On "Nerd or Hipster?"

Big, thick-rimmed glasses used to be a pretty big giveaway that someone was a nerd.  Combine that with a button-up shirt, pocket protector, and pants that are a bit too short, and suddenly the "Revenge of the Nerds" theme song starts playing in the background.  But thanks to the advent of hipsters, who also seem to rock the too-short pants and the heavy-framed glasses, it's become a bit harder to tell the difference.  So, as promised by an earlier post, let me teach you how to tell if that guy you've just spotted is a nerd or a hipster.

• If he looks like he hasn't showered in the last week: hard to call. Potentially either.
• If he's rocking the "computer tan," that absurdly pale complexion that only comes from spending far too long inside (we're pretty sure at this point that eventually the screen sapping the tan from your skin as a form of ritual sacrifice): Definitely a nerd.
• If he's wearing a My Little Pony shirt:
• Ironically: Hipster
• Unironically: Brony. Run.
• If he references a band you've never heard of: Hipster
• UNLESS it's K-Pop, J-Rock, J-Pop, or from the soundtrack of any major video game, in which case Nerd.
• If he kind of looks like Skrillex: Hipster. Also likely a girl.
• If he references Star Wars, Harry Potter, Back to the Future, or ANY movie in the strain of WarGames, Hackers, or Revenge of the Nerds: Nerd. Also, he has great taste in movies and you should probably ask him out like right now.
• If he references any movie by Wes Anderson: Hipster. Also, he has great taste in movies too.  (Hey, I'm just a fan of good movies.)
• If he's wearing a wolf t-shirt
• And looks like a member of a one-man wolfpack: Nerd.
• And pairs it with a pack of Parliaments/Spirits and an ironic sense of humor: Hipster

And thus ends another horribly stereotypical post from me.  For the record, I love both nerds and hipsters, but sometimes this is a legitimate question (and also a game I frequently play when people-watching).

If anyone is interested in another one of these kinds of posts, let me know!

DFTBA,
Rachel Leigh

On My Problem with Nate Silver

When you look at this graph, what percentages do you think is being represented?

For the first, it's kind of hard to eyeball.  I'd probably guess about 1%.  But what about the second one?  If you said 50%, then you're probably an average American, and your selection makes perfect sense.  But you're also wrong.  Though my issue is more with the graph than with you.  That graph represents 28%, but appears to represent nearly half.  (For the record, that first one represents .12%.)

At first glance, Nate Silver seems like the kind of guy with whom I would get along quite well.  With a shared penchant for poker and for proving people wrong, and the understanding and admiration for probability and statistics that comes with those things, he actually seems like he could be one of my major nerd heroes.

And because of THAT graph, I find myself exceedingly annoyed with him.  That graph was pulled from Chapter 1 of Nate Silver's The Signal and the Noise, a book about how bad or poorly-read data can lead to bad predictions.  And in this midst of all of this warning about how when you only choose to see the data the way you want to see it, your predictions will end up being not only wrong but potentially really harmful (this section in particular was on the housing bubble), he chose to use a graphic that was willfully manipulative and presented in a way which fools the average thinker into being a lot more concerned than they need to be.  Don't get me wrong, the fact that the number of securities which failed was 500 times the predicted number is a pretty damning statistic.  But don't compound that with intentionally misleading representation.  You're giving credence to the idea that there are "lies, damned lies, and statistics" in a book that is supposed to be defining the traps that our predictions fall into.  One such trap is EXACTLY what you did just there.  And it's unfair and manipulative.

I have since come to enjoy quite a bit of the book, which I am nearly through, but I can't help but remain hung-up on that one glaring point (and copious typos - did you even HAVE a copy-editor?) and getting really disgruntled about how knowingly misleading it is.

Irritably yours,
Rachel Leigh

On Being Out of Shape

It's no secret -- I am entirely unathletic.  Made of tiny little wrists and next-to-no-muscle-mass and lungs that are ready to give out at any given moment, the idea of working out has never exactly appealed to me.  I mean, seriously, I get out of breath just THINKING about having to walk across campus.  And let's not even talk about how much I felt like dying after walking up the steps to Prague Castle.  Take my word for it, I have spent most of my life so out of shape that it was actually pretty laughable.

Which, of course, has sparked this never-ending cycle of not wanting to work out because I was so out of shape, and being out of shape because I didn't want to work out.  I've been trying over the last couple of months to be better about that, and I think to some extent it's been working pretty well.

The big question is going to be whether I can keep up this good behavior when I get back to school, or whether the lure of D-Hall fried chicken and being "too busy" (watching Netflix) to go to the gym will win out.

I've always had an odd relationship with working out, a combination of disliking how out of shape I was and feeling so helpless and overwhelmed (and, okay, I admit, lazy) to even know where to start to make it better.

Ohwell, here's hoping I can keep it up in the coming months.  If not, you have my permission to hit me.

