WARNING! – this blog post is filled with mentions of breasts! If you fear mammary glands – I beg you, don’t read this blog. Better yet go see a shrink, cuz I’d say it’s pretty easy to assume you have “issues” if you do.
Okay all, I promised you a rant, and here it is.
This morning I was made privy to the fact that both television networks, ABC and Fox (both networks that have a flawed reputations for being “family friendly”) have refused to air this wonderful ad from Lane Bryant for their stunning “Cacique” brand of lingerie.
Please watch the offending ad and you can make up your own mind as to what Fox and ABC found so offensive about it that they won’t air it before 9:00 pm (if at all.)
Mind you, I understand that both networks air the equally (if not more so) racy Victoria’s Secret advertisement during the daytime and early evening “family hours” but someone at both networks found the fact that this gorgeous woman in beautiful bras and underwear (which mind you, cover more of her body than most bikinis on television) had too much cleavage which rendered the ads morally unacceptable to air.
Now – the ad shows this woman in her underwear texting her assumed lover (Husband? Wife? Who cares?) who has asked to meet her for lunch. In response, she puts on her coat and leaves the house.
OH FOR SHAME this woman has a love life! EVIL BIG-BREASTED wenches should know they’re not REALLY wanted in society and that no man or woman will ever EVER find them attractive. NO – YOU STAY AT HOME and you stay inside for you are NOT WORTHY of love nor should you have self-esteem enough to think you should ever have someone find your ample cleavage attractive.
ABC and FOX – I hope you all rot in whatever proverbial hell you work in, because it’s actions like this double-standard that are the very REASON women still find themselves feeling inadequate because they wear a bra that doesn’t require “push-up” action like the skinnier size 2 models use in Victoria’s Secret ads. Their feathery wings make them look so angelic that heaven must approve of tinier models than the one seen in the above ad. Right?
It all comes down to the perpetuation of the social stigma that women aren’t supposed to feel good about themselves unless they’re thin and are a perfect cookie-cutter clones of department stores’ mannequins.
FOX and ABC - you have made a corporate decision to say that larger women are more “morally wrong” for purely having larger breasts than a Victoria’s Secret model who wear angels’ wings while she sits pertly for her lover in an old jalopy.
You have effectively told men that women of average size (and I DO MEAN AVERAGE) are not worthy of their affection because cleavage is evil and this wanton woman is about to commit some horrible sin.
Since I don’t believe there is a hell, I will tell you and your idiotic market-share-centric employees that I for one will continue to shop at Lane Bryant and will continue to buy their BEAUTIFUL lingerie and I will now ask the producers of said shows airing on your networks to assure that they’re not being refused ad revenue because you’re afraid of breasts.
Especially when the shows airing likely contain sex scenes with skinny little women.
I really, really loathe hypocrites.
And ABC and FOX – you’re about as hypocritical as they come.
Now, excuse me while me and my DDs go shopping for a SEXY new bra just so I can commit the evil sin of CLEAVAGE.
WHICH BY THE WAY!!! Don’t forget everyone! Tomorrow me and other evil woman are going to dress in CLEAVAGE revealing clothing tomorrow to challenge the Iranian cleric’s theory that scantily clad women are the reason there are earthquakes on this planet.
So by all rights, there should be one MASSIVE earth-ending BOOBQUAKE tomorrow.
Sure – you can blame me. I’m a woman after all – the source of all evil – remember?
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
4/16/10 Bird Watching? In LA? With Trekkies?
How awesome is that? Really! The following is a press release from John Billingsley who has asked that we get the word out about this great charity event.
I'm only doing what I can. Please do the same!
PRESS RELEASE - INVITATION
Join STAR TREK alumni ARMIN SHIMERMAN (DS:9), ROBERT PICARDO (ST:VOYAGER), ETHAN “JOHNNIE" PHILLIPS (ST: VOYAGER) and JOHN BILLINGSLEY (ST: ENTERPRISE) for a fun-filled afternoon of bird-watching and picnicking, ON MAY 9TH, to celebrate LOS ANGELES AUDUBON'S 100TH BIRTHDAY!
Los Angeles Audubon promotes the protection of birds and other wildlife through recreation, education,
conservation and restoration. They are celebrating their Centennial with a "Bird-a-thon", a week-long 'species trek' across LA County.
Between May1-May 9, teams, accompanied by experienced birders, will select a Los Angeles County hot birding spot, and venture forth, in a competition to see which team can spot the most species!
JOIN OUR TEAM! HELP US WIN!
