Guilty by Facebook Thread Association

What do I mean when I say, Guilty by Facebook Thread Association? I shall tell you. Many times, when we are on our Facebook, we see one of our "Friends" post a status update. Sometimes it's simple like

Went for a walk with my dog, found 100 bucks on the ground. Today will be a good day

Other times it's more like...

Why can't people keep their damn mouths shut and leave me alone?

MANY times it's a rant about something.

Here is how it plays out. You get up. You scroll. You see. You respond. Whether it's with a  :) or a :( or a "HUGS" or even if it's a  "I am so sorry, babe. Love you lots here if you need me."

When we do this, when we engage, we become a part of the entity. YOU go about your day. Have your coffee deal with your EDJ, kids, cleaning whatever.

10 HOURS LATER....

That thread you smiled at, hugged, said a little somethin somethin... It now has 147 comments. None of which you will read. But you catch the last one.

"I think you all need to back off and shut your mouths and grow up."

EEEK! Now, you're very curious. So you grab a beer, wine, drink of choice, sit and read them all...
OMG. I had no idea so and so was addressing so and so OMG I should have said nothing.... And so it goes. You become Guilty by Facebook Thread Association.

Is there a remedy? No. Because as long as the masses of stupid people breed we will forever be victims of this ridiculous disease.
Can you avoid it? Sure, never speak again.
What do we do? I have an idea...

When you engage in ANY status, understand that you don't know the whole story. That by doing whatever it is you do when you respond, you are entering what could be a cesspool of intolerance and God knows what else.

Personally, I don't really hold people in threads accountable when they simply offer kind comfort or a smile, even a freaking hug.  I DO however hold those who let their fingers tap at the keyboard, acting like they know every detail of every situation, and that their words should be carved into stones and mounted on walls.

THINK. THINK SOME MORE.

Don't go off on someone on a thread who truly is offering an ear. Don't put them into the group of idiots.

If you don't want drama don't put it on Facebook. I don't think airing your dirty laundry all over social media will do you any good... Trust me, been there, done that. Ended up having to shut down my original account and reopen.

Be kind to one another, and if you can't then don't be shocked when you wake up and find yourself as a "labeled" person.

Reporting Images in Social Media

Not a day goes by I don't read someone saying the words, "So a picture of mine got reported and was removed." Often, accounts are suspended or terminated. I ask myself, "What was so bad that it needed this kind of reaction?"

A few months back an author had to shut down his author page on Facebook because photos were being reported. Now, anyone who knows Facebook (and if you don't, you need to crawl out from under your rock) you know you have to click LIKE to follow that page. How sad is it that this author was tracked, stalked and reported for posting a photo.

Today I read about another author having a picture removed because it was offensive. Let's talk about this word offensive...

offensive (from The Oxford Dictionary)

Syllabification: of·fen·sive

adjective

1 /əˈfensiv/ Causing someone to feel deeply hurt, upset, or angry: the allegations made are deeply offensive to us offensive language

1.1(Of a sight or smell) disgusting; repulsive: an offensive odor

2 /ˈäfensiv/ [attributive] Actively aggressive; attacking: offensive operations against the insurgents

2.1(Of a weapon) meant for use in attack.

2.2chiefly North American (In a game) of or relating to the team or player who is seeking to score.

Now, I'm not talking about pictures of abuse. These aren't even political pictures. They are pictures of love. These are kisses between same sex couples. In the last 3 months I have watched this and I have seen a steady increase of photos being reported. 

I won't sit here and say I have never reported a photo. I will however defend my reasons. I friended someone, or they friended me on Facebook and they seemed as fine as a perfect stranger can be. One day they posted a picture about animal abuse. Not a picture to help animals, no. This person posted photos of abused animals and how he was for it. I did report the photos, and him and unfriended and blocked him. 

Now if you friend an author that you know writes in a genre you aren't interested in. On the top right part of your facebook page is a "unfriend" option. Why report them? Just go away. 

Same as on Twitter. I was reported awhile back for posting pictures of very beautiful CLOTHED men. But someone reported me and I disputed it, was denied and have forever been banned from Twitpic. Makes no sense.

The point here is this. If it isn't HARMING you, like literally HARMING (look up the word if you are staring at the word with a vain attempt to understand it) Leave. It. Alone. 

The world will not explode from 2 men kissing or 2 women hugging. The rainbow flag will not start an apocalypse.  The photo of a man in a speedo will only make ovaries go kaboom. That's it. Abusing your right to report images of love takes away from things that require Social Media's attention. 

People need to get their priorities in order.  If Social Media OFFENDS you so much then go back to your abacus and move along. The world will never be a place you will understand.

 

The Rising Talent of Photographer Jordan Grady

We get our inspiration from the world around us. For some it's in a song or a childhood memory. Others. it's in a picture. Jordan Grady is inspired by everything around him and through his lens he freezes that moment. Ever wonder as you read a story where the author got the idea for it? It's interesting really... Photographer sees a sunset and is drawn to it's beauty, itches to still it for just a moment. He lifts his camera and... click! Frozen in time. Perhaps that sunset hangs on the wall of a library. An author enters to do research and sees the picture and an idea is born, a story is written and a world is created. All because a photographer was so taken with the beauty of the sun. A domino effect.

I have had the privilege of viewing a lot of Jordan Grady's work and even got him to sit down and let me interview him for all of you. He has agreed to share some of his work as well. Afterwards I will link all of his contact information for you to get in touch and see what it is he can do for you.

