giving versus receiving

gchat, gmail's built-in im program, has a twitter-like feature where you can show a quote, status, or other short message next to your name when it shows up in friend's contact lists.*

by typing this first sentence -- which uses a twitter reference voluntarily in a non-business related endeavor -- i know i give away the fact i have devolved into a web 2.0 geek. while i accept this, i also disclose my feelings that twitter to be retarded. paradoxically, i like the twitter -like feature of gchat. us humans, we are oh so complex.

today, i updated my message so to include this mel brooks quote -- via a joe posnanski blog entry -- about the difference between comedy and tragedy:

Tragedy is when I cut my finger. That’s a tragedy. It hurts, it’s bleeding, I don’t like it, tragedy. Comedy is you falling in a manhole, what do I care?

i love it. certainly, i'm not alone in that fact. after all, it's hilarious. but i love it more than most. and i say that not because i'm better than most, but because i am more self-centered than most. and by most, i mean, well, just about everybody.

now all of us know the cliche, it's better to give than to receive. but let's be realistic about this. it's not true. well not generally at least. sure, there have been instances where something i gave brought me more joy than something i received. in that sense, yes it's true. of course, this also had a lot to do with what i received being crap, and what i gave having ruled. i suspect this explains how this specious phrase arose. let me reinforce with an example.

some sap, while on one knee, having just exchanged six-months salary for a small gem, offers the alleged woman of his dreams the rest of his life. she accepts; merriment ensues. he, being of moderate intellect, ponders the following: this is way better than that time my grandma gave me that ugly red sweater with the brown reindeer on it. really is something to this giving stuff.

i do not expound with the intention of sounding bitter or cynical -- such is consequence -- but the truth often does ring unpleasant. but i'll concede this. giving great gifts does feel nice, even if not quite so nice as receiving a great one. of course, the former you control.

all of this is a round-about way of my saying that i've found something to give. and yes it is a great gift. 1) it's random. obligation never enhances a present. 2) it's by the aforementioned posnanski, who despite by trade a sportswriter, writes beautifully. 3) it's about baseball. my friend loves baseball. 4) $16.47. an amazing greatness-to-dollar ratio.