for 24 hours that I would just refuse to use them for that amount of time. It wasn't the first time I'd thought about taking a willing break from the internet. In fact I'd been thinking about it a lot recently and my want for time to completely clear my head.

I wanted a break from all the statuses about TV, the tweets about the morons in the GOP race, and even a break from the Shit fill in the blank Say videos. It's not that I don't care, it's the opposite in fact. I care, I care too much about the internet. I love the internet, I can say what I want and share what I want and have friends in all other parts of the world.

Of course all of that is bound to change if SOPA and PIPA pass. I do want to say quickly that I am against them both and that if you haven't done anything about them passing that you are either A) too lazy to read an article about something that WILL affect you or B) a moron who doesn't understand how these things WILL affect you. Either way, you need to figure it out and do something about it.

This is about me though, not those bills and the trolls trying to pass them. I needed a break from the constant stream of information and I know that I did the right thing.

So while I was internet free I had a lot of time to think. In fact, when I woke up I went to my computer and saw my "NO INTERNET TODAY" note I left on my computer. Panic struck me. PANIC!

• What if someone important dies?
• What if there is a natural disaster somewhere?
• What if it's discovered that Mitt Romney's flawless hair is because he wears a wig?
• What if one of my friends gets broken up with an needs to talk?

So I sat there struck with panic thinking about all these things and then I thought "What the hell can I do about it anyway?" Is my being on the internet RIGHT THAT SECOND to comment about something really something I care about? No. Is it going to help any of those situations? No. If my friend needs to talk they have my phone number and I'm probably the last person you should call if you get dumped (just an FYI: I am NOT a comforting person and I'll probably just tell you to get the hell over it.)

Once the initial panic of not constantly being plugged into all the information in the world went away my day was blissful. I played outside with Alden, we went to the library, we got him some food, we came home and played videogames together and watched TV, and made a tent to read our library books in. It wasn't really any DIFFERENT than any other day except for the fact that we weren't both being pulled to opposing sides of the room to periodically check on our computers. There was no "Facebook Messenger" tone that I felt the need to respond to right away, no unfinished schoolwork hanging over my head, and not a care about anything that was going on outside our little living room fort. I was completely tuned in to JUST being present.

I'm not saying I didn't look at my computer with the big "NO INTERNET TODAY" sign and make a sad face a few times and I'm not saying that Alden didn't pitch an absolute fit when I tried to explain to him why we needed time away. We have a problem, we have grown accustomed to this. This is everyone's new way of life. It's damaging us, we aren't ever fully away. Most people (who obviously have way more money than I do) have SmartPhones, they are literally never more than a touchscreen away and why? What are we so afraid we're going to miss?

I'll tell you exactly what I missed. I scrolled through & read every update from yesterday. I missed 3 friends who can obviously read and were posting about SOPA and trying to make a different. I missed a lot of Facebook drama and the names of those people who everyone wants to be the next American Idol. THAT IS IT. I missed nothing. I regret nothing.

Yes, we are back online today and no we aren't going to unplug completely anytime soon. Yes, I'm blogging about this because blogging has become part of how I deal with things. Being away for a short time, just one day made me really think. We are definitely going to unplug one day a week. It was so nice and quiet and it cleared our heads and for the first time our day was uninterrupted by people who weren't present. We ourselves were completely present.

Books/Movies/TV/Comics/Concerts 2012

I've decided to be one of those people who keeps track of what they read/watch all year. Bear with me or just ignore me. Either way is fine! :D

Books

The Hunger Games

Catching Fire

Mockingjay

The Stepford Wives

A Game of Thrones
Fight Club
Let's Pretend This Never Happened
A Clash of Kings
Dead as a Doornail
Definitely Dead
Looking for Alaska

Carrie
The Passage

Movies (first time views only, nothing previously seen before)

Tangled

TiMER

Nell

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me

Young Adult

The Wild & Wonderful Whites of West Virginia

The Cabin in the Woods

The Avengers

Valley of the Dolls

Ciao! Manhattan
Hitler's Children

The House of Yes
Dana the 8 Year Old Anorexic
Deborah 13: Servant of God
Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope
Moonrise Kingdom
The Dark Knight Rises

The Mindscape of Alan Moore

Flowers in the Attic

Sybil (2007 remake)

The House of the Devil

When A Stranger Calls
The Last House on the Left
The Ward
The Orphanage
Excision
The Haunting
House on Haunted Hill
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
The Moth Diaries
The Nameless
Carrie (TV Movie)
Bless the Child
Ginger Snaps
The Bad Seed
Dolls
Sorority House Massacre
Bachelorette
Safety Not Guaranteed
Beasts of the Southern Wild
The Imposter
For a Good Time Call
Damsels in Distress
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
On The Road
Pitch Perfect
The Hobbit

TV (only old shows watched from beginning to end/nothing currently running)

Twin Peaks

Battlestar Galactica*

Comics (which I will not be counting as 'books' unless they are graphic novels)

Buffy Season 9 (ongoing)

Angel & Faith (ongoing)

Batwoman (ongoing)

Batgirl (ongoing)

Birds of Prey (ongoing)

The Walking Dead (ongoing)

Concerts

TOOL
Zoso
Amanda Palmer + The Grand Theft Orchestra
First Aid Kit

*indicates currently reading/watching

(This post is post-dated so it remains at the top of this blog.)

for my lovely followers

My 2011 Favorites

Book: Bossypants - Tina Fey
Comic Book: The Walking Dead Issue 83
TV Show Drama: Game of Thrones
TV Series Comedy: The New Girl
TV Series Sci-Fi/Fantasy: Once Upon a Time
TV Series Documentary: Our America with Lisa Ling
Album: Camp - Childish Gambino
Song: Video Games - Lana Del Rey
Movie: Meloncholia
Actor: Ryan Gosling - Drive
Actress: Charlotte Gainsbourg - Meloncholia
Website: Hello Giggles
Videogame: Skyrim
Meme: Nyan Cat

Top 10 Guys I'd like to find under my Christmas tree

I am a happily married girl, but everyone has celebrity crushes and that's a wonderful & healthy thing. So even though I think my husband is the hottest, most wonderful, & patient man ever (because he absolutely is), this is a list of 10 guys I'd love to wake up to find that Santa Claus had left me under the tree. (In no particular order, except Jon Hamm, he's definitely #1).

