http://www.stuffchristianculturelikes.com/2008/08/8-scrapbooking.html
Good God, scrapbooking. In the town that I spent my teen years in, ever girl and her mother scrapbooked and did so diligently. In fact, one of the senior English sections at my high school had students make a "senior scrapbook" as a major project, though this presumably was more writing-based than the traditional scrapbook. Go to a JoAnn Fabrics or a Hobby Lobby near town on a weekend and you'll see tons of women and girls stocking up on supplies and chatting about what they're going to do next.
I....never really got into it. I went to a scrapbooking party hosted by a classmate early in high school and found it rather dull. I'm not knocking it: it sounds fun for those who have the mindset that would enjoy it. However, I honestly don't know why so many CC (and non-CC) women I knew were into it.
In undergrad, quite a few of the Christian Culture types I knew kept scrapbooks. I don't know many people who do in law school, but that might because we're all so frickin' busy.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
And we start again.
In about twelve hours I'll be back at school...and a few hours after that I should be back on-line.
As always, there are good things and bad things. I'll be back with my friends, but I'll have a shit-ton of work to do. I'll be giving up self-important super speshul idiots for rednecks and being around various restaurants and shops to a far less dense area that is actually safe for me to walk around in. (Well, usually.)
They say the second year they work you to death....whoop-dee-doo. Regardless, I know I'm going to get a ton of work, so it'll be an interesting year.
As always, there are good things and bad things. I'll be back with my friends, but I'll have a shit-ton of work to do. I'll be giving up self-important super speshul idiots for rednecks and being around various restaurants and shops to a far less dense area that is actually safe for me to walk around in. (Well, usually.)
They say the second year they work you to death....whoop-dee-doo. Regardless, I know I'm going to get a ton of work, so it'll be an interesting year.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
SCCL #6-7
The next two commentaries are merged because they have a commonality: as someone from the Midwest, I'm really not familiar with either of these parts of Christian Culture.
http://www.stuffchristianculturelikes.com/2008/08/6-ichthus-tattoo-aka-jesus-fish.html
First is the Jesus Fish tattoo. I see these on the back of cars virtually everywhere, but never on tattoos. Where I've been living for the past decade or so, it's still pretty scandalous for a female CC-er/evangelist to get a tattoo. Getting a tattoo might mark you as trashy or, much worse, a liberal. You may start with that innocuous butterfly on your ankle, but soon it'll snowball to you listening to NPR, donating to Planned Parenthood, and *gasp* voting Democrat. I can't think of a single woman in my undergrad's Campus Crusade for Christ (er, I'm sorry, Cru) that has a tattoo. And, most of the women in my current school's Christian Legal Society don't seem to have any either (unless they're hidden in a place you wouldn't normally see).
The rules for men are a little looser. There were a few guys I knew from the worship group that did have tattoos, but these were usually the more "manly" version. Think less Jesus Fish and more large cross, inspiring Bible verse, or something in memorial to a deceased relative. One very devout guy I went to high school with got a massive cross on his forearm after he turned eighteen. The idea of metrosexuality has yet to take hold with Midwestern cultural Christians, so expect any body art to both display their faith and reaffirm their masculinity.
http://www.stuffchristianculturelikes.com/2008/08/7-soul-patches.html
I'm also 100% sure I never saw a soul patch at Cru meetings either. When you're a guy, spending too much time on your appearance raises a red flag. While making sure you're presentable in public in one thing, a neatly maintained soul patch begs the question as to what team you're batting for, so to speak. In my experience, young CC men are typically clean-shaven or have perma-stubble, with maybe a few wearing a more traditional form of facial hair.
You may see a soul patch on the worship leader who is leading the meeting. These guys tend to be late-twenties, early-thirties and are likely trying to show that they're not too uncool or stodgy...by styling themselves in a way that many of these young men are avoiding with a ten foot pole.
One major caveat: there are a brand of CC-ers that can be best described as "Alternative" Christians. They're basically being counter-cultural for Jesus, and will likely talk about eschewing anything of the world for Jesus...by looking like your typical secular hipster/counter-cultural/whatever's in vogue this season. I once went to a teen revival that was kind of like this and got a punky cross necklace and beanie...that looked almost exactly like something at a Hot Topic. Probably cost about the same too. My now agnostic younger sister keeps the necklace in her dorm room as a way of keeping potential converters at bay by making them think she's one of them. I still wear the hat because it's actually kind of cool looking.
Back to my main point, these Alterna-Christians will likely be the ones with the tattoos, the piercings, the styled hair, etc., like a normal hipster, except for Jesus.
