Myrtle Christmas

Black Friday at Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach, SC:

Digital Reunions

Last November, in anticipation of my 10-year high school class reunion this past July, I wanted to seek out and get reacquainted with some of my fellow classmates. Having seen a large number of former friends and acquaintances on the site, I decided to pay $15 for a Gold account with Classmates.com, figuring it was money well spent since it was a service that had been around a while longer. I found a few people over the course of a couple of days, but I hardly used the service afterwards. Why not? Because just weeks after I created my Classmates account, I finally caught up with the rest of the world and joined MySpace and Facebook, and I never looked back.

From the start, I loved the numerous features of each. MySpace offers the most customization options for your profile page, while Facebook is the better organized of the two sites. Once I signed up for both, I spent many hours customizing my profile and searching for old friends and relatives. I was surprised at just how many people had been using these services (Facebook in particular) for some time. It felt like I had arrived late to a party, which in a sense I had. Today, almost a year later, looking at my friends lists on both sites is like looking at a Rolodex of my life thus far. It should come as no surprise that social networking sites have now surpassed pornography sites in popularity.

Almost 15 years after the Internet hit the mainstream, I am once again reminded of how grateful I am for it and how easy it can be for us to take it for granted most of the time. It has completely redefined our lifestyle, making a world of information readily available and bringing people together where they would not have otherwise (or at least as easily) been able to. As Thanksgiving approaches, I think about those changes and all the things that have transpired over the last year for which I am thankful, including the many wonderful reunions I've enjoyed because of these two social networking sites (Twitter is another popular option, primarily for simple status message updates).

Which brings us back to Classmates.com. Last week, I had the nice surprise of being unexpectedly charged $40 for automatic renewal of my account; one thing I am decidedly not thankful for! After I had set up the account last year, I didn't set the renewal options from "Automatic" to "Manual". It was one of those situations where you just have to read the fine print, but I can't say I'm a huge fan of this business model. An advance email reminding me that my account will be renewed would have been much appreciated! At any rate, it just makes me all the more relieved to have switched to MySpace and Facebook: they have the added bonus of being completely free of charge!

Still Cruisin'

I don't tend to read many biographies, but I'm almost finished with Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography by Andrew Morton. I grew up watching Cruise's films, though after his couch-jumping profession of love for Katie Holmes on Oprah a few years ago, I and many others couldn't help but to see him in a new light. Morton's book reveals Tom Cruise to be the charismatic, talented and focused actor we have all known him to be, but it also examines many sides of the actor which at times have threatened to be his undoing.

For example, it's no secret that Tom Cruise is a fervent believer in Scientology. In addition to retracing his stellar career, Morton's book also takes a closer look at the inner workings of Scientology, leaving the reader wondering just how Cruise (or anyone else, for that matter) could follow the outrageous beliefs and practices that Scientology entails. According to the book, many families have been separated by the cult, and one member even died from lack of proper medical care because she followed Scientology treatment practices.

In recent years, Cruise has been particularly outspoken about his passion for the cult, and unfortunately it has only served to harm his reputation in the court of public opinion. At 46, he is still a box office draw, but not as much as before Scientology came to the forefront of his life. His next film, Valkyrie (out December 26), will be another Litmus test of his staying power. As of late, though, his devout faith in Scientology and his previously exceptional box office success are proving to be mutually exclusive.

Echoes of Pink Floyd

During the summer of 1994, I began watching MTV and VH1 and did for the next several years. Music videos were a hobby of sorts, and I remember seeing the video for Pink Floyd's (then) new single, "Take It Back", from their album The Division Bell. I remember thinking at the time that it was an artistic but unusual video (in one scene, an astronaut approaches a lone tree in the middle of a desert and cuts it down with an ax) and being intrigued at how it didn't once feature any of the band members (pictured above in 2005, from left: David Gilmour, Roger Waters, Nick Mason, and Richard Wright).

Fast-forward four years to the fall of 1998. I was starting college at the time and was thankfully re-introduced to Pink Floyd through my roommate. I then bought some of the band's later albums (including A Momentary Lapse of Reason, The Division Bell and PULSE, a spectacular live album). I also researched the history of the band and its various incarnations: the original lineup featured Syd Barrett on lead vocals, but he left the band in 1968 due to mental health issues stemming from LSD use. In 1985, Waters left to pursue solo projects. Since that time, Gilmour has taken over as the lead vocalist.

After I became a bona fide fan in 1998, I had high hopes (pardon the pun, Floydians) that the band would record at least one more album or that I would one day have the opportunity to see them in concert (I was in no rush to see one of those second-rate tribute laser shows that have become popular in recent years), but it was not to be. However, much to the excitement of myself and other fans, Roger Waters rejoined the band in 2005 for a Live 8 concert in London, which would be one of their final performances as Pink Floyd. Three years later, in September, 2008, Richard Wright died of cancer at age 65.

Though Pink Floyd is no more (many die-hard fans will tell you that the band ceased to exist after the departure of Barrett or even Waters), the surviving members are still active in their field, and David Gilmour is often considered to be one of the greatest guitarists of his generation. Having sold over 210 million albums worldwide (The Dark Side of the Moon stayed on the Billboard 200 for an astounding 14 years), they are among the most successful recording acts in history. Pink Floyd remains one of my favorite bands whose music provided the soundtrack for much of my early college experience.

Here is a performance of their classic "Wish You Were Here" (a tribute to Syd Barrett) from the Live 8 concert:

Polly's Story

I think that it can be healthy sometimes to be informed or reminded of tragedy so long as it serves to instill in us a renewed desire to condemn events and behaviors that harm the greater good. This is why, for example, I allow myself to relive the experience of 9/11 each anniversary by watching specials on television that revisit the event. I feel the anger and disgust all over again when I see towers burning and bodies falling.

On a much smaller scale, I came across this story on News4Jax and was again reminded of just how cruel we as humans have the capacity to be at times. Even in our desensitized culture, a news story can occasionally give you pause and touch you on an emotional level. This one certainly qualifies regardless of whether or not you're a cat-lover. Fortunately, as with any tragedy, this ordeal is not without a certain degree of hope.

A South Georgia kitten turned celebrity pet since his story aired on Channel 4 earlier this week has been placed in a loving home in the Kingsland area.

Polly the kitten was recently so badly injured in a case of animal abuse that one of his legs had to be amputated.

The staff of Laurel Oaks Animal Hospital helped Polly get well and then began looking for a family to adopt him.

Hospital workers said there was a tremendous outpouring of support for Polly and that more than 400 people expressed interest in taking the kitten home.

Polly has been placed with a couple in the Kingsland area. The animal hospital will continue to monitor his recovery.

Kingsland police said they have a general description of the suspected abusers who hurt Polly, and both an investigator and an animal control officer are working on the case.

If I learn of any updates on this story, I will post them.