Aggravating Alice

2011-08-09T16:15:00.000-07:00

Seriously, I hate everyone.

The stupidity!

2011-07-25T19:51:00.001-07:00

I know that when I am done with this program, I will have a great job working with animals that will be super awesome. In the mean time I am so frustrated by the stupidity and immaturity of many of the people I deal with every day. I just don't have the patience. I don't. Anyone who knows me knows that I have a very low thresh-hold for stupidity. I don't hide my contempt well, and I know that I end up alienating myself from a lot of people. For a long time, I put myself in a situation where I had to deal with very few really stupid people. I worked at the bookstore and I went to school. All of my friends and family are very smart in their own ways and I married Tim, who is very smart (if not a bit idealistic :). But since I've been to Chicago, I've had to face the reality of the masses and it is not a fun reality. I mean, it's easy to say "people are stupid" and leave it at that. But when you're in an english class and a student asks the teacher WHY is the comma INSIDE the quotation marks??!!! It makes me want to cry or scream or run out of the room. These people all got into a college (admittedly, Fox College), and I know they had to write an entrance essay. so, um, really? You don't know where to put a comma? are we in elementary school? Really, you don't know how to solve for X? REALLY?!!!

I know it's only for another year, and I know today I was SUPER tired so my patience was even less, but still. It is grating. I'm going to leave you with the current status of one of the kids in my cohort:

"Most smart ppl arent wise...i think id wanna be wise than smart"

You're welcome.

Seriously?

2011-07-23T15:48:00.000-07:00

So I know I haven't posted for a while but I'm sick and I'm pissed off. Seriously guys? Amy Winehouse? SERIOUSLY? I have only seen one post of my FB feed about the fucking TERRORIST MASSACRE in Norway, but I've seen a million posts about Amy Winehouse.

Is addiction in its own right sad? yes. Is it sad when a person dies? yes. Did a lot of people love her work and will be sad that she passed? yes.

However, my sympathy for her is so much lower for the fact that her most famous song is about ACTIVELY REFUSING to get any help for herself and even makes light of the idea of getting clean. Did anyone really believe she would live to a ripe old age? why is this so tragic? or shocking? Why is everyone acting like they just LOVED her soooo much all of a sudden? How many heroin addicts die that you have never heard of, or given a shit about? so don't act like heroin addiction is so fucking tragic. That guy on the street, are you going to put up a RIP for him on your Facebook? probably not because he didn't know how to sing.

ON THE FLIP SIdE OF THIS: why does no one apparently give a shit about the massacre in Norway? is it too much? is it so much easier to put a face on one death than think about the dozens of teenagers who were murdered because they were learning to be politically involved!!! Just not the right KIND of politically involved according to this crazy fucker. Yeah, I love all this violence against liberals lately. Have we been calling it terrorism? not really. Because the liberals aren't *really* innocent and because the terrorists are not muslim. It's so very easy when they are!! we don't have to know their motives or care about their thoughts. they are muslim and therefore deficient and predisposed to terrorism. White people who commit mass violence, they are a "puzzle!" how could this good, pure, white person commit such crimes? It hurts our collective brains to think about it! so we talk about Amy Winehouse. Not about the violence from the right. Not about the violence against children. Not against anti-government extremism. No, we talk about someone who we may have heard on the radio now and again. Who we all watched as the media made a spectacle of her and her addictions. We all made jokes about her crazy hair and makeup and now we are SO VERY upset that she is dead. I'm SO VERY upset that those kids who were being kids and learning about being in politics and making a difference were brutally murdered.

Backlog

2010-10-15T13:28:00.000-07:00

So, I have this issue. I have surrounded myself with all sorts on interesting, diverse, opinionated people. Which is great. However, I feel painted into a corner about expressing some of my opinions. Pretty much everything I say will offend someone, piss someone off, or start a crazy ranty long back and forth. And, to be honest, I don't mind offending my conservative friends (we kind of have an unspoken agreement not to take it personally) but with my more liberal friends, I am worried about stepping on toes. It makes me think of the old Russian leftist saying "no enemies on the left!" So, I've been holding tongue. Which, I know can be a very good thing. And I know that my friends hold there tongue when it comes to things I post and say. But I'm feeling feisty today, so I'm going to let it out. Here are some rants that I've been saving up::

Of course the Federal judges have jurisdiction on Don't ask, Don't tell. Just because it has to do with the military doesn't mean that only military courts can oversee it. The military ultimately derives its power from the federal government. That's why the president is the commander in chief. Also, the soldiers in the army are U.S. citizens, and if their rights are getting trampled on then it is a federal issue. P.S. I don't really get why people are against this. I'm not going to join the fucking army. So if someone DOES want to join, and will do a good job and serve their country, who cares if they like dick? Or vag. Seriously. Our country has a terrible preoccupation with sex.

