A quarter of a century

Yesterday I turned 25.

It was a really nice day. Work was busy and I was constantly being interrupted by the 50+ text messages from people on facebook wishing me a happy birthday, which was amazing. It's incredible that so many people form all walks of life come together on facebook to join in on your birthday and wish you many happy returns. Even people I haven't seen in over 15 years were wishing me happy birthday, which is quite amazing since I last saw them in 5th grade.

I went out to dinner with Sweetie on Sunday and then Sweetie and I went out with my parents and my sister yesterday (to seriously one of the most amazing restaurants I've been to).

It amazes me that there can be so much love in my small part of the world and yet so much hate in the rest of it.

In the last few weeks, there have been far too many reports of teens taking their lives because of being bullied due to their sexual orientation. Since September 28th, 21 year old Jeanine Blanchette and 17 year old Chantal Dube from Canada; 17 year old Felix Sacco from Saugus, MA; 15 year old Harrison Chase Brown from Rand, CO; Caleb Nolt from Fort Wayne, IN; 19 year old Raymond Chase from Monticello, NY; Asher Brown from Texas; 19 year old Tyler Clementi from Rutgers University; Seth Walsh from Tehachapi, CA; and 8th grade Asher Brown from Texas have all taken their own lives due to this tragic situation.

These poor people, who did not live to be my age, had lives that were filled with hate and with anger from people who reinforced the ideals that different is wrong and that tolerance and acceptance are wrong ways of living. They were pushed and hurt to the point that nothing anyone could do seemed to be a way out, so they found their own. The schools didn't step in to stop the bullying, the parents of the students doing the bullying seem to have said "well, kids will be kids" (Kathy Griffin's words) and the bullies themselves seem to think that this is okay.

That is one thing I don't think I'll ever understand. Why bullying someone is okay. Why beating someone up is okay. Why ANY of this is okay, in ANYONE'S understanding of the world.

Why is it okay to hurt someone because they are not like you?

I suppose this would explain my confusion to racism, sexism, ageism, bigotry and xenophobia.

Back to my birthday.

Last night, Margaret Cho was on dancing with the stars and she brought this subject to light for millions of people who may not have otherwise known about it. See her dance and at around 5:50 hear her plea to end this abomination.

I don't know that I would have used the words that Sarah Silverman did, but it's hard to disagree with her. Children do not create intolerance within themselves. It is a learned behavior, one that gets passed down from parent to child.

Just as we are angry in America with hatred and violence being perpetrated in other countries against us by people who are taught from the time they could walk that Americans are evil and infidels, so to should we be angry at the perpetrators of hatred in this country.

For those who spew vile and hateful things, your time to have the airways is slowing down. How anyone could kiss their children good-night with a mouth that spews arrogance and hatred, bigotry and lies, intolerance and hegemonic statements boggles my mind.

And yes, to COMPLETELY generalize, those who tend to make those statements tend to make them with a religiously backed protocol.

There's only one problem with this (and I know I'm preaching to the choir with the readers I have, but bear with me):

JESUS
PREACHED
LOVE

Remember "turn the other cheek" and "love the sinner, hate the sin"? What do you have to say to that Fred Phelps? What do you have to say to that Uganda? What do you say to that Steven L. Anderson? How about you Pepsi?

According to the Beatles, Love is All You Need. It's such a shame that no one seemed to listen.

Passing Things Down

Yesterday, while over at my brother- & sister-in-laws house, it was time to put their daughter to bed. Prior to going to bed, she had watched an episode of the New Scooby Doo mysteries where the gang is all in high school (it's actually not terrible). Apparently, there is a running storyline that there was another group of mystery solvers back in the day and a mysterious person called "E" wants the new gang to either know about the old gang or find out what happened to the old gang.

Now, this is not an easy concept to explain, especially since we didn't know the full context of the group in the first place.

First, let me explain what kind of a movie/TV watcher I am. I get really really really really engrossed in a storyline and tend to throw all caution to the wind. For example (Spoiler for Die Another Day in this sentence), in Die Another Day, when the white guy said that he used to be the Asian guy, I yelled out "I can see it!" and my friends all looked at me until one guy said, "um, you realize that it's a different actor, right?" I watched Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind with my ex and forced us to go to a park to relax before I went to sleep that night, fearful that the ex or I would erase the memory of our relationship were it to go south.

So in essence, I am the type of person the movie/TV industry crave. Willing to go along with any (well, almost any) storyline because it's entertaining.

Well, A could not understand that the older mystery kids hadn't gone missing, weren't trapped, etc. She started to cry and complain that they had to be found. Her parents tried to reassure her that they just grew up, and that made her cry even more. She seemed beyond upset that people grow up and this is what caused this whole post.

Her mom tried to reassure her that Peter Pan is the only kid who never grows up, but that didn't seem to comfort her. They were able to turn the conversation to a new topic and get her mind off the issue at hand, but I'm not sure how turned off she was to the topic.

In the last few years, the poor girl has known quite a few people who have passed away. Her great-grandmother, great-aunt, great-uncle and grandfather have all passed away within the last two years. I don't know if she's made the connections that you grow up and you die, but it's a fearful conversation to have with anyone, especially a child.

Which makes me wonder about my own upbringing. From 1992 to 1994 (ages 7-9 for me), we had 21 people in my family's life die. Friends, family, temple members. You name it, they died. I don't remember most of them, but there are a few that stick out in my mind. When Esther Broscow died (yes, I actually remember who it was), the people at graveside (Jews bury their dead, it's a custom and considered a good deed) were discussing how she had died in her sleep. One woman said "that's the way I want to go when it's my time." I remember thinking, "what do you mean when? I'm working on if."

We were at one of the shiva's (evening prayer service for those who have died) 2 days after my great aunt died when we got the phone call that my great uncle's mother had died of a heart attack in the grocery store. I remember my great uncle bursting into tears and saying "first my wife, now my mother." I then remember going outside and trying to figure out what that all meant.

When I was in 6th grade, my English teacher gave us an assignment to describe what we thought happened after you die. Why she did this, I will never understand. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that 2 students from our school were killed in a car crash that year. I guess I'll never know. My take on the assignment, as I was 10 or 11 at the time, was that there was nothing after you left this earth. I don't believe the project had been too far in the past when my family tried a new Chinese place and to get there, we had to drive past a cemetery. I have no idea how it came about, but I had my first panic attack right then and there.

When I was 12, we took a trip to Laughlin and we were having a conversation about black holes. Again, from out of nowhere, the panic attack set in and I couldn't stop it.

