Thursday Giggle Vol. 13

BAHAHAHA!!!!! I almost peed myself laughing!!

Thursday Giggle Vol. 12

Bahahaha!!

 

The Philosopher's Football Match



 

Blog Love Vol. 1

I read this interesting blog post on Thursday from one of my favorite blogs. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

http://makemeasammich.org/2013/06/13/their-fear-is-justified-or-why-speaking-out-in-your-community-is-important/

Photo Credit: http://makemeasammich.org/

Escape of the Week Vol. 1

If you are anything like me, your life is somewhat monotonous- though you long to traverse the globe. From here on out, I will post a picture every Friday to inspire your inner vagabond.

Paris in the rain... *sigh*
Photo Credit: http://micheleroohani.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/eiffel-tower-with-rain-drops-michele-roohani.jpg

Thursday Giggle Vol. 11

Great news, guys! I have discovered the "Schedule" option! I am writing this on a Monday (true story). You are reading it on a Thursday. VOILA! The possibility of Thursday Giggles being late is now slim to none! :)

So here we go! Enjoy this Eddie Izzard clip:

A New Look

We here at Musings of an Intellectual Badass (and by "we", I mean me) are giving the site a bit of a facelift for a few reasons:

1. Now that I am not on Facebook (you can read why here), I have a lot of time on my hands.
2. I don't think the layout of the blog screams, "Nerd!"
3. I like to switch things up.

Photo Credit: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/new-york-city-construction-workers-great-heights-gallery-1.1121866?pmSlide=4

So moral of the story, if you have any suggestions for logos or other bloggy-type stuff, leave a comment!

Bye Bye, Facebook!

Facebook Log In Page
Photo Credit: http://www.login-guide.com/facebook-login/

I recently deactivated my Facebook account (I know: *GASP*).  I had percolated on doing so for a while, but recent events made the decision a very easy one. Perhaps you've already heard about Facebook's adherence to its "Terms and Conditions" (actually, lack thereof in this case) when it came to images depicting (and condoning/encouraging) violence against women and children.

Let me give you an example: When an image of a mother breastfeeding is reported as "against terms and conditions" (presumably it was seen as pornographic), Facebook would delete it almost immediately. However, when an image of a woman beaten, bloody, and bruised with a caption that reads, "Don't wine her and dine her. Tape her and rape her" or, "Next time, don't get pregnant" is reported as gendered hate speech (speech which is against Facebook's Terms and Conditions), it does not get taken down. When a gang of teenage boys gang raped a girl and posted the video on their Facebook accounts, it took the corporation an eternity to remove the content. I found these stories absolutely repugnant, not to mention life-threatening.

I posted an article from one of the feminist pages I had been following- about the #FBRape Twitter campaign. In this post, I also let my friends and family know I was going to delete my account in one week. When I logged on the next day, my post was no longer there- I assume it was deleted by Facebook. That evening, I deactivated my account (is there any way to delete your account entirely?). There was a section available to explain why I was doing so. Needless to say, I leapt at the opportunity to tell them how reprehensible their behavior was. Here is the message I sent:

 

I disapprove of Facebook's blatant disrespect for women. You will delete a picture of a mother breast feeding and dismiss it as pornography, but when an image arises that is blatantly sexist (the first picture that comes to mind reads, "Don't wine her and dine her. Tape her and rape her."), you claim it is not against your terms and conditions. This is not okay. Violence against women in a pandemic worldwide, and when a company as recognized and as adored as Facebook condones it (which is what your behavior insinuates you are doing), the situation is worsened. People actually begin to think violence against women is okay! I implore you to think about the message you are sending when you allow individuals to post such hateful things without any repercussions. Women’s lives are at stake.

 

Violence in general is condoned in our society. Think about it for a moment. When a woman is hit, it is said she "Must have had it coming" or it is asked, "What did she do to make this happen?" We see a similar trend in violence against men. When the perpetrator of violence against a man is a woman, we shrug it off saying things like, "Oh, he's a man. He can take it."

NO NO NO!! Does anyone else realize how royally fucked up that is?! No one deserves to have violence done against them. Violence against anyone is bad- gender is completely and utterly irrelevant.

Anyway, my friend Yasha sent me an email a few days after I deactivated my account with an article attached. Evidently corporate pressure and the almighty dollar made Facebook finally crack down on misogynistic images and statements. Lovely. They wouldn't change their ways when all that was at stake was women's lives... but lose one damned penny and they're all about enforcing their Terms and Conditions.

 

Fuck you, Zuckerberg.

I'm Going on an Adventure!

I'm going on an adventure!

 

I shall embark on an epic, 80-day journey across four European countries next summer. I have been dead-set on going for a couple years now, and things are finally coming together. My original plan involved roughly 20 countries during a span of 90 days, but I decided to shorten the amount of time gone and narrow the scope of my travels for a few reasons:

1. I don't want to be a tourist.
1. Yes, I know I will still technically be a tourist, but I don't want to just bounce from town to town, see the sights, and risk not actually experiencing the area. I want to befriend locals and get off the well-beaten tourist track.
2. Since I am going to school in a city six hours away from home, I should probably allot some time to spend with family.
3. It less expensive to spend time in fewer countries (airplane, train, bus, and taxi fares add up quickly).

So I chose the countries I wanted to explore most- Ireland, Scotland, England, and France- and went from there. I have been saving money like crazy, reading blogs and websites about travel (Lonely Planet, A Lady Reveals Nothing, and Bootsn All are my favorites), reading my travel guides, and doing general trip-planning activities in preparation.

 

AACK! I am so excited I could spit. :)

 

As soon as I made the decision to blog about my future travels, I knew I wanted to use this clip:

 



Let the countdown commence (335 days)!!!

Photo credit to: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/9732258/Film-review-The-Hobbit-An-Unexpected-Journey-Certificate-12A.html

Video credit to: http://www.youtube.com/user/WelshMeerkat