November 08, 2006
A day after the election
What a night. What an election.
I am filled with so much hope, but now that the power is in our hands, the pessimist in me hopes we don't screw it up.
But what ever. There is always time to worry later. Today's a day of celebration.
(A round of drinks on me for anyone who wants to toast Donald Rumsfeld for resigning.)
In other related news:
The one night I WISH I had cable television--to watch Comedy Central's coverage of the election with Colbert and Stewart. After some research, I found this dazzling quotation from Colbert's faux Republican reporter character. Hilarious beyond words:
"Tomorrow you're all going to wake up in a brave new world - a world where the Constitution gets trampled by an army of terrorist clones created in a stem-cell research lab run by homosexual doctors who sterilize their instruments over burning American flags. Where tax-and-spend Democrats take all your hard-earned money and use it to buy electric cars for National Public Radio and teach evolution to illegal immigrants. Oh, and everybody's high!"
Posted by Kellie at 08:27 PM
November 07, 2006
What we REALLY care about
CNN's 'breaking news' topic (Britney and KFed's divorce annoucement) inspired me to take a closer look at their website for more insightful journalism.
As of 2:25pm on November 7th, this was the top 10 most viewed new stories:
1. Britney Spears divorcing
2. Britney sex tape lawsuit dismissed
3. Hill on CMA reaction: Just joking
4. S.C governor forgets voting card
5. Man jailed for puppy in oven
6. 'Real Borat' seeks apology
7. Suit: Burger King sold pot burgers
8. Parties duking it out for Congress
9. DA: Famed racer killed in vendetta
10. String Cheese Incident to break up.
Nothing is about the election except for #8 (#4 is just gossip). Nothing is about current events in Iraq.
If this information is accurate, it seems to be clear where peoples' priorities lie. Or at least CNN's priorities for featuring so many irrelevant stories.
Posted by Kellie at 10:31 PM
The End of intelligent society as we know it
November 7th. One of the most important days in American society when we vote for our nation, state, city, and district leaders. Well, at CNN.com there's something even more important and urgent to be aware of. In fact, it's "Breaking News" according to them.
I hope hierarchy doesn't mean anything in this case. Or the color red. I thought it was a terror attack for a second.
UPDATE: It gets worse by the minute. It seems that CNN has found an interest in the daily happenings of upcoming celebrity rapper Pat G and has replaced Britney's divorce with the following Breaking News update. What are they going to report about, next?
Posted by Kellie at 09:33 PM
October 10, 2006
Naked = Good
An excerpt from CNN.com caught my attention:
FRISCO, Texas (AP) -- Like the artwork that teacher Sydney McGee insists she was fired for letting her students study, her former school says there's more to her dismissal than is apparent at first glimpse.
McGee, who taught elementary school in this sprawling Dallas suburb, has drawn national sympathy and disbelief since claiming she was let go last month because a parent complained that their child saw a nude piece during a field trip to the Dallas Museum of Art.
Eighty-nine of McGee's fifth-graders toured the museum during the April trip, which McGee concedes likely included nudes but was arranged as a chance to see Picassos and Piet Mondrians.
"It's not a place of pornography, it's art," said McGee, 51, who has taught for 28 years and lists Oxford University among her graduate studies.
Her dismissal has stirred up familiar stereotypes of Texas conservatism run amok and the intemperate prudishness of suburban life.
The Frisco school board suspended McGee, with pay, on September 22 for the remainder of the school year and the superintendent has said he will recommend that her contract not be renewed. District officials have vigilantly maintained that the decision stemmed from separate personnel issues and not one child's exposure to a nude artwork, which has never been identified.