They only got worse as I got older. I used to wake up from them in the middle of the night throughout high school. I then passed the sickness along to my sister, who dealt with the death of a dear friend at the young age of 14. I thought I had it controlled when I went away to college, but reality after college set in that I was getting older and I'd need to face this at some point.

I've gotten calmer with the situation and am learning to deal with it. It has been a VERY long time since I've had a panic attack and I'm grateful for the friends and family in my life who are there when I need them to be.

However

I worry that this is something that is not spurred on by terrible teachers, forcing you to face something that should not be faced at such a young age. I worry that this is something that is brought on my major losses in family life, which gives me great fear as to the future of any family. It's next to impossible to shield a child from death, especially when the child is used to seeing the family member weekly, as in the case with my niece and her great-grandmother, great-aunt and grandfather.

They had to explain to her what death was when her grandfather, my father-in-law, passed away 9 months ago. I suppose it was easy to explain, as she's a big movie kid and explaining that Pop-pop is up with Mufasa is an easy allegory for a kid to understand. She has her moments, as everyone does, but she doesn't really understand the situation, and no one can expect her to.

But I worry that the sickness pervades from our very being. That children have the ability to pick up on it without realizing they're doing it; that we're traumatizing our children without realizing it. And to me, this fear is immense. Because I don't want anyone to have to go through what I went through.

What do you think? Is it something children pick up on or is it a learned situation?

Fantastic Article

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a true Feminist and Humanist.

Enjoy!

Buffy - Last Day

What You Think Made Buffy So Great

This one has obviously taken me longer to write than any of them. Because there is so much to say! But I don't think it needs to be said in great length.

Buffy was amazing because it showed that the petite, blonde, pretty girl can protect herself and can do it better than some of the guys who try to protect her. She gave women a better understanding of the gifts they all posses - we all have the ability to fight our demons. Sometimes we lose the battle, but the war is ongoing. We always have the help of our friends, who are a steady, loyal group, unlike the lovers that can pass through our wake.

I think Buffy was incredible because while in history she is not the archetype (i.e. comic book heroes have been around a LOT longer), she tends to be what female characters who kick butt are compared to. She's sassy and funny, feminine and masculine, a lover and a fighter, strong and powerful with a sweet and affectionate side. She's confused and headstrong, trying to make her way in the world, just like the rest of us.

Buffy is the everyman, er, everywoman, with the issues multiplied and played out in physical form. We are all Buffy and that is why she rocks.

Buffy Day 29

Episode You Hate That Everyone Else Loves

This one is hard to say because I didn't watch the show with many people, just Sweetie. I am not a huge fan of the episode where they think Dawn is the potential slayer. That one is just annoying. And those who like season 7 really like that episode I think. I dunno, hard to say.

Buffy Day 28

Character You Love To Hate

Gotta be Glory. She was a huge villain but she was funny in what she did. Her obsession with shoes and looking pretty was pretty amusing. So I guess I have to go with her.

Too Perfect for Words

Buffy Days 26 & 27

Wow, I can't believe this is coming to a close!

Day 26: Favorite Scooby Moment - The last scene before the big battle in Chosen

When Xander, Willow and Buffy are walking through the halls talking about going to the mall after the big fight, it just makes me smile. It's meant to be slightly honkey and throwbackish, but it's nice in the way it's done.

Day 27: Cutest Moment

I really like the scene in which Buffy and Spike have finished having sex and they're talking like normal relationship-ed people do. It shows that the do care for each other and it's just really cute.

Buffy Days 24 & 25

I won't be around tomorrow so I'm posting both days today.

Day 24: Favorite Example of 90s Special Effects

Uh, I suppose when the Master dies. That was really really really really bad.

Day 25: Favorite Buffyverse Saying

I know Sweetie's favorite is "If the apocalypse comes, beep me" (although I'm not sure which episode its from), but I can't get over Andrew mis-saying the name of Vampire. I love that!

A Few More Sillies

An Alaskan, upon arrival in Texas, approached a bystander and asked, "Where can I find a doctor?"

"Are you ill?" inquired the Texan.

"No," grinned the Alaskan, "I'm suffering from claustrophobia."


A doctor got a phone call from one of his colleagues, "We need a fourth for poker," the voice on the phone said.

"I'll be right over," replied the doctor.

As he was putting on his overcoat, his wife asked, "Is it serious?"

"Oh, yes, quite serious," he said gravely. "They've had to call three other doctors as well."


An ex-con made an appointment with a dermatologist.

"What seems to be the problem?" the doctor asked.

"It's acne, doc," he said. "I get it whenever I go to jail."

"Let me get this straight," said the doctor. "Every time you go to jail, you break out?"

Buffy Day 23

Two Characters You Wanted To Get Together That Never Did

Oh man this is hard! I'm thinking I'm gonna have to go slightly off on this and declare that I would have loved to see Dru and Spike together. Now, I know you're thinking, "they were together you dork!" but hear me out.

Spike was the badass when he was taking care of Dru what she was ill. Dru was the badass when she was taking care of Spike when he was injured. Never were they badasses together on the show. We saw flashbacks where they were great together, but I would have loved to have seen them evil and wrong together. I honestly believe that they could have defeated any of their adversaries and I would wager that includes anyone who got in their way, i.e. Glory, Adam, Buffy, etc.

It would have been a beautiful thing to watch.

A Few Sillies

To break up the monotony of Buffy, here are a few jokes that I found incredibly funny:

A doctor was performing a check up on an esteemed army general. At one point during the exam, the doctor said, "If you don't mind my asking, sir, when was the last time you had sex?"

"Of course, I understand, medical reasons and all that," the general answered. "I would say approximately 1955."

"So you've been inactive for quite some time now."

"You think so?" The general checked his watch. "It's only 2140 now."


A new nurse at a hospital was perplexed by Dr. Warren's behavior. Off an on throughout the shift, Dr. Warren would run up and down the hall, yelling, "Typohoid, tetanus, measles!"

Finally the new nurse asked the head nurse, "Why does Dr. Warren keep doing that?"

"Oh, just ignore him," the head nurse said. "He thinks he calls all the shots around here."


What's an archeologist?
Someone whose career is in ruins.

Buffy Days 21 & 22

Day 21: Best Willow-centric Episode

I guess the one where she comes back from England but is invisible. That one's okay I guess. I dunno, Willow-centric episodes don't really stick out in my mind.

Day 22: Best Xander-centric Episode

Gotta be the one where he's split in two. That one was awesome! :D

Buffy Day 20

Best Spike-centric Episode

It's gotta be Lies My Parents Told Me, the episode in Season 7 where we learn about Spike's issues with his mom and the trigger that The First has on him. This episode has such an amazing backstory to it filled with amazing tidbits about William's life before he became Spike. It was also really nice to see a vampire struggle with something other than a soul. Watching Spike be disgusted by his mother and choose to do the right thing was beautiful.