All photos are property of Jordan Grady and he has allowed me to post them here for your enjoyment:

***INTERVIEW***

Of course after viewing all these amazing pictures it's no doubt that Jordan Grady has an eye for the incredible. I want to thank him again for agreeing to allow me to torture him with questions so that I can bring HIS talent to all of you :)

1. What made you get into photography?

 -Quite honestly, it's something I fell into by accident. I had some friends at the time who were photographers and the craft really began to intrigue me, so I started taking shots on my iPhone and posting them to my Facebook. A few friends commented saying I had talent and should continue. A family member loaned me a camera and the rest is history. I look back occasionally and cringe at what I thought was 'cool' and 'hip' back then. I've definitely grown and evolved as a photographer and an artist and for that I'm grateful. Here's an example of those early iPhone shots:

2. Do you have a specialty, ie landscapes, people?

 -This is something I'm actually very conscientious about. I love finding and capturing the beauty in all things, whether that be people, animals, or breathtaking landscapes. I enjoy them all, and have been blessed with opportunities to work with all those things.

3. You also do some photo manipulation. Just your photos, or other people's?

 -From a professional standpoint, I will only manipulate my own pictures, unless it's a stock photo that has been purchased from the owner.

4. Can you name any photographers you'd compare yourself to?

 -Hmmmm...like I said earlier, I had a few friends, one in particular, who really influenced me to pick up a camera and start shooting. That said, I'm very careful about creating my own brand. The last thing I want to do is emulate someone else's style or artistic outlook. 

5. Right now you're local to NC. What services do you offer for locals and what to people who seek you out from all over?

 - Yes, currently I am located in eastern NC. For anyone local, I'm down to shoot pretty much whatever they're wanting (engagements, weddings, maternity, family shots, pets, events, boudoir, and even nudes). I'm not opposed to traveling, provided it's beneficial to me. I actually was just hired for my first out of state wedding, so that's pretty exciting. I've also recently been contracted to do a cover for one of AJ Rose's upcoming books. I'm very excited, and slightly nervous, to begin work on that project. 

6. If people wanted to see what you could do, aside from these beautiful pictures here, do you offer examples based on a consultation?

  -Of course. I'm always striving to add to and diversify my portfolio.

7. Where would you like to see your business in say a year's time?

 -When I started out in photography (and photo manipulation) it was a hobby. The photography part has sort of evolved over the years and is now becoming more of a side business. I'd love to say that I see myself quitting my day job and doing this full time, since it is my dream, but unfortunately I just don't see the market here in NC supporting that. I'd be doing this whether I'm making money at it or not. It's my form of self-expression; my way of showing people the world through my eyes and lens. So, if I make enough to pay for my equipment I'm happy.

8. Tell us about the equipment you use.

 -I'm a Canon man through and through. No offense to any Nikon lovers out there, but I'm in love with Canon's products. I pretty much exclusively use their product and have been very satisfied with the result. 

9. What are all the means you have at this time for people to contact you?

 -People can email me at jGradyPhotographyNC@gmail.com or they can message me via my photography Facebook page: JGrady Photography. Link here > JGrady

10.Do you have standard packages or do you cater to each person's individual need?

  -I try to cater to whatever people want when they hire me. I'm fairly new to the business aspect of this, so it's taking me some time to figure out where my profit line is. That said though, I do have set prices for standard, run of the mill shoots.

Be sure to like Jordan Grady's Facebook page! All contact info is up there as well AND he posts regularly on there so you can enjoy gorgeous pictures, and perhaps see something you like. 

He is a very diverse photographer so naturally he's a quick favorite in my book! Check him out and maybe JUST maybe he has the muse you've been looking for!

Time to Grow Up

Interesting things have been happening... Well, not JUST happening. Maybe they are just more noticeable. Children are learning to face the world head on. They are taught to respect their elders and treat everyone with respect. I love this and I hate this.

As I scroll my timeline on Facebook or glance at Twitter I see grown adults acting like how my children should. They bash each other in the "Not so secret" way. Their status is public but addressed to only one person, but the attention whore with in them needs everyone to ask in hopes it reaches the person they need it to.

Then there's the block them unblock them block them wait, unblock them game. It's famous in many circles. It's also a game played by adults. It's sad, and a waste of my time. There aren't hidden meanings to my posts. Decoder rings are not needed to understand my tweets or statuses. I say what I mean, and I mean what I say. If it's you I need to address I will do so. I grew up a long time ago.

You know that saying, "If you say you're not crazy more then 3 times a day, you're crazy." Yeah well, if you sit around saying you are an intelligent person and don't play games, over and over and over, and yet you do... Guess what? Yeah! 

I used to write in fanfiction and I fell into a loop of  "Mean Girls" for a time. It got away from me and I admit that. I didn't like what grew from the poison and so it bit me on the butt and I got a dose of my own medicine. I didn't like it. It woke me up and I stepped away and saw the error of my ways.
There are days where I see a glimmer of what I was in my timeline by others. I realize too often then not, it's never really going to leave me alone.

Point is, I don't have anymore to say about what I was. I don't care who said what to who. And I think everyone needs to reassess their own lives. You are angry with how your life is? Change it, don't drag others down because you can't deal. If you surround yourself with negative people, don't expect a positive life.

We ALL reach a point where we need to grow up. Look in the mirror, are you still 5? No? Then grow up. Stop playing games and grab your dreams by the horns. Find your peace and stop spreading all the toxic energy. It's overdone and overplayed. 90210 was a show, not a lifestyle people.