Also, the official video for “Next Girl” by The Black Keys. Hilarious video that includes hot chicks and a dinosaur. There is no lose, no fail.

Jon, Seth, and I also started volunteering with Feliciana Animal Welfare Society. We did the first adoption day on the 15th, and volunteered to foster and socialize two kittens they believe will be adoptable once they are socialized. On the 15th, we also adopted a two year old grey Siamese mix. We named him Augusten, after the one and only Mr. Burroughs. We call him Gus (and goose). He’s adapting well. I’m not sure if he’ll ever relax and stay from under the bed for a whole day, but he seems to like us. He’s playful, happy, and soft. We’re very happy with him.

In March, I just found out, I may be going on a business trip to L.A. to a media convention. I’m pretty excited about that and hope nothing changes regarding those plans.

My heater didn’t come on in my car this morning. I really hope it’s a one-time thing because it just got FREEZING outside. My toes (not encased in shoes, of course) were numb by the time I got to school. I could see my breath the entire 45 minute drive. Yeah. Miserable.

Love those shoes! Like a Keds/Oxford hybrid? I’m not sure I could pull off the color, but I’d definitely wear those in black or brown.

Also, this awesome, real life Katamari!

I’m back to work full part time now. So that means I’m coming in more than 3 hours this week. I’m not that miserable about it. The vacation was nice. I was thinking that today would be miserable because I’ve had these awful stomach pains the past couple of days. Like. AWFUL. Sunday, I only got out of bed for 30 seconds. Well, that and when I tried to have a smoke with Jon. I put it out after smoking half of it and went back to bed. If I keep getting these (this is the second time in a couple of months), I’m going to have to see a doctor about it. I don’t wanna be poked by doctors (ehehe, I mean…what girl doesn’t wanna be poked by a doctor, but that’s a story for another day). So I’m hoping this isn’t going to happen again anytime soon.

I’ve been reading these cheeseball vampire YA novels. The Morganville Vampires. I can’t stop. Rachel Caine has sucked me in, and I don’t know how. What can even be called a plot in her books is poorly executed, and the characters are shallow and stupid. I have to deal with the main character and her boyfriend dry humping throughout the whole series (so far. I’m on the third book) because , OMG, they made a promise to her parents they wouldn’t screw. Seriously? As if that would ever happen. Let’s get real for a minute, Ms. Caine. The guy and girl LIVE IN THE SAME HOUSE with ZERO adult supervision. Are you kidding me? Yet, I keep reading. I’d never read them in public, though. I don’t want to explain that one. “Yeah, I’m doing a book report for my little sister. She’s real swamped with homework.” The Weather Warden book was WAY better, but I can’t seem to get my hands on the second one of that series. I finished The Girl Who Played with Fire, and I want to hold off on 500-page crime novels for just a little while before I move onto the next one. Cheesy vampire novels it is!

Also, I will be the proud owner of these boots ASAP. Love love love!

Over the holiday, I had a goal of reading 6 books. I beat that number by a few. Yay!

Pen/O. Henry Prize Stories 2009 (Various)
Earth (The Book): A Visitor’s Guide to the Human Race (Jon Stewart)
A Very Simple Crime (Grant Jerkins)
Soulless (Gail Carriger)
Changeless (Gail Carriger)
Hex Hall (Rachel Caine)
Ill Wind (Rachel Caine)
The Clearing (Heather Davis)
The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things (J.T. Leroy)

I’m currently reading The Girl who Played with Fire and Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk. The Girl who Played with Fire is mostly bring and has way too many characters with names I can’t remember so far. Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk is hilarious and one of a kind. My favorite chapter has so far been The Toad, The Turtle and The Duck. HILARIOUS. Love David Sedaris.

Also, Jon and I beat Little Big Planet on two player and I beat Katamari Forever. Other than that. Nothing. Best holiday.

Here Be Dragons is a free 40 minute video introduction to critical thinking. It is suitable for general audiences and is licensed for free distribution and public display.

