Bullying

Jamel Myles killed himself a couple of days ago. Or, as the new vernacular goes, his will be listed as a death by suicide. It didn't have to go that way. Jamel was in the fourth grade and had just come out as gay. His family was supportive, but his classmates were not. I honestly thought we, as a society, had moved past this kind of prejudice. The kids I know are accepting and loving and would have supported Jamel... at least I think they would. I hope they would. But children can be mean. Adults can be mean. Heck, we're learning now that a lot more people wanted to be mean, but were just hiding it until some jackhole, flag-humper gave them permission to be outwardly hateful to those who are a little different from themselves. And so, a fourth grader kills himself. The press and some politician, some celebrities and some random neighborhood busybodies will lament the bullying, as I will here. But it won't do any good. As long as our society says it's ok to harass trans-children when they need to use the restroom, or shout down Muslims when they're trying to pray, or shoot unarmed black men while they're handcuffed and lying in the street, or to grab at women without their permission; nothing will change. We've brought out the worst of ourselves.

So You Think You Can Dance had a beautiful dance routine choreographed by Travis Wall. It'll probably get him his thousandth Emmy. I wounder if Jamel Myles had seen it, would it have made a difference?

Cute Animal IQ Boost

Everyone loves animal photographs. Well, everyone loves them unless they're a monster. Are you a monster? I like the photos of the photographers getting up close and personal with their subjects. These are ridiculously cute. Plus, looking at cute animal pics are supposed to raise your IQ. So really, this is a lot like studying. I'm sticking to that explanation. You can use it, too, if you want. I'm not actually a doctor, but I have a terminal degree and that's kind of the same thing.

Cute animals doing cute things.

If you were ever wondering how to take liberties with definition of words or phrases, you've just got to look at the paragraphs above.

Also, just so you know, it's a little clickbait-y. It makes me sad, but the pictures are good, so that almost makes up for it. 

Don't Do It

I miss Hyperbole and a Half. It was a super great blog, funny, insightful, and very well drawn. Allie, its creator tackled things that I cared about, primarily being awkward, weird, and the irredeemable use of "alot."
However, what I miss most about her, is the way she tackled depression. I don't know how she got through it in real life, but her blogs were pretty spot on. And, it simultaneously felt like a cry for help and an explanation on why she wanted everyone to go away. It felt like I felt (or, more accurately feel). It saddens me that she doesn't post on her blog anymore because I feel wrong reposting her stuff when she's not posting anything new. However, here I go, because this is how I feel.

Depression

So, yeah. I might post part 2 later. She's really good. I hope you're ok, Allie.

Useful Friends

My friend Kevin lives in Seattle and occasionally recommends a new band or singer. Tonight it was Rusty Willoughby.

Okay, the Willoughby band Llama was a bit too rough for my migrainey head, but I like the collaboration he has with Rachel Flotard, Maggie Bjorklund, Barb Antonio, and Barrett Martin..  Really cool, actually. Too Early and Crown of Thorns are beautiful songs.

But, seriously, support smaller bands. These songs are from his album Cobirds Unite.

Multicultural Eating

I've been a vegan for about a year and a half. It didn't start out as an ideological choice, but it's turned into one. At any rate I tend to eat whatever vegetables, veggie patties, and tofu that I find. It's not real fancy or inventive. And, yes, it tends to be Eurocentric. So, here's a nice article about not eating boring healthy food. I might have to break out of my routine.

Healthy Multicultural Food

Everything looks Yummy!

Old Christine

Other than looking at my previous posts and noticing that I start with the word "sometimes" more often than I should, I've been wondering about the quality of the blogs. I haven't been doing them very long, and they tend to be super short. I guess short is better than long in this medium, otherwise it's tedium. Ewww.

Anyway, I've been watching reruns of "The New Adventures of Old Christine," which is one of the funniest shows ever. It holds up so well. I love how dysfunctional everyone is, and how they love each other anyway. That's good comedy. Old Christine genuinely believes she's a good person, but she's kind of not. She acts like she tries hard, but she doesn't really. And, everything she does is a mess. It's truly funny. It reminds me a lot of "Fawlty Towers." They both have main character who you like in spite of the fact that they're not great people. You root for them. You see horrible things coming their way, and you silently beg them to make better choices, but they don't. And the repercussions are hilarious.

I believe that Julia Louis Dreyfus is one of the funniest women on television. I'll bite you if you disagree.

Clouds of Fire

Sometimes I see something that really takes my breath away. Michael Ramakrishnan posted this photo of Altocumulus clouds & a sunset at 30,000 feet amidst California fires.

I mean, really, this photo is stunning.  The composition blows my mind. It's hard to believe that tragedy and heartbreak lie just below the surface. Wow.

There's always time for baby goats

Sometimes I'm supposed to be getting ready for bed, but I just have to check one more thing on Facebook first. Then there's this from Funny Family Moments:

I mean, really, that's worth missing a little sleep over.
I have an aunt who's not really an aunt who had a big goat named Randy. He was named Randy because he wanted to mate with anything that stayed still long enough for him to mount. She hated that goat, but never got rid of it. Every time she'd come into town she'd have another story about some horrible way Randy had embarrased her or befouled something. Poor Randy, he might have just been lonely. Or a predator. Who can tell? He was a goat.
Anyway, these goats are much cuter. I especially like the ones in outfits. I wonder if the goats like the outfits.