about a lady who's son has autism, and upon reaching adulthood became violent and dangerous, and how she, as a mother, has had to deal with it.
hopefully by next week i will have something upbeat on here...
Thursday 26 March 2009
head meets desk
what the hell kind of stupid place do i live in anyway?
besides the impending closure of fairbridge, the most awesomely successful youth project i have ever seen, what the goddam bum ass kind of rubbish is this?
pink lights being used to embarrass teenagers out of places that they hang around that they shouldn't hang around in. what the ey? here's the linketh: BEEB NOOZ
apparently these pink lights highlight imperfections in the skin, and give kids a pinkish tint, which they are hoping boys will find effeminate and therefore bad.
1. er, no.
2. just no
3. 'pink = girly = maybe homosexual = bad' and to be avoided does not equal 'helpful message' trying to keep lads away from things that are pink is just stupid and does nothing to challenge the idea that looking at all gay or feminine (or indeed, refusing to conform to a set of rules for acceptable masculinity) is something that is somehow less than.
4. why would local councils want to highlight medical/physical problems that so many people have and are probably already ashamed enough of in order to get them to conform? i dont even know where to start but i think most people at some point in their day are presented with a barrage of images of perfect skin, constantly reminding them that 'this is the goal, you are far from it' -- and then to have your local council install lights in order to highlight spots? srsly. i'd be all for going down to the local council and bodysnarking their decision makers, if i didn't think it was goddam rude and inappropriate, dehumanising and ultimately crap for everyone who has to put up with the huge negative self image problems perpetuated in this country. rraagh!!!
5. what happened to other approaches, such as defining reasonable spaces for young people to meet up, which are accessible, available and safe? or perhaps *talking* to the groups of young uns meeting up with their friends?
here's a couple of just as ranty posts: here and here
besides the impending closure of fairbridge, the most awesomely successful youth project i have ever seen, what the goddam bum ass kind of rubbish is this?
pink lights being used to embarrass teenagers out of places that they hang around that they shouldn't hang around in. what the ey? here's the linketh: BEEB NOOZ
apparently these pink lights highlight imperfections in the skin, and give kids a pinkish tint, which they are hoping boys will find effeminate and therefore bad.
1. er, no.
2. just no
3. 'pink = girly = maybe homosexual = bad' and to be avoided does not equal 'helpful message' trying to keep lads away from things that are pink is just stupid and does nothing to challenge the idea that looking at all gay or feminine (or indeed, refusing to conform to a set of rules for acceptable masculinity) is something that is somehow less than.
4. why would local councils want to highlight medical/physical problems that so many people have and are probably already ashamed enough of in order to get them to conform? i dont even know where to start but i think most people at some point in their day are presented with a barrage of images of perfect skin, constantly reminding them that 'this is the goal, you are far from it' -- and then to have your local council install lights in order to highlight spots? srsly. i'd be all for going down to the local council and bodysnarking their decision makers, if i didn't think it was goddam rude and inappropriate, dehumanising and ultimately crap for everyone who has to put up with the huge negative self image problems perpetuated in this country. rraagh!!!
5. what happened to other approaches, such as defining reasonable spaces for young people to meet up, which are accessible, available and safe? or perhaps *talking* to the groups of young uns meeting up with their friends?
here's a couple of just as ranty posts: here and here
babies
the average age of first sexual encounter is now 14.3 years old.
70% of girls were coerced in some way in their first sexual experience, i don't know the figure for boys.
a lot more pregnancies than i thought end in abortion, which is more likely the younger the mum to be.
3rd trimester ladies shouldn't lie flat on their backs
sit ups too soon after birth mess up the shape of tummies and can lead to muscle damage
70% of girls were coerced in some way in their first sexual experience, i don't know the figure for boys.
a lot more pregnancies than i thought end in abortion, which is more likely the younger the mum to be.
3rd trimester ladies shouldn't lie flat on their backs
sit ups too soon after birth mess up the shape of tummies and can lead to muscle damage
Wednesday 25 March 2009
today i heard some bad news, i knew news was coming for some time, but i didn't know what sort of news it would be. it was bad news. i'm in a bit of a numb feeling disappointed, angry, sad mood, i never was that great with words, but i dont think there is one for this. for some reason, i now feel i should post the lyrics to 99 red balloons, because it just seems right to do...
You and I in a little toy shop
Buy a bag of balloons with the money we've got.
