… or so goes the mantra of my latest web obsession, group hug. . The idea is simple–anonymously confess to the world your deepest, darkest secrets. The creators call it a project “with social benefit,” but it seems more like an addictive, voyeuristic shock site (with an RSS feed , of course). Some of the entries make me laugh, some shock me, and mostly, I just question how many are true. The most powerful are the ones that aren’t shocking enough to be fake, but really get at a person’s feelings, and general life. Some recent favorites:

* it makes me excruciatingly angry that my best friend cheats on his girlfriend, and i really want to hit him. hard. in the face.
* When I see babies or small children in the street I make horrible faces at them til they cry.
* I have been stealing my flat mate’s milk and have been blaming it on my other flat mate, now they hate each other. im finding it hard to live with.
* i picked up some onion rings for my friends mother. On the way home, i had to brake hard at a stop light and all of the onion rings flew out of the bag and onto the dirty floorboard of my truck. I picked them up, put them back in the bag.I didn’t look her in the eyes when i handed them to her. When she asked if i wanted any, i simply said “no thanks”.
* One time I saw a sleeping porcupine (maybe it was dying), and I covered it in whip cream knowing my neighbors evil dog would chase it and be subjected to pain.

All the “cheating and infidelity” ones kind of depress me, but most of the others just fascinate me. I just love the quirks that make people human–the weird stuff they do when no one else is looking. What they enjoy. What they hate. This sentiment was originally going to be turned into some sort of project kind of like The Mirror Project , but never really got off the ground. Maybe I’ll re-double my efforts.

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