"We have a lot of sporting things in Frisco, with the soccer and the baseball," McGee said. "But not a lot of those kids go to the museum."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I attended a rather conservative, private high school. As an individual who seriously wanted to pursue art in a competitive college setting, I asked the school to offer Life Drawing classes. Knowing the school's Christian background, I suggested that the class should be offered to only senior students who successfully completed x-number of drawing/painting courses or were enrolled in Advanced Placement Art. Not to mention that parents had to sign a waiver form giving their consent. Sounds fair, right? Well, that suggestion wasn't even considered. My friend and I decided to pursue a study of the human form on our own, by sitting in on a college life drawing class. I believe our work was very successful and beautiful. It was also the most challenging drawing assignment of my life! While the subjects were nude, the focus of the study was on the way muscle flexed, and overall dynamic poses that showed movement. Our work was promptly taken down from the student gallery by school officials. Why? Because they were deemed 'pornographic.'
I loved art from the time I was two years old. I looked at paintings as much as possible and saw a lot of naked bodies (such as the famous Venus painting). My family never hid those images from me or made comments about it being bad. As a result, nudity never seemed strange or disturbing. I just figured it was all part of the beauty in art. On a kindergarten field trip to a museum, my classmates erupted in laughter and screams at a statue of a woman's bust. Our teacher hurried us out of that room. She was mortified and apologized to a few of the parent chaperones. I was perplexed. What was wrong? Why was she apologizing? Obviously, someone had instilled in these children that nudity was a shameful thing.
The human body should never be considered pornographic. It is the CONTEXT that the body is situated in that determines whether something is pornographic or harmless. Parents should feel comfortable taking their children to museums of all places. Whether a child is 0-18 years old, there is no harm in seeing a naked body, especially in artwork. Sadly, people are not educated or open-minded enough to distinguish the difference between a naked stripper or a painting of a nude woman by a Great Renaissance master.
Posted by Kellie at 12:44 AM
October 02, 2006
Unnecessary Violence
• September 27, 2006: Authorities said Duane Morrison walked into the school, took six female students hostage and sexually abused them. Four were later released. When a SWAT team stormed the second-floor classroom where Morrison was holding the two remaining hostages, the gunman fatally shot 16-year-old Emily Keyes and then himself.
• October 2, 2006: A gunman burst into an Amish school where he tied up female students and shot them execution style. Story in progress...
Two school-related attacks within a few weeks have left traumatized and dead victims along with their familiies and communities.
This is a disturbing trend that I hope will never happen again. It is horrific to think about brutalities against children. But what has disturbed me and angered me even more are the specific target against females.
These incidents are reminders of the kind of abuse and hatred against women that scar our society. Lesser crimes like physical violence, gender discrimination, and harassment happen every day, unnoticed yet equally horrific and just as resonating as execution style shootings.
This mindset has to stop. How does society put an end to violence against women? What can we do as individuals to help?
Posted by Kellie at 08:36 PM
August 24, 2006
Get the hell away from me
I hate them. You hate them.
The world would be a better place without these blood suckers known as Telemarketers. Tell them to get the hell away from you the 'official' way.
Please do yourself a favor and sign up for the national Do Not Call registry. This is very legitimate, in fact its a wonderful public service from the government. (And its incredibly fast and simple to register...)
Excerpt from the site:
"The National Do Not Call Registry gives you a choice about whether to receive telemarketing calls at home. Most telemarketers should not call your number once it has been on the registry for 31 days. If they do, you can file a complaint at this Website. You can register your home or mobile phone for free. Your registration will be effective for five years."
Posted by Kellie at 08:39 PM
August 21, 2006
Seriously, illegal drugs should be legalized
OR, (a title for you nervous conservative-types out there) Every-day cold medications should be banned.
i am sitting at my desk, staring at a screen that is glowing uncontrollably. I can't concentrate on filling out a simple time-sheet. My throat is frighteningly numb. My heart is pounding. I am about to jump out of my seat and run around the block with all the adrenaline coursing through me. I wish I could brag about being on an amazing ecstacy rush or mushroom trip, but no, I just took two tabs of Dayquil, found in the friendly neighborhood corner store.
All I wanted was to feel better from my sinus cold. Not a less than fulfilling trip without any thumping electronica to dance to...
Posted by Kellie at 08:35 PM
