Rock Out

BuzzFeed had this bit of fun where the internet randomly generates your band name, album title, and cover art.

My band is: Street Fighter Alpha
I totally sound like the latest alt-rock band that will try to generate buzz by releasing a free single on iTunes. I hope we at least have a little edge with a name like that.

Our album title is: Change and All the Patterns Alter
As if there was any doubt to our alt-rock nature. We'll have thoughtful lyrics but our singles will be either be bouncy or rock out and catchy as hell.

Our debut album:

Baker's Dozen Challenge Book 11

For Retelling I read Classics Mutilated which was an anthology of mash-ups between well-known classics and other classics or contemporary concepts like Twilight meeting Norse mythology or Alice in Wonderland and Snow White

My favorites were Death Stopped for Emily Dickinson, The Happiest Hell on Earth, From Hell's Heart, and The Green Menace. I liked some of the small touches in Frankenbilly and Dread Island that helped set the voices of the characters, like Cut Through You. It took me a little longer than I'd like to admit to make that connection.

Despite having very different themes and voices, these stories all went together very well. The only time I was 'meh' about a story was when I lacked a connection to the source material like Little Women in Black. I've never read Little Women so I couldn't tell what exactly was being mutilated about that classic.

I loved the section at the end about why the writers chose the mash-ups they did. The Happiest Hell on Earth is described as the place between "Are We Not Men?" and "Why Is That Dog Wearing Pants?" It was fascinating to hear why the writers chose what they did.

This book won't change your life but if you like the mash-up idea, you'll enjoy this.

1) Another World – Wild Cards edited by George R. R. Martin

2) Learned Something – Animals Make Us Human by Temple Grandin

3) Movie Book – The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

4) Graphic Novel – Fanboys vs. Zombies Vol. 1 by Sam Humphries

5) Dust – You Don't Sweat Much for a Fat Girl by Celia Rivenbark

6) Nonfiction – A Little F'ed Up by Julie Zeilinger

7) Reread – Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (as read by Wil Wheaton)

8) Shorts – 20something Essays by 20something Writers

9) Fiction – The Rosie Project by Graeme Simison

10) Shiny – Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Reay

11) Retelling – Classics Mutilated edited by Jeff Connor

12) Wild Card –

13) The End –

Music: 300 Violin Orchestra by Jorge Quintero

In or Out

My friend recently sent me an article about being a secretly introverted extrovert. I found it to have a good bit of truth. According to the Myers-Brigg, I'm just a little off center toward extrovert. There's a bit more truth for her than me because I lean toward extrovert but some of it definitely applies.

I enjoy socializing, being busy, and getting out of the house but the reason I can do those things is because I take time to relax and recharge. I need chill time and sleep. If I'm exhausted and I go to a party, the social stimulation will keep my energy up but once it's gone I crash.

This week is going to be hectic.

Monday

Errand in neighboring county

Monday Night

Insomnia (Not planned, just my life)

Tuesday

Short notice dinner with BF's family

Wednesday

Grocery shopping

Bathing dogs

Thursday

Birthday Party

Friday

Happy Hour

Saturday

BBQ

Sunday

Ignoring humanity

The BF's parents live fairly close to me and Wednesday I'll be busy locally but Thursday, Friday, Saturday are all happening in different counties (and sometimes states) from where I'll be working and sleeping. Anyone want to take bets if I crash before Sunday?

Music: She Looks So Perfect by 5 Seconds of Summer

Cold Iron

Back in April I had 2 interviews, both with potential to be something good and both turned into nothing. I know for a fact one of them liked me and were impressed; I was just overqualified for the position they had (my friend Melissa works there so not my words).

Another opportunity at Melissa's job arose. I know I could do this job and do it pretty damn well. Because of my previous contact with them I was able to submit my resume directly to HR on Sunday night. I haven't heard anything and that's not surprising (yet). 

Each place has their own routine of compiling resumes, meeting with the department to decide who to interview, etc. I can never guess the time so I don't know if/when to expect to hear back. This is the best shot I've had at a full time job since I've been unemployed.

Melissa loves this job and raves about what a greatplace it is. Free food, casual dress code, liberal vacation policy, etc. I'm incredibly nervous right now. I want this job but I also don't want to let myself want it too much. I have a decent track record of having good interviews and no responses.

I've also got an interview with another place they want to schedule for this week. It would be a long-term temp assignment with the possibility of perm. An entirely different staffing agency is submitting me for another position. I heard from the nonprofit I was with for 4 months about a short term thing but I'm on an assignment. Clearly I'm at least somewhat employable.