"Round is a shape, right?"
Rachel Leigh

On Richmond

In a few days, we'll be loading up the car to take this show on the road, again.  And by "on the road," I mean about 275 miles down south to my second home, the River City, Richmond, Virginia.

Over the last three years, I've heard a lot of people say a lot of things about Richmond.  From my friends in high school who promised they'd send Sherman in after me if I wasn't surviving the South to friends from much further south commenting on how far North RVA really is, I've pretty much heard it all.

Which got me thinking -- Is Richmond really Southern or is it Northern?

On the one hand, Richmond was the Capital of the Confederacy during the Civil War.

And yes, this is what the ACTUAL Confederate flag looks like.  Learn some history, fools.

And trust me, riding down Monument Ave, it's easy to tell that they'll never forget it.  And Virginia itself isn't exactly known for being a beacon of northern ideals, though who doesn't love a little Southern hospitality from time to time?  (Although if you so much as dare to say "Bless your heart" in front of me, we might have a problem.)  Besides, I have never been called a Yankee so many times in my life (you know who you are).

But at the same time, Richmond itself is a relatively Northern city -- more progressive than a lot of its more-Southern counterparts, and I dare you to find someone with a twang.  Go ahead, try.

In a lot of ways, it's almost like this little Northern Bubble inside a very Southern state (and don't get me wrong, the University itself is even more a Northern Bubble (two words: Nantucket. Red.)).  Never truly Northern and never truly Southern, not really belonging to either.

Confusedly yours,
Rachel Leigh

On Back to School

Going back to school has always been something of a toss-up for me.  On the one hand, the stress levels are definitely not on my list of my favorite things – particularly when I know that I’m going back to a class that I’ve been dreading for years (yes, I’m looking at you, Methods).

But on the other, I find a certain comfort in being back at school – not just in being surrounded by friends and having things to do, although I absolutely miss those things.  And also not just the River City itself, though I am extremely excited to get back to that as well.  But in some ways, I feel comfortable in a classroom in a way that I don’t feel comfortable anywhere else.

It’s one of the few places where I don’t feel like I need to temper myself or work to impress anyone – I can just be open about the things that get me passionate or things that I nerd out about, and not have to worry about being socially awkward.  Outside of the classroom, it takes a very different comfort level for me to act the same way.

On the other hand, back to school means that I have to pack this week, which everyone knows is my least favorite activity.

Good luck to everybody!

Procrastinatorily yours,

Rachel Leigh

Happy New Year, readers!  Also, Happy We-Didn't-All-Die-in-2012 and Happy Avoiding-the-Fiscal-Cliff-Though-Just-Barely!

2012 was a big year for us here on WCS!  Our lead (and only) writer went to Europe.  We hired and fired a graphics team (by which I mean after my 100th post, I hung my head in shame and swore never to make terrible graphics again...and then ended up doing it anyway on Election Day).  We watched an election and yelled at a lot of people in the process.  We laughed, we cried, we wasted a lot of time on Netflix.  All in all, a good year.

Now, I'm not going to post any New Years' Resolutions on here -- not because I think resolutions are stupid or for some practical reason, but because I don't want to have to shamefully post at the end of the year about how much I have failed to complete.

Here's hoping 2013 keeps the ball rolling!

On "Gay or Hipster?"

I like art and music.  As such, I often find myself in places full of hipsters.  As such, when I'm at a concert, or an art show, or even just out with friends, if I see a well-dressed, reasonably attractive guy, I'm confronted with a question -- is he gay or just a hipster?  (This is not, of course, to mean that the two are mutually-exclusive.)  As such, I've decided to give you, my darling readers, a list of possible ways to tell the difference.

• If he's wearing a bow-tie:
• And looks like Doctor Who or a lumberjack: hipster.
• And looks like Blaine Anderson: probably gay.
• If he compliments your taste in music: probably a hipster.
• UNLESS it's Lady Gaga, Cher, or Madonna, in which case, probably gay.
• If he admits to appreciating Carly Rae Jepsen un-ironically: either gay or a frat boy, but definitely not a hipster
• If he's at a museum:
• With his mother: avoid at all costs.
• With his girlfriend: hipster (and likely whipped)
• With his boyfriend: gay (duh)
• If he's wearing a "SOME __ MARRY ___.  GET OVER IT." t-shirt: gay.  Or just awesome.  Or both.

And now that I've offended a good number of people, we'll end this list.  Feel free to email or comment with more ways to tell the difference, and make the lives of single girls who are attracted to well-dressed men everywhere easier.  Because in a world of Neil Patrick Harrises, Matt Bomers, Tyler Oakleys, and more, we need to stand a fighting chance.

Tune in again for "Nerd or Hipster" when I tell you how to know if that guy in the wolf t-shirt is doing so ironically or because he's a member of a one-man wolfpack.

Best of luck,
Rachel Leigh

Merry Christmas Eve, darling readers!

I hope this post finds you amidst merry and bright days -- and that no matter what you celebrate, you're taking the opportunity to spend time with your family and friends!

Happy Holidays!

Hey!

