Computer Rant
If you ask me, all this "layer" stuff is a bit much to keep track of. It's great that we can use technologies like Photoshop to do cool stuff with images, but it's a bit confusing for me, since there are so many effects and features to use. I have to try to remember which does what and play around with the percentages, etc. Maybe I won't be as frustrated after I have used it for a while, but right now, unless I know specifically what I'm trying to do to an image, I could be stuck on one image for a long time. Plus, my eyes get tired, and staring at the computer screen too long is bad for the eyes. For one thing, you blink less. At least I know the 20/20/20-rule: every twenty minutes take a break for 20 seconds, and during those 20 seconds, stare at something that's at least twenty feet away from you. Something like that.
Downfall of Society Rant: the United States
It's a darn shame. Not only are many of our public schools in need of an overhaul, but now even prominent dictionaries like Websters are adding silly vernacular terms like "chillax" and "frienemy" to the dictionary, and not classifying them as slang. It's stupid, in my opinion, because for one the thing, one of the beauties of the English language is that there are so many words and phrases that have legitimate, traceable origins, already in existence, to express these ideas. What every body should have in possession is a quality dictionary
and a quality thesaurus. Unfortunately, I haven't attained a pocket thesaurus as of yet, but thank heavens for the public library system. There are great thesauruses in the MCA library of course, as well as great dictionaries. Using slang such as "chillax" and "frienemy" is what I, and many others in some unidentifiable zone, call "lazy language". It is lazy language, and its prevalence will be one of many things that contribute to the downfall of our society. I'm not saying that every conversation should be formal, and I'm only human, I get lazy sometimes too; I'm merely saying that we, as a people, should keep a check on how prominent lazy language becomes and what kind of bullcrap we may be filtering through the guise of education, to our children.
I take the risk of casting a broad generalization when I say that we are rearing a generation of spoiled, lazy youths, who are being denied access to the arts, good literature, and the teaching of beneficial and traditional skills. Not the skills that teach you to be a robot or succeed in our obsession with the "global economy" but skills which are good for the physical, spiritual, and emotional health of those who learn them. Again, I speak not for every one, but for those whom the shoe fits. Another thing that infuriates me (in lieu of "ticks me off") is that now I hear that many school officials claim that it is inexpedient to teach cursive writing. Ridiculous! As old a skill as it is, and considering that many important documents such as the Bill of Rights were originally written in cursive, it is still relevant and always will be. I mentioned the dwindling of the arts before; cursive writing is also an art form. One can write gracefully or one can write chicken scratch. There are enough people who can't write well as it is, and that's in manuscript. Some people, if not a lot, write legibly in cursive. Sheesh, it at least looks better, even if it is still illegible. In any case, people should be able to opt between writing in manuscript and writing in cursive as the situation dictates.