Most people fully accept paranormal and pseudoscientific claims without critique as they are promoted by the mass media. Here Be Dragons offers a toolbox for recognizing and understanding the dangers of pseudoscience, and appreciation for the reality-based benefits offered by real science.

I’ve been trying to get back into reading more since I have so much quiet and so much time to think. I finished the Hunger Games trilogy. Read a couple of short stories collections. A history of horror book. Now I’m reading a collection of short horror stories. Most of them are pretty good. Twilight Zone type stories. Really weird and leaving you feeling creepy.

I’ve been listening to a lot of Mason Jennings and Ben Sollee. Ben Sollee is a new addition, and I LOVE his album, Learning to Bend. I listen to it every morning. It’s folk, with not-your-average instruments and a slight political side. I’ve also been listening to Skeptoid. It’s a critical reasoning podcast that tackles popular beliefs, such as foods being poison and fluoridation.

Also, I have kittens living under my new porch. They belong to my neighbors, but I don’t believe they want them, really. No one has come looking for them and it’s been a couple of days. The mom and 3 kittens are living under there. So cute. I may need to be finding them homes if their owners don’t want them. We’ll see. Until then, I’m just enjoying their presence.

Would you let this man borrow your car?

Would I let George W. Bush borrow my car? The answer is no. I would not let this man drive my car, because I feel that he has no respect for others, even the people that are most important to him seem to mean nothing to him, so I can not imagine that he would take care of my personal belongings.  George W. Bush’s character is flawed. There is not much reason to respect his authority because he had no respect for the people who are most important to him.

As former President of the United States, George W. Bush should have had instant respect from citizens of the U.S. This is not true. George W. Bush rarely acted as a distinguished leader of a powerful country, instead choosing to make jokes and avoid real questions from the press. Because of his actions and obvious disrespect for the citizens of the U.S., George W. Bush had the lowest final approval rating of any president since the final approval rating began to be recorded over 70 years ago.  The rating was 22 percent. (CBS) That means only 22 percent of Americans thought George W. Bush deserved their respect. Since the American citizens are the most important people when it comes to respect for the President of the United States, I think this proves his lack of authority.  A person in his position with that low of a rating has certainly lost his position of authority over the United States.

Sorry, George W. Bush, but you cannot borrow my car. I don’t believe that you would return it the way you borrowed it. I think there would be mud in the carpet and French fries under the seat.  You are going to have to find one of the 22 percent of Americans that thought you were deserving of their respect.

Click more for responsesFirst Classmate Response:
I am not sure if I would agree that President Bush lost his authority.  He may have lost the respect of many people in the United States as a person, but I think that he had his authority until the day that he was no longer President of the United States.

You may not respect George Bush the man, but Bush in his role as President of the United States must be respected.  To fail to respect President Bush even with his character flaws is not something I would consider doing.

Next Response:
George W. Bush will technically be “President” until the day that he dies. All Presidents are referred to as “Mr.. President” even after their term is completed. I think people today love to say that Obama has been struck with so much in his presidency already. To me it doesn’t even come close to the pressure that Bush faced as President. Bush was faced with the worst terrorist attack in the history of this nation, a spiraling economy, and multiple hurricanes that effected the Gulf Coast. Even after all of those things Bush still had higher approval ratings thus far than Obama. In my opinion, just looking at the issue of 9/11 alone, Obama would never handle that specific situation with as much poise, confidence, and determination as Bush did. During those rough days, weeks, even months after 9/11 Bush was respected by everyone in this nation as he stood there with us as we all tried to pick up the pieces. I do not think Obama has enough respect from the nation currently to become the leader the American people would need if we were ever attacked again. And personally, bashing a man who loves this country and actually served in the military to protect it, unlike being a “community organizer” like Obama, is un-American and offensive to all American soldiers.