Armin, Bob, Ethan “Johnnie” Phillips, and John are forming the “BALD(ING) EAGLES OF STAR TREK TEAM” to help support the conservation efforts of Los Angeles Audubon! The first 30 people to sign up get to join us for an afternoon of adventure! We'll meet at a beautiful location, picnic on a delicious catered lunch, and then set forth to 'bird". Your contribution will also entitle you to attend LA Audubon's CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION, held (conveniently for us!), immediately after the conclusion of our afternoon peregrinations. You'll receive complete details re: venue(s), time, directions, etc., upon receipt of your check!
Here’s how to reserve your spot today! Call or email today- space is limited!
Call: 1.888.522.7428 Martha will assist you.
Email: books@laaudobon.org
Cost: $150/person
CAN’T JOIN THE BALD(ING) EAGLES STAR TREK TEAM?
You can still attend the Centennial Celebration! For $50, we can accommodate 20 guests at the Celebration on May 9th (to be held at dusk, in a beautiful outdoor location). The winning team (remember, there will have been a week of birdie rubbernecking) will be lauded, drinks and grub will be consumed, and LA Audubon's remarkable contribution to the health and vitality of our community will be hallelujahed.
Contact LA Audubon to reserve your spot at the Centennial Celebration!
Call: 1.888.522.7428 Martha will assist you.
Email: books@laaudobon.org
Cost: $50/person
OUT OF TOWN? OUT OF STATE? OUT OF NATION? OUT OF GALAXY?
Support the Bald(ing) Eagles Star Trek Team anyway by pledging a $ amount per species spotted: $1 a bird, for instance. (And if you're fearful of the Bald(ing) Eagles’ bird-watching prowess - Jeez, I didn't know there were that many birds! - set a maximum contribution level for yourself! Your $10, $20, $25 pledge goes a long way to help our feathered friends!)
Call: 1.888.522.7428 Martha will take your pledge. Once the Bald(ing) Eagles are back from the field,
Martha will let you know how many species they encountered and what your
donation will be.
Email: books@laaudobon.org
Your participation will help support LA Audubon's conservation efforts: programs you will be helping to fund help rescue and preserve habitats for such beautiful birds as the endangered California Least Tern and the threatened Western Snowy Plover! Join the fun for a great cause!
I'm only doing what I can. Please do the same!
PRESS RELEASE - INVITATION
Join STAR TREK alumni ARMIN SHIMERMAN (DS:9), ROBERT PICARDO (ST:VOYAGER), ETHAN “JOHNNIE" PHILLIPS (ST: VOYAGER) and JOHN BILLINGSLEY (ST: ENTERPRISE) for a fun-filled afternoon of bird-watching and picnicking, ON MAY 9TH, to celebrate LOS ANGELES AUDUBON'S 100TH BIRTHDAY!
Los Angeles Audubon promotes the protection of birds and other wildlife through recreation, education,
conservation and restoration. They are celebrating their Centennial with a "Bird-a-thon", a week-long 'species trek' across LA County.
Between May1-May 9, teams, accompanied by experienced birders, will select a Los Angeles County hot birding spot, and venture forth, in a competition to see which team can spot the most species!
JOIN OUR TEAM! HELP US WIN!
Armin, Bob, Ethan “Johnnie” Phillips, and John are forming the “BALD(ING) EAGLES OF STAR TREK TEAM” to help support the conservation efforts of Los Angeles Audubon! The first 30 people to sign up get to join us for an afternoon of adventure! We'll meet at a beautiful location, picnic on a delicious catered lunch, and then set forth to 'bird". Your contribution will also entitle you to attend LA Audubon's CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION, held (conveniently for us!), immediately after the conclusion of our afternoon peregrinations. You'll receive complete details re: venue(s), time, directions, etc., upon receipt of your check!
Here’s how to reserve your spot today! Call or email today- space is limited!
Call: 1.888.522.7428 Martha will assist you.
Email: books@laaudobon.org
Cost: $150/person
CAN’T JOIN THE BALD(ING) EAGLES STAR TREK TEAM?
You can still attend the Centennial Celebration! For $50, we can accommodate 20 guests at the Celebration on May 9th (to be held at dusk, in a beautiful outdoor location). The winning team (remember, there will have been a week of birdie rubbernecking) will be lauded, drinks and grub will be consumed, and LA Audubon's remarkable contribution to the health and vitality of our community will be hallelujahed.
Contact LA Audubon to reserve your spot at the Centennial Celebration!
Call: 1.888.522.7428 Martha will assist you.
Email: books@laaudobon.org
Cost: $50/person
OUT OF TOWN? OUT OF STATE? OUT OF NATION? OUT OF GALAXY?