8/20/2011- I have now seen a CC soul patch in the wild! My very Christian Culture cousin (say that three times fast) is now rocking the soul patch as of earlier this week...which is a large improvement over the ugly porn-stache he was very unironically sporting for much of the summer.
http://www.stuffchristianculturelikes.com/2008/08/6-ichthus-tattoo-aka-jesus-fish.html
First is the Jesus Fish tattoo. I see these on the back of cars virtually everywhere, but never on tattoos. Where I've been living for the past decade or so, it's still pretty scandalous for a female CC-er/evangelist to get a tattoo. Getting a tattoo might mark you as trashy or, much worse, a liberal. You may start with that innocuous butterfly on your ankle, but soon it'll snowball to you listening to NPR, donating to Planned Parenthood, and *gasp* voting Democrat. I can't think of a single woman in my undergrad's Campus Crusade for Christ (er, I'm sorry, Cru) that has a tattoo. And, most of the women in my current school's Christian Legal Society don't seem to have any either (unless they're hidden in a place you wouldn't normally see).
The rules for men are a little looser. There were a few guys I knew from the worship group that did have tattoos, but these were usually the more "manly" version. Think less Jesus Fish and more large cross, inspiring Bible verse, or something in memorial to a deceased relative. One very devout guy I went to high school with got a massive cross on his forearm after he turned eighteen. The idea of metrosexuality has yet to take hold with Midwestern cultural Christians, so expect any body art to both display their faith and reaffirm their masculinity.
http://www.stuffchristianculturelikes.com/2008/08/7-soul-patches.html
I'm also 100% sure I never saw a soul patch at Cru meetings either. When you're a guy, spending too much time on your appearance raises a red flag. While making sure you're presentable in public in one thing, a neatly maintained soul patch begs the question as to what team you're batting for, so to speak. In my experience, young CC men are typically clean-shaven or have perma-stubble, with maybe a few wearing a more traditional form of facial hair.
You may see a soul patch on the worship leader who is leading the meeting. These guys tend to be late-twenties, early-thirties and are likely trying to show that they're not too uncool or stodgy...by styling themselves in a way that many of these young men are avoiding with a ten foot pole.
One major caveat: there are a brand of CC-ers that can be best described as "Alternative" Christians. They're basically being counter-cultural for Jesus, and will likely talk about eschewing anything of the world for Jesus...by looking like your typical secular hipster/counter-cultural/whatever's in vogue this season. I once went to a teen revival that was kind of like this and got a punky cross necklace and beanie...that looked almost exactly like something at a Hot Topic. Probably cost about the same too. My now agnostic younger sister keeps the necklace in her dorm room as a way of keeping potential converters at bay by making them think she's one of them. I still wear the hat because it's actually kind of cool looking.
Back to my main point, these Alterna-Christians will likely be the ones with the tattoos, the piercings, the styled hair, etc., like a normal hipster, except for Jesus.
8/20/2011- I have now seen a CC soul patch in the wild! My very Christian Culture cousin (say that three times fast) is now rocking the soul patch as of earlier this week...which is a large improvement over the ugly porn-stache he was very unironically sporting for much of the summer.
SCCL #5
http://www.stuffchristianculturelikes.com/2008/08/5-princess-bride.html
Drive around my hometown during the summer and any church that has summer movie nights will show The Princess Bride at some point. I am dead serious: I could probably watch it almost every week just by visiting area churches alone. Of course, if I did do that, I would either get the eye from parents wondering why a twenty-something is watching a children's movie, or I would get targeted for conversion by one of the pastors.
I'm not knocking Princess Bride: I freaking love that movie, and so do many of my non-evangelical/non-Christian Culture friends. Yet, for some reason, the church crowd gives it its stamp of approval. It might be because it's a love story or a fairy tale or that generally it's not too offensive. I honestly don't know.
Note that I said "generally not too offensive." If you do watch this movie in the presence of a CC/evangelical crowd, expect some parts to be fast forwarded through. Probably not the violence, as many American families tend to be less prudish concerning violence than to...anything else. The scene where Westley briefly comments on Buttercup's breasts and Indigo Montoya says "I want my father back, you son of a bitch!", though? Yeah, I can't see many of my CC neighbors allowing that scene to play without the mute button.
And if you haven't seen this movie yet, please go do so. It's actually very funny and quote-worthy and all around awesome.
Drive around my hometown during the summer and any church that has summer movie nights will show The Princess Bride at some point. I am dead serious: I could probably watch it almost every week just by visiting area churches alone. Of course, if I did do that, I would either get the eye from parents wondering why a twenty-something is watching a children's movie, or I would get targeted for conversion by one of the pastors.
