AP Bodily Fluids & Waste

I enjoyed a temporary moment of satisfaction as I stood back and admired the afternoon's work I had just put into my room. Desk finally cleaned off, paperwork filed, clean sheets on the bed, furniture dusted, and the carpet vacuumed, my bedroom finally  felt clean...that was when I heard the dreaded noise. A heave, a hack, a hack, a heave; the cat was about to throw up a hair ball. And, she did. This one not a tightly compacted clump, but rather the vomit that comes right after a large meal with plenty of water and bits of unc-hewed food and orange, rug staining orange. As if that wasn't bad enough, the cat was perched up on my desk, enjoying its cleanness also, and she hacked her stomach's contents over the edge of the desk. Now, between the vomit and the carpet was file folders, so the orange chunky soupy stuff was able to cover the file boxes, trickle down in between cracks and crevices and THEN onto the carpet. I believe I may have groaned or grunted aloud and turned to go get the clean up tub, it was at this moment I had a thought: I have been cleaning up the bodily fluids of other people and animals for at least 25 years now, someone really should have implemented a 'what it means to really be a parent' into the high school curriculum, and one of the classes should be Intro to Bodily Fluids & Waste.

The ideal class room would be the same rooms that used for science classes so that a full, hands on training can occur. Every day, the young people would come into their class and spend 70 minutes handling some type of vomit or feces, like one lab could be 'the toilet bowl' where the kids would have to march down to the toilets and (I suppose the feds would force up to let them use gloves) have them put their hands down into the water and scrub off and wipe up the leftover feces, urine, and pubic hair that has been left there for a week by someone else. There would be 'dog day' at least once a week. The kids could go into the park and clean up dog poo. There would be a diarrhea day, a 'kid drank chocolate milk then got unbelievable car sick' day where the final lesson would be that you can never TRULY get that smell out of your car.

The more I thought about it, the better the idea sounded. I started running through all the momentous 'cleaning up someone else's sick or someone or something else's bodily waste' moments in my life, and damn there is a lot of them. Now that I own a cat, a dog, and two teenagers, girl and boy, part of my responsibility as a parent and head of household is to clean up the 'messes'. Yesterday, kitty puked her lovely green stuff on my reading pyramid pillow, and this morning, as I sat enjoying my coffee and the episode of 'Death Masks', puppy hacked up his morning green chewie, all over me, my throw and lumbar pillow. After it happened, I looked around me for a tissue or napkin, because I could not even get up without knocking the green goo all over the floor, alas there was nothing, so I took a deep breath and went to into the steely mental mode I knew would be needed as I picked up the warm , green, chunky , gooey vomit and put it in the palm of my other hand. That deed done, I there the throw and pillow case in the washer and decided that from now on, every time I have to clean up the vomit or other bodily waste of a member of my immediate household, I would blog it. And if this helps even one person understand the REAL commitment that comes with raising a family, then I feel the effort is worth it.

I believe that one thing that is lost on today's younger generation is the tangible reality that comes with surviving in the real world. Reality is NOT the consequence free lifestyle enjoyed by the Kardashians and their lot, but instead can be found in the day to day bodily waste that you are responsible for. .

All the single ladies

The following is the thesis statement that I hope will eventually help me obtain my Master's Degree. For all you single moms, this is dedicated to the sacrifices that you make every day.