I'd love to get the full time job with Melissa's company and either position wouldn't be a bad back-up for the few months they're supposed to last. I have several irons in the fire but I've been in this exact place before. I was here in December and I was here in April and the only thing I've got to show for it are cold irons. 

I can't silence my inner pessimist as completely as I did before. As much as I want this to work out, I'm bracing myself for it to all come to nothing. I've seen this happen too many times before to not be ready for that again. I'm hoping for the best but expecting the worst.

Music: So Cold by Breaking Benjamin

Girl in a Country Song

A new single just dropped from a new country duo Maddie & Tae and I'm madly in love. Both Maddie and Tae realized that women have no agency in popular country music and it would suck to be them. A soon to be hit single was born.

They're calling out bro country for objectifying women and treating them as props in their story. I tweeted about this but I was careful to use #YesAllWomen instead of the equally accurate #feminism. 

These are things that feminists have been saying about women in all forms of media for decades. Unfortunately pop stars which have a more liberal target audience have been denying the f-bomb including Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson, and Taylor Swift (who has barely been country since her second album). 

Country caters to a more conservative crowd. Even though feminist values and ideals are what make this song amazing, calling it such seems like a losing battle not worth starting. It's better to see women responding so strongly to the message of the song. Once they're on board the whole equality boat we can tell them what it's been called the whole time.

To really sell the point of how revolutionary this song is for contemporary country music, here's some of the more empowering, BS-calling lyrics,

I hate the way this bikini top chaffs. Do I really have to wear it all day?

I got a name and to you it ain't pretty little thing, honey or baby.

Like all we're good for is lookin' good for you and your friends on the weekend

We used to get a little respect and now we're lucky if we even get to climb up in your truck, keep our mouth shut and ride along like a girl in a country song

There ain't no sugar for you in this shaker of mine

Sure I'll slide on over but you're gonna get slapped

I ain't your tanned legged Juliet

Can we put on some real clothes now?

I only regret I haven't yet found a video to share with you. 

Music: Girl in a Country Song by Maddie & Tae

Movement in the Wrong Direction

A FB friend of mine posted this. The fact that these movements even exist is a ridiculous and grand display of ignorance and privilege. 

"Financial and child support shouldn't exist"

I disagree 100%. Kids are expensive, especially if you've got them most of the time. Clothes, laundry, utilities, groceries, activity fees, doctor's appointments, sports physicals, birthday presents for friend's parties, field trips, uniforms, school projects, etc. How many of these costs would a father absorb if he isn't holding primary custody? 

How much earning potential did his wife lose while she took time off to raise the kids? Was it maternity leave, leave of absence, going back part-time? Our country has no mandatory leave for new mothers or fathers so her job might not have been waiting for her. If she never went back to work her earning potential dropped significantly. Why should a man get custody if he wants to wash his hands of any fiscal responsibility?

"Women can simply choose not to marry violent men" 

There is a great deal of psychology and mental manipulation that goes into creating emotionally and physically abusive relationships, most of which start just like any other relationship. It is never that simple.

In a grand display of ignorance, some of these men claim they were emotionally abused and still being manipulated by past partners. Why did they choose bad partners when it's so easy for women to simply make better choices?

The 'fake rape' bit is disgusting. These aren't "buyers remorse" women who regret a drunken indiscretion. Most of these women were raped by men who had no regard for consent or for her as a human being. The fact that these pieces of work insist on perpetuating these vicious stereotypes is an insult to all rape victims of any gender.

One guy admits to stalking his children because they were living with their mother. That's not denying you your rights, that's protecting your children because you're unstable. 

Everything about this movement from the shoddy statistics, selfish desires, lack of context for 'women's privilege,' and blatant hypocrisy reek of ignorance. 

Feminist websites are not 'enemy territory' to all men. We want equality, not superiority. Even if some militant feminists (a whole other rant) are the enemy, only a fool disregards his opponent so completely.

Men are absolutely abused and raped. They need voices, outlets, and resources. Men get a lot of body image issues from the media as well. They deserve voices and places to go for support. I completely agree with reshaping society so men can be caregivers or breadwinners, their choice. Men deserve the freedom to feel what they feel and not have to hide it.

We need to revamp how we define masculinity in our culture but what this particular 'subculture' offers is nothing new. It's the same old patriarchy in badly researched, victimized packaging. 

Love Me, Love My Media

I found a great article about how one woman refuses to date any man from the internet who doesn't admit to watching or reading something by women.

I posted this article on FB and had two major disagreements in any hour. The stand out quotes were:

"I read and watch what I like to read and watch. The gender, ethnicity, and religion of the creator don't matter to me."

