i believe in free speech and the fact that is a two way street — even if you if you don`t want to hear it or it`s upsetting to you; if free speech is to work, then people have a right to say what they want.
i believe social services should be limited, or the system better managed; they are people that need help and are too proud to take it and there are people who abuse the system. i think there should be conditions to unemployment benefits and welfare, it`s not an entitlement and should not be treated as such.
i believe corporations are supposed to make a profit, but not to the detriment of society at large. which includes, no offshore holdings, you want to do business in a country, you pay the applicable taxes in said country. i also believe that corporations are not entitled to government bailouts.
i believe consenting adults are entitled to whatever sexual practices gratify them in the privacy of their domicile.
i believe in the separation of church and state. tax-exempt religious organisations have no business in policy decisions.
i believe in a woman`s right to choose. a woman; ie a female person of legal age of consent, but i believe it shouldn`t be the state`s responsibility to pay for it and it shouldn`t be used as a form of birth control.
i believe young people should be educated about sexuality without stigma. most of this responsibility is on the parents but part of the education system should fill in the blanks that parents have left out without prejudice.
i believe jails are a form of punishment and should not have perks, when you are imprisoned, you have given up the bonuses you`re entitled to as a free citizen. i also believe taxpayers should not fit the bill for the prison system.
these are my beliefs and i`m still entitled to them.
a couple sundays ago was my seventh wedding anniversary. i know there are people out there that have been married longer, but this has been my longest adult relationship. i remember posting the day before i moved here about not expecting a fairy tale. and i was right. i think too many people get into relationships expecting the happily ever after. they work on the courting and wooing but don’t continue after the relationship is established. this where the trip up is. like everything else that’s successful it requires work and realistic expectations.
i think one of those expectations is compromise. even though the concept of open discourse seems to be lost in the wider populace, i think if we start at home, maybe it will find its way back. i’m not saying don’t disagree; the occasional arguments are healthy, especially the making up part; but don’t just walk away from it either and it’s not the end of the world if you argue or disagree. if the relationship is over after an argument, there were more fundamental problems.
we are not perfect, we all have our flaws, there is always going to be that thing your partner does that just infuriates you, but it works both ways too but there is that twinkle or that one thing about them that makes you fall in love again every single day. it’s not about overlooking fatal flaws and sticking it out no matter what but finding that compromise.
SUPPOSEDLY if you’ve seen over 85 of these films, you have no life. Mark the ones you’ve seen. There are 239 films on this list. Copy this list, then, put x’s next to the films you’ve seen, add them up, change the header adding your number, and share at will. Have fun.
(x) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(x) Grease
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest
(x) Boondock Saints
(x) Fight Club
(x) Starsky and Hutch
(x) Neverending Story
(x) Blazing Saddles
(x) Airplane
(x) The Princess Bride
(x) Anchorman
(x) Napoleon Dynamite
(x) Labyrinth
( ) Saw
( ) Saw II
( ) White Noise
(x) White Oleander
(x) Anger Management
(x) 50 First Dates
(x) The Princess Diaries
(x) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
(x) Scream
( ) Scream 2
( ) Scream 3
(x) Scary Movie
( ) Scary Movie 2
( ) Scary Movie 3
( ) Scary Movie 4
(x) American Pie
(x) American Pie 2
( ) American Wedding
( ) American Pie Band Camp
(x) Harry Potter 1
(x) Harry Potter 2
(x) Harry Potter 3
(x) Harry Potter 4
(x) Resident Evil 1
(x) Resident Evil 2
(x) The Wedding Singer
( ) Little Black Book
( ) The Village
(x) Lilo & Stitch
(x) Finding Nemo
( x) Finding Neverland
(x) Signs
() The Grinch