Buffy Day 19

Character You Like That Everyone Else Hates

I don't know how to answer this one. I don't know who the blogosphere hates so it's hard to say. I didn't like the nerds, but I don't think anyone did. I didn't like Maggie Walsh, but you weren't supposed to. I guess I'd have to go with Forrest, Riley's friend. Forrest was all about the mission no matter what the costs were, which is totally like Buffy in season 7. It didn't hurt that the actor (Leonard Roberts) was in Heroes which we were also watching at the time.

NO H8

Today, Justice Walker (appointed by Republican Ronald Reagan) struck down Proposition 8 banning gay marriage in the state.

I am overjoyed.

However, I am also curious.

After reading in the article that the defense lawyers said that "gay marriage was an experiment with unknown social consequences that should be left to voters to accept or reject," I am disinclined to agree. I cannot understand how that makes sense.

This country was founded by people who felt that the general population was too stupid to make proper decisions, which is why we have the Electoral College during general elections.

"an experiment with unknown social consequences that should be left to voters to accept or reject." That sounds like something MTV would put out in a press release about some new show. Everything we do has unknown social consequences, but not everything we do should be left for voters to decide.

In the beginning of the public school system (by 1918 - all children were required to complete elementary school), no one had any idea what kind of social consequences it would have. However, it was not voted upon, at least by the voters. (It may have been voted on by Congress, again, the people we elect because we are too stupid to make proper decisions.) We now know that giving children an education (as opposed to them working in coal mines, for example) is for the betterment of society, but no one knew that then.

Divorce is also an experiment with unknown social consequences, but no one has ever voted on whether or not to outlaw divorce. We now know that divorce can cause undue strain and stress on children and on professional lives, but no one has ever voted on it.

The creation of LSD was an experiment with unknown social consequences (created by Swiss chemist Dr. Albert Hofmann in 1938) and we all KNOW the negative effects that could have had (or potentially has had, depending on your way of viewing things) and again, no one was able to vote on it.

As society changes, so too should our laws. Our laws have caught up with (or are trying to at least) the times in regard to the internet. Things that could not have been prosecuted a few years ago are now on the books so that the law catches up with technology.

Science is also racing to catch up with the times. We have newer types of cars to try to deal with exhaust and emissions, newer types of insulation and power sources for homes to be able to use what naturally comes to us as well as new medicines aimed at making us better without the harmful effects of some chemicals.

Why can't this be afforded to people as well?

Paraphrasing Gone Wrong

I just love it when people take it upon themselves to paraphrase things incorrectly!

Here is what the person's sign said:

Now, here are those lines, in their entirety from the King James Version:

Deu 22:13 If any man take a wife, and go in unto her, and hate her,
Deu 22:14 And give occasions of speech against her, and bring up an evil name upon her, and say, I took this woman, and when I came to her, I found her not a maid:
Deu 22:15 Then shall the father of the damsel, and her mother, take and bring forth [the tokens of] the damsel's virginity unto the elders of the city in the gate:
Deu 22:16 And the damsel's father shall say unto the elders, I gave my daughter unto this man to wife, and he hateth her;
Deu 22:17 And, lo, he hath given occasions of speech [against her], saying, I found not thy daughter a maid; and yet these [are the tokens of] my daughter's virginity. And they shall spread the cloth before the elders of the city.
Deu 22:18 And the elders of that city shall take that man and chastise him;
Deu 22:19 And they shall amerce him in an hundred [shekels] of silver, and give [them] unto the father of the damsel, because he hath brought up an evil name upon a virgin of Israel: and she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days.
Deu 22:20 But if this thing be true, [and the tokens of] virginity be not found for the damsel:
Deu 22:21 Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die: because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the whore in her father's house: so shalt thou put evil away from among you.

So the man's sign is true but ONLY when a man so hates his wife so much he would rather kill her than be married to her.

Buffy Day 17 & 18

I totally forgot to do this yesterday! :(

Day 17: Character You Relate To The Most

I guess that would have to be Anya. With her weird quirkiness and her non-existent edit button, anyone will tell you that I'm more like her than anyone else.

Day 18: Character Who Didn’t Get Enough Screen Time

I'm gonna have to go with Oz on this one. He was always in the band or away with the band. I'm not sure he was really on screen enough, and with that beautiful face, he should have been.

What a beautiful list

Thank you Jezebel for posting this!

I love it when people learn to love themselves.

Buffy Day 16

Episode You Like That Everyone Else Hates

Normal Again

Oh my gosh did I love this episode! This is the one where the nerds infect Buffy with whatever it is that causes her to "hallucinate" and wake up in the hospital. I love that she was "lucid for that one summer" where she had died. And I especially love that at the end of the episode, you don't know which world is real.

When we were watching the series, Sweetie refused to see that episode, so I had to watch it on my own. Sweetie said that because Joss created that episode, we really have no way of knowing whether the series existed. And I think that was BEYOND brilliant on his part. To give people that many things to discuss was friggin incredible.

Joss has come out and said that the series is real, but sometimes, I wonder if he thinks that.

Buffy Day 15

Favorite Male Villain

Okay, so let's see who the male villains have been. We have the Master, Spike, Angelus, the Mayor, Adam, the nerds, Caleb.

Now let's see. The Master wasn't really all that great of a villain, he was just the first one. Yes he killed Buffy but it was also first season Buffy. So I don't really put that on the same level. Spike is amazing, but not the greatest villain. Angelus was cruel and fantastic in his cruelty, so he's in the running. The Mayor had a plan. He was dastardly and conniving but funny at the same time. His aim was great, but he was not such with the greatness. Adam was enormous and powerful, but bland and purposeless. The nerds were annoying, no greatness to be had. And Caleb was pure evil.

However, it did not say greatest male villain. It says favorite male villain. After describing all of them, I think I might have to go with Angelus. He was really cruel in what he was doing. He showed no remorse for any of it and reveled in it. He showed just how far he could push people and get into their heads. So for his twisted ideas and the fact that David Boreanaz wasn't the mopey and annoying Angel, I'll pick Angelus.

Buffy Day 14

Favorite Female Villain

Drusilla. Hands freaking down. She rocked. She was amazingly cruel and wicked (in both the American and British sense) and just bonkers. Her visions amazingly came true and then she would ask what would happen if all her hair fell out.

