It's all about that bass - I get it now!

My apologies Meghan Trainor (All About That Bass), because I know she was losing sleep over my earlier criticism of this song*, but that was bitching about the snatches of the song I would catch on the radio or overhear other people singing.

I finally took time to go watch the video on YouTube. OMG! It's a Public Service Announcement wrapped in Satire! And it's Good satire! Haha.

- Mocking pop music, which has been called "a drum beat with singing," by wearing the lampshade - "it's all about that bass, no treble";

- the double entendre - "bass" or "base" also meaning "booty" (and we could even claim it's really "B'ass" meaning "big ass" - okay, that's a stretch, but that's what opinionated deconstruction of metaphor is all about, right? - ha! );

- the colored-wig models remind me of a Nikki Minaj video, which is incongruous by itself, but then the faces they make at the end really make the mockery funnier;

- the big guy dancing and doing the splits was awesome and great juxtaposition (ditto when he blew off the skinny chick - ha!);

- the core lyrics just put it out there - boys like big butts and they can't deny - and say "Hey, girlfriend, be yourself and ignore the Katy Perry look-abitalike skinny model, and be comfortable with your body!";

Numerous studies have shown that while we are programmed to find the ultra-thin waif-like model attractive (and for some reason we do), men (and lesbians) actually prefer a more normal (i.e. "meaty") body type for sexual and romantic companionship.

So, Meghan, for your public service, I'm going to put you up on my altar next to Lzzy Hale and Kristi Simkins, and hope you make a huge fortune and keep making fun and satirical music. :)

* (no, she wasn't losing sleep, since she has no idea I exist, but the hyperbole of my self-importance is part of what makes me entertaining)

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Dare to be brave, dare to be selfish, dare to be stupid

It's voting cycle time, and I'm seeing the usual spate of stupid signs, and lies spread around.

Someone is putting up lawn signs that actually read "Be brave! Vote No on the Fire Levy!"

Okay, sorry, let's vote to take money away from firefighters? These are the 9/11 First Responders, remember? These are the people who - Heaven forbid your house should catch fire - will rush over to  to save your life, limb and property by PUTTING OUT THE FIRE!

Oh, or your neighbor's house fire. Or your elderly grandmother's house. Or rush the paramedics to your house to save your life if you drop the frozen turkey into boiling oil (hint: it explodes). Or, you know, SAVE LIVES.

So, "Be Brave!" - Be Selfish! Be Stupid! Vote "No" on the tiny little tax levy that pays these guys to train, train, risk their lives saving people, train and practice, and come save your life if you ever need them.

Let's be honest. These signs are probably being put up by don't-tax-my-giant-apartment-and-rental-properties people like our old pal Tim "fuck you little guy, I got mine" Eyman. No, seriously.

"Be brave" indeed.

Vote "Yes" for the fire levy and make sure someone is there to save the life of someone you care about, possibly even yourself.

rules for a popular blog: yeah, whatever - the Grand Experiment

I know there are rules and guidelines for creating a successful and popular blog (and especially a revenue-generating), and maybe someday I'll look them up.

Meanwhile, I think I'm going to experiment with "theme days."

Like, "Theological Thursday," where I will remark on theologicial things (for which, in truth, I am actually better qualified than most people).

And "Fictional Friday," where I'll write something related to fiction, story-telling, gaming, cosplay, whatever, whatever, which I'm at least as qualified to remark on as any other nerd out there :)

For now, every other day will be "reserved" for whatever bug is in my bonnet at the moment.  Hey, it's my blog, I can say whatever I damn well please, right?

#IAmIcarus

Sarah Palin is still a wanker, even all these years later

With every sentence out of her mouth Sarah Palin proves time and again she is a disingenuous wanker.

Let's be clear: I don't loathe Sarah Palin for being a Republican; I loathe Sarah Palin for being a total wanker. I don't call Ms Palin a wanker because she is Republican; I call her a disingenuous wanker because I have LISTENED TO THE WORDS COMING OUT OF HER MOUTH AND I HAVE PAID ATTENTION TO HER ACTIONS.

I call Ms Palin a wanker , because she is a loathsome, self-absorbed, self-aggrandizing, opportunistic pig who will throw anyone under the bus if doing so helps Sarah Palin.

Calling Sarah Palin a pig is an insult to pigs. At least pigs are willing to make contributions to their community.

It's all about the bass....because there's nothing else...

It's all about the bass, no point...
It's all about the bass, no point...
My momma told me,
All you need is a booty,
And a beat.
It's all about the bass, no point...
It's all about the bass, no point...

I mean, mega-props to the artist Meghan Trainor (All About That Bass)  getting loads of air time and her success, but the song just annoys me, so here I'm getting it out of my spleen, and moving on :)

Bigot Baker Goes Broke, Oh Boo-Hoo

So, let's be clear:

1) If you want to run a business, and have a license to serve food, you are not allowed to discriminate against human beings. There are provisions for safety and sanitation, e.g. if the person is carrying a knife, or "No shoes, no shirt, no service," but black, gay, short, whatever, not allowed to discriminate;

2) Melissa and her husband CHOSE to refuse service, in violation of the law, and CHOSE to shut down the business office;

3) Apparently, despite running a business in violation of the law, they are trying to dodge the law by baking out of her home kitchen. Okay, this is dodgy because there are sanitation and food preparation laws to protect people. The laws are not meant to screw "mom & pop" shops like these two bigots, the laws are meant to prevent McDonalds-Mega-Corp from selling you even lower quality, e.g. barely-fit-for-animal-consumption, food than they already do.

So, basically, I have no sympathy for these bigots, and I resent their efforts to play for pity and sympathy. In fact, I have no tolerance for bigots of any strip.

And no, this does not "make me a bigot," as the strawman argument goes. Failing to tolerate intolerance makes me a moral, ethical person, who understood the words of Jesus: "We are all children of God," and "What you do to the least among you, you do to me." I.e. "When your petty bigotry leads you - literally or metaphorically - to spit on someone, it means you spit on me."

March 2016 update:  Found a new meme recently, and thought it just fit this so bloody well.

It's Class Warfare, Bitches!

My Opus, when I finally get around to it, will be called "It's Class Warfare, Bitches!"

I was born the year that the great Liberal-Socialist President Ronald Reagan spear-headed the oligarch assault on the middle classes. (And yeah, if he were around today, Limbaugh and the Fox Noise Machine would lambast him as a total socialist).  "Trickle down economics," aka "tinkle down" (like piss from on high) was the opening salvo by Reagan on behalf of the ultra-rich would-be neo-nobility intent on recreating the two-class system of Those With Privilege and the Unwashed Peasantry.

Since this is class Feudalism, I call it Neo-Feudalism. The ultra-rich, like Gov. Mitt Romney or the infamous Koch Brothers, wish to live in a world where they can operate with impunity, figureatively - and eventually literally - raping and pillaging whomever they wish, with the only risk being censure from their peers. Big fucking deal there, when all your peers are as amoral and sociopathic as you are.

Then there are the lapdogs like Rep. Paul Ryan, who see the system, and embrace it while they can, believing that it is better to be a favored lapdog with a small fief then to be the peasant without even a hovel to claim ownership of.

Mucking with tax codes to screw the middle class, raising costs of college, destroying the public education system, sowing fear and making it easier for the poor to kill each other.

It's Class Warfare, Bitches, and you're on the wrong end of the artillery.