Fifty Shades of Grey (and Twilight)

Well, curiousity got the best of me and I've read the book. Gotta say, it's not what I expected (so now I've read 2 and am on 3). Guess I need to address the important issues:

A: Is it porn? Not really. I mean, there is a LOT of sex, but it's pretty repetative and not very inventive (except for the occasional BDSM scenes). I've certainly read other things that are worse. [Edit (1/27/13)--I've changed my opinion. It is porn, but it's really bad porn--like dull, boring, going to change the channel if it were an actual movie, porn]

B: The control freak.

First off, I've dipped my toe into the world of writing and I'd be mortified if anyone came up to me and said "you were influenced by...[so and so]." So, when James states right in her biography that she was influenced by Twilight, I knew at once we were in trouble. And really, it's like she took the bass lines (hmm...I'm not sure if that's the correct phrasing, but I think it works--think the bass lines of a piece of music) of Twilight and wrote a new story around it. I mean, it's certainly okay to take a piece or maybe two from something you love and use it for inspiration, but she's gone way over the top--locations (SW to SE to NW...in the exact same order), her faimily situation, the personalities of said family situation (okay, Bob is older), she's the girl that every man wants though she's oblivious to it--it's seriously like James took every single TV Trope from Twilight and used it. Lots of eye-rolling from me there.

[Insert/clarification] James could have kept the " oblivious girl that every man loves" AND the "dark-souled recluse" and have written a fine pop culture book (these are tropes that are regularly enjoyed in moderation). But adding in the location similarities, the best friend whose father loves to fish with my father, who happens to be Hispanic rather than Native American, the ditzy mother who had her daughter young with generally bad taste in men/marriages who the daughter feels she needs to look after (though thank god this seems to be a lot less of a problem for Ana), the wacky/excited sister and comic relief brother of the "God". Keeping them all?! TOO MUCH!! [end insert/clarification]

But, you know what? I actually like Christian Grey as a character--even his control freak tendencies--and can understand why Ana stays with him (the whole "I've known you for two weeks and I'll die if I'm not with you" notwithstanding). You probably know about my love of the Dark-Hunter series by Sherrilyn Kenyon. One of the reasons is because of her love of shattered men. My favorite books/characters in the series are those which have been shattered the worst. So yeah, Christian Grey is a man after my heart. The fact that he beat her actually doesn't bother me because A: they are both consenting adults and she didn't use the safeword when she should have and B: he does realize later that he'd rather have her than the violence. This isn't an abusive relationship because he knows his faults, why he has them, how to improve them and, most importantly, when to let things drop. Like he says, she has all the power in the physical relationship because all she has to do is say no (or the safeword) and he instantly flips. An abuser hears no and doesn't care.

As for the controlling, it's a known issue from the first time they meet and Ana, unlike Bella, actually opens her mouth and tells him to his face that she doesn't like it. It's an OPEN part of their relationship, unlike with Bella and Edward where she just accepts it.

While neither series deserves a Pulitzer, I have to say that I like Fifty Shades a hell of a lot more than Twilight simply because if we think of them as being essentially the same story, at least Christian Grey has a damn good reason for being the way he is. Edward is kind of a whiny bitch who had a loving family before he became a vampire and has a loving family after the change and deserves a woman who won't open her mouth when something bothers her and who'll internalize his leaving her as her own fault rather than for her own saftey. Though both men need a firm slap in the head for hiding information from their loved ones.

By the way, did anyone not know that James is British before reading the trilogy? Because I'm wondering just how obvious it is. I mean, I assume she's done her research because the locations seemed probable (though I know NOTHING about the Pacific NW--sidebar: that's really what it's called because I'm not sure that it's possible to have an Atlantic NW in the US). But the language she uses, sheesh! The obvious is the use of "arse" which American's might say but would NEVER write. The second is a few phrases which seem wrong to my American way of thinking: "banking a check" and "all American teeth" (reference to how Americans make fun of British teeth because they don't get them straightened or whitened--like somehow their being crooked/ivory says that they're in poor condidtion even though the very process of whitening weakens teeth and straightening is purely a cosmetic fix--end rant), plus a few other "wait, what?" moments.



By the way, I'm thrilled that Google Affiliate Ads finally is working for what I want it to do (advertise products that I'm actually discussing)--I just wish there were more. For instance, I give to you a very good choice of the Dark-Hunter series, but I'd rather give you the first book of the series. However, potential spoilers aside, it does deal with all aspects of the world...I'm just anal about reading books in order no matter that they all essentially stand alone.

