Things that you should never do: 100% based on reality(but most of them happened to others)

Never talk about how a young kid won't live past X age in front of them.

Never write 5 page letters about how someone is too fat, and how they should go on a diet if they want dates, and then send them a fucking diet book.

Never suggest someone has a learning disability if they are having difficulty in your class.

Never accuse people of not doing their work just because they finished extra fast. CHECK!

This article would make even the biggest 'get over it, you whiner' type person weep. This is great writing because you can't turn away, you can't dehumanize or demonze the suicides. You can't pretend a little bit of patronizing assholism would make everything better. This guy is my writing idol now.

Some people may complain about the National Endowment for the Arts, although we spend a much lesser percent of our national budget on it than we use killing little boys and girls or ensuring perks for the rich. However, it has produced some worthwhile work. For example, last night, I saw a film about the black theater during the 1960s. Instead of having this part of history lost, or only rediscovered when the people who had been doing it were all dead, they created a film about the history of this, and how it came to be.

Sure, it's not going to make you money, but some things are a bit more important than money. The sense of vision they all shared, the sense of creating a new thing, the realization that it takes more than anger to make a revolution, I really got that from there. Of course, if you were only sitting around hoping for an easy grade, you wouldn't get anything out of it.

It's pretty sad that most young folk don't recognize the fact that you got to get everything out of every opportunity you have. I don't mean run over people or anything, I mean that if you got smart people around you, pick their brains. If you have an opportunity to get some knowledge, get it. The tough economy is not a reason to forget this, we should do this more than ever now.

I mean, how are you going to come to college and get out with a head full of nothing? You just wasted your time if you do that. You might as well have worked at a gas station if you just wanted to party down and fuck. You say you care about money, so why you waste thousands of it, not going to class, not doing your work, not doing anything? Man, shitheads. Heads full of nothing.

It is eating me up inside that I didn't get that issue of The Sun today. I should be conducting market research and trying to score free magazines instead of goofing off. It was only four dollars too. I hope I will remember to get it tommorow. I bought the Believer instead and didn't want to spend $11 at one pop on magazines. Then again, if noone buys magazines for people with IQs above room temperture, how am I going to write for them? So I should support good magazines, you know or all the magazines we'll ever have will be shit, shit and more shit.

Also, why aren't there feminist magazines for teenagers? There are magazines for grown up women with the requisite naughty ads, and magazines for little girls, with lots of cute stories about girls around the world, but between 12 and 18, girls are tossed a bunch of crap about how they should be thinner and wear more makeup so guys will like them. Why? It's not like Bitch is selling in Cosmo numbers, but they still sell it, you know?

A new way to avoid parternity suits in the near future...

I never got people complaining about fat people 'because it's unhealthy'. I mean, I'm skinny, and I drink soda, and crap, and many other skinny people drink beer, eat pizza, and shove twinkies in their mouths. In fact, the skinny person who lives off of one grape might even be in the minority . That is unhealthy- but they don't get any flak for it. I could eat a big fat cheese burger in public, while chugging on some diet coke, and noone would say anything, and that's bull- just because I'm naturally skinny doesn't make that sort of eating habit any better. I guess people start being assholes and make up half assed reasons for it, but it's pretty damn dumb.

I see skinny people in the school cafeteria loading up like four plates of food, full of grease and salt and shit, and noone says anything because they 'look ok', but if some fatty was to walk in like that, they'd be acting like dumbasses in no time. It's not like this stuff magically becomes nutrient filled just because it's not causing you to balloon to 200 pounds. Of course, if you needed this, you'd not be reading all the way down here, or are probably saying some simplistic BS totally ignoring that people have different bodies. So basically, fuck you assholes. Get a bit of fucking compassion. It's so easy to get fat with all this calorie rich food around that noone in America should ever say anything bad about fat people.

I don't because I know that I might have it made now, but when I get over 30, my metabolism is going to change. I'm probably going to struggle with my weight. And I'm sure the person I'll be when I'm 30 will appreciate me not being a fucking asshole.

(spoilers for Rose of Versailles up to episode 16) One interesting theme in the Rose of Versailles is people creating new lives for themselves. Most of the time, these characters may not be the most morally pure- Madame DuBarry used to be a common prostitute, and survived for many years by manipulating people. However, there isn't really a huge amount of moral condemnation for people who gain power this way. Yes, they are shown as evil people, but instead of presenting them as villains for our heroine Oscar to face, we get to hear their side of the story.

For example, when Oscar is walking Madame DuBarry away from the castle when the Louis the XV died, DuBarry talks about after living in the gutters for such a long time, she was anxious to do anything to survive, and how after a while, she started to hunger for jewels as she used to hunger for bread.


Of course, not everyone who goes through such a transformation is morally shifty. The beautiful and moral Rosalie disguises herself as a noble to avenge her dead mother, although she might actually be of noble blood. It is interesting how common pretending to be a noble is- but then again, as France is a pretty big country, and you can't account for every cousin of a cousin, it couldn't have been too hard to slip one over on someone.

Public Service Announcement: Did you get drunk and fuck someone you would rather not have? Maybe you can't avoid getting the AIDs, but emergency contraception can prevent pregnancy! Not the 'abortion pill'- this is basically a high dose birth control pill- if taken within 72 hours, it can save you from a lot of trouble and pain. I believe some colleges have them at their student health services! So remember- don't get knocked up!

Also, I'd like to add in a bonus anecdote. Yesterday, we had about ten people and two cars. So one of the guys who was in the smaller car rode in the trunk for part of the way. Amazingly, he didn't get any bruises and reason prevailed and he rode in the back of the nice SUV for the rest of the trip.

Two amusing anecdotes. There was this guy with a roommate that was a drug dealer. Some of the guys the roomie was dealing to decided to come over and take their stuff. They called to see if the roomie was home, and when he wasn't, they came over, tied this guy up with Ethernet cable(the only thing there was to tie him up with) and took his DVDs, CD and his roomie's safe. However, there is a good possibility these people will be caught by the police. The guy knows where they live.

