A vague disclaimer is nobody’s friend so I’ll be as specific as possible.

THIS IS A RANT

Everybody got it?  Okay, here we go.

ahemCHILDREN ARE PEOPLE.  They have rights just like you do as their parent.  I can understand your desire to show them off to all of your friends on facebook but let me be very clear.  

FACEBOOK is NOT private.  All someone has to do is right click on  your child’s picture and it is now on their computer.  So maybe you need to think twice before you post 300 pictures of your child’s completely naked body and put it in a public forum.  

1. Your child is a human being with individual rights.  Granted, they do not know that their naked picture is on facebook, but let’s think, do you want your naked picture on facebook? NO!  There is a big difference between a picture in the tub in a family photo album where, when the child ages, they will have some ability to monitor who gets to see it.  It is completely different to place it online where people you may or may not even talk to can see it.  Respect children, they are not your pets or your property, accord them the same resepct you would anyone else.

2. This point is unfortuante but realistic.  Odds are, if you are friends with over 500 people, at least one of them has some type of sex offense in their past that you do not know about.  Would allow people you barely know access to hard copies of pictures of your kid and let them take them home.  NO, but that’s what you’re doing every time you put a picture like that on a public forum.  I understand its an uncomfortable thought but the fact is that your child is not in control of images of their body and you are in charge of protecting them.  Please, think about it.

END RANT

Just a quick couple of things: this is not in regards to breast-feeding,  This is focused on the amount of pictures that I have seen people post on facebook of their child naked.  I understand that it’s cute and as a parent you just want to share your love with your friends.  However,  my mentality is different after working with sex offenders for a period of time in my life and my belief that there can be a tendency of some parents to forget that their kids are individual people who have rights of their own.

I promise I still exist I just have been horrible at posting lately.  I would say it’s because I’m really busy but I”m not busier than usual. I’ve just been slightly lazy and feeling like whenever I find something to blog about 600 other people have already gotten to it, which I know isn’t a legitimate reason.  I”m starting to get some motivation back, so of course I am getting ready to leave town for a week.  So I am giving myself a homework assignment.

I will be in the DOminican Republic for a week but I have 3 books that I”m planning on reading, “Quiverfull” “The Purity Myth” and RAchel Simmons new one “The curse of the Good girl”  Plan on reviews of at least one-two of those when I return.

Until then, everyone help each other, try not to be assholes and have safe weeks. Hope to connect with everyone again soon!

A lot of people are saying that Where the Wild Things Are is too scary for kids and is an adult movie.

I’ll present my argument with the following clips from my childhood movies

There was also “Old Yeller” which I still don’t talk about much. I’d like to know what sick fucker thought the best way to end the movie was to have a kid blow his dogs head off

Dollhouse, Joss Whedon’s fourth show, has now been back for season 2 for 3 weeks.   I’ve been watching it and am finding it better than the way the show started season one but not as good as the way that season ended.  However, with Summer Glau and Keith Carradine set to make appearances soon I’m highly hopeful.  I am also excited that they seem to have sped up the process of Echo becoming self-aware, and not just in little catch phrases and body movements, but in her actually voicing what she feels and working to try and control the imprints.

The most recent episode had a pretty interesting theme.  The main plot involved a man who had a tendency to kidnap other women and make them into dolls (get it, nudge nudge) that he would pose in macabre spectacles of how he felt his family life should have gone.  One of the women fights back and although he kills her she manages to drug him enough that when he goes out into the city he gets hit by a car and put into a coma.  Of course, he has a well-placed uncle, as all fucked up rich boys often do, who knows about his beahvior and wants to find the women before they die and they can’t cover it up anymore.  

Adelle shows that she does have limits when they discover that the nephew’s brain make up shows no capacity for empathy and even Topher as ethical issues (a point brought up, hilariously, by Boyd).  The dump the nephew in Victor and Ballard has to try to find the women.  Of course things get fucked up and the uncle breaks Victor/the nephew out thinking that he will tell him where the women are being kept.

The B-plot is Echo’s engagement as an complete cardboard character of an air headed co-ed who has the hots for her teacher who wants to introduce her to Chaucer.  At first I was just my usualy rolling eyes at this engagement, but then, as the show cut between conversation between Echo, or Kiki (seriously), and the teacher and Ballard and the nephew. I realized what the show was doing.  A lot of people have complained that the show hasn’t made enough of a stand on how they think the concept of the Dollhouse is wrong.  I personally don’t see it as I think there have been plenty of signs about consent and immorality but I felt this scene was another way of showing it.

YOU have one man complaining about real women and how they mess everything up and they are all whores and you know that he creates fake women, using real women’s  bodies to create the image of the way he thinks life SHOULD be.  The other conversation is of a professor who does just that with the Dollhouse.  Creating a human being within the Dollhouse and using that character to act out his fantasy of sexual play.  It is very clear that both me, through their ways of acting out their fantasy, don’t want 3 dimensional women.  The prof. does not want a women who can challenge him intellecutally and the nephew does not want women who have lives that don’t revolve around what he desires.  There is no room for anyone but themselves in their little world and while we sit their and condem the nephew (including Adelle and Topher) noone stops to think what might be going on the mind of their basic employee and how similar those thought processes must be.

