This dog is amazing!
The initial audition:
The semi-finals (I swear the dog is better the 2nd time around.
Monthly Archive for May, 2008
This video made me wonder: when men are referred to in the pejorative in media? It seems that that while society is rife with acceptable slurs for women, men are rarely frowned upon because of their nature or inappropriate behavior. In “sex scandal” after “sex scandal” the politician stands in front of the media with his wife in tow, apologizing for his lapse in judgment before emphasizing how much he loves his family; meanwhile the woman he paid is vilified for her prostitution in the media and then by the courts.
In the indie film Amy’s Orgasm (the title is far more salacious than the film), lead Amy sits down with shock jock Matt to discuss her best selling book. Despite their flirtatious banter, she reminds him, “slut, tramp, whore. Those are all words that would describe you if you were a woman. But you’re not. You’re a man; you’re a stud. I don’t date studs.” All of the nouns to describe a promiscuous woman have negative connotations, but for men, being a player is practically cause for celebration in their social circles.
Sexism has also had a role in the 2008 Presidential campaign. Blog Shakesville has documented 103 instances of sexism in the coverage of Hilary Clinton thus far. A CNN political commentator found himself in hotwater when he said some women deserve to be called a bitch, which by his definition seems to include aggressive, forceful women. . . in men that would be demonstrating traditional leadership skills and their ambitious.
As of 2006, women made up 50.7% of the US population, so if we’re offended by what we’re seeing, wouldn’t we “vote” to oust such negative stereotypes by choosing to consume different media? One of the main reasons we don’t see more uproar over the unbalanced coverage of women is ignorance. We’d have to recognize that the behavior is inappropriate, rather than the norm, in the first place.
Let me digress to a personal anecdote. In high school I reported being harassed by a group of male students in the hallways and in my chemistry class. Guidance had to have a few words with the guys, and the inappropriate behavior quelled, which was my goal. To my complete shock, a fellow classmate approached me in the hall to inform me that I was wrong to report the issue. “We’re women; we have to put up with it.”
Sorry, I have to disagree; what we do not denounce, we encourage and the latest studies on sexual harassment show another generation of girls growing up believing derrogatory remarks related to their gender to be the norm. Teen self-esteem expert Courtney Macavinta recently blogged about a new UC Santa Cruz study that found 9 in 10 girls between the ages of 12-18 report at least once experience of harassment at school including
**receiving inappropriate and unwanted romantic attention, hearing demeaning gender-related comments
**being teased about appearance
**receiving unwanted physical contact
**being teased, bullied, or threatened with harm by a male
The study points out that
Moreover, girls who had learned about feminism through the media or from people in their lives, including mothers and teachers, were more likely to recognize it than girls who had never heard about feminism, and girls who felt pressure from parents to conform to gender stereotypes perceived more sexism than other girls
You have to be able to identify a problem to call it out and demand change. Much like we’ve been desensitized to violence through TV, film, and video games; the same can be said of sexism and misogyny. Children are still in a culture that supports misogyny; at some point we have to break the cycle and stand up for equality, not just in women’s represenation in media, but for women in society in general.
Media that objectifies women and uses derogatory gender specific terminology reinforces language and ideology that denies women equal status. Judgement-neutral terminology should be the only acceptable language choice in so-called objective journalism, which is clearly, based on the above video, not the standard.
And it wouldn’t hurt if entertainment celebrated and multiplied strong female protagonists, instead of wondering why we need them.
I like taking personality tests, but I don’t put much stock in most of them. If your categories are generic enough, you’ll find you fit into all defining factors, which doesn’t really serve individuals well.
Today I stumbled across Signal Patterns today via a FaceBook ad. I typically don’t click on those ads, but I’m a sucker for online quizzes.
Signal Patterns (admittedly in beta) wants to not only provide you with in depth analysis of your personality (via 45 traits) and preferences (music, with other topics to be added later), but wants you to be able to share the findings with your friends, as well as meet other people like you. It’ll pull in your profile details from FaceBook and MySpace so you don’t have to create yet another profile page.
Its primary shortcoming is the length of the test. 100 questions are used to get at 90 personality traits. Currently, they list the questions one at a time. By the time I had clicked through the 20th question, I was bored. . . but I committed to the endurance event because I wanted to see the outcome 80 questions later. By the end, I was annoyed it had taken so long.
Signal patterns would be better served by including 10 questions per page. Nor would it hurt to include some cheeky one-liners encouraging testers to keep on clicking. I’d love to see their drop off rate — people who just give up and jump to another site.