Here's a nice Dragoncon anecdote. Several years ago, a girl I know was in Comic Artists' alley, and she had the best luck- Colleen Doran herself gave her a copy of a Distant Soil(ok, there was coffee spilled on it) But that was really cool- Colleen's like my idol.

(Spoilers for Rose of Versailles up to episode 15) In episode 15, RoV gets back on track. In episodes 13 and 14, there was a bit of unforunate glurge as Oscar finds out what is really going on in the country side. But 15 gets back to the court intrigues that make this series so fun. Yet again the innocent and kind Antoinette is confused by a scheming court member. The emphasis on how her good qualities can be turned so that she becomes a tragic figure is a major theme of this show.

I am also interested in race, because it is like hidden knowledge. Very few people say, know anything about black history, and many people try to pretend that there's no discrimination. So knowing about those topics is having something over others. Also, there's also a lot of interesting debate. Like should blacks assimalate or should they keep seperate? I think I am a bit more assimilationist than some, probably because say, all black clubs lack the whole conversational prompt element that I like organizations I join to have- for example, if I'm at a writer's workshop, I can ask 'what do you write?" but at the BSA, I'm at a loss. I guess that's more of a personal problem, but a lot of people are shy and akward, I'm sure.

I'm secretly obsessed with food. My entire day is often planned around meal times- whether I have enough time for lunch, whether I can get something cheap for dinner. Even my career anxiety is based around a fear of eating ketchup soup for the rest of my life. When I talk about sex, I even use desert metaphors- 'you're not getting any pie" or "you can't have a cookie" It's pretty subtle; I hardly notice I am thinking about food all the time, but it pervades my entire life. In a way, that is extremely strange, but I'm sure everyone has that sort of craving. Whether it be for sex, money or power, there's something that drives you. Although it is probably a bit stranger to be rhapsodizing about mashed potatoes than it is to be about a really attractive girl...

I'm too nervous to do anything productive today, so I'll note that AA /= quotas, which is always good to know. From the article:

"Support for the university came from several civil liberties organizations and lawyers, including the American Bar Association.

The case was the most recent examination of US race relations since the court's decision in the Bakke versus Board of Regents case in 1978.

That case was brought by a white student, Allen Bakke, who argued that he had been passed over by the University of California at Davis medical school in favour of minority candidates.

In that instance, racial quotas were struck down, but universities were still permitted to consider race as a factor in admissions. "

My music loving friend gave me this web site, and check out the multimedia- this music is really great. A mix of jazz and electronic music it sounds like to my non musical ears. According to that guy, their label is Ninja Tunes(this is for people who don't buy major label)

If we all stood up to cruel people instead of ignoring the pain of their victims or try to say its a part of life(their victims aren't a part of life- they aren't allowed to speak) , there would be a lot less meaningless cruelty. You know when people stopped using the n word so much? When people started to say they would not accept it. Don't accept cruelty- there's something wrong with the cruel person, not the person who got in their way.

Today's link popourri theme is that unpleasant things happen to good people. It's good to remind people of that because it's so easy to sit up in your ivory tower and think that bad things only happen to bad people. I'd like to give those people a reality check.

The nodding disease, mysteriously strikes children, giving them seizures and sometimes causing death. A possible cause is parasites, but how it spreads and how to cure it is unknown.

A soldier, whose motives are unknown, maybe he wanted to serve his country, maybe he wanted to create a life for himself has died in Iraq today. The President has said some untruths in his rush to get us over there, and so, his young life has ended. Also killed was a ten year old Iraqi boy. He will not grow up to see this new Iraq they envision.

The rich give barely anything to charity and when they do, it's for a tax write off. They could do more with their wealth than buy another BMW.

There's lots of AIDS in the black community, yet barely anyone seems to be talking about it. Black churches might help heighten the misery with their anti gay rhetoric, which pushes gay behavior to the margins where it can become very unsafe, and their alliance with white churches on the idea of depriving people of sex ed.

In the US, it seems that they were detaining people without proper trials. Being Muslim is not a crime,ok?

I'm a bit cautious about people who complain about political correctness. The mere fact that they can get so bent out of shape over what is basically politeness(don't call people names they don't want to be called) is a bit suspicious. The actual inconvenience it takes to get up and change the TV channel is more than it takes to remember not to call those Mexicans wetbacks. I know it's trendy and fashionable to complain about it, even if you don't know what it is, and political correctness now(like liberal) means something that some conservative pundit doesn't like, but seriously, think before you speak. You'll be politically correct with no effort at all.

If this girl knows how to make a bong out of a Coke bottle at 5, think how much she could do if her formidable talents were used for good. I'm not saying that weed is bad, but it's not the most useful thing for a five year old to know about. I think weed should be confined to older teens, who at least can usually handle matches without burning the entire house down.

This strip is great. It really captures the whole 'special person' idea lots of people have. They seem to think they are special, and so they can say whatever they want, and it's ok, and also, nothing bad will ever happen to them. I think it's because they are stupid.

I agree with a limit on the weight of books. When I was in highschool, my books weighed about forty five pounds, but I was a ninety five pound weakling. I couldn't even change books without walking too near the lunch room, which I was trying to avoid so I wouldn't be questioned about why I was in the halls, and forced to go to lunch.

Lunch was my everyday horror. I don't do well with systems like that. College lunch is much better, because it doesn't reflect so much on your worth as a person if you eat alone. People might say it doesn't matter, but I'm sure they had a nice warm group to sit with everyday, so of course, it doesn't matter. You took your status for granted, and you want to beat up on me for it. I think you should have enjoyed that status. (This is all the general you)

This is a pretty interesting piece on whiteness studies and its critics. What I'd like to address is the talk about blacks with white patronage. I can see both sides of the issue. On one hand, it's good for blacks to not separate themselves, and gain success in any sphere they can. On the other, there's a chance to be talking at cross purposes. The whites want to just forget this whole race thing, and the blacks want to fix it, and neither can understand the other. It's like the Tower of Babel, but with race. I'd like to note that I believe that color blindness is not ignoring who we all are, but it is being able to treat everyone with respect despite our differences.

