15 minute work break

robot-heart:

Adam Shankman told Channing in her samba that she had “wonderful hip action.” The entire time I was watching it, I kept commenting on the fact that she wasn’t moving her hips at all. And I was looking really hard.

They did the same thing with Molly during the Bollywood routine, complimenting her on her fingers. Um, she barely did the hands right the whole time, which I commented on (repeatedly) while she was dancing. Of course, I seriously doubt any of the judges know what the hands are supposed to look like, so maybe on that point they have a small excuse. If Bollywood is going to be a regular style on the show, though, the judges really should educate themselves on what it’s supposed look like.

The judges have always been insanely biased toward the blond girls, confusing their attractiveness with good dancing. When a routine goes badly (and boy have some of them gone badly), the girls never get the blame. Their partners take all of the criticism—however undeserved it might be.

The show’s apparent effort to get rid of all the non-white girls as quickly as possible (before the voting begins and they might get stuck with one of them), after five seasons of having almost NO women of color on the show… I don’t even know what to say about it. Watching Bianca go home at the end of this episode made my stomach turn.

One more thing? I wish Adam Shankman had never got it in his head that his being gay is the funniest thing ever. I’m just tired of the caricature and the fact that it’s pulled out as almost a kind of prop for everyone to laugh at.

Seriously consider not watching anymore. It’s just irritating to watch this every single season, and the dancing this season has not made up for the show’s general commitment to the status quo (white, thin, attractive, heterosexual, etc.)

Didn’t Sabra win one season? And Joshua?  And wasn’t Travis gay?

Plus, the judges were torn up that Janette left the show in Season 5.  A few commenting that they thought she should have won.

So, I disagree about the judges’ biases.  I’m seriously considering not watching this season anymore, but it has way more to do with the lack of talent rather than any latent homophobia or racism/ethnocentrism on the show.

sassygirl:

So, the other day I decided that I needed friends who threw more theme parties.  And then it hit me…wait..why am I not the one who throws the theme parties?  I am the one that goes psychotic when we have a theme day at work.  Who builds a damn house if there is a cubicle decorating contest.  Who “throws together” a full on comic book costume in 24 hours before Halloween.   I mean,  why have I never figured this out before?  I was born to throw theme parties.

But, you see..the problem is… my house?  Not so much.  It’s pretty damn small, and a night full of drunken idiots (love you guys!) would more or less destory it.  However, as I live a block from a strip of bars, what it is ideal for is a couple of drinks and appetizers before the COSTUME/THEME BAR CRAWL.

That’s right.  That’s my new thing.  I’m going to do one ever couple of months. I’m going to be known for them.  I am going to own the theme bar crawl.

So far, I’m thinking a “Headlines of 2009” (MJ, Balloon Boy, Chris Brown and Rhianna…our choices are pretty amazing) party in Dec, and an “Olympics” party in February (Meg and I are already planning our Harding/Kerrigan outfits).

I am giddy with excitement.

My moment has come, friends.  My moment has come.

Sounds brilliant!  I need an industrious and creative friend to plan shit like this… <cough> gemma! <cough>

So what is that little camera icon on certain people’s posts supposed to do?

winstonwolfe:

jeffmiller:

mikehudack:

The reality is that there are cost differentials on a number of variables. It’s socially acceptable to pass some of those differentials on to consumers, but not others. You can’t charge someone more for health insurance because they’re a woman or because they’re gay. But you can charge smokers more.

Society has decided to make gay people and women protected classes. For all sorts of (mostly good) reasons. Society has decided to make the opposite decision about smokers for all sorts of (mostly good) reasons.

Deal with it.

Mike … if women are being charged more for health insurance premiums, it isn’t because they are women.  It’s because the fact of being a woman carries with it different health risks than the fact of being a man.  This isn’t sexism afoot … it’s a matter of statistics.

When I go to the barber, the sign on the way says that a man’s haircut is $17, while a woman’s is $25.  Again, this isn’t because the barbers hate women (indeed, many of them are women).  It’s because the average woman’s hairstyle requires more work than the average man’s.

When we talk about protected classes, we talk in terms of basic equality of treatment … like “equal pay for equal work.”  We don’t talk about equal pay for unequal work.  This is a huge point.  A barber can charge women more because it’s more costly to service a woman; similarly, an insurer can charge women more where it’s more costly to insure a woman.  Our commitment to equality does not require that we provide services to certain classes as some kind of loss leader.

So will it be okay if the government decides to charge African-American men/women more then Caucasian men/women? What if the entity that sets health care costs, such as premiums for example, deems that being African-American carries different, more serious, health risks?

Slippery slope.

Agreed.  And I’ve always wondered about the haircut thing.  Isn’t there a way to achieve the stated goal more effectively?  Charge by the difficulty level of the job instead of the sex of the individual?  Being a woman does not make your hair harder to cut, so no, it isn’t “more costly to service a woman”, it’s more costly to service long layers.

jeremywatt:

Congratulations!!  and thank you for sharing the gorgeous pictures!  :)

rattebur:

for places to be / paid jobs to undertake between the months of January and April 2010…

No seriously.

San Antonio is the top ranked economic performer during the recession.  I think that means that jobs abound.  and have I mentioned that I live here, too?

and so does he…

Yup, I’m not at all above using emotional manipulation AT ALL.

winstonwolfe:

2 Possible shooters. 33,000 people on lock down at base. It’s largest active armored post in U.S.

:(

txtsfrmlstnght:

(856): FOR A FUCKING 40?! A FUCKING 40?! YOU GAVE THE CAT AWAY FOR BEER?!

I never feel like it’s the “holidays” until these two things happen.  Geez, I’m such a corporate sellout.