Which of these signs will prevent another tragedy?

Shooting Sprees & The Finger of Blame Game

The blame should be placed squarely on the shoulders of the shooter. Not our Constitutional right to bear arms, not movie content, not lyrical content, not political affiliation, not some fictitious plot set into motion in order to bring about stricter gun laws, not the security at the school, not how the murderer was raised, not abuse that he may or may not have suffered as a child, not God, not the devil, not purple aliens from outer space or any other thing you can dream up to shift the responsibility for this ghastly crime.

If someone is sick enough in the head to want to murder people, they're going to find a way. Be it with a gun, a knife, a bomb, a car directed at a crowd, a hammer, a crowbar, a pillow poised for suffocation, poison in the Kool-Aid, mass psychological manipulation in order to bring about fanatical suicides, etc. Let's stop pointing the finger of blame at society and start holding individuals accountable for their actions.

It all starts when they're children. Raise them to know that there are consequences for every action, good or bad. Discipline is key. Teach them morals and their youthful, sponge-like psyches will absorb your lessons with ease. We can do nothing about the past or the crime that was committed today. What we can do is fight for our future... and it will begin and end with the next generation. The lessons they're being taught today will be the reflection that is cast in the mirror of our many tomorrows.

And that's my two cents.

Skinny Girl Problems

Why should overweight ladies be the only ones that get to complain? You know, skinny girls have problems, too. For instance, there isn't a pair of jeans on planet earth that will fit me correctly without the aid of a belt. Which is not always the most fashionable choice. Many outfits I've wanted to sport over the years have suffered due to this fact. 

As if that's not already enough tragedy to endure, consider the fact that I've actually had to STOP drinking Diet Coke. Yes, that's right. I recently switched back to Coca-Cola Classic because I can't afford to lose any more weight. 

But you know what's really embarrassing? When I'm forced to eat in social situations. Because I have a tiny stomach, I can't ever seem to finish a meal or keep up with everyone else's eating. People accuse me of picking at my food, being wasteful or, worse, they assume that I'm anorexic. You can't even imagine how unbearable Thanksgiving can be for a girl like me. 

It sucks being a literal and metaphoric lightweight. When it comes to alcohol consumption, I'm a cheap date. It doesn't take much Liquid Awesome to get me Dance On The Table Drunk. That's why it's so easy to over-do it... Which puts me in danger of being the life of the party all too often. I mean, really. How could shoulders so slight ever be expected to bear the weight of such a burdensome expectation?  

I guess there is one upside to the trials and tribulations of being a skinny bitch, though. After I've dirty danced with every guy in the place and have finally blacked out from even so much as a thimble full of vodka, it doesn't take much effort for my friends to carry me out of the club. 

Smutty Sex Scene

When she passionately accosted him in the kitchen, he wanted to deny her but couldn't resist the tantalizing temptation. Seductively, she pressed her barely clothed body against his bathrobe attired chest and, with an urgency bordering on violence, kissed him fervently, allowing not a single moment for hesitation. As their lips touched and tangled, she let out a deep, sexually frustrated sigh and quickly disrobed the object of her obsession. Her deft fingers exposed his fevered flesh which she bent to worship with a flickering tongue. 

Her bewitching actions only served to heighten his forbidden arousal. At any moment, his girlfriend could walk through the door. This fact barely registered in his lust wracked mind as she hastily dropped to her knees and began swirling her oh so talented tongue in a trail down his quivering abdominal muscles, aiming for the promised, and incredibly ready, land. He bit his lower lip, leaned his weight against the table, gasped and threw his head back as she took his cock into her eager mouth.

The combination of desire, danger and deliciousness were advantageous to her perversely perilous plan as he promptly responded to her sensual osculation and erupted in a crescendo of orgasmic proportions. She devoutly swallowed every drop of his salty sweetness as if his very essence could edify her from within. His body grew slack upon the cool surface of the kitchen table as the reality of the jeopardous situation slowly began to dawn upon his momentarily mollified psyche. He opened his eyes and, before he could even form the words of warning, he realized that she was long gone, having slipped out the back door, undetected.

