Commercials in general are getting to me recently. I would like advertisers to know that I’m not a jerk, don’t want to be a jerk, nor do I want to be associated with jerks. Why would you think otherwise? But they obviously do. The current crop of cell phone commercials (Sprint especially) show that people who use their products are inconsiderate asses. Why do they think that makes me want to own their product? Maybe they believe that deep down I want to behave that way, and so owning their product will give me an excuse? So not the case.
The Pay Gap
04
Mar
Threads on the pay gap between men and women (and whose fault it is) pop up pretty regularly over at Your Money. Truth be told, I think we regulars all make close to the same arguments every time. I’m good with that.
I believe the only way we fix underlying gender discrimination in our society is by talking about it, by making people aware. Even for people who disagree with the way I see things, I believe they will be more conscious of their own actions in situations where gender discrimination might come up, if they’ve thought about it recently.
We Have a Right to Free Speech, Even When We Don’t Want to Hear it
03
Mar
I hate the Westboro Baptist Church, and all it stands for, but the Supreme Court made the right decision, in their ruling that the church can not be sued for protesting outside military funerals.
No matter how much I dislike what you’re saying, our soldiers are fighting and dying for your right to say it. And while I think you’re discrediting their sacrifice through these protests, I think it would be even more greatly discredited if we took that right away.
This was as close to no win situation as the court gets. I think they went the right way.
Why Geek Girl Con is Important
02
Mar
As a society have built up attitudes regarding what girls and boys are supposed to be good at. This article details a study that shows just how important it is for girls to have female role models in math and science. Girls are more actively engaged, try harder, and honestly believe they can do the math when they see other women do math. This is true even when the girls are better at math than the boys. If they only see men, it does not matter how skilled the girls actually are, they don’t believe they can do the math.
Beastly
01
Mar
I am annoyed by the commercials for the new Beauty and the Beast movie, Beastly. I love the fairy tale, but I think we’ve lost the lesson it teaches. The lesson isn’t about beauty, its about learning to like yourself no matter what you look like, that being a good person is as important as being a pretty person.
But the new movie promises that our hero will learn the true meaning of beauty. Except that he still falls for the hot chick. It appears the hot chick knows the true meaning of beauty, but our hero, not so much.
Oscar Alternatives
28
Feb
I used to love award shows, especially the music award shows, but I watched them all. Now, I pretty much avoid award shows. I just do not find them that interesting. I can always look on the internet the next morning to find out who won what. And with youtube, I can generally go find any performance that I might have really wanted to see.
Luckily, other networks tend to show marathons during awards shows, so I get to watch Mike Holmes fix people’s houses, which I find a lot more interesting that finding out which movie Hollywood liked best.
Violent Video Games do NOT Desensitize us to Violence
26
Feb
There is a study out that suggests violent video games don’t desensitize people to violence. However, the article I read about the study does its best to make sure that when you finish reading, you still believe video games are BAD for children, because of course, this is just one study, and well, we all KNOW violent games lead to violent kids.
I don’t mind the restraint, (Though I’m against the reasoning behind it.) I just wish reporters could show the same restraint over studies that appear to prove our assumptions as they do the ones that go against it.
Feeling Overwhelmed By Debt
25
Feb
Kind of a classic YM thread, even though there doesn’t appear to have been much movement on it.
In this case, we have a first time poster talking about feeling overwhelmed by debt, feels like she never has money, and yet is also certain that she would have nothing to do if she didn’t spend money on entertainment.
The regular posters are actually being pretty nice, asking for a budget breakdown, letting her know it is normal to feel this way, and offering a way out. I hope she’s moved over to the Women in Red boards as was suggested.
Goodbye DOMA, Don’t Let the Door Hit You in the Ass on the Way Out
24
Feb
Wednesday morning, President Obama, acting on the advice of the Attorney General, decided that discrimination based on sexual orientation should be presumed unconstitutional. This created a snowball effect which as the Department of Justice concluding that the “Defense of Marriage” Act is also unconstitutional and an illegal law.
I am going to let that sink in for a moment. DOMA = unconstitutional
Repealing DOMA means that all states would have to recognize all marriages from other states. It means a couple from Utah can get married in Massachusetts, and Utah has to accept the marriage, even if they’re both men.