Chilly

That is, quite truthfully, the feeling in my bones this morning. It's not a feeling of coldness, like an emotion, but literally a feeling of being cold. Maybe this is just a pretentious way to introduce a statement like "It is chilly in my room today." Whatever.

The government has decided it will no longer defend the laws banning same sex marriages. I felt glad upon reading the article in the Washington Post yesterday; finally, our president has enough resolve to admit what everyone should know is true: that it is WRONG WRONG WRONG to discriminate against ANY group of people because of color of skin, religious preference, sexual preference, educational level, disability, or any of the other qualities that simply make human beings individuals.

It's nice that on such a major moral issue, the government that is supposed to be FOR the PEOPLE (I interpret that as everyone, not just the hetero's and whites) has done its job correctly and stepped away from blatant, senseless discrimination. I hope that now it will become a wave of acceptance that flows worldwide and etch itself into everyone's brain so they forget what it was ever like to be intolerant and hateful. Perhaps I'm still dreaming....

In happier news, I'm reading a pretty good book right now for the book club that is comprised of my mother, sister, and me, called "Second Glance" (I know it's supposed to be underlined but this stupid blog doesn't allow grammatical accuracy) by Jodi Piccoult. In the first 130-ish pages of the book, I was kind of plodding along, I felt, due to the generally cheesy structure in which the author was writing. The plot line was laid out well enough (I won't go through it here because you can read a synopsis online and I'm too lazy to write a book review right now), but too similar. Every character was introduced in practically the exact same manner, which made it a bit boring. Anyway, the story line is still good, so I kept going and made it through part one. Now, in part two, the writing style has turned a 180 and is being narrated not by a third party narrator, but by one single character....and it's WAY more exciting! I find myself flipping pages more rapidly and discovering the language and observance of self this character expresses to be impressively insightful, beautifully dark and depressing.

Other than that, I'm trying to get through two other books, maybe three. I can never keep track of all the books I read at once, as they tend to pile up. What can I say? I'm a bookworm.

That's another thing: what the hell is the deal with the current obsession with Kindles? EW. I find them incredibly disappointing, because they take away the EXPERIENCE that is reading a BOOK. The arguments may certainly be made for Kindles in that they're more environmentally friendly because they're paperless, you can store zillions of books on it at once, and you can highlight, take notes, etc. as well. I still say, however, that sitting down on the couch with a cup of tea and a book- with all its ink and paper smells, with an actual pen to jot notes on certain pages, to feel the texture of the words and feel the binding crunch when you open it-nothing can replace that. Nothing ever will. I hope that when I die, they use all my books that I have loved to make an Urn for my ashes.

Picture! (read a book in front of a warm fireplace)

It's oh so....quiet....shhhhh, shhhhh.

The title comes from a song in my head by the lovely Bjork, who is, in all outward appearances, quite the odd character; I wonder what she's like in real life? I wonder what conversation might ensue if we sat down to a cup of tea or coffee? Would it change if crumpets were involved?

Anyway....

I slept in until a little after the 11th hour of the morning today. It was grand, snoozing away through the early part of the day, awakening refreshed and ready to do nothing but relax. I read in an article somewhere a while ago that relaxing is overrated; I couldn't agree more.

Today I have: blogged on Tumblr (my website is wannaseeme.tumblr.com), submitted a photo to National Geographic for the Your Shot competition, read most of the introduction by Wilbur Scott to a complete collection of Edgar Allan Poe's work, and blogged here. I have also chatted with my sister and various friends, as well as my mother and boyfriend. I will soon be practicing my flute.

To relax is to heal is to be healthy. Right? Yes. I have had such a wonderful time relaxing in almost complete silence today that I vow to always make some time to do so for the rest of my days.

Picture time: (here's some visual tranquility for you)

Typing naked is liberating.

This is the less important reason I support telework, something about which my mother knows just about everything; it was, and is even in retirement, her life's work and passion. People working from home can be very productive and increases employee satisfaction. Working naked at your desk is awesome. Some micro managers, however, don't appreciate the sort of freedom that bare skin provides.

