Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Irony

So, it's my last day of work, and I'm reading the news. On the bottom is a brief story about a woman who pierced her foot with a sword while performing a Wicca ceremony. The ceremony was in honor of the recent good luck the woman has experienced.

Isn't that hilarious? I would say her luck ran out.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Dark Knight

So, the wonderful Erik wanted to see "Dark Knight" for his birthday. Which we did. And I don't know if you know this about me, but actually, I am very impressionable. So, seeing Heath Ledger play this PSYCHOPATH really freaked me out. I didn't sleep that well, and we were throwing a party the next day! Oh man, I kept imaging the Joker breaking into our house, for no reason. Which, I might add, is the scary thing about the Joker in this story. There was no reason, there was no background on this maniac. He just existed and his only desire was to promote chaos and destruction. It was scary. And you know, I can't actually tell you it was a good movie. I was so shocked most of the time watching this twisted person wreak havoc on society.

Not to mention that the fact that Heath Ledger killed himself at the end of filming this movie never left my mind. He must have been seriously disturbed...

Monday, July 21, 2008

Not My Proudest Moment,

But funny anyways... Thanks for putting this on YouTube, Tanya. I told you I'd be pissed...

Happy Birthday Erik!


I love you, Erik. You're the most amazing man I know. I love you forever.

(re)Buff-ed

I just saw the news release which details the overruling by the 3rd Circut Court of Appeals of the FCC's fine on CBS for the supposed "wardrobe malfunction" of Janet Jackson's during the Super Bowl in 2004. The FCC fined CBS $550,000. (Which, in 2004, a 30-second commercial during the Super Bowl went for over $2 million dollars!) However, today that fine was voided because the FCC acted harshly, and enacted a stricter fine than usual. In their own words,
The court found that the FCC deviated from its nearly 30-year practice of fining indecent broadcast programming only when it was so "pervasive as to amount to shock treatment' for the audience."
In over 30 years, the FCC has not enforced, to such a degree, the decency standard for which it punished CBS. The Court decided that this fine was a departure from their current indecency standards, which, I may suppose, is far more lax.

"In a statement Monday, CBS said it hoped the decision 'will lead the FCC to return to the policy of restrained indecency enforcement it followed for decades.'"

What got my goat about this story is not the judiciary's ruling, for once. Obviously they have to weigh the fairness of fines imposed in the past versus this fine. And the court found that this fine was too harsh, from what the FCC usually imposes. And that's my problem. Why is this one the harshest fine the FCC has imposed in a 30 year period? I was just as outraged about the whole bare-breast thing. (It was indecent, for Heaven's sake!), but are they telling me that nothing on T.V. has ever come as close to being indecent as that was? It was 1/16 of a second of bareness. I'm upset that now the FCC decides to stand up for decency, and what a shocker, they get slapped down. How about enforcing standards all along? How's that for policy? It bothers me that the FCC doesn't enforce the decency standard without the audience being up-in-arms about it. It takes an entire segment of the U.S. population to get our government agencies (which, hello, isn't that what their supposed to do?) to act in our interests, without us always being on their tail.

There is a lot of freedom, and when we try to impose standards and that freedom is restricted, the courts will attempt to smack it down. The standards for decency has been too loose for the FCC to all of the sudden attempt strict compliance.

I am concerned about what this means for the future. I think this means that we are the ones who should impose decency in our lives and in our children's lives. We should start standing up for decency on the micro scale, so that eventually, hopefully, decency is a part of the larger American culture.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Memoirs of a Working Mom

So, as my internship is drawing to a close (exactly one week from tomorrow, praise the Lord), I thought it would be interesting to draw some conclusions from what I've learned.

First, working and maintaining a healthy marriage is a bit difficult. I have been going into work at 6:00 am so as to be home when the girls wake up from naps. However, I have to go to bed by 8:30, 9 at the latest. And the wonderful Erik is a night person. Oh boy. Not easy. Thankfully, it's almost over and we can have the nights back together.

