8 things i know that you might not

- the definitions of "qat", "quirt", "quoit", and "quoin".

- Scorpio's ruling planet is Pluto. Explains a lot, yes?

- someone can get post-exposure treatment within 48 hours of being exposed to HIV which significantly decreases the chance of the virus taking hold. (Not down with the medical lingo, I know.)

- the third word in "God Only Knows" by the Beach Boys is: not.

- the fifth word is: love.

- I've done about half of my Christmas shopping for this year.

- I like limericks a lot, but I believe haiku actually has more potential for humour. If my computer let me on facebook, I would post an obscene haiku on Paul's wall.

- Edward and Bella don't like missionary.

on blogging

I like several blogs. I will visit them and laugh, and sometimes laugh some more. Some blogs I visit for the information they provide, but this is rare.

I know I've been terrible with this blog. Apologies to my reader. From now on I resolve to blog bigger and better. As a gesture of good faith to begin blogging better, I leave you kind reader with this limerick:

I'd cut up my blogspot with scizzors,
If only to make you consider,
How useless blogs are
(Have they got us far?)
I say we all defect to Twitter.

human trafficking

Human Trafficking has come up in conversation twice in the last month, which I found ... not usual. It's a horrific topic, but one that should not be ignored. It seems to be, though. We all care about the war in Iraq, and the problems with the environment, and hungry children in India, but talk about Trafficking is ominously avoided. And yet we all know it goes on. People are abducted from their homes or countries and forced into slave labour or prostitution. Is this not as terrible?

It could be the fact that problems that affect mostly women (and female children) are notoriously given less importance, but I like to think we've mostly moved past this. Still, though. Human Trafficking has been called the fastest growing criminal industry in the world, which is a scary thought. Why is no one paying attention? It's not like there aren't victims from every country, every social class in the world. Anyone could be personally affected by this, and I've seen few people who really care.

I know they care, though. Just because awareness is down, does not mean that those who become aware continue to ignore the problems. And there are women like Somaly Mam who have made great impacts on the lives of many victims. Her website: http://www.somaly.org/

It scares me that this happens to so many people, and that we hardly ever hear about it. It scares me that there is a huge market for this. (Who are all these people paying for non-consentual sex? Really. Who? And how did they get like that?) What scares me most, though, is that we as a species - the instigators, the consumers, and the ones who have done nothing to fix this - seem to have fallen down again, and we might not be able to get out of this one either.

liquor and a karaoke machine

So my friend walks into my house today with the words, "I have liquor and a karaoke machine. What more do you need to be happy?" She looks at me expectantly. I had no argument, obviously.

This is day two? Three? Of having this blog. What do people write in blogs? What is the point of having a blog? I suppose I could write angsty poetry about blood and being misunderstood, but I'd hate to be predictable. Because there is that stigma, isn't there? That blogs are for the undeservedly angsty (and those who cannot be bothered to capitalize "I" - ever notice that?). I mentioned to someone that I had acquired a blog and he began to back away slowly. I think this is because of the blog reputation.

And yet, out of the many blogs I follow (no, I will not publicly admit this number, are you serious), none of them constantly whine or complain. In fact, most of them seem like they're written by pretty happy individuals. I mean, sure, we all have problems and need to vent occasionally, sometimes using the words "blood" and "shattered", but I will not do that here. That doesn't solve the problem about what I *will* write about, but I do promise to keep the angst to a minimum.

After all, I have liquor and a karaoke machine.

on words

I want a place to put some words, so I’ve decided to claim a corner of the internet for myself in the form of a blog. Some of my thoughts on words: Words are important enough in the real world, but online, they are more important still, because they’re all you have.

I have named my blog ‘Fallen Labyrinth’ for two reasons: 1) These are my two favourite words in the English language. Fallen. Labyrinth. I like them better than ‘cellar door’ (and, strangely, even better than ‘open bar’). 2) Together, they sound almost hopeful, like looking at a puzzle from a different angle. I think they are delightfully whimsical.

By now you’ve gathered that I spend time thinking about individual words like a crazy person would, but they’re often good clumped together as well. I love stories, both written and read, and I’ve been trying to learn the words for years.*

So if you like my words here, please share some of your own. I would love some new ones.



* Obscure reference to a story by Maya. Learning the words means knowing what to say to the person you love.