Third Classmate Response:
Im going to have to disagree with you here. The Bush family is known for their charitable donations. The Bush’s donated close to 80,000 of the 600,000 they made last year to a list of charities, such as the American Red Cross, The Salvation Army, Marthas Table, and in rebuilding Catholic Churches in New Orleans are just a few. I dont believe that someone who didnt care about others would donate so much time and money to assist other people.

AAANNNDD my response to all of those:
Donating money to a charity or two doesn’t mean you care about anything. It is a social requirement of businesses and people who make a certain amount of money. It is an effective offset for guilt because, as you have demonstrated, the public assumes you are a good person if you donate to charity.

Also, I love that you guys are telling me I have to respect the authority of the President, no matter what (which, by the way, is what must be done in a communist nation, not a nation that is free to choose and impeach its leaders), yet you bash our current president. And this is in an assumption you just pulled out of nowhere that I support the current president’s authority, either. I’m not supporting Barack Obama here.  That logic doesn’t check out. It may help to point out that I never mentioned our current president in my assignment. So you’re making assumptions based on nothing and calling me “un-american” for it. It’s “un-American” to sit back and grin in the face of someone who doesn’t share the same values as you that is representing you to the world. It’s “un-American” to just get in line and chant along. Does that sound familiar to you? That’s because dictator-ruled communist countries must do it. You can sit back and take whatever is fed to you, but you might want to watch who you are calling “un-american.”

You can’t make something a war against Democrats and Republicans when it just isn’t. So stop.

Chris Guillot, a writer for Louisiana State University’s official campus newspaper, The Daily Reveille, has recently written an article attacking an arrangement made between Baton Rouge Community College and Louisiana State University that will allow students in certain majors, including business and the sciences, to transfer more easily from BRCC to LSU to obtain a bachelor’s degree. He makes a weak argument that is supported by nothing but his ego and his own warped opinions.
Guillot’s article,”‘ Bears 2 Tigers’ insults LSU’s hardworking student body,” claims that BRCC students are not good enough to attend LSU, much less be given a less complicated way to transfer there. He states that BRCC students could not handle the classes at LSU, and that BRCC students don not work as hard at their college careers as LSU students. Guillot uses his summer class at Delgado Community College and quotes from former BRCC students to support his claims. Guillot’s reasons are weak, and his argument seems to be fueled by prejudice and arrogance.