Secondly, balancing the girls needs with my exhaustion has been tough. I try and give them what I have left in the afternoons, which makes me awful tired by about 8:00 pm. (You can see the conflict.) Thankfully, I found something that gives me energy and allows them to participate. I have been doing Yoga in the afternoons after work and the girls do it with me. I'm pepped up after my workout, and the girls have a ball doing all the poses with me. It's pretty cute.

Third, being a SAHM kind of rocks. I didn't know it when I had it. Oh, praise Jesus that I can go back to it. Halla!

Fourth, traffic and sky-high gas prices seriously dent my meager pay check. Very happy to not have those regular expenses soon.

I do want you know that I have loved working in a personal injury firm this summer. I used to think PI was just out to get the most money, which they are, but also, they do help a lot of people. I can understand why people need PI lawyers, and why lawyers go into PI. It's not super glam, but it's a steady paycheck. And the clients are usually quite happy. So, win-win, if you ask me. And although I did not do well on the LSAT this time, I did really love the industry. So, we'll see what God has planned.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

SYTYCD

Alright, I love So You Think You Can Dance. It's awesome and I'm always a little happier when the show is on. I just love to watch dance, and the choreographers are amazing. They have got to be the most talented people in dance. I have watched it for the past two seasons.

If you don't watch the show, then just pretend like you know what I'm talking about.

So, last night was painful. I have to say I was disappointed in Kherrington (sp?) and Twitch. Normally they are one of my favs, but their energy just wasn't there. And then, hello, Comfort. She just needs to go. It's getting horrible. Every time she walks over to the judges table they beat her down a little more. I mean, sure her dancing is not nearly the caliber the others are, but the judges were the one who kept her on week after week. Anyways, I think tonight is Comfort's last night. The flame went out of her. And it's really too bad. Comfort has a great story and no formal training. Although, the lack of training is probably what's going to kick her off. She doesn't finish her lines and steps. It's all a little amateur.

Also, it's painful to watch Jessica take her reviews. I mean, come on, the girl has been in the bottom just about every week. And every week the judges tell her, "Jessica, Will (her partner) is so good. You really need to step it up." Poor girl. She got onto that show with out Will; now she's dragging him down. Although honestly, Jessica does not have the spark that Will does. Will is a complete dancer and Jessica just can't get there. I think her physical talent is there, but the mental jump isn't being made.

So, now I feel a bunch better getting that off my chest. Do you remember how the summer T.V. schedule was all re-runs? I love the new summer programming. I think it's great. Some of my favorite shows are in the summer. (Well, of course, I love T.V., so, I'd always be able to find something I like. I'm also agreeable, which makes for a good audience. I'm always good for laughing!)

Monday, July 7, 2008

Not as high as I was expecting...

So, I got my score. Not good.

I have learned two things thus far, which I'm sure is just the beginning. 1) I am not as smart as I think I am and 2) my instincts are not very reliable. This is rather humbling for me, with a touch of humiliation.

At least I've still got my day-job - being wife and mother.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Yes, I'm here...

I just haven't known what to post about. There's a lot going on in the world, but I just haven't found the motivation to get on it.

I mean, I could've posted about the District of Columbia v. Heller decision from the Supreme Court last week. What a huge win for 2nd Amendment rights that was! It was nice to see the High Court uphold the constitution.

Unlike, say, the Boumediene v. Bush case, which extended the rights of citizens to enemy detainees being held in Guantanamo Bay. I would like to point out that the official definition of citizens is a person who serves a country. How exactly did the Court make that jump? The people held in Gitmo are people arrested for crimes against the U.S. They are not citizens, yet this court has found that they can not be denied the right of habeas corpus. So, yes, I could have posted about that and how outraged I was by that decision.

And then Kennedy v. Louisiana, which may have sounded like a good idea. I mean, really, is it entirely necessary to punish a person convicted of the rape of a child with the death penalty. Initially I was a little on the fence with this one. Meaning, is this a situation where the death penalty is too harsh a punishment? But now that I've thought and read more about it I understand that in this decision the Court held that in some cases a state can not make it's own laws regarding the punishment of crimes. This decision was a blow for state sovereignty and a big disappointment for me, an ardent states' rights supporter.

So, yes, I could have blogged about all that. And aren't you glad I did? :)