Stick Figure World

I’ve given this a lot of thought lately, and while it might make me seem really old (I am!), there were good and bad things about growing up when I did.

Do you remember when MTV played music videos?  I loved watching 120 Minutes, Headbanger’s Ball and Alternative Nation.  I remember thinking The Real World was kind of neat during season 2, and then it all became a blur and next thing I knew VH1 was the music channel and suddenly it was all Behind the Music shows and now there’s some crap on the television where things I used to like were.

I remember back when the History Channel actually had shows about history.  You know, real things that happened back in the past (Also known as history!) that made perfect sense.  Now all I hear on that channel is “Ancient Astronaut Theorists predict…”  No!  Ancient Astronaut Theorist isn’t an actual title.   You can’t get a Ph.D in Ancient Astronaut Theory.  It’s a fancy term for “we know how it was done thanks to records, but it’s more fun to make it look like aliens built the pyramids and it’s easier to stretch out into a 47 minute show.”

I was a terrible child, but holy crap, if I’d had the technology we have now, I’d be dead.  In middle school (Back in the early 90’s!) I was able to skip almost an entire year of school with four friends that lived close to me and phones with cords I had to talk on near my family.  Cell phone back then?  Holy hell, I would have done so many worse things than I did!

When I was doing a search for International Women’s Day, one of the first pages that came up was Yahoo Answers asking why there isn’t a men’s day.

Being born with a penis is not an accomplishment. Neither is being born with a vagina. I’d argue being born with both is, but not something a person can control.

So why don’t we have a day for men? We do. Father’s Day. Yes there is a Mother’s Day as well, but being a good dad is an actual accomplishment people should feel proud of.

Again, a penis is not an accomplishment. Nor is what you do with it.

Have you ever wondered if you were in a healthy relationship with your significant other?  Here is a handy guide to healthy versus harmful.

Healthy:  You have a cute story to share with friends about how you met.

Harmful:  You can ever start a serious sentence with “the first time she/he ever hit me…”

Healthy:

My best friend died today.  It’s hard to put into words what he meant to me.  In high school we had a band together and we enjoyed the same music.  We wrote songs together and decided which songs we would cover based on what we knew how to play, or wanted to learn to play.

Leo inspired me as a musician.  I have a few songs that we recorded together, but nothing we wrote together.  The memories of those will have to be enough until I can find them again.

Here is Smashing Pumpkins – Mayonnaise, one of the first songs we bonded over.  He played the main guitar lick while I played the lead.

The only song I have of him singing is 10 Things I Hate About You.  That’s him playing the guitar, including the solo and singing “on that fucking phone.”  His brother played bass on it.

Danny inspired me to go back to college.  If it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t be where I am now.  I’m not sure where I’d be.  The first year I went back to college we had dinner almost every Monday night after our respective classes got out.

Danny was an amazing cook.  My grill will never be the same without him.

May you forever be at peace now.

I’ve spent the past few nights thinking and dreaming about work.  I dream that things have changed there and I no longer feel like I fit in.

I’ve been catching up on my Sons of Anarchy watching lately, just in time for the final season starting next week. After watching the episode Sweet and Vaded in season six, I’ve decided my favorite character on the show is Venus. They portray her well and the writing was powerful. Can’t wait to see her in the final season.

No woman needs a man to make a baby. They let us come along out of the goodness of their hearts!

I don’t talk much about religion except to argue about it with people. Ask my friends or family what my religion is and they will either say “atheist” or non-religious.

But I do have religion.

Hi again. I have a few more ideas for when I become governor of Texas.

I’ve mentioned legalizing weed and prostitution. Now let’s talk about education reform.

First off, schooling is currently boring as shit. No one wants to go. Teachers, students, janitors, bus drivers. No one. We currently teach to pass tests that don’t actually mean anything once you finish school. That’s stupid.

Let teachers teach what they want to teach, let students learn what interests them and all the while aim them towards possible careers.

Grades 1-5 should be basics. Introduction to life, reading, writing, winning, losing. Introduction to music, art, drama. No more everyone participates and no one loses. That isn’t real life and it sets kids up for frustration when they do lose. Life isn’t all about winning, so don’t pretend they’ll be fine the whole time.

Grades 6-8 will be more specialized, where students can start to explore subjects that interest them. They still take basics in English, Science, Math and history, but there is also time for introductions to criminal justice, education, nursing. A taste of the possibilities that the future holds.

High school will be training for college. You take the rest of your basics and start focusing on your interests. You want to teach? Take classes on education, get practice in a third grade classroom as a teachers aide. Interning offers a good glimpse into what the actual job you want entails and if it’s truly something you want to do.

Volunteering with different non profit organizations will be offered. Find out if a student has a knack for counseling, advocating or just comforting.

We will add drivers education back into the curriculum, as a Sophomore or Junior level class. Everyone has to take it. Everyone will be driving, so make sure they learn all the actual rules.

Senior year will be aimed more towards furthering your education or moving on as a productive member of society.

I’m leaving out a lot. This is just a quick blueprint. I have ideas towards paying for college degrees for signing teaching contracts, or contracts with the city. I’ll get into that all later!