Megalomaniac

I man
The regal Sun,
It is always I.

I dictate
The iridescent sky,
It is always I.

I command
The requisite air,
It is always I.

I rule
The emerald sea,
It is always I.

I marshal
The ethereal wind,
It is always I.

I dominate
The resolute mountains,
It is always I.

I manipulate
The infernal fire,
It is always I.

I govern
The celestial Moon,
It is always I.

I master
Life and Death,
It is always I.





So, I decided to leave a postscript on this one. Here goes it:
I decided to try something new this time and this was the product. I decided to make this one fairly technical which is something I have never really tired before. As you probably already know, a megalomaniac is someone who has a grandiose sense of self-importance and power. He, or she(equality people, equality) is truly the epitome of a pathological egotist. It is always the 'I' that is so intricately tied to power and importance. I've used 'I' at the start and the end of every stanza to reiterate this sentiment. Since, 'I' is the 9th alphabet, the structure holds 9 stanzas, each stanza in turn having no more than 9 words. It also goes a full cycle, starting with the day and ending with the night.

Why Some People Seem Nicer When They Text

The title of this post is pretty self-explanatory, so I am going to jump right into this one. We all spend most of our precious time staring intently at our computers or our phones. We spend most of our time writing, reading and sending text messages to our friends. Once, I came to notice that a few of my friends were somehow nicer and friendlier when they texted than when we talk in person. Also, we have to consider the importance of different standpoints, just as you think one of your friends seems nicer in texts someone else may think the same about you. So I shared this observation with a few friends of mine and they agreed with me.

I am writing this one to explore the various reasons why one would be or appear to be nicer when they texted.

#1. No eye contact to gauge our partner for either positive or negative signs: Texting requires no eye contact apart from the continual staring at the luminescent screen. Primarily, your eyes convey a wide range of the emotions from anger to joy to dejection. Without that cue, we are not only left to our own devices to gauge another persons state of mind but also their facial expression while they were typing that text, so most of it is left to our imagination. When  this is the case, we take it for granted that our partner in conversation is friendly to us and NOT mean. This is the manifestation of the phenomenon called optimistic bias, which is our tendency to think that we are less likely to be subject to negativity or negative events. Most of us would like to think that people like us and that they’d have no reason to be mean.


#2.  A sequence of words by themselves do not convey tone: When you are conversing with a person, you perceive a statement as a compliment or a threat or neutral statement mostly because of the tone they use. Without the tone of voice even a statement as simple as "Nice outfit!" can be interpreted as an honest compliment or may be misconstrued as a taunt. Once again, we can attribute our perception of such a comment via text as a compliment to optimistic bias. After all, how can a sequence of words convey tone?


#3. The privacy to be who you really are:  Texting is a one-on-one conversation which gives you the freedom to be who we really are without feeling conscious. You are free from the preying eyes of your friends and significant others who might tease, taunt or simply pull your leg for being a little different or for being honest. I mean, don't you feel more comfortable complimenting someone on their new outfit or their hair when you are alone rather than when you are surrounded by an ocean of people?

#4. You are at the liberty to be positioned the way you want: You are free to assume just any posture you want while you are texting as opposed to a personal conversation where you have to maintain  an aesthetic and appropriate posture depending on the person you are conversing with. This is not the case when it comes to talking to someone over the phone; people sit and text, stand and text, even lie down and text. You can even squat and text if you want! A comfortable posture puts you at ease and changes your overall mood at any given time.

#5. It's easier to be honest when you don't have to face the immediate consequences of your statements: How many of us have picked a fight with a close friend through texts? Expressed real concern about a friend? Confessed our true feelings to our crushes? It's always a whole lot easier to be honest when you don't have to witness the reaction of a person firsthand. We are more comfortable responding to an excised and delayed, less fervent reaction than an immediate one, partly because we are at the liberty to take time to ponder and reply; we are not required  to think on your feet.


#6. The munificent and whimsical use of emoticons: Well, this statement stands for itself. While texting, we make sure that texts are flooded with emoticons misguidedly fearing that the other person may take offense to what we are saying. The first time I chatted with a couple of friends, both of them later reported to me that they assumed that I was mean and arrogant simply because I hadn't used emoticons. Conversely, some of us use emoticons simply because they look cute.


