Sticky Situation

Prom season is upon us once again, time for our young people to blow exorbitant amounts of money on a single night. To buy dresses they will never wear again, to dance to music that will make them cringe in a few years, to rent limos, hotel rooms, etc… all in the hopes of impressing (and possibly scoring with) that special someone. Ah to be young again….

Anyways…
For me Prom Season means one thing, Duck Tape. Yep, you read correctly, I said Duck Tape. All over America the creative among our youth, the innovative, the ones who think outside the box, dedicate themselves to creating the perfect prom outfit(s) completely made of Duck Tape. It isn’t just for show either, over $20,000 in scholarship money is up for grabs too. The creativity and hard work exhibited by the individuals daring enough to be different is astounding. Kinda makes me wish I wasn’t too old for Prom now…

Here are a few of my favorites from over the years…

Stuck At Prom is not only an excellent way for young adults to showcase their creativity and assert themselves as individuals but it can be quite lucrative as well for those who are wondering just how they will pay for college. I can’t wait until my little one is old enough for prom, neither can she for she is already designing the Duck Tape Gown of her dreams…..

Food For Thought, Better Yet… Thought For Food…

If you’re a regular visitor to my blog you might have noticed a rather obvious change to my sidebar… or perhaps not. Either way I would like to introduce you to one of my favorite sites, a site I had all but forgotten about in my self absorbed little world as of late. The site is called Free Rice. It’s very straight forward, it is a non-profit website run by the United Nations World Food Programme. The two main goals of the site are to provide free educational activities for everyone worldwide, and to feed the hungry worldwide. There is no forced sign up, no need for an account, although you can make one if you would like to keep track of your progress. The site offers several quiz-like activities covering a variety of different topics and subjects. For each correct answer you give, sponsoring corporations and/or organizations donate 10 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Programme. Pretty simply really, increase your knowledge and feed a hungry child. It’s a win win situation if you ask me. So please, next time you’re bored, have nothing to do, go visit Free Rice, get your friends to visit Free Rice, have your kids go to Free Rice. It doesn’t cost you anything other than mouse clicks and brain power, and the rewards are immense….

Stop It NOW! (post for 1.20.2012)

I am so frustrated as of late. For once not with myself though. Rather I am being driven over the edge by the ignorance, hate, and apathy I encounter daily when dealing with all types of people. Society is in the toilet just waiting for someone to flush it to oblivion. People are so self-absorbed, egotistical, intolerant and down right nasty. No longer is civility an admired trait. People would much rather attack and condemn each other for not conforming, not adhering to a narrow-minded belief structure. People hate simply to hate, for no other reason. We have become a society of independent sheep, unwilling to take the time out to help our fellow man, to aid them in gaining knowledge and skills. Society is ruled by a select group of bigoted elitists who fill the flocks belly with lies and rhetoric all designed to pen them in, the herd them towards their own slaughter.

I look around me and see intelligence, for I choose to only associate with those who have an open mind. Unfortunately at the same time I see this intelligence, this light is being snuffed out by the drooling of the rabid sycophants. Fewer and fewer people are choosing to stand up, to stand apart from the simpering masses. Perhaps it is out of frustration at not making headway, not making inroads into the flock. Possibly they are tired of trying and not getting anywhere, tired of offering sight to the blind only to be ignored. Maybe just maybe they have deemed society unworthy of saving, a waste of time and energy. Lord help us if that is the reason, because then we are truly screwed.

Personally I cannot give up, I cannot allow blind hatred to win. Maybe I’m just a glutton for punishment, a masochist per se, however I have not yet lost all faith, I still hold on to a glimmer of hope no matter how fast it fades. That being said I need to say a few things, get them off my chest in the hopes that maybe, just maybe they will reach through the fog which shrouds so many in ignorance….