It's interesting to me that she and Spike were never really the big bads together. Either she was ill (from the mob in Prague I think) or he was injured (after saving her). Now mind you they were both bad-asses, but separately. Which is a shame. I would have loved to see the two of them battle Buffy. Of course, then maybe there wouldn't be a Buffy (Spike's killed 2 slayers and Dru killed 1) but the devilishness that is Spike and Dru would be fully in tact.

And I suppose it means that we must thank Angel(us). He saw that she was special and tortured her until he turned her. She wouldn't be nearly as mad were it not for him. But I am eternally grateful to her for she gave us Spike.

Buffy Day 13

Favorite Potential Slayer

Um, I have no idea. How about the one Felicia Day played, just so there's Joss continuity across the board.

Buffy Day 12

Least Favorite Episode

Oh man. Maybe the homecoming episode in season 3? Or the one where Angel has to drink Buffy to get well? I dunno, the bad ones are a blur. They don't stick out in my mind.

Buffy Day 11

Least Favorite Romance

Oh this one is SO easy! Buffy & Scott, that random guy she tried to date in Season 3. Okay, just kidding. Buffy and Riley.

Man, the boy was SO annoying! Whiny and obnoxious, especially in Season 5. Spike was right "The girl needs some monster in her man, and that's not in [Riley's] your nature."

While it was slightly nice for Buffy to be with someone "normal," it just isn't what she needs.

And I have to say, having Riley find Buffy and Spike together was one of the happiest moments for me in the Buffyverse. Even though that episode ended their physical relationship, seeing that Spike was right and Riley was wrong awesome! :D

Buffy Day 10

Least Favorite Season

That's got to be season 2. Buffy goes through enough torment as it is, she did not need Angelus making her life miserable. I actually didn't watch most of it because of how upset I got and Sweetie wanted me to finish watching the series. So maybe I'll go back and watch it some time, but now is just not the time. Besides, why would I want to watch Buffy be all annoying and obnoxious when I can watch her in charge and working hand in hand (and heart in heart) with Spike? :)

Also, season 1 blew. I still cannot believe Buffy turned into the glorious masterpiece it is after that first season.

Buffy Day 9

Favorite Romance

I absolutely LOVED the romance between Buffy and Spike. Some might say there was no romance, but season 7 totally puts that claim out of the water. Since season 5, she has always been able to rely on him, trusting her life to him. Once he becomes the man she needs/deserves, they get emotionally intimate and it is one of the most beautiful parts of the whole series.

Willow and Tera was fantastic too, but the turmoil in the relationship sort of killed it for me (abuse of magic, break-up, death).

Buffy Day 8

Favorite Friendship

Gonna have to copy Saranga here. She just put it so well. I'm actually better off just copying and pasting what she wrote as I could not have said it any better.

Spike and Dawn. It's lovely how he looked out for her but never patronized or condescended to her. No one else treated her that well at the time, and so she responded by trusting him and talking frankly to him. So he was doing it out of respect for Buffy, not Dawn. That's not important. He became fond of Dawn and treated her like an equal.

Thanks Saranga! Couldn't have done it without ya! :D

Buffy Day 7

Least Favorite Male Character

Riley was pretty annoying if I may say so as was Angel, but I think I'm going to have to go with Xander. I really liked him in the relationship with Anya but I think that had to do with Anya. He was the heart of the group (as can be seen at the end of seasons 4 and 6), but I'm not really sure he brought much else to the table. He was kind of pointless for most of the seasons, serving as only the comic relief with not much else really going for him. I hear in the comic books he's quite important, but in the show, not so much.

The character of the Master was pretty dumb too as was Dracula's character.

Buffy Day 6

Favorite Male Character

Gotta be Spike. No one else's character has done such a complete turnaround. Spike went from an impulsive lover and human-killer to thoughtful, sweet and demon-killer. He wanted to be a better man and thus pursued said path.

And not only that, but man is he sexy!! :D

Buffy Day 5

Least Favorite Female Character

I think it's pretty funny that my least favorite female character in Buffy is indeed Buffy. I've talked about Buffy before and I think it holds true. Buffy is strong and determined, protective and kind, but she's also whinny, boring and incredibly annoying at times. I mean, she's no Kendra, but Kendra wasn't around long enough to get attached to one way or another. Buffy is the girl who does what she does because she has to, not because she wants to. Buffy is certainly no Faith, who loves what she does. Slaying for Buffy is what she does because otherwise, the world would fall apart. No matter what she says (sings?) in OMWF, she has ALWAYS gone through the motions. There is no love of the job and she doesn't embrace it. She uses her position to be the one in control all the time which cannot be good for her psyche, as is evident in Normal Again (S6E17 - which I'll talk about later in this series).

I mean there are smaller characters who don't really register as being anything you should like or not. As Sweetie didn't like most of season 2 after Angel became Angelus, I didn't see much of Jenny Calendar, so I cannot say one way or another if I like her, but she doesn't seem to have any say one way or another. Cordelia on Buffy was annoying but I loved her on Angel. Kendra wasn't worth mentioning and neither was Darla.

Buffy Day 4

Favorite Female Character

I think I am going to have to go with either Faith or Anya. The two of them were so bold and brash, in your face about things. If Anya didn't like you, she told you, or she was just rude to you. She didn't understand the way of people, having not been one for centuries, and was amazing at it. I really think that speaks to the writing of Joss, to have to explain things to a character. How do you explain why people give you money for services?

Faith is a completely different story. Totally badass, she had fun with her slaying. Yeah it got out of hand and yeah she went slightly to the dark side, but she was never whinny like Buffy. Buffy complained about having to slay whereas Faith embraced it. She was rarely fearful and put all of her attitude up front and forthright. She kicked butt and rocked doing it.

And I love Dru. But that's mostly cuz she's awesomely odd. But not really enough to call my favorite female character. Maybe female villain.....

Buffy Day 3

Favorite Song Used In An Episode

What an odd thing to look for. I suppose I never really paid attention to background music so I guess I'll have to go with something that was in OMWF. Which means I think it'll have to be either Walk Through the Fire or Let Me Rest in Peace. Walk through the fire is so great because each person is showcased (save for Dawn) and their true feelings really begin to bubble here. I mean, they've been bubbling all episode. I also really love the line "I think this line's mostly filler."

Let Me Rest in Peace is just so chilling that its fantastic. Sweetie really loves this one and I think that that's rubbed off on me as well. Plus, how can you not love Spike? :D

Buffy Day 2

Favorite Episode

This is so hard!! There are so many fantastic ones for so many different reasons. I think that I might have to go with Dopplegangland. I love OMWF and Tabularasa as well as The Wish, but Dopplegangland has all(most) of my favorite components (missing Spike is kinda its only downfall). You have vamp Willow (HOT!), regular Willow trying to be vamp Willow and a myriad of other things. I also love the foreshadowing that we get in the episode about Willow (where she says, when talking about vamp Willow, "I think I'm kinda gay") and the adorableness of regular Willow ('it's not lunch. But I'm going to eat this banana, damnit' [paraphrased of course]).