I'm not knocking Princess Bride: I freaking love that movie, and so do many of my non-evangelical/non-Christian Culture friends. Yet, for some reason, the church crowd gives it its stamp of approval. It might be because it's a love story or a fairy tale or that generally it's not too offensive. I honestly don't know.
Note that I said "generally not too offensive." If you do watch this movie in the presence of a CC/evangelical crowd, expect some parts to be fast forwarded through. Probably not the violence, as many American families tend to be less prudish concerning violence than to...anything else. The scene where Westley briefly comments on Buttercup's breasts and Indigo Montoya says "I want my father back, you son of a bitch!", though? Yeah, I can't see many of my CC neighbors allowing that scene to play without the mute button.
And if you haven't seen this movie yet, please go do so. It's actually very funny and quote-worthy and all around awesome.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Staff Editor baby!
I actually found this out last week, but it needs to be said:
I'm staff editor for my school's law review!!!
Which means I'll have, and currently have, a shit ton of work BUT this is what I've wanted to do since I first heard about law review (aka YEARS). So, yeah, I'm happy.
I'm staff editor for my school's law review!!!
Which means I'll have, and currently have, a shit ton of work BUT this is what I've wanted to do since I first heard about law review (aka YEARS). So, yeah, I'm happy.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Things that make me happy 8/2/2011
Matt Damon vs. Stupid Interviewer
And Matt Damon wins and shows why you can't apply a purely business approach to everything in life.
Hipster Zelda
Yeah, someone went there.
Rep. Giffords on the House Floor
Literally the only good thing to come out of the debt ceiling crisis (well, other than the fact we're not going into default despite the spoiled brat behavior of certain politicians). This woman is awesome!
And Matt Damon wins and shows why you can't apply a purely business approach to everything in life.
Hipster Zelda
Yeah, someone went there.
Rep. Giffords on the House Floor
Literally the only good thing to come out of the debt ceiling crisis (well, other than the fact we're not going into default despite the spoiled brat behavior of certain politicians). This woman is awesome!
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
SCCL #4
http://www.stuffchristianculturelikes.com/2008/08/4-homeschooling.html
I've never been homeschooled...at least in the traditional sense. I went to public schools, but outside of school my parents designed supplementary projects for my younger sister and I to do so we weren't stuck in front of the tv all the time.
I graduated from high school in 2006 and homeschooling wasn't really that common in my hometown despite it being a bastion of Christian Culture-ites. Rather than homeschool their kids, CC parents sent their kids to public school and tried to influence the schools to what they wanted. As a result, I didn't learn about evolution until college and had to learn about sex via medical sites and from experienced friends, for example.
There were a few families that homeschooled, but rarely for religious reasons. If a kid was at least partly homeschooled, it was often because he or she had a learning problem that the school wasn't addressing or the kid was intentionally slacking off and Mom and Dad homeschooled them for a semester to make them focus.
Given that, at least when I was in school, at least a few families seemed to use the public schools as essentially a baby-sitting service and the CC-ites had great sway on what is taught, I highly doubt homeschooling will really catch on around here.
I've never been homeschooled...at least in the traditional sense. I went to public schools, but outside of school my parents designed supplementary projects for my younger sister and I to do so we weren't stuck in front of the tv all the time.
I graduated from high school in 2006 and homeschooling wasn't really that common in my hometown despite it being a bastion of Christian Culture-ites. Rather than homeschool their kids, CC parents sent their kids to public school and tried to influence the schools to what they wanted. As a result, I didn't learn about evolution until college and had to learn about sex via medical sites and from experienced friends, for example.
There were a few families that homeschooled, but rarely for religious reasons. If a kid was at least partly homeschooled, it was often because he or she had a learning problem that the school wasn't addressing or the kid was intentionally slacking off and Mom and Dad homeschooled them for a semester to make them focus.
Given that, at least when I was in school, at least a few families seemed to use the public schools as essentially a baby-sitting service and the CC-ites had great sway on what is taught, I highly doubt homeschooling will really catch on around here.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
SCCL #3
http://www.stuffchristianculturelikes.com/2008/08/3-coldplay.html
Ah, Coldplay. Despite their winning a crazy amount of awards, they're the band it's fun to hate on. According to Facebook, 48 of my Facebook friends are fans of Coldplay, and a decent number of them can be considered Christian Culture types.
Now, I know a lot of people do like Coldplay. I'll even admit to listening to them every once in a while. But why do so many evangelicals/CC-ers like them?