Support the Bald(ing) Eagles Star Trek Team anyway by pledging a $ amount per species spotted: $1 a bird, for instance. (And if you're fearful of the Bald(ing) Eagles’ bird-watching prowess - Jeez, I didn't know there were that many birds! - set a maximum contribution level for yourself! Your $10, $20, $25 pledge goes a long way to help our feathered friends!)
Call: 1.888.522.7428 Martha will take your pledge. Once the Bald(ing) Eagles are back from the field,
Martha will let you know how many species they encountered and what your
donation will be.
Email: books@laaudobon.org
Your participation will help support LA Audubon's conservation efforts: programs you will be helping to fund help rescue and preserve habitats for such beautiful birds as the endangered California Least Tern and the threatened Western Snowy Plover! Join the fun for a great cause!
4-16-10 Skeptics, Atheists and Believers - Oh My!
Once every year or so I find myself in a position of feeling like I have to blog about my position on certain things – if only to help those new people following me or who have become acquaintances on Facebook - understand a little bit more about my views.
As you may already know or have figured out by the presence of the scarlet letter A on the side of my personal blog – I am atheist.
I used to believe in a god, but I no longer do. How and why I finally divested myself of that belief is for another story, hell maybe even a book, but today I feel the need to talk about that dreaded thing “the bigger picture.”
Separate and apart from my atheism – I am also a skeptic. What’s a skeptic you ask? Well, a skeptic is a person who – tries like anything – to use reason as a basis for decision making as opposed to blind acceptance, dogma, anecdote or non-scientific method as foundations of proof for any claim.
It’s why my profile says I’m an “atheist-skeptic”.
Recently, within the skeptic communities I’ve noticed that there seems to have been a real debate as to whether or not deism was somehow weakening the skeptic “stance.”
Number one – skepticism has no stance. On anything. Just like science has no stance – it merely is a process by which we Humans use to help us understand the world around us.
It is entirely possible for a person to have made a leap of faith with regards to the existence of a deity and still be entirely rooted in the use of science and skepticism for everything else.
For people to shun those with faith merely for the existence of that faith makes them fundamentalists – and I can think of no fouler word to describe a person.
Fundamentalism – in all its forms, whether religious, atheist, commercial or philosophical – is a wedge that drives people apart as opposed to driving real debate, understanding and tolerance.
Anti-theists have an opinion that frankly – I really do understand. I’ve seen more pure hatred, crime and tragedy inflicted upon people and children in the name of a deity than I have by any other means. There are many times I wish that everyone would just dump their blind faith to see that greater accomplishments are only achievable when actions are taken instead of the wasting their breath on prayer.
However I am also, above all else, a true believer in the right of others to be able to have that faith and to practice it how they see fit – as long as they keep it in their homes.
Many brilliant scientists are deists and just because they have a need to feel they’re going to have an after-life shouldn’t discredit their work - as long as their work is grounded in science.
The skeptic community needs every single person it has – deist and atheist – in order to help those who don’t even have a basic comprehension of scientific method understand more important things right now – namely the dangers of vaccine and AIDS denialism; the uselessness of homeopathic “remedies”; civil and Human rights; teaching young children to think critically about commercials and the way items are sold to them by misleading advertising; keeping junk science out of our courts; resisting the fundamentalist movement to push creationism in public schools …
… a multitude of problems that face Humanity, whether they’re believers or not.
I don’t want any religion in my government – not because I’m atheist – but because the one problem I really had when I was questioning my faith wasn’t really whether or not there was a god – but which faith was the “right one.”
I went to mass for most of my life and talked 'til I was blue in the face with priests and nuns and clergy. Then I went to synagogue for 2 years and talked 'til I was blue in the face with rabbis. I moved onto the local temple where the Buddhist monks listened and smiled and told me I was normal and that I would find my path. I traveled to the Hare Krishna temple to talk about their faith because I was told I couldn’t be Hindu as one is “born” into that faith and conversion to it wasn’t possible. I’ve spoken to Wiccans and Druids and Mormons and Christian Scientists and Jehovah’s Witnesses and Native American polytheists and Pentecostals and Presbyterians and Episcopalians and finalized my religion shopping at a local mosque – where the imam graciously told me that I was doing more than shopping for a new religion – he rightly pointed out I was questioning all faith … to its core.
But the one thing I will always take away from the experience of reaching out to members of those communities is how private faith really is.
And by private – I mean private.
I have no right to tell others how they can believe, the same way those with faith have no right to tell me that I must acknowledge a deity’s existence.
However – as I’ve said before, the word “tolerance” doesn’t mean to accept as fact another person’s faith, ideas or philosophy – it means … tolerate.
It may sound like a mean or nasty term. To say I tolerate those with faith somehow sounds like I don’t like them.