My Grandmother Makes Me Feel Like the Worst Granddaughter Ever.

Actually, I think I'm a very good granddaughter. The problem is that my grandmother is very independent and I'd feel like a bigger ass if I did more things for her. For instance, I stopped by her house on Tuesday to pick up some tomatoes she'd picked. I visited for awhile and she said she had to take the garbage can to the street. I asked if she wanted help and she politely declined, so I let her do it. She pays me to mow her grass and in the fall, she'll pay me to rake the leaves. This won't stop her from helping by picking up sticks or helping with the leaves. At least she lets me do things like put the shower curtain back up (though I'm 90% sure that she's the one that took it down in the first place to wash it).

She's 80 years old (well, next year she will be) and she drives faster than I do and walks 5 miles a day. I can only hope that I'm as awesome when I get to be her age.

Quick shout-out to her not-quite-so-old neighbor. They walk together, keep tabs on eachother, and take turns bringing back the trash bins.

Eureka is Wrong!!!

So, if you're a fan of the show Eureka, you'll know that they recently had a story arc where they went to Titan. Some of the episodes included elaborate experiments of what it would be like to work on Titan. Well, I'm watching and episode of The Universe and it says that the methane on Titan isn't highly flamable because of the the lack of oxygen.

Now, I do not know if this was an oversight or done on purpose. You see, in the episode that I'm thinking of (sorry, I can't tell you which one off the top of my head), they accidently started an explosion on fake Titan and they used the information they gained in the senario to win against the gas as it invaded the city. Even though the liquid shouldn't have been flamable in fake Titan, the gas that would have existed in "real" Eureka would have been highly flamable.

Battlestar Galactica

So...a few years a go I met a friend of a friend who was watching BSG. It was a girl whose boyfriend or other male friend suggested the show and told her that it was like a potato chip--once you start watching, you will not sleep until it's over.

TRUTH IN ADVERTISING!!!!!!!!!!!


Deserved the really big add, hahaha.

Tipping

One of my favorite time waster sites is notalwaysright.com where all service workers can go to vent.

This brings me to tipping. I really like to pay for my meal with my card, but leave the tip in cash (usually well more than 15%). I wonder if any of my waiters think I'm a bitch only to be pleasantly surprised when the clear the table. It makes me feel good that generally overworked, underappreciated people can do what they want with their tips instead of having to rely on whatever computer system or boss to make sure they get their tips.

In many states, it's still law that waitresses can be paid below minimum wage so long as their tips bring them up to at least the minimum. Their bosses are supposed to suppliment their wages to make sure they get minimum wage, but often times managers don't do this and/or won't--especially for new staff members with little experience.

Dakota Born by Debbie Macomber

Sigh. I'm reading this because the books I really want to read won't be available at the library until at least Tuesday. Let's just say that the first 35 pages make me want to hurl the book across the room, but maybe there's something that will redeem it. It's not a bad book per se, just not my cup of tea.

Sarah Stern is the epitome of why I cringe when someone says they come from a "sheltered" life. Sheltered, in my opinion, is what makes you make stupid decisions early in life. 'Course, the opposite extreme leaves you in the same boat. I dunno--maybe I'm a freak of nature. My parent's lifestyle and my own shyness left me very sheltered physically, but I've always been allowed to read whatever I wanted. At 12 I graduated myself to the teen shelf and a half dozen books later I decided that teenagers are stupid and hit the adult shelves. 'Course then I learned that adults are gross and/or have this weird idea of what makes for a great adventure (Tolkien influence--the more made up words the better) and wasn't happy until I found the Holy Grail when we switched to the VA Beach library and their teen section is all the books I loved as a child plus soo much more (i.e. anything not a picture book, but without the sex). I have no idea why Norfolk has such a stupid system for separating their teen books.

Anyone who says you can't learn anything from "pulp fiction" is a pompous hipster. Everything those stupid teen books were "supposed" to teach me about life, but really just made me want to hurl, I could usually find either explicitly or implicitly within whatever book I actually enjoyed. Need a rant about why you shouldn't commit suicide because some jealous "frienemy" (is that really how that's spelled?) posts photoshopped raunchy photos of you on the school website? Go read Sherrilyn Kenyon's Infamous. V.C. Andrews' stuff really isn't worth the paper it's written on. And don't get me started on Twilight. Trust me, if you read any of Kenyon's Dark-Hunters books, you'll know what it really means to leave the person you love to save their life (or even offer yourself to Death) with lovely ladies who look at their men and say "Sweetie, I know you mean well, but let the real brains be in charge. 'kay?" and then she proceeds to kick ass, take names, and really show her commitment to him. Not lie on a couch for four months wondering where her life went. GAG!

