Shipwrecked & Comatose

Because I can't just post dumb things that pop into my head on FB anymore. What is the deal with designers making winter coats with no zippers or buttons?  How can a coat keep you warm if you can't close it?  Don't put so much effort into making sure you are happy after you die that you forget to live. It appears the tax cuts have made their way to my paycheck.  I'm not immune to feeling happy to seeing an extra $30 in there, but I have to wonder what the country is sacrificing for that:  Roads and bridges? Transportation?  A living wage for military families and benefits for veterans? Education?  Support for the disabled?  Support for the elderly?  Support for children?  I'm scared.  (This is what it means to be a liberal, folks.  I actually care about other people rather than just caring about what's in it for me.) What's up with people calling themselves "Bible-believing Christians?"  Is this to separate themselves f...

 I published this years ago on my old MySpace blog (clearly prior to 2008 when you look at my comment on Presidents' Day).  I wanted to save it for the archives when I shut that blog down.  I realized I never reposted it.  The time is now. So today I read an interesting bulletin about racism from one of my MySpace friends. The gist of the piece was how unfair it is to use words like "hillbilly" or "cracker" or "gringo" regarding white people with no repercussions, but it's racist to use the n-word. The piece dares to ask why it's not wrong to have black student unions and black history month and display black pride, but why it's racist to have white student unions or say that you're proud of being white. I'll answer that bulletin first by defining racism. A great definition I learned in Sociology 101 was that Racism=Prejudice+Power. Prejudice is the exclusion or stereotyping or classifying by people's color or religion. ...

The fitness industry comes under heavy criticism for the way it feeds off women's insecurities. The fitness media machine makes women feel inadequate as if there is something defective about their bodies that needs to be fixed.  It preys on the way women tie their self esteem to how they look. It sets up and reinforces and impossible beauty standards.  We know all of this. I have another beef with the fitness industry.  I don't like the way it hits women in the wallet.  Fitness program marketers set up expectations for what women can do about their bodies.  Then it finds a hundred new ways to make them pay for it. Let's imagine a woman, just an ordinary American woman, whom I'll call Sally. Sally needs a lifestyle update.  She has become a couch potato.  She orders takeout for dinner most nights and it's not the kind of takeout that provides optimal nutrition.  She notices she has been gaining weight lately, but isn't motivated to do too muc...

How I dress is pretty important to me. Clothes aren't just what I wear to avoid being naked.  Clothes are fun.  They are a form of self expression. They help me look my best. I might even go as far to say they are form of art that also conveniently prevent me from being naked. Dressing isn't always easy.  I have a body that's hard to fit.  I don't have a million spare hours to browse every store and website to find pieces I love.  I also don't have unlimited funds for buying the right clothes when I do find them.  Sometimes I need help trying to find out what's out there and how to put it together into the perfect outfit.  This is what makes style bloggers so useful.  They are out there finding the trends and making the purchases and putting the outfits together.  I can look at an outfit post and see if I can replicate it with something I already have in my closet, or I can use it to determine if I want to buy something new.  They pr...

The morning of January 1, 2018 I turned on my computer and logged into Facebook.  I read a few posts, and then went into my account settings.  When I arrived at the right page, I took a deep breath, hovered for a moment, and then hit "Request Deletion" button. It was easier than I expected it to be.  I didn't even ask to download the archives first.  I burned the whole thing down.  No one but my mother and my husband knew I would be doing this.  I had over three hundred friends sleeping off their hangovers who had no idea they wouldn't see me when they logged into their Facebook accounts that morning. There is a good chance if you're reading this right now, you noticed my absence and are wondering what happened.  You came to my blog for answers. It is also possible you are here for any other reasons.  Maybe you are just a Red Dwarf fan who came here by accident. Whether you want the answer or not, this post is here to provide one for you....

What should the role of a First Lady be? Ever since her ( lying, misogynist, racist, corrupt ) husband took office, Americans have closely observed the actions of his wife Melania.  Why does she always look so miserable? Why does she seem to actively avoid her husband (remember when she slapped his hand away)?  Does she really enjoy the perks of the job?  Does she really want the responsibility? Right from the beginning the pundits speculated that not only did she not want the job, but she was actively shunning it.  She spent five months living away from the White House with the excuse that she didn't want her son to switch schools.  The rumors swirled that she was not interested in the implied job of White House social secretary and national hostess.  Perhaps that was going to be Ivanka's job. Eleven months later the speculation is still going strong.  Even though Melania is taking on some of the social roles expected of a First Lady, she doesn'...

Whenever I hear friends and acquaintances blather on about how much they love fall, one of the most common reasons they state is a love of Halloween.  If fall is their favorite time of year, then Halloween is their favorite holiday. What is it about Halloween?  Is it the joy we take in artifice?  Do we believe costumes can transform us into something or someone else?  Do we think decorating with undead characters and murderers and mystical figures puts us in an acceptable place to explore our own dark sides?  Do we like to scare ourselves?  In the end, is it just an excuse to eat too much and (for adults) drink excessively just like almost any other holiday we celebrate in the US? I don't think any of these things are a bad reason to like Halloween.  I just question if celebrating Halloween excessively really accomplishes any of this. Halloween has become a massive commercial enterprise.  It is second only to Christmas.  Costume shops p...