() Texas Chainsaw Massacre
() Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
() White Chicks
() Butterfly Effect
() 13 Going on 30
(x) I, Robot
() Robots
(x) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
(x) Universal Soldier
( ) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
( ) Along Came Polly
(x) Deep Impact
(x) KingPin
(x) Never Been Kissed
(x ) Meet The Parents
(x ) Meet the Fockers
(x) Eight Crazy Nights
(x) Joe Dirt
(x) KING KONG
(x) A Cinderella Story
() The Terminal
(x) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
(x) Dumb & Dumber
( ) Dumber & Dumberer
(x) Final Destination
( ) Final Destination 2
( ) Final Destination 3
(x) Halloween
(x) The Ring
( ) The Ring 2
( ) Surviving X-MAS
(x) Flubber
(x) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
(x) Practical Magic
() Chicago
( ) Ghost Ship
(x) From Hell
(x) Hellboy
(x) Secret Window
(x) I Am Sam
(x) The Whole Nine Yards
( ) The Whole Ten Yards
(x) The Day After Tomorrow
(x) Child’s Play
( ) Seed of Chucky
(x) Bride of Chucky
(x) Ten Things I Hate About You
( ) Just Married
( ) Gothika
(x) Nightmare on Elm Street
() Sixteen Candles
(x) Remember the Titans
( ) Coach Carter
( ) The Grudge
( ) The Grudge 2
(x) The Mask
( ) Son Of The Mask
(x) Bad Boys
(x) Bad Boys 2
(x) Joy Ride
(x) Lucky Number Slevin
(x) Ocean’s Eleven
(x) Ocean’s Twelve
(x) Bourne Identity
(x) Bourne Supremecy
( ) Lone Star
(x) Bedazzled
(x) Predator I
(x) Predator II
( ) The Fog
(x) Ice Age
( ) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
( ) Curious George
(x) Independence Day
(x ) Cujo
( ) A Bronx Tale
(x) Darkness Falls
(x) Christine
(x) ET
(x) Children of the Corn
( ) My Bosses Daughter
( ) Maid in Manhattan
() War of the Worlds
(x) Rush Hour
(x) Rush Hour 2
( ) Best Bet
(x) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
(x) She’s All That
(x) Calendar Girls
() Sideways
(x) Mars Attacks
(x) Event Horizon
(x) Ever After
(x) Wizard of Oz
(x) Forrest Gump
(x) Big Trouble in Little China
(x) The Terminator
(x) The Terminator 2
(x) The Terminator 3
(x) X-Men
(x) X-2
(x) X-3
(x) Spider-Man
(x ) Spider-Man 2
(x) Sky High
(x) Jeepers Creepers
( ) Jeepers Creepers 2
(x) Catch Me If You Can
(x) The Little Mermaid
(x) Freaky Friday
(x) Reign of Fire
(x) The Skulls
(x) Cruel Intentions
( ) Cruel Intentions 2
( ) The Hot Chick
(x) Shrek
(x) Shrek 2
( ) Swimfan
(x) Miracle on 34th street
(x) Old School
( ) The Notebook
( ) K-Pax
(x) Krippendorf’s Tribe
( ) A Walk to Remember
( ) Ice Castles
( ) Boogeyman
(x) The 40-year-old Virgin
(x) Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring
(x) Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
(x) Lord of the Rings Return Of the King
(x) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(x) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(x) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
(x) Baseketball
( ) Hostel
(x ) Waiting for Guffman
( ) House of 1000 Corpses
( ) Devils Rejects
( ) Elf
(x) Highlander
(x) Mothman Prophecies
(x) American History X
( ) Three
( ) The Jacket
(x) Kung Fu Hustle
(x) Shaolin Soccer
(x) Night Watch
(x) Monsters Inc.
( ) Titanic
(x) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
(x) Shaun Of the Dead
( ) Willard
( ) High Tension
( ) Club Dread
(x) Hulk
(x) Dawn Of the Dead
( ) Hook
() Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
(x) 28 days later
(x) Orgazmo
() Phantasm
(x) Waterworld
(x) Kill Bill vol 1
(x) Kill Bill vol 2
(x) Mortal Kombat
() Wolf Creek
() Kingdom of Heaven
() the Hills Have Eyes
() I Spit on Your Grave aka the Day of the Woman
( ) The Last House on the Left
() Re-Animator
(x) Army of Darkness
(x) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(x) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
(x) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(x) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(x) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(x) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
() Ewoks Caravan Of Courage
() Ewoks The Battle For Endor
(x) The Matrix
(x) The Matrix Reloaded
(x) The Matrix Revolutions
(x) Animatrix
(x) Evil Dead
(x) Evil Dead 2
(x) Team America: World Police
(x) Red Dragon
(x) Silence of the Lambs
(x) Hannibal
way back in April ’08, a friend asked me to post some pictures as part of a project. i never did post what the project was about or what the results until now.
