Twitter Me Your Deepest Thoughts

As I've mentioned in a prior post, I joined Twitter along with the other members of my poker group when we were all attempting the Master Cleanse (don't try this at home) and in need of a support system. Since then, I have been slowly adding contacts - a few current classmates, someone from high school, one coworker who joined and then never came back.

So I had this really tiny little network that was only giving me a few pearls of wisdom a day, and I really wanted more. Enter Twitter celebrities. I went through the list of popular Twitter users, and lo and behold, a whole world opened up to me.

News? Sure I could use some of that. I added CNN, Digg, Kirtsy and Defamer (okay, not so much news, but entertaining nonetheless). Interesting to note, Defamer is the most active, followed closely by Kirtsy...I may hear from CNN and Digg only once a day.

Britney Spears? Check! Of course she hardly ever has anything to say, and I found out soon after I began following her that she doesn't actually do any tweeting herself (kind of like lip-syncing if you ask me).

Then there were those that I would love to hear more from like MSNBC host, Rachel Maddow or Joel McHale from the Soup on E! Maddow occasionally has an opinion to share, but McHale is like a spazz with a microphone saying "Is this thing on?"

Martha Stewart weighs in a few times a day with helpful hints and crisp responses (I so believe it is her, don't try to convince me otherwise), and comedian Michael Ian Black always has something sarcastic, dark and funny to say. These two really maintain their individual voices, and I couldn't ask for more. Way to tweet, guys.

Then I encountered the constant tweeters.

There's Coraline author, Neil Gaiman, who LOVES to tweet. I always knew the guy was a prolific writer, but geez, Neil. He holds contests, links to his blog, talks about projects he is working on (when do you have the time?!) talks about the family.

Only second to Neil is Wil Wheaton. Yes, that's right, I said Wil Wheaton of Star Trek the Next Generation fame. Wil is fairly incessant as well, linking to his blog, talking about the book he is writing, funny things his son says and giving play-by-play for Kings hockey games (really not that interested, Wil, though I appreciate your enthusiasm).

John Hodgman who you may know better as "the PC guy" often asks for help with his book, talks about events he is at, promotes his friends, and on and on. No talk of family or personal life, John? Am I just a tool in your promotion machine?

I tried following Digg founder, Kevin Rose, for a while, but sadly had to drop him. He wrote a lot, but it was always about errands he was running. Big bore.

Twitter completely feeds into my natural voyeuristic tendencies. I love to overhear a juicy conversation, but with Twitter it all comes to me without any work. Love it.

Grave Matters

An old coworker of mine, Sue Bailey, and her friend, Carmen Flowers, found themselves in the morbid predicament that many of us are likely to find ourselves in as we age; they were attending more and more funerals of friends and loved ones. Sadder still was that these events, rather than being celebrations of the person's life, were instead morose occasions of loss and pain. The women came to the realization that many people do not plan for the inevitable, and that by doing so, and having an idea of what you want your funeral to be you can also relieve some of the burden from those you love.

So the ladies decided to write a book, "Grave Expectations: Planning the End Like There's No Tomorrow," meant to be a discussion starter, planning tool and all-around irreverent approach to the end of life. They mention various options from the practical to the downright ghoulish for what to do with your remains (Verdantic would be pleased to note that they talk about green funerals). Last week Bailey and Flowers appeared on The Today Show in a segment with Meredith Vieira to talk about the book and some of the topics they cover.

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In terms of entertainment, I know this subject might be a bit of a stretch, but I agree with the authors - why not spend at least half as much time planning your funeral as you would in, say, planning your wedding? A lot of the same people will be there, having the same conversation about how bad the food is.