"The quote "If that’s how you want this to go, that’s your call, but I’ll be over here flirting with the guy who wants to talk about how Pulp Fiction paved the way for Inglorious Basterds" would be (justifiably) ridiculed if it was said by a man."

Of course the Tarantino comparison should be ridiculed. Male directors making violent movies with almost exclusively male casts isn't anything new and the article says as much. The only thing The L Word and OITNB have in common is the lesbian relationships, hour long format, and women dominating the story. There is limited overlap in subject matter, locations, actors, broadcast format, etc. Male characters are the supporting cast and that's the rarity.

"It severely warps our sense of humanity when all the stories we absorb are ones in which men are people and women are background decoration." Of course we all primarily consume media we like but what you like is a valid factor when selecting who to have coffee with from the internet. 

But if you only like books, TV shows, and movies starring, directed by, and written by white men, you're only hearing the stories of (mostly white) men. And I say from experience, not all men can capture a female voice. We are not as conscious of our boobs as some male writers like to think we are.

If you never hear stories by people of color, people of faith (or atheism if you're religious), women or some intersection of the above, you're only hearing part of the story. An Asian immigrant woman is going to have a different point of view than a lesbian from Brooklyn or a gay man from the Bible Belt.

What bothered me was that my friends dismissed the article without really seeing the point. It's about the dominance of male voices and how that's completely normal. 

Female directors, female writers, and female lead movies are grossly underrepresented. Only one female has won an Academy Award for Best Director ever. What was the last female lead movie you saw? Can you name a movie with a female lead that realistically deals with issues women face?

Geeks have been begging for a Wonder Woman movie since The Avengers came out but the studios kept offering BS reasons why it wasn't happening. Like how men wouldn't see a female lead action movie (Lara Croft) or there'd be a lack of audience (millions of forum posts on the internet disagree). 

Fans shouldn't have to fight for media that's both wanted and needed. Batman got a reboot, Thor and Captain America got 2 movies, Iron Man got 3, Arrow and The Flash got live action TV shows before Wonder Woman gets her day in the sun. Also, can we get a little more Black Widow please?

I wouldn't call either of these guys sexist but I don't know if I'd call them feminists either. What seems fairly obvious to me clearly isn't to them. The world is doing a much better job of telling their story so it may be harder for them to see.

The big lessons to take away are:

1) Don't list too many of anything on your internet dating profile. 

Keep your list of media to 5 or 6, 10 at the absolute max. Give a sampling. When it comes to dating profiles, too much is never a good idea.

2) Be open minded. 

If a guy only lists a handful of media and they're all by men, he may deserve a chance. Maybe he just needs some help to find the right female driven show/book. And men, find some female centered media. Learning more about our lives and our voices can only be good for you.

Music: Wonder by The Doubleclicks

Baker's Dozen Challenge Book 10

For Nonfiction I read A Little F’ed Up by Julie Zeilinger. It’s a book about feminism written by a young woman who isn’t even out of college yet. I am seriously questioning some of my life choices. I wish I’d been that mature and driven in high school.

A Little F’ed Up is a great book to introduce young women to feminism. Zeilinger does a great job at relating feminist issues to what’s happening to high school and college women right now. As someone who’s a little closer to thirty than university, I didn’t get as much out of it as I would have liked.

Jessica Valenti has written several topics on what’s relevant to me right now. I’m dealing with feminism as it pertains to adult relationships, friendships, work, and the possibility of children (eventually, someday, maybe). Zeilinger hasn’t been alive long enough to relate to that. She’s a voice for young women and even gave them a place to express their voices (thefbomb.org).

Her tone was very conversational which is probably more welcoming to teenagers. I found it to work sometimes and a bit grating at others. She also uses a lot of the same language. I have an incredible amount of respect for Zeilinger for doing all this at such a young age. It’s a excellent read for young women but somewhere in your twenties, you’ll start to relate a little bit less.

1) Another World – Wild Cards edited by George R. R. Martin (Wild Cards #1)

2) Learned Something – Animals Make Us Human by Temple Grandin

3) Movie-Book – The Fault in Out Stars by John Green

4) Graphic Novel – Fanboys vs. Zombies Vol 1 by Sam Humphries

5) Dust – You Don’t Sweat Much for a Fat Girl by Celia Rivenbark

6) Nonfiction – A Little F’ed Up by Julie Zeilinger

7) Reread – Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (as read by Wil Wheaton)

8) Shorts – 20something Essays by 20something Writers edited by Matt Kellogg and Jillian Quint

9) Fiction – The Rosie Project by Graeme Simison

10) Shiny – Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Reay

11) Retelling –

12) Wild Card –

13) The End –

Music: Scheherazade by Abney Park