The vanity fair article on Sarah Palin was NOT sexist. seriously. The argument was that by focusing on her temperament and her parenting, she was not getting the same treatment that a male politician would get and therefore it was sexist. OK, here's the problem. The only thing that Sarah Palin HAS is her personality and her role as a mother. That's what she is focusing on. that's what she's capitalizing on. What was the guy going to talk about, her policies? her great political contributions?? Seriously she was a governor for a low-population state for half a term. She doesn't HAVE any policy. She has made her carrer by exploiting her children and her role as a mother and by making people think that she is just like one of them. She's a hockey mom, a mama grizzly, she's an everyman. Yeah, except that she is in reality a giant money-grubbing, fame chasing diva. It is a totally legit topic. If she had a strong body of political work and had spent years in the political game, and all they talked about were her being a mother and a banshee, then that would be sexist. On a side note, I don't think people should be playing the sexism card so fast and loose. We've seen what happened to the race card. It's been cheapened.

We get that Kurt on Glee is a stereotype and doesn't represent all gay people. NO SHIT. do you think all black people are soul singing divas? Do you think all white guys are morons who play football? Do you think all jewish people are hyper perfectionists? ALL the characters on that show are stereotypes. for real. But, to be fair, there ARE a lot of young gay men like that. I was in choir in high school with a boy who ended up being gay as toast and moving to NYC to do fashion. seriously, it happens. and BTW teenage gay men would have grown up with Will & Grace and Queer Eye. They may have learned that the proper way to be a gay guy is to be 'Fabulous.' So, although Kurt is kind of a stereotype and doesn't represent all gay men, he is not completely unrealistic and DOES represent some of them. Also, even tho he's extreme, I think it is SO GOOD to have gay characters on popular shows. If people see characters that are different than them, in race or religion or sexual orientation, and they grow up seeing them on TV and in movies, then they aren't going to be as foreign or strange. There will be something familiar and not scary about them; something human about them.

Ok I feel better. ahhhhhhhhhh. Ok I'm going to take a nap now.

Mommy rant

2010-08-03T20:09:00.000-07:00

I am about to offend lots and lots of people. Just a warning.

This rant is triggered by a few posts by one of my more interesting and opinionated friends. She is a big proponent of co-sleeping. This is the practice of, instead of having your baby sleep in a crib or bassinet, having your infant sleep in the bed with the parents. (I'm all about having the baby in the same room. In the same bed is too far for me) I also want to preface this by saying that she, and all the parents out there, have every right to parent however they want. This is more of an outsider perspective on some of the finer points of parenting and the fears and ideas of a future mother.

I find it completely ridiculous and damaging that parents today feel like they can only be good parents if they spend every waking (and now sleeping) second on their children. Like I mean every fucking second. Like you can't be away from your child for more than 30 minutes at a time without running the risk of being thought of as a bad parent.

On the side of the parents, what kind of relationship can you have if you are always *always* with your children. I get that once you become a parent your relationship is changed, and your level of intimacy will drop dramatically. However, how much intimacy can you have at all (and I'm not just talking sexual) if you are never alone with your spouse. ever. until they're like 4. even in bed. I mean, God!! you can't even cuddle with your mate because there's a CHILD between you. And like, I know I'm going to want to leave the kids with a babysitter or my mother so Tim and I can go out, even away for a few days, when the kids are still little. This is not to say I think parents shouldn't spend lots of time and love and attention on their children. They should. Lots.

