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consider this

consider this

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let’s consider this comment a moment. i would argue this is for late 20-year-olds looking back at their early 20s as well. pause. remember those good ol days. consider 20 year olds these days.
i would argue that we still feel like we’re in our 20s, or even would like to be. we just want to be 20 IN THE TIME DURING WHICH WE WERE 20! add into that the people we were 20 with, and there’s a good argument for heading back 10 years prior.
for what it’s worth, the majority of my cousins on my mom’s side of the family are in their 20s. i love hanging out with these people.
 

the parent argument

the parent argument

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i’ve given some thought to the argument of how gay marriage affects the raising of children. i know i’ve said in a couple past posts that if people are so concerned about the degradation of the family, we should also focus on single parents, divorcees, etc. etc. before homing in on gay parents.
so what is the ideal parent situation? is it a mother and father, male and female? there are some cultures where children are raised communally and don’t actually have a specific mother and father in a sense. in “man-is-breadwinner” families, do children really know their father that well? are workaholic fathers and/or mothers who don’t help much with child rearing better than none? good grief, thousands of years ago, no one even knew who the father was! is it specifically different gendered parents who shape a person?
or is it having two (or more in the case of communal cultures) adults raising a child who have a healthy, loving relationship that the child can witness? is it the gender, or the relationship?

proud minnesotan

proud minnesotan

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tomorrow the governor will sign the mn marriage bill into law allowing gay marriage! i listened to some of the arguments against it streaming over the star tribune site. one of the biggest arguments is that there won’t be a mom and a dad for kids.
what. *record scratch*
let’s back up here. if you’re worried about kids having a mom and a dad, how about focusing on teen pregnancies and single moms, divorces, and widowers as well. i mean, all these situations involve kids who have only one parent. i was talking to my mom about this last summer before the marriage amendment was defeated and she said she couldn’t understand the hypocrisy of why the catholic church was so concerned with the family structure if they aren’t also as concerned about single moms. if they are shunning gay parents, they should also be shunning single moms because the kids themselves are in the same situation.
so before getting your panties in a bunch about two men raising a child, how about providing free BC and comprehensive sex ed.

5 days!

5 days!

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5 days til my timed 10k! i ran 6.4 miles last week in 1 hr 23 mins, so a little over a 13-min mile. i was lagging pretty good there at the end, as my foot had gone numb. not sure how to remedy that one. anyway, weather’s supposed to be decent – isolated thunderstorms though. but it should be good, and even if i come in last, i will have finished.
i bought some fancy sandals today – i needed something for work that wasn’t flipflops, so found these. they are pretty reminiscent of the early 2000s, which i am a-ok with. as long as we avoid the 80s, i am fine.
Photo 2013-05-12 08.16.50 PM
speaking of 80s fashion, OMG i saw a couple weirdos today at walmart. this one woman was wearing leopard print leggings, a short sweatshirt, mid-calf height converses and stupid hipster glasses, along with an almost side ponytail. wtf people. w. t. f.

aaaaaaaahh pussy control (girl anthem or douchebag guide?)

aaaaaaaahh pussy control (girl anthem or douchebag guide?)

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for those who’ve never heard the song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bvok-HrCd6Q
Now, an attempt to translate the lyrics into “closeted midwestern white person” (translation in italics).


Good mornin’ ladies and gentlemen (“What hotel number is she in?”)

good morning, ladies and gentlemen

Boys and motherfuckin’ girls (“319, 319” “Cool”)

boys and girls

This is your captain with no name speakin’
this is prince

And I’m here 2 rock your world  With a tale that will soon be classic
and he’s going to shake up your preconceptions with a soon-to-be classic story

About a woman U already know
we all know a woman like this.

No prostitute she, but the mayor of your brain
no, not the woman who holds your pants, but the one who holds your brain

Pussy Control (Are U ready?)
And her name is Pussy Control.

Aaah, Pussy Control, oh
Aaah, Pussy Control, oh

Our story begins in a schoolyard
Once upon a time at a school

A little girl skipping rope with her friends
There was a little girl having a fine time jumping rope with friends

A tisket, a tasket, no lunch in her basket
Tisket Tasket is a popular jumprope rhyme. And a common target of bullies is a lunch box. she did not have lunch in her basket, just schoolbooks, so nothing to give the bullies. “lunch in her basket” could also be a sexual innuendo, saying she was a virgin while everyone else was sexually active. And this caused a fight because being a virgin is bad news in these parts.

Just school books 4 the fight she would be in
One day over this hoodie
hoodie: see hood rat. “slutty, druggie girl from the hood”

She got beat 4 some clothes and a rep
this fight got her beat up for her clothes and reputation.

