I'm a Movie Star!

Well, not really. But I sure felt like one when I saw the latest Mrs. Betty Bowers video on YouTube! I feel so honored that America's Best Christian saw fit to include me in her invitation to join the GOP! Check me out at 0:19!

To celebrate this momentous occasion, I'm releasing the never-before-published sister picture, without my lovely self in the frame! (Since a few people have told me that they're pretty sure I'm just covering up the word "heart" on that sign with my lovely self...)

Seriously, I have no idea what was going through that designer's head when they made that billboard.

In Which I'm Jealous & Spiteful

If you're going to the Reason Rally today, I just want you to know: I hate you.

Have fun.

Good On You, Stony Brook

Congratulations, Stony Brook University. Good job on discouraging preferential treatment to specific religions. Obviously, Rush Limbaugh doesn't like it, but, well, it's Rush Limbaugh. I don't think there's much of anything that he actually does like; the man's show is a putrid fountain of hatred and idiocy.

But that's beside the point. In February, Stony Brook made some changes to their calendar for 2012, which will presumably apply to later years as well, provided no one has a big enough tantrum first. Religious holidays will no longer be holidays from classes – specifically, Christian and Jewish holidays won't, since no other religion's holidays were recognized by the school calendar.

A-Week – Are You Shouting, Or Are You Just There?

It's that time of year again... It's A-Week!

Last year, I didn't participate. I had my reasons. But this year, I'm ramping it up with an 'A' as my profile pic! Nothing as gauche as last year's scarlet A, though. This year, it's a nice, sedate blue.

Really, though, I have to wonder... Am I making a difference?

In Defense of Naughty Words

So, I wanted to talk about words a little bit. As you may have noticed, I tend to use them a lot. In fact, you might have noticed that I even use words that are –gasp– not really very fucking polite.

So I'm going to tell you how I feel about words, and the words I use.

Now, words are tricksy things sometimes. For example, I have no fucking problem being a little obscene here – I mean, it is my personal goddamn blog, after all. But there are some places that naughty words like "fuck" and "damn" and "shit" and what-have-you just shouldn't be used. Such places include things like:

• Telling stories to young children,
• School and professional papers and correspondence, and
• Talking to one's grandparents (This varies, I understand, but I wouldn't be caught dead swearing around mine!)

But in the end, there are reasons why every human language has some form of obscenity in it.

Small Government

Not a full post today (stay tuned, though; more this week!), but I thought that you might... appreciate... this.

(Click through for full comic!)

Dear Virginia, I'm Ashamed

Dear Virginia,

Recently, your government has been looking at a few bills that, if passed, would be an abominable injustice to women in your domain. I know, I know, everyone and their mother's been talking about this for the past few days. But I'm not sure that you've really thought this through. I mean, Virginia, you do realize that these bills would be hugely harmful, right? Both to the women whose rights would be infringed upon... and to the cause you're presumably trying to serve here.

At the end of the day, Virginia, restrictions on abortions only lead to more illegal abortions. There aren't any fewer "dead babies" in the end, but there are more injured, maimed, and dead women. I realize that maybe you don't find women as cuddly and cute as zygotes and fetuses, Virginia, but they're people too. In fact, they're much more people than any clump of cells with no personality, no memories, no independence. When you pass bills such as the Personhood and Informed Consent bills currently in the state Senate, the primary effect of your action doesn't protect those clumps of cells. The primary effect of such bills is to put women – women with personalities, women with memories, women who would have a good measure of independence if only the government would stay out of their bodies – in a situation where they will put themselves in serious danger to do something that should be easy. Not to mention legal.

Hello, World (Redux)

So... I'm ashamed to say that I never actually updated after the SSA Conference last summer. I could make excuses and promises to keep updating now, but frankly, it doesn't seem like it would make much of a difference. I do think I'll actually start updating again now; my schedule's a lot less hectic these days.

But first, here's what's been going on in my life over the last half a year! (I know, it's kind of like excuses, but hey, cut me some slack...)

• The Freethinkers had an awesome fall semester, which I am proud to have been a part of. Meeting attendance and general interest have skyrocketed over the past year, and I'm sure that I've only seen the very beginning of the great things the group will do.
• I kept volunteering! I think I can safely say that volunteering with the Raft Crisis Hotline is one of the things I'm most proud of doing in my life so far. I really felt like I was making a positive difference in the community, and I hugely encourage anyone who has considered a similar kind of volunteering to go for it!
• I was sick for half of the semester. Recurring tonsillitis that coincided with a lapse in my health insurance gave me an even stronger conviction that health care should be a right, not a privilege. If I could barely drag myself to class (even with my low-cost medications through the university!), how can we as a society expect people working low-wage jobs to survive?
• I got engaged the day after Thanksgiving! I mean, it wasn't really a surprise, since we planned it all out beforehand for the most part, but it's still really exciting.
• I graduated! I'm really happy to be done (at least for now!), but I'm also sad to leave that part of my life behind.
• Speaking of leaving things behind, I'm not in Virginia anymore! I'm currently in Vancouver, B.C., living with my fiancé for a few months while I try to sort out a summer internship or a job, and also all the details for our wedding!