Also, seeing the reaction of everyone when they realize there are two Willows was fantastic! It was like they forgot that you have to fully die and rise the next day to become a vampire and since they had just seen her at school, it cracks me up that they didn't think.

Oh, and I love the fact that vamp Willow really helped out regular Willow, especially with Percy. That boy needed a kick to the head!

Buffy Day 1

Favorite Season - Season 6

I love love love love love season 6. I know many people who feel that the show should have ended after Buffy died in season 5, but I think they are wrong. Season 6 not only went to a new network (with more money), but it went to a network that wasn't afraid of trying new things. Season 6 showed us two women in bed together (in the first few episodes) as well as a singing episode (who had ever done that before?). I really appreciate UPN not really giving Joss any hindrance and allowing him to do the show he wanted to do (the WB had fought Joss on the musical episode since season 2/3 and refused to let Tara and Willow kiss until Joss put it in The Body and told them if they wanted to take it out, they could.).

I also love the heartbreak that comes with season 6 with Xander and Anya and I am totally on the Spike and Buffy bus. I love Spike's redemption at the end of the season because it had been so long in coming.

Looking forward to the next 29 days of Buffy!

30 Days of Buffy

I noticed that I haven't blogged about anything fun in quite a while. So, having gotten this idea from Saranga, I thought this would be kind of a fun thing to do. Although it might take me more than 30 days (as I tend not to blog on the weekends), I hope everyone enjoys.

30 DAYS OF BUFFY!
Day 1: Favorite Season
Day 2: Favorite Episode
Day 3: Favorite Song Used In An Episode
Day 4: Favorite Female Character
Day 5: Least Favorite Female Character
Day 6: Favorite Male Character
Day 7: Least Favorite Male Character
Day 8: Favorite Friendship
Day 9: Favorite Romance
Day 10: Least Favorite Season
Day 11: Least Favorite Romance
Day 12: Least Favorite Episode
Day 13: Favorite Potential Slayer
Day 14: Favorite Female Villain
Day 15: Favorite Male Villain
Day 16: Episode You Like That Everyone Else Hates
Day 17: Character You Relate To The Most
Day 18: Character Who Didn’t Get Enough Screen Time
Day 19: Character You Like That Everyone Else Hates
Day 20: Best Spike-centric Episode
Day 21: Best Willow-centric Episode
Day 22: Best Xander-centric Episode
Day 23: Two Characters You Wanted To Get Together That Never Did
Day 24: Favorite Example of 90s Special Effects
Day 25: Favorite Buffyverse Saying
Day 26: Favorite Scooby Moment
Day 27: Cutest Moment
Day 28: Character You Love To Hate
Day 29: Episode You Hate That Everyone Else Loves
Day 30: What You Think Made Buffy So Great

Looking back

Shira over at from the rib? gave this great article that really got me thinking about the past. I know that I have always been a feminist, but in a weird way, I was a traditionalist too. Those two don't really go hand in hand, but I think it's from my experiences as a child that I was slightly messed up.

I grew up at the Temple my grandparents founded. I knew everyone there. I seem to recall going to Friday night services and wanting to go to the Oneg (dessert) with a friend that was there as well but having trouble getting to the room because I had to stop to say hello to everyone I knew. Sweetie has often remarked that I know everyone there as well.

Kids seem to have a hard time during the summer without camp and so the summer before 5th grade we found a new camp in the area. It was a Jewish day camp run by a Hassidic day school. We went to the orientation and the camp seemed like so much fun so, I signed up.

It was not at all what your other camps were like. I had been to the camp at my temple and would later go on to sleep away Jewish camps. But this was different. Each morning, the boys and girls went to different sides of the camp and we started with davening (prayers) and then went off to arts and crafts, sports, the game room, whatever. We went on tons of trips, whether it was an overnight or a trip to the zoo. My first experience with Six Flags was with this camp as was my first (and only) experience with camping.

I memorize things very well and had just completed my first year of Hebrew school so I could read Hebrew. At my temple, I had learned that there was a letter, a tav ת, that sounded like a "t." Well, at camp, I learned that if there was a dot in the middle of the tav, it sounded like a "t." But if there was no dot, it was a sav and thus sounded like an "s." No big deal right? Wrong.

As camp ended, my mom could see changes in me. Changes I know she didn't like. But the fact still remained that I was changed. I know I came home at one point (not quite sure when) and told her we weren't Jewish enough or that we were Jewish wrong. I know she was incredibly hurt by this because she had done her best to instill good Jewish values. I had gone to religious school since Kindergarten and before that, I went to the Preschool at my temple. She never let on how hurt she was but I know now that it killed her to send me back there every day. And not just every day, but for two years after that! I loved the camp and never felt like because I didn't dress like they did (in traditional Orthodox attire [covered elbows, ankles and collar bones in skirts only]) that they thought of me any less. I knew I was learning a LOT about Judaism and it was important to me.

After camp, I distinctly recall being at High Holiday services and being louder than I needed to be showcasing that I was saying the sav, not the tav. I remember my mom shushing me, telling me I was being too loud, but I didn't care. At the time, I knew she was embarrassed because I was better at Judaism than her. And what a terrible thing to think!

When I was in 6th or 7th grade, we got new prayer books at the temple. These included the matriarchs (as Shira posts about) in the Amidah, the central portion of the prayer service. Having always been a feminist, my friends were shocked when I chose not to participate in reciting their names. I remember telling them that I preferred the way it had been, that I was a traditionalist. I also recall that I refused to read the English, preferring the Hebrew because it was Hashem's (literally translated as The Name, another name for Adonai) language, even though I basically had no idea what it meant. I immersed myself as much as I could, trying to learn bits and pieces of Hebrew and what the words meant.

I also knew that I had to say my morning prayers, or else anything bad that happened in the world I knew was my fault. If I forgot to wash my hands and say the correct prayer, the evil nishama (I had learned that when you sleep, your soul goes to be with Hashem but an evil soul replaces it or else you would die), which had left through my fingertips, could get back into my body. And by the way, this is not something that I alone feel. I have spoken with other people who went to the same camp and said the same thing.

Now this is not meant as a bash on that specific group of people or even on the Hassidic group as a whole. Its simply my experiences and looking back at where I have come from. I now know in my heart that the matriarchs were just as important as the patriarchs, sometimes more so. When Rebekkah knew which son was to carry on the Jewish tradition, she took action. When Sarah knew the same thing, she took action as well. And the women in our stories sometimes play larger and more impressive roles than the men.