With her chin up, she scolded “All y’all’s molded
When I’m rich, on your neck I will step”
she did not let this get her down – “You will all be proven wrong. When I’m rich and you’re still a bunch of druggies from the hood, I will crush you like a bug.”

And step she did 2 the straight A’s
Then college, a master degree
And to keep a promise to herself, she got straight As, went to college, got her master’s degree.

She hired the heifers that jumped her
And made everyone of them work 4 free?
and instead of hiring the gals who beat her up for being a virgin and making them work for her for free, she did not

No! Why?
So what if my sisters are triflin’?
They just don’t know
If these gals are lazy, lying, no good busybodies, its not their faults.

She said “Mama didn’t tell’em what she told me
‘Girl, U need Pussy Control'” (Are U ready?)
It’s their mothers’ faults for not telling them to put themselves and their self worth ahead of what others are pressuring you to do (like, but not necessarily always, losing your v-card, among other things that could lower self worth).

Aaah, Pussy Control, oh
Aaah, Pussy Control, oh

Verse 2
Pussy got bank in her pockets
Before she got dick in her drawers
True to form and following her mother’s advice, PC got herself an awesome personal and professional life before she turned to find love.

If brother didn’t have good ‘n’ plenty of his own
In love Pussy never did fall
If a man didn’t have a similar outlook on life, PC did not want anything to do with that. Good n plenty is a psuedonym for male genetalia.

And this fool named Trick wanna stick her
Uh, talkin’ more shit than a bit
An idiot named Trick wanted to bed our lovely PC, talking himself up like a true douchebag.

‘Bout how he gonna make Pussy a star
If she come and sing a lick on his hit
He’s going to make PC a star if she comes to sing a little part on his song. (Also suggestive for her having sex with him.)

Pussy said “Nigga, U crazy if U don’t know
Every woman in the world ain’t a freak
U can go platinum 4 times
Still couldn’t make what I make in a week
So push up on somebody that wanna hear that
Cuz this somebody here don’t wanna know
Boy, U better act like U understand
When U roll with Pussy Control” (Are U ready?)

And PC replies, “Dear successful African American, you are downright nuts to think that every woman wants to sing for you (aka have sex with). You could go platinum 4 times and I would still make more money than you! (aka, I have more respect for myself than you do). So go talk to some other person who wants to hear you talk that douchebaggery talk, because I sure don’t want to hear it. Do you understand? I have standards. You are not it.”

Aaah, Pussy Control, oh
Aaah, Pussy Control, oh

Breakdown
(Are U ready 4 the best Pussy U ever felt?) {x2}

With one more verse 2 the story
I need another piece of your ear
There is one more verse left, so keep your ears open.

I wanna hip U all 2 the reason
I’m known as the Player of the Year
I want to let you know the reason why I’m known as the dude of the year who has sex with women and leaves them by the wayside.*

Cuz I met this girl named Pussy
At the club – International Balls
He met dear PC at International Balls

She was rollin’ 4-deep
3 sisters and a weepy-eyed white girl drivin’ a Hog
PC was with 4 other girls that night: 3 black chicks and a white gal on a HD.

I pulled up right beside her
And my electric top went down
He pulled up and buzzed down his electric top on his car

I said “Motherfucker, I know your reputation
And I’m astounded that U’re here
I fear U’re lonely and U want 2 know
A 12 o’clock straight up nigga
That don’t give a shit that U’re Pussy Control
Well I’m that nigga, at least I wanna be
But it’s gonna be hard as hell
2 keep my mind off a body
That would make every rich man
Want 2 sell, sell, sell (75, we need another.. 85, 85 here, sold!)
Can I tell U what I’m thinkin’ that U already know?
U need a motherfucker that respects your name”
Now say it, Pussy Control (Are U ready?)

he’s heard of PC and he’s amazed that she’s at this club given her reputation. He believes that she’s gleaned all she can out of her personal and professional development and has come to the uncharacteristic club to find  love, which she can do along with her personal and pro development, but hasn’t been able to find the right guy. Part of this may be due to her reputation, and perhaps when it comes down to it, she wants a guy who has a similar respect, but doesn’t let it cloud all his decisions, especially in the bedroom. Could the 12 oclock be a reference to Cinderella? He’s that successful African American, or at least he’d like to be if it’s all right with PC, but it’s going to be hard to focus on her brain and personality when she’s got a rockin bod*. he thinks he knows what she’s thinking. She wants a dude who will respect her name: Pussy Control.

Aaah, Pussy Control, oh
Aaah, Pussy Control, oh

And the moral of this motherfucker is
Ladies, make’em act like they know

U are, was, and always will be Pussy Control (Are U ready?)
Peace and be wild (Aaah, Pussy Control)

The moral of the story? Ladies, when it all comes down to it, we are all pussy control if we want to be.
Peace out.

