Welcome to Not Wanting to Meet My Heroes

 We’re all human. We all make mistakes.

But being a creep is not a mistake...it’s being a creep.

Today I was sad to pop on Twitter and see another YouTube celebrity scandal trending. It’s not the first time I’ve learned through a social media platform that a person or group I enjoyed turned out to be terrible, but it never gets easier to learn.

There’s a famous saying (one that I have no idea whom to attribute to) that you “should never meet your heroes”. I’ve interpreted this saying a few different ways. One way is that everyone is human and that putting someone you don’t know on a pedestal is going to hurt everyone. Heck, putting someone you do know is going to backfire spectacularly and it’s inevitable that the relationships won’t end well.

Another is learning that the person you admired is actually terrible.

I remember there was a great Hey Arnold episode called “Pre-Teen Scream” when the character Phoebe gets the opportunity to meet her favorite singer. Long story short, Phoebe learns the hard way that her idol isn’t worthy of her affection. She makes a lot of assumptions about the singer, Ronnie, and builds him up to be a perfect person. Once Phoebe learns the truth about his inability to write, let alone sing, his songs, does her fantasy come crashing down. Oddly, it’s her very flawed best friend Helga who is there to help her through the realization.

I think this was the first time I was exposed to a plot like this. Hey Arnold was a wonderful show that tackled a lot of heavy topics like addiction, mental health, poverty, bullying, and even death in ways that children could handle. The “Parents Day” episode never fails to make me cry buckets of tears. Honestly go watch Hey Arnold - I think it’s still on Hulu.

I’m glad Hey Arnold had an episode like this. It set my expectations to not idolize people, especially ones I don’t know. It helped me learn how to handle that disappointment and sadness that comes from that knowledge.

A few years ago, I learned that one of my favorite YouTube teams didn’t treat some of their coworkers all that well. It was a big scandal in that community and a lot of nasty gossip and truths were shoved into the public light. Because of the fight, I found that I couldn’t enjoy the creators who did the bad things. 

And it got me worrying. I started thinking things like: was I a bad person for enjoying their work while they were acting bad? Am I bad for having supported them? Were there signs I missed? 

I stopped watching that YouTube team’s videos. Their actions and the fall out distinctly put them in the wrong. Sometimes I’m annoyed with myself by how much I liked their work before I learned that they weren’t great people. But the reality is there’s nothing for me to do but move on with my life and find new people (who hopefully don’t do bad things) to watch.

The same thing is true about mainstream celebrities, politicians, and anyone else who spends more than 15 minutes in the spot light. They are people who have flaws just like I do. Sometimes they snap at a fan when they have a bad day. Sometimes they’re absolute creeps (*cough Woody Allen *cough). 

After so many years, I’ve just come to the conclusion that I don’t really want to meet the rich and famous. I’m good watching them on TV or in movies or reading their books and keeping my distance. 

I know this blog post sounds like a complete downer. Some celebrities, politicians, and famous people are really nice and genuine. If they were still alive, I would have loved to have met Vincent Price or Carry Grant. Vincent Price seemed like a really cool person.

But building people up to be perfect isn’t fair to them. Wanting to meet celebrities is fine, but stalking them (especially if they’re kids) isn’t cool. Demanding a person’s attention that you don’t know isn’t something we should do.

It sucks that another celebrity I liked in my early 20s decided to do a terrible thing, but that’s not a moral failing on my part. It’s theirs. If you’ve ever been disappointed by a hero, you’re not alone. 

Sometimes people get redemption arcs. Sometimes they don’t deserve them.

The moral of this post is: everyone makes mistakes, but sometimes the people making them are terrible.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y’all like hearing from me.

Until next week.

Welcome to Monster Part 2: They Can Be Cute Too

I remember seeing Monsters Inc in theaters. I loved it, especially since I was definitely one of those kids who thought there was a monster in their closet or under the bed, which made the movie seem all the more plausible at the time. It also may have helped me get over this particular irrational fear. I mean, as long as Sully or Mike Wazowski was the monster coming to scar me.

Isn't this just the face of an angle?

Occasionally, monsters go through a child friendly retelling. Most of these stories, if I remember correctly, revolved around the cliche "don't judge a book by it's cover" narrative. It's a good story for kids to learn and understand, especially since monsters are often thought of as monsters because of what they look like.