Quite frankly, they're safe. Chris Martin himself once called them "limestone rock": they're rock but they're not offensive. There's nothing there that would normally piss off a CC-er unless they have some opposition to rock music. The only controversy I can recall about them are allegations of plagiarism from Joe Satriani, who I doubt most Christian Culture types have even heard of (which is a shame for them). My cousins who are textbook examples of Christian Culture guys LOVE Coldplay, for instance, and it's something I could play on family get-togethers with the CC side of the family and my immediate family's more liberal wing.
Plus, the music is pretty catchy and, unless you're a serious hater, not horrible. Which is way more than I can say about Christian contemporary music. If you're not aware of Christian contemporary music, take a pop song that didn't quite make a major singer's album, scrub it clean of sexual references, liberally insert references to Jesus, God, and various religious imagery, and have it performed by a singer who is decent but not quite the caliber of many mainstream performers. Comparatively, Coldplay is fracking genius.
I have a strong feeling that if my class ever does have a 5 year reunion, there's going to be some Coldplay playing.
Ah, Coldplay. Despite their winning a crazy amount of awards, they're the band it's fun to hate on. According to Facebook, 48 of my Facebook friends are fans of Coldplay, and a decent number of them can be considered Christian Culture types.
Now, I know a lot of people do like Coldplay. I'll even admit to listening to them every once in a while. But why do so many evangelicals/CC-ers like them?
Quite frankly, they're safe. Chris Martin himself once called them "limestone rock": they're rock but they're not offensive. There's nothing there that would normally piss off a CC-er unless they have some opposition to rock music. The only controversy I can recall about them are allegations of plagiarism from Joe Satriani, who I doubt most Christian Culture types have even heard of (which is a shame for them). My cousins who are textbook examples of Christian Culture guys LOVE Coldplay, for instance, and it's something I could play on family get-togethers with the CC side of the family and my immediate family's more liberal wing.
Plus, the music is pretty catchy and, unless you're a serious hater, not horrible. Which is way more than I can say about Christian contemporary music. If you're not aware of Christian contemporary music, take a pop song that didn't quite make a major singer's album, scrub it clean of sexual references, liberally insert references to Jesus, God, and various religious imagery, and have it performed by a singer who is decent but not quite the caliber of many mainstream performers. Comparatively, Coldplay is fracking genius.
I have a strong feeling that if my class ever does have a 5 year reunion, there's going to be some Coldplay playing.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
SSCL #1 & #2
http://www.stuffchristianculturelikes.com/2008/08/1-day-timers.html
The topic for this post is...Day-Timers. And how prevalent they are among Evangelicals.
...Frack. I actually don't know much about this. I mean, I know people who own Day-Timers, but I've never been able to see how they relate to evangelical culture.
Let's try another post.
http://www.stuffchristianculturelikes.com/2008/08/2-sending-emails-that-are-supposedly.html
Okay, here we go. Granted, since my family is not really into Christian Culture (my mom is Roman Catholic and my dad is quasi-Baptist), they don't get these that frequently. And while a number of my high school classmates have been busy producing kids, most of my undergrad and law school classmates, who I keep in better contact with, have not. But, every so often, Mom and Dad will get a holiday card from a Christian Culture relative with a cutesy message supposedly written by their young kid. Or one of my high school classmates with a young child will post something written by them on their Facebook.
I know it's supposed to be cute, but really it's kind of ridiculous. Three year old Johnny doesn't have the sophisticated vocabulary to say how much he enjoys learning about the Lord now that he's in Sunday School. He probably doesn't even understand why he's even there. It's quite dumb, yet people immersed in evangelical culture think it's the most adorable thing ever.
If I have kids later on down the road and send out stuff like this, please shoot me.
The topic for this post is...Day-Timers. And how prevalent they are among Evangelicals.
...Frack. I actually don't know much about this. I mean, I know people who own Day-Timers, but I've never been able to see how they relate to evangelical culture.
Let's try another post.
http://www.stuffchristianculturelikes.com/2008/08/2-sending-emails-that-are-supposedly.html
Okay, here we go. Granted, since my family is not really into Christian Culture (my mom is Roman Catholic and my dad is quasi-Baptist), they don't get these that frequently. And while a number of my high school classmates have been busy producing kids, most of my undergrad and law school classmates, who I keep in better contact with, have not. But, every so often, Mom and Dad will get a holiday card from a Christian Culture relative with a cutesy message supposedly written by their young kid. Or one of my high school classmates with a young child will post something written by them on their Facebook.
