waxing blogosophical

Female Super Hero Fan Film from Jesse V. Johnson on Vimeo.

Because they all do a much better of job expressing the same outrage I felt, here are the best articles I’ve read about sexism at the Oscars this year.

The New Yorker: Seth MacFarlane and the Oscars’ Hostile, Ugly, Sexist Night

Vulture: Why Seth MacFarlane’s Misogyny Matters

Jezebel: Sexism Fatigue: When Seth MacFarlane Is a Complete Ass and You Don’t Even Notice

Presented with only one more comment: Swolbraham Lincoln. Nuff said.

I generally like Seth McFarlane but have always known that he all too easily relies on sexism to get a laugh (For examples watch Ted or any episode of Family Guy). I didn’t watch last night’s award show and only heard about the Boob Song while watching CNN at the gym this morning. When I got home and watched the song, I was disgusted. Charlize Theron’s reaction says it all. Utter disgust. What the fuck is wrong with Seth? This really pisses me off.

Dear Ru Paul. Thank you for this.

My friend Ben Acker brought these to my attention. Very cool. (Artist: Marko Manev)

Pardon the hippy pondering. But I was listening to this song the other day and it got me thinking. I’ve heard the song probably a thousand times in my life and my takeaway has always been: “life is about needing someone to love you and/or finding someone to give your love to.” But as I listend to the song this time, a new interpretation came to mind. It’s not about needing to give or receive love that matters in life. It’s that you have love in your heart that counts. Love for life, love for your family and friends, love for strangers, and love of the experience of each moment. That your heart is filled with love… that is all you need.

Perhaps this says more about me than the song. But I like this interpretation. And for the most part, this is how I felt in that moment and how I’ve been feeling lately. The beauty of life quite regularly fills me with love. And that is all I need.

Side note: The reason I’ve always loved this song is its clever musical structure:

The song is notable for its multiple time-signatures. While the chorus maintains a steady four-in-a-bar (with the exception of the final bar of 2/4), the verse pattern is 4/4,3/4,4/4,3/4,4/4,4/4,4/4,3/4. The prominent cello line draws attention to this departure from pop-single normality.

Something I rarely tell people is that at a summer job during college I witnessed a coworker be shot and murdered with a semi-automatic rifle. I was 20 years old and was only about 20 feet away when I witnessed the whole gruesome ordeal. I won’t get into the specifics except to say that it forever affected my feelings towards guns.

I will also note that I grew up with guns in our house. My dad is an avid hunter and a gun owner. But my whole life I can remember him saying that gun owners have a responsibility to make guns harder to get by crazy people. That a responsible hunter should want stricter regulations, waiting periods, and bans on weapons meant only for man-killing. My great uncle was a marksman in World War II, a rifle enthusiast, and a life long member of the NRA. He renounced his membership when they started becoming paranoid zealots.

All this to say I have strong history that has led to my belief in sensible gun control that includes a ban on assault weapons and large-ammo clips, bans on concealed weapons of any sort, extensive waiting periods and psych evaluations, and strict limits on the number of guns a person should be allowed to own.

Friday’s events have wrecked me. 20 children are dead and I can’t seem to stop crying. I cried at work. I cried when I got home. I cried before bed. I cried at the gym this morning as I was unable to escape my thoughts and being constantly bombarded by the 24-news cycle blaring on all TVs at the gym. I cried again this afternoon watching the stories of teachers who protected their children as the carnage took place around them.

There is a place for crying. But it is not enough. Action must be taken. Last night I signed up for monthly contributions to the Brady Campaign. I have posted extensively on Facebook and engaged with friends who hold slightly different opinions than mine. But more must be done. An easy first step is for any of you reading this who feel the same as I do to contribute to the Brady Campaign. Another step you can take is to write to or call your Representatives and Senators in Congress and demand that the Federal Assault Weapons Ban that expired in 2004 be brought to an immediate vote and passed. Those are starting points. We must also pass stricter hand gun laws and increase our mental health services infrastructure, to name only a few more.

Please don’t let this fade. Don’t let us find ourselves shedding more tears every other month ad infinitum. Don’t let more children, YOUR children, be the next to die senselessly at the end of a military grade weapon. Take action. Gun Control Now.

I was in the mood to watch some old favorite YouTube videos. I thought you might enjoy them too.

Love her and this song.

This song is way better acoustic.

This song is also better this way.

Her moves rock my world.

I want to learn how to do this.

This is all over the intertubes today. I applaud this couple for their maturity and for their final collaboration. It’s touching.