First, Guillot claims that Baton Rouge Community College’s students could not handle LSU’s classes because they are easier than LSU’s classes. Stating his experience at Delgado Community College, he claims “community college classes do not require anywhere near the amount of studying and thinking as the University’s classes.”(The Daily Reveille) Guillot does not say exactly which classes he took that summer at Delgado Community College, but I doubt any summer class would be a good indication of what a college has to offer academically. Summer classes, no matter what college you choose to take them at, are known for being easier than regular semester classes. This is simply because the professor does not have time to go over as much as he or she would in a normal, 15-week semester. Students generally take these to improve a grade they were not pleased with or take a class they do not feel requires as much intensive training. With that said, I have to wonder why Chris Guillot took summer classes at Delgado College in the first place. Was he looking for an easy way out of a tougher LSU class? Now that he is a community college student, based on his low opinion of these students, should he even be allowed to attend LSU?
Next, Guillot suggests that BRCC students are stupid, lazy slackers counting on programs like BEARS 2 TIGERS to get them through their education. He even suggests that in forming this partnership, BRCC and LSU are promoting slacking off in High School; “This partnership essentially makes putting forth effort in high school a thing of the past. Why try so hard in high school when you can attend BRCC without even an ACT score, then take advantage of ‘Bears 2 Tigers’.”(The Daily Reveille) His suggestion that community college students did not try in school or do not try in college is a generalization he has made without considering other reasons a person might attend community college. Family issues, illness, cost of tuition, and work are just a few other reason a person may choose to attend a community college instead of a university for their core classes.  Cost seems to be the most common reason. The average cost of attending a community college is $2,544 compared to $7,020 at 4-year universities. (American Association of Community Colleges) This is a huge difference and some might say the choice to first attend community college is financially smart, not stupid or lazy.
Guillot also uses quotes from LSU students that transferred from BRCC. He quotes interior design major, Lauren Godfrey, as saying “[Community college] helps if you don’t do well in high school … but I don’t think the people that go [to BRCC] can handle LSU… Students are [at BRCC] for a reason.”(The Daily Reveille) The implied “reason” is that community college is the highest level they can “handle.” This is another gross generalization that just is not true for all students at community colleges.  Another student, Paul Park, is quoted as saying “The status of being at LSU is better than at BRCC”(The Daily Reveille), which only implies that LSU is a school of elitist snobs, and that the stigma associated with being a community college student is not welcome in their high social ranks. This is not a good reason to take away the opportunity to make a seamless transfer to a 4-year university from hard-working, deserving students who may have had a few more challenges in their lives than the typical status-concerned LSU student.  Guillot also fails to inform his readers of how these two students are handling their classes at LSU. Obviously, they have not flunked out. How are their grades? How have they managed to “handle” LSU’s tough classes? I suspect the answer to these questions would not be beneficial to Guillot’s argument. Why is it acceptable for the students he is quoting to attend LSU, but not the students who may take advantage of the BEARS 2 TIGERS partnership?
This is not the first attack Chris Guillot has made towards Baton Rouge Community College. On August 22, a particularly sarcastic article was published in The Daily Reveille entitled “Community colleges offer alternative to studying.” In this article, Guillot labels BRCC and other community colleges as promoters of cheating. He claims “The friendly teachers at community colleges know what’s best for a learning student, and what’s best is doing as little work as possible so the students have a solid grasp of the material the class covers”(the Daily Reveille) and suggests that it is simple to bring a cheat sheet into class and cheat on every test, ensuring yourself a good grade in community college classes. Having attended Baton Rouge Community College for four semesters now, I can personally attest to the fact that I have never seen the opportunity to cheat on a test in any of the classes I have taken. It just is not true.
Chris Guillot has made an ineffective argument against this partnership between Baton Rouge Community College and Louisiana State University. His argument is based completely on a short-lived experience at a community college other than BRCC, and a few quotes from transfer students who seem to share his prejudiced attitude towards community college students. He cites no proof that community college students who transfer to universities don’t do as well as students who start at a university.  Guillot has a bad attitude that is based in bias, not fact.

Chopwell – Path to the river

Originally uploaded by immarkcz

It seems like everyone I meet feels the need to explain and then defend themselves.

I want you all to stop spending so much time defending yourselves. I want everyone to just be who they are and not have to fight to do it. I want every single one of you to think about what life would be like if we all stopped doing that. If we all knew what we are (and even if we didn’t and knew we were trying to figure that out) and knew that it was ok, and that we weren’t going to be looked down upon for our differences, how awesome would that be? I’m not asking that you like what someone is or what they are becoming; I’m asking that you let it go. Yes, I’m asking that you don’t give a shit either way. I’m asking that you “do you” and don’t care what everyone else is doing to the point of interfering with their journey. I’m not asking you to shut up and keep it to yourself, but I’m asking that you do so when it comes to always thinking you are right. Constant defense of the path you choose to take will not get you any closer to where you’re headed.

Sure, there are situations where you being you is dangerous to the people around you. There are systems in order to protect you from yourself and from others. Don’t hurt people. That’s not good.

What is good is acceptance.

On your journey, so many paths will cross yours. You do not have to go down these paths. You do need to accept that they are there and continue on your journey. It doesn’t benefit you at all to stop in the road and stop everyone and tell them that the path you crossed isn’t worth traveling down or shouldn’t exist. All you can tell them are the conditions of the road you’ve traveled, and only up to the point that you’ve traveled. If you haven’t been down the other roads, you don’t have enough information to decide if it is worth traveling. All you can know is that you don’t want to travel down that particular path. Stand up and keep moving. So, if you want to have a real opinion about these other paths, you will need to take a walk down them.