Looking for a High School?

If you are in Escondido, looking for a high school to enroll in, or you know someone else who is, I have a recommendation: Escondido Charter High School. There is an excellent program there called the Individualized Learning Program. Instead of sitting in a classroom all day, students are given work to complete at home. They have a weekly meeting with a teacher to turn in their work. The ILP program is extremely flexible, which is perfect for students with busy lives. Students can take electives as classes with other students or in packets at home.

For information about ECHS, email clanting@echs.org. You can also visit the website: http://escondidocharter.org

ECHS is located on 1868 East Valley Parkway, Escondido, CA, 92027.

Disney Princesses and Today's Society

I seriously don't understand people's "logic" these days. It makes no sense. People will find any reason to bitch about characters in the media, calling them good or bad examples, and I think they go way too far. I'm going to use Disney Princesses as examples.

1. "There are too many blond princesses! That's racist!"

First of all, most of the Disney princesses are not naturally blond!! Cinderella and Anna had strawberry blond hair that was more orange than blond. Rapunzel and Elsa had blond hair because of their powers. Belle, Pocahontas, Jasmine, Megara, Mulan, and Tiana were all brunettes, and Ariel and Merida were redheads. Aurora was the only natural blonde, and maybe Elsa was a natural blonde. We don't know.

Secondly, having blond hair (and blue eyes) does not make someone racist! I'll admit, most people with blond hair and blue eyes are white; but not all white people have blond hair and blue eyes. I don't think many people find Belle or Ariel racist, but they're still white! They just don't see them as racist because they're not blond. Isn't that a little ridiculous? I'm not saying people SHOULD find them racist, and it's good they don't, but I think it's stupid that they find all the blond princesses racist.

Thirdly, it makes sense that most of the princesses would be white. Maybe it wasn't stated in the original fairytales that the princesses were all white, but I think it's safe to assume that. Also, the ones people really complain about--Elsa and Merida--pretty much HAD to be white because of where they lived. Think about it. They lived in Norway and Scotland, in the olden days. How many non-white people would there be there? Very few or none.

Fourthly, maybe there aren't that many ethnic princesses, but they represent a wide variety of races and cultures. There's a Native American princess, an Arabic princess, a Chinese princess, an African American princess, and even a Scottish princess. A lot of peoples are being represented. I have the feeling that if there were an equal amount of black princesses and white princesses, but ONLY black princesses and white princesses, people wouldn't find THAT racist, but it's MORE racist because it excludes several races and cultures.

Fifthly, adding nonwhite people just for the sake of adding them is racist, just as racist as not adding them at all. Tiana is a token black. She was added just because people these days NEED black characters to appear non-racist. That's the only reason. Her story didn't have to be set in New Orleans, or happen to a black character. It could have happened anywhere, to anyone, but Disney set it in New Orleans so it would make sense to have a black character. I call that tokenism.

2. "The Disney princesses are too thin! That's a BAD example for girls! There should be a fat princess!"

The little kids who watch Disney movies don't care about their weight! (They don't care about race, either, for that matter.) Only insecure teenagers care, and if they're going to feel bad because they don't look like Disney princesses, they're kind of messed up. Also, how is it a "bad" example to be thin? Having a fat princess would be a worse example! People shouldn't be using Disney characters as role models, but they're going to anyway, so if there was a fat princess, people would just think, "Oh, it's okay to let myself go and get fat!" Do we really need more obesity in America? Do we? Do we? Maybe a princess without an hourglass figure would be okay, but do they need to be fat? Being sensitive to fat people and encouraging obesity are two very different things.

Someone on the Internet asked if they could SUE Disney for not having a fat princess. I find that completely stupid and unjustified. Yeah, people can sue for any reason nowadays, but that is really, REALLY stupid. How did that person think they would possibly win that lawsuit?

3. "The Disney princesses are anti-feminist! They just fall in love and have no ambition!"

Falling in love is not anti-feminist! I think falling in love with someone you don't know is STUPID, I'll say that. A lot of the princesses were really, really stupid. But that doesn't mean they're anti-feminist. Also, the princes were just as stupid, if not more so. They, too, fell in love with people they didn't know. Phillip, Princess Aurora's prince, just heard her singing and decided to dance with her. At least she had the sense to be freaked out and run away from him. And Snow White's prince thought she was DEAD, and he still kissed her? He conveniently happened to be riding past her coffin and thought, "I know her, I sang with her once. I'll go kiss her." He didn't even know how she died. Yuck. Just yuck.