I know it's supposed to be cute, but really it's kind of ridiculous. Three year old Johnny doesn't have the sophisticated vocabulary to say how much he enjoys learning about the Lord now that he's in Sunday School. He probably doesn't even understand why he's even there. It's quite dumb, yet people immersed in evangelical culture think it's the most adorable thing ever.
If I have kids later on down the road and send out stuff like this, please shoot me.
Stuff Christian Culture Likes
I love Stuff Christian Culture Likes. I really do. I live in the state of Ohio (as to where I'm not saying) and it seems like the stuff talked about on that blog is taken exactly from my life here. It's crazy.
If you're not familiar with SCCL, it's a blog maintained by Stephanie Drury that discusses aspects of American Christian Evangelical culture (termed "Christian Culture") in the style of Stuff White People Like. To quote the blog, "Christian culture is funny because it doesn't have much (if anything) to do with Christ himself." I would even go out to say that much of Christian Culture is antithetical to the teachings of Jesus Christ, but that's a whole 'nother story.
Anywho, since I love the blog a lot AND need to start posting more on here, I've decided to provide my commentary for some of the posts on SCCL. I may not be a Christian Culture person (though I am Christian), but I've seen a lot of this stuff in my daily life since I was twelve.
BTW, here's the site link if anyone's interested: http://www.stuffchristianculturelikes.com/
If you're not familiar with SCCL, it's a blog maintained by Stephanie Drury that discusses aspects of American Christian Evangelical culture (termed "Christian Culture") in the style of Stuff White People Like. To quote the blog, "Christian culture is funny because it doesn't have much (if anything) to do with Christ himself." I would even go out to say that much of Christian Culture is antithetical to the teachings of Jesus Christ, but that's a whole 'nother story.
Anywho, since I love the blog a lot AND need to start posting more on here, I've decided to provide my commentary for some of the posts on SCCL. I may not be a Christian Culture person (though I am Christian), but I've seen a lot of this stuff in my daily life since I was twelve.
BTW, here's the site link if anyone's interested: http://www.stuffchristianculturelikes.com/
Friday, July 1, 2011
Hey, Look, I Didn't Post for like a Month.
Yeah, long time no see. I've been hard at work at applying for Law Review during the month of June so I didn't think about blogging. But I'm done and hoping I made it on as an editor. *crosses fingers*
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Weiner's....Wiener.
Once again, we have another sex scandal among our senior government officials. And it couldn't have happened to a more aptly name Representative.
Anthony Weiner (no, seriously), a Democrat from New York was caught sending sexts and various pictures of himself, including his actual wiener, to various young women. Of course, it's made local news, people are calling for him to resign, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is calling for an ethics investigation, blah, blah, blah.
I don't sound particularly thrilled and that's because I'm not. The fact is, we get a lot of sex scandals in American politics. Wikipedia has a lengthy incomplete page of just federal political sex scandals alone. And a lot of these aren't particularly, well, scandalous. Basically, it's a lot of extramarital affairs. You may see something particularly bad like sexual harrassment, coming onto an underage page, etc., but really nothing particularly spicy. Hey, the woman who lived behind us when I was in high school had an extramarital affair which was found out when she got pregnant with the other man's child.
But, whenever a political figure gets caught with his (or her) pants down, we jump all over it. I can think of two reasons myself for why this is. First, political figures are, well, figures. They have a higher degree of fame and public knowledge than the regular person. Therefore, when they cheat on their spouses, the pool of people that would potentially find out is far greater than normal. If it's a particularly well known figure that does this, like President Bill Clinton, the entire country and a good chunk of the world knows too.
The second reason is basically irony. In the United States, we have a heck of a lot of politicians running on "family values" platforms. And by family values, I don't mean "making things better for American families" necessarily. When a lot of politicians talk about family values, they really refer to a Hollywoodized, bowdlerized view of the perfect American family, where Daddy is the breadwinner and Mommy stays home. Where couples marry early and stay married til Death Do Us Part. Where children are presumably respectful, well-mannered, and innocent. It's a curious amalgamation of 50s sitcoms, Evangelical Christian to even fundamentalist values, and hyper-conservatism. In this viewpoint, there is no room for reproductive choice, the often-necessity of a dual-income family, gay rights, women's rights, government programs to help the poor, and really anything that is not included in this ideal.
Granted, Anthony Weiner was not a "family values" politician. But many politicians that are involved with sex scandals are, including many politicians that condemned former President Clinton for his extramarital affair. So, it's ironic that these politicians, who go on about morality, family values, blah blah blah, are the ones who are exposed for decidedly NOT practicing what they preach. To the point that you wonder if there is a causation here.