But, how are kids going to learn to be functional, independent people if they have never been away from their parents for more than a few hours their whole lives? Like, until they go to Kindergarten. (you know, unless they just keep them at home by homeschooling or some shit ;) How are they going to learn to make friends? or say, deal with uncomfortable situations? or deal with ANY situations outside of their family/home? adaptability? who needs it? mommy will ALWAYS be there to fix things or comfort them or whatever. Man I started going to daycare when I was 8 months old. I have had an AMAZINGLY close relationship to my mother (so don't pull any of that closeness to the mother shit) AND I have been out dealing with social situations my whole life.

Also, what does it teach the kids? That mothers forfeit their lives and personalities as soon as they have children? Like that they have NOTHING going for themselves other than mothering? I want my kids to see me working. I want them to see me having a job and a life and friends and hobbies.

On another note, does anyone else notice that this new generation of kids in America (and elsewhere) are a bunch of fucking irresponsible, above-the-rules, narcissists. If your parents have told you everyday of your life that you are more special, more talented, more important than all the other kids, is it any wonder that the kids grow up to think they are the center of the universe and that the rules don't apply to them! Your kids (and my future ones) are not that special. They are part of society, and need to learn to play nice with others. they need to see value in others and know that in order to function in the world they have to take other peoples thoughts and feelings into consideration. If you are such a special, important flower then you don't need to worry about other sad worthless people's feelings. I think that this is one of the causes of the major social problems in the world right now.

If you think I'm exaggerating than listen to this story:: In a high school, in a nice middle class neighborhood, a few kids broke into their teacher's computer and changed their grades. This was not the first time that sort of thing had happened at this school and the principal had had to deal with it several times before. The principal expelled these students. The parents of the students sued the school and made such a stink that the principal had to resign. The parents KNEW that the students had committed the crime and they still bullied the principal to resign. why? because the kids wouldn't get into college if they had been expelled.

Oh I could go on. about, say, how having a baby may be a great thing in your life, but it is not a miracle. Turning water into wine is a miracle. Doing what your body, as a mammal, has been created to do is not. But I'll stop for tonight.

2010-06-16T17:24:00.000-07:00

So, I like having a blog, but I have too short of an attention span. I think of good things to write about, usually while I'm driving, and I've forgotten them by the time I get home. I think I'm going to start a Twitter account. Well, that is if I really do get the iphone Tim keeps talking about. I'm funny in short bursts, i think.

I am, however, planning a big blog undertaking later this year. I am going to read the Bible from start to finish and blog about it. Because, I've read a lot of it, in bits in pieces, but not the whole thing continuously. So that's my mission. It will probably start after we've moved to Chicago and I've gotten a little settled. So, you know, Look forward to that.

Also I'm getting married in three weeks. terror.

Humans are not as awesome as we think we are.

2010-05-12T09:19:00.001-07:00

I have been actively avoiding reading or looking at anything to do with the oil spill in the Gulf. I am so thoroughly disgusted by what is happening, that I get physically ill when I think about it. Dead dolphins, sea turtles and fish are washing up on the shores of the United States of America. We are so concerned with the price of oil and keeping our SUVs gassed up, that we would do ANYTHING to get it. War, Drilling in wildlife preserves, unsafe offshore drilling. This event is just another example of something I've been saying for a long time::

Humans are a plague.

We spread wherever we can. We go out of our way to live in places that are not typically inhabitable to us. We destroy whatever we want to get what we "need." We have no respect for nature, in fact we have separated ourselves from nature. We are destroyers and killers and takers.

I drive down the street and see a dead squirrel, hit by a car, and you know what I think? I think that the squirrel was here FIRST. The squirrel SHOULD be here. HUMANS are the aberration. Our ROAD shouldn't be there. The CAR shouldn't have been there. Humans think that we are it, we are number one and the rest of the world was made for us to use. But I don't think that's true. I think that we are taking over and destroying the things that God made.

We think it's cute to have a tree in our yard, when the land it was build on used to be a forest. We get upset when our basements flood when the house is build on land that used to be a swamp. We are upset when our houses get hit by tornadoes when the tornadoes have been there for thousands of years, and we're the idiots that build our houses and lives there!

Honestly, I hate humans. I hate the human race as a species that is destroying the earth for its own gain. If I could, I would live in a log cabin, I made myself, out in a forest and live off of food I found.