People like to say Tiana is a good role model. Yes, she had a job, and a goal in life besides marriage. But she was willing to give it all up for Naveen. How is that NOT anti-feminist? Giving up your dreams for a man is probably worse than not having dreams at all. And I don't see how Merida is feminist either. She was a brat and a tomboy, so naturally, everyone thinks she's a good example for kids, but that just makes no sense to me. Parents like her and see her as a role model for their kids, but if I was a parent, I would be horrified. Why would any parent want their kids to see Merida's behavior and think it's acceptable? Defying your parents' rules and turning your parents into animals are good things to teach your kids? I'll admit, Queen Elinor's rules were kind of stupid, but it was proper for the time. And kids will try to use her behavior to defy ALL their parents' rules, even ones that are there for a good reason.

In conclusion, many of the princesses are blond and white for a reason. Kids really don't care. And falling in love doesn't make you anti-feminist. As a final thought, just remember, most of the princesses were growing up in times when women couldn't have jobs. Staying home and cleaning is what they were supposed to do. And the ones who were actually princesses wouldn't have jobs, anyway.

Things I Like

I am aware that I mostly use this blog to complain about stuff. I know I probably seem like an unlikable turd sometimes, and if you think that, that's okay. I don't like people who complain a lot, either. I just don't have that much to blog about, really, except my dislikes. I don't travel or go to exciting places, and I just find it kind of pointless to gush on and on about things that I like. There are things that I like, in case you didn't know. I could make a whole list of them right now. I just won't go into great detail. Obviously, I can't put everything I like into a short list. These are just a few things, in no particular order.

• My family and friends
• Books (real books. Kindles are okay,  but I prefer books.)
• Writing (stories and songs)
• Maps (I don't like making them, but I find looking at maps interesting).
• Playing piano
• The Fourth of July
• Christmas (not just because of presents, and not because of religion. I just like it. Everything is so cheery, and my personal traditions make it special to me.)
• Some kinds of chocolate (some taste like crap, but I won't go into that right now)
• History
• Astronomy
• Video games
• Root beer
• Antiques
• South Park
• Cheesecake

I could add more, but I think I've made my point. I'm not a robot designed just to hate everything (no one ever said that. I'm just saying). I'm just like other people. I have things that I actually like, even if I don't talk about them much.

The End of Summer/The Beginning of Fall

Tomorrow is the first day of fall. Finally, finally, FINALLY! I hate summer! I know most people like it because school is out, but I have school year-round, and anyway, school's not so bad. Anyway, summer just plain sucks ass! It's so bloody hot, and there's nothing to do. Well, there's plenty to do, but the heat just saps the life out of people, so they don't feel like doing anything. I don't like swimming, so all I do is sit and wish I lived in Alaska. Seriously, I imagine summers are much better there. I know people in Alaska get SAD because of the wintery weather all year, but I think it would be fine in summer. I wouldn't live there all year, but the summers there are probably nice.

Also, I just like fall better than summer, not just because I hate summer. Fall is the best season. We have weather that's not horribly cold, but it's cool and fresh. I don't mind setting the clocks back an hour. Some people really mind, for some reason, but not me. I don't mind shorter days. I think changing the time at all is kind of stupid, and we should stop this spring-forward-fall-back nonsense, and just never go onto Daylight Savings Time. Really, what do we need it for nowadays?

In fall, we have Halloween (I don't trick-or-treat anymore, but I still like Halloween), Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Those are all nice holidays. The only memorable holiday in summer is the Fourth of July. Not that it's not a nice holiday, it is, but it's the only good one in summer. So, yeah. I think fall is a better season, because summer is just crappy, because it's so hot and no one gets anything done, and fall has nice weather and nice holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The World is Full of Morons

As the title indicates, I think the world is full of ignorant assholes. I know one person who is probably the dumbest, crappiest person in the world, and she doesn't even see it. She thinks she's the greatest person ever. Everyone else around her hates her, and when anyone mentions her faults, she cries and says everyone is jumping on her. She is so fucking unintelligent and useless. She feels that everyone should naturally love her and give her everything she wants. She believes everyone shares her opinions, and she is genuinely surprised and horrified when they don't. She has not been diagnosed as bipolar, but she has a temper that flares up and then goes away. She lashes out at everybody and screams at them, then cries for herself, calms down, and expects it all to be over. She doesn't think about how her words affect people. She just thinks, "I'm over it, so everything's good! They couldn't hold a grudge against ME!" She sort of apologizes, but her apologies are never sincere. She obviously doesn't think she's done anything wrong. She just apologizes so no one will be upset with her. Later, she usually doesn't remember the shit she's done, and she says she's blocked it out because it was "traumatic" for her. Sure, she gets angry over stupid crap, then hurts other people's feelings and gets over it. That's soooooooooooo traumatic.

