Aselin

Spending, eh hem, wasting - time on Facebook has opened up all sorts of new horizons for me. There are some fun aspects - like connecting with people who have had significant places in my life, but for reasons of distance or age we have lost contact. There are also some extremely witty people who enrich my life, and brighten my day with their little quips. One friend has a deep friendship with Jose Cuervo. Apparently Jose brings out the funny in him, because their antics are quite entertaining. Since my Aunt is the self proclaimed Tequila Fairy, I figure I should pay attention to what Jose is doing so I can keep an eye on her.

Another aspect of Facebook is the "Become a Fan" button. I'm not much of a joiner, and have eschewed this activity. But not so for many of my friends. Here is some of the 'fan roll' for today:

... joined the group Tom, Its Been 30 Years ... Your Not Going To Eat Jerry.
... became a fan of I get slightly worried when people say "Can I ask you something?"
... became a fan of "Who are you talking to?" "My mom, so shut up." "Tell her I say hi."
... joined the group "You Totally Just Crossed The Line!" "What Line?"
... became a fan of Pull up your pants, homeboy. You're white.
... became a fan of Ok, If we get caught here's the story... ·
... became a fan of The correct usage of "You're", "Your", "There", "Their" and "They're."

These options for belonging make for pretty interesting social commentary. Each time I log in there are invitations to join. Achieving that sense of belonging is such a huge part of the human experience. Hence the social networking within the social network.

Reflecting on this phenomenon, I realized I'm a HUGE DORK. While most people have become fans of witty things, and sports teams, I can think of only two things I am an official fan of. Yes, the above list is silly, but my personal list is downright geekness.

I am a fan of "Mandy Patinkin holding a gun while kissing babies"
"Of course," you say, that makes perfect sense.

Let me 'splain. No, there is too much, let me sum up. (From 'The Princess Bride) Mandy Patinkin played the sword-wielding Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride. While iconic in that role, "Hello! My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father. Prepare to die!) another little known fact is that he is an amazing singer. One day while looking for information on Mandy, I came across the 'kissing babies' option, laughed out loud and joined.

I know this makes me seem interesting and witty in my own right. Here's where it goes bad:

I joined another group today, Reason Magazine. Let's just say 'Reason Magazine' is not the sort of material that the typical Facebook user is drawn to. After I joined, I took a look at how many people were also fans. All seven of us can have ourselves a nifty convention one day.

OK, there are a few more fans than seven, but Tickle Me Elmo has exponentially more fans than my little magazine. The reality is, things that draw other people don't really catch my attention. The upside of this is I don't spend much time around crowds. The downside: it puts a cramp my human need for belonging.

I am the only suburban mother I know that didn't attend the midnight showing of the Twilight movie. I like geek books. Geek magazines. Geek activities. I'm excited because later this week I am going to attempt to sew from tulle netting, a giant reverse tree-skirt that will catch mulberries as they fall from the tree. I have sketches, calculations and material samples. My sewing machine and I will have a grand time. And yes, I looked and there is not fan button for "Sewing reverse tree-skirts for mulberry trees"

But I am a huge fan.



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