OUIJA BOARD AND OTHER OFF THE GRID STUFF

The Misplaced Walking Cane

I did yard work for an incredibly lovely old couple as a kid. When they originally moved into their house they had to empty out several of the rooms and closets containing some of the previous owner’s stuff.

Soon after the clean up, they heard strange bumping sounds, almost like someone wandering around the house in the dark. Concerned about this strange occurrence, they decided to call the previous owners to ask if the sounds were a normal thing. “Oh, did you by any chance empty out the upstairs closet, ? They asked. We confirmed that we had indeed done so. "Just put the cane back in the closet so "he" can see where he is going. Without it he just stumbles around bumping into things and making noise.”
Not believing a single word of it, we said good bye and hung up. The noises just kept on, night after night, until we retrieved the old cane from the garage and put it back inside the cupboard and the noise simply stopped, never to return again.

Is The Twitter Bird Fleeing The Coup?

The great promise of social media, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn etc. was that they were supposed to have created a powerful and open public sphere, in which ideas could spread and networks of political action could form. According to Time magazine, according to Time, more than 11 million young people have fled popular social media platforms since 2011, and are spending most of their time with messaging apps that connect only those who are already connected. Perhaps, the political promise of social media may never be realized.

Caution! Facebook is Personal and Professional

Increasingly, young people are being warned that future employers, college admissions departments, and even banks will use their social media profiles to form assessments. In response, many of them seem to be using social media more strategically. For example, a number of my students create multiple profiles on sites like Twitter, under various names. They carefully curate the content they post on their public profiles on Facebook or LinkedIn, and save their real, private selves for other platforms.

Why 11 Million Kids have Left Facebook?

According to my research, while digital media students are waiting for classes to start, they stare wide eyed at their phones, but it is not Facebook they are checking.They’re not checking Instagram or Pinterest or Twitter. No, they’re catching up on the news of the day by checking out their friends’ Stories on Snapchat, chatting in Facebook Messenger or checking in with their friends in a group text. If the time drags, they might switch to Instagram to see what the brands they love are posting, or check in with Twitter for a laugh at some celebrity tweets. But, they tell me, most of the time they eschew the public square of social media for more intimate options.

Is This a Problem?

We may be seeing the next evolution in digital media. Just as young people were the first to migrate on to platforms like Facebook and Twitter, they may now be the first to leave and move on to something new.

The Eerie Rocking Horse

My rocking horse

Late one night when I was perhaps 7 or 9 I was having trouble falling asleep. My bedroom was on the top floor of our house with my bed being on the right side and storage closets and a play area being on the left. I was lying in bed when I suddenly heard a noise coming from the other side of the room and saw my rocking horse begin to rock. It was standing just outside one of the storage closet doors. It proceeded to rock its way halfway across the room and stopped when it struck the side of my bed. At this point I was freaking out and just buried my head under pillows and never peeked out again until morning.

Spices Of Life From Your Kitchen Shelf: CAN THE REAL FATHER CHRISTMAS PLEASE TAKE A BOW

Spices Of Life From Your Kitchen Shelf: CAN THE REAL FATHER CHRISTMAS PLEASE TAKE A BOW: Yes, finally the right person receives credit for his noble deeds. Read all about it here