To sum it up: Rep. Weiner showed his wiener. It's definitively not the first time this has happened to a US politician and it sure as hell won't be the last.
Anthony Weiner (no, seriously), a Democrat from New York was caught sending sexts and various pictures of himself, including his actual wiener, to various young women. Of course, it's made local news, people are calling for him to resign, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is calling for an ethics investigation, blah, blah, blah.
I don't sound particularly thrilled and that's because I'm not. The fact is, we get a lot of sex scandals in American politics. Wikipedia has a lengthy incomplete page of just federal political sex scandals alone. And a lot of these aren't particularly, well, scandalous. Basically, it's a lot of extramarital affairs. You may see something particularly bad like sexual harrassment, coming onto an underage page, etc., but really nothing particularly spicy. Hey, the woman who lived behind us when I was in high school had an extramarital affair which was found out when she got pregnant with the other man's child.
But, whenever a political figure gets caught with his (or her) pants down, we jump all over it. I can think of two reasons myself for why this is. First, political figures are, well, figures. They have a higher degree of fame and public knowledge than the regular person. Therefore, when they cheat on their spouses, the pool of people that would potentially find out is far greater than normal. If it's a particularly well known figure that does this, like President Bill Clinton, the entire country and a good chunk of the world knows too.
The second reason is basically irony. In the United States, we have a heck of a lot of politicians running on "family values" platforms. And by family values, I don't mean "making things better for American families" necessarily. When a lot of politicians talk about family values, they really refer to a Hollywoodized, bowdlerized view of the perfect American family, where Daddy is the breadwinner and Mommy stays home. Where couples marry early and stay married til Death Do Us Part. Where children are presumably respectful, well-mannered, and innocent. It's a curious amalgamation of 50s sitcoms, Evangelical Christian to even fundamentalist values, and hyper-conservatism. In this viewpoint, there is no room for reproductive choice, the often-necessity of a dual-income family, gay rights, women's rights, government programs to help the poor, and really anything that is not included in this ideal.
Granted, Anthony Weiner was not a "family values" politician. But many politicians that are involved with sex scandals are, including many politicians that condemned former President Clinton for his extramarital affair. So, it's ironic that these politicians, who go on about morality, family values, blah blah blah, are the ones who are exposed for decidedly NOT practicing what they preach. To the point that you wonder if there is a causation here.
To sum it up: Rep. Weiner showed his wiener. It's definitively not the first time this has happened to a US politician and it sure as hell won't be the last.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
This is Special
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/klu-klux-klan-protests-westboro-baptist-church-video/2011/05/31/AGgoiPFH_blog.html
You know you're bad when even the freaking Ku Klux Klan protests against you!
Nice job there, Westboro Baptist. Nice job.
You know you're bad when even the freaking Ku Klux Klan protests against you!
Nice job there, Westboro Baptist. Nice job.
Why Would a Teen Need Birth Control? Well....
Kendall Jenner on Birth Control?
So, today started out really shitty for me and I was pretty emo all morning as one of my best friends can testify to. When I'm really emo, I sometimes read trashy gossip columns as a way to get my mind off of what is bothering me. Today I read, among other things, that fifteen year old Kendall Jenner of the media-whoring, reality show star Kardashian-Jenner family is on birth control. Of course, a lot of Middle America seems to be outraged, OUTRAGED I tell you, that a teenager would be on birth control.
Kendall's family says it's for medical reasons...and I'm inclined to agree. There are quite a few uses for birth control pills that are not preventing pregnancy. For example, Kendall, like many teens and women (including myself) might have very, very bad cramps. Cramps that are too severe to be treated with Tylenol/Midol/Motrin/your OTC painkiller of choice. Because these cramps are controlled by hormones, birth control pills help keep them under control. Kendall might also have extremely variable periods (more so than the typical teenage girl), bad acne, or other problems that can be easily treated by the hormones in birth control pills. All of these explanations are very common uses of the birth control pill, but are often forgotten in our rush to jump to the most scandalous conclusion.
But, what if she is sexually active and that is why she is using birth control? My response is....thank God someone in this country is being responsible! We have reality shows that focus solely on teenage mothers that are in no way responsible enough to raise their children. We have abstinence-only education programs that are woefully deficient in facts and does nothing to really prevent teen sex, only the use of protections when they do engage in sex. And don't get me started on the attempt by certain politicians to defund Title X family planning and low-income family health services. Or Bristol Palin, who promotes abstinence-only sex education despite quite obviously not following her own advice.