Set them free at the break of dawn
'Til one by one, they were gone.
Back at base, bugs in the software
Flash the message, Something's out there.
Floating in the summer sky.
99 red balloons go by.
99 red balloons.
floating in the summer sky.
Panic bells, it's red alert.
There's something here from somewhere else.
The war machine springs to life.
Opens up one eager eye.
Focusing it on the sky.
Where 99 red balloons go by.
99 Decision Street.
99 ministers meet.
To worry, worry, super-scurry.
Call the troops out in a hurry.
This is what we've waited for.
This is it boys, this is war.
The president is on the line
As 99 red balloons go by.
99 Knights of the air
Ride super-high-tech jet fighters
Everyone's a superhero.
Everyone's a Captain Kirk.
With orders to identify.
To clarify and classify.
Scramble in the summer sky.
As 99 red balloons go by.
99 dreams I have had.
In every one a red balloon.
It's all over and I'm standing pretty.
In this dust that was a city.
If I could find a souvenier.
Just to prove the world was here.
And here is a red balloon
I think of you and let it go.
You and I in a little toy shop
Buy a bag of balloons with the money we've got.
Set them free at the break of dawn
'Til one by one, they were gone.
Back at base, bugs in the software
Flash the message, Something's out there.
Floating in the summer sky.
99 red balloons go by.
99 red balloons.
floating in the summer sky.
Panic bells, it's red alert.
There's something here from somewhere else.
The war machine springs to life.
Opens up one eager eye.
Focusing it on the sky.
Where 99 red balloons go by.
99 Decision Street.
99 ministers meet.
To worry, worry, super-scurry.
Call the troops out in a hurry.
This is what we've waited for.
This is it boys, this is war.
The president is on the line
As 99 red balloons go by.
99 Knights of the air
Ride super-high-tech jet fighters
Everyone's a superhero.
Everyone's a Captain Kirk.
With orders to identify.
To clarify and classify.
Scramble in the summer sky.
As 99 red balloons go by.
99 dreams I have had.
In every one a red balloon.
It's all over and I'm standing pretty.
In this dust that was a city.
If I could find a souvenier.
Just to prove the world was here.
And here is a red balloon
I think of you and let it go.
Monday 23 March 2009
things i'd like to do
* buy some rollorblades
* skate around on them without looking like a tit
* get some clay
* make sculptures of stuff
* sketch more stuff, and get good at it
* learn my way around swansea
* walk around lots in the sun
* get strong arms n legs again
* work more
* spend more time in the great outdoors
* have blonde hair again
* spend loads of time on the beach this summer
* plan trips to see people again, but make a better plan this time
* get a steamer (of vegetables)
* skate around on them without looking like a tit
* get some clay
* make sculptures of stuff
* sketch more stuff, and get good at it
* learn my way around swansea
* walk around lots in the sun
* get strong arms n legs again
* work more
* spend more time in the great outdoors
* have blonde hair again
* spend loads of time on the beach this summer
* plan trips to see people again, but make a better plan this time
* get a steamer (of vegetables)
Sunday 22 March 2009
i lurve these glasses, they also come in black and pink, but i think blue/brown looks best! 
Sunday 15 March 2009
time to play the worlds tiniest violin for this guy...
http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/relationships/article5881689.ece
basically, this guy marries his g/f of 5 years, who then announces she wants a kid (he didn't think she did, he never wanted kids) so they argue about it, and have a kid anyway. when the little girl arrives, he gets pissed off that she has put on weight and is no longer attactive to him, and spends her time learning how to raise the kid, so he does the constructive thing and starts sleeping with someone else, who has no kids. the same deal happens again, mistress asks for marriage and child, he doesn't want to but does anyway, and then she becomes a mother and not a 'sex kitten'.;. alas!
conclusion: no one likes him, his kids don't like him, he's on his own and its not his fault women lie... erm... unlucky?
but srsly, this thing is worth reading thru for the sheer number of awesomely stupid things this guy comes out with...
My first wife, Frances, was a classy, stunning woman. In the macho world of medicine, she was as capable and ambitious as any man.
so she has the baby and dedicates a lot of time to looking after it:
I couldn’t help feeling short-changed. By now she was overweight and unfit and didn’t care about the way she looked. Her entire life was centred on organic baby food and playgroups.
perhaps because he didn't bother to help out on this?