So yeah...here I am reading something only 40+ year old women would actually enjoy. Maybe I'm just a feminist, but seriously?! Man says day one that he doesn't want to marry and you stick around for 2 years? Ever read Dear Abby?!? It's not a hard equation. I don't mean to make my mother's generation feel bad, but it's obvious that crap like this sells because women want to fantasize about a world where their bad decisions are...okay(?)--that there's some hero who's going to save her from the life she's made for herself.

Yeah, I'm the first to defend the fact that women marrying in the '80s got the damn short end of the stick--do you do as your mother? Or as your independent older sister? You have no clue as to whether to go with the status quo or to strike out on your own is the best choice. Thirty years later, most likely you're realizing that you made a poor decision when you married and threw your own dreams down the toilet, just like your mother did. But I don't know how much good we're doing for them when we give them books like this that say "it's okay to be unhappy in life so long as there's a man to stand by you". But maybe it's a different genre where you find the ladies who go back to school and pick up their lives as though they didn't spend 30 years in a crappy marriage and oh, find the man of their dreams (Hey! I like romances! If the Princess and the Goat-Herder don't get together at the end, I'm highly upset. And I'm still not sure that the Dark-Hunters aren't 'erotica for beginners'.)

There's something else I feel I need to address. When I first picked this book off my mother's shelf, I read thorugh the comments on Good Reads. Someone mentioned being insulted by the fact that N. Dakota isn't like it's protrayed here. They don't all have one room school houses. Well, that's an interesting way to look at it, but still completely wrong. I have a lot of home schooled pen pals, most of whom live in rural areas. I haven't asked them all, but there's only 2 reasons to home school an otherwise average kid (medical and psychological reasons notwithstanding)--the local schools suck or for religious reasons. I'm willing to go out on a limb and say that you could find at least one location within each state in the US where a one room school house for high school could exist comfortably (less than 20 kids from more than one family). So yes, while it would be stupid to say that all of N. Dakota go to school in one room school houses, it is equally ignorant to say that a one room school house is a backwards way to learn. A couple years ago a school with, I guess, 10 kids in it was shown on the news--the kids had better scores because the older ones were teaching the younger ones and it was essentially constant review without the tediousness of review. It's one of the many benefits of homeschooling (actually, my only problem/worry with homeschooling is whether a kid can learn the advanced classes without a qualified teacher--though many families are turning towards "distance learning" rather than true homeschooling (based on my own understanding/use of definitions) to combat this.)

Self-Reflection Time

Sigh...do you know how freaky it is to look at your hands and suddenly KNOW that they're tiny?!? I mean, 90% of the time I'm like, "oh look, hands. They can carry stuff." Occasionally I'll have to take three trips because I just physically can't carry 4 large green peppers, so it will register that my hands are small. What freaking freaks me out is when I'm sitting here reading a book and it mentions the "humongously large" hands of the 6'8" guy and I get the whole out of body experience of viewing my hand next to someone that large and wondering why my whole hand fits in their palm.

Yes, I had a friend in high school that tall (though he was skinny as a rail) and for the record, I'm 4' 10.5" in height. My hands ARE freakishly small, but, like the rest of me, proportionate to my frame. It's just every once in a while I just have these moments of "AHHHH! Whose hands are these?!?"

I've never met anyone over the age of 12 whose hands are smaller than mine, though, alas, I'd kill to be fairy thin. For some reason, those who know me also forget about my freakishly small size--I guess I carry myself as though I was someone 6'2", 250 lbs. 'Course, they never forget when they need an armrest....le' sigh.

Silkspeech

Mystical, demonic power, taught by  Death himself...and you can learn it too!

"Silkspeech is the power of influence and control....The ability to sway other people to believe what you want them to believe or to do what you want them to." [Death]

"Like mind control?" [Nick]

"Yes and no. Mind control won't work on thse who are really hardheaded. You know....Creatures like you."

Well, if it only worked some of the time--"Then what good is it?"

"Fine." Grim (Grim Reaper AKA Death) headed for the door. "If you don't want to learn it."

