Category: wtf?!

blog on blog, is it just me?, politics, well?, wtf?!

never satisfied!

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So I saw a blog theme that I liked earlier today, and all it did was put a bee in my bonnet about making changes to mine. Problem is, I only know enough CSS to do the basics, and as such, really don’t know how to edit an open source theme to do what K2 does for me. So that leads me to just being frustrated, and never satisfied with my current theme (which, as you may or may not have noticed, has changed a little over the past few weeks). What does everyone else think about this theme? I like the plaid, but I am not stuck on it. I want something that looks a little less simple; all while maintaining some simplicity. Wow, that sounded way more complicated than I wanted it to. Either way, advice would be welcome at this point.

Also, totally unrelated, but why are people even listening to Mike Huckabee? The man is clearly off his God-fearing rocker, so I can’t help but wonder why this man is constantly given the microphone and allowed to spread his ridiculous ideas. Apparently, he thinks that homosexuality and bestiality are the same thing, on top of his desire to change this country into a theocracy. So then, I ask, who believes this shit? Clearly, not anyone that I would want to run into in my lifetime. I guess he is “entitled” to speak as much as he wants, so long as he can keep coming up with the money to run for office; but it really makes you wonder how people that have this warped of a sense of reality, and this close-minded of a view of society can rise so far in the ranks, you know? Either way, I just wish he would shut up already; we’ve got it… you’re crazy. Thanks. Moving on. How about we pay attention to someone that actually will do something positive for all of us in this country, shall we?

is it just me?, listen up!, music musings, well?, wtf?!

there’s differing music tastes, and then there’s…

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Okay, so I may be the only one that doesn’t “get it”, but is M.I.A (and other artists like her… are there any?) serious? I wonder this, because her second CD was recently listed as the number one of the year by Rolling Stone magazine. Seriously? Have they heard it? Because every single thing I have heard from her is truly awful. When I first heard of her a couple of years ago, I seriously thought that it was a farce; I thought that she was doing an act, and sounding like shit was the punchline (or worse: is she making fun of the cultural music that she is so poorly imitating?). I am further convinced that it is all one big joke, by the amazing eye-raping that you get when you go to her website (don’t say I didn’t warn you. ouch!). What freaks me out the most, though, is that regardless of whether or not she is doing this seriously, is that people really see it is something great. I just don’t understand it. Am I missing something?

I wonder this, because my taste in music varies widely; I love folk, pop, rock, jazz, hip hop, dance, and to be quite frank, I would say that I can find something that I like in practically (not really much in the realm of rap) every genera of music. Sure, there is a lot of stuff out there that I don’t like, which is natural, and usually, I can see why someone else might like it, where I do not. That being said, rarely do I think to myself, “now how on earth could ANYONE listen to this, it’s awful!”, when I hear something. Usually, I just think, “well, that’s not for me; it sounds pretty bad to me“. On those rare instances where I do have the first thought, the accompanying music almost always comes from a completely obscure artist, and not from someone that would ever make a end of the year top albums list. Also, said artist that freaks me out by their awfulness, usually has no redeemable songs that would ever make me think otherwise; I try to give everything a chance, and sometimes, more than one chance.

Take LCD Soundsystem for instance. I LOVE that song Tribulations. It is fucking amazing. It blew my mind when I heard it, and I literally played it on repeat like 67 times in a row. However, the rest of the stuff that they have isn’t my cup of tea; in fact, to me, most of it is quite bad. Yet, they tend to be heralded in a similar way that M.I.A. is. However, the praise that is heaped on them makes more sense to me, because of the redemption that comes from that song Tribulations, because I can see the brilliance in it.

M.I.A. has no redemption for me; there is nothing that I have heard from her that could be considered good. In fact, there isn’t anything from her that I even consider to be serious; like I said, I sincerely think the whole thing is a farce. Yet, I know people that love her, and heap praise on her. I. Just. Don’t. Get. It.

Perhaps, one day, she will come out and say that this whole thing truly is a farce, and will get a big laugh at those that fell so hard for her. If that did happen, that could be my redemption for M.I.A. Until that time comes (which isn’t likely, because she is probably serious), I will still be standing here, scratching my head, wondering how in the hell people consider that good, let alone good music.

Are there any artists out there that make you scratch your head, wondering what in the hell other people hear, when all you hear is a complete offense on the eardrum? I can’t be alone in my thinking here. Thoughts?

is it just me?, listen up!, that is so gay, tragic, wtf?!

the fate of the atlanta park festival(s)

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It appears that the drought we experienced this year in Georgia, continually has more and more interesting ways of affecting us; apparently, the city of Atlanta has said NO to having festivals in Piedmont Park this year. This means that there will be no Dogwood Festival, no Peachtree Road race, and no Pride festival, in Piedmont Park in 2008. Also, unless they can find somewhere else to hold these events, they won’t be happening this year at all.

