Danes and romantic comedies

Am watching Notting Hill, also read the results of a study today that claims that Danes are the happiest people because they have low (or next to no) expectations which made me think:

'Why do people love romantic comedies?'

Some say that romantic comedies build up expectations of what relationships should be in reality and then to read about the abstract of the study made me think:

'Is ignorance really bliss?'

Isn't that what adults say about children? They're happy because they are clean slates, unaffected, and any other word(s) you'd care to insert here? Now I'm not saying bollocks (remember that I'm watching Notting Hill) to biology and evolution, after all, we develop as we do for a reason. But is it possible perhaps that what works for babies and young children may not be the best for adults? Is that an unfair statement? 'Unfair' is relative. All I can base my thoughts on are my experience and in my experience I know I like romantic comedies because they make me laugh, they leave me feeling happy, and they make me aspire. I don't see anything wrong with aspiration, I mean, we are human beings what's wrong with believing that the stuff of novels and movies is possible? Why is it so outlandish to some and daily life for others?

'The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.' - FDR

Is it more that we don't believe that we can recover from a failed relationship? Perhaps. Or the fear of failed relationships? Because aren't there just as many novels and movies out there that preach that particular gospel? The Romeo & Juliet stories are just as valid I guess. Undoubtedly it's a justified fear but I think it's a matter of your perspective and experience which path you subscribe to. I think for myself... I know better than to fall victim to fear perhaps because I've felt what I imagine to be the worse of the worse. And on the flipside, if you've felt it, how can you settle for anything less?

'I'm also a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.'

letters

I work in interactive media, maintain a blog, and e-mail with the best of them yet I just felt the impulse to write a few letters. What are they? You ask. Once upon a time, people wrote what they felt about each other or even about their daily lives with a pen and paper. Mailed it. Then a few days later, it would be gleefully received. I remember, when I was 'yey' (cue: hand gesture mimicking a child's height) I remember always looking forward to getting letters in the mail. Of course, most children, love getting mail. It's a right of passage to being an adult. Even now, I ALWAYS get the mail, and sometimes between the letters from the Binghamton Alumni Association asking me for money, the notices that I've won millions of dollars, or the 5 Victoria's Secret catalogues I seem to get in one shot, I receive the occasional handwritten note and they are always the first to be opened.

I recognize that there's an irony to blogging about letter writing but it's a different method of interaction between two people that has gone the way of the horse and carriage. There's something very personal and thoughtful about letters. If you know me, you know that I despise greeting cards and it's not because I'm a scrooge who doesn't like to express their feelings. On the contrary I think greeting cards are generic because they express a pre-written, reprinted, fabricated-by-someone-in-a-cubicle-that's-not-you (btw, I work in a cubicle) sentiment. Then someone just signs their name to it and hands it off to you. Believe me, I get that this person has taken time out of their day to go out and purchase a card to give. I appreciate that. I do. And let me clarify that I have no issues with people who send greeting cards and actually write a thoughtful sentiment in it. Does that make sense? I find cards void of text other than a signature a great waste of paper. Thank you cards and Christmas cards are exempt from this rule since sheer volume prohibits excessive creativity. In any case, I was inspired by a book I excerpted for work about how to write love letters, to jot down a few thoughts to close friends and hope it brightens their day when they receive it. Hence this diatribe.