"Wait, wait, wait. I didn't say that. I want to influence others." Especially if it could change his mom's attitude about dating, driving, chores...(Nick is 15 years old).

Yeah, it had a lot of possibilities. With luck, he might not ever have to take out trash again!

Grim turned around slowly. "Word to the wise, short stack, when you do use this power, you have to be careful. LIke all the others, it can sometimes come with a desvastating side effect."

"Like waht?"

"It could cause someone to kill themself. Alter their fate. Impact you in ways you won't know about until it's too late."

Oh goodie. Another power he couldn't count on. Just what he wanted.

At this rate, he wasn't sure why he was being trained. It was like giving nuts to a squirrel who had no teeth.

Nick let out a heavy sigh. "All these powers and the only one that actually works is the ability to call for help--and that one only so long as Caleb isn't in the shower or with a woman. Why can't one...just one power work the way it's supposed to?"

Grim's expression was wicked and cold. "Technically, they do. The problem is every human is different and they react to stimuli in ways unique t them. That's what you can't count on and it's what makes you powers appear to misfire. Before you use them, you have to take time to know your target."

Nick frowned. "I don't understand."

"Yes, you do. It's instinctive in you, and it's why you gravitate toward some people and run from others." Grim picked up one of the porcelain dolls Nick's mom collected and studied it as he talked. "Let's take the term 'redneck.' Some people think of it as a badge of honor. Others as the ultimate insult." He returned the doll to its shelf. "Originally, the word had an entirely different association and meaning. Back in the day, rednecks were union coal men from Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and eastern Kentucky-a far cry from the Deep South where most people mistakenly believe all rednecks live. They were from all races and creeds, and proudly wore a red bandana around their neck as a way of identifying themselves to others, and as a mark of solidarity of the working man standing up against the big corporations who exploited them. In sort, they were folk heroes and admired."

Nick widened his eyes. When Grim and Kyrian talked about history, it was interesting. When his teacher did it, it put him to sleep. "Really?"

Grim nodded. "It took decades before it was twisted into a derogatory term. Happens a lot with language. The word 'war' once meant to be cautious, as in 'warning'. 'Precocious' originally meant 'stupid.' But I digress. The point is, Slim, people have triggers. Words or images that cause a surge of negative emotion to run rampant through them. If I were to call your friend Bubba a redneck, he'd laugh and agree. If I were to call your friend Mark that, he'd be extrememly offended and probably, to his detriment, try to punch me. Whenever you attempt silkspeech, you have to understand how it might adversely affect your target. If you accidently hit that person's trigger, then you could end up with a violent response instead of a positive one. Or vice versa."

Nick nodded as he followed Grim's teaching. It was something he'd been doing for years, especially with jerks and bullies like Stone at school. "So what you're saying is I have to learn what buttons to push."

"Exactly."

"That's basic psychlogy, Grim. How's that supposed to be a power?"
.....pause for two pages discussing Nick's specific powers, Nick's inability to stay on subject ("like trying to train an ADD cat in a mouse factory") and how everyone treats Nick like a kid (If you want respect from others, you have to give it--Nick's mom)

[Nick] "All right. You have my undivided attention."

"That'll last three seconds," Grim said under his breath. "Honestly, if I didn't know better, I'd swear you're not the Malachai. It mystifies me that someone as worthless as you could have any power whatsoever. You were born white trash and that's all you'll ever be." He raked Nick with a scathing sneer. "You're nothing."

Rage darkened Nick's gaze. Blood rushed through his veins so fast that his entire body heated up to the level of molten lava. "I ain't nothing, boy. You about to find out just what I can do."

Grim laughed. "That's it. I finally do have yur attention, and you've just learned the first lesson of influence. You use your divination and clairvoyance to strike the nerves of the person you're trying to manipulate. Even someone with a will as strong as yours can be influenced. Not with your mind, rather with your mouth or actions. I can't control you, but I can set you off and manipulate you to have the emotional  or physically response I want you to. That is one power no one is immune to."

--Passage from Infamous by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Prone

When used to describe the way a person is lying, it means that they're face down. I'm kinda annoyed that I've read 3 or 4 books lately where this word was used, but the rest of the actions don't necessarily make anatomical sense.