So, I hope next time we all gas up our cars, or get an oil change, or use a disposable plastic straw, you think of those dead soldiers and dead dolphins. I hope next time you see some roadkill you realize that that was an innocent life that was taken by human comfort and convenience. Next time you see a polar bear, stranded on a last little piece of ice, you think about how fucking GREAT your life is, and you turn up your air conditioning.

Victorian Me

2010-03-31T11:15:00.000-07:00

I've been reading these books that are set in Victorian England (and, yes they are romance novels, BACK OFF). It makes me think about what my life would be like, and what I would be like without modern psychology and medicine. Lets assume that I made it through childhood (which I most definitely would NOT have without modern medicine. Birth defects + pneumonia + shitty immune system). What would me life be like. How would I have dealt with the depression and attention problems? Without the antidepressants that I have been taking since I was 14, would I have even made it this far? That is to say, would I still be alive?

I just finished a book and there were two main female characters. One of them (the main male character's dead wife) was what they described as "melancholy" or perpetually sad, and that it got worse after she gave birth. It's clear that this woman suffered from depression and then postpartum depression. She spent her whole adult life holed up in her bed. She wasn't involved with her children and she wasn't involved with her husband. Eventually she killed herself.

The second character turns out to be the main male character's new wife. She is outgoing and very talkative. She's restless and always wanting to know things, especially other people's business. She's stubborn and is always right.

I found myself relating to both females. If I look at who I am now, I'm much more like the second woman: energetic and curious and stubborn. But when I read about the first woman, I couldn't stop thinking: is that what I would have been like? If I lived in a time where there was almost no understanding of psychology, and most definitely no medicine to help. I think back to who I was when I was a teenager, and without the help I got, I honestly don't think I would have made it to my twenties.

All those people, throughout history, who were depressed, who had mood disorders, how did they survive? Many of them must have just lived in misery, trying to get through their daily lives. How lucky we are today, that we have people and medicine who can help us. Who would we all be, without the modern understanding of psychology and medicine?

Decisions, decisions

2010-03-12T13:20:00.001-08:00

There is this whole group of Americans who have a contradictory view of how the government should act. On the one hand they call for less taxes, less spending, less government interference and regulations for businesses. They want state’s rights, but even then they want the state governments to be small. They oppose the health care reform; they don’t want to have to pay for other people’s care. They oppose restrictions on gun ownership. Generally the feeling is that the government shouldn’t interfere with their lives.

At the same time, these people want to have government regulations on who people can marry and what medical procedures people can have. They oppose teaching certain scientifically based things in public schools (such as evolution and sex education) while lobbying to change curriculums to the versions of history that they think fits into their worldview (I like to call it the “slaves liked being slaves” version of history).

They seem to think that the government’s main job is that of a moral enforcer. They don’t want (or at least they don’t think they want) to have to pay for the government (although I’m sure they’d be upset when their libraries shut down and their parks are full of garbage). But they do somehow want them to inflict their moral code on the population.

There are two main schools of thought about morals. One is that everyone should share the same (or mostly the same) moral code and those morals should be institutionalized in our government. For example: If one was going on the assumption that this is a Christian nation that has the general belief that homosexuality is bad, sex before marriage is a sin and abortion is murder, then you would want to have those morals taught in schools and codified into laws. And you would also believe that this is the code that everyone should have, because if they don’t believe it then they are misinformed, or not saved, or whatever.

The second school of thought is that everyone has a different moral code, and that individuals are responsible for maintaining their own beliefs. There are basic morals that should be laws: stealing, murder, drunk driving, etc. But generally people should be given the choice about how one lives their lives.

Don’t like abortions? Then don’t have one. That’s one of the things that no one will ever agree on. It’s been shown that not only are the abortion rates about the same in places where it’s legal and where it’s illegal, it’s also been shown that the rates are about the same between pro-life and pro-choice people. If you believe that fetuses are babies and have souls then take care of YOUR fetus. That is, again, something that people will never agree on, and really will always be a matter of opinion.

Don’t like gay marriage? Then don’t have one. It’s not your place to impose your morals about homosexuality and love on other people. If you don’t believe it is right, then don’t participate in it. The one thing that I have to say is that it is a church’s right to refuse to house gay marriage ceremonies. I disagree with people who sue churches and religious persons for not participating. It’s their right to refuse.

