Welcome Harvard Breakers!

The Harvard Breakers Organization is a safe space for dancers. Everyone doesn't respect dance, but among Breakers dance is not only respected, but practiced and revered. I had a bad experience once while dancing outside of the organization. I was in the middle of a glide and body wave when a man abruptly told me to stop dancing. I explained to the man that I was expressing my freedom of speech. The man rudely retorted, "You're dancing in the middle of my class, now get out!". What an awful professor.

Breakers is great because professors never tell you to stop dancing. It's also great because you can be around other people who actually know what the terms 'popping', 'locking', 'breaking' refer to and enjoy performing all of these dances or some subset of them. The commercial below reminds me of the group every time I see it. If you are or have ever been a member of the Breakers, please leave a comment about a memorable experience you have had dancing inside or outside of the group and check out one of my other posts related to dance: So You Think You Can Dance Poppers Bboy music on imeem

RE: NPR Steal Back Your Vote Guide is NOT free

I heard about the Steal Back Your Vote Guide on NPR today. The purpose of the guide is to educate voters about their rights at the polls and is written in the form of a comic book. The person representing the guide indicated that it could be downloaded for free from the group's website. However, when I visited the website, I discovered that a donation was required to receive the voting guide. I felt mislead and found the requirement to donate counterintuitive to the passion the Steal Back Your Vote Guide has to educate voters. I expressed my disappointment and sentiments in more detail in a letter addressed to the Steal Back Your Vote Guide below.
--

Dear Steal Back Your Vote Guide:

I was surprised to find that the Steal Back Your Vote Guide was not free after gaining this impression from an NPR news broadcast. Perhaps this was a misunderstanding on my part, but I'm terribly disappointed. It seems that the information you wish to disseminate should be given away for free. To me there is a conflict of interest between being passionate about educating voters about their voting rights and charging them for this information. This information should be available freely. In addition, the guide is running in Rolling Stone Magazine. The income generated from selling the guide to Rolling Stone should be sufficient to make the content available freely to the general public.

Nevertheless, the biggest problem with the required 'donation' is that many registered voters do not own the credit card or checkbook needed to make one over the internet. These individuals are are automatically prevented from becoming privy to the information contained in the Steal Back Your Vote Guide. I expect that low-income voters are most likely to be effected by this. When voter ID laws requiring voters to present a form of state identification such as a driver's license or passport were passed in several states, the percentage of registered low-income and minority voters casting their ballots in following elections dropped. A significant portion of voters in this demographic do not have a need for driver's licenses or passports because they do not drive or travel internationally. Their inability to present these documents on election day, therefore, prevents them from voting.

Finally, people who rely on their public library's computers for internet access, free email, and free blogging may be reluctant to use these computers to make purchases even when they do have a credit card or checkbook. The rise of identity theft causes people to take additional measures to protect their identities online, particularly when working on public computers.

Ultimately, I don't see a problem to request a donation for the Steal Back Your Vote Guide; I just don't agree that the donation should be required because it prevents the guide from being read by people who may need it the most.

Sincerely,

WillCharles

I'm very curious to see how the website responds. I rewrote and sent a new version of the letter on 10.23.08. I had not heard back from website regarding the first message yet at that time.

No posts for October? What to do? Obama in NY.

Create a simple solution. Reading Ann Coulter earlier there were references to his mysterious past in New York, NY. Found an article that sheds some light on the subject from a website Coulter probably doesn't approve of...

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/30/us/politics/30obama.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2&oref=slogin

Washington Post: Study Links Gene Variant in Men to Marital Discord

article

Helen Fisher, a biological anthropologist at Rutgers University who studies romantic love [posits] "Knowing there are biological weak links can help you overcome them."

A man who knows he has this allele, she added, might be able to use the knowledge to ignore tugs of restlessness he might feel in his marriage: "You can say, 'Oh, it is just my DNA, and I am going to ignore it.' "

I ignore my DNA all the time. DNA, I'm not talking to you!

Meat Science: What's really in your pet's food?

Veterinarian explains the process used to process meat for pet food:



It seems dairy cows, cats, dogs, roadkill, garbage, and tuberculosis lungs are the main ingredients. Sound inhumane? In the United States it is illegal for these items to be served to humans. Fortunately, pets aren't human. From an energy efficiency point of view, this is actually a great system. Using items such as roadkill and euthanized pets to meet demand for pet food reduces the number of cows that are raised and slaughtered to make pet food. The 'inhumane' items are dead anyway - why kill more? I wonder what PETa's stance is on this issue... Regardless, the following should be noted:

1. Owning animals is probably more unethical than feeding them commonly available commercial pet food.
2. Eating any form of meat as a human, whether it is steer, roadkill, or otherwise, is barbaric.