Now, I know it's not a competition, but a small part of me sort of wishes it was. That way, we could show people of all faiths that women are not things to be put in corners, covered up, and should be allowed to learn just like their male counterparts are allowed to.

Incredibly interesting article

Let's discuss it shall we?

http://www.nationaljournal.com/njmagazine/st_20100501_5904.php?mrefid=site_search

The goings on

I realized that while this is my space for social enragements, it's also my place to vent.

And it's about damn time I do.

The past few months (since I last posted about my life in December of last year) have been hard. Damn hard. So hard that I have almost cried daily. And yes, it has to do with a lot of things.

The straw that broke the camel's back was today when I realized....wait, I need to back up.

After all the deaths around the week of Thanksgiving, we tried to get back on track. We tried really hard. But the holidays were really tough. Mostly for my Sweetie, whose Hannukah was incredibly depressing and sad because my father-in-law and gone to great lengths to purchase gifts for everyone that meant something to them. My mother-in-law had a very hard time with this as well. It was hard for my dad as well, the first Hannukah without his mom.

But January rolled around and we got back to normal things. Well, at least normal for us. And that meant, house hunting, again. We'd been at this for over a year in January and it had gotten tough. There were really dilapidated houses, just really disgusting types of places that you wouldn't want to set a toe in. Some were nice, but we were always outbid.

Finally, Sweetie and I just decided that we'd had enough of it and went to Las Vegas over the weekend of March 13. We'd had a good day and checked into our hotel, the Tropicana. Not too shabby, especially since it was really cheap. But when the fire alarm went off, we were sunk. We couldn't call the front desk, for whatever reason. So we grabbed all our stuff and checked out. They gave us our money back, but we were homeless at this point. Sweetie, being a travel agent, remembered there being a rate of $159 at the Bellagio (a 5 star resort), so we jumped in the car and ran over there. After making a few calls, we got the room at that rate. Sweetie wanted to go see the room whereas I wanted to run out as we were meeting my dad (who happened to be in Vegas for a bowling tournament) for dinner. I lost the quick argument and up to the room we went. I realized on the way down to the car that I had a message. I called back and as we were standing in the Bellagio hotel, running to our car, found out that we had finally, after 15 months of looking and being heartbroken half of the time, gotten a house. We laughed, we cried and we ran off to dinner.

We figured everything was going swimmingly when all hell broke loose. Since we're buying a short sale house, the bank had to release a lien on the house. But we didn't know that. We were informed 2 weeks before escrow was scheduled to close that escrow wouldn't close on time if they couldn't get this paper. We got angry and upset, but realized there was nothing we could do about it.

Four days after escrow was supposed to close, the bank released the lien on the house. We were elated, jumping up and down for joy. Then, another snag. Our paperwork clearly stated that they needed to be out of the home before escrow closed. But the selling agent decided that paperwork and legal documents mean nothing and stated that they were not going to close escrow with the people out, that they would be living there when we closed escrow. This caused much consternation because if they damaged things on their way out or took things they weren't supposed to, such as ceiling fans or appliances, we were stuck with it. It got to the point that the selling agent literally gave us a deadline to comply with what she wanted or she was canceling the escrow. And all this took place 3 days before escrow was set to close.

We went through hell and back with this situation. Everything is now cleared up as best it can be (our realtor will be there when they move out to make sure that everything is out and chill), but we still have a lot of work to do on the home. We need to redo the master bathroom before we move in and the house has to be rewired. We're also putting in a slider in the back yard and taking out a door in the master bedroom. We'll also be painting rooms and probably dealing with floors as well.

And that's only the first wave. Next wave is far more complicated and I'm sure we'll post photos online so everyone can see the before and after work that we did.

Thanks to everyone who kept pulling for us, putting us in their thoughts and hopes. We really appreciate all of it. It means so much to us that people care so much for us.

Much love.

Self-Awareness

Sweetie and I have been watching all the episodes of Roseanne in order. Here and there we skipped a few (like the stupid ones or the ones where someone died), but one of them really struck a chord with me.

Season 9, as people who watched Roseanne know, is fake. The season wraps up with Roseanne sharing that most of the series has been her writings. In any case, one episode in season 9 is called "Hoi Polloi Meets Hoiti Toiti" and has the Connor family meeting the Wentworth family from Martha's Vineyard. In typical Roseanne fashion, she shows people how they could benefit from the lower class life style - in this case, yelling to relieve stress and pressure instead of drinking and taking pills.

One of the characters, Astrid, is an interesting character study. She is also the most light-hearted of the bunch, associates with people that are not of her class and, most importantly, is worried her family hates her because she was on a boat with her late father when he died. As her mother puts it "no dear, Daddy just fell off the boat." She seems to torment herself because of this.

As Roseanne is teaching them all to yell, Astrid seems to be a natural. She twirls about as she screams "whoo-hoo." Jackie, Roseanne's sister who has accompanied her on this trip, mentions that she doesn't think that was the first time Astrid has yelled. Astrid assures her it is and Jackie asks her to do it again. When she does, she gets up in Jackie's face and says "I SAID NO DADDY!"

This episode originally aired on November 12, 1996. I would have been 11 at this point and since I was old enough, I was watching these episodes live with my parents. From the time I was 11, I understood what that meant. It's not something I was taught, it was not something I learned from my parents (i.e. either from it happening to me [which it didn't] or having a conversation with my parents about it [which we hadn't had yet]); it was just something I knew. And that sort of scares me.

To know something that adult at such a young age is a bit odd. I've always thought of myself as progressive; as someone who thought outside the box when it comes to social issues. I just didn't know how far it went back.

And this mostly scares me because, while I wasn't affected by it (especially since it didn't happen to me), it was something I innately knew. It wasn't something that was a nurtured thing; this was nature. And if that's what nature offers, shouldn't we all know that things like this are wrong? Or am I just special somehow?

We try to shield our children (you know mine, non-existent Sally and non-existent Suzie) from the terrors of the world and human fallibility. But maybe we don't need to. If it's something so ingrained in our personage, maybe that can lead to better conversations with our children.

Just a thought.

Think and Fight for It All

I love my Sweetie. I really do. And I want to preface this by saying I don't think my Sweetie is dumb, unintelligent or offensive. I think my Sweetie is an amazing support system, an incredible and passionate fighter for things that need to be fought for, a wonderful listener and a fantastic best friend and lover.

I just get sad sometimes because my Sweetie doesn't realize there are still obvious things to fight for and against. Things to argue over. Things to persuade others against or for. Things that challenge the normative way of thinking. And all this stems from the Academy Awards from the other night.

