This is probably a cliche thing to write about right now, but it’s kind of important to me in this moment.
(Part of) 4chan (a website) declared “war” on Tumblr (another website). Basically, a bunch of folks from 4chan have something against a bunch of folks from Tumblr, and decided to try and destroy the website via overloading servers, etc.
Points against Tumblr:
Folks on Tumblr seem glad that for some reason 4chan is down for like five minutes. First of all, just because something is down temporarily doesn’t mean it is gone forever. They are most likely not down, nor will they be down. Second, SO MUCH OF THE CRAP YOU REBLOG ALL THE TIME COMES FROM 4CHAN. Do you really not realize that you will have no content if 4chan is shut down? Third, there are many different parts of 4chan. I don’t care about any of the parts, but seriously, don’t blame every user of the site for what’s happening.
Points against 4chan:
This is actually just directed at the parts of 4chan causing this issue. First, just as not everyone on 4chan is the same, not everyone on Tumblr is the same. By causing downtime for Tumblr, you are causing downtime for many many companies who take advantage of Tumblr’s easy to use blogging structure to get information to their customers. Students also use Tumblr for varying purposes, and I currently don’t have access to my class blog. Thanks.
Points against everyone:
IT IS THE INTERNET. CHILL OUT.
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I have a relationship with my privilege. I know it is there, and I am sometimes ashamed of it. Sometimes it makes me feel guilty. However, sometimes I am also thankful for it. What I don’t know is if this is okay.
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Posted by Re in Culture, Media, music, Reflections, tags: aesthetic, contemplation, Culture, gaga, gay rights, ladygaga, music, norms, thoughts, video
These are just my thoughts, and they are in brainstorm format more than anything else.
In case you don’t know what I’m talking about, this.
http://www.ladygaga.com/alejandro/video/
Okay. Writing all my ideas after only one view first. I watched it exactly at noon, and have thought about it since then, so these are my ideas after almost two hours of thought and only one view. (and much twitter conversation, mostly with @beyonddeities)
- Doesn’t seem cohesive with the song.
- Repo! The Genetic Opera. The heart? What?
- It was released on Glee day. Gaga said she loved the Glee ep featuring her songs. So.
- Gaga is a boy okay.
- I just don’t think it meshes up with the song. I have specific mental associations with that song and it just doesn’t fit. I understand that songs mean different things to different people. This doesn’t fit my idea of what this song means.
- The things that @beyonddeities said in her sleep-deprived state.
- “I find the simple colours powerful, because what she is doing is going to anger people. Its beautiful.”
- “And the choreography just..captures the androgyny, the ~freeness of sexuality in the barren landscape, the wars of us.”
- “Maybe she’s going against what we’re used to.. She’s creating a solemn element, a slower pace that works with the song? I mean making us uncomfortable is part of the whole idea… I think.”
This. This. I. I get it? I mean. Idk, I just, the fact that there could have been seven million things going on in her mind while she made this video. The fact that we are likely to never know what she was thinking, and what her true meanings are.
- This tweet from @ChrisCrocker. “Alejandro is @LadyGaga’s best video thus far. She is preparing us for less fashion oriented videos. She’s making you bitches focus on art.” Yes, but what kind of art? Going back to my last point, we don’t know. We really have no idea, which I guess is the point of art. Getting us to think of our own meanings. But I already had my own meaning for the song, and now my meaning for the song is having a hard time agreeing with my meaning for the video.
Look, I don’t even know. I need to watch it a few more times, these are just my initial thoughts.
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Posted by Re in Classwork, Culture, Gender, Life, Media, Sociology, tags: Culture, gay rights, gender, normalcy, norms, Sociology
The framework essay outlines the basic ideas to keep in mind while doing observations and reading the rest of the texts. Out of this, I was able to gather a large amount of information, and apply some basic concepts to my observations. First of all, I view most of what I have seen from a constructionist perspective. All the evidence I have points to this viewpoint as the “true” or “right” way to view the world, including class readings, content from previous courses, and real life experience. I chose to conduct my observations primarily in the Pride Office, a location which is technically part of the LGBTQ Resources office. This space is an area where people gather to hang out, socialize, and meet people, as well as a space to casually discuss identities. The space is not simply a social avenue for students, however – people also come here to conduct business with Ric Chollar, the Associate Director of LGBTQ Resources, or to work on homework or projects. I have in my observations seen people in this space “construct” their identities, and this may change daily, weekly, or over a longer time period. Because of the nature of this space as a “comfortable and “safe” location to discuss the “typically taboo” topics of sexuality, it is also a space where people feel comfortable to discuss other things which may not be seen as “okay” to discuss in a general everyday situation, such as other master statuses.
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I’m having a good day today. That means that I have the available emotional resources to cover a topic that might normally be a bit too much for me to bear.
Something shitty happened to a friend today. On the website Moustache May, participants sign up and show off their moustaches for the month of May. On the “about” page, the creator states that females may participate, given that they prove that they wear a moustache for the entire month.
One of my friends decided to participate this year. This friend is a cisgender female, and over the past few days she’s had to deal with a wide variety of responses. Today, she was demoted from ‘participant’ to ‘lurker’.
This doesn’t seem right, especially considering the fact that the website specifically states that females may participate.
Additionally, most females have facial hair. For a long long time they have been undergoing painful procedures to remove said facial hair. This is the sort of thing that may perpetuate this process and make it hard for females to accept themselves as they are. Since females are unable to embrace their own face follicles, they will continually try new ways to rid themselves of said hair.
It just doesn’t seem right. I would really appreciate any comments outlining your thoughts on this matter.
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