What Do You Do With a BA in English?

Let's not be the EU, please

Hahahaha! I need to read all of this article when I'm not at work.

Labels: environmental ish, news, silliness

posted by ariah @ 3:40 PM 0 comments

Do participants at least have to be screened for STDs and craziness?

Some of the craziest people want to be therapists: "The woman, who has earned a bachelor degree in women's studies and now wants to start a master's degree in marriage and family therapy, is hoping the bidding will hit $1 million."

I guess this student's women's studies classes didn't teach her how not to completely demean and devalue herself. Oops!

Um, yeah. So, if you ever go to family therapy, ask your therapist if she ever auctioned her virginity. I think I would consider that a deal breaker.

After working in customer service for a year, and after reading this article, I just want to stand up and scream, "HEY OUT THERE! PLEASE STOP DOING STUPID THINGS, OKAY???"

Labels: news, society

posted by ariah @ 5:18 PM 0 comments

Thank you, Barack!

Obama tells people to lay off on attacking Palin about her pregnant daughter. Go Barack! I'm still not voting for you because you're a socialist. But you made me smile today by being a decent person.

Labels: news, politics

posted by ariah @ 11:12 AM 0 comments

Knew it

Oh, shut up. Leave it to the Times to put a negative slant on a working mom when that mom is conservative. Nicely done, scumbags.

I wonder if, in this case, we should think of Sarah as the working Dad and Todd as the working Mom. Of course Sarah will be crazy busy! I hope her hubby will have more time for the kids. I'm gonna keep an eye out for info on this subject.

Of course, no one bitches about men in politics who leave their kids halfway across the country with moms who work. Never, ever.

Labels: douchebaggery, gender, news, politics

posted by ariah @ 10:28 AM 0 comments

Teachers with Guns!

I've had some crazy teachers so, even though they have to take crisis training, this might not be a great idea.

Why not just put cops in the schools?

Labels: news

posted by ariah @ 12:13 PM 0 comments

Honestly, I didn't even read most of this article before posting

Hokay. So.

Old reusable tree from basement/attic/garage/Salvation Army + popcorn + cranberries + one needle (per person) + some string + scissors = DECORATEDZ0R!!!!!

Fuck you, rising prices.

Labels: news

posted by ariah @ 12:04 PM 0 comments

lame

Some writer asks, "What, I thought, had become of modern man's chivalry?"

The answer:

1) They weren't raised to be gentleman;

2) Or maybe they were, or figured it out somewhere, but they're too afraid we'll punch them in the face. And that it'll hurt.

There you go. Can't really do anything about number 1. Number 2? Well, try not being scary. It is possible to be a strong woman without being a freakin' scowly get the F outta my way, pathetic male, Klingon woman (you could be, say, secretly Shaolin. And you wouldn't have to flaunt it!). That might help. The end.

The writer also says, "The difficulty for many of today's career women is that in order to compete with men, we've morphed into them."

Retard. We threw out the 1980s shoulderpads that ate Tokyo ages ago. You should have taken the hint.

Honestly, the problem isn't that career women are too confident, it's that some of them AREN'T and they're compensating by being "career oriented," which in this case really means being annoying (harsh, bitchy, rude, domineering, etc.). Yes, go have a fulfilling career. And then chill the fuck out.

By the way, the author lists these things as making her feel masculine: "Working full-time, making every decision, paying every bill, driving myself everywhere, booking tickets for holidays, lugging the Christmas tree in - it's all completely de-feminising."

Oh dear. See, this is a problem, too. Let's go over this item by item.

Working full-time - there's something in the Bible about how a good (Jewish) woman does all kinds of stuff like managing the land and stuff. Go read it.

Making every decision - If you don't want to do that, you can probably find a man to do it for you. But that would be lame. Grow up.

Paying every bill - That's a good idea. BTW, in the mostly traditional division of labor at my house, my mom does this.

Driving myself everywhere - sorry you can't afford a chauffeur. You could move to a city with mass transit, I guess.

Booking tickets for holidays - Yeah, you know, every time I do that, I think, damn, where has my femininity gone?

Lugging the Christmas tree in - Yeah, that's really "men's work." WTF??? Shut up and pick up the damn tree.

Apparently, this woman's problem is that she DOESN'T KNOW what being feminine is.

As that is clearly the case, I suggest, once again, chilling the fuck out, and just trying to get along with people. Be assertive when necessary. Sometimes, defer to others and let them feel like they have value (do you REALLY care where you end up going to lunch? Let Bob choose today. It's okay. It doesn't mean you're submitting to patriarchy).