Dear All,
Thank you for your interest and participation in the Photo story project. First, let me apologize for the delay in providing this explanation. I am a procrastinator. There is no other excuse.
The project was developed in a Language & Gender class held in the Spr ’08 semester at the University of Mississippi. Language is the tool we use to define the world around us. And in particular, language is the repository for history and attitudes toward class, race, and gender. In class we discussed several studies involving use of language and how it applies to gender. Gender being those presumed societal roles based on sex.
As a writer, and having lead writing workshops, I know that fiction is an ideal way to access spontaneous language that can be examined for attitudes toward gender. A study we read used a Thematic Apperception Test to prompt language. In setting up my study, I used a similar approach. I selected photos that were gender specific, but would not impose any bias. And leaving out the premise of gender in the request, I could be assured that I would be receiving unconscious representations of gender, not “politically correct” accommodations.
Despite having the results of previous studies, I determined to keep an open mind as to what I would find. And, I had a significantly smaller response group than I would have needed to publish a full-fledged study. Still, I noticed some trends.
picture use by demographic
The chart above points out that in large part, participants chose to write about the male (lying in the grass). Could that have been because his picture was first or because males are easier to write about? I could make no definite conclusions.
One result from the prior study indicated that people project violence on to women in their stories. More than half of the stories generated did so, and the other half had elements of oppressive power dynamics against women.
Most telling for me was the use of narrative voice. The voice of an omniscient narrator was most frequent, but only one female chose to use the male narrative voice, where two males chose the female narrative voice. I can say I hadn’t expected that.
gender of the narrative voice
Another element to look for was the gender roles created for the characters . By and large, the person added was a romantic partner; we also have mothers and fathers, a sister, a brother, a daughter, several non-gender specific friends, and an art patron (♂).
Of the eight stories about Photo A, half of the stories added girlfriends. All of these relationships end badly. I was able to infer, women are selfish, capricious, controlling, subject to the will of others, dismissive or easily dismissed, and brought to tears. Only one story makes direct reference to say, “Women. They are so vain.” While depictions of the woman in Photo B, as the girlfriend, is aggressive, challenging, highly sexual, anxious, dependent, patient, indecisive, and pathetic.
In some ways, the male character fares better as protagonist, by being a full and present character in the majority of stories. As the primary focus of the tale, he is presented sympathetically, i.e. we feel what he feels. He’s dumped four times which is an atypical inclusion of self-deprecation. Overall, men are presented as assholes, arrogant pricks, unable to hear sarcasm, irresponsible, and uncaring. Unlike the references to women, one man does “earn” a positive attribute; he is “a good role model.”
I was able to show the TAT is a useful means of collecting data on gender performance and interaction. Participants, for the most part, assigned roles and behaviors along rather typical lines because there is still a great reliance on the delineation of men and women. And while I would not suppose these are the personal ideological opinions of the participants themselves, I had to base my evaluations on what was present or absent from the stories.
Oh, and I got an A on the paper and in the class. Thank you.
IF YOUR LIFE WAS A MOVIE, WHAT WOULD THE SOUNDTRACK BE?