The modern welfare system can trace its roots to the Elizabethan Poor Laws; however, as much as it has evolved and/or changed over the last five hundred years, today’s social welfare programs have taken on the same patriarchal overtones that continue to dictate policy in the United States. In early colonial America, poverty was not an indication of flaws in the character of the needy or society, but by the 19^th century, the idea of benevolent relief for the less fortunate had evolved into a common belief that being poor not only was an indication of a defect in character it had also become an imposition to the wealthy. Researching the welfare laws through the next two hundred years indicated a trend that this notion has become the heart of how the welfare system is set up today and further demonstrates that these laws have simultaneously ensured that the class system remains intact. As the number of female headed households has increased, the welfare system has not been modified in a way that reflects what is most beneficial to this particular family structure, but instead has been altered to such an extent that it almost ensures single mothers remain in poverty. There remains a popular public notion that today’s relief system is nothing more than an overly generous handout to the lazy which in turn has only exacerbated the stigma that is attached to single motherhood. In the last fifty years, the percentage of female headed households has almost doubled, yet the higher frequency has not lent to ease the shame that is attached to single moms any more than public assistance has improved the probability that these women will rise above the poverty level. The public assumption that welfare is a handout attests to the fact that the general public is ignorant of the ‘feminization of poverty’ and how living this way forces single mothers to live in unhealthy states of anxiety, often having to choose between obligation to their child’s needs and keeping the electricity on or a roof over their head.  This paper will explore the evolution of the United States of America’s social welfare policy while highlighting how it has contributed to the economic and social discrimination of single mothers with a non-widow status. 

Happy News is Swinging Through

I know that there are others who were not as pleased as I was with The Amazing Spiderman, but I am happy to repost this article...

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-andrew-garfield-spider-man-sequel-20120928,0,3044828.story

I Can't Make Bricks Without Clay

I was not even going to do it, I swear. My schedule is full, I am supposed to be devoting the rest of my waking hours to homework, but like a moth to the flame, I was lured in by my enduring affection for Johnny Lee Miller and my life-long devotion to one Mr. Sherlock Holmes.

Weeks ago, I perused the upcoming Fall TV series, picking and choosing which shows I couldn't wait to return, the ones that I was definitely going to preview, created a short 'maybe if I have time I'll give it an auditio' (i.e. Revolution) list. When I read the review for CBS's new show Elementary starring Lucy Liu and Johnny Lee Miller, it the hit my very long NO list. My reasoning, it just did not seem like now was a really good time to introduce another interpretation of Sherlock. I would have to say that even in our culture of excess, the Sherlock market seems a bit saturated right now. There is the Downing/Law duo of the big screen, BBC's excellent Cumberbatch/Freeman combo that has been, in my opinion, as close to perfect as a show can come in.

But sometimes the Universe just offers pleasant little surprises, and who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth?

So there it was, ten o'clock, we have just finished watching Glee and the kids are off to bed and I am soon to follow. But, first I have to do the nightly before bed chores. I hear a distressing noise, realise that Fox News has started, so I ran for that remote like I was on fire and it was a bucket of water. I grabbed it, randomly hit the first channel button, which happened to be the channel down, and there it was, the new Sherlock Holmes show. A murder is taking place (I'm folding laundry), Lucy Liu is running through Central Park, (I'm blowing out candles), then she is on the phone discussing someone who left rehab early, but that she was now at the house of said someone...enter Mr. Johnny Lee Miller. She enters his brownstone and proceeds to  introduce herself as the employee of Holmes' father whom he has hired to be the recently released from rehab Sherlock's sober companion for the next six weeks. 8 TV's are playing at once, Sherlock pauses them, turns to Liu and....Hallelujah, he gets to keep his original English accent for this role, which in my opinion gives his character a certain authenticity. And he really has no trouble introducing himself even on an intimate level.

Holmes finds sex repellent, all those fluids, all that noise, but he feeds his body's needs as required, but don't get too comfortable because you won't be here long. The two head of to a crime scene, taking the 'tube', where Holmes informs his new addict sitter that "prior to [his] stint in junkie jail, [he] worked as a consultant for Scotland Yard," and part of his post rehab plan is to assume his investigative consulting role in New York. At the scene of a murder, we meet the police investigator, Captain Greggs (so good to see Aidan Quinn), where we see Holmes'  famous observation skills at work. Introducing Watson as his valet, or helper helper monkey, Liu is quiet as she observes Holmes at the scene. If you had the same doubts as I did about changing Watson's character to a female, I can assure you that you will be more than pleasantly surprised at the Dynamic Chemistry (in a non-sexual way) between the two. Joan Watson is quiet, observant, tough, and intelligent; she is not intimidated by Sherlock and has no trouble calling him out on his insensitive behavior as well as his bullshit. Miller in this role entertains and enraptures me in the same way that Matt Smith's interpretation of Dr.Who does. Quirky, fast talking, incredibly intelligent, and most importantly witty in his interpretation of the world as well as his own self.

