An interesting article about the sex trade and the US’s “well-meaning” interference.

Well-meaning Interference

And for the link-phobic:

Someone choosing, of their own free will, to pose nude is supposed to bother me?

omg so my daughter poses nude on web sites and is bringing teh shame to my whole familee!1! omg porn is bad 4 wimminz right??

The only problem I have with the daughter’s decision is her signing that contract which allows the site owner to use her photos for whatever purpose. That sounds a little manipulative and dangerous. Other than that, if this were my child, I wouldn’t make a fuss if she were posing nude. I’d be more offended if my kid became a CEO.

I come back to this?

I’m in your environment, killin ur beez

D:

A more lengthy update (including that post about violence and catharsis!) later.

the internet is made of pr0n.

This is very, very strange. and potentially very, very bad. Not only is someone suspending pedophile communities (which I don’t care about, because ew child molesters), they’re suspending literary/slash/kink communities. And more and more are being suspended.

Please spread the word about this. This is incredibly weird.

ETA: more info here.

Music I like.

Stuff I like:

Cursive–The Recluse

Death Cab for Cutie–I Will Follow You Into the Dark

Desaparecidos–The Happiest Place on Earth

Fiona Apple–Extraordinary Machine

Hole–Doll Parts

Wheatus–Teenage Dirtbag

Mewithoutyou–Gentlemen

These are all uploaded onto various sites (I found them through a website that has a bunch of mp3s uploaded, so if you’re interested in a certain song or band, you can listen to it and decide if you like it, without downloading it onto your computer.) and they’re in mp3 format, so it should work on most browsers.

HAY GUYFS

Hey, I took a short break from blogging/commenting, but I’m back now, and I love love love this new blog:
http://sm-feminist.blogspot.com/

I’ll have more to talk about soon, including:
–the concept of violence in media as catharsis ( I was actually inspired by Trinity and her posts on BDSM and violence in entertainment)
–Women and immigration
–exceprts from one of bell hooks’ books: Killing Rage: Ending Racism

I’ve been really rushed/stressed out with AP exams, getting ready for prom, getting ready for finals, figuring summer plans…etc, etc, so that’s why I took a break. Plus I needed to put aside some spiritual time for myself. Now that I’m back in the saddle, I plan to post a lot more, especially since the summer is coming up and I’ll have TIMMMEEEE, PRECIOUS TIME!

I am in love with this song.

And all shall fade
The flowers of spring
The world and all the sorrow
At the heart of everything

But still it stays
The butterflies sings
And opens purple summer
With the flutter of its wings

The Earth will wave with corn
The gray-fly choir will mourn
And mares will neigh with
Stallions that they mate, foals they’ve borne

And all shall know the wonder of purple summer

And yet I wait
The swallow brings
A song too hard to follow
That no one else can sing

The fences sway
The porches swing
The clouds begin to thunder
Crickets wander, murmuring

The Earth will wave with corn
The gray-fly choir will mourn
And mares will neigh with
Stallions that they mate, foals they’ve borne

And all shall know the wonder
I will sing the song of purple summer
All shall know the wonder
I will sing the song of purple summer

All shall know the wonder of purple summer.

It’s from a new musical called Spring Awakening.

Another one from Alternet.

Why No one Will Name Their Child “George” Again

When a ton of crap is dumped from way high above into the lake of our lives, we rarely worry about the tiny arcing droplets splashing on our face mainly because we’re too busy keeping our boats afloat and our breathing apparatuses above water, but I would like to spotlight a seemingly insignificant drop of moisture pooling at the end of our nose that is destined to affect us for the rest of our natural born days. Namely: the name George. Which is getting such a bad rap these days, it will soon qualify for 12 step status. “Hi, my name’s George and I’m a George.”

“Hi George.”

Even though this honorable moniker stands as a symbol of our country’s birthing struggle due to the father of our nation wrestling its honor from the crazed clutches of King George III, parents must be having second, third and no thoughts whatsoever about naming their kids George lest it be seen as a tacit approval of the ways and means of the current administration.

Hell, I bet the names Mothra, Dweezil and Philomena get better placement in the baby name books than George and/ or Georgette do over the next couple of decades. Wouldn’t be surprised to hear Prince George, British Colombia attempts to change its handle to Margaritaville.

Like the demise of free buffalo chicken wings during happy hour, all it takes is one or two little snortie pigs stuffing the plastic bag-lined pockets of their overcoats to ruin it for everybody. Well, in this case, everybody named George. No, scratch that, I was right the first time: ruin it for everybody. And for lowering the bar on this whole Jorge thing so deep you’d have to dig about six feet under ground just to get a sonar detection on it the responsibility lies with the usual suspects; Presidents number 41 & 43. But god knows, they are not alone.

Earlier this month, the alleged Boy George was busted for allegedly imprisoning an alleged male prostitute and triple extra credit for anybody who can hold that image in their head for more than fifteen seconds, and now… NOW… along comes Medal of Freedom winning (hack) former head of the CIA, George Tenet, who writes a book saying he was never that big of a fan of the Iraqi war, and was a reluctant player, simply going along to get along and now he’s not sure if it was a good idea or not and enh, enhhhh enhh, weh weh weh weh weh, all the way home, and hey!

What’s that noise? Oh, it’s the sound of the final nails being hammered into the George coffin. Dearly beloved, it is my sad duty to inform you, that George, as we know it, is over. Exists no more. Its history. In the archives. Elapsed. Expired. Its gone. Say bye.

This might even prove to be fatal blow. A death knell for the venerable name of George. Kind of like what happened to Attila and Adolf and Dick and Maynard. Of course, pets will still be called George, based on the modern children’s classics: George of the Jungle and Curious George.

While we grown ups can only fantasize about how truly marvelous this world would be, if only we were blessed with a president whose mind had a predilection towards the latter rather than the geography of the former.

The Futility of Random Drug Testing

From Alternet:

Though touted by the Bush administration as the “silver bullet” that will force teenagers to “just say no,” random drug testing is of questionable effectiveness. It is also costly, counterproductive and violates basic American values. That’s why the million-member California State PTA, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Education Association, the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, and the majority of the nation’s school districts oppose school-based drug testing.

Greenadelphia! and All For the Taking

This is a really awesome organization I just found out about. Greenadelphia! is fighting for urban sustainability and making Philly’s environment better to live in for everyone. There is an Urban Sustainability Forum coming up on May 17 for anyone who’s interested.

Also, All For the Taking fights for affordable housing for everyone and preserving communities. They are currently fighting against plans for casinos to be built in certain neighborhoods. The casinos would break up the communities and cause more housing and poverty issues, and possibly cause gentrification of the areas, which leads to higher rents, pushing low-income families and individuals out and contributing to homelessness.