It’s ironic, when being sexy and attractive is what got them pregnant in the first place. And it’s not only Frances who’s become a boring frump — it’s depressingly common to see clever, attractive women become parenting bores. You can spot them at parties, in baggy clothes and making no effort to be interesting to men.
then he's having an affair, but that's alright because:
I took home champagne and flowers, bought her jewellery and perfume.
(no mention yet of him helping to look after the baby..)
so he tells Frances about the affair, and she is "surprisingly upset"
Ten years after leaving Frances for Maria, I wonder why I bothered. Frances is still frosty with me and I have a horrible feeling that my daughter Anna doesn’t actually like me very much. And Maria? Nine months ago, after giving birth to my second daughter, Sarah, she has turned into another version of Frances, obsessed with motherhood in just the same way.
oh diddums!!!
so after cheating, having children he didn't want, but deliberately impregnating the women anyway, an affair and a whole word of hate for the mothers of his kids, he concludes with this:
I can’t believe how naive I’ve been. I don’t know how long Maria and I will last, but I know one thing: from now on, I’m putting myself first. I’ll never trust a woman again, no matter what they promise.
yeh.
basically, this guy marries his g/f of 5 years, who then announces she wants a kid (he didn't think she did, he never wanted kids) so they argue about it, and have a kid anyway. when the little girl arrives, he gets pissed off that she has put on weight and is no longer attactive to him, and spends her time learning how to raise the kid, so he does the constructive thing and starts sleeping with someone else, who has no kids. the same deal happens again, mistress asks for marriage and child, he doesn't want to but does anyway, and then she becomes a mother and not a 'sex kitten'.;. alas!
conclusion: no one likes him, his kids don't like him, he's on his own and its not his fault women lie... erm... unlucky?
but srsly, this thing is worth reading thru for the sheer number of awesomely stupid things this guy comes out with...
My first wife, Frances, was a classy, stunning woman. In the macho world of medicine, she was as capable and ambitious as any man.
so she has the baby and dedicates a lot of time to looking after it:
I couldn’t help feeling short-changed. By now she was overweight and unfit and didn’t care about the way she looked. Her entire life was centred on organic baby food and playgroups.
perhaps because he didn't bother to help out on this?
It’s ironic, when being sexy and attractive is what got them pregnant in the first place. And it’s not only Frances who’s become a boring frump — it’s depressingly common to see clever, attractive women become parenting bores. You can spot them at parties, in baggy clothes and making no effort to be interesting to men.
then he's having an affair, but that's alright because:
I took home champagne and flowers, bought her jewellery and perfume.
(no mention yet of him helping to look after the baby..)
so he tells Frances about the affair, and she is "surprisingly upset"
Ten years after leaving Frances for Maria, I wonder why I bothered. Frances is still frosty with me and I have a horrible feeling that my daughter Anna doesn’t actually like me very much. And Maria? Nine months ago, after giving birth to my second daughter, Sarah, she has turned into another version of Frances, obsessed with motherhood in just the same way.
oh diddums!!!
so after cheating, having children he didn't want, but deliberately impregnating the women anyway, an affair and a whole word of hate for the mothers of his kids, he concludes with this:
I can’t believe how naive I’ve been. I don’t know how long Maria and I will last, but I know one thing: from now on, I’m putting myself first. I’ll never trust a woman again, no matter what they promise.
yeh.
pics i just really like, 2009
i hope to share loads of these on this here blog, i collect pics i really like in a folder imaginatively called 'pics i just really like, 2009' -- there was a similar folder for 2008 but i think 2007 was all about lolcats or something. anyway, a lot of these pics are from random places online, you might recognise a few, especially if you are the happy snapper... so anyway, to start off, i'll go with...
this cat.
this cat.
in which i decide i don't like 'avril lavigne'
this musical talent has been annoying me for some time now, but i'm only just bored enough to share why.
i guess it all started in the video to 'complicated', in which our hero suggests that her gang of young menfolks 'go trash the mall' and they proceed to generally make a big fecking mess of a shopping centre where you know full well there are a bunch of LOSERS doing their job/ killing the funs by being pissed off that this gang of rich kiddlings are delieratly causing a load more work for them by knocking shit over, running away and laughing. and then the kids go hang around at the skate park whilst these shop workers probably get home later than planned cuz they had to stay late and unpaid cleaning up whilst their kids wait for dinner etc etc
yeh ok, it's just a flippin music video, worse (MUCH worse) happens in music vids, maybe i'm just gettin old (the thought has crossed my mind before) but tbh, this sort of crap is not fair on teens either. i mean, it doesn't exactly unpick that general opinion i've heard a few times before that kids are troublemakers /uncaring assholes, and i betcha that a lot of teens, if they tried to pull that level of public nuisance would end up ASBO'd, charged with theft/criminal damage/whatever, not cool!