So, here’s how it works:
1. Open your library (iTunesWindows Media PlayerWinamp, whatever you use…)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that’s playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don’t lie
Opening Credits:
Curve of the Earth – Matt Nathanson
Waking up:
Rise Above It – Afro Celt Sound System
First Day at High school:
Mojo Jojo in Bubbles Body – Powerpuff Girls
Falling In Love:
Conspiracy of the Heart – Steve Wynn
Fight Song:
Bitch, Where’s my Bacon
Breaking Up:
Blue Lines – Massive Attack
Prom:
Burn – John Wesley Harding
Life:
Blue Moon – The Marcels
Mental Breakdown:
What’s your Fantasy (Remix) – Ludacris
Driving:
5/4 – Gorillaz
Flashback:
Smile – Lyle Lovett
Back Together:
Schism – Tool
Wedding:
Diabolical Scheme – The Hives
Birth of Child:
A Hard Day’s Night – Otis Redding
Final Battle:
Shatner – Triumph the Insult Comic Dog
Death Scene:
There’ll come a time – John Butler Trio
Funeral Song:
Like a Pen – The Knife
End Credits:
Leave it Like it Is – David Wilcox
got this from the wyf
1. Where is your cell phone? pocket
2. Your significant other? driving
3. Your hair? long
4. Your mother? strange
5. Your father? unknow
6. Your favorite thing? (as in a tangible, touchable thing?) food
7. Your dream last night? unremembered
8. Your favorite drink? water
9. Your dream/goal? leisure
10. The room you’re in? cube
11. Your fear? failure
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? europe
13. Where were you last night? store
14. What you’re not? idealistic
15. Muffins? maybe
16. One of your wish list items? computer
17. Where you grew up? trinidad
18. The last thing you did? dinner
19. What are you wearing? clothes
20. Your favorite TV show? (shouldn’t it be favorite one word TV titled tv show?) angel
21. Your pet? orion
23. Your life? spectacular
24. Your mood? excited
25. Missing someone? always
26. Your car/truck? blue
27. Something you’re not wearing? piercing
28. Favorite Store? apple
29. Your summer? casual
30. Your favorite color? grey
31. When is the last time you laughed? recently
32. Last time you cried? months
THREE PLACES I GO OVER AND OVER: work, work and kingston
THREE OF MY FAVORITE FOODS: ribs, duck, doubles
PLACE I WOULD RATHER BE RIGHT NOW: london
this april will mark my sixth anniversary of maintaining a blog with five of those being with the recently defunct journalspace. luckily i had most of my entries stored offline as i was trying to migrate them here. there are a lot of people that are not as fortunate.
moving all those entries have allowed me to retag and review some of the stuff i posted over the years. it gives me a very big brother feel, deciding which portions of my history i want presented. although with the ubiquitousness of the google cache, i’m sure even the portions that are not being reposted can be found somewhere. currently, i’m adding and editing entries from july 2004, including search for and ultimate success in finding a job. with the benefit of hindsight, i wonder if i was that anxious to do have a job that i completely misread the situation or as i continue to move, i’ll find the point where things all started to go wrong.
the other thing that the journalspace failure has solidified in my mind, aside from the need for frequent and reliable backups, is the need to have control of my own content. it’s easy to let someone else do all the hard work, but what happens when it becomes too much trouble, too expensive or too impractical to maintain or change the terms of service at random? journalspace is not the first provider to close it’s doors nor will they be the last. one of my objectives for 2009 is to host all my online digital content myself or at least have copies hosted here. it’s never going to be as slick as flickr or .mac and i’m never going to have all the features that those services provide, but at least it will all be mine.
we’re going to be down to one car for most of the month of january and we’ve been trying to figure out how to handle the hectic schedules of three people that have to go in basically three different directions on a daily basis.
about half a block down our street is a bus stop, but in the almost two years that we’ve lived there we can count on the fingers of one hand how many times we’ve actually seen a bus and two of those occasions have been in the last week. but with such an auspicious sign, i decided to go look at the schedule. not that schedules mean much to the nashville mta, a couple years ago when we were still a one car family i decided for the sake of practicality to take a bus home. it should not have been a big deal, i would get to the stop before the night schedule began and get home at some reasonable hour. the best laid plans of mice and men… i waited for close to an hour with sight of a bus and when i did see one it was off duty.
i like public transportation, if it functioned properly here, i would be the first person to stop driving. i grew up using the public transportation system in trinidad and that was mostly dysfunctional at best. when i interned in NY, it took a couple of weeks, but once i figured out the schedule, i could get from one side of town to the next with the greatest ease, moving from bus to subway and back again. in london, vic’s visit was made infinitely easier with week long family passes and one of the high points was sitting at the front on the top level of a double-decker bus and taking our own public transport tour of st. paul’s and the house of parliament instead of the extravagant grey line tours.
school reopens next week and i think we’re going to give the boy chick a shot of taking the bus home a couple days a week and see how it works out. as much as i would like to make this a regular thing, the nashville mta is far to flawed to make it practical. in a city as spread out as nashville, there are not enough routes. couple that with obligatory transfers at the central hub downtown, it makes any sort of crosstown commute within a reasonable time frame impossible.
