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Thursday 14 March 2013

John Cusack's Enchanted Gardens


After midnight, I aimlessly ended up following John Cusack on Twitter. It was one of those surreal winter nights after I had tried to fathom out the winter night sky of stars. I decided that perhaps a human star was easier to decipher. 

Cusack happens to be a famous Hollywood actor with legions of beautiful women raining on him every second. I am neither glamorous, beautiful or famous but I do love chocolate and butterflies. It was these butterfly pictures he had tweeted that fascinated me. I wondered if this theory worked. This is written by Mr Joe Dubois, an aeronautical engineer. 

" Now, back to butterflies. A monarch butterfly can teach us to put our life in context with the lives of others around us. There is another butterfly effect that I learned about while studying nonlinear dynamics in my graduate-level mathematics classes. The butterfly effect is the root of chaos theory and was first articulated by by Edward Lorenz. It refers to the characteristic of chaotic systems to have greatly varying final states due to the subtle differences in initial conditions. In other words, a ripple effect that is often described as a flap of a butterfly wing in Brazil, could in theory, set off a tornado in Texas..... The little things that my grandparents and parents did affect me now. I am certain that the things I am doing are affecting my children's future in ways that I may never know"

My first caustic remark with my usual British sense of humour got me under fire by his female fans. The sensible thing to do would be to cease being caustic as women were clearly protective of him. I really didn't like the idea of being chased down the Chicago streets by legions of women waving their designer handbags at me. 

Cusack is an intelligent man with a depth that is hardly seen in people these days. There is no doubt about that. He has a higher than average intellect with an interest in the world around him. While his eccentricities are mocked by many of his Twitter followers, to me he is just an average kind of guy trying to understand the way the world works. It must be an impossible task to deal with such severe scrutiny on every move you make and every breath you take. 

While the probability of Cusack and I meeting face to face is less than zero, only in the world of Twitter can you actually crash into a Hollywood star and exchange the odd word or two. The nicest aspect about Cusack's Twitter account is that it attracts the nicest of people. Through him, I have probably met some of the loveliest and most original people around. Of course, one cannot ever have too many friends and I quite liked the idea of learning about the US for a change.

So in the evenings, to discuss everything from paintings of butterflies to the US intelligence, I float onto John Cusack's Twitter page. Every day is different depending on his mood, his reading material and his fan base of beautiful women. 

Cusack's Twitter feed is a bit of a intellectual challenge. So, while I aimlessly posted comments that I presumed would go unnoticed, Mr Cusack decided to Retweet my comments not just once in a week - but three times. This included the recent article on Huffington Post. I had written this after his fast whistle-stop tour in US political intrigue surrounding the case of Bradley Manning. This was an important case and I never would have understood it in such detail without John's passion for the it. Coincidentally, I happened to have written a research paper on whistleblowing as well a few years ago. Even worse, I happen to have been a whistleblower in my past life. 

While most women fizz with excitement at his ReTweets, I was actually crippled with fear :). Hell, what on earth do you say to a Hollywood Star when " Thankyou" just doesn't seem enough? As hiding under my duvet and my goosefeather pillows was no longer an option, I decided to simply face the music. 

With his Re-Tweets came endless mails, DMs and messages from his various Twitter followers. He has more than a million of them by the way. After that, I had to cope with the fact my friends ended up texting, mailing and screaming like teenage girls on an Elvis trip. Even worse, my family of women keeps talking about how debonair and handsome he is. And? When did anatomy have anything to do with brain power. So I came to the conclusion that being Re-Tweeted by a extremely famous Hollywood actor was a once in a lifetime experience for someone who lives in a small town marooned in the middle of England. Due to great demand, I have indeed preserved these Tweets and uploaded them here. 

Personally, I wasn't really quite sure how to react apart from the fact I was eternally grateful that he noticed and even read my work. 

Anyway, this is the way I feel. I consider myself fortunate to have come across a person like John Cusack, even if it is only on Twitterverse.    He is passionate about what he cares for. That is probably one of the rarest qualities in a cosmetic world. It is his intelligence, wisdom and empathy that sets him above many many people. Cusack is a rare soul and would have been so even without his star status. We maybe in the Twitterverse but whatever the method of contact, there are times we crash into people for a reason. Perhaps this theory of the Monarch Butterflies works:-
"In other words, a ripple effect that is often described as a flap of a butterfly wing in Brazil, could in theory, set off a tornado in Texas"
It is fortunate that I came across John Cusack on Twitter because quite frankly, if we met face to face, I wouldn't know what to say out of sheer fear, shyness, nervousness and terror. Yes, I may have been through medical school, whistleblowing and court hearings but oddly enough there hasn't been a module on dealing with superstars. 

With permission from his other half, if he ever landed in England, I might just manage to take him to watch the English Sunset at Lizards Point in Cornwall on a summer's evening. And when he gets bored of intellectual discussions on the Pentagon's mishaps, I may just buy him a packet on mini sugary doughnuts and read him poetry. 

However inept it sounds - thankyou for everything you have done for me John and for all the people I have met through you. I wrote this in the hope that perhaps in your life-time you will spend sometime reading it. 

I like to think of you as Stanley from Grace has Gone because he is easier to speak to than a superstar :). In any event, your Twitter account is a bit like the Enchanted Gardens. We all go there for piece of magic when the world has gone dark and the clock strikes midnight. 

Until we meet again on Twitterverse after midnight :).













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