Well – in some cases I don’t. Just the same way that some people with faith don’t like me. As long as they tolerate me and my right to exist without faith … then the system is working.
And maybe those of us in the skeptic communities had better remember that. I think the only way we’re going to be able to help those ignorant of the scientific method or lack the tools to grasp rational thought is to live by example and show others that tolerance is possible and work together to give them those tools.
Just my opinion of course – I only ask you tolerate my right to express it.
t
As you may already know or have figured out by the presence of the scarlet letter A on the side of my personal blog – I am atheist.
I used to believe in a god, but I no longer do. How and why I finally divested myself of that belief is for another story, hell maybe even a book, but today I feel the need to talk about that dreaded thing “the bigger picture.”
Separate and apart from my atheism – I am also a skeptic. What’s a skeptic you ask? Well, a skeptic is a person who – tries like anything – to use reason as a basis for decision making as opposed to blind acceptance, dogma, anecdote or non-scientific method as foundations of proof for any claim.
It’s why my profile says I’m an “atheist-skeptic”.
Recently, within the skeptic communities I’ve noticed that there seems to have been a real debate as to whether or not deism was somehow weakening the skeptic “stance.”
Number one – skepticism has no stance. On anything. Just like science has no stance – it merely is a process by which we Humans use to help us understand the world around us.
It is entirely possible for a person to have made a leap of faith with regards to the existence of a deity and still be entirely rooted in the use of science and skepticism for everything else.
For people to shun those with faith merely for the existence of that faith makes them fundamentalists – and I can think of no fouler word to describe a person.
Fundamentalism – in all its forms, whether religious, atheist, commercial or philosophical – is a wedge that drives people apart as opposed to driving real debate, understanding and tolerance.
Anti-theists have an opinion that frankly – I really do understand. I’ve seen more pure hatred, crime and tragedy inflicted upon people and children in the name of a deity than I have by any other means. There are many times I wish that everyone would just dump their blind faith to see that greater accomplishments are only achievable when actions are taken instead of the wasting their breath on prayer.
However I am also, above all else, a true believer in the right of others to be able to have that faith and to practice it how they see fit – as long as they keep it in their homes.
Many brilliant scientists are deists and just because they have a need to feel they’re going to have an after-life shouldn’t discredit their work - as long as their work is grounded in science.
The skeptic community needs every single person it has – deist and atheist – in order to help those who don’t even have a basic comprehension of scientific method understand more important things right now – namely the dangers of vaccine and AIDS denialism; the uselessness of homeopathic “remedies”; civil and Human rights; teaching young children to think critically about commercials and the way items are sold to them by misleading advertising; keeping junk science out of our courts; resisting the fundamentalist movement to push creationism in public schools …
… a multitude of problems that face Humanity, whether they’re believers or not.
I don’t want any religion in my government – not because I’m atheist – but because the one problem I really had when I was questioning my faith wasn’t really whether or not there was a god – but which faith was the “right one.”
I went to mass for most of my life and talked 'til I was blue in the face with priests and nuns and clergy. Then I went to synagogue for 2 years and talked 'til I was blue in the face with rabbis. I moved onto the local temple where the Buddhist monks listened and smiled and told me I was normal and that I would find my path. I traveled to the Hare Krishna temple to talk about their faith because I was told I couldn’t be Hindu as one is “born” into that faith and conversion to it wasn’t possible. I’ve spoken to Wiccans and Druids and Mormons and Christian Scientists and Jehovah’s Witnesses and Native American polytheists and Pentecostals and Presbyterians and Episcopalians and finalized my religion shopping at a local mosque – where the imam graciously told me that I was doing more than shopping for a new religion – he rightly pointed out I was questioning all faith … to its core.
But the one thing I will always take away from the experience of reaching out to members of those communities is how private faith really is.
And by private – I mean private.
I have no right to tell others how they can believe, the same way those with faith have no right to tell me that I must acknowledge a deity’s existence.
However – as I’ve said before, the word “tolerance” doesn’t mean to accept as fact another person’s faith, ideas or philosophy – it means … tolerate.
It may sound like a mean or nasty term. To say I tolerate those with faith somehow sounds like I don’t like them.
Well – in some cases I don’t. Just the same way that some people with faith don’t like me. As long as they tolerate me and my right to exist without faith … then the system is working.
And maybe those of us in the skeptic communities had better remember that. I think the only way we’re going to be able to help those ignorant of the scientific method or lack the tools to grasp rational thought is to live by example and show others that tolerance is possible and work together to give them those tools.
Just my opinion of course – I only ask you tolerate my right to express it.
t
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