For instance, I'm reading Seize the Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon (Dark-Hunter Series). Ash is lying prone on the bed and while I'll allow for Katra to look at him the way she does while his back is supposedly towards her, maybe able to see half of his face, how on Earth could she hold the 3 leaves she needs to revive him above his mouth while she wrings them to allow the precious liquid to drop into his mouth? Greek Goddess or not, that must have been some feat with his body positioned the way it is.

Another book I was reading turned the couple into contortionists because he was lying prone underneith her as they wrestled.

I really don't know what's going on. I'm not sure if the author did intend for the guys to be face down, and then forgot to roll them over before the next action happened or if for some reason the definition of this word has been lost--or maybe it's the subtlty that was lost with it becoming a generic word for lying down, instead of a specific position.

For future reference, supine means to lie face up. And on Merriam-Webster.com (which requires a subscription for some of the less common words for some reason!) it has a "40%" popularity while prone is at about "70%" (I'm giving the popularity meter numbers), makes me wonder just how much people know about the words.

Hell's Kitchen

is one of my favorite shows. I LOVE how delusional these contenstants are the first few weeks. They're going to nominate a player who they know wasn't the worst because they stupidly think that Chef will take their choices seriously and will choose the one that they hate. This isn't a popularity contest and after 9 seasons, you'd think they'd know that. If I was the second nominee I'd stand up with honor and when confronted by Chef, I wouldn't...thank-you Roshni! She told him that she was picked not because she was worst, but because they knew she wouldn't go home.

Chef Ramsey already knows, generally, who he wants to send home...the nomination process just helps him weed out tensions going on behind the scenes and to see who is going to throw their teammates under the bus. This is why I don't watch the popularity contest shows (well, except for America's Got Talent, but then, I don't really care who wins or loses--the talents are just cool to watch).

Priviledged Information

I'm watching the Real Housewives of New Jersey and this chaos between Theresa and her brother brings me to Lesson in B.S. #3043--if anyone ever says "this needs to stay between you and me" you need to turn around immediately and walk away. Just walk away. And you need to teach your children especially this lesson because we all know that Pedofiles always start out by saying "don't tell your parents...they won't understand", etc.

I hold the "definition of pornography" very close to my heart. You know, the one that says "I know it when I see it". Secrets are the same way. Don't share anything you don't want blabbed across the country and don't surround yourself with people you know can't keep a secret. When you quit trying, you will meet people who you can trust. People who instintively know what is a secret that should be kept and which are better told.

If you care to know about me, my rule is that if I think you should be telling the other responsible party rather than me, I'm going to tell you that. And if I know the other person and suspect that they'll talk to me about the issue, I'm going to tell you the truth that I will discuss my interpretation of the problem from your perspective. I instintively play devil's advocate so I never take the side of whomever I'm speaking no matter what. I hope that doesn't make me come across as fake, so it's a good thing I don't have a reality tv show. But on the flip-side, I don't spread rumors. I know that there are some secrets that should be kept (like who likes who--I spent my teens getting burned whenever I revealed a crush--I think that's why I'm so repressed now. So yeah, I hope there's a special place in Hell for those people who tease their "friends" and family about who their crush is. But I digress.) and I would NEVER spread something secret worthy to anyone but the directly involved parties.

The problem with the Housewives is that the majority of them seem to magically think that the girls who hurt them once won't hurt them again. They try to hard to be friends or something.

But this leads directly into the primary problem between Theresa and her brother--should a husband and wife be allowed to share everything in cofidence? The answer is a resounding yes. And in the specific case of them? Make that a HELLZ YES. If you tell your brother that you think his wife is cheating on him, you should EXPECT him to go tell her that. Otherwise you sound like a whiny little bitch who doesn't like her sister-in-law and doesn't want to discuss the reasons why she doesn't like her. What did Theresa expect? That he'd take his sister's word blindly and divorce her? Really? But then there is not one instance I can think of where I agreed with Theresa on an issue. She is self-centered and never wrong according to herself. Of all the housewives, she has not one redeeming quality. And to think that I didn't like Caroline at first.

And this is why I like the Real Housewives--it's like free therapy of what NOT to do.

I am THAT person

and damn proud of it.

I go the speed limit and I stop at yellow lights. I stop at stop signs and there's no telling how long I'll wait to turn right on red...if I even decide to turn. Oh...I stop before I turn right on red, too!

If you honk at me, I'll be even more careful about following traffic laws. If you don't like it, get off your butt and petition local government to change the laws.

I don't belong to a society of instant gratification...I'm THAT person. My license plate says "PATIENCE".