The man that wants to have sex with the woman is just lonely and they are helping him based on their belief that the actives have given some type of consent.  However, the man that takes over women’s bodies on his own is a vicious monster.  One is the rapist hiding in the bush we all should be afraid of, the other is the good guy, the pastor’s kid, the one who couldn’t possibly have “meant” to rape someone and should really be given a second chance because he didn’t “mean” to hurt anyone.

Hey everyone.

Just wanted to apologize for my absence over the last few weeks.  Some of you know I got some pretty crappy news, I’ve been sick and work has been pretty stressful. Plus I’ve had to take a licensure exam (I passed) and we’re getting new floors.  So, I will try to get make a bit more of a regular posting schedule over the next few weeks. I”m hoping all the TV shows starting up again will help.  

Until then I just wanted to talk about my number one Feminist annoyance.  When I say feminist annoyance I mean something small in our society that truly is not something to have rallies about or go activist on, but still every time I see it it reminds me that women are still considered “different” (in a bad way).

I absolutely despise pink themed sportswear.  Now let me be clear,  The Bears did have a shirt that had Pink on it but the proceeds went 100% to research (Bear down!) and it also was a navy blue shirt with pink writing.  What I’m talking about are the pink Jerseys or the pink hats.  Why is it assumed that if you want women to wear a sports team’s clothing you must make it pink instead of the actual team’s colors.  Are women not big enough sports fans?  And what does it say to women, even when rooting for you team you must make it clear that you ARE female. Heaven forbid someone not recognize it in a regular jersey or hat or shirt. Also, and this is just me being a snob but, if you’re really a fan of a team shouldn’t you want to wear the colors to announce it to everyone else. Why should someone have to try and read the name at the back of teh jersey to figure it out because everything has to be in pale pink.  If you’re a Steelers fan damnit you should be willing to look like a yellow jacket in a black and yellow jersey.

Okay, I’m done, what are some of your feminist annoyances?

Tennis

You can’t see them in this picture but he arms that I would just love to lick.

So, most people are aware of the wildfires that are raging in California right now.  There was just a recent article about people living close to the blaze who are not evacuating.

“It’s my house, I don’t want anything to happen to it,” said the 47-year-old film producer, whose wife and daughter left Monday to stay with friends. “I’d rather be here and leave at the last minute than down the hill not knowing what’s happening

That hasn’t daunted Joseph Stachura. He’s staying with his 3,500-square-foot home in Big Tujunga Canyon where he has his own well and a pump that can drain 12,000 gallons of water from his pool. He has also stocked fireproofing gel to spray on his roof along with other firefighting supplies

Something to highlight.  All of these people have consistent resources to get out whenever they want.  They can afford materials to save their house or can, as one pair did before, jump into a hot tub to protect themsevles from the flames. 

Meanwhile, the people of Katrina, who did not have resources to get out and were stranded or just did what some of these people are doing, which is not wanting to leave their homes and everything they had (a completely natural human reponse), were called stupid and were told they had what was coming to them. 

There is a big difference between the people that are being highlighted in this article and those that were stranded before Katrina and there is a big difference between what the way they are being presented.  One is exhibiting a very human response and are given agency and not being criticized for any moral failing or blamed for any possible damage to their homes.  The others were considered crazed animals who didn’t know any better to save themselves and deserved no sympathy because their reactions were obviously so different.

What are the most obvious differences: One is focusing on the rich and the white (people who are always given the benefit of humanity and agency in our culture), the others were low-income and mostly POC (people who are often dehumanized and denied the very basic right of being allowed to exhibit basic human behavior/limitation without judgment).

Hey everyone,

I am teaching a class referred to as “abnormal psychology”  I hate the term and have already discussed why with my class but I want to make sure that my class is as progressive as possible and involves the opinions of those who are dealing with the symptoms of mental illness.  I have read pieces from those that talk about their PTSD symptoms or other such things and I generated a discussion about the recent clusterfuck that was the Salon article but I was wondering about any more resources or advice, whether it be blogs or just things to remember and look out for.  I also want to make sure that the reality of mental health treatment is discussed in this class and I have a decent enough concept of how frustrating it is from my end of being a provider and trying to get people services but would love input on how it can be on the other side.

Please spread this along

Right now tons of reproductive rights activists are in Bellevue, Nebraska to show support for Dr. Carheart.

I was unable to go but I did donate money and received five Trust Women Bracelets from NARAL Pro Choice America.  They as asking that anybody that has one to take a picture with them wearing the bracelet and a sign with the words “Trust Women”

here’s my submission

the link to send your picture is here.

I also have 4 bracelets left, if anyone wants one email your address to me at natmusk at yahoo dot com