Then again, Sully from Monsters Inc looked like an adorable cross between a teddy bear and furry alligator. He doesn't look that scary in the movie. But I bet if I ran across a real life combination of these two creatures I'd scream my freaking head off and run for the hills.

 Ah Real Monsters was a similar show from the 90s. It featured three young monsters learning how to be scary. It was a more gross version of Monsters Inc (I think they lived in a dumpster). On a day to day basis the monsters in the show were friendly and just trying to pass their classes. It was when they came across a human, that they would scare them. It was a fun, goofy show for young me to watch (and the monster designs were amazing).

Kids do need to learn that they shouldn't judge a person by their appearance alone. One of my favorite stories as a kid was The House that Drac Built. It was supposed to be a spooky house that was filled with ferocious and scary monsters.

I loved this story and made my parents read it to me all the time (along with Mickey Mouse in The Phantom Blot). The first part of the book included a great build up of how scary and angry the monsters trapped in the house were. The second part of the book had the kids showing up. At first it seemed like the kids would be terrified and run away, but when the kids saw that the monsters needed help or love, they instead spent time with them.

I remember a lot of these stories from the late 90s and early 2000s. Though I might have blocked some of them out of my memory. One day while I was meandering through the nostalgic side of YouTube I stumbled across the opening for a show called Seven Little Monsters. I don't recall actually watching this show (I was a little too old for it), but I do remember seeing it occasionally pop up on PBS while my younger sibling was waiting for a different show (or while I was babysitting).

Seven Little Monsters was about a family of monsters growing up in the human world (or at least that's what I remember). Each monster had their own quirk, which made them different from their siblings. It was a cute show and heavily featured several lessons about using the talents you've been given and not to judge people who look different from you.

In this case, monsters weren't supposed to be scary. They were nice and sweet or held day jobs. It was a way to teach kids to accept those who are different from them. Monsters are convenient to use in these stories, since most kids are already scared of monsters.

What better way to help someone conquer their fears than by making that fear seem more relatable?

Monsters will always be a part of our popular culture. They represent the unknown and inhuman parts of our lives. Monsters can be blood sucking forces of evil and they can be the cuddly 9 to 5 business man who just wants to keep his city supplied with power.

Personally I like both kinds of monsters. Much like people, you never know which monsters are good and which are evil. It's their actions that determine that.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me. Until next week.

Welcome To Social Media

I'm a Millennial, I should know this stuff right?

Ah Social Media, the greatest necessity and bane of this generation's existence. If you don't believe me check out my post from last week about self marketing or just continue reading this post.

Let's navigate this together! (No I'm not being serious)

I recently got a Twitter account. Yeah, it's basically Facebook statuses, but you can find out what famous people are thinking without actually being their friend. JK Rowling is a well known Twitter user. I got it as a way to continue "self advertising" for my online writing.*

Social media has managed to connect people and keep them connected in a way that wasn't possible twenty years ago. One can argue that the Internet Is the real power house behind this connection, but Social Media has definitely taken it to the next level. Let's see we have the all powerful Facebook, the apparent news source that is Twitter (seriously has no one else seen Yahoo's sources lately?), Instagram and Pinterest rule photo sharing of all things IKEA related, and of course LinkedIn is the current gateway to getting a resume out the door (at least that's what I kept hearing from my college career center). Oh and let's not forget YouTube (sorry Vimeo you just aren't as well known), the site that's managed to make more insta-celebraties than any other (except perhaps 4chan, but that's a different conspiracy).

There are of course even more to choose from for different purposes, like Tumblr, Snap Chat, and Tinder. All of which connect people around the world to share information, events, and crazy cat videos. To meet a person in the US between the ages of 10 and 39 who hasn't heard or is a member of at least one of these sites is rare, like meeting an extraterrestrial rare. It's statistically possible, but highly unlikely.

So isn't Social Media a force of good for this generations? Like all things in this universe, social media is both good and bad (like eating a box of chocolates, your soul wants it, but the body will hate you for it later).

Social Media gives everyone a platform. People whom agree with each other, disagree with each other, and the people who have no idea what's going on but want to be included anyway. It has also created a culture where we can share everything.