Going back for a moment to the issue I previously posted about; it seems that the GOP didn't like being caught in what I will so eloquently describe as a "dick move," so they promptly removed the language "forcible rape" out of the exceptions in which abortion would be allowed to receive federal funding. Now it seems that they're trying to take away from women's right to an abortion in other ways, namely these things: (this is an excerpt taken from an email I received from MoveOn.org, and while this is a very liberal organization, they used objective resources to find this information)

Effectively ban abortion coverage in the new health insurance exchanges even if people pay for coverage with their own money.

Impose tax penalties on small businesses that pay for health plans that cover abortion and people who pay for abortion care.

Force the District of Columbia to impose all of the above laws, instead of letting the city decide its own laws.

Permanently ban abortion care for women insured by the government.

This is abhorrible behavior by members of the Congress that is supposed to represent the freedom and rights of ALL Americans. How is it okay for them to tell anyone how to spend their own money? I will spend every goddamn cent I have on whatever I so choose within my legal rights. Since abortion is still LEGAL in this country, I should be able to spend my hard-earned American bucks on it until my uterus falls out if I desire.

Apparently, in a nation full of Bible-thumpers, freedom isn't entirely all-inclusive. As long as Jesus says it's ok, no problem. Right? The only problem with that is, I don't recall the last time that any public figure claiming to follow Jesus had any clue as to what Jesus was trying to relay in his messages to human beings.

Anyway, I'm going to stop writing about negative things, and go sign this petition.
You should, too, especially if you're the proud owner of a uterus.

The exciting part about today is that it's Superbowl XLV!! GO STEELERS.

Pretty picture:

I've always been conflicted about abortion.

Seems an odd statement coming from me if you know me well, yes? Well, probably not to the people who really know me.

The conflict come from this: to me, sex is something you have to make an adult decision about. In the event that a woman and a man, each possessing 50% ability to create a child, decide to have sex with each other, it becomes an "if-then" statement: IF you decide to have sex, THEN you should be prepared to deal with the consequences.

The only instance in which I disagree with abortion is when a woman uses it as birth control, when it's a decision based out of irresponsibility instead of necessity. Still, that doesn't affect my voting choice when the issue comes up in the realm of politics.

What is necessity? That could be so many things. I have always adamantly supported a woman's right to choose because what right is it of mine to tell someone else what to do with their uterus? I know what I would do with mine, and that's my only concern.

One necessity I have been immediately reminded today of is that of rape. Rape warrants a woman's right to choose in every instance. Rape is wrong, always, no exceptions. Why in hell should a woman be forced to have the biological product of being traumatized by some disgusting man? How is it fair or acceptable to force her to have that trauma grow inside of her body for nine months and then have to take care of it, more than likely without the raper's help, afterward? That is where CHOICE and NECESSITY come into play.

Currently, some congress members (namely the crazy Bible-thumping ultra right-wingers) are trying to "redefine" rape. This astounds me immediately, due to the pure and simple fact that if a woman is in any way coerced or forced, whether through blunt physical prowess or something more indirect like drugs, to have sex with a man WITHOUT GIVING HER CONSENT, that is RAPE. It is WRONG. These Congress members are trying to pass an amendment to say that abortion should not be legal in the case of rape IF the woman was date raped (i.e., raped through drugging or alcohol). This, ladies and gentleman, is your result when old crazy men, who have no fucking clue what it feels like to be sexually assaulted or raped, try to keep the votes coming to their table. This is the grand disgusting result of the political game and patriarchal society at its finest. I wonder what would happen if their wives or sisters or daughters got raped? Maybe they'd behave like Dick Cheney does with his anti-gay stance (even with a lesbian daughter) and still be all for limiting choice for "non-forcible" rape (whatever the fuck that means).

The issue of this bill is the use of federal dollars: i.e., it would be ok to use federal dollars ONLY for instances of forcible rape: therefore, sorry ladies, if you get drugged into having sex with someone and get pregnant, you're paying out of pocket for THAT abortion.

I laugh when I hear people say that we no longer live in a patriarchal society. When you have a situation in which it's actually acceptable to tell a person what is legally defined rape and therefore when it would be acceptable or not to receive an abortion after being raped, you can tell men still rule the world.

Sign this petition if you're kind of sick and fucking tired of a few old men attempting to decide where federal dollars go when it comes to aiding women in rape situations:

http://pol.moveon.org/smithbill/?rc=fb.share.smithbill.0.1