I'm interested in race nowadays since I don't want to do my chemistry, by the way. I seem to have suddenly contracted a case of chem block, even when I try to do it, I do it slowly and I don't understand it. It's quite depressing, and saps all my other studies, even the interesting essay on Frankenstein I must prepare.

I'm going to talk about the role of intellectual curiosity in Frankenstein, and how it manifests in two passages. It's really a lot of fun.

I'm watching Lean On Me- a fun movie and a nice propaganda piece. Just a little encouragement and hard work turns a school around, great huh? But I worry that there are problems that can't be solved with a little can do and movie magic. For example, all the people Clark pushed out. What ever happened to them? Is it acceptable to sacrifice them?

Also, Clark's whole get off of welfare rhetoric. It sounds good in a movie, but when your mother is working three jobs, it's not like they have time to help you with your homework. I have always thought it was strange that middle class white mothers are encouraged to stay at home, but lower class mothers(of all races, I am assuming) should get out and work. It's a paradox.

Also, if just cleaning up graffiti and a bit of yelling improved their test scores so much, why didn't anyone do this before? I am aware this is based on a true story, but I'm sure that the real story was much more complicated than this feel good flick.

I am also interested in the portrayal of race- in the beginning, some black girls are depicted as ripping the shirt of a white girl. Is this an attempt to play on the increased sympathy such a person might get?

I'm aware that this is the sort of cheery after school special we rely on to reinforce our prevailing myths, but it is pretty interesting al the same.

m

And remember, don' think happy thoughts- improve things.

What's with people who say "You know, the movie"? Is this part of the ever present cult of celebrity, or is it about a general appreciation of that actor's work? I never really care about who is acting in a movie, just as long as they can act. A bunch of no names who can really pull off a performance will pull me in much more than some big money star who is just standing there, looking hot. Maybe it's because they are just conforming to the fact that everyone else says it, but why does everyone else say it?

Here is an interesting article about Jim Crow- or why blacks had a harder time pulling themselves up than people who could go to white schools, with only the occasional shout of 'mick' or 'dago'. Although, it does note the many black colleges and buisnesses that many people forget, instead choosing the focus on the poverty of the race. Focusing on only the bad is a choice. People have very different motives for a such a choice, whether to invoke pity or to say not nice words about someone else.

I read Blue Monday today, and it was great. The cycle of prank and counter prank in the first story is hilarious to behold, and what Bleu will go through to get some Adam Ant tickets is just astounding. Overall, it's a fun comic. I especially like the early short stories in the back- I like to see extras that are useful like that. I like skecthes and stuff, but you usually only look at them once or twice. Actual extra story is something I'll come back to over and over.

I read Narcissa today and I love it. Not only does it have lyrical drawings and poetic language at times, it also has a lot of good humor (I liked Narcissa's dream about the stereotypes her characters would be if that marketer got hold to them) and one liners. Narcissa is on a journey of discovery, but it's not too sappy, and although she may be a narcissist, other characters get their say too. The big flaw in the plot is Narcissa's Victorian Novel Disease- the sort where you can make love all night and go to Spain all day, but you're still going to die in a week. But Lance Took's drawings are to die for.

This is not a plot driven story- Narcissa finds out she is about to die. She goes to Spain is the plot, but learning why Narcissa is who she is, and her experiences as she takes stock of her life one last time make up the strength of this book.

Here is an interview with Lance Tooks which is really interesting.

Silence equals death. It doesn't matter who you are, or what you are, but if you don't tell your story, you won't be heard, and people will assume you don't exist, and that you can be discounted. That's why telling someone to shut up is rude- because you are trying to rob them of their power to make things right. Words are power, that's why we can't let people try to tell us we can't speak or that our voices aren't important or that we don't matter. If you listen to that person, you are right, and you are dead.

For the edification of your minds, I suggest the book "Forgotten Readers" as learning about African American literary societies will probably expand your knowledge of history, which will probably be a positive development. It's not so good to be ignorant, and to be ignorant about your own people is worse.

This art store is awesome. I ordered on the 16th, and my order arrived yesterday. Although the package center is closed today, meaning I must try to get my canvas Monday, if I can. Also, the shipping was only $5, instead of the $8 some stores were trying to charge.

Things I have trouble coming to terms with:

1)I may never be as successful as others.

2) I'm never getting any hotter

3)Massive shyness is a minority personality trait in males.

In the 60s,(warning, link contains nudity) Playboy women were so beautiful! They looked nice..and naughty! Although, once I saw a 70s spread of this beautiful black woman, which I much prefer. They need more Playboy pictorials of black women, just enjoying this sexuality. Yes, this is random, but I enjoy naughty pictures.

For no reason, here's the text of the 1964 Civil Rights Act:

CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964.

******************************************************************************
Document Number: PL 88-352

Date: 02 JUL 64

88th Congress, H. R. 7152

An Act

To enforce the constitutional right to vote, to confer jurisdiction upon the district courts of the United States to provide injunctive relief against discrimination in public accommodations, to authorize the Attorney General to institute suits to protect constitutional rights in public facilities and public education, to extend the Commission on Civil Rights, to prevent discrimination in federally assisted programs, to establish a Commission on Equal Employment Opportunity, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be cited as the "Civil Rights Act of 1964".


TITLE II--INJUNCTIVE RELIEF AGAINST DISCRIMINATION IN PLACES OF

PUBLIC ACCOMMODATION

SEC. 201. (a) All persons shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, and privileges, advantages, and accommodations of any place of public accommodation, as defined in this section, without discrimination or segregation on the ground of race, color, religion, or national origin.