Yep, everything.

We all know that one person who has to share everything. Heck some of my readers might think I'm one of these people (which I might be, but I digress). Its not necessarily bad and can easily be ignored, like ads on Facebook. But recently there have been more and more news stories about how people get in to trouble on these sites.

There was the recent scandal about the girl on Instagram saying how her life presented on the site is a total lie. There's always some story about high school kids posting something stupid and getting detention for it. Or how about the teacher who was recently hired because of her double life on Instagram (I'm sensing a pattern). Also quoting Twitter is seen as news. Am I the only one who thinks this will eventually lead to a spectacularly hilarious scandal at some point? Something along the lines of the War of the Worlds radio broadcast. Anyone else?

Navigating all the Dos and Don'ts of Social Media should be simple. If you wouldn't put it on your high school bulletin board, don't put it online. See simple. Yet we still have people known as trolls (mean spirited/mischievous people looking for a fight), the person who doesn't understand that yes the police can read your status if you make the illegal activity you did a public post, and the person who tells their boss they are sick and then post that they are actually at the beach playing hooky (seriously don't do this).

So what's the future of social media? Will we one day all pretty much live in the digital world and let our real bodies deteriorate into nothing? I hope not. Reality is still too interesting for me to spend all of my time on the Internet. Still, the possibility is there. Until then I'll keep making sure I don't post anything too embarrassing.

If you enjoyed this post or it really pissed you off, pleas like, share, or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me. Now to finish watching that silly sports game most Americans are currently tuned in to. Honestly I'm just watching for the commercials. Until next week.

* This blog will not be included because [insert reason here].

Welcome To Creativity

I recently read an article that said reading 30 minutes a day (or was it a week?) will help boost creativity. I wonder if they were only talking about books or just reading in general (you know, news stories, comic books, ingredient's labels...etc).

I read a lot. Fiction, mysteries, manga, biography, fanfiction are just a few of the many things I read on a regular basis. Sometimes I'm reading to learn something new. I recently got a copy of Jimmy Carter's autobiography (which he signed 😄) and have really enjoyed hearing about where he grew up and his live before he was president. Other times I'm off in a fantasy world, possibly fighting dragons with alien parasites. Thank you "Song of Fire and Ice" books (Game of Thrones) by George R. R. Martin for those crazy dreams.

Reading is a big influence on my life (even if it did take me a long time to start). Harry Potter is a huge part of my life and I'll never forget the first time I picked up an Astrix comic book. Reading has helped me imagin undiscovered worlds and dream up situations I wouldn't have before.

Maybe that's why I write so much. A lot of my writing is based on my dreams and even my nightmares. When I'm bored I'll think up new places to explore or monsters to fight. Hey everyone has at some point dreamed of being the hero...right?

And creativity isn't just about writing or drawing comics. It's also creating music, making cloths, knitting, designing buildings, solving math equations (yes, math requires creativity, lots and lots of creativity) and solving problems that aren't intuitive (like when you're toilet explodes for no reason or there's a BBQ and no one remembered a spatula).

Since this is the age of the Internet, it has become easier for people to share their creativity with others. Some great sites to post work (or see other people's work) are listed below. I personally use a few of them (user name will not be given) and have so far had a positive experience.

From YouTube to FanFiction (you know the place "Fifty Shades Of Grey" became famous), there are plenty of places where a person can post their creative work. For the movie makers there's Vimeo, YouTube and Facebook (how's that working out by the way?), for the writer there's FanFaction, her sister site for original content FictionPress, and many blog hosting sites. There's DeviantArt, Pintrist, and Tumblr for artists. ComicFury, The Duck and more for inspiring comic book and manga creators. Heck social media is a great place to share creative work (one of the many reasons this blog is shared on Facebook).

It might be true that reading 30 minutes a week helps with creativity, but there are other things that inspire creativity. I find that taking walks is very helpful to the creative process. It's not a "one size fits all" approach. And thank the higher powers for the Internet. There might be a lot of strange and random things floating on the web, but there are a few gems too.

After all if "Fifty Shades of Grey" started on the Internet, then the next " Game of Thrones" might be floating around somewhere on here too.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off), please like, share or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me. Until next week.