The writer ended up going to a consultant (THIS is what I should be doing with my life! I should be a femininity consultant!) who said, "Femininity is all about being relaxed with yourself." Thank you.

And then she goes to see a Botox guy (bc BOTOX iz t3h 53x!), who actually has some good things to say: "Interestingly, Dr Sebagh says that his happiest clients are in their 50s and 60s.'They are in touch with what matters in their life. They want men for companionship, not some lifestyle choice. 'They have souls and are far more authentic.'"

Um, of course they want men for companionship. Isn't that the point of dating?

OH, wait, no, it's to "have sex like men," or something we learned on SATC. To accessorize our FABULOUS lives. Haha, I knew that. Pssssssssssh.

Some psychologist said the following: "'The feminine principle is about allowing things to unfold and happen, not always interfering. 'Career women think that they have to be in control to make it happen, but if they stop and tap into some kind of emotional intelligence and empathy, it makes them better problem-solvers.'According to Allen, you cannot have true success or a successful relationship without the balance of masculine and feminine: 'The reason career women feel lonely within themselves and often have a deep sense of failure is because they are not connected to their hearts. 'I'm not saying career women should chuck it all away, but if they connect to things that really matter to them, if they start to appreciate little beautiful things every day - literally stop and smell the roses - then what they will have to offer will be really quite profound.'"

BALANCE. That would help.

I think femininity is being at peace with yourself. The feminine things, whatever they are, things like being compassionate and intuitive and strong without being OMGMUSTCONTROLEVERYTHING, will then come naturally.

Labels: news

posted by ariah @ 9:44 AM 0 comments

Return to the Wild West in Texas w/ Castle Law

People are wondering, does the Castle Law, which protects property owners from civil liability for shooting people who break in, encourage folks to "shoot first and ask questions later"?

What I want to know is, does it make burglars and rapists think twice?

Let's talk about burglary as a profession. It's worked for some people (Celina Kyle - Catwoman, particularly). But, as with various jobs, such as transporting nuclear waste and working in correctional facilities, there are on the job risks.

In the case of burglary, one of those is getting shot.

Now, if a person NOT ONLY knows that by breaking in to someone's home or business that s/he might be shot/maimed/killed, but knows that there's a pretty damn good chance that bullets will fly, and that person still breaks in, does that person bear any responsibility for his/her injury?

Abso-f'ing-lutely yes.

I do think violence should be avoided if possible; I'm not into chasing after burglars to "get them back," but if a person is confronted by an intruder, or if a person sees that someone else is likely to be hurt by an intruder, why let it happen if the police aren't there yet?

Guns are scary. Even so, I love Texas even more today. ^__^

Side note: I've met Senator Jeff Wentworth, who authored the Texas Castle Law. I know people who know him. Nice guy. Just an interesting side note, that's all.

Labels: news

posted by ariah @ 10:14 AM 0 comments

Douchewad HS Teacher

According to the school's website, he's still on the social studies faculty. Dammit.

Labels: news, politics

posted by ariah @ 11:23 AM 0 comments

The USA is big.

And there are different points of view that are prevalent in different locations. It's a country made up of cultures that vary not just by people's foreign origins but by region.

Having said that, I wonder why I'm surprised that in random places like Los Angeles and Arizona and Illinois or Indiana or someplace (I forgot, oops) there are reports of high school teachers being fired for being too "Afrocentric" (LA) and for saying "I honk for peace" (upper midwest). I should note that I suspect that the news source I got this from is rather left leaning and that the whole story was not told.

Even so, this firing of teachers for such reasons would not likely happen in central New Jersey, where I went to a public high school. This is how I know.

Senior year I took an AP history class. The teacher, Mr. C., spent a large percentage of class time lecturing vehemently on the following points:

1) socialism and communism are better than capitalism (they only fail miserably because of how they're implemented);
2) spending lots of money on national defense is ridiculous (if only I could reproduce his sneer in writing!);
3) any economic problems are due to policies of Republicans (changes in interest rates and the destruction of the NYC WTC have little or no effect; also, it's easy to tell which president caused which effects because changes in the economy occur immediately after new policies are introduced - okay, he never explicitly stated that second part, but he couldn't refute the challenges of his students when they brought that up);
4) poor people only vote for Republicans because they are ignorant (I'm glad I learned that one so I could explain it to my Republican extended family - descendants of PA coal miners and VA/TN farmers).