The Ten Social Media Commandments

Pet peeves. We all have them. Now that Facebook has become so wide spread, they're growing at a faster rate than Mark Zuckerberg's bank account. What's really surprising is how much these little annoyances can vary from person to person. What rankles one of your friends to no end may make another person on your list laugh out loud. If five of your readers absolutely can't get enough of your endless family photo dumps, you can bet your next mouse click that just as many are rolling their eyes along with their scroll button.


Then there's the unexpected, secret peeves that you'd never guess are causing your second cousin twice removed to silently curse the day she ever met you through Ancestry.com. For instance, it irks the hell out of my husband when someone likes his activity and also comments on it. Say what? Why? Well, it's simple, really. He gets two notifications for what's tantamount to the same thing and he sees it as wasteful. Crap. I'm guilty of that on a daily basis! I never even considered that such a thing could bother someone. 


In light of such a petty revelation, I'm sure we're all guilty of doing something we see as completely benign and ridiculously insignificant that makes someone, somewhere on the Internet want to ravage our collective faces with a sharp, shiny object. After surveying friends, there does seem to be a general consensus about certain transgressions, though. For these, we need.... 

"The Ten Social Media Commandments"

1) Thou shalt not display duck face. To do so while taking a self portrait in a mirror of any sort only adds idiocy to your social indignity. 


2) Thou shalt not post chain messages peppered with guilt or slathered with false promises in order to garner re-posts. That's what email in the 90's was for. We're all pretty much over that now. 


3) Thou shalt not attack the religious, political, or social views of someone by commenting on material that they have posted on their own personal page. If a man's home is his castle, his Facebook Timeline is the garbage dump of his soul. Don't go picking through his trash and trying to convert it into your idea of treasure. 


4) Thou shalt not post vague, cry for attention status updates. If you've got something to say, just come right out and type it. Attention spans are short and patience with such mindless drivel is pretty much nonexistent.  


5) Thou shalt make an attempt at somewhat correct grammar. If you are above the age of 14, you have no excuse for typing all of your Facebook correspondences in an abbreviated version of text message shorthand. ppl, like, srsly hate dat. 


6) Thou shalt not constantly doom and gloom. Facebook is a great tool for venting your frustrations but you have to mix it up from time to time. Being the ever present little black cloud of misery on a newsfeed is no way to keep friends or influence people.


7) Thou shalt not flaunt your fabulous vacation. We know you're excited. We would be too if we were rich enough to go to Hawaii or Tahiti for two weeks every year. Please, have mercy on our poor, envious souls and refrain from posting glamorous pictures of your amazing adventures during business hours on Monday-Friday... because we're all stuck at work and you're really making us hate you. 


8) Thou shalt not use the Lord's name 500 times a day. We know that you're a Christian and most of us totally respect that. However, we don't need to see a bloody, computer generated photo of Jesus being crucified every time we log in. 


9) Thou shalt not change your relationship status every time your significant other so much as looks at you the wrong way. We really don't care if "it's complicated." We have enough of our own familial drama. The last thing we want is a front row ticket to your own personal episode of Jerry Springer.


10) Thou shalt be true to thine self. Don't lie, it's usually obvious. Don't try to make us believe that your marriage is picture perfect, your children are God's gift to mankind, or that you love waking up in the morning because your job is just that awesome. Keep in mind, most of us knew you and your high school sweetheart when you first got together 20 years ago and you weren't even that lovey-dovey when the romance was fresh. Don't expect us to believe you're living a 24/7 fairy tale that's filled with rainbows and butterflies. If we want fanciful, bodice ripper fiction, we'll read a Nora Roberts novel. Stop trying to impress us with falsification. We prefer the entertainment of reality which includes, but is not limited to, snafus, mishaps, mistakes, and amusingly self-deprecating dalliances. We love to laugh with you and, if we're being honest, AT you. So, lighten up, be yourself, and if someone doesn't like it, eff 'em. After all, that's what the term "un-friended" was coined for. 


Author's Note: This list was compiled based on the opinions I gleaned from friends. Personally, I have surprisingly few Facebook pet peeves. I am much more tolerant on the Internet than I could ever hope to be in real life. Maybe it's because I know that nothing that happens online has any true bearing on reality. It's the people that I'm forced to deal with face-to-face that seriously get under my skin. Plus, it's easy to cut ties in the virtual world... and there's usually a sense of finality to it. Closure is rather simple in such a setting. I only wish it were so easy to erase the annoyances in our day-to-day lives.