SEC. 202. All persons shall be entitled to be free, at any establishment or place, from discrimination or segregation of any kind on the ground of race, color, religion, or national origin, if such discrimination or segregation is or purports to be required by any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, rule, or order of a State or any agency or political subdivision thereof.

SEC. 203. No person shall (a) withhold, deny, or attempt to withhold or deny, or deprive or attempt to deprive, any person of any right or privilege secured by section 201 or 202, or (b) intimidate, threaten, or coerce, or attempt to intimidate, threaten, or coerce any person with the purpose of interfering with any right or privilege secured by section 201 or 202, or (c) punish or attempt to punish any person for exercising or attempting to exercise any right or privilege secured by section 201 or 202.


TITLE VI--NONDISCRIMINATION IN FEDERALLY ASSISTED PROGRAMS

SEC. 601. No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.

I am reading Frankenstein and I really identify with the monster. I'm sure most people who read it do- this whole world seems to live in isolation- we're all cut off from each other, by our masks, by everyone's expectations. Is it even possible to connect to others? All the monster wants is to connect to others, but by his very nature, it is impossible, despite his best efforts. I think maybe this is why the experience is coded in the metaphor of the monster- it's unacceptable to actually have failed despite your best efforts. It's unthinkable, it seems.

But in the body of the monster, Shelly can express the story of the loser, the outcast. I wonder if the idea of history not being always written by the winners is historically recent. I haven't made enough of a study of older modes to know if that is true or not. But, if anyone writes or paints or draws, remember- tell your own story, not the story that you are supposed to tell. Even if you must disguise it, show it, ok?

(spoilers for Chicago) In Chicago, the only character coded as innocent dies. The Czech woman is always seen wearing white, both in the "He Had It Coming" number and in the "Hungarian Disappearing Act" scene. She even has a white light on her as she does her ballet act. In the "He Had It Coming" dance number, we never hear her story, but her scarf is white instead of the blood red of all the other prisoners. We never hear her story- unless we understand her language. She is doing a slow mournful dance with her victim, and is wearing more clothes than the other killers- who are very sexualized

Today's necklace* is a spiral. It curves to the right, symbolizing the virtuous spiral. A simple example of a virtuous spiral is a rich person. Since he has so much money, he can save more money and invest more money, which gives him more money. In this sort of spiral, things build on each other positively.

Usually, my symbol is the vicious spiral- curving to the left. An example of this is being bad at math. You are bad at math, you feel bad about it, you procrastinate on studying it, you become worse at math, you get math anxiety, making you perform worse on tests and so on and so on.

Due to my negative bias, I believe the latter is most common. A related term is'virtuous circle', which refers to pretty much the same thing as the spiral, I just like spirals better than circles.

* I wish that I had such a nice necklace. My spiral is so plain.

I love the picture of the statue here, symbolizing a brighter tomorrow. I think the controversy is a bit silly- people need to think about important things, not silly stuff like the size of a penis or whether the sculptor is black enough. How can people break free of slavery's remnants if they are filling their minds with only complaints?

I am reading the narrative of Frederick Douglass lately, and I am very inspired. He used education to break the chains of slavery, and I think that's a good lesson for everyone to learn. Even with the token Black History month celebrations, we never got to read this book in high school. I think that's a shame.

Here's a funny little Ovoid that breaks copyright laws as a bonus.

It seems to be a nice moment in comics history. Fantagraphics has the Complete Peanuts. I think this will subsidize a lot of worthy work in the future-work that might not be printed otherwise. Elf Quest is going to be printed in manga size and reissued in bookstores. I hope this will give a new generation a great fantasy story.

I hope that the whole mini book boom will not be like the black and white glut, but we can't tell while in the middle of things. Especially not me- I wasn't around for the latter. However, I think that there will be a lot of new readers still left over, even if this is just a passing fad.

It's time for link potpourri. The theme today is music and situational ethics. I think it's funny when a 12 year old gets all this sympathy for doing the trendy crime of the week, but if she shoplifted, she'd be sent up the river- no sympathy. For those who are pretending that they'd actually buy music if they could, here are some services- listen.com(I am tempted to sign up for the radio, actually), buymusic.com (if you're paying $2 for the two songs you wanted, how can you even complain?), yahoo's music service. Also some fun,homemade music, a net based music competition, and some fun indie labels: Matador, K records,
Up records. And a note for the brain dead- libraries BUY books.

Triumph balancing out the pain! I got a job, and my article is in New Moon this month. I have published clips! Although I still think it's funny that I'm listed as a girl because my query was sent when I was sixteen.

This satire brought to you by the Council for Roommate Murder Prevention. Hopefully, one can learn what not to do from this example.

In a victory for legtimate downloaders everywhere, iTunes has sold its ten millionth song. Hopefully when the Windows version comes out, even more people will turn to supporting the artists. It especially invalidates the price argument. If you can get the one song you wanted off the CD for a dollar, there's no real reason to steal, although I am aware no reason is truly needed.

Also, Lea Hernandez' Rumble Girls will be avaliable in manga size format in December. Oni is also adopting the manga size and the lower price, and pushing their comics in bookstores. This has the potential to really increase the comics market. When you have comics that appeal to many different people selling for cheap in mass market stores, I think the conditions will be right for some good stuff to happen.

Although some might worry it might be like the 'graphic novel' glut of the 80s in which every crappy superhero comic was rushed into collections, but I think the market has done a bit of maturing since then, hopefully. Even a glut at this time period would leave behind a few new readers, as many comics have been getting attention in mainstream magazines such as Time.

In other good news, I finally decided to subscribe to Bitch magazine. I think people should support magazines that are about more than just ads being sold to you, and that actually have articles- you know, with more than a hundred words? Also, it sells ad space at a discount for small buisnesses and non profits.

