Silencing Speak?

Mood: Irritated (banned and challenged books do that to me)

On Tv: COPS (hoping to see someone tazed - sweet, I swear, someone totally just got tazed!)

I have never read this book:


Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is a book for young adults that deals with very real but very difficult and uncomfortable young adult topics. Like drinking. Like parties. Like Rape. Like a young woman who feels she has to remain silent about what has happened to her. In other words, it contains uncomfortable and difficult young adult topics faced by nearly every teenager at every high school in America today. 

Unfortunately, this has prompted some dissent from people  like Wesley Scroggins. Who has decided to protest its inclusion in school curriculum (certainly his right) but he protests its inclusion by calling it "filthy" and "soft core porn" and then calling into question the Christian morality of the school board, teachers and parents that allow such immoral reading material to be put into the hands of our nation's teenagers. 

Really? Really Mr. Scroggins? First, rape is not porn. It's a horrible act of violence. And it happens whether someone is moral or not. Whether they're Christian or not. And when it happens it leaves the victim feeling alone, broken, traumatized and terrified. Just like the character in the book. And just like the character in the book so many of those who are victimized will be afraid and embarrassed and, because of that, they will choose to live with their shame instead of allowing the shame to rest where it should - with the perpetrator of the crime. 

Uncomfortable or not, these are issues we need to discuss with our young people and, whether you use it as a talking point with your teen or if they see themselves in the book and feel empowered enough by it to come to you, books like Speak can be an incredibly effective way to open that oftentimes difficult path of parent - teen communication. 

While I strongly acknowledge a parent's right and responsibility to monitor their children's reading material for content and age appropriateness, no one has the right to decide what I will and will not allow my children to read nor what I will read myself.  

So, I said at the beginning of this post that I have never read Speak. However, I will. And if I don't like it? I will opt not to read it again. If I don't think it's appropriate for teens? I won't allow teens in my care to read it. But if you want your teen to read it because you think it will be a powerful teaching tool? I will give you my copy! 

Hello Universe, What Did I do To Piss You Off Today?

Mood: Excited (my sister is in labor w/ her 6th child...but she tends to labor for a long time and the baby isn't engaging the way he/she should so it's going to be a long process)

What I'm Watching: TMZ (Harvey totally rocks! *I'm a lawyer*)

This morning we slowly began to dig ourselves out after the snowpocalpyse. While things didn't get nearly as bad as the weathermen predicted they would, we got enough snow, ice and wind to make going outdoors miserable at best. Which is why this was the worst possible morning for the hubs to decide to take off to his job with my car keys in his coat pocket. I asked him to be sure that he didn't have my keys...he assured me he didn't. He was wrong. Mental note to me: don't take hubs word for it...check for yourself!

He works in a town 35 minutes away so bringing the keys to me was not an option. So, I ended up walking to work. Normally this would not be a huge deal. Annoying yes (especially since this is not the first time he's done this), but we don't live that far from my office. However. The path to work? Doesn't really have sidewalks and the grass is currently covered with snow drifts up to my knees.

The snow drifts were bad enough but they hid a layer of pure ice and made it impossible to tell where curbs and ankle twisting dips in the turf were until it was too late. By too late, of course, I mean I fell. A couple of times. Full on face first into the snow in front of God and all creation. By the time I got to work, I was exhausted, out of breath, in pain with wet socks and a purse full of snow. It was noon before I regained the feeling in my frozen feet and legs.

The hubs? Is currently in the doghouse.

In other, happier, news:

Anne over at Anne Riley and Kelly over at Rants, Observations and Other Remarks have both seen fit to award me the Honest Scrap Award! Now, I know I already have that award but there's a tiny little part of me that still goes "Squeeeeeeee!!!" when I get an award. After all, I've not gotten this award from those super bloggers before! Seriously you should totally check out their blogs. Really. Go.

According to the rules of this award, I'm to list 10 honest facts about myself. I've already done this when I accepted the award the first time but, since two more people have seen fit to give me this award, I've decided to give 10 more honest facts about me.

