Soxy

Happy Birthday Earth! I am glad you are still around. Sorry about the population explosion. (Oops.) And the fossil fuels (teehee). And the deforestation (uh-oh). And the chemicals (. . .). We're sure this one day makes up for all of that! So, keep taking our abuse. We'll truly appreciate you someday.

QUOTE (Rex Kicka** @ Apr 21, 2010 -> 01:45 PM) Christian Chat Room Two of my lesbian friends that are getting married this summer were introduced by their pastor. True story.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Apr 21, 2010 -> 12:09 PM) Anybody ever travel abroad by themselves? Is it recommended? I say this because I am most likely going to study abroad in Hong Kong Spring 2011, and I really want to explore Asia, possibly other places before the semester begins (it starts late, on Feb 1st so I would have about 3 weeks to travel, depending on how much I want to spend). I would go with someone but I most likely will not know anyone traveling there at the same time, and none of my friends will have the time or cash to do it too. I do have friends from Taiwan and other places offering to let me know where to go, and I have no problem traveling alone, just dont really know the whole international traveling alone thing. I did it (Albeit in Europe) in the Spring of 2003 (probably America's lowpoint in popularity). I had not problems and was continually surprised by the kindness and welcoming I received. I have had friends travel alone in Asia (mostly China, Thailand and Japan) and they didn't mind at all. Just be smart. It's fine.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 21, 2010 -> 08:20 AM) Thankfully, these are some of the most powerful people in the country. That was so great it! Until I checked the link I was expecting it to be The Onion.

QUOTE (Rex Kicka** @ Apr 19, 2010 -> 03:14 PM) I'm glad you changed your mind, that's what I got you for YOUR birthday! Well that would have been embarrassing!

QUOTE (Rex Kicka** @ Apr 19, 2010 -> 12:45 PM) Friends don't fake friends' passports to kill other people. So, um, what else would you want for your birthday? I had this idea but. . .

Is it against Isreal or just more neutral on Israel?

It's that time of year I think. Because I want to fire everyone too.

QUOTE (Tex @ Apr 13, 2010 -> 06:04 AM) If only there were more instructors than lecturers in colleges. My point is it is still a lecture, albeit it in a different seat. Eliminating unpaid internships seems pretty harsh. No, they aren't lectures. At least in the cases of Practicums and Service Learning they are hands on field experiences that, when done thoughtfully, ask the student to reflect on their experience while integrating concepts from their classes and majors. There is nothing lecture-y about it when done properly. And yes, the type of instructor matters. An increased over-reliance on ad-hoc faculty (because of their cheapness) is hurting the quality of higher education.

QUOTE (Tex @ Apr 12, 2010 -> 12:49 PM) Then how would you add any "real world" experience into acadamia? Academic Service Learning Practicums Experiential Assignments A business class at my school just went to the prison for a lecture on Business Ethics For a good instructor, this is not a difficult task.

Oh, Wisconsin. DA threatens to through teachers that teach a comprehensive sex-ed in jail for contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Mar 26, 2010 -> 09:04 AM) “I said I had very serious concerns that Barack Obama had anti-American views. And now I look like Nostradamus," - Michele Bachmann I think she was confused with Nostra Dumbass--but I guess there's not of Italians in MN. . .

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 26, 2010 -> 12:55 PM) The Catholic Church is slooooooooooow to change. And its slowly destroying them. Oh, and, given the reason its happening, I have no sympathy whatsoever for the people who run the church. It really sucks though, for practicing Catholics, and the good priests. Wake the f*** up, dudes. Abusers get defrocked and turned over to the police without exception, priests should be allowed to marry, and allow women to be priests. Its just so obvious, but they are just so blinded by their weird little world in Rome. At this point, they would just be Anglicans then. (Minus the gays, I suppose. . .)

The Milwaukee priest was reassigned to the Diocese I now work in--so this has dominated local news for a while. It's notable because, essentially, Cardinal Ratzinger was aware of the coverup or abuse or something. Here's a link to the story: Latest update

QUOTE (CanOfCorn @ Mar 25, 2010 -> 11:52 AM) For our friend Rex Kick***: Nothing says Bea Arthur like... Well, the name is certainly not a lie.

I forgot to pack a pickle for my lunch sandwich.

I wish I had a dollar for every time the word "baby killer" popped up on my facebook feed in the past few days. I seriously need some new friends. Or my friends need to stop marrying douchebags. Epic winner of the day: My friend is a pretty moderate democrat (mostly because of environmental issues--her political affiliation on FB is "Obama Rocks)). Her husband posted today about Obama the baby killer and how dems are all f***ing liars and he hates them. Blerg.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Mar 10, 2010 -> 04:27 PM) Haha. Because I am stubborn. I have a Blockbuster mail account and my queue got a little thin and these two just happened to arrive in the mail together. In order to get my money's worth, I make certain to watch ALL of the movies that arrive in my mailbox. Me too. No matter how painful. Last Year at the Marienbad nearly killed me. Literally.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Mar 10, 2010 -> 12:07 PM) Why, again, do you find this fascinating? Becuz ladiez over 30 is teh fugz!

When Rue McClanahan was recently hospitalized Betty White sent her a card that said something to the effect of "Hurry up and die so I can be the only Golden Girl left." That's awesome.

I watched a really interesting documentary last night, Beyond Hatred. It's about the reaction of the family of a gay man who was murdered by neo-fascist skinheads. There are a couple of things that were really interesting and unique about the way the film was done: 1.) There was never a picture of the victim or a re-enactment of the crime or anything that was graphic or sensationalized. Essentially the entire film is based around his family, his family's lawyers (I guess in France the victim's family gets lawyers just as the perps). The filming starts 2 years after Francois' murder--and essentially you get this portrait of a family that is just torn apart by grief. From his sister finding out about the murder in a paper (he was beaten beyond recognition) to telling his parents to the reaction to the verdict. 2.) It also provided a unique portrait of the French legal system. You hear the lawyers talk about potential punishments and what exactly is the point of prison and the punishments. And you also hear the lawyers and the family talk about both the trial, the killers and the skinhead movement in the context of the founding values of the French Republic (Liberty, brotherhood and equality). Overall a good movie--the subtitles were a bit lacking awkward translations and missing words at times but still doable. The people do talk really fast, however, so you've got to pay close attention. And I swear the only time most of them paused was when they need to take a drag on their smokes or ash them.

I will be buying this book as soon as it comes out in paperback. Looks amazing.

QUOTE (Rex Kicka** @ Mar 8, 2010 -> 01:49 PM) Not usually one to talk about Sarah Palin very often. But I thought this was interesting. She gave a speech in Calgary recently, and she admitted that her family would border hop into Canada to take advantage of their health care system. http://www.medicinehatnews.com/node/186723 Best part of this story? Wasilla is about 15 hours from Canada.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Mar 4, 2010 -> 07:12 PM) http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-4247 GOP's page with "Additional Views" section detailing Possible Concerns: http://www.gop.gov/bill/111/1/hr4247 It appears to be mostly b****ing about not letting private schools physically restraining or secluding students and some token complaints about trial lawyers. I read it and it sounds reasonable to me. All seems pretty straightforward. As for the rape thing--that was in-f***ing-excusable to vote against. Just sickening.

My dad just filled out an application to run for Lt. Gov. I'm am not sure where he found this. On an unrelated note, he really needs to find a new job to keep him from hijinks like this (and from constantly calling me to tell me of said hijinks).