Not that I think Kendall necessarily should be having sex at 15, but the fact is that teenagers in this country have sex. They've pretty much always have sex, the main difference now being that we don't try to hide it...as much. Although I don't personally agree with the idea of a 15 year old having sex, if Kendall is, at least she's trying to be careful. That's more than I can say for a lot of teens in this country.
So, today started out really shitty for me and I was pretty emo all morning as one of my best friends can testify to. When I'm really emo, I sometimes read trashy gossip columns as a way to get my mind off of what is bothering me. Today I read, among other things, that fifteen year old Kendall Jenner of the media-whoring, reality show star Kardashian-Jenner family is on birth control. Of course, a lot of Middle America seems to be outraged, OUTRAGED I tell you, that a teenager would be on birth control.
Kendall's family says it's for medical reasons...and I'm inclined to agree. There are quite a few uses for birth control pills that are not preventing pregnancy. For example, Kendall, like many teens and women (including myself) might have very, very bad cramps. Cramps that are too severe to be treated with Tylenol/Midol/Motrin/your OTC painkiller of choice. Because these cramps are controlled by hormones, birth control pills help keep them under control. Kendall might also have extremely variable periods (more so than the typical teenage girl), bad acne, or other problems that can be easily treated by the hormones in birth control pills. All of these explanations are very common uses of the birth control pill, but are often forgotten in our rush to jump to the most scandalous conclusion.
But, what if she is sexually active and that is why she is using birth control? My response is....thank God someone in this country is being responsible! We have reality shows that focus solely on teenage mothers that are in no way responsible enough to raise their children. We have abstinence-only education programs that are woefully deficient in facts and does nothing to really prevent teen sex, only the use of protections when they do engage in sex. And don't get me started on the attempt by certain politicians to defund Title X family planning and low-income family health services. Or Bristol Palin, who promotes abstinence-only sex education despite quite obviously not following her own advice.
Not that I think Kendall necessarily should be having sex at 15, but the fact is that teenagers in this country have sex. They've pretty much always have sex, the main difference now being that we don't try to hide it...as much. Although I don't personally agree with the idea of a 15 year old having sex, if Kendall is, at least she's trying to be careful. That's more than I can say for a lot of teens in this country.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Time for the Claws to Come Out
You don't know me, you never met me, and you will likely never read this. But if you do, there are two things you should know about me:
1. Your daughter is a very dear friend of mine
2. If you lay another finger on her again, I swear to God I'll kick your ass into next Tuesday.
I might not live around you or see your daughter in person on a regular basis, but don't get me wrong, I know damn well what's going on inside that house. No matter what you may think, you have no right to intentionally cause harm to someone, especially to your own child. You also do not have the right to emotionally abuse and manipulate your daughter like you have been doing. You are a bad father, and I should know: my own father had substance abuse problems that lead to him to emotionally abuse my little sister and I. But, at least he never lifted a finger against us...and he got help. I can't say the same about you.
If you continue this, not only do you risk an ass-kicking by me, but you're going to lose any chance of a relationship with your daughter. Though to be honest, you don't deserve it.
It's a shame, really: tons of couples can't conceive and in my state, same-sex couples are legally barred from adopting. You have a terrific daughter, and you treat her like shit. That's not right, and karma has a way of giving people their just desserts.
1. Your daughter is a very dear friend of mine
2. If you lay another finger on her again, I swear to God I'll kick your ass into next Tuesday.
I might not live around you or see your daughter in person on a regular basis, but don't get me wrong, I know damn well what's going on inside that house. No matter what you may think, you have no right to intentionally cause harm to someone, especially to your own child. You also do not have the right to emotionally abuse and manipulate your daughter like you have been doing. You are a bad father, and I should know: my own father had substance abuse problems that lead to him to emotionally abuse my little sister and I. But, at least he never lifted a finger against us...and he got help. I can't say the same about you.
If you continue this, not only do you risk an ass-kicking by me, but you're going to lose any chance of a relationship with your daughter. Though to be honest, you don't deserve it.
It's a shame, really: tons of couples can't conceive and in my state, same-sex couples are legally barred from adopting. You have a terrific daughter, and you treat her like shit. That's not right, and karma has a way of giving people their just desserts.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Now I Follow People
So I figured, now that I've jumped on the bandwagon with this shiny new blog, I should follow some other blogs.
On FJ, a forum that I frequent, many of the users post links to their personal blogs. I went through the list and followed a few that I liked.
So, if you've come over here wondering who the hell this Gaffe person is who is following you...hi!!! I'm a fellow FJian who thought you had a cool blog!! :D
I also may post a link to my blog there too...just have to remember that.