While I understand that the city is concerned about how the park looks, and the aesthetic of having grass and vegetation, I have to wonder, is it worth losing the revenue that each of those festivals bring to the area? I mean, Pride and the Dogwood Festival alone have to be huge money makers for the city, because they literally attract hundreds of thousands of people each. Additionally, the businesses around the park benefit from those festivals; I know that Grady High school gets a major boost of funds by being able to charge for parking, which goes directly to student programs.

Additionally, I wonder about the potential impact of losing the “biggest Pride festival in the south”? How will this impact the gay population in Atlanta, and how will it impact the gay presence in midtown? If Pride is canceled this year, who’s to say they won’t cancel it in the future? It also makes you wonder, if they were looking for a viable excuse to get rid of the festival in the first place, and the drought made for the perfect scapegoat? It just seems a little extreme to cancel all of those festivals over the worry for preserving grass.

How do you feel about the cancellation of these events? I know that I personally am sad to know that something that is as huge as Pride may not happen this year; all because of “new” city ordinances on grass. I know that I, for one, am curious to see how the Atlanta Pride committee will try and make up for this blow to the fate of the festival; I just can’t imagine not having Pride in Atlanta.

Again, it just seems kind of extreme to cancel these festivals because of worry over the growth of grass. After all, what is the point of having a park in the middle of the city if you can’t use it? I for one hope that they can come to some sort of consensus between the city and the festival organizers, because it will be a really dull if Pride doesn’t happen this year. Pride is definitely something I look forward to, and definitely something that I would miss if it doesn’t happen; and even if it happens somewhere else, what will it be like? One thing is for sure, the fate of the festival rests with this decision, and I for one hope that something can be done to save each of these Atlanta institutions.

"pointless", mixed media, music musings, the catch-all-egory, venting, wtf?!

damn you itunes!!!

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Yesterday, iTunes decided that it would delete ALL of my playlists.

ALL of them.

So, last night, I took a good 4 hours to back up over 16gb of music, and to remake every one of my playlists. It took forever. Sometimes, computer programs really have a mind of their own; I just hope that it doesn’t decide that it doesn’t want my playlists again, or I might find another program to use for managing my music.

Sort it out, iTunes!

all about me, happenings, the catch-all-egory, venting, wtf?!

my thanksgiving day

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UPDATE! A note about 5SF: For today, I am taking the day off. To be honest, I forgot it was Friday!! We’ll be back next Friday with 5 new songs! Just enjoy your weekend folks, and sorry that I forgot about today’s 5SF.

I spent almost the entire day studying anatomy, before taking my test last night.

The power went out twice before I took the test, and I was hoping that things would be fine while I was actually taking the test (which is online, and timed for one hour). I always save my answers as I go, so if it cuts you off, it isn’t that big of a deal, and you can start where you left off. However, with 2 minutes left to go, the power went out again. I “finished” with the test, but I hadn’t submitted it yet. Fuck. I managed to get my PC back up, and log in, only to see my time had expired; but I had saved all of my answers. I submitted the test, and I emailed the professor, and I hope that everything is okay. Technically, I finished in the allotted time, so I hope that there isn’t an issue. It says I got a 92.5, which is also a plus.

I will definitely be MORE thankful when this damn semester is over. Seriously, it has been HARDER than I was expecting. Here’s hoping that next semester is better; and that we don’t have anymore close calls like yesterday.

I hope everyone had a great day! Now, James and I are going to Best Buy to see what’s left!

all about me, is it just me?, the catch-all-egory, venting, wtf?!

eye lashes, mobile phones, and mood swings

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Eye lashes. They are supposed to keep stuff OUT of your eye. So, why is it, that I am so often pulling out my eye lashes to keep THEM from going in my eye?? Seriously, I have been complimented numerous times on my lovely long eye lashes, and I am here to say, TAKE THEM! I don’t want them anymore. I have had to deal with eye lashes in my eyes for my whole life, and I am tired of it.

Mobile Phones. HANG UP AND DRIVE has become more than just a motto of mine lately; 9 out of every 10 times I am cut off, almost ran off of the road, almost rear-ended, or that I witness blatant fuckery of someone in a car, they are on a mobile phone. I think that it should be outlawed that you can talk and drive; because it is clear that these people actually CANNOT talk and drive. If you need to talk on your phone, pull over. Have a quick little, “let me call you back when I get home” conversation, and then focus on driving. I don’t want to have to deal with your stupid-bad-driving ass anymore, okay? I think they should make it legal to pull these people over ourselves and beat them up if they are caught driving under the influence of mobile phones. That would certainly “curb” the behavior, now wouldn’t it.