Jon Hamm

If this one requires explanation I don't really know what to say except that you are undeserving of having the sense of sight.

Norman Reedus
BAMF. I've loved him since the original Boondock Saints movie. He's beautiful but rugged. No one's character can even get close to being as kickass as Daryl Dixon on The Walking Dead. If they kill him off there's a good chance I'll stop watching because he is the only character on the show currently that I like at all.

Nathan Fillion
Caleb, Captain Mal, Captain Hammer, Castle, this guy's resume is a huge amazing nerd fest! He is really lovely to his fans, he interacts with people on Twitter, he's beautiful, and he's definitely one of the King Geeks. What I'm saying is Captain Mal can get it.

Marlon Brando - circa A Streetcar Named Desire
I know, I know, this one is kind of far fetched but Santa Claus is MAGIC! I have absolute faith that he can make this happen. While watching Streetcar I have really conflicting emotions because I think of myself as a feminist and his character is HORRIBLE but LOOK AT HIM.

Gary Oldman
He is such a great actor. You literally forget you're looking at Gary and believe him as anyone he is trying to be. He can play any part and he plays them all amazingly. Plus, look at him, he's really hot. I'd have to try really hard to overlook the fact that he's a republican but for that face I think I can do it.

Donald Glover
I fell in love with the entire cast of Community but there's just something so endearing about Troy. When I found out he did music I wasn't expecting much (I'm not a big rap fan) but I really love his music as well. My husband & I went to see him do stand-up and do a show last year and it was amazing.

Ian Somerhalder

My friend and I were discussing how unfairly attractive he is the other day. It's kind of ridiculous. I loved him on Lost but I just can't bring myself to watch Vampire Diaries.

Ryan Gosling
An exception to my "I don't really likes blondes" rule. He has done a lot of movies I don't care about and have never seen (Yes, I am talking about The Notebook). Recently he's started making movies that I enjoy such as Blue Valentine, Drive, and The Ides of March, thus the crush began.

Damien Rice
Who doesn't love a guy with a guitar? I'm sure after we broke up he'd write mean songs about me, but that's okay, it'd be awesome while it lasted.

The Doctor
This one is cheating because there's actually 11 doctors but I'd gladly take any version. If I had to pick I'd probably go with 9 because our personalities would be best suited for one another. Traveling all through time and space would pretty much be the most amazing thing ever! Plus, once the Doctor dies you get a whole new regenerated version of him!

The One Where I'm not a TOTAL Grinch...

Everyone knows I'm a Halloween girl, that's just how I roll. I see candy buckets, zombies, and skeletons and I get those warm fuzzies that most people get around Christmas time. I am not "a Christmas person", hear me out before you criticize though. I am NOT a total Grinch, I just find Christmas Spirit in different things than most people.

I have no desire to have an 8 foot tree taking up half my living room and stabbing me in the feet with smelly needles, I'm perfectly content having a small 3 foot tree with a ridiculous amount of ornaments and Star Wars characters on it. Yes, we decorate with Star Wars, we're a nerd family and we're awesome. I love that our Christmas tree is the same size as Alden's 3 foot stocking. I like my rainbow colored icicle lights because in my world everything is rainbow or glitter...or both.

I miss the big huge Christmas bulbs like the one I ate that time when I was two years old but apparently they are "dangerous" or something so we don't have any of them. Seeing them does make me happy though...especially the blue ones (the color I ate). Jackass doesn't have crap on me! I was eating glass @ age 2! SIDEBAR: That might be what's wrong with me now.

I have no desire to have a Light Up Baby Jesus under a spinning disco ball in my front yard, an inflatable snow globe with a character suffering from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy being pelted with snow, or light up reindeer that the neighborhood children will move into perverted positions when I'm not home.

Glitter and tinsel make me happy. I still love Hanson's Christmas album "Snowed In" and I don't care what anyone thinks. I still watch for Santa flying through the air in an unironic way because I swear I saw him a long time ago with my Aunt Mac while standing on my Papaw's front porch.

I am not one for the TV Christmas Movies that are all sappy but I love A Christmas Story, Mickey's Christmas Carol, Love Actually, The Grinch, and It's A Wonderful Life. It is not Christmas until I've seen them all.

It's also not Christmas until I have read my favorite Christmas books. I fell in love with The Best Christmas Pageant Ever when I was in the first grade. I still read it every year. As I've gotten older I've added two more books to my Christmas collection. Judith Viorst's "A Visit From St. Nicholas (To A Liberated Household)", and my very favorite Christmas book "Holidays On Ice" by my favorite author David Sedaris. These books are definitely not everyone's cup of tea but if you don't like my tea that's your problem.

Looking at this I realized I like Christmas more than I realized. It's no Halloween but I guess we can't always have it all.

And last but not least DOCTOR WHO has a Christmas Special every year, so that is always something amazing to look forward to.

I got bangs. I'm pretty excited about it.