Will Charles

Chinese Cheerleaders is Hotness

I was very excited to read about the hundreds of thousands of Chinese cheerleaders that will be cheering on athletes at the Olympic Games next month in Beijing. The Chinese young women in the video below have bright smiles, small bodies, and cute faces. Their dancing abilities and enthusiasm are also impressive.



Seeing all of these Chinese women, I realized some people attending the Olympics might be looking for Chinese massages with a "special ending". However, when I saw a video titled "Female Traffic Police ready for Beijing Games" I decided people looking for this special service might find themselves disappointed as police cracked down on prostitution. I decided to watch the video from the link above to learn what steps police were taking to prevent sex trafficking at the games. However, I quickly realized that the video was not about preventing sex trafficking, but about training women traffic police officers. I clearly interpreted the title of the video incorrectly. Perhaps those attending the Olympics will be able to find a special ending to the games after all...

Weekend overdraw blues

A close friend of mine called me about overdrawing from his or her bank account earlier today. Maybe said person should have called Louis CK; watch beginning at 3:40 for a segment about this subject:

In the News: WSJ "Dress-Code Politics: Who Wears the Pants?" Christina Binkley

When a Man Regulates Attire At Work, Women Often See An Oppressor, Not a Mentor

Men have a one track mind, boobies. When men want to regulate the dress of women to be more conservative, they are ultimately saying they are unable to control wandering eyes and imaginations. Will a low top or a short skirt decrease a man's focus on the job? You bet! However, from a gender feminist perspective, perhaps increasing men's exposure to skin and cleavage in their daily experiences will decrease how much men as a group and as individual objectify women. This may seem counterintuitive, but by increasing men's exposure to visual stimuli of the woman's body perhaps their senses will be overloaded to the point that they are desensitized to their bodies or at least to the appearance of bare legs or cleavage. I endure the staring now in hopes of decreasing objectification of women in the future. Show some skin at work girls! If they can't focus we can and we will take any promotions for our superior performance, ha ha!

Beggin Strips aren't Bacon? I'll be the judge of that!

Have you ever heard of Beggin Strips? They are a doggy treat that looks, smells and tastes like bacon to dogs. My dog loves them. The treats are a great idea, right? WRONG!

This is a story all about how
my life got flipped turned upset down
and I'd like to take a minute just sitting right here
I'll tell you why I hate beggin strips -- I hope that it's clear

I found a bag of the treats in the garage and rewarded my dog with them when she obeyed commands during the day. In the evening, I generally ignore my dog so I stopped giving her commands and thus I stopped giving her the treats. Then out of no where my dog started sitting, laying down, and rolling over as if I were asking her to do these things (or even paying attention). I soon recognized that she was attempting to get a beggin strip in return for her behavior. I didn't even have any of the things with me at the time so I showed the dog my hands and pockets to show her that I did not have strips to give her. When she realized I didn't have any she looked at me with the evil eye only a dog can give. Then she started barking at me and scratching my legs for the rest of the night only pausing to scratch and lick herself.

The whole scene was a mess. My dog was acting as if I had given her crack, but it's been over a year since I've done that so I know that wasn't the problem. I decided there must be something extra 'special' in those bacon like strips to make my dog go ape bananas. I retrieved the package of the treat to examine its ingredients, but I was distracted the savory aroma of bacon eminating from the package. The beggin strips smelled so good and they smell just like bacon too... By the time I realized what I was doing, it was too late; the beggin strip was in my mouth. It smelled great, but its taste was disgusting! However, the resulting warm, effervescent, and relaxing feeling that overcame me a few minutes later was a pleasant surprise.

Despite the relatively satisfactory conclusion to this event, I was still disturbed by its occurrence. How could something like this happen? How could I allow myself to eat a dog treat? That's crazy! I would blame myself for this event, but that would cause me to take personal responsibility. Instead I blame the beggin strips company. Dogs really don't need a treat that looks and smells like bacon - dogs eat their own... well, dogs enjoy any snack that is not in their regular diet. Ultimately, beggin strips are designed to lure human people into buying them. People are enticed to the look and smell of bacon. Dogs don't care about what the treat looks like. If dogs could talk I'm confident they would say, "I can't believe you make me eat the same food everyday and pee outside. It's degrading. Just give me a shapeless but tasty doggy biscuit to ease my pain".