Disposable DVDs

Who would buy this crap? You only get them for two days and pay six dollars, when you can go to Hollywood Video and pay four or five bucks and have them out for five days. Also, if you look good, you can get DVD movies from ten to fifteen dollars and have them forever. I got Chicago for about $15 at Walmart, you know? This is just a stupid ploy to part fools from their money. Don't buy this crap,ok?

It's too easy

It's too easy to be a white man in America today. You still got all the power you've always had, and if you have any personal flaws, you can just blame them on minorities and women. I guess that was what it was like in the old days too. Same shit, different day.

I am happy that all my colored pencils are sharpened, but strangely sad that my cute Top Shelf bag from the con is being used as a trash bag.Well, the comic was the important part, and How to Be An Artist is great. It's like this snapshot of this whole ten year movement contained in the vagaries of this one guy's life. Top Shelf likes to give away cute things with thier books. Once I bought Box Office Poison from them,and they sent me a cute coaster.

This blog is from Iraq. It is interesting to see another point of view about the conflict, because if we truly want to liberate a people, we probably should get their input, you know? The most surprising note to me was about the increased fundamentalism. While what religous people the Iraqis have around is none of our buisness, if they start harrassing other citizens, you'd think there would be a major crackdown, or should be anyway.

It's time for new wallpaper. Hopeless Savages!

How to Tell If You Might Be a Bit Racist*

1) African American Studies is 'PC bullshit' but Jewish or Italian studies? A perfectly acceptable part of the curriculum.

2)All those 'unqualified' white women getting jobs because of Affirmative Action doesn't bother you, but those blacks..? woah.

3) You go around saying that whites are dirty or have lice or other stupid stereotypes.

4) You freak out about illegal immigrants while enjoying the tasty produce they pick for you

5) You insist that you know everything about someone's culture, because A) you skimmed one book. B)You slept through history C) You once knew a person of that ethnicity

6) You know exactly how many friends of that race you have

7) Not calling them derogatory names is SO MUCH WORK. Basic politeness is SOOOO hard!

8) If Holocaust reparations or Internment Camp reparations are OK, but slavery reparations are the tools of the devil**


9) If one person of that race messes up, all people of that race are like that one person.

10) Thinking that one person talks for the entire race forever.


* Yes, this is a bit slanted to the concerns of blacks.

** You need to be consistent-if horrible things mean that payment is required, then it should be the same for all groups. Although, personally, I think they should build museums for black history and culture, and use that as reparation The worst thing about slavery is the loss of that culture that the people had from their original tribes.

I feel like a total and complete failure because of my lack of a car. While millions don't have cars, being in a society that assumes you have a car coming out of the womb is pretty depressing. There's no real support for us carless saps. Public transportation is spotty, people act like we have totally failed in some basic human requirement (you don't have A LICENSE is voiced in tones as shocked as the discovery that I ate babies for fun would be, and we can never see good movies-as a car is almost a requirement.

If you carpool, you must see it with friends, and you know what that means- CRAPOLA! Whatever is the stupidest, boringest, yet most hyped movie ever, you can expect to see. Double points if it has fart jokes in it.

Today is let's all weigh in on abortion day, so I'll type my sentiments. I personally am pro choice as there are so many things that could happen in life. One day you're happy and healthy, and another day, you took antibiotics or St. John's Wort, your pill doesn't work right, and so you have to give up your entire future? It's easy to say "shit happens" when the shit isn't happening to you.

Also, I saw a pretty sad ad today. Two cute little black moppets have their arms around each other, and they are smiling wide. Across their picture is type saying "They said we would have a better chance of getting adopted if we split up. We talked it over. We'll take our chances" and the ad then has the Dave Thomas Foundation tagline. Kids have been waiting in foster care for years to be adopted, and will just be lost when they age out of the system. But noone ever goes and tries to help them. They are always worried about the cute little fetuses, not that Down syndrome boy who just shit in his pants for the dozenth time today.

I know it's human nature to only care about cute things, but come on, we can do better.

Today I had a good interview, even with a bit of wonkiness. I am still too lazy to talk about it, tho. Also, donate to Doctors Without Borders! I was listening on the radio about Liberia, and how a woman had her child and then went to their clinic. Somehow I feel like that was a good thing to do at the time.

I haven't had much time to blog lately, but here's a link to a website that everyone needs before popping pills, having needles put in their bodies etc.

Context is very important in how you are viewed. I have been seen as a doctor, a college student, a teen mom, a little kid, a church going girl, and near everything else because of context. If I am wearing a white lab coat and in a hospital, I'm a doctor. If I'm walking around on a college campus, I'm an educated sista, if my cousin's kid is bothering me for candy in a store, I'm a teen mom, if I'm at a church picnic, I'm a Christian.

So don't let anyone say to you that context is not important. You can get treated differently because of context. I once got thanked for my good work by a man in line with me because I was wearing a lab coat. He might not have spoke to me if I was wearing a halter top and makeup and appearing to be a sexy teen.

People's whole lives depend a lot on environment, but we ignore the effects. If you're surrounded with church going people, it looks like everyone goes to church, if you live in a town with intellectuals, what 'everyone knows' changes. We think that just we determine the course of our lives. It's very tempting, I guess to think that we are the masters of our own destiny.

I'm not saying we have no choice in how our lives go, but our choices are bounded by the environment we are in. Since I am an upper middle class American, I chose to come to college. If I lived in Nepal, that might not have been an option. I hope that this has made sense and given someone something to talk about.

Read the 8th post, and then think about what the bully would say to rationalize things. I'm sure it'd go something like this. "Man, that fag deserved it. If he wasn't tough enough to take a bit of jibing, so what? It's not my problem" Maybe making excuses for evil is the most evil thing of all.

