Quoteworthy

Now Playing: "Sweet Thing" by Van Morrison

*One of my all-time favorites!

#NoFilter: My So-Called Unretouched Life

Sometimes, I feel like I'm the only girl I know without an iPhone. The perpetually frustrated chick at the concert whose mobile isn't qualified to take a respectable picture of the hot lead singer. The social outcast at the restaurant who can't get her meal to look appetizing from the lens of her CrackBlackBerry Storm. The oddball millennial who doesn't own a single app to distract herself with while sitting in traffic. First World problems can be devastating.

You see, without an iPhone or a very similar device, there can be no Instagram. And without the intent to Instagram, why even bother taking that unworthy snapshot? Posting a picture without a filter is social media suicide. Didn't you know? Photographs without filters are illegal on the better sectors of the web. Pictures lacking a faux vintage hue are being shunned from the Twitterverse. Under penalty of law, natural pictures are banished to a dark, lonely realm of the internet, otherwise known as MySpace. Facebook is also becoming more progressive as it, too, is trying to abolish pictures that keep it real.

Filters have the power to transform a grey sky to blue, an unattractive girl into a model and your cat into a mythical being. It’s no surprise that it’s so popular. Who wouldn’t want to project the false image of having things in their life better than what they truly are? It’s only American.

Despite having skin as white as snow and a penchant for virtually talking to the birds, I have yet to take a sizable bite out of the poison Apple. My laptop is a PC. I lost my iPod somewhere inside my house years ago but didn't bother to find it. I buy records at the thrift store and at Christmas time, I turned down the suggestion of an iPad as a gift (I'd rather have the cash). I'm sure there's a bevy of other cool Mac products that my life is lacking but I don't care enough to find out what they are. I just haven't joined the tech cult. The thought of waiting in line every few months for the latest release that is unmistakably the same as its predecessor is laughable. I'll stick with the dwarfs and their modest approach to living- at least for the short term (pun intended).

Conversely, I've actually had a touch screen smart phone since approximately 2004; well ahead of anyone else I knew. Wherein my technology growth stunt lies, is that I get complacent. In the twelve years that I've owned a cell phone, I've only had four. Change usually doesn't go over well with me. Being adaptable is particularly difficult when you seem to have signed your cellular contract in blood. That's secretly what the red check mark on the Verizon logo symbolizes.

While I may not be the most modern girl on the net, I am learning the lingo. #NoFilter will eventually be a hash tag that I can use without a sarcastic undertone. By my estimates, when I finally do get an iPhone (sometime in the very near future, hopefully), Instagram will likely be obsolete. In its wake, all hipsters will be using the latest platform. This time around, I won't be left behind. I'm following the overexposed light. If you'd like to follow me, I'm @KristaRoman. I can't promise anything worthy of a RT.

Now Playing: "Nothin' But Time" by Cat Power

Nerd Alert: Get Amen

For all you social media geeks, here's a new site/app to check out, getamen.com.

When I first read the site name, I thought it said "get a man." It turns out, "get amen" is actually more interesting. No, it's not a religious thing. Get Amen, which is based in Berlin, says that it's a site devoted to "battling it out over the best and worst in life." If Facebook fan pages and Twitter statuses were to have a baby, Get Amen might be the love child. As someone with a diverse level of interests and a penchant for self-expression, I'm really enjoying it. Rather than try to explain what's up, why not just check it out for yourself?

Follow Me on Get Amen: www.getamen.com/krista 
















Now Playing:  "Moondance" by And Her Name Is Violet

The Light Bulb Conspiracy: Planned Obsolescence

Watch the entire film below:

Black Friday Breakdowns

I don't do Black Friday (at least not the traditional way). Throughout the year, I get the majority of things I need/want at majorly discounted prices (thrift stores, flash designer sale sites, eBay, etc.). While I'm fully nocturnal and love to shop, the idea of losing my life in a Black Friday twilight stampede at the local mall is nightmare-inducing. While you won't catch me being interviewed for the 4 am news about how I just have to grab that last 60" television, I do partake in cyber shopping. All the sales and none of the crowds, you say? Yes, please. But one thing the crazed Black Friday brick and mortar shoppers have over the digital divas is that the mall can actually accommodate "heavy traffic" (if you don't mind a splitting headache and the risk of being smothered to death).

After I successfully ordered a few discounted candles from Bath and Body Works online, I electronically tiptoed over to Sephora but was greeted with the lovely little messages that I captured above and below. The site crashed. While others were probably having panic attacks as to whether or not they would be able to snatch that perfect shade of lipstick for the holiday season, I was cool with it. I already ordered a few packages this month from the beauty mecca (the early shopaholic gets the UPS man first). I needed absolutely nothing from Sephora but am always tempted to buy something new.

While the websites are crashing and you're thinking of putting the keys in the ignition and taking it back to the '90s to shop the old fashioned way- reconsider. Maybe the universe is doing you (and your wallet) a favor!

Now Playing: "Collect Call" by Metric