More things you never wanted to know about me:

1.) I suffer from road rage. Seriously. It's horrible. I get behind the wheel of a car and suddenly no one on the road knows how to drive except me. Luckily my rage is confined to yelling w/ the windows rolled up.

2.) I think that faith is far more important than religion.

3.) I'm terrified to fly. Well, it's not so much the flying as the flying and then suddenly not flying anymore that scares me.

4.) I pride myself on being a strong person and being able to take care of myself. This sometimes causes me to appear stubborn and makes it difficult for me to accept help.

5.) My dad beat feet when I was just an infant. I wouldn't know him if he walked up to me right now.

6.) Most of the rest of my family of origin recently converted to Mormonism. I'm okay with their choice but I don't think that they're okay with my choice to remain non-Mormon.

7.) I suffer from OCD. Not in the 'constantly wash your hands' or 'sparkly clean house' sense but in the "obsessive thoughts" sense. Which basically means that I have obsessive, worrisome thoughts without the bonus of having a perfectly clean house.

8.) I can crochet but not knit.

9.) I have an absolutely horrible sense of time. It drives the hubs nuts because I always say "the other day" and it could have been two days, two weeks, two months or two years ago.

10.) I prefer dark chocolate. Really, the darker the better.

The Power of the 'Y' Chromosome

Mood: Relieved (It's Friday and my super great boss is back from his sabbatical. YAY!)

What I'm Watching: Cash Cab (Its time for a RED.LIGHT.CHALLENGE! Seriously, I'm frightened by the amount of useless trivia crammed into my tiny little brain.)

I know that men and women are biologically different. I took 8th grade biology and learned all about the bits and pieces the anatomy and the gene science behind it. What they fail to tell you during those classes are the true differences between men and women have very little to do with anatomy. Oh, sure, that 'y' chromosome is responsible for all kinds of "guy" traits like hairy chests, deeper voices and that annoying need to attempt to jump up and hit the tops of doorways and awnings, but really, it's also responsible for what I like to call the 'y' factor.

A prime example of this phenomenon occurred this morning as my loving husband was getting ready to depart for work. Like a 2009 incarnation of Donna Reed, I walk him to the door and wave as he's pulling out of his parking spot. Which, as it turns out, was quite a good thing since his back tire was completely pancake flat.

I flagged him down and pointed out the issue. Considering the fact that he works about 40 miles away and that, if he took time to change his tire, he would be late for work. I offered to let him take my car. I can walk to work as it's not terribly far from our home.

He refuses the offer. Why? Because his car has an "awesome" sound system and he wants to listen to his 'tunes' as he drives. *sigh* FINE. Besides, he says, changing a tire doesn't take that long.

1/2 an hour later, as I was attempting to lift the back end of his car, I was begging to differ with him. Turns out his jack is too big to fit under his car when said car has a completely flat tire. Unfortunately, as I'm not the Incredible Hulk, I was unable to lift the back end of the car a sufficient distance. Once again I offered to let him take my car. The answer? Still no.

Getting nowhere with his jack, I suggested that perhaps the jack in my car would work. Of course, getting at this jack required taking everything out of my trunk (no easy feat) so I once again made the offer of my car. Of couse, we all know the answer by now...don't know why I kept asking.

Luckily, my jack did work. Yay. Scott wrestled his tire off the car, we pulled the tiny spare donut type tire out of the trunk and installed it. When the car was let down, it was painfully obvious that this tiny tire was all but flat itself. Once again I reminded him that he was going to be VERY late for work and that maybe he should take my car. Nope. *Sigh*

He got air in the tire and set off on a 40 mile drive utilizing a tire that is rated not to allow speeds in excess of 50 MPH. And what does this genius do? He gets on the interstate where the speed limit is 65 MPH.

Yep. It's truly is the 'y' chromosome. As in "why do you have to be so stubborn?" and "why do you always have to do things the most difficult way possible?"

*Sigh* Really? I'm pretty sure I wouldn't get convicted if I actually got a jury of my peers.