#7. Ill-conceive perception: Personally, I strongly favor this premise. What if it is our faulty perception that is mocking us by making innocent and neutral texts seem nicer? The person texting may just be stating or/and sharing objective thoughts but our egocentric minds inevitably perceives it in a different light.

Well, these are MY premises explaining why someone would be friendlier or appear to be friendlier while they text. You are free to agree with this list or razz and chuck rotten tomatoes at it(My words may seem indifferent, but I secretly hope you agree with me!).

Purple Insight: Tyrian Purple

Known by a number of variants such as Royal Purple and Imperial Purple, Tyrian Purple remains the most expensive paint since the beginning of time. This paint has enticed historians and artists for generations together with its vibrant history.

Mentioned in texts dated about 1600 BC, Tyrian Purple originated in the ancient city of Trye of the Ancient Phoenician civilization along the Mediterranean coastline. Named after its site of origin, it is aptly called Tyrian Purple. The oldest archaeological evidence was found during excavations in the island of Santorini, Greece, which revealed wall paintings; that on analysis suggested that an organic dye similar to the organic composition of Tyrian Purple was used almost 3600 years ago.

Tyrian Purple is made from a Mediterranean sea mollusk. The hypochondrial glands of this mollusk called Murex Brandaris and Murex Trunculus, produced a pale white or yellow discharge that turns blue and consequently purple when exposed to sunlight.

Sea mollusk Murex.

'Pliny The Elder', a Roman historian described the production of this paint in his Natural History. First, vats were lowered into the sea to catch these sea snails using frog and mussels as bait. Second, the vein containing the discharge was severed and the liquid was collected and salted in in huge vats. This was then fermented for about 10 days after a steady boil. Finally, the dye produced was harvested. The fermentation process produces a sick, unbearable odour due to the breakdown of the organic substances. It was believed that 12,000 of these sea snails were required to make a mere 1.4 grams of this paint.

Historian Theopompus said "Purple for dyes fetched its weight in silver." Emperors of Byzantium formulated laws that restricted the use of clothes that were dyed with Tyrian Purple to royalty and anyone who transgressed was punished with death. As a result, purple clothes made from this dye became a status symbol and were worn only by noblemen and kings, marking it the colour of supremacy. This gave birth to the expression "Born in the purple." Research also suggests that usage of this paint was present even during the time of Caesar and Cleopatra.

A Roman painting of Pompeii showing women clad in clothes dyed with Tyrian Purple.

As time progressed, the exact process and formation of this exquisite dye was lost. The advent of cheaper synthetic dyes such as Lichen Purple and Madder in the 1800s marked its decline as well. Contradicting popular premises, the use of this paint declined with the fall of the Roman Empire and not due to overfishing. However, in 1909, Paul Friedlander was able to discover the chemical structure of this dye. Inge Boesken Kanold, French artist with special interest in ancient and forgotten colours, along with retired engineer John Edmonds rediscovered a structurally similar dye in 2003. Inge Kanold comments "My fascination with purple has to do with the mystery of its past, with its provident transformation entirely linked to air and sunlight....."

An unusual aspect of this paint is that it is blue in solution and purple in amorphous form. Unlike normal paint which fades when exposed to sunlight, Tyrian Purple becomes darker. This paint comes in a vibrant shade of purple- as the name suggests- but some texts also describe it as 'scarlet' or 'maroon'.

Tyrian Purple in amorphous form.

 John Edmonds says "...This is the most prestigious dye in the world in fact...." and not unlike its past, this continues to be highly expensive- a mere 1 gram is valued at 3900 US dollars and that would roughly equate to 2,13,000 Indian rupees. Owing to its exorbitant price, natural Tyrian Purple is used only to restore art work. These days, an alternative form of this paint is synthesized from sea slugs that also produce a purple discharge. This discharge is harvested without causing harm to the animal, which is then released into the ocean.

Alternative form of sea slug that also produces a purple discharge.

Murex, the sea snail from which this paint is produced from, is pretty hard to come by but, it is not completely impossible to chance upon one if you were to scuba dive along the Mediterranean and Atlantic Coast of Europe and Africa!

The Wolf Who Could Fly

He walked all day and all night
Crossing barren plains and lush green forests.
He would spend some time looking up at the starry sky
He was the wolf who could fly.

He ventured deeper into undiscovered ground,
Looking for something of value.
When disappointment struck, he did issue an outcry
He was the wolf who could fly.