I propose we have a linguistic change. Reverse racism would apply to all whining and griping about stupid stuff- whether it's a black man who is calling a white woman a racist for sneezing on him or a white man who got a 1050 on the SAT and a 2.5 GPA complaining because a black man with a 1400 on the SAT and a 4.0 GPA got into Brown instead of him.

The term racism would be reserved for fun stuff like a police officer beating up a cuffed suspect or a mob of blacks beating up a white for no good reason except for being in the wrong neighborhood. I think it would be terrible for the white guy who had experienced real racism to be grouped into guys who are just mad because they need someone to blame their problems on.

Here is also an interesting post on the origins of racism. I'm not sure if I agree or disagree, but you can read it for yourself.

I don't understand religious people. This guy could have put the monument in the front yard of a church, and everyone would be happy. This may be because I'm not a 'true believer' but there's a time and a place for things. Just because I can put a pentagram on the walls of my room if I so desire, doesn't mean I can use taxpayer money and put a pentagram in public places. The people defending this guy would probably oppose my putting a pentagram in the court house, but if you let one religion in, you have to let them all in.

I never got why they don't just be religious in church and in their personal life, but realize that there are a lot of different religions out there. For example, you never hear of Jews trying to make people pray in schools. They go, practice their religion and don't bother anyone with it. I'm sure their God is pleased, and noone else has to be bothered about their personal beliefs.

I read Forbidden Dance. It's a strong if slightly formalaic story of a girl who has lost her dancing edge, and seeks to join an all male troupe. Reading the little manga author comments, I felt suddenly as if I'd like to make comics. The only problem is that I can't draw. I am pretty amazed that this story is so good as the author came in knowing nothing about ballet. It's very inspiring. Tokyopop is having another Rising Stars of Manga contest. I hope they have them for years to come because I need to learn to draw.

Today I popped over to WaldenBooks and got Death:At Death's Door, Forbidden Dance and Choke. Death is adorable, although parts are copied verbatim from Season of Mists, there's enough new fun to keep me satisfied. Also, manga is the future, says some comics blog guy.

Also, this is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. I know that teen sex isn't very kosher, but calling the cops? Millions of teens are fucking every day, and they are trying to give someone a felony charge for it. Why don't they go back to prosecuting real crimes, like dirty old men fucking young girls? I mean, how is this sexual assault? A real victim of sexual assault would probably be incensed by the idea that some 14 year olds fooling around is supposedly just as bad as being attacked by some monster. Man, this is one place where I think personal responsbility should be used.

Here's a page touting how much better widescreen is than fullscreen. I've always wondered why some people don't like widescreen- would they rather not see part of the picture so it can cover the screen? I mean, if the director wanted it to be in that aspect ratio it would have been. Then again, I tend to watch movies for the first time on DVD, so I want an experience close to the theater experience, yet without overpriced snacks and screaming kids.

Don't do this in the workplace. It's not cool.

I'm offended by people trying to paint over the mural at Bolton High School. As a black person, I think that if we don't adknowledge that some people, even founders of schools, were Confederates or slave traders, and the like, we run the risk of wiping out history. Then people will be misinformed and lack context for why say, not being a racist asshole is a bad idea. People give short shrift to history, because they think that the present happened in a vaccum, but I say that nothing happens in a vaccum, everything is affected by something.

The problem with this argument is most 'file sharers' don't care about the artists. I mean, there are tons of services for people who want to try things out cheaply without stealing(emusic, fairtunes,etc). A few people are ethical downloaders and will just try it out, but the problem is that the thousands of people who are just freeriding are ruining this for the people who do this. They go steal tons of stuff and then say they didn't want it, as if that makes it alright. The problem is that there's no way that the decent file sharers can be differentated from people who just think stealing is kewl, every1's doing it! I wonder if this is subject to the 80/20 rule(20% of the downloaders do 80% of the downloading) or not.

Maybe taxes are the way for everyone to be happy. Artists and all others in the music industry would get paid, people would have the superfical freedom to steal,etc. You know, I think I'm for this, except for I have to think about it.

I love these paintings. I never have had any artistic talent, no matter how much I draw. It's pretty sad not being good at anything.

This is a fun site. Mouse over the image for what it really looks like before the airbrush. So women- it's all fake. Eat some food now.

Also, the effects of not knowing that those porn photos were manipulated. So guys get out of the house and look at some actual women!

This web site sells test kits so that people can take Esctasy and still be safe. I personally wouldn't use it, because I feel my serotonin* levels may be off, but hey, if people want to party, let them.

*link leads to infomative slide show on how Esctasy works.

Something that interests me lately is the idea of the communist choice*. It's when people (or even you) think you have a choice, but you don't. For example, migrant farm workers. You could say they choose to work in bad fields like strawberry picking, but without education, and connections and knowing the language, they really can't get a better job. There's also no time off where you can get an education, either.

But people think they choose to be poor, even though it's not the case. Why people think there are no communist choices, that every man is a master of their own destiny is a mystery to me.


(*Communist Choice A situation in a game where you are presented with a choice, but if you choose one of the choices, you just have to choose again until you choose the choice the game wants you to choose. (I did not come up with this term; I don't know who did, but I claim no credit for it.) )

I don't like people who are like goldfish. They seeming live outside of time, outside of causes and effects. History doesn't matter because it happened before you were born. I wonder if it is because I am so young that history seems so near, but things that happened before 1984 were important. I mean, they put a man on the moon, for goodness sakes.

It seems weird to think that noone has a context. That people are all individual actors without family or friends or culture. That when many women decide to live on their owns to live on cheeseburgers without buns that there's no greater context. That all of human history occurs in a vacuum without the past flowing into the future.

I see the past and the present as a big story. There are causes and there are effects. My mother and my father lived barely streets apart. If one of them had moved when they were teens, would I have been born? How would my life have been if my grandfather had never been working for the department of defense? Would father still have gone to college and got such a good paying job?

