What Are The Holidays?

Christmas. A holiday long past it's association with religion. Long commercialized to the point of a pavlonian response. Buy. I'm not writing this to say that I am not getting Christmas gifts for friends and family, in fact I am equally guilty of the social reaction to Christmas as I am sure most of the world is. Still, the holiday is celebrating what it used to, and the disease of the 20th century, and all of the so called "traditions" that the rise of capitalism, materialism have imposed on us, is most apparent now. I'm not getting on a soapbox and trying to denounce capitalism. In fact, recent world history has proven that the human race is not mature enough yet to support a more enlightened social structure. We are what we are destined to be. We are what we're prepared to be.

Still, the control that corporations have over the masses at this time of the year is insane.

New Year's. Another manufactured holiday. The switching over from one year to the next is nothing major, and isn't a time for "new beginnings" or any of that nonsense. Anyone that needs to wait for a new year to make a "resolution" to change something isn't prepared to change at all. What would make January 2nd any different? Or July 7th? Or any given Thursday for that matter? Just another excuse to sell, sell, sell. To top all of that off, the pressure that is put on to make sure that you're on that "New Year's date", so you have someone to lock lips with at the stroke of midnight is immense. But really, it's just another day.

In closing...I don't want to spoil the mood of the holidays for anyone. In fact, it's swell that people are in a good mood this time of year. Just that it irks me a bit that it's mostly due to our commerial corporate overlords these days...

Rain...

Well, the good weather had to end sometime. For the past few days, we've been blessed up here in Belleville with near 12 degree weather and sun, but sometime this afternoon after 4 it started to pour. It seems to have calmed down some in the past hour or two, but it brings up an interesting question: why do people talk about uneventful things like the weather? No doubt most of you know me. So despite the fact that this really isn't so much an introduction as a hello, those of you who know me know that I probably have bigger things and issues to talk about than the weather. Those who don't, don't even know what the deal is.

I have yet to decide how far this will go, how far into my life I should delve, or how much I should speculate on the world around me. Lately I seem to be unable to predict what will come of the future, despite the fact that I remain adamant that the world is going to hell in a handbasket. There are also some things I'm reluctant to discuss as of late, due to issues beyond mine, or most others' for that matter, control.

So I guess that's the size of it, wish me luck. There's a ways yet to go, and I may document some of it if I feel up to it. Just how unflatteringly emo is that?