Say what, huh? (Oh)
Oh no, don’t U think about callin’ her a ho (Are U ready?)
U juvenile delinquent
Best sit your ass down
Talkin’ about Pussy Control
Huh, can U dig it?

What are you saying? You are thinking about calling her a derogatory name? You criminal. Sit down. You are talking about pussy control!

Aaah, Pussy Control (Are U ready?)
Oh (Are U ready?)

Aaah, Pussy Control (Are U ready?)
Oh (Are U ready?)

 
for the most part, this is a pretty decent girl anthem. but then we have to think that this is prince, so there are a couple questionable parts as noted with the asterisk.
*first of all, he wants us all to know why he’s the player of the year. apparently he hooked up with pussy control and she lost the v-card to him. player is a negative term in this sense; did he love her and leave her? was she ok with it? i feel like we need a followup from PC’s perspective. or is he using player as a casual term to let you know this is how it’s done and not in its true sense?
another thing i had trouble with is how he’s saying he can be the man who PC is looking for, who respects her for her personality and her self and her worth, but it’s going to be SO HARD to focus on that and not sex because she’s got a rockin’ bod. way to objectify. yes, people are hardwired to be sexual beings, and visual attractiveness is what gets us to take notice of people. but he knows of her, he knows her reputation, he knows that she’s looking for a certain type of man – is he just putting up a good front? does he see her as a sexual conquest? or does he see her as the person she wants a lover to see, and not just another mark on the bedpost?
in the end though, prince tells us that every woman has the capability and the need to be pussy control. we all need to put our self worth above finding a man.
even the name of the song/heroine is questionable. does it show that if a woman is the one who controls her sex organs, she will control herself? or is it how a man can become in control of her sex organs?
i’m torn. is this a pro-woman, you get ’em girl anthem, or is this the ultimate underhanded way of informing men that in order to get in the pants of that hard to get girl, you need to be interested in her mind. and that’s how you get in her pants.
either way, there’s no way i can’t sing along to this.
thank you to urban dictionary. without it i wouldn’t know what a hoodie was or triflin.

familiarity

familiarity

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i realized a couple weeks ago how unfamiliar people look to me here. when i was up in st cloud, on any given day, if i went to the mall, walmart, cashwise, coborn’s, wherever, the people i saw were familiar to me. given the large proportion of german descendants in the area and relative lack of diversity, this doesn’t surprise me. if there were other ethnicities, it was mostly one population; in this case, it was somalis.
now when i go out i am faced with people from a huuuge variety of backgrounds. because of mayo, this area is really diverse. and it’s kind of unnerving to go out and be amid this slough of people in an area you’re supposed to call home but not really feel any familiarity with them.
maybe it will pass with time, and i will get used to the diversity. but until then, it’s hard to call this place home. i wonder if this makes me racist/ethnicist.

the lost post!

the lost post!

