I really enjoy reading Meg’s confessions when she posts them, so I thought I’d share a few of my own:
- I’ve been listening to a lot of pop music lately
This may not sound noteworthy to you, but growing up I was always a rock kind of guy. I actually presented at conferences as an undergraduate on the theological implications of the music of Nine Inch Nails. Let’s just say that pop music was never really something I enjoyed. But for whatever reason, over the last several months, I’ve been listening to a lot of pop music. And I like it. Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, Justin Timberlake, and Lady Gaga are playing in my car more often than not. And here’s another thing: I’m not ashamed of it. Yes, while I’m blasting “Roar” by Katy Perry on my way into work, I fully understand that I could easily be replaced with a 14 year old girl if it weren’t for the fact that she wouldn’t be old enough to drive a car. But, I happen to like the songs!
It might be worth noting that I’ve always been more of a lyrics person than a music person. So, if you’re a music-snob, and are going to lecture me on chords and progressions and whatever – just know that I don’t appreciate good music. I appreciate good lyrics. And yes, a lot of pop music has dumb lyrics, but I don’t really like those songs (“bubble yum bum, ba dum barum”).
- I absolutely hate morning radio shows
I do tend to listen to some ESPN radio, so I can’t say I hate talk radio. But there is nothing worse to me than listening to your typical morning radio show. Granted, as I just mentioned I’ve been listening to a lot of pop music, so the morning shows that I tend to run across are not necessarily catering to my demographic. But they play some music in between their banter, and I keep getting sucked into accidentally hearing bits and pieces of the shows, and they just make me angry.
They make me angry because I think I can categorize the comments of a morning radio show into two buckets: 1) They’re either painfully obvious (“I mean, I would never throw a baby down two flights of stairs. . .”), or 2) they’re incredibly opinionated about dumb things (“Why do girls always twirl their hair? That is so dumb. If a girl I was dating ever twirled her hair, I would just dump her right away.”)
I probably shouldn’t get so worked up about these shows, but there’s just something about them that make me angry. Just listening to people say stupid things repeatedly – it makes me lose hope in our society.
- I hate political Facebook posts
Or really any Facebook post on a divisive issue. What are you really trying to accomplish by posting that? Do you really think you’re going to convert dissenting opinions by the amazing facts and wit in which you so accurately represent? Or do you think you’ll be successful in trying to open it up into a forum for useful and constructive dialogue where people can discuss the merits of both sides of the argument? Or are you really just looking for a thunderous “hell yeah!” from all of your Facebook friends who agree with you, while not tolerating any possible inkling that at least some intelligent and well-meaning people might have contrary opinions?
There is definitely a place for politics and other divisive issues, but using a social media that alerts you to new awards that people have won in Candy Crush and who has begun a new relationship is not the right place. All it does is artificially strengthens your own opinions because people who agree with you tend to comment or “like” it more than others, while creating a hostile environment for any dialogue or honest conversation (“yer st00pid if you think that”).
So, that was a lot of negativity. I try not to be overly negative, so let me try to balance that out with a gratuitous photo of our happy dog:
I know I’m being that crazy dog owner, but doesn’t it look like he’s so happy in this picture with Meg?
What are your confessions?
Bob
Meg
(Not As) Big Bob 