Dear Severin,

Feisty?

No.

Passionate?

Definitely!

From the moment we find pleasure in
our own company, we lose the fear
of growing old.

to try to fly a sinking boat a little further?

once i swore never to own/wear brown shoes...i turned arround years later and found i only owned brown/shoes...[now i mostly dont wear any]

but what of the mass-affect/crowd-affect/peers,who lead us subtilly in directions we dont need/want..how over time we have been subtilly subverted...by media/peers/fads...seems to hinge on keywords

some that come to mind...[quote]..The notion of..Karass and granfalloon/from Kurt Vonnegut

In social structures,/the granfalloon..is a group of people/united or organized..by decree and peers...into official hierarchies,a bureacratic structure....much like..a judas goat

A granfalloon..within a corporation may/often be constrained and ineffective...On the other hand,..the karass/are those social networks..that actually get the work done.

Outside a company,/a karass..is a spontaneously forming group,..joined by unpredictable or informal links....via hobbies/intrests...a form of networking

quote/from the Wikipedia-page/"A granfalloon,..in the fictional religion of Bokononism(invented by Kurt Vonnegut/in his 1963 novel Cat's Cradle),..is defined as a "false karass"..(imagined communities).

That is,..it is a group of people/who outwardly choose or claim to have a shared identity..reasoning/or purpose,..but whose mutual association..is actually[superficially]..meaningless..in terms of fulfilling God's design.

The most common/granfalloons..are associations/and societies..based on a shared..but ultimately fabricated premise...[like web/chat?]..or online opinion/sites?

As examples,Vonnegut cites:"the Communist Party,the Daughters of the American Revolution,the General Electric Company,the International Order of Odd Fellows—

and any nation,..anytime,..anywhere."

A more general/and oft-cited quote..defines a granfalloon..as "a proud and meaningless/association of human beings."

Another granfalloon/example..illustrated in the book/was Hoosiers,of which the narrator..(and Vonnegut himself)..was a member..(albeit grudgingly)."

yet others/that come to mind are/tweeters..[twitwits]..facebook/myspace..you-too/tube..even your fav/magazine..news paper..or tv show...

or your best friend/or most beloved tv/media idol...lest we forget sign-field..or fiends/free-end's...or dancing/with the starse...etc etc...

its not all that difficult to see/think/comprehend/..why you got that perm/..after all[blonds do have more fun/..but redheads have eye appeal..and glow in the dar