Next, some of the statements are double-barreled. For each statement, I must gauge on a scale from not like me at all to very like me. But some of the questions include 2 statements that could conceivably contradict each other; I agree with one but not the other. After reading through seemingly accurate results, I’m less concerned with this issue, but those questions might need some tweaking.
My third issue with the site: After clicking though 100 responses, you have to register with the site to get your results. (Don’t force me to register; if I find the results worthwhile I’ll do so to save them. ) I hate coercion in all forms, but I wanted my test results; I imagine others would feel the same way. I just spent 20+ minutes clicking away, so I want results! I registered with an old Excite account, so I could guiltlessly sever ties if not impressed with the findings.
But I find myself nodding my head at the findings. You can take a look at your results graphically by trait or the factors that those traits are clustered into.
My top 10 traits (of 90)
- Introspective
- Aesthetic
- Creative
- Intellectual
- Independent
- Organized
- Astute
- Solitary
- Unsettled (comfortable on home turf, less so in unfamiliar social settings)
- Discreet
After reading though the blurbs on each trait, I’d have to agree. I’m very “in my head” and prefer to be alone, though I bust out my inner social butterfly for professional networking opportunities.
It also brings to mind another recommendation. Since Signal Patterns aims to make connecting with other people like you possible, it would be great if they could pull in career data on all users, so a more comprehensive list of possible careers that fit with these traits could be developed.
If you take test, let me me know what you think. My overall results are below.
My brother sent me the link to Jamie Marracinni’s website, GumArt which provides the timeliine of his productive gum chewing ways. While some prefer clay or oil points, Jamie uses gum as his means of expressing his creativity. If you want in on the action, you can order a chew by numbers kit to entertain yourself on a rainy day.
A few weeks ago Ryan Paugh at Brazen Careerist asked if Gen Y really wants to change the world because we seem to have an aversion to long term commitments and more public forms of activism that previous generations embraced. I would counter that there are plenty of Millennials doing their part, but main stream media is so addicted to bad news, it gives sparse time to those individuals. Additionally, since we’re such an individual-focused generation, we’ll have a harder time finding a single person who can represent us all. We’re more likely to find heroes in our our niches.
Here are some recent news items about Millennials that had a very short tail in the media world.
- Canadian 11th grader Daniel Burd isolated the two bacterium that can break down plastic and determined who to expedite the process from 1000 years to 3 months. Puts scientists with PhDs to shame!
- 26-year old Danica Patrick became the first woman to win an Indy car race. It’s a major sports milestone for women who don’t have the same professional sports options as men.
- University of Kentucky engineering students continue their work on solar-powered cars for an annual contest. The professor who advises them hopes the students will be able to use their findings and experiences to shake up big industry.
Sure, the above Gen Yers are likely to be relatively ambitious to be doing the unthinkable and seemingly impossible.
But imagine what our generation could do collectively if called to action. In 1961, JFK called on the American brain trust to get man to the moon within a decade and we did.
Imagine if the next President called on us to develop clean energy, whether ocean water-powered cars or solar-powered heating and air conditioning units. What could Gen X experience, combined with Gen Y optimism accomplish?
“And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” JFK, Inaugural Address, 1961
Despite generational differences in priorities, information sources, and modes of communication, a majority of Americans now say that a job in public service would be appealing. Yet, 60% of those under age thirty say they have never been asked to consider a job in government. However, if asked by their parents (33%) or the newly elected President in 2008 (29%), a significant share of Millennials say they would give such a request a great deal of consideration. In fact, the newly elected President in 2008 tops the list of motivators for those over thirty, with 30% saying they would give a great deal of consideration to this “ask.”
. . .
In addition, Millennials would also give a great deal of consideration to a job in government if asked by teachers or professors (27%) and other young people already working in government (22%).
The earliest Millenials are children of the 1980s, a decade of extreme excess and greed. After being brought up in a society that puts corporate profit ahead of a nation’s citizens, it’s no wonder Millennials respond well to being given permission to put fiscal profit on the back burner.
I bring up this study published last month because Sen. Obama filled in for Sen. Ted Kennedy at Wesleyan University’s commencement today. His speech focused on how graduates could serve their nation, and is worth a read in full. I’ve posted an abridged version below or you can watch the twenty minute video on YouTube.
. . . the history of this nation tells us . . . that we are a people whose destiny has never been written for us, but by us –
by generations of men and women, young and old, who have always believed that their story and the American story are not separate, but shared. And for more than two centuries, they have served this country in ways that have forever enriched both. . .
Each of you will have the chance to make your own discovery in the years to come. And I say “chance” because you won’t have to take it. There’s no community service requirement in the real world; no one forcing you to care. You can take your diploma, walk off this stage, and chase only after the big house and the nice suits and all the other things that our money culture says you should by. You can choose to narrow your concerns and live your life in a way that tries to keep your story separate from America’s.
