Today I finally started reading “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas” to Klara. I always wondered what it was about but it’s not like I’d sit there and read it to myself.

It’s a great story but we didn’t get far because at the very beginning Grinch shares that he doesn’t like loud noises.

“I don’t like loud noises also too!” Klara said. “They hurt my ears.” After that, there was no explaining to her that Grinch was supposed to be a negative character. Especially since I also hate loud noises. (Sensitivity to light and sound seems to run in the family).

I just realized that I never had a relationship with a man who didn’t have a disinterested, distant, cold and cruel mother. I know why I chose them. I’m terrified of hovering mothers-in-law. I can’t even deal with the idea of it, so I run towards the exact opposite. But what do they see in me? I’m not distant, cold, or cruel but I’m not a nurturing woman. I don’t mother adult men.

I never met my mother-in-law. I saw her once on Skype and received one email from her once. That’s it. She’s never seen her granddaughter. She’s that indifferent. I feel bad for Klara and for N, but I myself, as a separate person, love it.

I think people should stop reading Twitter. Or at least dramatically reduce its usage. It has no redeeming features and no good uses whatsoever. The short form reduces complex issues to blatant idiocy. All of the massively popular tweets I have read – all of them, 100% – were manipulative, dishonest and idiotic. It brings more stupidity to the world. FB and Instagram often maintain the existing stupidity but Twitter makes more of it.

People who spend a lot of time on Twitter evoke an abject, bone-chilling terror in me. I like Facebookers because they want to connect. I like Instagramers because they want to be creative. I like LinkedIners because they want to succeed. I like bloggers because they are quixotically idealistic. I have no feelings about Snapchatters because I have no idea what they do. But passionate Twitterers simply scare me.

Articles are now being retracted and journalists forced to resign for expressing opinions that upset Twitter mobs.

The opinion expressed is on such a trivial, ridiculous subject and the objections to it are so childish and pouty that it’s stunning that a journalist would get censored over it. It’s even more stunning that nobody seems to care much. This can touch absolutely any of us at any time. If we accept that it’s ok to let social media mobs silence people at whim, there will be nobody to defend us when this happens to us. We need to push back against aggrieved mobbing.

This is a very serious issue. All of us need to pay attention and take a stand against it.

I thought my NeMLA session on transnationalism wouldn’t get any applicants but I already have more than I need. And the CFP has just been posted. (I’m a former unpopular kid, I always fear nobody will want to hang out with me). So if anybody wants to apply, they need to do it soon. I’m talking to you, mon ami perdu.