- We took Khali to the vet today and it went really well (Snow had an appointment too, but he ran off in to the woods when we tried to put him in the carrier). She was super chill in the car and at the vet. I’m impressed. Khali is now chipped (as Khaleesi OurLastName), has all of her vaccinations, and is confirmed FIV free. And she has an appointment to get spayed. She was (is?) definitely in heat which has made for some x-rated interactions with Snow recently. Sigh.
- File these two studies under “duh, but good reminder” (and as with most studies “questionable research methods”) -“Facebook can actually make us more narrow-minded” (pdf here) and “Get Up and Move. It May Make You Happier” (pdf here). Like I said, both very “duh” statements, but ones I have been thinking about lately – how one-sided most of the social media I follow is, and how while I LOVE working from home, that all that sitting around is BAD for my mood. Bad, bad, bad.
- Milky Chance’s second album comes out in March! I wonder if I will love it as much as the first. I am not digging the first single, but I think it’s because it was accompanied by a music video – watching music videos often ruins the song for me.
- Did anyone else watch Beware the Slenderman on HBO? The stabbing happened close (well, within 60 miles) to where we live and it’s something I’ve followed since. I didn’t care for the documentary though and was somewhat shocked the girl’s parents agreed to be in it.
Link to Random Thoughts Thursday 124
Themocracy
Yay good job Khali! Let’s hope there are no kittens ek!
Right?!
The past year has made me acutely aware of how one-sided my Facebook feed can be. I was genuinely surprised when the presidential primaries/caucuses started happening and Hillary Clinton beat Bernie Sanders time and time again, because based on my Facebook feed (full of college students and/or relatively recent grads), you would’ve thought Bernie would win in a landslide every time. And the same thing with Trump, of course. I don’t know…sometimes I think we, as a society, are much worse off for having social media in our lives for a variety of reasons, really, but of particular relevance to this discussion, for the way it makes it nearly effortless to live inside an echo chamber. I’m sure the social networks people built in real life prior to social media had similar echo chamber qualities, but I would imagine there’s a big difference between hearing the same few people reiterate your beliefs when you happened to be together in person, and hearing hundreds of people reiterate your beliefs every time you open your phone or computer.
That is really interesting to me, because my experience was also liberal but pro Hilary, maybe because I am friends with people my age and older? Who knows!
Social media is definitely what you make of it, and for some people that does make them worse off. It definitely has its pros (like connecting with friends who live far away), but I think those are starting to be outweighed by the cons, for me! And like you said, there is something about having your beliefs confirmed online, in the safety of your home, by lots of people, than out in public. I doubt (and hope, in some instances) that a lot of these conversations would happen in public!
I am rambling, but my point is, I agree with your sentiment.
I never heard about Slender Man. That is terrifying.
I will freely admit that my social media is pretty one-sided, but I feel like the few times I get into discussions online or in person with someone who thinks differently, I come away thinking they are crazy and/or an a-hole. They probably think the same about me. I don’t know. I don’t want to know where this all is going. I like to think my viewpoints are driven by compassion and not just my own self-interests, but maybe I’m just brainwashed.
Khali looks so cute and relaxed. Olive is a ball of anxiety and stress at the vet.
Super effed up, right? And what was really scary was that the documentary showed video of the girls being interviewed right after they did it, and they matter-of-factly said what they did and didn’t show remorse.
I doubt you’re brainwashed to think what you do. But seeing other people mostly think the same probably doesn’t encourage you to think of other points of view, as often, you know? But that is the problem, is that the people spewing opposite points of view usually do appear crazy/like a-holes.
I can’t believe how chill Khali was!
Good kitty, Khali! She REALLY wants to be your kitty, you can tell. Snow is acting like a typical cat, LOL…whenever we have vet appointments for our cats, I have to make sure and lock Henry inside the house because otherwise, his spidey sense goes off and he disappears.
She really does. Now I want to bring her inside even more!
I need to find a trick like that with Snow! Little sh*ts.
Awesome that Khali was great at her vet visit. And being chipped is good in case she runs off like Snow did.