Mood swings. I have been having mood swings so weirdly, lately. Seriously, I know I am depressed, but Jesus, this up and down is nonsense. Take today, I am feeling pretty good today, despite having a shitty past 2 weeks. Some of those days were “okay”, but there were some pretty low ones in there too. Nothing was really “great”, but today is feeling pretty good. Maybe it’s because of the pending time off? Who knows, I just hope that this swing stays on the up and up; for a change.

all about me, happenings, hmm interesting, is it just me?, mixed media, music musings, politics, wtf?!

we regret that we must now interupt your regularly scheduled blogpost…

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For whatever reason, I have been “in it” again lately.

I actually stayed home sick from work yesterday, and slept until 5:30pm. It still blows my mind that I could sleep all night and all day. I feel like Rip Van Winkle, without the silly long beard. I feel better today, and I am glad that I took the sick time… but it is definitely reflective of how I feel lately.

I am fed up with my classes. My statistics professor apparently would rather trick us, rather than actually quiz us on what we are studying. That is the only explanation that I have for her behavior, and method of asking questions on information that is not covered. Additionally, my absent anatomy teacher is frustrating, but not something I am really complaining about… less fuss if you ask me. I just don’t want trickery on tests; which would be my complaint. Overall, my first semester back in college has been a weird one. It is going to be a long road. I have already registered for next semester, and I hope to god it is much better than this one was.

Speaking of God… apparently, praying for rain the night before the weather service calls for rain makes it rain. Cool. Perhaps I shall pray for the sky to be blue tomorrow, or for air to have oxygen in it. Maybe that’s how we should do all government things… just pray for what we already know is going to happen, and then be like, “See! God is listening! Pray some more, and everything will be right as rain!”. Gah… what a douche you are, Sonny. It is just frustrating that people like him have so much money and power.

Other than the rain, I would like to thank God for my ipod, and just music in general, because without it, I would truly be lost. That, and the fact that my new DVD player plays region 2 DVDs… I am loving Spaced so much right now. Also, I am really looking forward to my 31 days of music in December. I am really enjoying getting my 31 CDs ready for the list, and I hope that everyone will find at least something to enjoy.

Hope you are all well out there in blogland… I’ll see you tomorrow for your 5SF. Take care!

civil rights, get involved, hmm interesting, is it just me?, listen up!, politics, that is so gay, tragic, venting, well?, wtf?!

some wins, a major worry, and a lack of perspective (yet again)

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I want to high-five Dennis Kucinich; it does take balls to put forward something like the impeachment of Cheney (especially when we have been calling for it for so long). While it may not actually happen (boo!), I hope that it does; and I won’t forget that Dennis is the guy that got the issue actually going, which is a welcome sign that there are some balls somewhere in the house of Dem.

ENDA passed; which is a great step forward in the protection against being fired simply for being gay or lesbian. I hope that this signals more good things in store for the equalization of rights for all of us. No one should be able to be fired because their boss is a bigot, and now, it seems like they are a little safer. Bravo.

I blogged about it before, but please, don’t forget that there is a gay youth in serious danger of being hanged for being gay in Iran. This cannot happen. I am glad to see that the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission is at least paying some attention now. This is a chilling reminder that gays and lesbians are NOT free in this world, and if one of us is at risk of being murdered because of who we are, we are all at risk. It cannot be allowed to happen, and Iran must not be allowed to conduct serious acts of murder and violence against any human. I certainly feel for this boy and his family. By keeping this topic in the news, we are keeping Iran under the microscope, and hopefully, it will lead to a stay of execution indefinitely.

Finally, I was amused when I read that this is what Bush had to say about the veto override the Senate exercised in the funding of projects to rebuild the areas affected by hurricane Katrina:

“American taxpayers should not be asked to support a pork-barrel system of federal authorization and funding where a project’s merit is an afterthought,” he said.

Wait, WHAT? All of a sudden, Mr. Bush is concerned what WE taxpayers are concerned with when it comes to government spending? Uh, Mr. Bush, you can’t have a blank check for your war on the middle east, and then get all pissy when we want money to rebuild parts of our own nation; it just shows how out of touch with the real situation he really is. Someone, please get this man a large does of perspective; stat. I love how it was “an afterthought”… uh, someone really needs to get him up to speed as to what is going on in the world right now; the man clearly has no idea.