• There is no single right way, in fact there are many different ways to achieve what is best for society, but all of them require acting like an adult, putting aside our differences and working together.
• Politics should not be a popularity contest, it should be based on merit above all else. Stop electing Narcissist simply because their speech writers excel at pretty rhetoric. Start holding those you support accountable instead of simply chastising those you oppose because your demagogues told you to do so.
• There are many gods (including the null god), many religions, no single one is right for everyone, so stop condemning those who do not share your beliefs. Do you honestly believe your intolerance does anything positive whatsoever? That it will gain you access to heaven faster than those you label heathens? Try again Sparky, it won’t.
• The media LIES, a lot. Stop swallowing the infotainment they provide as gospel. If you’re reading this, obviously you have internet, therefore the means to check out the veracity of anything you are told. Use your brain to formulate your own opinions rather than having them spoonfed to you by some paid pundit.
• We are all created equal, no matter what you think. Skin color, gender, sexuality, etc… etc… have no role in deciding ones worth. Let the actions and words of the individual stand for said individual. To do otherwise is simply exposing your own personal ignorance to the world.
• Compromise is NOT a dirty word, neither is cooperation. Stop aligning yourself with those looking to divide us along political, religious, economic, lines. Rather seek out those who truly want to unite us, not simply those who fallaciously claim to want unity.
• Educate yourself. It doesn’t take money to learn, it simply takes time and effort. You must want to increase your knowledge in order to do so. Stop blaming others for the fact you are too lazy to achieve what you desire.
• Stop the Hate, simple as that. Stop hating because you are told/taught to hate. Stop hating because you fear what you hate. Stop hating because you do not understand what you hate. Hate is a wasted emotion, wasted time, wasted energy. Just stop it.

As I said, I am not ready to give up on the world. There is too much promise in life to allow defeat. We all face difficulty in our lives that we cannot control, however we can control how we react to it, how we manage it, how we move on from it. We need to stop all this pettiness, this childish sandbox behavior. We are far too intelligent as a whole to allow the downfall of society to happen. Enough’s enough, time to put on the big boy pants and start acting like a member of the human race rather than as a Christian/Atheist/Muslim/Democrat/Republican/Asian/African-American/Caucasian, etc… etc…

We’re all in this together, one goes down we all will.

Completely Senseless…

I am so so SO fucking tired of the senseless waste of life. I arrived home from dropping my daughter off at the bus stop yesterday to news of a shooting in a local community. A shooting in a high school. A tragedy which could have been prevented, couldn’t it? Five students were shot, three have passed away. Why? Why are there three dead young men, cut down before they had a chance to live? Is it as some have said the result of bullying? He wasn’t even a student at the school where he went on his rampage, he was simply there to switch buses. What the sam hell is wrong with this world where we believe violence is the only answer? This has to stop and stop now.

Parents, TALK TO YOUR CHILDREN!! Be a parent, don’t think it can’t happen to you. Teach your children not to bully, to stand up for themselves and others. Listen to your kids, take care of them, treasure them, stop letting them fall to the shadows because you are to self absorbed in your own drama. Just stop it, please…

Sick and Tired of Ignorant People

I don’t know if it is cabin fever or some other seasonal malady, but everywhere I go, the ignorant masses are out in full force.  Right now I wish I could just have one consequence free day to go around bitch slapping dumb people. Almost everything I have encountered lately only lends credence to my belief that stupid people shouldn’t breed. That being said, I am going to rant for a bit.

1. Just because I do not share your delusional belief structure does not make me wrong and you right, it simply makes us different.

2. Liberals are not godless heathens, nor are conservatives war mongering tea baggers.

3. Socialism is not liberalism, Nazism is not conservatism, deal with it. Quit calling everyone who disagrees with you a socialist or a nazi. It’s lame as hell and shows your ignorance for all to see.

4. Just because an individual does not support Obama does not make them a racist. Quit playing the race card, it’s fucking pathetic.

5. You do realize refusing to take any blame does not make you blameless, correct? It makes you a sheeple.

6. If you want to debate politics, religion, society, etc… educate yourself first. Repeating the talking points you hear on MSM shows just what an ignoramus you are.

7. If you haven’t read the entire health care bill, quit telling people what is in it simply because a paid pundit told you what to believe. Some of us have read it and know that it is crap, plain and simple.

8. Democrats fuck up all the time. Republicans fuck up all the time. DEAL WITH IT!!

9. If you want to fix the country, get off your lazy ass and do something productive. And no, spouting off on the internet to like-minded sycophants does not qualify as something productive.