I guess I'm a strange person.

Scary Godmother DVD! Region 1!

I read Hana Yori Dango (Boys Over Flowers) today, and it was great. It's good to see stories that show the emotional core of events, and subjectivity. This is what I always love about shoujo stories. How things feel is depicted as much as how things are. This is important because how things feel is what is ninety nine percent of the events in life.

I also like the lower prices lately. To compete with Tokyopop, Viz has made some of their books smaller and cheaper, which is great. Even American comics companies have followed. Jill Thompson's At Death's Door has debuted with 15,000 copies sold just in the direct market, hopefully spring boarding low price, cute GNs up a notch at the big comics companies.

Here's a bit of African history, and a reminder to do research before opening your mouth.

Fuck Hip Hop.

Oh my gosh, Jill Thompson's Death GN has been out, and I didn't even know. I really need to get some energy back. I really love comics, they have this sort of energy I never get from any other meduim.

Something Awful makes fun of those moronic Creationists.

If you don't know shit about something, don't talk smack. If you don't know, read a fucking book. Get some knowledge in your head. You can think for yourself, and get some actual knowledge to go along with stereotypes.

I think the Bush Adminstration should support our troops, darn it. Also, here's an article about the brave people fighting in Iraq.

A new study about the minimum wage shows that it's not cool for adults. I could be all snooty and say they deserve it, but it's not like I climbed any great mountain to be where I am. I merely survived elementary, middle and high school, and in all that time, all you had to do to be a success was show up. It is not because of some great power within myself that I am in this position. It is good luck- my ego credits me with a few good decisions along the way, but it is not like I did anything really.

I have seen benches advertising things about the city. Outside the Memphis Mental Health Institute, there is a bench saying "Jesus Loves Born Children". It used to say "Jesus Loves Unborn Children" but I think the new slogan is better.

"We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionares and movie gods and rock stars. But we won't. We're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off."
-Tyler

I don't respect people who are bigoted against gays. This is a good litmus test for assholes, I think. If you are willing to hate someone who didn't do anything to you, and can't possibly affect your life with their trait over flimsy reasons like "other people don't like them" or "some book said so"(although, the Bible does say "love thy neighbor"), you're probably not going to split hairs over hating someone because they wear different clothes, or a different hairstyle.

I remember I knew this girl in high school, who incidentally was a lesbian. She was a Christian, but people thought she was a devil worshiper because she dressed a bit gothic at times. Whereas I, by dint of my fairly conservative clothing, was thought of as a religious girl, while in reality, I am pretty much an atheist. It's not like my puny human mind has the power to grasp whether there are omnipotent beings creating universes or not, so it's pretty silly to base your life around something you probably don't even understand.

That's the crazy thing about religion. People are talking about things they have no way of knowing about, and totally basing their lives around it. It'd be OK if it was like well, I prefer to think this way, but if you think another way, it's good too. (Although, I do know some religious people like that. That's good because they aren't easily tempted into hate, you know?) But many people want to destroy people's lives over this, and it's crazy.

It's like September 11th. People totally ignored any good words this Allah has said, and decide to kill people because of what? Because of a few lines that someone could have misinterpreted? I just don't understand.

"The administration has developed a highly effective propaganda machine to imbed in the public mind mythologies that grow out of the one central doctrine that all of the special interests agree on, which -- in its purest form -- is that government is very bad and should be done away with as much as possible -- except the parts of it that redirect money through big contracts to industries that have won their way into the inner circle." <--It's that wacky Mr. Gore!

A nice warning to people who want to be writers- print on demand services are not a gateway to writing success. So many people want to be writers that they fall for any old scam- but remember- if you're paying money to be published, that's not the way it works. Also, places with actual editing get more respect since the editor serves as the gatekeeper. Even if the story is not guaranteed to be good, at least they ran spell check a few times, which is more than you can say for places that just take anything. So don't be scammed, be savvy,k?

It's time for link potpourri! The horrors of broken dreams on the department store floor, some African American art(look below the hip hop drawings to get to the good stuff), romantic advice that's not sappy, a sci fi e zine a writer's guidelines database, and bigfatblog on 'weighing obesity'- a series about whether fat is really as bad as we think.

Paradoxes are funny. On one hand, I'd like to be loved, on the other hand, I'd like to be myself. This is a very big problem as I have not figured out the answer yet. The interesting part is that this dilemma reminds me of the little mermaid. She became human and got her love, but every step was like walking on glass. (this is in the original) but if she had stayed a mermaid, would she have been happier forgetting about love? I don't know. Oh, and if comments work, they are provided by Squawkbox.

We Wear The Mask by Paul Lawrence Dunbar

We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,--
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.

Why should the world be overwise,
In counting all our tears and sighs?
Nay, let them only see us, while
We wear the mask.

We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries
To thee from tortured souls arise.
We sing, but oh the clay is vile
Beneath our feet, and long the mile;
But let the world dream otherwise,
We wear the mask!

Blacks espeically need to boycott all sorts of self hating trash, of which this article speaks.

Here is my wallpaper of the week. Frida's life was beautifully illustrated in Los Bros Hernandez' graphic novel "Flies On The Ceiling"

The idea for today is the pathology of the normal. Let's all remember that just because everyone is doing it doesn't make it right or the only way to be. Also, yesterday I found another rock. I seem to have tons of unusual rocks in my bedroom, but the whys and wherefores are lost to me. It's not like a collection, more of a "that's a cool rock, I am saving it". This one is smooth like my pink quartz, but is scratched up, and smaller. I don't know what sort of rock it is, but it is a dark purple, suggesting an amethyst.

Hair stuff, and a check on the price shows they don't cost too much. Heaven.

I'd like to note that supporting small merchants is good. I also find that supporting black merchants is a good idea, people need to be getting out and selling stuff and becoming successful. Too many people are going into debt trying to look rich, you(in general) need to get in debt trying to be rich.