On FJ, a forum that I frequent, many of the users post links to their personal blogs. I went through the list and followed a few that I liked.
So, if you've come over here wondering who the hell this Gaffe person is who is following you...hi!!! I'm a fellow FJian who thought you had a cool blog!! :D
I also may post a link to my blog there too...just have to remember that.
Memorial Day
So, today is Memorial Day, a day that we in the United States remember those who served our country in the armed forces.
It was really, really, really bitching hot. I'm home right now, with my parents who want to wait as long as possible before turning on the AC. So our house was a furnace today. Yaaaay!!! ^_^ /sarcasm.
I did get one chuckle today. A former classmate posted on Facebook a rather arrogant status update about how we should remember why we have the day off and how we don't give enough support to the veterans...it was really presumptuous of the guy, because what exactly constitutes proper observance of our veterans? Anyway, someone else posted as a comment an awesome answer: "What day off?"
Anywho, Happy Memorial Day!!!
It was really, really, really bitching hot. I'm home right now, with my parents who want to wait as long as possible before turning on the AC. So our house was a furnace today. Yaaaay!!! ^_^ /sarcasm.
I did get one chuckle today. A former classmate posted on Facebook a rather arrogant status update about how we should remember why we have the day off and how we don't give enough support to the veterans...it was really presumptuous of the guy, because what exactly constitutes proper observance of our veterans? Anyway, someone else posted as a comment an awesome answer: "What day off?"
Anywho, Happy Memorial Day!!!
Friday, May 27, 2011
One good thing that came out of Twilight
I present Michael Sheen, doing a dramatic reading of some twelve year old's Twilight fanfiction. Enjoy.
Look guys, I'm blogging now!
So, I've started a blog. Finally. Yes, I know I'm late on the bandwagon, but I like to do things on my own schedule.
The point of this blog is simple: I'm opinionated and I need a place to put those opinions. I tried putting it in a diary, but that tends to be where I put much more personal information. Not to mention, sometimes I get a little vain and/or in need of reassurance I'm not the ONLY one that thinks this way, so I want something slightly more public. Plus, I usually get these opinions via surfing the web, so why not put them somewhere on the web.
So, here we are. I have no set schedule for posts so they'll show up when I feel like it. I won't be revealing my true identity, my exact location, or pictures of myself because 1. I'm not an idiot and 2. I'm getting a juris doctorate in two years and I would a shot at a job, thank you very much. Though some of my real life friends might be told about this.
Oh, and about my name. When I was a teenager, I had a very long screen name that certain interwebz friends shortened to its initials: GAF. GAF is pronounced "gaffe" and hey, we're all prone to gaffes every once in a while, myself included. This isn't the screen name I currently use in forums and the like, though, so if you see another "Gaffe" posting somewhere, it likely isn't me. Unless I decide to use it for later screen names, and that case, yes, it is me.
Lost you already? Get used to it, I have a habit of rambling sometimes and I haven't gotten over it yet.
Oh, and I'm also heavily considering adding another blog (already, right?) for a project I kinda wanna do, a TWOP style recap of something I liked as a kid. If I get the guts to do it, I'll let you know.
Baaaai!!!
The point of this blog is simple: I'm opinionated and I need a place to put those opinions. I tried putting it in a diary, but that tends to be where I put much more personal information. Not to mention, sometimes I get a little vain and/or in need of reassurance I'm not the ONLY one that thinks this way, so I want something slightly more public. Plus, I usually get these opinions via surfing the web, so why not put them somewhere on the web.
So, here we are. I have no set schedule for posts so they'll show up when I feel like it. I won't be revealing my true identity, my exact location, or pictures of myself because 1. I'm not an idiot and 2. I'm getting a juris doctorate in two years and I would a shot at a job, thank you very much. Though some of my real life friends might be told about this.
Oh, and about my name. When I was a teenager, I had a very long screen name that certain interwebz friends shortened to its initials: GAF. GAF is pronounced "gaffe" and hey, we're all prone to gaffes every once in a while, myself included. This isn't the screen name I currently use in forums and the like, though, so if you see another "Gaffe" posting somewhere, it likely isn't me. Unless I decide to use it for later screen names, and that case, yes, it is me.
Lost you already? Get used to it, I have a habit of rambling sometimes and I haven't gotten over it yet.
Oh, and I'm also heavily considering adding another blog (already, right?) for a project I kinda wanna do, a TWOP style recap of something I liked as a kid. If I get the guts to do it, I'll let you know.
Baaaai!!!
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