Sweetie and I watched and really enjoyed them. We thought that the way they showed things were innovative and kept things interesting from the boring show they've been. We had just been to the movies on Friday to see Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland (fantastic by the way) and had discussed many of the visual effects from this and many other movies (including Avatar which neither of us wants to see). Sweetie mentioned that Tim Burton has made a deal with Disney to do an Alice-like Sleeping Beauty. And we were just generally talking movies throughout the show.

After they were over, I commented on how beautiful Gabourey Sidibe looked. And how gorgeous and confident she looked at the Oscars. Not yet having the privilege of seeing Precious yet, I am drawn to her for the simple fact that I think she is simply amazing just being her. I think she encourages women to be themselves, to not listen to those who say that "thin is in" or some other stupidity. I think she shows people that you can be gorgeous and amazing and all you need is some sass and confidence.

I mentioned to Sweetie how young Gabourey is and how amazing it is that she has so many opportunities open to her when Sweetie said "well, I hate to say it, but, to be honest, unless there's an original story, there are not a lot of roles she can play."

I stopped in my tracks, very surprised to hear that. I turned and asked why. Sweetie replied that roles for many stories have already had character designs written into them (whether they are already movies, books or video games). Sweetie regrettably told me that it would be hard for Gabourey to find work.

I then looked at Sweetie and in the nicest way I could (as I was rather upset at this point) asked why Gabourey couldn't play one of the fairy godmothers in a potential Tim Burton Sleeping Beauty. "No one said," I retorted, "that they had to be skinny little white women."

Sweetie pondered this and agreed.

I just wish that things weren't so simple to people. As I said, I love my Sweetie. But Sweetie is white and thin. Sweetie doesn't always try to fight against the norm because my Sweetie is the norm.

I used to think of myself as a larger woman. Okay, that's a lie. I used to assume myself to be a huge woman. And then, I found many sites for plus sized women and felt like I had found a sisterhood. Until I realized I just didn't fit in. When they posted information for a plus sized modeling contest and the smallest size listed to circle was a 14, I knew that I did not belong with these women.

It shouldn't have mattered. But it did. It mattered that I didn't belong. I could not share in their sisterhood, in their love of themselves and their promotion of themselves as amazing women. I was, based upon their terms, average.

And no one ever came right out and said this to me. I felt it. It pervaded out of their message boards and their blog posts. I felt weird; "too short to be quarterback, too plain to be queen." I didn't fit. And it sucked. I could not help their cause because I didn't belong. And that's not the only place I have ever felt that.

To feel like the outsider when all you plan to do is help, or march or whatever is awful. To tell me that simply because I am white, therefore I don't understand, is wrong. To show me that we are not the same, that you've had it harder, that I was lucky because I had a fabulous childhood/good grades/good friends/accepting parents only makes the fight for equality harder. And I don't understand why we can't just all fight for the same thing, for equal rights under the laws.

I hope the day comes soon when, as Sandra Bullock put it in her acceptance speech, all parents tell their children "that there’s no race, no religion, no class system, no color, nothing, no sexual orientation that makes us better than anyone else. We are all deserving of love." I wish we could all see that a house divided can never stand. I wish we could see that one voice in a sea of many, all chanting different versions of "Give me Liberty or Give me Death," makes it so no one is heard.

We all want to be heard and we all want to be accepted. So why can't we do it together?

The Stupid Meter is on High Today

For some reason, I thought that the article on YahooShine entitled "12 Things to Talk about on Date Night (Besides the Kids!)" would have proved to give more information than stupidity. I suppose I should have known, we are talking about Shine here.

Let's go over the (proper, and it's sad that I have to write that) way you actually get to the kids phase. You meet someone. You find them interesting in one way or another. You talk, get to know each other. You spend hours on the phone and in each other's presences trying to figure out if this is the right person for you. Then one of you suggests getting married/having a commitment ceremony. The other accepts. The ceremony is planned, the honeymoon set. You get back, wait a determined amount of time (different for each couple) and decide to have kids. You have them, your world is swallowed up by them and then, it's time for date night.

You get a baby-sitter, you go out to dinner/show/movie/etc. But oh no! What in the world should you talk about? I know! How about the first two things on the list? Your goals and your childhood. Because there is no way in the process of getting to know each other that you didn't discuss what it was like to grow up. You've never mentioned to your significant other about how you used to watch the Brady Bunch with your family or how you weren't allowed to watch the Simpsons when you were a kid. Wow! What an amazing idea! Your childhood! And wait, let's not forget those goals. There's no way you forgot to mention that you'd like to be a lumberjack (insert singing here) and move to the forest. How could that possibly have slipped your mind during the ceremony planning process?

The third idea is TV and movies. Oh lordy be, one of them talkin' picture boxes? It sure would be nice if pa would hep you out and buy one of dem thaings. Then baby Jonnie-Ray would be able to learn his A, B, Cs from that funny lookin' yellow bird. Something tells me that as a parent, after the kids go to sleep, you'd like to zone out to some TV. And while you might only see movies after they're on DVD, I'm sure that you've discussed which ones to buy before running out and purchasing them.

Number four on the list is your friends. Really? You don't EVER talk to your significant other about your friends? In the information age of twitter, facebook, the iphone and the droid, this is just absurd. Unless you're going to gossip about how Sally Sue and Bob Smith are both cheating on each other, something tells me this has already been discussed. And the same goes for point number ten - Your family. Maybe your significant other doesn't want to hear about your sister's ingrown toenail over soup. Or you don't want to hear about their brother's inability to get it up. Or why Aunt Gertrude and Uncle Arnie are getting a divorce. Why would you need to discuss this on a night out?

Number five on the list is Home Improvement Projects. Yes, because while you are away from the house, what you both want to be thinking about is the closet full of crap that you can't find any place for because one or both of you won't build/buy the damn storage container that sits outside. Because you need to harp on how they haven't fixed the drain and they need to complain about your inability to tell the paper boy to stop throwing the paper in the mud on purpose.

Number six is sports. Yes, on a night out, away from everything, gazing into each other's eyes, please bring up how Getzlaf sprained his ankle but thank heavens he'll still be able to play. It's just so romantic.

Number seven is your next vacation. Now, why would you want to discuss this without your children? Don't you think that this is something they might want to weigh in about? If you have decided that you'll be going to Montgomery, Alabama but one of your kids wants to make the trek to Marceline, Missouri, why not?

Number eight deals with politics. My argument against this would be the same as for the sports, unless arguing gets you both hot and bothered. Then, by all means, enjoy.