But I hope you don’t. Not because you have an obligation to those who are less fortunate, though you do have that obligation. Not because you have a debt to all those who helped you get here, though you do have that debt.
It’s because you have an obligation to yourself. Because our individual salvation depends on collective salvation. Because thinking only about yourself, fulfilling your immediate wants and needs, betrays a poverty of ambition. Because it’s only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential and discover the role you’ll play in writing the next great chapter in America’s story. . .
At a time of war, we need you to work for peace. At a time of inequality, we need you to work for opportunity. At a time of so much cynicism and so much doubt, we need you to make us believe again. . .
And so, should you take the path of service, should you choose to take up one of these causes as your own, know that you’
ll experience frustrations and failures. Even your successes will be marked by imperfections and unintended consequences. I guarantee you, there will certainly be times when friends or family urge you to pursue more sensible endeavors with more tangible rewards. And there will be times when you are tempted to take their advice.
But I hope you’ll remember, during those times of doubt and frustration, that there is nothing naïve about your impulse to change this world. Because all it takes is one act of service – one blow against injustice –to send forth that tiny ripple of hope that Robert Kennedy spoke of.
You know, Ted Kennedy often tells a story about the fifth anniversary celebration of the Peace Corps. He was there, and he asked one of the young Americans why he had chosen to volunteer. And the man replied, “Because it was the first time someone asked me to do something for my country.”
I don’t know how many of you have been asked that question, but after today, you have no excuses.
Sometimes all you have to do is ask. North Carolina Governor Easley learned that lesson last fall when he asked state residents to cut back on water consumption because of severe drought conditions. While the path of least resistance is often taken, some haven’t considered that the outcomes of the harder path might contribute to a greater good, that can’t be measured at the outset, as well as start a ripple that becomes a tidal wave of change.
I didn’t watch Desperate Housewives at all this season, having lost interest after finding better programming to entertain me. But the final moments of the season finale ensure that I’ll be watching in September.
Gale Harold is back on TV! I loved him as Brian Kinney on Queer as Folk, but just wasn’t interested in his last show Vanished. But Desperate Housewives could yield some awesome story arcs for any character he plays, so I’m booked for Monday evening online viewings this fall.
“Changes can come from the power of many, but only when the many come together to form that which is invincible. . . the power of one.”
When you get used to having certain objects and experiences available to you, it’s a major shock when you’re cut off from those integral parts of your life. When my computer died, my 24/7 Internet access disappeared and I realized just how dependent on being connected I am.
As a job hunter, it’s hard to be applying for new jobs and chasing down leads when you have no way of seeking out those jobs. On Tuesday, I instantly went on vacation from my job hunt.
Maybe I should go to the movies, but I had no way of planning ahead because I had no access to movie times without leaving my apartment to buy a newspaper. Take a spinning class. . . no easy access to my gym’s schedule.
Breaking news? I’ve been following the Democratic primaries pretty closely, but Oregon and Kentucky could have been hosting their primaries in an alternate universe because I had no easy access to a regularly updated news source. I don’t own a TV; I watch what’s available online. I don’t subscribe to a newspaper because I subscribe to 90+ RSS feeds on a variety of topics. Since I don’t own a radio either, primary results had to wait until Wednesday, when I swung by the local library to use a computer there.
No e-mail. Email is my primary means of communicating with the world. I prefer e-mail to face-to-face meetings, so being cut off from e-mail pretty much meant my social life came to a screeching halt.
Schedules, menus, directions . . . none were easily accessible.
At the moment I’ve got the internet access back, but I still can’t access any of my files because they, along with the actual applications, have yet to make it over to the new computer.
Getting information the old fashioned way may take more time, but it’s probably good to be reminded, now and again, how to be be creative.
My computer, Stella, died on Monday night. To be more accurate, Stella stopped recharging because of some sort of phantom blockage in her power port. I unplugged my computer to get more comfortable. Once situated, I tried to plug my computer back in, but Stella would not accept her power cord. After much fidgeting , I realized Stella had a problem.
Tuesday morning, I dropped my computer off at Repair-Land in the hopes they could quickly diagnose and cheaply repair the problem. But sadly, it was not to be. There was bad news and worse news, and repairing Stella was cost prohibitive given her advanced age 
A visit to the Apple Store later, I’m the owner of a brand new white MacBook dubbed Natasha. . .
At this point she’s application free, but come next Wednesday, all of my files and applications should be transferred over, and this week will be a forgettable blip on my radar.
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