Occasionally Snarky and Meta

1. I've decided that I am actually against the idea of "I messages", which you're supposed to do in a conflict, as every fourth grader is told. Or at least against it when it isn't people you're related to or friends with. Why? Because... well... think of it this way: you're driving down the highway, get cut off, and so you pull up to the other driver's window and say, "excuse me, but I feel upset when you cut me off because I was trying to get to work on time." How does anyone think that'll end?

It can also be used to manipulate people, because in the end, it's really projecting your feelings onto another person. Nobody can control how you feel. Nobody should be held responsible for how you emotionally responded to a situation.

Again, I think if it's in the context of a close relationship, that's a different story - you NEED those kinds of conversations. But it doesn't work in other situations. Especially at school or work, or the highway, when everyone's busy trying to get somewhere, and if they cut you off, they either made an honest mistake or did it intentionally, and being told they suck for making your day suck really isn't going to help in either scenario

2.
I kind of like that the doc crew is almost evil now. But that's really all I liked about the episode. I hate how Jim's storyline feels like it comes straight out of a Disney film - he gets a better job, suddenly he's supposed to be a jerk. I'm not sure if that's intentional, or if they're trying to show the honest problems that DO arise in those situation, in which case they should be showing it a bit better. Because believe me, I've seen it for myself in real life, except it's often not as simple as either bothering to make your daughter's dance recital or not.



3.  So for Harry Potter geeks (and observers) -sea_thoughts and I were talking yesterday about how we'd categorize Harry Potter. We agreed it's not quite urban fantasy, but it's not quite high fantasy either. It's a world within our world as opposed to explicitly our world (except for the times the worlds do collide), but at the same time it's still very much our world. It's almost more like a modern mythos or semi-adult fairy/folk tale. But I don't even know if that's quite right. Thoughts?