A nice rant/social critique, although I don't think you should be allowed to put allusions to the Nazis in there unless they are absolutely needed.Since Nazis are such a powerful and evil image, they tend to be overplayed. Here's a highlight from the article-

The 'rules' of New Thought( basically all that new age, positive thinking crap that's been so popular lately. A note- this is copyright Geoffrey Hill, from 1997)
Conform and compromise at all costs. Above all, never doubt the manipulative mind science of the leaders, especially the ones who use mass hypnosis.
Stop thinking, questioning and critiquing. This is where negativity comes from. Eradicate it immediately. Why ask why? Your mind is only a part of your flesh, which must be quashed to allow your higher self (or your older member, according to Heaven's Gate) to be revealed.
Deny that there is evil, disease or death in the world. These only cloud your vision of happiness. Besides, these are the most negative of all thoughts. Such thoughts, above all others, must be eliminated forever.
Deny that you or anybody else lives in the real world. If you really want to reveal your higher self, your divinity, you must lighten the load by denying you have a real body. One way of doing this, of course, is through castration.
Think positively at all times, and pretend that you don't live in the same world as the vast majority of suffering humanity. Let the poor and oppressed pull themselves up by their own bootstraps. Charity only gets in the way of your own progress.
If you ever happen to become a victim of oppression, prejudice, political famine, ethnic cleansing, genocide, abuse, or sickness, realize that its your own fault, and that all problems can be corrected by positive thinking.
To reinforce this state of happiness, surround yourself with others of like mind who subscribe to the exact same mindset. Ostracize any negative thinkers who remind you that there's such a thing as shit in the world

This is a thoughtful little blog entry by someone else. I wonder how we can get others to learn to value children. Because face it, noone who values something lets it get destoryed if they can help it, or neglects it because of more important things(such as chasing the almighty dollars)

I like the idea in here that we are allowed to be angry. He is absolutely right about who the winners are when we're not allowed to be angry, or to protest ill treatment. People often act like the actual anger is the problem, not what caused it. However, whenever you try to treat the effect, without treating the cause, it'll just happen again.

Once I had a little grease fire burning on the stove. Instead of putting water on it (that is very dangerous, BTW), I turned the stove off. When the heat source stopped, the fire stopped.

That's a good analogy for me, because when I feel my rights and feelings are being disrespected and ignored, I get angry. It is not because of some huge personal flaw that I should try to psychobabble away, it's because I want respect- a basic human need. You don't get respect by pretending it's your fault when it wasn't. You don't get respect by being passive. You get it by standing up for yourself. So fuck anyone who says I shouldn't.

Here's an article on how they airbursh models. This is important for both men and women, but especially men. Guys say they won't lose touch with how women really look, but I doubt that. Some guys are shocked that women have pubic hair, for goodness sakes.

I am aware that most file sharers aren't honest. Their excuses are as paperthin as they are lame. "It only takes .5 cents to make a CD!"(totally ignoring the fact that it costs money to record the CD, people work recording the CD, the building in which the CD is recorded needs to be heated and cooled, etc) or "They are too expensive" (i.e. you don't know how to shop. You have money for what you want to buy.) but for those who honestly want an alternative to ripping people off, here they are. DVDpricesearch.com. Never pay that cripping fifteen dollars again! Because while you had the money to buy four hundred dollar shoes, that fifteen bucks is just going to break you. For CDs, you don't have to pay a crippling $12 per CD(because while you had money to get drunk all night,and pay well over twenty and thirty bucks doing it, but somehow your favorite artist isn't worth it. And if you were sampling new music, you'd be downloading something not on the radio, so don't give me that. Also, you'd be buying the good stuff, asshole.) You could act like you had some sense and get your MP3s from emusic(but $10-$14 a month for unlimited mp3s would just break you) or for lucky folk, you could get an ipod(the device actually is expensive, but is pretty cool)

Or you could buy second hand, and at least not help the people who go around ruining things for everyone. While the RIAA shouldn't sue everyone, people did go a bit overboard. There are some honest MP3 users out there- those who just want mixtapes of stuff they own, those who download bands who say "download our stuff, it's great for us!" and those who just try out and then buy the CD. But for the majority, if you're broke, just listen to the radio, since you're not listening to some great unsung little local band, you're listening to Pink and Avril. You guys really fucked things up for the honest people, I worry. Instead of thinking for yourself, thinking longterm or thinking period, you just decided to act stupid.


Here is an extremely well thought out little article about this. Instead of simplistic rhetoric, the guy actually thought about it. I'd reccomend thinking about it too. Why don't you take out a text on economics in the library? Improve your mind.

Yay! Pretty rocks! When I was a child, my mother would drag me to crafts fairs and everytime, there was someone with some table of shiny rocks like this. I wonder if somehow they were late 90s new agers, but when I was a kid, I didn't care. I paid my fifty cents, and walked about proudly with my selection in its mini zip loc bag.

I really like these smooth tumbled rocks, since you can play with them, and it's really relaxing. I also like to hear the powers people attribute to these stones. I like myths of all kinds, for some reason.

Go pubes! Fight back against the pube oppression! I am worried about this generation of men. If they grow up on porn, how are they going to deal with the fact that women often have pubic hair?

This guy is really liberal. I like that.

Obligatory link to blog listing site.

Social Causes Link of the Day: Are Maasai film roles exploitative?

I just now noticed this on the back of the birthday card my brother gave me.

"Odysessy-

Adventurous journeys marked by many changes of fortune, the Odysessy could be literal or psychic Extensive intellectual or spiritual wandering is a quest for learning, growing, experencing. Our subject looks to the future as the clock hand points to the east for new beginnings"

Somehow my day is much brighter now. I also found the rock from my box. It's a pale pink stone that I got from one of the crafts fairs my mother used to drag me to. I would crave the beautiful stones they sold, and would always get one or two.