Stupid Christmas Songs

Santa's not "rocking out." He's just really frustrated with some 

of the  stupid songs he has to listen to.

Christmas may have passed, but there are things about the holiday that stay with you long after it's over. Like songs that get stuck in your head. Now, I love me some carols. But there are some horrible, horrible Christmas songs out there. These are a few of them...

Weekly Joy

This week: Hamilton Wesley Wigglebottom

Weekly Joy

This week: a sleeping bunny



What can I say? Bunnies make me happy.

Weekly Joy

This week: a bunny

Image source

Attention Whores

The idea for this post started a couple of months ago, when Lady Gaga wore a meat dress to the VMAs and spoke out about Don't Ask Don't Tell. Many internet commenters were insistent that Lady Gaga is not committed to gay rights, and that the entire effort was just to get attention. The phrase "attention whore" came up a few times. This bothered me. Since then, I've paid more attention to the way that celebrity women are talked about online.

Some examples (trigger warning for misogyny and wishes of death):

Ke$ha

I’m tired of seeing this dirty slag… can someone please inform her that her 15 minutes of fame are up?

Snooki

Snooki–because the world needs another no-talent fame-hag. 

Please dear God just make it go away..please…..

On a gif of Snooki floating through space:

Shame we can’t make this happen in reality – fortunately for me I’m not in the US, but I’ve seen enough pictures of this … *ahem* woman(?) … to know she’s a waste of oxygen!

Tila Tequila

Bitch should be kept in a damn cage.

this whore isn't dead yet?

Lady Gaga

She is disgusting, a completely irrelevant object. How can anyone look up to this woman.

god someone please set her on fire

When will this attention whore fall of the radar?

Lady Gaga and Yoko Ono

"I've been a talentless fame whore for decades. Let me take your hand and show you the way."

Most of these comments are from that pit of slut-shaming and homophobia, ROFLrazzi. The last one is from Jezebel.

There is so much wrong with the phrase "attention whore" itself, not to mention the way it is used to reinforce the dismissive and eliminationist language aimed at women who dare to live publicly, that it's taken me this long to figure out how to approach the subject. First, I'll address why we shouldn't be using "whore" as an insult. Then, why we shouldn't be using "attention seeker" as an insult. Finally, I'll talk about the implications of the entire phrase, and the way we talk about celebrities.

Foot

Wanna hear a funny story?

Yesterday, I went out with some friends to a pub, had a couple of beers, as well as a lovely time.

When I got home, I was in a fabulous mood. I was singing my favourite Christmas carol, and I thought to myself, "you know what would both express my cheer and look really cool? One of those spinning flip things."

GIFSoup

I have not been very involved in the Canadian politics blog-o-sphere. One blog that I do follow - and one of the first to feature me in its blogroll - is Canuck Attitude. I was shocked to read that the proprietor of that blog, Bruce McDonald, recently died, apparently taking his own life.

He designed this graphic, signifying, "no surrender" in the fight for gay rights.

My heart goes out to all those who knew Bruce. If you don't know who he is, please read Simon's tribute to him.

Weekly Joy

Ever get the feeling that life is too serious and you just don't want to deal right now?

I've decided that once a week I will post something simple that makes me happy.

This week, that thing is this tortoise:

OMG! STRAWBERRY!!!!1!1!!!!1

Via Cute Overload

Fuck FCUK

French Connection's "This Is The Man/This Is The Woman" ad campaign has been around for many months now. It has bothered me right from the start. The Man in this campaign is presented as active: the copy is in all caps, and often in quotations - he speaks for himself, in an assertive voice. The Woman is passive: the copy (with standard capitalization) makes observations about her appearance. In the example above, The Man says, "DO NOT DRESS LIKE CHILD." Apparently this maxim does not apply to The Woman, of whom it is written, "The woman is not undersized. The jacket is oversized. But the effect - it is the same." The Man asserts rigid standards of masculinity, while The Woman is infantilized and objectified. 

Today I went to the mall. At French Connection was the most gratuitously sexist window display I have ever seen.

WUT?

Found this on a tumblr and had to share it.

Apparently your abortion affects the fertility of animated lions. 

Abortion is a serious subject. And yet, so often, anti-abortion treatments of the subject end up making me laugh.

UPDATE: I couldn't let Space-Jesus miss out on this one...

It's Not My Job To Flirt With You

Not your girlfriend.

As regular readers will know, I've worked in call centres for years.

Often, people tell me that I have a pleasant voice. Sometimes, guys flirt with me.

"Can we try to reach you some other time?"
"Only if it's you, sweetie."

"Thank you for your time."
"It was my pleasure. It's not every day I get to talk to an attractive young lady like yourself."

I've had guys ask for my phone number. "So, uh, can I call you sometime? That sounds fair, doesn't it?"

I've had drunk guys repeatedly ask me to come over.

Once, a (sober) survey respondent told me all about his business successes, and suggested that I come and join him in Saskatchewan.

When I was doing customer service, a guy called in and asked me what I was wearing. "Business casual." He hung up.

How To Get Rid Of Telemarketers And Survey Researchers

I was bored at work today, so I thought I'd make a helpful guide for the people who are sick of getting calls from the place where I work. Here's how to get telemarketers and survey researchers to stop calling you. 

My Brain Is Not Like Your Brain

One of the annoying things about conservatives is their infatuation with the self-made myth. If people just work hard enough, they can be successful too! You try to talk to them about the systemic obstacles that people face. But if people just work harder, they can overcome those obstacles!

I want to leave social inequality aside for a little while. Lets talk instead about the fact that not everybody looks at an obstacle and sees a challenge to be overcome. Some people try to deal with obstacles and are rewarded with crippling panic attacks. Some people don't see the point of trying at all. Some people, the harder they try to accomplish something, the more the areas of their brain that are needed to complete that task shut down. Some people are incredibly brilliant and talented, but find it difficult as hell to interact in society in a productive way.

The infuriating thing about conservatives is that they chalk this up to personal weakness when it has nothing to do with will power. It has everything to do with brain chemistry.

But You Were Right, Kanye!

So, Kanye West has said that he should not have called George W. Bush racist. Which makes me cringe in frustration. What Kanye said on the telethon was emotional and spontaneous. But not a single word of it was wrong.



One of the many things that's wrong with how USians deal with race is that they focus on whether an individual feels racist in their heart, instead of the effect of their actions. This is another example of that. Bush Jr. might personally feel that he cares about black people, but his actions in no way backed that up.

Head & Shoulders: For Hair That's Sexually Assault-able!

There is an ad for Head & Shoulders shampoo and conditioner that's about a year old. I have seen it many, many times, and it is still pissing me off. So now I'm writing about it.

Why does it bother me? Because the ad basically depicts sexual assault.