PG-13

First off, this blog is not about porn so hang with me here. Are you against pornography? You probably are, I know that I am anti-porn. Pornography takes women and turns them into objects. They cease to be people made in the image of God and instead become a means to satisfy primal, sinful, urges. They become a piece of meat. I'm sure that you would agree with my saying that that is wrong. Since we can both agree on that, lets shift gears a bit into everyones favorite subject, music. Because I lack knowledge in the area of todays popular music I will just focus on one artist, Soulja Boy. If you like Soulja Boy, don't stop reading in an effort to avoid the impending sense of guilt that you know will follow the reading of this blog. With songs with names like "Booty Meat" its not hard to see how DeAndre Way (Soulja Boy) views women. Its hard to be more blatantly disrespectful to women than to refer to them as Booty Meat. My favorite song by Mr. Way, however, would have to be Crank That Soulja Boy. Crank That Soulja Boy has a snappy beat and a dance to go along with it. How could a song with such great redeeming qualities be anything but innocent? I've seen many a 8 year old who knows the dance. I guess its too bad that its lyrics include lines like "Then I'm Cocking On Your B***h," "I'm Jocking On Yo B***h A**"and of course the classic line, "Superman Dat Hoe." Those songs share that same view on women as any porn magazine. Women are meat. Are you anti-porn but pro Soulja Boy? Can someone say hypocrite?

Under the Bridge

Boxcar Billy and Dogs and Wolfs, a crudely spray painted memorial under the viaduct. They tell me that Boxcar Billy froze to death last winter. It was cold out today too. I soon wished that I had worn a heavier coat. I had followed a group of church folks as they caravaned to an obscure space just outside of the city. Down the dead end street, past the meat shop, over the gravel and mud, through the flood gate and under the bridge. Their camp over looked the railroad tracks. As I gazed downward, I was told that Jeff had caught his leg in those very tracks just last week. He was still in the hospital, he lost both his legs. Thankfully he somehow avoided having need of his own spray painted sepulcher. There was a lot of spray paint. Elie read one of the many slogans tagged on the concrete walls. Her sister was quick to tell on her. It was bad word but at least she was reading. Someone brought out the turkey. It was still nice and hot. There was plenty of food so I'm glad that I didn't eat lunch. We stood around the fire warming our hands, eating, talking, and listing to the game on a tiny battery powered radio. I didn't know most of the people there and for a moment, an unusual moment, I couldn't figure out who was with the church and who was homeless. They were all people, the kind that God loves , complete with addictions, hang ups, flaws and failures. They were people, beautiful people.

The Email (whats wrong with it?)

There are many problems plaguing the world of internet messaging. There are of course your everyday perverts, stalkers, and spammers. The most problematic issue associated with text based messaging systems, however, is the inability to hear fluctuations in a persons voice. Have you ever gotten a message from someone and then wandered if they were being facetious. The beautiful language of sarcasm is often lost in emails due to the lack of tone. Even though you meant your statement of, "Wow, nice picture." to be an insult they in turn took it as a compliment because the inability to discern the fluctuations in your voice. Unfortunate misunderstandings like these happen everyday due to this serious issue. There are a few internet tools put into place in a lame attempt to nullify this problem. You have your standard lol to show laughter and there are the emoticons. These systems are juvenile and low tech. My proposition is this, 4 new keys on the standard keyboard. These keys will be Red, Blue, Green, and Purple. These will be toggle keys like ctrl, shift, and alt. Red will express anger, Blue sadness, Green sarcasm and Purple joy. Problem solved.

My Ever so Controversial Christmas Blog

"It was a let down. I was in second grade and had suspected there was a cover up for a while. The creepy thing was, I told my mother I knew there was no Santa and she got this peeved look in her eye and said, "Children who don't believe in Santa don't get Christmas gifts". I was stunned. So, I said, "I guess I believe then". With that bit of creepiness, I went on to pretend to believe in Santa for years. Strangest part is that she responded similarly when I stopped being Christian." - Yahoo Answers User Glee

I posed the following question on Yahoo Answers "Santa isn't Real - What was your initial reaction?". I had a combined 57 answers, some serious and some not so much. There were some who said it had no affect on them along with others who became upset because their parents had lied to them. The most disturbing of the answers though, were those who in turn doubted the existence of God. This may seem like a leap in logic to a lot of people but you must remember that we are dealing with children here. Here is a list of similarities that I came up with between believing in Santa and believing in God from a child perspective.

SANTA
If I don't believe in Santa I won't get presents.
GOD
If I don't believe in God I won't go to heaven

SANTA
I've never seen Santa give me presents
GOD
I've never seen God.

SANTA
Santa visit millions of houses in one night. You can't understand it but its true.
GOD
God is everywhere at once. You can't understand its true.

SANTA
People who tell children that Santa isn't real are bad people
GOD
People who tell children that God isn't real are bad people..

SANTA
My parents and friends told me that Santa was real and now I know that they weren't telling the truth.
GOD
My parents and friends told me that God was real but now I know that they weren't telling the truth.

Granted not every kid who is told about Santa grows up to doubt the existence of God. What you have to ask yourself though, putting the moral dilima of lying aside, is it worth it? Here is one more quick story from the answer board.


I can't remember how old I was (probably around 8). I remember I was obsessing about getting my Christmas list done so I could give it to Santa. I was trying to find good paper for it and I was probably annoying my parents to no end. I remember getting a slip of wrapping paper and announcing that I was about to write my list.

That's when my dad told me to come to him. He said that they made up Santa Clause and that he wasn't real. I was devastated. I really did believe in him with all my little heart. It felt like the magic of Christmas shattered before my very eyes. He said that all parents tell their kids the same story. I asked why they would do such a mean thing- to make them believe in something and then tell them it isn't true. He said that it was so parents could give gifts to their children without taking the credit for giving them. I understood that side of the arguement, but I was angry and heartbroken that parents would put their children through that. I asked him why he told me and he said it was because I was old enough to know.

After that, I didn't want to write my list. He told me to do it, though, and so like a good little girl I obeyed. However, the list seemed to be significantly less important to me that year.

It never occurred to me to question the existence of God right then and there, but I did wonder about it later. I mean, if they lied to me about one man doing miraculous things, why wouldn't a supernatural, all-seeing, all-knowing being be a lie as well?

I know it seems nothing, but I really did believe in Santa with every fiber of my being, and that experience was absolutely unforgettable. Since then, I have vowed never to tell my children about him- or at least I would say that it's just a story from the very beginning. Strangely enough, I haven't changed my mind all these years.