In this modern age, one often finds it necessary (when needing to temporarily give further information upon a point; such as this sentence) to employ the use of parentheses. I in particular frequently use parentheses when rambling on and on and need to clarify a point or qualify said rambling. However, in such a technologically driven society, unforeseen consequences of the parentheses use have appeared. I'm talking about the eternally frustrating quandary of how to close a parenthetical statement with a smiley face.

For example, say you are writing an email to a friend in which you desire to enclose a witty statement in those two little curvy shells. However, let's pretend it's a sarcastic comment and needs to have a smiley face in order for the reader to understand that it is indeed a joke. It is very frustrating.

I plan on coming over to your house as soon as I am able to get away from this dead-end job (which, by the way, is all your fault for encouraging me to take it :-) ).

Do you see that?!? How confusing are those two "closed" parentheses at the end of that statement??? It's maddening. But the question becomes: what is the appropriate syntax? Without fail, I always try this:

Here's a sentence (and here's my aside with a smiley face :-)      ).

And then, every time, also without fail, I chastise myself for assuming that would work. Ten spaces between the two parentheses doesn't really help. But nor can you do this:

Here's a sentence (and here's my aside with a smiley face :-).

The mouth on the smiley face cannot double as the closed parentheses! This just feels wrong. I openly admit that I don't know what to do with this problem. I end up re-writing my sentence just to accommodate my smiley face. Is it worth it? Maybe not, but what if the reader of my message does not know I am smiling as I write it? Instant disaster.

The only thing I can think of is that, brackets, it's your turn to shine. Absolutely underused and neglected, brackets ( { and } ) could be our answer. (Incidentally, see how parentheses ruined that last sentence? (Argh, and this one!).) I make a movement that we employ brackets when a smiley face needs to be used in what would ordinarily be a regular parenthetical statement. For example:

You stole my last frozen pizza from the freezer {but that doesn't mean I'll have to beat you to within an inch of your life :-)}.

Gosh, that looks nice. Brackets, let's see what you got...