Think sex before marriage is a sin? Then don’t have it! And if you are married, and now believe that sex before marriage is a sin, think back to whether you had it or not. But don’t require everyone to learn only abstinence because it’s what you believe. Everyone deserves a real education; it’s the only way people can make real, informed decisions. Trust your children, and raise them well; don’t expect your child to make all their decisions from what they learn in school.

I, obviously, am a strong opponent of laws, state or federal, that restrict these important personal choices. I believe that, as far as moral decisions, people have to be responsible for themselves and their families. People believe different things, they belong to different faiths, and they’ve had different life experiences. You can’t inflict your restrictive moral code on everyone.

That is not to say that people can’t have their opinions. Although I think that Carrie Prejean is a horrible hypocritical piece of shit, she had every right to say that she doesn’t believe in gay marriage. But it’s not her, or anyone else’s right to make that decision for anyone else. And it’s not anyone’s place to make people feel bad about who they are because they don’t adhere to your moral code.

So, I guess what I’m saying is that people need to stop worrying about everyone else’s morals and eternal souls, and worry about their own. The only person one has control over is oneself. It’s not the government’s job to be the moral regulator of our country. (It does, however get to be the enforcer of human rights). This train of thought, has admittedly, lead me into a quagmire. I cannot address every counter-point, or tangent that this may lead to, but I tried to address many of them.

Everyone had beliefs and everyone makes choices. We have to learn to accept that different choices are better for different people and we can’t take those choices away before they’re made.

Quality over lack of quantity

2010-03-06T14:40:00.000-08:00

I can't just watch television and movies. I sometimes get lost in them and stop thinking about the actors and the social implications of the story, etc. But that's not usually the case. This in conjunction with the articles about the rail thin models at fashion week got me thinking.

What would movies and television shows look like if actresses were hired because of their talent?

I mean, as opposed to their weight, appearance or age. I know this question has been asked a million times before, but it really gets me! Obviously different parts call for different people; a twenty year old isn't going to play the queen of England. But, women have this ridiculous double standard.

Is there a female equivalent to Forest Whitaker? Any overweight Oscar winning actresses with a lazy eye? How about Joaquin Pheonix? How many high earning actresses have a hare lip? I've seen over weight actors, actors with poc marks, unattractive actors, etc, etc. Remember the show "King of Queens?" How did that fat slob get that hot (and BTW crazy scientologist) wife? How often do you see a super hot guy with a normal looking, slightly over weight woman?

How about a 50 year old woman who actually LOOKS 50? Women over 35 start shellacking themselves to look like teenagers. I'm watching CSI (which is one of my favorite shows) and the actress who plays Catherine Willows, who is 51, has the tightest skin, and a little skinny ass. She's beautiful, don't get me wrong, but damn it, someday i want to see a 50 year old who LOOKS 50! Who hasn't gotten plastic surgery and injected toxins into her forehead!

Think of all the amazingly talented actresses who are automatically excluded from consideration because of their weight. It makes me think of a joke made on 30 Rock. Jenna had gained 30 pounds over the summer, and was returning to TGS. Jack tells her she needs to lose 30 pounds or gain 30, anything else doesn't belong on TV. There is this weird media bias against people with normal body weights. How about some size 8s on TV, huh? some size 10s? People who look like they eat regularly and don't go to the gym every day. Maybe that's too much to ask.

Damn it, now I'm just rambling. I guess what I'm saying is that I want to see some people on TV, or in movies whose arms aren't rock hard and whose belly buttons actually goes IN, and whose legs touch each other. You know who put me on this rant? Heather Graham. She is a god awful actress. I mean really. From Hell? Austen Powers? TERRIBLE! But she's skinny and she's pretty(ish) so she gets movie rolls. I freaking hate Heather Graham.

I know you've guessed that this is a issue close to my heart. I don't need to go into details, but it really gets my goat that real, talented actresses get shut out for girls whose only experience is a high school play and a small ass.

I'm starting a blog

2010-03-04T18:30:00.000-08:00

Hello my lovelies. I, Alice, am starting a blog. As you may have noticed I am rather opinionated, and I have until now been limited to Facebook wall posts. I created this blog as a space for me to share(?) my opinions and thoughts. I hope that you enjoy my ranting.