10. If you want to remain blind to the flaws of those you support, by all means do so. However please realize that the intelligent view you as the epitome of ignorance.

There ends my rant. Have a problem with it, write your own.

SNOWDAY!!!!

It has officially happened, the kids have their very first snow day of the school year. When I snuck in to turn off their alarms so they could sleep in, of course they woke up. Now that they know there is no school, of course they aren’t tired anymore. In fact my seven-year old daughter wants to get dressed and go outside and play. Never mind that it is 6:45 AM, still dark outside, with a wind chill of -1.

My kids attend one of those schools that is loath to close school due to inclement weather, however this year they really have no choice seeing as how the district has greatly cut bus service for the little ones, and they serve children from as far as five miles away.

Ah the joys of private school….

Well I know what I will be doing today, making soup, making cocoa, drying out assorted snow gear, washing finger paint off assorted surfaces, stepping on little toys meant to torture adult feet, wondering where my daughter has absconded to with all of my slippers, watching the dog get lost in the drifts, etc… etc…

I hope your day is as fruitful as my looks to be, Enjoy

School vs. Education

Are schools failing to educate?

I sometimes sit back and wonder what has become of the American standard of public education. Don’t get me wrong, I know that there are many great public school systems out there, but slowly they are being replaced by the mediocre and downright deficient. What I would like to know, if all men are created equal, shouldn’t all schools likewise be equal? It bothers me to see children today who truly are excited about school, and want to learn, faced with inept teachers and an all around lack of support. Is it any wonder that many people will sacrifice almost anything to pay private school tuition for their children?

Public schools are here to serve the public, not teachers and administrators who just want the paycheck. I do not understand why it is so hard to get rid of a bad teacher, or for that matter, why chronically unruly children aren’t expelled. The current environment in many public schools is one of apathy and fear. We, as members of our respective communities need to stand up and say “Enough!”. It is time to take back control of our classrooms before it is to late.

What people fail to realize is that these same problem students are soon to become problem adults. Unfortunately there are no easy answers, no matter how we decide to proceed, it will be a long and tough road ahead. Everyone, from parents to students to teachers, must step up to the plate and take personal responsibility for their actions. Believe me, there is plenty of blame, enough to go around. Educational reform is an issue which takes the support of the whole community in order for its implementation to work. Not only does it take a community to raise a child, but it also takes a community to educate a child.

Eduacational Equality For All

Are all students entitled to a quality education?

No matter what your politics are, we must all come together to find a solution for the crisis facing our educational system today. Too many of our children are falling through the cracks, and not receiving the education they deserve. Quality schools are not a right reserved only to those who can afford to pay for them. Every child in America deserves the same educational opportunities, regardless of their socioeconomic status.

Although those who enacted the “No Child Left Behind Act” had their hearts in the right place, there was not enough research done on what the consequences would be. Without adequate funding, not matter how well meaning a proposal is, it is destined to do more harm than good. I’m not sure if the Act needs to be scrapped, or if it just needs revision and fine tuning. What I do know is, there must be an equitable system of funding put into place in order to allow schools to meet the requirements of the act, without forcing them to cut into their already limited budgets.

Furthermore, a serious look needs to be taken at voucher programs. Although many feel that they are unconstitutional, the supreme court feels otherwise (Zelman V. Simmons-Harris 536 US 639, 2002). From what I have seen, most opponents of vouchers feel that they violate the first amendment, by implying that vouchers support religion through religious education. By taking a closer look at the Cleveland program, which the noted SCOTUS case is based on, you can see that parochial schools are not the only schools eligible for the vouchers, adjoining public school districts and secular private schools are also eligible. It is not the fault of the program itself that outlying districts and/or secular schools choose not to accept the vouchers.

No matter what your position is on the act or vouchers, we need to all realize that the current state of our educational system is in dire need of reform. Without quality education, we are placing unfair limitations on the future of our youth. Our children are the next generation, they are to be the future leaders of our country, do we really want those with a sub-par education in control of this nation? We must give them the tools and opportunities they need to succeed. Only then can we say that we are truly a free country.