Other than that… I am sure that there is a lot more SHIT going on in the world that is scary and evil, but it almost seems too overwhelming to deal with it all, doesn’t it? I mean, just look at the CRAPPER that the economy is in… we are seriously inching towards being TOTALLY fucked instead of just being fucked. When will the great America turn things around for herself? I just hope that we can.

civil rights, hmm interesting, is it just me?, listen up!, near and dear, politics, tragic, venting, well?, wtf?!

remember, remember…

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The fifth of November,
the gunpowder, treason, and plot,
I know of no reason
why gunpowder treason
should ever be forgot…

The plot of Guy Fawkes is a good reminder that dissent may truly be the most ambitious, yet patriotic form of patriotism (which is paraphrasing the often thought to be Thomas Jefferson, but it actually wasn’t (?), quote). I believe, now more than ever, that it is imperative, given the circumstances of this country, this world, this existence, that we stand up and question what is being done. Things are out of control, and we can’t look the other way any longer.

We can’t let there be a time when recalling the events of this day include a time when no one stood up when they came for the others, and then, inevitably they finally came for us, and no one was left to stand up for us. All accounts of the events in the news indicate that in more ways than one, things are going from bad to worse, and I can’t help but think, “does it have to happen?”. Do we have to just follow? Why aren’t our representatives doing something about this? How bad does it have to get before we make it stop?

Remembering the bravery that it takes to stand up to the government isn’t enough, but it seems that it is all that there is right now. I hope that changes soon. I hope that our words and our actions can bring some accountability to where there is none. I hope that our pressure on our government can shed light on the theft that is occurring right before our eyes. I hope that we won’t be the ones that suffer for the blood money that those at the top are raking in.

This really makes me think; where is V when you need him? I think that I will be watching V for Vendetta tonight… and hoping for some bravery to stand against our ever-increasingly-oppressive government. Want more? Check out this remembering article.

civil rights, get over it!, hmm interesting, is it just me?, politics, public health, that is so gay, venting, well?, wtf?!

why is gay marriage an issue?

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I keep hearing all of this stuff about trying to find each presidential candidate’s position on gay marriage, and I have ask… why is gay marriage an issue that should be the concern of a president? Seriously? The issue is not gay marriage; it is civil rights. Marriage is the word that the use to describe the religious procedure of getting bound to another person for life. The only thing that could make it an issue, is that it is currently recognized by the government as a legal union, and there are privileges that come with its status. However, it is not the issue, and I don’t get why we are so concerned with that word; marriage.

I would happily take a civil union any day; so long as it afforded me EQUAL rights. I don’t give two shits about calling my partnership a “marriage” vs. calling it a “civil union”; so long as we are treated equally under the law of our government. I personally think that should be more of the focus, as this issue will always be used as more of a wedge than anything, and no person in their right mind is going to go up against the juggernaut that is the Christian church. Also, isn’t there supposed to be a separation of church and state? So again, why not stop calling it “gay marriage” as an issue?

I think that if you get married, good for you; you should also have to file for a civil union, which should be the only union the government officially recognizes. Make it standard for everyone, and make it available for gays and lesbians as well. Keep marriage in the churches, take religion out of the equation, and things can be more acceptable for everyone, right? Perhaps this is too simple of a concept, but it boggles my mind that gay marriage is all anyone ever asks about when it comes to gay and lesbian rights and a presidential candidate. (what about gay civil rights of other people throughout the world? I think that should be a huge concern of ours as well; but that is a more lengthy conversation).

I realized this more fully when I was reading what Obama said, and the “reaction” from some of the gays that he was against gay marriage. We don’t need to fight for religious justification; we need to fight for equality. Sure, the fight for gay marriage is a fight for equality, but it isn’t necessarily the same thing; take religious practice out of the picture officially. These church driven people are NEVER going to give us the “right” to take their “sacred” practice (now with a 50+% failure-rate!) for ourselves, so we should just drop the shit already. I am tired of continually giving it back to them so they can wedge it between what’s really important and this dance that we have been stuck in forever. I am for equality; nothing less, nothing more. Doesn’t that sound like a more fruitful fight?

Unrelated link: This is quite fascinating if it is true; apparently, the first AIDS case was in 1969 in the US. This makes me wonder; why didn’t it spread to the epic proportions that it has today? What was the factor that caused it to spread so rapidly in the 1980s that was different 11 years earlier? If this man was the first documented case of AIDS, how many people had it before him; and who infected him? It really turns the notion of epidemiology on its head, because it really did occur in a seemingly singular incident. Weird.