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about a year ago i was compiling a backup to my journal posts and i KNEW that i had this post i’d written on our attorney general, eric holder. i had an idea of when i posted it, but i could not, for the life of me, find it. i did a search function on all my LJ backup excel files, ran a massive search through my now-defunct old wordpress files lost in the great host migration of 2012, and did a search through my old ibook files. NOTHING. i was annoyed because i knew i’d written it, and to think i’d done all that work to have lost it? ugh.
then about a month or so ago i brought up my google drive, and lo and behold! what should i find but my holder doc i’d been searching for. glorious day! anyway, here it is. heavy, political, and long, but it’s interesting.
For two months this lj entry has been stewing in my brain. Just so you know – it’s gonna be long (and capitalized, as I write these long ones in auto-cap Word).
I listen to MPR on my way home from work, when “Fresh Air” is on. Host Terri Gross had Jane Mayer on sometime in February, who wrote an article about how Eric Holder, the Attorney General, is fighting to hold terrorists’ trials in federal criminal courts instead of trying them as war criminals. The things she was saying about some of his opponents absolutely made my blood boil.
First, let you know: I am not a terrorist sympathizer. Give them a trial and throw them in prison for the rest of their lives. I am, however, really frightened at how easily people in this country throw away simple rights.
Every terror suspect that has been apprehended in this country has had a criminal trial, and Holder wants the mastermind behind 9/11, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, to have a criminal trial as well. However, a lot of people want him to be tried as a war criminal. The republican who was elected in Massachusetts to replace Ted Kennedy? This was one of his major selling points.
Mohammed was apprehended in the US. The constitution applies to him just as it applies to everyone else in the country. There is no alternative legal system this country – it is UNCONSTITUTIONAL to not try him in criminal court.
Let me explain, for those clamoring to tell me about citizens and non-citizens and to whom the constitution applies. A large part of the US Constitution does not apply to citizens, or to non-citizens. It applies to the GOVERNMENT – what the government can and cannot do to people in the United States.
Amendment 5: No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Amendment 6: In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.
Even though it would seems that while Bush was in office, he would’ve had many tried as war criminals, the Bush administration tried to try two terror suspects apprehended in the US in a military commission (as enemy combatants). Appeals courts ruled this to be overstepping boundaries, and the administration did not want this to go to the Supreme Court. The suspects were returned to the civilian court system.
Meanwhile, within the criminal court system, two terrorists (who had been arrested in the US) were given life sentences: the shoe-bomber and Zacarias Moussaoui. The shoe bomber was read his Miranda rights four times! When these sentences were released, the criminal court process was exalted by the same people who are now criticizing Holder.
In fact, military commissions held at Guantanamo were not that tough on terrorists. Even though it had more tougher rules when it came to evidence and laughed in the face of the fourth amendment, military commissions still proved to be easy on crime. One got life after boycotting his trial, one served 6 months (in addition to Guantanamo time) and one served 9 months after a plea bargain had been struck. Two other suspects were released to their home countries while Bush was still in office!
But how do they compare on an equal playing field – the criminal court system and a military commission? Two similar terrorists, one an American and one a Saudi-American, both captured in Afghanistan at the same time, were tried in the two different court systems. The American plead guilty in criminal court and is serving 20 years. The Saudi-American, who was tried as an enemy combatant, was freed after a court challenge.
So why does trying terrorist suspects in criminal courts make people so upset, especially people who would hold the US Constitution in such high esteem? (Glenn Beck.) Because under the Bush administration, Bush seemed to have more say than the court system when it came to terrorists, and now that Obama is bringing terrorists back under the legal and constitutional rules the country, it’s kind of like saying Bush was wrong all along (….which, wouldn’t be bad, IMO).
And that’s what it comes down to. If this country can’t try terrorist suspects in its criminal courts while upholding constitutional rights and law, what are we saying about our criminal courts? That the system is broken? How on earth can we try Timothy McVeigh and others in this system if we can’t try 9/11 terrorists, people who would be facing the toughest jury on earth?
But what really gets my goat, what had me banging my steering wheel and yelling at my radio on my way home, was how on earth we can throw people’s rights away if they’re terrorists, or foreigners, or not like us. For a group of people who is so hell-bent on screaming about their rights, opponents of this sure don’t care much about keeping them around.
When one person’s rights are being trampled upon, you’d better watch your back, because it’s the government the constitution is regulating, not you. And when the government is able to bend the constitution for one group, it’s possible that a group you belong to is not that far behind.
Attributing a lot of this post to: “The Trial: Eric Holder and the battle over Khalid Sheikh Mohammed” by Jane Mayer in The New Yorker, Feb. 15, 2010

food for thought

food for thought

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in an age where so much money is exchanged electronically, i don’t think it’s necessarily uncommon for a person to not have checkblanks.
so when i went to target to open a redcard debit account, i couldn’t because i didn’t have checkblanks. i had my account numbers, but no physical check. “no problem” they said. apply for the credit and have them change it over to debit once you get your physical card in the mail.
which i got today. called the number. guess what? i couldn’t do it. they need the physical check to do it.
come on target, i think it’s time to realize the highly electronic age in which we live.

yuck

yuck

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i’ve been feeling especially old these days. i don’t know if it’s because i’m in a weird, new spot, so all i do is sit here and think about the other places i’ve been and miss all that i’ve done in these other places or what. the backs of my hands are getting more worn and lines on my face won’t go away. the grey hairs in my part are certainly popping out more. (well, i’m hoping that last one will slow down with the slow down in stress in my life.)
but it’s like i’m suddenly more aware of my mortality and the actual act of getting old – the physical signs are becoming more apparent. which scares the bejesus out of me. we all think we’re immortal. we know we’re not, but we think and feel like we are.
or maybe i need to get out more.

dual-screen viewing

dual-screen viewing

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there has been a lot of buzz lately about dual-screen tv viewing. i’ve posted in the past about how hard it is for me to watch tv shows or netflix or a movie without having a laptop or phone in hand – electronic ADD.
to which i say, big whoop. remember the years 1999-2000? when pets.com was a thing still?

awww, i miss this guy.

also the year companies started putting their web addresses on their tv commercials. also the year i lived in lottie hall at csb where my tv and computer were 5 feet apart. also the year where i would see a web address on a commercial and hop up to check it out while still watching tv.
as i said, big whoop. dual screening is not a new thing – it’s at least 10 years old for college students, who are used to plugging away on their laptop while the tv is on, or having a tv and computer both going strong in a small confined space (aka dorm rooms).
so when they are spouting off about dual-screening lately, what they mean is that your mom is doing it. you’ve been doing it for quite some time, but now that an older generation is tweeting while watching NCIS, by god it’s a trend!