Although I don't like beggin' strips - it caused me to bite one somehow?! I do see an opportunity to for a new product in the snack food and dog treat industries. A food company needs to develop a treat that is safe for both humans and dogs to eat and tasty to them as well. Scooby and Shaggy ate the same snacks, don't you want to kick back and eat biscuits with your dog? Dogs are man's best friend, right? The follow up would be a lager safe for you and your lab - who wouldn't want to enjoy a cold brew with their bff?

Summary:
Beggin Strips: bad and addictive to humans and dogs.
Product Innovation Opportunity: snacks pet owners can share with their furry friends (please let me know if these products already exist or if you get this product developed, thanks)
Taste of Beggin Strips: Rubber-like and gritty after chewing. Taste like cardboard.

HUDS does NOT put laxatives in their food!

Several weeks ago I asked HUDS exec. director Ted Mayer if there were laxatives in the food served in the dining hall. He responded that this was absolutely false. Mayer also indicates this fact is published on snopes. The information is there, hidden in an article about Tim Horton's coffee. Unfortunately, one of my former Professors is going to have to explain his outrageous behavior after a student-faculty dinner... blaming it on the laxes in the food just isn't going to cut it anymore :)

lovely lady lumps

don't take that out of context please

Does Harvard put laxatives in my food?

I am under the impression that Harvard places laxative in my food. I feel this may just be a rumor so I decided to ask the Executive Mayer of HUDS, Ted Director, about the situation by posing the question as a comment to his most recent post on the HUDS blog. Although Harvard students have been criticized for being politically apathetic recently, they were quick to protest price cuts in the dining hall that resulted in a reduction of food options and the replacement of key ingredients with cheap substitutes (for example, replacing white meat chicken with dark meat chicken and removing multi-grain pasta from the pasta bar). However, I feel HUDS has done a pretty good job of addressing student concerns and the blog Ted maintains is a great way for HUDS to continue to address student concerns and questions. Speaking of which, are there laxatives in my food? If so, well, they might not be powerful enough... Hopefully Ted will give me the real deal details and I can make an update soon. Happy times in naa na naa naa boo boo land until then!

Vagina Games I

I played with my vagina today. I was on my computer working on an assignment when my clitoris just started feeling happy all of a sudden. Not like I was on the brink of sexual orgasm, but just happy as if I had been gently massaging it with lilac scented lube for a few minutes. I was pretty bored with work, so I took a break to check things out. I carry a little pocket mirror with me in my back pocket and I wanted to see what's going on.

Side note: one of the worst things about clitorises is that you can't see the stupid things. I just want to look at it sometimes, you know? Guys get to see their schlongs and balls all the time but I can't see my vag? That is whack. I can't wait until there is a surgery that allows you to remove and replace the vagina just so you can see it and play with it more.

So I took off my panties and my pants and held the mirror below my clitoris with one hand while I gently squeezed it, moving my fingers back and forth over and over until I started to get shivers down my spine and my body started to shake. Then I stopped what I was doing

How could you cheat on me? I'm Your Grandmother!

Have you ever visited a nursing home to brighten the spirits of the elderly only to find out that one of the people you visited is a friend of your grandparents? How awkward! It wouldn't be a problem if you called or visited your grandparents, but you haven't seen, written, or called them for over a year. Now it just seems mean that you would visit total strangers but ignore your old grandma Eunice and grandpa Joseph. I mean, they're old! All their friends are dying and they can barely walk, the least you could do is call...

Well, if you would like to be more empathetic to the pain a grandparent feels when their grandchildren cheat on them by visiting other elderly people, you might want to watch the Crimson Dance Team's spring performance "CDTV" this weekend. According to the Crimson, the performance includes "an emotionally intense lyrical duet on the theme of cheating on a loved one". Maybe you can invite grandma too. I'm sure she would appreciate the gesture.

Response: Critical Review 3 AAAS 193x

“Jakes is also a fat man that no one wants to touch in the private. This is a disadvantage for him in an economy where sexual promiscuity is highly valued and the need to have various partners touch the nether regions provides an invaluable social currency, a social currency that can be exchanged for bigger and better booty and increased access to elite social and professional networks. It is in Jakes' advantage that his profession shields him from some of the demand being touched in the private warrants in similar industries including entertainment and media.”