He had abandoned his bittersweet home
As he was all alone.
The thought made tears fill his eye;
He was the wolf who could fly.

He broke his journey at a green copse
For he heard familiar howls.
He hid and turned a vigilant spy
He was the wolf who could fly.

Perfectly blended in with his background,
He saw a pack of unknown capering comrades
But, was too dangerously shy;
He was the wolf that could fly.

Their beaming howls appeared strange and distant,
He was overcome by doubt and confusion.
He slowly retreated issuing a mournful sigh
He was the wolf who could fly.

His furry paws took him to the edge of land
And there he was greeted by a glinting emerald sea.
His lonely soul was no longer dry
He was the wolf who would fly.

He tread the cool, soothing water
And pondered about his life;
His past seemed cold and wry-
He was the wolf who could fly.

Everything was a vivid, taunting blur,
Every sight, every feeling, every smell.
He ruminated, wondering if he had been living a lie;
He was the wolf who could fly.

Overcome by a roaring epiphany
Which marshaled him toward the light;
He dispensed of his old ways and did comply-
He was the wolf who could fly.

Slowly and tenderly, happiness imbued his soul
Cleansing his anguished substance.
He prepared to soar the nebulous sky,
He was the wolf who could fly.

The glacial and celestial wind
Made him feel divine.
Alas, he had found what he yearned for and reality did he defy,
For he was the wolf who did fly.

An Epidemic Case Of 'Self Love' Which I Cannot Seem To Explain

Social networking websites(Facebook, that's the first thing that comes to my mind; sorry fellow Twitterers and the archaic Orkuters). We all know what they are, hell! some of us practically LIVE in it during the wee hours of some days(kudos to you, fellow idler!). They keep our heart pumping and our brain's juices and blood flowing into all the right nooks and crannies. For some of us it probably does even more, who knows(No, no no. I am not hinting at any aberrant activity one might engage in at their leisure time here. That's not my intention, not at all).

So, social networking websites. Before the celebrated arrival of  Facebook, friends of friends were strangers, relatives of friends were strangers and strangers were strangers. But times change and so has the function of social networking websites.

They do just so much for us all. We keep in touch with that one distant friend who is constantly belittling everyone else while rating his or her own popularity based on asinine internet polls , we do the same with that distant relative who we don't really care about but keep in touch because we never really took them off our friend list.  With the advent of these well developed websites, family ties and friendships have becomes more closely knit in some cases while the exact opposite has occurred in others. Conversely, a negligible portion has becomes famous while another sizable portion has embroiled itself into some particularly deep shit but, let's not go into that(excuse the language; sometimes the censorship button in my brain turns off).

Yes, now to my point(which is gradually taking a detectable form): Facebook has somehow triggered our narcissistic trait, and has accordingly introduced us to our own narcissistic side- that has so far been masked by a humble facade- which just loves to revel in recognition and appreciation. Taking photos has managed to accomplish this.

We all like taking pictures of ourselves(and occasionally others in our company) and secretly relish the fact that others see them however, no one likes to admit it. We can't help it now, can we? After all the option only exists FOR this purpose. So, we take pictures, subject it to a multitude of editing that morphs its humble, original content into something that resembles grandiosity in our heads. Then we upload it and wait for the mundane, yet arduously expected banality to begin. I am not going to restrict this act to just young girls, no; gender is almost immaterial in this case. Boys are just as indulgent in this in every bit.

 I am not saying this is wrong, I am not saying it's a crime and I am not accusing anyone of anything because if I did I'd be a 'dissembler' who reeks of sardonicism. Why be a 'dissembler' who reeks of sardonicism when I can be a relatively normal person(well, as normal one can BE in this heterogeneous world) who reeks of sardonicism?

So, narcissism. Now I am not going to go all Freud on you and quote the scientifically accepted 'definition' of that word because, let us face, you are going to get bored and use it as an excuse to stop reading this and I will end up looking like a prude(IF I haven't already). Instead, I am going to give you less fervent synonyms that don't make it sound like we have some serious medical condition: vanity, conceitedness, self-love. So, WHY is there is this sudden wave of narcissism, nay forgive me, 'self-love' that is manifesting itself in this manner? Why do we even have this side?

Well, I honestly don't know. I'll get back to you when I do.