Number nine is celebrities. Again, same rationale as for the sports. Except this doesn't really impact your lives. So why bother? Who cares if Paris Hilton got a new nose or if Heidi Montag's left buttcheek fell off again. It's not romantic and it does not belong on your night out.

Number eleven is Life Before Kids. Because you need to reminisce about how wonderful things were when there were no children. Reminds me too much of The Way by Fastball. Seems dumb also, because then you go home and realize that you still have to feed the dog and make lunches for tomorrow and that you can never escape the life you have now.

The last point is your love. And yes, I think this is a fine thing to discuss.

As for a different list of what to talk about on a date night without the kids, why don't you just try to figure it out on your own? Because if you need a list to tell you things to talk to the person you are supposed to be deeply in love with, something tells me that the relationship just isn't going to last.

How much are you really saving?

From a yahoo health site, here’s exactly how expensive it really is whenever you go for the “bargain”:

• 7-Eleven: Gulp to Double Gulp Coca-Cola Classic: 37 cents extra buys 450 more calories.
• Cinnabon: Minibon to Classic Cinnabon: 48 more cents buys 370 more calories.
• Movie theater: Small to medium unbuttered popcorn: 71 additional cents buys you 500 more calories.
• Convenience store: Regular to “The Big One” Snickers: 33 more cents packs on 230 more calories.
• McDonald’s: Quarter Pounder with Cheese to Medium Quarter Pounder with Cheese Extra Value Meal: An additional $1.41 gets you 660 more calories.
• Subway: 6-inch to 12-inch Tuna Sub: $1.53 more buys 420 more calories.
• Wendy’s: Classic Double with Cheese to Classic Double with Cheese Old Fashioned Combo Meal: $1.57 extra buys you 600 more calories.
• Baskin Robbins: Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, Kids’ Scoop, to Double Scoop: For another $1.62, you’ve added 390 calories.

The bottom line on all this? For just a hair more than 8 bucks, you’ve bought yourself an additional 3,620 calories. If you ate each of these once a week, and you were to switch to the smaller size each time—again, still all your favorite foods, just in a more reasonable size—you’d save about $417 a year. It’s not going to buy you a new car, but it could put you on a plane to the Bahamas. But far more important than that is what it will mean to your waistline, because in saving that $417, you’ll also save 188,240 calories in a year—enough to shave a whopping 54 pounds of flab off your body! (Hey, take the 400 bucks and buy some new pants!)

I just figured people might like to know. Holy crap!

How Old Do You Have To Be To Be An Adult?

I read an article today about the new laws about credit cards (i.e. interest rates, etc.) and this just totally struck me as odd and unfair:

As part of a series of new rules aimed at protecting consumers, the measure forbids banks from issuing a credit card to anyone under 21: unless the consumer has the ability to make the required payments or obtains the signature of a parent or other cosigner with the ability to do so.

Now how is a student supposed to be able to go to school, take out loans and then attempt to live? How are they supposed to learn how to make good spending choices or help get us out of the recession we're in? How are they supposed to be able to rent an apartment, buy a car, purchase a home, etc. if they have no credit? How can they get credit? Oh, if their parent allows them to have one. How many parents who can't afford to put their kids through college want to be the cosigner on the credit card that their kids have?

At what age do we say that people are adults? You have to be 18 to vote, buy cigarettes and play the lotto, but you have to be 21 to drink, gamble and charge? That doesn't seem to make too much sense. We tell our kids that at 18 they are responsible for their actions. At 18, a person is no longer able to be put into juvenile detention and must be tried "as an adult," which at that point they are. So instead of saying to an 18 year old "charge well or you'll pay the consequences," we're telling them that they still need mommy and daddy's permission to go to the movies.

I'll borrow from my co-worker and call the country a nanny-ing one. I tend not to do that, but for heavens sakes people!

Props to One Life to Live

I saw this on feministing (www.feministing.com since I can't make it link) and had to share.

Love making scenes are formulaic when it comes to Soap Operas. You do have a few options (whether its in a bed or outside I suppose), but mostly, its the soft core porn that (most) women eat up. There is the wonderful mood lighting, candles, champagne, tender kissing, removal of a few articles of clothing, then the couple moves to the bed and then there is the aftershot of them snuggling.

I LOVE that One Life to Live didn't change the formula for Oliver and Kyle. Yes its two men but the message is the same, the way it was shot was the same and there was no "ew, they're men" sentiment to it.

Seriously? Boobs are for feeding babies?

Man, people are certainly dumb!

I just read a post on fbomb and am completely amazed and disgusted to what I've now been opened up to.

Here's the post.

I think the question posited is a good one. Would my life be easier without boobs? And I think the answer is yes and no. My breasts are such a part of who I am. I cannot imagine myself without them for the same reason I don't straighten my hair. I am a bigger person - I have a big personality, big curly hair, big loud mouth, big boobs, etc. I don't straighten my hair because everything else would be strange and awkward. I don't think about lessening my breasts for the same reason. My breasts also fit my body type as I am an hourglass figure.

But at the same time. My breasts are an inconvenience. They are a bit large on my frame and so they look enormous. They make it so I have to purchase clothing that fits them, but not my waist. They are not comfortable touching my skin and I must always wear a bra. My back hurts, my shoulders hurt and sometimes, I just want to cut them off.

But to be sure, I know the reason for them. (Note: entering a rant) Which is why the conversation of a reduction is so far beyond my years. At 24 years old, I have had no children. I tend to get "suggestions" from those who have "been there" telling me that it was the "best thing they ever did" and I should "definitely consider doing it sooner rather than later." Much like the whole when-are-you-going-to-have-a-baby bullshit, this is no one's business but my own. And while I appreciate the advice from my elders, I have to make the decision. No amount of "here do this" is going to sway me, and if those people knew me at all, they would know to stop. (Note: end of rant)

Anyways, back to the topic at hand. For women to not know the purpose of their own breasts is appalling. And while it was an online forum and people tend to troll and screw around, I can't help but wonder if in fact people are really that stupid. To read that a female posted the response of "Um, what do you mean ‘feed babies’? That’s not what boobs are for! That’s what formula is for! Boobs arn’t utters! they are for boys to look and play with!" makes me want to scream and crawl into a hole. How can we expect to raise proper children (or decent ones at best I suppose) when these are the sorts of people who vote, process your credit card payments and help you at the bank? I don't understand the stupidity of it all!

It takes me back to a time in college where a friend of mine told me of a discussion she had with her boyfriend at the time about her period. She was mentioning how it was very light and they got concerned. He told her not to worry and to let him know what happened "the next time she peed." He honestly thought that menstrual blood came out of the urethra and exited the body upon urination.