Suggestion Saturday: July 6, 2013

Here is this week’s list of blog posts, reviews, paintings, poems, and other tidbits from my favourite corners of the web.

My Proposal for a Bill Banning Male Masturbation. A satirical look at what might happen if men in the U.S. were treated the way certain states (Texas, Ohio) are treating women right now. Possibly NSFW.

Bigotry. The world is changing rapidly. I wonder what it will look like in 50 years?

It’s All About One’s Mood. Take a good look at this painting before scrolling down to read the artist’s comments. What emotions do you read in the subject’s body language?

You Just Broke Your Child. Congratulations via Danoah. This blog post is about parenting, but I’d argue that something similar could be said about our relationships with everyone in our lives. Emotionally destroying people is never ok. We all have bad days, of course. It’s part of being human. I completely understand feeling frustrated, but if (general) you are this mean-spirited and callous in public I can only assume your behaviour is a thousand times worse behind closed doors.

From Night Owl via SufiJohn:

Andrew, even as a young man,

leaves on his bedroom light;

brightly artificial
with an open door.

What About the “B” in “LGBT”? So I have a theory about the folks who say the ridiculous things this blogger is talking about: they do it to everyone because they think their way is the only one.

  • Are you single? You better find someone fast before all the good ones are taken.
  • Are you gay or lesbian? You came out too early/late/quietly/proudly.
  • Are you married?  Hasn’t anyone ever told you that interracial/interfaith/May-December/binational relationships never work out? Not to mention the fact that you got married too young/old/soon/late in a ceremony that wast too big/small/secular/religious.
  • Do you have a kid? You’re conceiving/birthing/feeding/educating/disciplining them incorrectly.

Yes, it’s incredibly annoying and hurtful…but I strongly suspect that this is a case of a vocal minority making the rest of us feel weird for not doing things the “right” way. Most people don’t agree with them, though.

From In Which I Real-Time Review ‘Katy Perry: Part of Me” via VampireNomad:

The background of Katy’s life growing up immersed in Christianity is both strange and understandable.  I can identify with the total immersion though she had a much more intense time of it than I did.  Her parents, traveling evangelical preachers, come off as theatrical.  With that charlatan edge that gives so many preachers a bad name.  And perhaps they are charlatans.  Or perhaps they aren’t.  But any upbringing with any sort of strict boundaries or full religious flavor will seem highly unorthodox alongside the pastel boobs-and-froth hype of Katy’s public persona.  She has voluntarily made overexposure, coy revelations, and sugary teasing a normal way of life so the juxtaposition will be striking.  She is very like many pastor’s kids I have known: talented and shackled with moral restrictions that they wriggle free of with wild acting out.  The everyday rigors of growing up are both exacerbated and ignored by the religion so the rebellion is exaggerated when it happens.  Katy is exactly a product of her upbringing.


As anyone who has ever made Tear Soup knows, grieving is hard, lonely work.

This book describes how it’s done and what friends and family members can do to help. I loved the authors’ playful use of metaphor to get their message across. While god is mentioned, religion is not the focus of the healing process in this fable. You can be part of any faith (or none at all) and still put the principles of this book into place when you or someone you know is grieving.

What have you been reading?

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0 Responses to Suggestion Saturday: July 6, 2013

  1. sometimesmagical

    Thanks for linking to my blog. 🙂

  2. tammy

    I can hardly read the one about breaking your child … as good as the article is. its increasingly difficult for me to think about abuse. its so horrible.

    Once again … great links.

  3. jesse

    I usually don’t say much about your posts but rather quietly enjoy them….you are one of two writers that I habitually follow. Love ya lil sister!

  4. jesse

    One more thing…I tend to abide by most laws the majority of the time. Although if my state would actually ‘ban masturbation’ I may have to change my ‘law abiding’ demeanor

  5. Zoe

    Without having read the artists thoughts, my first thought as I looked at that painting was that he looked relaxed. The kind of relaxed one feels when they are worn out and needing a moment to just sit down and stare at an object and get lost in it. Almost like he’s lost in the moment and it is such a relief to be lost at that moment.

    I think this says a lot about my mood. 🙂

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