I also learned a lot about him:

1) his goal in life is to learn about himself (How very deep and helpful on a large scale);
2) his career goal was to teach one class at a university in North Carolina and spend most of his time reading on the beach (Work? What?);
3) his advice to his high school aged daughter on sex was "don't get pregnant" (Not, "don't engage in acts that could lead to pregnancy." How much sense does it make to say to a teenager, "don't have this outcome," without focusing on the cause of that outcome?);
4) if his daughter were to get pregant he would "take care of it," which he said meant she would have an abortion - no choice (because surgery is a GREAT form of birth control for a developing woman).

At the end of that year, this teacher was given some departmental award. Lame.

Fortunately, I did get college credit for the course - by studying an AP test prep book I bought at B&N.

This teacher was sometimes challenged (usually by me), and sometimes by students who studied economics and cited facts that disproved his assertions. He was FANTASTIC at saying, oh, you're right about this, but, blah blah blah subtle subject change are you placated now by me admitting you have a point, okay, let's move on. It made my brain hurt. I wished we could have devoted more classtime to debate - a little truth and common sense in class would have been nice.

There were two days I helped a club faculty advisor with work and showed up to Mr. C.'s class late. The second time I walked in late, he called me out in front of the class and chastised me for avoiding class. I replied, indignantly, with something to the effect of, "Well, maybe if you taught the subject matter you're supposed to teach, this class would be worth coming to." I never got in trouble for that.

I really should have tried to take the bastard down. I really don't think it would have worked. I'm pretty sure I complained to various guidance counselors but I guess it didn't seem like a big deal to them, or like something they could do anything about. I should have taped the guy. Dammit. I hope he's retired, getting fatter on a beach somewhere and NOT TEACHING ANYONE.

Labels: douchebaggery, news, politics

posted by ariah @ 10:42 AM 0 comments

Okay, one more thing

Totally unrelated to post of <5 href="http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/family/06/17/harder.to.raise/index.html?iref=mpstoryview">http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/family/06/17/harder.to.raise/index.html?iref=mpstoryview:

"This cultural pressure to put others' needs first, ignore one's own gut feelings, and avoid asking for what one wants has traditionally harmed girls," says Jenn Berman, a California family therapist who wrote "The A to Z Guide to Raising Happy, Confident Kids." "Despite the fact that she enjoys the positive attention and accolades that people pleasing brings, the more a girl pushes her own needs and desires underground to please others, the more likely her own self-esteem will suffer."

Okay, so that means... girls need to stop being lame.

It might also mean that I am a defective girl, which makes me happy. Man, I was a pain in the ass as a kid. According to this article, boys start off more difficult, whereas little girls are easy and then get difficult as pre-teens. Well, as a tot I wasn't as ridiculously rambuctious as most of the boys I knew, but my mum says I went through my teen years during my terrible twos.

I may have mentioned this, but a college friend said that in HS, she had her friends would drag race at 3 am and not realize the obvious potential injury. This explains why I had a limited social life in HS - because I was the one saying, um, you need those brain cells, it isn't music if there's no discernable melody, and that abandoned building is full of asbestos, so why do you break in?

That makes me sound more responsible than I was (Homework from last week? Oh, it's here somewhere, hang on... Can I still get credit?). But, I kind of feel better being able to look at these things that are generally true about child/teen development and say yeah, I just was weird growing up.

But not THAT weird - I think plenty of girls have the "why do I have to do what you say?" attitude at a young age. (I mean really, how smart are most adults? Kids can often figure out when grown ups are full of shit - and then they have to decide if they'd rather obey and try to get along, or call them out on it). And plenty of girls like climbing tress and jumping off stuff! Although some of those girls can still be the "let's try to please the grownups/other kids" types. It's funny - I don't remember kids being specifically like that, I just remember them doing things I didn't understand. I guess these silly but probably real gender things explain a lot of that.

I guess the differences between boys and girls can be represented with a Venn diagram, but a funky wavy one... like, imagine overlapping amoebae... somehow that image satisfies my brain.

Anyway, the point is, it's annoying but somehow helpful to real these articles, even when they really don't describe me. Or some other people. Well, everyone's an exception somewhere!

OH, and: "One area where girls do less well in school concerns spatial learning, such as geometry. Girls may use different parts of their brains to process space perceptions."

Geometry was the EASIEST math ever for me (except that joke class probability and statistics)! I would have gotten an A if I had bothered to study proofs... how did I know that would end up being like the entire class? (See? Not that responsible.) And I did so well on those stupid spacial questions on placement tests that I got put in higher math classes than I was ready for when I moved. (How does knowing what the backside of a cube looks like translate into me jumping into an algebra class when I've never used negative numbers? Silly!)

In other news, we've found some sort of Earth sized planets: http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/06/17/super.earths.ap/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

Aliens are just around the corner!

Labels: news

posted by ariah @ 11:41 AM 0 comments