Thursday, March 29, 2012

This Relationship Corner: Short and Long Term Attraction

We usually can't help who we're attracted to. The instant we lay eyes on someone we know whether we find that person attractive. It could be for a variety of different reasons, but before we take our next blink we know if we're attracted. It may not make any sense to us, or anyone else, or it could be the most obvious thing in the world. We've all found ourselves hopelessly attracted.

Attraction is tricky, but it isn't as big a mystery as we might think. True, sometimes there's no accounting for taste, but many times, it tracks. We 'fall' for very specific reasons, and if we look inside ourselves, we can figure out just who is our type, and why. We might also want to figure out whether we want to act on our attraction, as it could be leading us in a very bad direction. Other times, our attraction is telling us something our conscious mind hasn't quite figured out - this person could be a great match for us.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

This Relationship Corner: Testing Your Relationship

There comes a time in most relationships when you put on a white lab coat, grab a clip board, and force the one you love to run through a maze. I'm being metaphorical (I hope) about the ways we test the relationship and each other. As we seek to find out whether this person is someone we see ourselves with long-term, we run various tests, just as our partner is testing us. And that's the way it's supposed to be.

The reason we test is simple. It's how we discover things. Just ask the Mythbusters. They test a myth to see whether it's true, false, or plausible, and no matter how it turns out, they know more about it coming out of the test than they did going in. Then they blow something up, which is why science is awesome. In our case, these tests help us discover what we want out of a relationship and whether this other person can give it to us.

But before you go racing to find the latest Cosmo quiz, let me assure you that I'm not talking about those tests, but ones that are actually useful. I'm also not taking about being sneaky and underhanded, trying to manipulate your partner into doing what you want. The goal is to see who your significant other truly is and whether the two of you are compatible long-term.

I'd like to profile three of the tests that we run in our relationships and why they are essential to your long-term health. After all, if you can weed out the riff-raff early, it will save you weeks, months, even years of time, time better spent looking for the right person.

Monday, March 19, 2012

How I Met Your Mother: "The Broath"

Quick Review: Slash-fic writers get some pretty awesome fan-service. The rest of us get a pretty decent episode.

Episode Synopsis: The gang try to break up Barney and Quinn after learning that the couple plan to move in together. Meanwhile, Ted and Robin argue over subletting her apartment.  -tvguide

Spoilers ahead, so watch the episode before you proceed. Of course, you are free to proceed without viewing the episode, but then don't whine to me about spoilers. If you do, you'll regret telling me your middle name.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Five Best Found Footage Films

A friend of mine, who runs The Noob News, wrote and directed a neat little indie picture called Hombre y tierra, a found-footage movie following an adventurer as he explores Belize. The neat thing about this movie is that it was filmed in both English and Spanish and looks to be very interesting.

Found-footage films are meant to give the audience a unique perspective, as this isn’t a story told from an omniscient filmmaker, but from the characters themselves. It’s meant to put us right there in the situation, making the film a more intimate, and often more intense, story. Of course, the fact that found-footage movies are often much cheaper to make is also part of the appeal to film-makers.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

This Relationship Corner: Talking About the Ex

Nothing can take a perfectly pleasant date from zero to uncomfortable silence quite like bringing up an ex. If you want to completely kill the mood, and perhaps your chances of ever going out again, talk nonstop about your ex. To make sure you destroy any hope of another date, ask about all your date's exes and demand details.

And yet, talking about your exes is necessary for a healthy relationship. The key, of course, if how you talk about them. This might not be something you bring up on a first date, or when you're just starting to get to know each other. This is one of those more serious conversations you have a little bit later, when you've built up some trust, started to establish a bond, and can handle bringing up potentially rough subjects.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Just in time for Easter

 So I decided to start making t-shirts. Now you can wear my wit and whimsy on your chest.

This shirt is why they don't let me teach Sunday School anymore, because in my efforts to relate to the kids, I might go a little overboard in bringing it to their level. Still, it's basically what happened, more or less.

You can find the rest of my slogan t-shirts here.

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Horribly Offended

Geeks come in all shapes and sizes. We aren't all located in our mother's basements. (Some of our mothers never had a basement.) Many of us are capable of romantic relationships and are doing quite well, thank you very much. However, if there's one almost universal trait that I've noticed, it's that we're easy to upset and offend.

Now, I'm not talking about the usual ribbing we get for being geeks. We're used to that, and for many of us that's just background noise. No, we get upset and offended by our own kind, by the very things we love. I can guarantee that as soon as we walk out of the theater after watching either The Avengers or The Dark Knight Rises, we'll take to the internet, proclaiming all that's wrong with both movies.