Esoteric Bowl

Sometimes while I am out and about, I become captivated by the beauty that exists in every woman. I turn my head as each woman passes by, and a wondrous beauty radiates from them. The beauty might be in the sparkle of their eyes, or in the softness of their lips. It may be found in the glow of the skin, the light in their hair, or the way they walk and carry themselves. Granted, it may take a little longer to see the beauty in some more than others, but that’s more of a reflection on me than on them. Sometimes, if I allow myself to see people with an eye other than the eye that observes with a physical gauge, I become in awe of the Spirit shining through. The beauty is there, and it shines for all to see.

When it comes to the many social situations that each of us encounters, we generally find that there are specific conventional requirements as to what is considered correct social behavior. For the majority of us, we modify our behavior according to the social situation and abide by the written and unwritten rules that society believes is proper etiquette.

We know and value such rules like waiting our turn in the checkout-line at the grocery store, and frown upon those that ignore such social rules. Other rules of etiquette are valued in a social situation, such as chewing food with our mouths closed, but these same rules may not always be practiced when we are alone.

This leads me to the blog-world, a world where the question of social situation is oftentimes fuzzy. Is there such a thing as blog-etiquette? Are there certain rules that we in the blog community consider correct social behavior? For example, if you come upon a blog that you enjoy reading and you decide to link it to your site, should you (A) ask permission before creating the link, (B) notify the person of the linkage, or © believe permission and notification are unnecessary in such circumstances.

What if someone links your blog to theirs; is it considered proper etiquette to link their blog to yours?

What if you decide you want to remove a blog link from your site; what responsibility, if any, do you have to the owner of that blog?

If someone removes the link they had to your blog, do you consider the person to be rude if they do not offer an explanation?

What if you find something interesting on another blog; is it acceptable to borrow that information and to apply it to your blog so long as you give credit to where it came, or should you ask permission before borrowing from another blog?

I don’t really have a conclusion or proper ending to this. I was just wondering if there is a consensus blog-etiquette, and if there is, how each person comes to their own understanding of what is proper behavior in the blog-world.

Move over Ozzy Osbourne, Anna Nicole Smith is moving into the neighborhood. The former Playmate turned oil-tycoon will star in her own weekly half-hour reality series on the E! Network beginning this summer. “I can’t wait,” Smith said in a statement. “People won’t be able to stop watching once they tune in. My life is a roller coaster, so hold on and enjoy
the ride!”

Yeah right. How much of a roller coaster life can one have with $88 million in the bank? Although the series is not yet in production, here is what might be seen on a typical episode:

11:24 am Wakes up early.
11:27 am Drinks a cup of coffee, has a smoke, and reads Ziggy.
11:40 am Bubble bath with extra Mr. Bubble.
12:45 pm Yells at Kim (the personal assistant) for cutting off all the fat from the pork-chop sandwiches.
1:10 pm Poses in the mirror; pretends to be Marilyn Monroe.
1:40 pm Colors black roots.
4:30 pm Wonders aloud if friends would like her if she didn’t have $88 million.
4:31 pm Blogs. Reads e-mail.
5:00 pm Makes random prank phone calls to strangers.
5:30 pm Eats the middles out of all the Oreo Cookies.
7:00 pm Has dinner at neighborhood Sizzler’s.
8:42 pm Laughs out loud. Just caught on to the Ziggy joke.
9:00 pm Watches Law & Order.
9:32 pm Pizza delivery arrives. Flirts with pizza-guy.
10:40 pm Phones National Enquirer to inform them that in 30 minutes she will be checking her mail.
11:17 pm Checks mail. Provides stunned look for photographers.
11:48 pm Admires collection of belly-button-lint.
12:03 am Watches Conan O’Brien.
12:39 am Pinches self.
12:42 am Bedtime.

Food for that particular mood:

* Turkey for the holidays
* Peanuts at the game
* Popcorn with a movie
* Cotton candy at the fair
* Saimin late at night
* Tangerines on a hike
* Ice cream with sitcoms
* Marshmallows at campfires
* Hot Chocolate when it rains.

I don’t have many friends. Shocking isn’t it? Alright, maybe not so shocking. But before we make arrangements for a pity-party, I must say that I really don’t mind the lack of friends. I can count the number of friends that I have on one hand, but it surprisingly doesn’t bother
me. I think the idea of having a bunch of friends is sometimes more appealing than actually having a bunch of friends. I don’t know why I feel that way, and sometimes I wonder if I am anti-social.

Of course, there are moments when I think it would be interesting and fun to have a large group of friends to hang-out with, but I can usually find solace in reminding myself that it’s the quality of friends and not quantity. If I repeat this like a mantra, I can usually convince myself.

Pamela Lee Anderson and Kid Rock are soon to be married. Mr. Rock recently gave Ms. Anderson an engagement ring. Although a date has yet to be set for the wedding, sources say the happy couple are planning a traditional ceremony with the exchanging of vows and hepatitis C.

For a large portion of my life, I had never come into contact with a psychic. I was aware of those that claimed to be psychic, and had even heard stories of how a few of them had helped law enforcement in solving specific cases. But for the most part it seemed that psychics were often tied to clients from the entertainment and political worlds. There was a brief moment of shock and bewilderment when it was discovered that First Lady Nancy Reagan had her own personal psychic. Although the First Lady was criticized and lampooned for confiding in a psychic, it seemed to open a door of acceptance for some. Psychics soon became a part of pop culture, and the flow of 1-900-CALL-A-PSYCHIC type ventures quickly became a multi-billion dollar industry.

It is difficult now to go through daily life without coming across someone that claims to be psychic. I sometimes feel like the Haley Joel Osment character in the movie The Sixth Sense, only instead of seeing dead people, I see psychics. It has become vogue to possess psychic abilities. It is fashionable to claim to have discussions with spirits. Proclaiming to be psychic is yet another way for a generation of people to say, look at me, I am different; very much like what they had hoped their multiple piercings and tattoos would do. If by some chance you are not one of the gifted to be psychic, it only points out how dreadfully normal you must be…God Forbid!

Although I find it troubling that there is this sudden influx of psychics, I personally have nothing against psychics or pshychic-wannabes. If you are a psychic or know a psychic, I intend no disrespect. Even if you are not a psychic, but are claiming to be one, I see it as your business and as something you will eventually have to deal with. I do think that if I were a psychic myself, I would find it somewhat insulting that everyone and his brother is now claiming to have psychic abilities when it is obvious that many do not.

What is most disturbing is that for many of these self-proclaimed psychics their so-called abilities are not used to delve into their own truths or to further their own spiritual lives, but rather as a means to gain attention, provide amusement, and if possible, to make an easy buck.