Ryan's Journal

Arizona is cool. They don't have idiotic mandates like Daylight Savings Time. Benny Franklin, this was your worst idea (your theories about electricity were kind of off too).

Society has so much odd and useless baggage. Can somebody explain why it's rude to point at people? It's easier to gesture than to describe, after all. Maybe it was a medieval way of calling someone out to duel. Maybe it was perceived in the dark ages as a witch about to cast a spell. Maybe somebody really powerful just didn't like being pointed at because of a poor childhood experience.

That one's hard to trace, unlike the diamond sham. Diamonds can shatter, scratch, be burned, and degrade over time. They are not forever. Diamonds are more abuntant than rubies and can be synthetically generated. Diamonds are controlled the world over by De Beers. Societal demand was generated during the 20th century by an advertising firm. Why do people buy diamonds for engagements and special occasions as if they were automatons? Because somebody programmed their not-so-distant ancestors to do it. Because everybody does it. And it's a lie. Diamonds should never have been worth as much as they are now, and they should have resale value. Money spent on diamonds can be traced in a very direct path to war and illegal activities. I don't like diamonds.

That goes for birthstones and anniversary gifts too. There's some cartel making millions off the suckers who think buying gold for that 50th anniversary (or whatever the "tradition" is) is somehow the Right Thing.

How do you differentiate between trustworthy reporting and alarmist media? I like The Atlantic's piece, which I basically condensed into the above, and anybody who reads this knows I despise CNN. So who am I to judge...time to get off the soapbox...

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