NYC Large Soda Ban

I'd actually like to have a defaulted smaller soda size--when I order a fast food combo, I picture what a small is...more often than not they hand me what I call a medium, or even large, size. I don't need more than 12 or 14 ounces of soda and I certainly never need 20, 24, or 40 ounces.

Soda is cheap--fast food restaurants practically give it away. Most offer free refills. So why can't they just give me a smaller cup? What is the difference between giving me a 24 ounce cup and expecting me to fill it twice (for the road) and giving me a twelve ounce cup and I fill it twice while eating then once more for the road? Actually, it saves the restaurant money because I take a net 12 ounces less.

Do I agree with the government mandating it? No. EXCEPT that I felt physically ill when some representative of the CATO Institute going so far as to say that "obesity isn't a public health issue; it's a private health issue". You know me. Anyone who doesn't have private health insurance IS on public health whether it's medicare, medicaid or just walking into a hospital with no ability to pay the bill in full.

Look, the reality is that so long as taxpayer money is footing the bill, I should get to say that you can't drink yourself to death. So, either agree to using smaller soda cups or say goodbye to health care as we have it--no private insurance, you'll die.

If I was going to fix health care, all I'd do is remove the law that says that a hospital has to admit you independently of your insurance status. Congress would suddenly be inundated with calls from sick people and those with sick relatives wondering how they're supposed to live when they can't get insurance and can't get government coverage either. I wonder how many Republicans will suddenly think a health insurance mandate and laws which make it easier to get and keep health insurance is a good idea.

Remember, Conservatives believe that you should plan for your own future, right? Don't rely on the government to care for you when you're old and sick.

Oh Good Grief

Apparently the latest scientific evidence that is making people pro-life is that science has proven that "Human DNA exists at conception"--excuse me while I go bury my head in a barrel of DUH!

Anyone whose been in a biology class knows that daddy donates 1 chromosome and mommy donates 1 chormosome and when the two cells combine into one, a new cell with baby's DNA is formed. It's never been an issue that that cell has human DNA--what were they expecting? Dog? Cat? Chinchilla?!?

The real issue is when the fertilized egg is considered "alive". Plan B works by not allowing the fertilized egg attach itself to the uterus. But I'm not here to discuss when life starts.

But if you've read my stuff on the issue, you know that I'm pro-choice but anti-abortion. I'm pro- contraception including Plan B. I wouldn't have an abortion, but I cannot in any way convince myself that I can make that decision for another person. Since I can't make that decision for a person, how can I support laws that do it?

I also don't believe that making it illegal will stop abortions from happening, so it seems a waste of time to fight over what's legal or not instead of actually addressing the problem's that cause unwanted pregnancies.

What will Zuckerberg Do?

I hope he does absolutely nothing! Those burned small investors have no right to anything--their money went into the pockets of the rich guys who bought first. And it's not like Zuckerberg pointed a gun at their head and told them to buy.

When the financial guru on ABC says don't buy the big guy's sloppy seconds...dont buy.

As for whether someone was doing some insider trading, all I want to know is whether Zuckerberg knew about it (it sounded like it was a bank thing). All I have seen is that he's kept his billions in the company and lost billions in the past week. If he was an insider trader who really would do anything to make a buck, he would have sold seconds after he made them and invested in something more sound. Either he really doesn't care about money or he's confident that at the end of the day he's made money. I mean, if I had 51+% of free shares in a company, I don't care if it loses 95% of it's "starting value"--I've made money.

Romney wants a Capitalist society--here it is. Small investors got scammed and the rich made money. Sure, we like good regulation, but honey, that's not Capitalism.  

Catholic Lawsuit Against Birth Control

I don't buy the argument that religions shouldn't have to cover birth control for everyone in their employment. There is NO debate on the fact that 99% of woman use birth control of some sort. So if the women working are using it, why shouldn't they (and the men in their congregation) pay for it? I can understand that they're fighting against the fact that the government is "mandating" it, but the women should be standing up and saying that while they don't like how it's happened, they want their insurance to cover it. Period.

I can't understand why a nun who uses birth control to help with her period would stand up and say "No, I don't want my insurance to pay for it." In fact, I don't think that any nun or any other female working for a religious organization who uses birth control has stood up and said that. Actually, I'm pretty sure that nuns have been silenced by their male counterparts for trying to speak out on this. I DO know that a certain law student who uses school insurance since it's all she can afford was chastised for daring to speak out on the subject.