anyway i've already written far too much about this, but at some point i'm pretty sure i have a rant somewhere about skater boi (however u wanna spell it) and the joy that avril has that her b/fs ex is 'feeding the baby all alone' -- i mean srsly, just because she turned a guy down she deserves to be all alone? and where did this baby come from? is it his? what the hell is he doin ditching her to go rockin up MTV!! take some responsibilty!! and avril, pls STFU
i guess it all started in the video to 'complicated', in which our hero suggests that her gang of young menfolks 'go trash the mall' and they proceed to generally make a big fecking mess of a shopping centre where you know full well there are a bunch of LOSERS doing their job/ killing the funs by being pissed off that this gang of rich kiddlings are delieratly causing a load more work for them by knocking shit over, running away and laughing. and then the kids go hang around at the skate park whilst these shop workers probably get home later than planned cuz they had to stay late and unpaid cleaning up whilst their kids wait for dinner etc etc
yeh ok, it's just a flippin music video, worse (MUCH worse) happens in music vids, maybe i'm just gettin old (the thought has crossed my mind before) but tbh, this sort of crap is not fair on teens either. i mean, it doesn't exactly unpick that general opinion i've heard a few times before that kids are troublemakers /uncaring assholes, and i betcha that a lot of teens, if they tried to pull that level of public nuisance would end up ASBO'd, charged with theft/criminal damage/whatever, not cool!
anyway i've already written far too much about this, but at some point i'm pretty sure i have a rant somewhere about skater boi (however u wanna spell it) and the joy that avril has that her b/fs ex is 'feeding the baby all alone' -- i mean srsly, just because she turned a guy down she deserves to be all alone? and where did this baby come from? is it his? what the hell is he doin ditching her to go rockin up MTV!! take some responsibilty!! and avril, pls STFU
Tuesday 3 March 2009
people are hilarious
I hate to nit - pick over spelling, but i can't help but laugh at the spelling mistakes made by people nit picking other people's spelling...
Re: Is good spelling an important attribute of effective social workers?
"To me, being a more mature person I tend to think of poor spelling and grammar as indicating a lack of intelligenge (just being honest here!) but if it is not to do with intelligence might it be to do with the ability to notice detail. Surely that is an important skill in social work. I am concerned that the person who is to make complex decisions for my elderly relative has not noticed that you're is not the same as your.""Good grief, is your college actively seeking dyslexics? About 10 per cent of the UK population have dyslexia with only about 4 per cent being severely affected. Does social work have a disproportionate number or are some people lazy and thick but call themeslves dyslexic so that they can get away with it?
Are there courses or technologies that can help people improve their skills?
I'm with the snobs on this one, poor spelling is embarrasing and gets on my nerves."
"I will not apologiise for making assumptions about the writer from the way reports are written, thisd is what everybody else that reads them will do. As an example if someone puts a lot of latin phrases into a report you could assume that they had classical education, or that they are a bit of a poser, but that would still be an assumption. Do we not need to analyse why whenever the issue of badly written reports is raised in social wokwrk forums we end up discussing dyslexia?"
Lolz...
Monday 2 March 2009
boring update
* handed in an essay, hopefully finished with that course now
* no idea when i will know if it passed/ not, wondering if i care.
* i got some new plates/ bowls etc this weekend, they are cool
* as above, but with cutlary. v pretty and lifetime guaranteed!
* made curries yesterday, were good, nom nom nom best nice
* had a cold this weekend, maybe manflu, am kinda tired today, perhaps unrelated
* am now upset about irregular line length, in this post, alas.
* bet this cool effect doesn't even show up when i post this, meh
* no idea when i will know if it passed/ not, wondering if i care.
* i got some new plates/ bowls etc this weekend, they are cool
* as above, but with cutlary. v pretty and lifetime guaranteed!
* made curries yesterday, were good, nom nom nom best nice
* had a cold this weekend, maybe manflu, am kinda tired today, perhaps unrelated
* am now upset about irregular line length, in this post, alas.
* bet this cool effect doesn't even show up when i post this, meh
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