Yay!

OBAMA!

...and now I'm going to bed. The kids will be CRAZY tomorrow.

Life Books Challenge: My Life Books

I finally narrowed my "life books" down to ten. These are the ten books that I think help define me as a person. Don't judge me too harshly, okay? :)

1. Dune, by Frank Herbert
This was my dad's favorite book; he named me after one of the characters. He died when I was four, so I never really knew him. I read the entire Dune series when I was in high school (and believe me, that was quite a feat!) and it made me feel a little closer to him. It became one of my favorites, too, and introduced me to the wonderful world of sci-fi.

2. Emma, by Jane Austen
My other favorite book is Austen's Pride and Prejudice, but I've always related to Emma Woodhouse more than Elizabeth Bennett. I love playing matchmaker (I've even had a few successes!) but I have no desire to get married. Unlike Emma, however, I enjoy reading and learning new things. I also like to think that I'm not quite as spoiled as she is. :) Emma is available for free here.

3. Like Water For Chocolate, by Laura Esquivel
I love reading, and I love cooking; I also spent eight years studying Spanish. So this book is pretty much the epitome of everything awesome: it includes recipes and the original Spanish en face. I read it for a class in college and loved it. The movie is pretty good, too.

4. Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, by Barbara Ehrenreich
If you have ever tried to support yourself (or your family) by working at a dead-end, minimum-wage job, you will not be surprised by what Ehrenreich experiences. After I graduated from college (the first time, with my B.A.) I worked at a retail clothing store for three years before getting fed up, quitting, moving back in with my parents, and going back for my Master's. Reading this book reminded me of what I left behind, and why.
This is the only one of Ehrenreich's books that I've read, but she was on The Colbert Report last week to plug her new one:

She didn't get to talk about it much, but it sounds interesting.

5. The Gospel of Judas
One of my undergrad minors was in Religious Studies. My family has never been "religious," exactly; we mostly lived by the Golden Rule. I started church-hopping in high school - I've been to quite a few Christian churches (Lutheran, Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Charismatic) and Temple Mickve Israel in Savannah a few times. I've read the majority of the Bible, Tanakh, and Qur'an. It's hard finding a book that expresses my interest in religion, but I think this one comes pretty close. I find the character of Judas fascinating, and I love the way he is portrayed in this gospel.

6. How to Get Suspended and Influence People, by Adam Selzer
I'll admit: when it comes to this book, I'm horribly biased. I went to high school with Adam, so of course I'm going to love anything he writes. But the thing is, he pretty much captured what it was like to be a gifted middle school student in a small town. I never had quite as many adventures as the kids in his books, but I remember that feeling of being a smart kid and not having anyone take me seriously, that desire to do something that would make a difference and get people's attention. I still feel that way sometimes. I liked this book so much, I bought an extra copy and sent it to my second cousin in Florida. Her parents were thinking of putting her in a gifted class, and I wanted to her to know that it wouldn't be that bad. In fact, it's pretty fun!

7. America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction, by Jon Stewart
I also really like politics and history (to an extent). This book is great because it's full of interesting, funny, and true information about America. I especially like that it's made to look like a textbook.

8. The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair
Reading this book in high school did two things: it cemented my stance on vegetarianism (and converted quite a few of my classmates, at least for a little while) and it got me interested in socialism. For years, I was convinced that socialism was the greatest political movement in the world, and that it was going to solve all of our economic problems. And then I realized that pure socialism is just not possible. Edward Bellamy's Looking Backward is good for this, too, but more depressing because it's actually a Utopian novel set in the year 2000.

9. Teacher Man, by Frank McCourt
A friend of mine in my Master's program had this book on CD; I used to listen to it while driving to my education classes. It's a great memoir about being a teacher and making a difference, something I hope I'll be able to do with my students.

