Four (or Five!) Reasons Why

….Big Wedding Are A Bad Idea

1. For two people about to “officially” launch themselves into the world together, a wedding can be an emotionally, mentally and physical exhausting way to kick things off. Just think about all the stresses - big and little - that are part and parcel of planning most weddings. Who do you invite? Who don’t you invite? Can you sit your mother-in-law beside the chatty Uncle Elmer? Will the bride’s maids be forced to wear something they’ll never ever wear again. Will my husband-to-be see strippers on his stage? And the list goes on and on.

2. They’re expensive. The cost of a wedding for 150 to 200 people can easily be equivalent to a healthy down payment on a house. Then add on the cost of the rings, pre-wedding parties, hotel rooms and the honeymoon. That’s some serious cabbage for what is really a day-long party.

3. The planning, effort and expensive involved big weddings are never really appreciated beyond the two families being united. Most guests, while excited and pleased about the wedding, don’t see it in the same context as people behind it. They go, clap when they should, eat a nice meal, have a few drinks, perhaps dance, and then go home. You could easily cut out many of the frills, and most people would have just a good a time.

4. Big weddings set completely unrealistic expectations. Think about it, you’re just setting out together with little or no track record and a 50-50 chance the marriage will be successful, yet you have this huge and expensive celebration at the beginning. If people were smart, they would wait until their 10th anniversary to have the big bash. By that time, you’ve earned your marriage stripes, you’re established professionally and personally and, perhaps, have children. Isn’t that the right time to really celebrate?

Technorati Tags: weddings

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….Why You Should Read 4RW

Hey, what do you know: we have our first guest blogger on 4RW. Step on up, Jill McCubbin, another list aficionado who took little time at all to submit her list. Truth be told, we collectively blushed when we read it.
1. Some of your friends and family are not working very hard this afternoon (and neither are you).

2. You know many people, like you, that are so list-obsessed that they’ve discussed the art of list-making with you (and even ideas about making art out of their lists!). You’ve seen lists falling from the pockets and purses of your friends, and you’ve seen lists penned up their arms or across their palms.

3. You and your friends enjoy these subjects: …Dining Outside is Good or this one …You Shouldn’t Buy Bananas or this one …Advertising is Pandemic or others. You think that they might find real information about some of their interests at some of the 4RW posts.

4. You thought specifically about a certain friend when you found the 4RW blog, and that’s enough reason to send them a message. You know you’ll make somebody else a bit happier if you do.

5. The “About Us” page at 4RW is a fun read too.

6. If that list-toting friend of yours listens to you and visits 4RW, they won’t have to add this task / idea to one of their already long “to-do” lists - or conversely they can add it and then cross it out immediately (or add it to another list - of things to do repeatedly).

Technorati Tags: 4RW

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….Americans Don’t Like Taking Vacations

1. Americans have a deep-rooted work ethic. Maybe this comes from the fact it’s a country of immigrants who have to scratch and claw their way up the social ladder. It’s the land of opportunity/milk and honey but only IF you’re willing to work for it, or work for an online start-up that gets acquired for a king’s ransom by Google. Given this approach, the standard two weeks of vacation is an outright luxury.

2. It would take away from how much Americans enjoy Thanksgiving. The concept of four days in a row of vacation, during which they get to watch football all afternoon and then eat turkey all night, is pure bliss for Americans. This explains why they are willing to travel like crazy all over the country for what is really an extended long weekend.

3. Holidays are for wimps. When you’re an economic super-power, there’s no time for vacations. Meanwhile, many Europeans get six weeks of vacations, which is why they’re struggling with lower productivity and high unemployment these days. If you’re going to win, you’ve got to work, work, work. As the legendary Bruce Springsteen sang in Darlington County: “He don’t work and he don’t get paid”.

4. There’s plenty of time to travel after you retire. America, after all, is the land of RVs and enormous Winnebagos. After you’ve put in your 45 years of work for The Man, and receive your gold watch, you can drive off into the sunset in your gas-guzzling home on wheels, and see as much of the world as you want.

Technorati Tags: vacation

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….Grammar is So Terrible

1. No one really teaches or studies grammar any more. From what I can tell, it’s not really a major part of the curriculum given teachers are scrambling to get their students to read, let alone understand grammar.

2. The importance of grammar is terribly under-appreciated. It’s unfortunate that there’s little attention or interest paid to having a comma, for example, in the right location so that a sentence is properly structured. At a time, when people want to consume information as fast as possible, it’s not something people care about or, for that matter, even recognize.

3. E-mail has killed grammar. With the use of emoticons, acronyms and personal digital shorthand, grammar is getting ignored and/or butchered. This contrasts when the golden age of letter writing when beautiful language, including proper, grammar was important and ubiquitous.

4. Many people write like they talk with same kind of informality and lack of structure. This explains why punctuation is pretty much non-existent, run-on sentences are the norm and spelling is atrocious.

For thoughts on grammar, check out Stanley Bing’s rant on “When smart people use bad grammar”, while the Big Bad Book Blog has some interesting thoughts on how some grammar rules are meant to be broken.

Technorati Tags: Grammar

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…Fishing Isn’t As Boring As You Think

1. Most people think that when you fish, all you really do is sit around, get a tan and drink beer. The truth of the matter is that fishing can be quite meditative. Sitting in the middle of a secluded lake, disconnected from the rest of the world, gives one a chance to reflect and clear your mind. And there is a certain poetry in the act of casting, particularly that for fly-fishing. The elegance of feeding out a line takes years to perfect and can only be achieved when you focus your mind on only the rod in your hand.

2. For city dwellers, it is not often enough that your we get back in touch with nature. To some, this is torture. Why would you put yourself in a place that is void of cell phones and broadband connections? But there is something primeval and elemental about doing so. Not only does it remind us of where we came from, but also what we really need to live and survive.

3. Whether or not the fish are biting, you get a chance to connect with those out there with you in a circumstance that you might not otherwise get. You can talk about about anything. Or you don’t have to talk at all. And there’s always stories to tell over a beer at the end of the day. Bonding can take many forms. That’s the beauty of it.

4. If you’re lucky enough to catch the big one, there is a certain amount of ego and bragging rights involved. Maybe it goes back to the notion of being a “provider” or boost you get from the trophy catch. Regardless, it feeds to ego and is good for the soul. And given that there is always a bit of luck involved, nobody really feels jealous or envious. Maybe they wished is was them, but there’s never any ill feelings.

5. Nobody really knows what goes on during fishing trips or whether any fish were actually caught, and this makes for all sorts of tall tales. “Oh, the one that got away!” A little imagination goes a long way and covers up for the fact that all you did was sit in a boat, tan and drink beer. Oh, wait…

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