Have you heard about this Marriage Vow pact that an organization in Iowa is asking Republican presidential candidates to sign? It contains the usual stuff about remaining faithful to your spouse and doing everything in your power to block all sorts of unions that don't fit the "one man, one woman" mold.

That isn't the controversial part though, this is:

Slavery had a disastrous impact on African-American families, yet sadly a child born into slavery in 1860 was more likely to be raised by his mother and father in a two-parent household than was an African- American baby born after the election of the USA‟s first African-American President

It seems to be indicating that an African-American child born into slavery had a more stable home life than one born in the last 3 years.

What a horrible thing to say! The majority of the controversy, from what I've heard, revolves around the reference to slavery. While that's terrible, it totally ignores the fact that it is entirely misleading. The same statement would be true during any presidential administration since the 1960s, not just the Obama administration. (The article being referenced was written in 2005, years before Obama was elected) It would also be true of pretty much any race in the U.S.A. A white child, Asian, Indian, etc. were all more likely to be raised in a two-parent household in 1860 than in the last 50 years.

I'll give you two guesses as to which candidates did sign.

Of course it was Santorum and Bachman. Both signed the pledge before the above-mentioned passage was removed.

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The Way it Should Be

I left my Fortress of Solitude this morning at 9:30ish. My cat-minions needed food (they go through it like it's food or something1). I got into Pet Smart just a few minutes after it opened at 10am. The place was a busy as I had ever seen it! Who knew Sunday morning was the time to do all your pet shopping?

Anyway, when I got into line, there was one guy checking out, two guys waiting in line in front of me, then two women after me. The cashier called for a "backup cashier". Now, in my experience, when the additional cashier shows up, the line generally breaks in half and moves over to the second register, maintaining the original line-up.

Before we got a chance to do that, in fact, before the new teller even showed up, the last lady in line hops right over to the second register! I thought that was fairly bold, but I didn't mind too much because now there was just one guy checking out and another in front of me. I knew I didn't have long to wait.

The line hopper then has the nerve to interrupt my cashier as she's finishing up with a transaction to ask her if she can call the additional person again (because the line-hopper has "some place to be"). My cashier does, then up goes the guy in front of me. He has some sort of fish issue and is sent to the fish department. So I'm up! And the new cashier still hasn't showed! By the time I'm out of there, the new cashier is checking the woman out. She probably didn't even make it out of there before the woman behind me. I know it isn't kind, but I couldn't help but have a smile on my face as I walked out of the shop.

Red Line Hero

No, I didn't stand up to a flash mob on the train today. What I did was so much better.

About 4 stops from home, a couple and their young child got on the train. As they sat down, the mother next to me facing forward and the father holding the child on the other side of the aisle facing backwards, the little boy began to scream and sob.

I'm not good a guessing age, but I think he must have been around 3 years old. The screaming went on and on until we reached the next stops while Mom and Dad tried to calm him down. I figured he must be terrified of the train. Finally, as we got moving again, I understood the problem. The kid wanted to be by a window, not seated in the aisle! Having a window seat myself, the power to give it away, and an intense disdain for ill-behaved children, I offered my seat to the mom. Rather than gratefully accepting, she said "I don't want you to have to do that" (of course, she moved her legs so I could get up). I told her I was off in two stops and the father said "she probably just doesn't want to hear him screaming anymore." Right on the nose, Papa Bear.

Once the family was re-configured according to their little brat's desires, he shut up, thank God. In my head I imagined all the other passengers applauding my actions (that didn't happen in reality, but it would not have been out of place in this situation). My good deed for the day is now accomplished, but I sure hope those people spare the rest of the world the ear-peircing shrieks of their child in the future.

What Would Lisbeth Do?

The trailer and poster for the American version of The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo have been released with quite a bit of fanfare. In the trailer, the cast looks good, the mood seems appropriate, but there is absolutely no dialogue and the accompanying music seems a questionable choice.

It is more of a teaser, I guess, than a trailer. I just find it strange. What is stranger, however is the movie poster

What is up with this? I read that you can actually visit the movie's website and enter your age and see the picture without Daniel Craig's arm covering Rooney Mara's breasts. Really? That's necessary? Isn't the objectification of women exactly what these books didn't do? I feel like if Lisbeth Salander was a real person, she would find a way to hack into the computers of the people who log in to view the topless photo. I don't think there is anything really wrong with it (I assume the movie will show a lot of nakedness) it is just so seedy.

Maybe this is just sour grapes...why is Rooney topless, but Daniel's amazing torso is covered in at least two layers of clothing?

Someday

This is the most awful thing I have seen in ages. Seriously, I don't think it could be more ridiculous if it were actually planned as a joke. Don't look away.

Baba's Got a Brand New Bag!

My BFF's brother just opened a screen-printing shop in Oakland California. It is super exciting and I really hope he and his partner have great success. They have a blog and I saw a nice canvas bag that I could order.

Johnny was the oldest kid in the neighborhood, even so he would often play our games and come to our parties (usually dressed as the scariest monster so my little brother was too frightened to come downstairs). Things changed when he got his first set of wheels, a skateboard. His freedom was absolute and he wasn't around any more to play "bumper cars" and eat the sweet william (and have to puke it up afterwards).

As we got older, his pants got wider until the point when I'm pretty sure my friend and I could have fit in together, one in each leg! He got piercings and his hair and sideburns got longer, but he still said "hello" to my parents in public so we knew he was still a good kid.

I haven't seen him in years, but I can only imagine that Johnny has remained a good kid. I wish him the best of luck as an entrepreneur.

Oh yeah, and I LOVE my new bag!

It even came with some bonus stickers

Howl

I am not a poetry fan. I don't really care to try and winkle out the meaning of a string of seemingly unrelated words and phrases. I know all poetry isn't like that. Some is very straightforward, but I typically don't care for that either. I guess I just prefer a narrative story in prose. I do consider this to be a shortcoming of mine, but I can't help myself.

Every once in a while, I will see or hear something that piques my interest in a poet. Usually it is a movie about the writer. I liked the movie Bright Star about John Keats, and Edge of Love (which was really less about Dylan Thomas than it was about the two women he loved). These movies were entertaining and interesting, but they were much more about the poet than the poetry.

The same cannot be said about Howl. In fact, this is truly a movie about a poem and the controversy its publication created. James Franco plays Allen Ginsberg and the film flashes between interviews with Ginsberg, portions of the obscenity trial, and a reading of the poem with animation. I've never seen anything like it.