10. Grrl Scouts, by Jim Mafood
This one is actually a graphic novel. Grrl Scouts was one of the first comic books I really got into. I picked it up because I was a Girl Scout for 12 years, and I was intrigued by the title. The "Scouts" in the book are actually a group of three urban girls who deal drugs, go clubbing, and graffiti public property...not your typical badge-earning cookie-pushers. But the story is fun and exciting (although probably not appropriate for all ages), and I loved the art.

So, there you have it. My Life Books. Visit SmallWorld Reads to get more information about the challenge and to sign up. Happy reading!

Presidential-ish links I find amusing

First off, Elizabeth Edwards confronts Ann Coulter about lowering the bar for political discourse and Ann reacts by being, well, her bitchy self. Almost as good as watching this high school kid giving Bill O'Reilly what-for.

And secondly, some guy nicknamed "The Impaler" is running for president. Strangely, I'm reminded of the kid from Real Ultimate Power:

"My name is Jonathon The Impaler Sharkey, Ph.D., L.D.D.D. I am running for Governor of Minnesota in 2006 and for President in 2008. I am a Satanic Dark Priest, Sanguinarian Vampyre and a Hecate Witch. My Magikal Path name is: Lord Ares. I despise and hate the Christian God the Father. He is my enemy. However, it doesn't mean that I hate all his followers. This Country was founded on religious rights and freedoms. This is guaranteed under the 1st Amendment of our great constitution. This right allows me to worship Lucifer and the Goddess Hecate, just as it allows you to worship the Goddess/God of your choice. I have a 13 point platform that includes better benefits for farmers and veterans. I will also give more funding to our school system and fix the pot holes on our city streets. Not to mention the FACT that I will personally impale any and all wrong doers in the steps of the Governor's mansion. If you are a child molester, rapist, drug dealer or terrorist you will be IMPALED!"

...but with Vampires instead of Ninjas.

How do you explain racism to a 2nd grader?

My Wednesday mornings are spent as a "Book Buddy" at a local elementary school. I go, listen to the kids read their books, and occasionally help them when they have trouble with a word. Today really threw me for a loop, though. One little girl read me a story called The Bus Ride, which was about a little African-American girl who gets "arrested" for sitting at the front of a bus in the 1950's. I didn't care for the book - it wasn't particularly well-written or -illustrated (all of the "White" people looked Hispanic, I thought, and it seemed to trivialize the historical importance) - but it raised some interesting questions:

Girl: "But...wasn't Rosa Parker the first Black person to sit at the front of a bus?"
Me: "I'm not sure. We're taught that Rosa Parks was the first, but maybe there were others before her."
Girl: "Why did people care so much? It's not like it matters what color your skin is..."
Me: "Well, people didn't always feel that way, though. But it's good that you know that."

Wow. I really had no idea what to tell this poor kid. She even asked me who "the first Black person on earth was." If I really felt like getting in trouble with her parents, I would've told her that some people think Jesus was Black, or that humans originated in Africa.

You know, the fact that she couldn't comprehend the idea of racism makes me think that her parents are pretty cool people, and probably wouldn't have minded.

Texas is messed up, y'all

Via BWE: a Texas legislator is trying to pass a bill that would give women $500 for carrying a fetus to term and giving the child up for adoption, rather than having an abortion. Which is wrong on so many levels. As some of the commentors pointed out, does the $500 pay for prenatal care? Because it seems like that would cost a lot more. And what happens to all these children when the state can't find adequate foster care for them?

GA has its own solution to "the abortion problem": a bill that would require doctors to provide women seeking abortions with a list of places that will provide free sonograms. The theory being, apparently, that having heard their unborn child's heartbeat, they'll change their minds.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS COUNTRY?! Why can't the government subsidize programs that help PREVENT pregnancies?

I have a "friend" (acquaintance, really) who is currently pregnant, has no job, doesn't plan on getting a job, and is expecting to live off of government assistance (and her poor mother) for the foreseeable future. Why should my tax dollars support her lazy ass? As far as I'm concerned, she's a completely worthless human being, and I don't have much hope for her child. It's sad that I feel this way, but I would rather pay for her to get an abortion myself than have her mooch off my tax dollars for the rest of my life.

