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Me and a Little Taylor Swift Worship

By on November 28, 2011 in Entertainment & Pop Culture, Ruminations

[This post was originally published on my old blog site, underworldgoddess.com.  I hope you find it well here.  The published date here reflects the original publication date].

So, I know we just met, and this might weed out anyone who bothered to give my first post a chance, but I can’t help it.  I created this blog to post what is on my mind, and who am I to fight it?  So, here goes:

I love Taylor Swift!

Before you ask, no, I am not a teen-aged girl.  In fact, I’m 35 years old.  Still with me?  I realize I’m painting quite a stereotype of myself on our second date.  But I can’t deny it.  Not that I’ve been a closeted fan either.  I wasn’t hiding this from my friends and family.  I wasn’t sneaking hits on the iPod and telling people I was rockin’ to Bruno Mars.  But I wasn’t exactly advertising how closely I was following her either.  I’ve been a fan of Taylor’s since her first single, “Tim McGraw,” which I thought was a lovely and catchy tune, with cleverlyrical twists, especially coming from a 17 year old.

I found her next singles equally as enjoyable and well-written.

Some have criticized her singing ability, and admittedly, that is not her strength, but if you’re focusing on her one flaw (which frankly compared to most humans, is still on the talented side), or mistaking her unbelievable popularity (especially among the aforementioned teen-aged girls) you’re missing the point of what makes Taylor an amazing gift to the songwriting universe.  Simply stated, I would give anything to be able to 1) turn phrases like she can, 2) create enduring, catchy, and sweet tunes, and 3) combine those two together with enough charisma and emotional intelligence to mesmerize and woo an audience.

A couple of Sunday’s ago, 60 Minutes did a great feature story on her that I encourage you to check out.  If it doesn’t make you respect Taylor, nothing will.  One of my favorite quotes comes from a writer at Rolling Stone magazine who (I’m paraphrasing) basically tells us not to let her popularity cloud our judgement that she is an amazing songwriter.  I wholeheartedly concur.  Adults can only dream of having her ability to seemingly effortlessly reach into her own soul — and by extension ours — and plainly, yet poetically say what we’re either feeling, have felt, or dream of feeling.

As a 35 year old who once played a little guitar and even wrote a song or two herself, I have to admit that part of what I love about Taylor is that she is everything I wanted to be  when I was a teenager.  Not what she writes about — I wanted to have the life she achieved.  I dreamt of writing songs, making it in Nashville, and taking the stage night after night, but I didn’t have the drive that Taylor has.  Nor did I have the talent.  So, I live a little vicariously through Miss Swift.  I’m not ashamed of that.  And judging by her final words in the 60 Minutes interview, she’s completely aware of the responsibility to be a good role model to the younger generation of teenagers who worship her.  Taylor, if I may, let me just say you’re a wonderful role model to this “grown-up” as well.  And thank you.

Cheers,

PersephoneK

 

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Introducing PersephoneK, Thankfulness, and Nothing At All

By on November 23, 2011 in Ruminations

[This post was originally published on my old blog site, underworldgoddess.com.  I hope you find it well here.  The published date here reflects the original publication date].

What better way to start a blog than to post my first entry the day before Thanksgiving?  I’ll try not to be too tedious and list all of the things I’m thankful for.  There are countless things to list anyway, and I don’t have the time nor the inclination to write about each one.  And we have just met, so most of those things and people would likely mean nothing to you.

My first post should probably be more about myself.  Who am I.  Who I am not.  Why am I blogging at all.  The truth is, I don’t have a unified reason for why I’m blogging.  This won’t be a blog about a specific topic. I have too many interests (and way too much ADD) to be that focused, so likely you’ll be bombarded with a smattering of various and completely unrelated topics.  Some posts might only loosely be categorized as topical at all.  Essentially, whatever is on my mind that I am itching to share will eventually end up on these pages.

Back to thankfulness… I’m thankful that I live in a country where I can be free to say any random thing that crosses my mind without fear of retribution by my government.  I’m thankful to have been born to a relatively stable family that believed in learning and encouraged debate.  I’m thankful that I have no ability to focus on one topic because my world is infinitely enhanced by finding almost everything interesting (yes, I do find some things more interesting than others and even find a few things completely boring).   I’m thankful for my cat.  I’m thankful for music.  I’m thankful for ice cream.  I’m thankful for poker.  I’m thankful for sandwiches.  I’m thankful for my plasma TV.  I’m thankful for Capitalism and free markets.  I’m thankful for the Declaration of Independence.  I’m thankful for soda.  I’m thankful for my friends and family. (These may be a few of the things I’ll talk about from time to time, but its by no means everything).

Well, what do you know… that was a random list of things I’m thankful for afterall.

So, there you have it.  I’m also thankful to meet you and begin our conversation.  I’d love to hear your thoughts along the way.  And don’t say I didn’t warn you about the random ride we’re about to take.

Cheers,

PersephoneK

P.S.  Sorry for the lack of design style.  I’m sticking with the low-budget blog for now, but may eventually upgrade. We’ll see how long I can stand the bland.

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The Trouble with Blogging

By on September 25, 2011 in Ruminations

[This post was originally published on 9/25/2011 on a blog I no longer update, and have merged here].

One paradox with writing a blog accessible to the world is that carving one’s ideas in virtual stone is both a way to live forever in a moment in time, and well… it’s a way to live forever in a moment in time.

No misprint.

I have no children and likely never will for many reasons.  In a way, I’m rejecting nature’s way of solving the problem of legacy by procreation to pass on my DNA, and I’m manufacturing a non-biological child instead.  People do this in many ways every day, whether in politics, by making scientific discoveries, inventing a new product, acting in a film, writing a novel, or the myriad of other ways people are remembered other than through family lines.  Based on my own abilities in life, I’m fairly certain my only shot at living forever is by writing something others can continue to read.  This blog is not the only way to achieve that, but it is one.  For now, it is ok that my real name isn’t attached to the words. Maybe it never will be, but the ideas are mine, and they will live on indefinitely in the ether via the web.

That’s a powerful driving force, and speaks a lot to the popularity and appeal of blogs in general.  For me it’s not enough that I write.  I need others to read what I write, or it dies, and a part of me dies.

But the other side of the coin, especially for a blog designed to “seek the truth” is that this is a journey.  I no more want to be beholden to ideas and words I believed yesterday but no longer identify with than I wish to grow antennae on the top of my head.  I don’t want to  absolve myself from something I said or wrote in the past, but I don’t want people to use pieces of my past against me if it’s no longer part of who I am.

I recognize that it’s an impossible dream.  Humans do this every day – make judgments of our character based on past choices.  Our interactions with each other are the sum of our previous interactions, assumptions, and pieces of ourselves we allow each others to witness.  No single person has all of the puzzle pieces that make me who I am, or who you are.  What’s more, our own tendency for patternicity makes us prone to subconsciously cherry-picking the parts we want to remember about someone.  Not to mention the parts of ourselves we hold back from each other for a multitude of reasons ranging from mistrust, fear, disinterest, or just lack of time.

Given these conditions, completely knowing another person is next to impossible, even when they write it down for the world to read for all time in a blog.  I only ask that we remember that as we learn more about each other.

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