When You're Wandering Down 42nd St.

http://scher.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/29/the-parade/?th&emc=th

“The streets of the city are a non-stop parade of humanity. It’s a kind of grand, unchoreographed ballet of human locomotion. One of the great pleasures and measures of being urban is losing yourself in the crowd, with your feet and mind wandering, alone in your head but elbow to elbow with an inexhaustible supply of strangers…”

Blogging. Really.

Dear Reader,

As annoying as blog posts can be at times, we cannot deny the impact they have had on society today. Just take the unstable situation in Iran, for example. People all over the world have used blog sites, YouTube, and facebook to get a first-hand account of all that's going on in that country, even as Iran has tried to censor many of their citizens from expressing their views to the world.

It is quite an incredible thing to witness when the same kind of sites that post about cute kittens could potentially bring a government down to its knees through the use of a collection of verbs, nouns, and adjectives. Its a true testament to the power of people and the power of a pen.

The Iranians may be thousands of miles away from here, but over these past few weeks, we've witnessed their struggles as if they were our next-door neighbors. The world has witnessed and has felt outrage over the killing of a young woman in the streets by Iranian security forces.

One must wonder if we had been as connected to the world during World War II as we are now, would the United States and the Allied Forces have responded faster to the actions of the Nazis against the Jews? What if someone posted a video of the events of Krystallnacht for the entire world to see, hours after it took place?

I believe we're all witnesses to a special era in history where our connection to the world will improve our awareness of the crimes against our human rights and the societal crimes wrought, and through the awareness raised, many will join in solidarity and in support of the oppressed people of the world.

Yours,
NL

Blogging? Really?

Dear Reader,

I've finally caved in.

I've dabbled with blogging before through facebook notes that were more than just the "25 things about me" lists, but at some point along the way, I felt I needed a place to post my own thoughts where anyone can say anything without feeling like their familiarity with me would be an imposition.

My friends blog all the time and I've enjoyed reading them when I have the free time, however there are times when a lot of my friends note a seemingly minor mishap of their day and then proceed to turn it into a verbal spectacle.

Take this excerpt:

"...I like my coffee half-and-half and iced. What I got was black and hot. asjfsdfafhawnfsf WTF BARISTA MAN?!?!?! It just got me soo frustrated and I just took the coffee. I got soo mad, so I rushed to my blackberry and typed this otu (sic). Could you believe that guy?"

No...just no. I'd refuse to read that. I'd hate to make anyone else read that either.

Perhaps that's the true purpose behind blogging: to be free to vent to the entire world about your issues with the world around you, but frankly, its not where I'd like to steer this ship.

If it should ever come down to the point where I'm blogging about my messed-up coffee order, please feel free to comment on that particular post. That's when I'll know to leave the computer behind and disconnect myself for a little while. But otherwise, I wish you all happy bloggings.

Yours,

NL