Maybe he's not so bad, after all

I have to admit, having heard some of what then-Presidential-candidate Bush said on those now-infamous tapes makes me respect him just a teensy bit more. I like that he didn't want to talk about his drug use because he was afraid it would encourage kids to do the same. At least he didn't come up with some crap line, like "...but I didn't inhale." And I especially like that he said he didn't want to discriminate against gays, but I would respect him more if he actually held to that.

The tapes are interesting, because they give us an idea of what Bush thinks (or at least, thought) privately, as opposed to what he does publicly - trying to appease the moral majority. Kinda sucks that his "friend" taped him without his knowledge, though. And what a coincidence that he's releasing the tapes just as his book is being published!

It's amazing what you find doing random Google searches...

Ohio gay marriage ban at center of domestic violence challenge.

CLEVELAND - Darnell Forte is accused of slapping a woman he lived with. To try to get a domestic violence charged overturned, his lawyer has raised a wider issue, claiming a conflict between Ohio's new constitutional amendment defining marriage and the state's domestic violence law.

Opponents of the amendment banning gay marriage, among the nation's broadest, feared the measure would be used to try to curtail all sorts of rights for unmarried people, and they say the domestic violence case in Cleveland is one such attempt.

"What's at stake goes beyond the issue of gay marriage, it's whether or not a state constitutional amendment can strip Ohio people of basic protections," said Heather Sawyer, senior counsel in Chicago for Lambda Legal, a national gay rights organization.

The case is being watched nationally because of the precedent that could be set if the domestic violence charges are thrown out. Forte's lawyer argues his client cannot be charged with the felony because domestic violence charges should be reserved for married couples under the state's law defining marriage, which won 62 percent of the vote in November.

The State of the Union

I may not agree with what you say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it.

-Voltaire

Michelle's friend, Jeremy, came to trivia tonight, and we spent the first half of the game good-naturedly arguing about the State of the Union address from last night. One part that really struck me: "Our second great responsibility to our children and grandchildren is to honor and to pass along the values that sustain a free society. So many of my generation, after a long journey, have come home to family and faith, and are determined to bring up responsible, moral children. Government is not the source of these values, but government should never undermine them. Because marriage is a sacred institution and the foundation of society, it should not be re-defined by activist judges. For the good of families, children, and society, I support a constitutional amendment to protect the institution of marriage."

In other words, a ban on gay marriages. Stuff like this helps me remember why I support the Libertarians and want less government interaction in my life. I was actually pretty worked up when I was discussing it with Jeremy, but four beers and being up past your bedtime came really take the fight out of a girl. We may not have agreed on the issue, but it was nice having someone to debate with who had actually thought out his side of the issue and wasn't simply using the president or the Bible as irrefutable proof - it certainly made it more interesting for Michelle, the innocent bystander. One thing neither of us was sure of was the "real" definition of marriage, so I decided to do some research. This is what I've come up with so far:

mar·riage
n.

The legal union of a man and woman as husband and wife.
The state of being married; wedlock.
A common-law marriage.
A union between two persons having the customary but usually not the legal force of marriage: a same-sex marriage.
A wedding.
A close union: “the most successful marriage of beauty and blood in mainstream comics” (Lloyd Rose).
Games. The combination of the king and queen of the same suit, as in pinochle.

Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
(from dictionary.com)

A tongue-in-cheek Biblical definition.

The legal definition.

After reading all these, I'm curious as to which one W. is protecting. :) At any rate, I guess I have more stuff for Jeremy and me to argue about next week.

(A bit off-topic, but I also found a really amusing State of the Union drinking game)

Jesusland!

Ok, I know the election's been over for about a month now, but Chris sent this to me and I found it amusing:



Apparently, it was being passed around on the UGA Law School ListServe and caused a bit of controversy...

If you didn't vote today, I guess you're dead by now...

Overheard at work today (one old lady talking to another):
"What you have to do, is vote the way Jesus would. That's why I voted for Bush, and I've been praying every night that he'll win."