The Social Porcupine

Comparison of the books Jayber Crow   by Wendell Berry and Of Human Bondage  by Somerset Maugham. Contains spoilers.  I read Jane Eyre and Anna Karenina back-to-back with the purpose of comparing them. Ironically, I did not plan on comparing the next two books I read, nor did I expect them to be so uncannily similar. Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry  is the story of a boy becoming a man and how he immortalizes his suffering. It is a story of community lost due to progressive thought and industrialism, and of the lonely man. It is written to stir the senses toward empathy, perhaps somewhat toward apathy, but the light is tinted. Jayber Crow's story is not happy story, although he falsely believes himself to be happy.  Of Human Bondage  by Somerset Maugham follows the life of Philip Carey, of his search to find meaning and focus, and how he repeatedly succumbs to man's nature to the desire of treasuring suffering above goodness.  I shared most o...

Dear Mr. President by Pink The song lyrics are in italics, and my comments are in bold font. This is a song written to George W. Bush, but people are starting to say it relates to Trump too. I don't really care who the song is about. Even if it were about James Madison or Barack Obama I'd be saying all the following: this song is stupid.  Dear Mr. President  Come take a walk with me  Let's pretend we're just two people and  You're not better than me  Ahhh. Please. The president isn't some god or king. What a cringy way to start out an otherwise completely cringy song.  I'd like to ask you some questions if we can speak honestly  What do you feel when you see all the homeless on the street?  Hmm. What do you feel? You do know that the president isn't responsible for people's life choices any more than you are. And, yes, some people choose to be homeless. Yes, this doesn't negate the fact that God told us to love and ...

I have two writing/ computer user product reviews today; one for your hands, and the other for your eyes.  I first heard of  SOJOS  glasses through a friend sharing about how much she loved them. I was interested in blue light glasses, and their page looked fun, so I followed them. I had previously bought a pair of blue light glasses . But I never wear them because they fall off my face. They also weren't as pretty as Amazon made them look to be. But my biggest dislike about them was that they had 1x strength, and it hurt my eyes more to wear them to not wear them. Well, I kept seeing these gorgeous glasses in my Instagram feed for months (because I followed them ;p) and one night I decided to message them and ask if they'd give me a pair for review on my blog. They sent me two pairs, of my choosing.  I had to order them on Amazon, send them my order information, then they refunded me. It took less than a week for the glasses to arrive.  It's...

We writers love words. Many of us love speaking these words aloud almost as much if not more than writing. That's because we have opinions - opinions we believe ought to be shared. Even to the point of friendly   discussion unless that's impossible because someone completely stupid won't understand . But sometimes we opinionated verbalists take a moment and realize we need to fuel our minds and stabilize our opinions with facts.   That's why, occasionally, we choose to listen . lis·ten ˈlis(ə)n verb 1. give one's attention to a sound. synonyms: hear , pay attention, be attentive,  attend ,  concentrate noun 1. an act of listening to something.                                                                       ...

Having long hair is pretty you say? It's also hard. Plus, I'm very picky. I don't like cheap products. I don't like spending tons of money. I like things to be pretty — but not gaudy. I like simple and outstanding. I like practical — something that is easy to do and matches with most of my outfits. And so, for most of my life I hid my hair under a hat. And then for the next half of my life I braided it — for awhile I added a scarf or ribbon into that braid. But I don't always feel like looking like a home schooled nerd or gypsy. A couple years ago I discovered Lilla Rose hair clips. And have consequentially been falling in love. I currently only own four (counting the one featured in this post): two mediums, one extra small, and one mini. I love all of them. And have found amazing, simple, stunning hairstyles that fit my perfect fashion need of  business casual + excited hippie .  In this post I'd like to share a few things: A Lilla Rose give...