The murder investigation is interesting enough and offers a great introduction into the characters. Proper modernization factors were wonderfully worked in as Google and Facebook were given their due by the detective as one of the ways he uncovers information. There were so many great lines during the show, if I wrote them all down for you, I believe I would be writing the majority of the script. Here were some of my favorites.

Sherlock to Watson: "Why do you hate your job? Two alarm clocks means it is a chore to get up in the morning. No one with two alarm clocks loves their job."

At an Opera where Sherlock is trying to convince Watson to come with him to investigate something, he is hushed, his response: "Shh yourself, they're not even on key."

Again, there were so many more great lines from the overall fantastic first episode. I am looking forward to watching it again. If you like witty and smart TV, then the game is afoot! Take a look at CBS's Elementary and enjoy the show!

The Fall of the Geeky Girl

It is my favorite season of the year, fall, and here in the valley, Mother Nature really likes to show off. The morning air is crisp and cool, slowly heated up by the afternoon sun, which takes its warmth along with it as it disappears beyond the western horizon. Tonight, I had to close my windows to ward of the chill that had crept into my bedroom; I did so gladly.

Along with the change of weather, the new season is also blowing in other new life changes...and consequently, a necessity for some new coping skills.

Despite all of the dark that life throws my way, there had been comfort found in the new Fall TV season. A return of some of my favorites, as well as a refreshing influx of new and intelligent shows.

I become increasingly more grateful for the intersession of BBC television that I can turn to when I need a dose of just damn good entertainment. With shows like Sherlock, Luther, The Hour, and of course, my beloved Doctor Who fulfilling my empty art starving soul, I maintained high hopes for BBC's newest addition, Copper. Set in the Five Points of New York City in the last year of the American Civil War, the show boasts characters that are as rich and legitimate as the scenery. The overall arc of the story is cliche', a tormented father, Detective Cochran, returns from the war to find his daughter dead and wife missing- he is distraught, feels responsibility, and is determined to discover the truth. A played out plot to be sure, but the setting, actors, and writing are all brilliant enough to make the old and tired feel new and invigorating. The Race issue is finally handled in a way that demonstrates that it was not just the southerners who were prejudiced, Northerners had no more love for the African American race than the Rebels. The Irish struggled to understand how they were fighting and dying in droves in a war for a country that ostracized them. For the elite women, being a widow was considered a blessing while a whore considered marriage the ultimate prize. Copper covers a broad range of the social ails that were occurring in this small area during this era, and somehow, all of them feel contemporary. The distance between the classes, races, sexes, and the confusion that conflicts an individual as the political becomes personal.

I tried out NBC's Revolution, but I could not even get through the first half hour. If that is what we will be wearing 15 years into the apocalypse, then who the hell cares? Yup, just couldn't get past the outfit to even try to get into the rest of it. It really made me long for a good dose of Whedon's Firefly. Now he knew how to do future...

Joe and I are eagerly awaiting Arrow (please let it be good, please let it be good.) Alphas seemed to have lost a little of its magic in the first episode of Season 2, so while I am not current, I will give it another go when I find a little extra time. But with Dexter, Homeland, New Girl, and Treme all coming back, it may have to wait until the mid season break.

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The Single Mother Stigma

http://www.npr.org/2011/02/24/134031175/For-Single-Mothers-Stigma-Difficult-To-Shake?sc=emaf