She can never admit her mistakes, and she always blames other people for stuff she's done. Once I said she was a bully and picked on people, and she just said, "Why didn't you tell me before?" like that was the reason she bullied people in the first place. She's a narcissistic hypocrite. She thinks that just because she's older and closer to death than I am, she is better than me and has more of a right to voice her opinion, which simply isn't true. I have the right to my opinions. Usually, I never ask for hers, and she gives it to me anyway, because she truly thinks I give a fuck.

This bitch and I both have the same goal in life, to become an author. I am young and have been writing for most of my life, and I feel I'm getting closer to publishing a book. She is sixty years old and has spent so much of her life sitting on her ass not even making an attempt to chase her dream. When she was in one of her fits of rage, she screamed at me that I could never become a writer, that I am wasting my time trying. At least I'm actually trying. She is jealous that other people support my dream, and that I'm actually working toward my goals. She wasted years not doing anything, and she's pissed at me for it, although it was her fault she never accomplished anything. It doesn't make any sense to get mad at me, since most of the wasted years went by before I was even born. She probably thinks her children are the reason she didn't write, but that's bullshit. Writing is one of the few jobs you can do while raising a family, so this is not a good excuse. She is just a housewife, although she went to college and got a degree and everything. Whenever I mention I want to do great things with my life, she gets mad because she never did shit with her life. Okay, I'm probably done bitching now. You probably think I'm exaggerating her horribleness, but I am not. She is an unbearable fucktard, and if she read this, she'd have absolutely no idea who I was talking about. I know there are lots and lots of people out there like her, and it pisses me off!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Even More on Animal Cruelty

I know I talk about animal cruelty a LOT, but it's a serious subject that has to be addressed. It pisses me off like Hell. Why do people get enjoyment out of hurting innocent animals? How is that possible? How can people be so twisted and horrible? It just doesn't make sense!!!!!!!!! The animals always believe they did something bad, so they try to improve, but they still get beaten by their stupid asshole owners. They don't deserve that. Why do evil people like that adopt animals in the first place? I know not all animal abusers buy pets with the intention of harming them, but it doesn't matter, since they end up doing it anyway. Some pets are chained up behind barbed-wire fences with little or no food or water. Some are beaten to death. Some probably die of loneliness. No, I'm not being over-dramatic when I say that. Some of them probably actually do. Some animals are taken in by well-meaning but neglectful owners, and they starve to death or die of loneliness, like I said before. Their owners just forget to feed them or give them water or let them out of their crates. That's not as bad as people who abuse animals on purpose, but the end result is the same. The animals, through no fault of their own, die a painful death, and the abusers get away scot-free.

Some pets, once their owners no longer consider them useful, are thrown out of cars, or locked away, out of their owners' sights, or even shot! Why can't their owners give them away to good, kind people who would care for them?

Why does God make such sick, compassion-less people? How can they hear their animals crying in pain without feeling even a little bit of guilt? How do they NOT see themselves as monsters? Do they actually believe that they're doing the right thing by kicking and whipping and bruising their pets? Does it give them pleasure, seeing their animals cower in pain and fear? Well, I believe all dogs (and other animals) do go to Heaven, or the Rainbow Bridge, or the animal equivalent of Heaven, and all animal abusers go to Hell to rot for eternity. Even then, they probably don't feel sorry for anyone but themselves, but at least they get punished in the afterlife. They hardly get punished at all in this world, and that's what really pisses me off. We should have stricter punishments for people who abuse animals. I know they have to pay fines and serve a little jail time and stuff, but I think they should be punished much more harshly. If they neglect or beat an animal to death, they should be put in jail for life, with no hope of getting out on parole. They should never be allowed to have another pet again, for as long as they live.

I'm sure you learned nothing new from this post, since I pretty much just repeated what I said in my other two posts, but I'm still glad I got to put my thoughts out there yet again, even if no one asked to hear them.

The Tornadoes in Oklahoma

A few days ago, Oklahoma was struck by a horrible tornado. It was estimated to be 2 miles wide and had winds over 200 miles per hour. Entire neighborhoods were destroyed, buildings were flattened, and 24 people have been confirmed dead. At least 7 of them were schoolchildren. Most of the survivors are now homeless, their most precious possessions ruined by the tornado.

I want to offer my sincere sympathy and sorrow to the people who lost their homes and their loved ones. People are already starting to rebuild their houses and businesses, and organizations such as the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army are helping them by providing food and medical care. You can help, too, by donating to one of the following organizations:

The Red Cross

The Salvation Army

AmeriCares

Operation USA

Save the Children