It isn't fair that Viagra is covered while The Pill isn't. Period. And if you have a problem with me feeling that way, feel free to share. 

Use of the word "Hero"

While I think Chris Hayes was dead wrong saying that all fallen soldiers aren't heroes, I do agree that the word is overused. I can't come up with a real-life example off the top of my head, and I'm not going to look for one, but I know I've heard someone get called a hero for something I think isn't appropriate. Oh, I think it was when a girl ran home instead of being kidnapped. I'm sorry folks, but that isn't a "hero"--that's being smart, doing the right thing, and all that jazz, but a hero is someone who goes out of their way to save someone else. A hero would be if she kicked the guy in the shins to keep him from taking another child (please don't put yourself into that kind of danger, kids!!) or running home with the information to have the guy arrested in an hour so that he can't harm anyone else. Heroes lift burning cars off of wrecked motorcyclists--they aren't motorcyclists who pick themselves up off the pavement after laying down their bikes, no matter how self-sufficient they are.

Oh Good Grief! I guess I'm idealistic because Merriam-Webster gives this as the definition:

a person who is the object of extreme or uncritical devotion (fans of the sports hero didn't care what the facts were—in their minds, he was innocent of all criminal charges). Sports stars are not heroes unless they're spending their extra cash building playgrounds and teaching kids to get up and excercise (and even then it's dependant on how much of that is their choice and how much is their publicist talking).

If you like to write ANYTHING

Or read anything, please hop over to http://tvtropes.org/ and browse whatever you like. It's fascinating to see how writers aren't really that original (or better yet, seeing how your favorite authors rebel against the status quo). And seriously, writers are going to write something that's already been done, so go there and read how to do it properly and what to avoid. It'll keep you from making rookie mistakes.

Uh Oh.

Apparently when Reagan became president he took away the tax breaks for renewable energy and drove the largest solar energy farm out of business. Wow. And sorry. I'm going to try to post another hulu video even though I know I haven't fixed the previous ones. The name of the program is "The Nature of Things: Earth Energy" but I think it's going to expire in 3 days. I highly recommend that if nothing else, you head over there and watch the episodes on "Biomimicry" (there's 2 parts) and learn how scientists are using the techniques prefected by nature to make human life more efficicient and just plain work better. Plus finding things that we'd never have been able to do otherwise.

Fox News Sunday--Bravo

Well, in what was an excellent bit of journalism Fox News Sunday earned the award for best choice in guest for May 20th, 2012.

The question was "Isn't it the job of every CEO to making money for the investors in the business?" And their token Obama supporter succeeded in fumbling all over the question in a very stupid fashion, thus showing why Democrats know nothing about business theory.

Le Sigh. Look, this was an EASY one! The correct answer is, "Yes. That is the job of every CEO--HOWEVER, it is also the responsibility of the CEO to not treat their employees as though they don't have an investment in the company. Isn't it a responsibility of the employee to care about how the company does to ensure that they will have a job in the next ten or twenty years? And isn't it a failure by the CEO when they have to lay off a number of employees because the CEO wasn't able to look after all of the interested partners? The problem with the question you're asking, is that most employees are not monitary investors in the company. So while the CEO is catering to Wall Street, isn't it also possible that he's neglecting the employees who should hold an equal or greater amount of interest that the company continues to make a profit?

"Yes, Bain's job was to save companies that would otherwise go out of business, but at what expense to the employees? Those steel workers were working their asses off in that company and their employers paid them back with a pink slip from Bain. Why weren't the employees treated as investors? Just because they have no money involved? What does that say about our system when one person is allowed to make $10 million after putting in $5 million and the man who spent 20 years of his life actually creating the product is fired? Why couldn't Bain have taken a smaller profit (they're already multi-millionaires, right?) and invested the profits they would have taken to the bank back into the company to save more jobs?"

EDIT 11-22-12
After reading about what went down for Hostess this week, this seems to be an excellent example. And while it might have started an unwanted discussion at the dinner table earlier today, I stand behind what I said. While my family members seemed to think that Hostess is without fault for this bankruptcy, I've now read 3 articles saying that it could have been prevented with different managerial decisions (my stance on it without having paid very much attention this past week). Besides, while I don't care to dwell on the issue, it seems that Hostess wasn't a privately traded company, removing a healthy dose of "oversight committee" whose opinions some family members seemed to think pertinent. Maybe they should have brought in Bain?