Since going over to the “Dark Side” by joining Facebook, I have been drawn in by its alluring shiny pictures and pages and people.
Thinking of this brings to mind the scene of Darth Vader holding up his clenched fist and declaring, “You don’t know the power of the Dark Side …”, stated in the sonorous tones of the great James Earl Jones.
There are some fun aspects to Facebook, and some actually useful and productive aspects, such as finding out about needs in the community, or special people or events.
One fun outlet for me as a photographer are pages like “Saskatchewan Scenery”, where people post their favourite photos of landscapes or views of the beauty to be found in this province — and yes, that includes shots of the thunderstorms we’ve been getting.
As a music lover, sometimes I get things “suggested for you” that are quite interesting, such as a pair of guys who play electric cellos, called Hauser. They combine classical pieces with rock songs, such as one performance where they started with Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, and segued into a Led Zeppelin song.
There have been “suggested” guitarists who do little videos of their playing, including performances by blues player Joe Bonamasso.
Another suggested musician was this little sweetheart who does street performances with her violin, by the name of Karolina Protsenko. This little 10-year-old sets up on the streets of Santa Monica and plays her violin, moving with the music with little dance steps and a big smile — and she’s amazing.
I mean, yes, there are lots of 10-year-olds who do very well on the violin, but there’s just something engaging about this girl with her bright smile and long hair blowing in the wind and her dance-like moves as she gets into the spirit of whatever song she’s playing.
It turns out there are fan pages for her on Facebook, with thousands of fans from around the world who are taken with her playing, and not too long ago, Ellen had her on her show to play.
I am just hoping this young lady will stay grounded and real, and will not let all of this adulation and praise go to her head. From what I’ve seen, she seems to be a really sweet and happy girl who loves her music. I also hope that she will go places with her abilities, but I suppose time will tell the story there. (see this link on YouTube as an example of her street performances: https://youtu.be/-NxHQR5nOko)
The thing is, I never would have heard of her or Hauser, or pages like Saskatchewan Scenery, if itwere not for Facebook.
If you have particular interests or hobbies, there’s likely a Facebook page somewhere that covers it, or who knows, you could start your own. So maybe, just maybe, there’s a little bit of light with the darkness …