This not a post, just thought I'd share that we are now entering the final 24 hours of the 2012 Project for Awesome!  It's a 48-hour event on YouTube that raises money for charities which decrease the levels of suck in the world.

You can help out by commenting on P4A videos or donating at the P4A indiegogo page.

Find out more and watch the livestream here: http://dft.ba/p4alive

DFTBA!

On Packing

With three days left of these Nordic winters, the time has come to pack my things and scrub my room spotless for its next inhabitant.  As such, I thought I would provide you all with my brilliant packing tips for when you're moving back to your home country.

1. Throw as much away as possible.  Obviously, don't throw out anything expensive or sentimental, but if you can toss or donate things that you're holding on for no real reason, do it.  Suitcase space is precious.
2. Avoid breakable things.  Failing this, make sure anything which is breakable is nestled softly between as many articles of clothing as possible to lessen the likelihood that it will smash into a million pieces.
3. Throw everything into a suitcase.  Weight limits are for wimps.  By which I mean TOTALLY MIND THE WEIGHT LIMITS FOR YOUR FLIGHTS.  Because having to dump all your crap out at the airport is no one's idea of a fun time.
4. Cry.

Of course I'm not using packing as an excuse to avoid writing my paper, where would you ever get that idea?

On Exam Week: Danish Edition and Eight Days

Well, it's that time of the semester again -- time for my Exam Week post!  Exam Week: Denmark Edition.

It's hard to believe it's already that time of the semester - four months has gone by so fast that it almost makes my head spin.  I've been in five countries, eight cities, and four airports in the last four months.  I've watched the days in Denmark go from never-ending summer nights (no seriously the sun didn't set until like 10 pm) to three hours of daylight (if you're lucky and it isn't overcast).  I've gone to the ballet at the Royal Theatre, a beer tasting at one of only seven Trappist breweries in the world, a party at the EU (although that was kind of a trainwreck because there were issues with wiring and food, whoops), and more.  And I've met some truly amazing people.

Yesterday, someone asked me what my favorite memory of this semester was.  It's a pretty close call.  The single greatest moment, potentially one of the greatest moments of my life, was right before Halloween.  We went to the Halloween village at Tivoli, and there is a ride at Tivoli called the Himmelskibet or Star-Flyer.  It's a really tall swing ride.

It looks kind of like that.

Anyway, it was dark, and we went up on the ride.  When we got to the top, I could see the entire city of Copenhagen, all lit up, and it felt like we were flying over it.  It was absolutely magical.

The other competitor for my favorite memory was sitting in Grand Place is Brussels on our long study tour.  It was our first day there, sunny and warm, and a bunch of groups were picnicking in the square.  We had some time to kill, so we found a Belgian specialty beer shop and a chocolate shop, and grabbed some drinks and chocolate and just sat in the square, enjoying the weather and the wonderful opportunity we had to take a trip with our core class.

It's been amazing to think how this semester has flown by, and while I am really excited to get home to my friends, family, and a phone plan that doesn't charge me 50 cents a text message or decide to sporadically not work, there will be some things I will really miss about Denmark and my time here.  I'm just going to have to work hard to bring the best parts of my time abroad home with me.

Now, I really need to stop procrastinating on working on my international law paper.  Except not really.  Who assigns a paper due Christmas Eve (Heidi, if you somehow find this, you are a wonderful professor and I love your class, but REALLY?)?  Eight days left to pack, study, write, Hobbit, and get in all the sightseeing I still haven't done.

For those my darling readers suffering through Exam Week out there: Good luck, stay sane, and remember that it will be fine (and if it's not, at least it's over).

Procras-Dane-ating,
Rachel Leigh

On the Season

I have been terrible about posting this past month.  I'm sorry, my darling readers.  Between Prague, papers, exams, classes, Thanksgiving, and other such craziness, there just hasn't been a lot of time for it.  Not an excuse, I know.

Happy December!  I had my first (and likely only) traditional Danish Julefrokost (Christmas lunch) yesterday with the other DIS students in my kollegium and our Danish SRA.  Why they call it "lunch" when it starts at like 7 pm is beyond me.  But the food was delicious and the boys did a great job (since the girls took care of Thanksgiving).  They brought a table out into the hallway and it was adorable.

I can't really talk about Julefrokost without talking about alcohol.  Little-known fact - the Danes drink pretty heavily.  Well, actually, if you read Scandinavia and the World (it's a comic), it's actually apparently a very well-known fact in Scandinavia.  But I had no idea before I came to this country.  Anyway, Christmas lunch involves Danish snaps and akvavit, both of which are really strong, and you're drinking all through the meal.  In a country where they release a Christmas and Easter specialty beer, I think it might be safe to say that the only thing the Danes love more than getting cozy with family and friends is an excuse to party.

Friday night my Danish class went to see Tornerose (Sleeping Beauty) at the Royal Theatre, which was absolutely wonderful.  It's hard to wrap my mind around the fact that I'm only here for two more weeks.  I still need to go see the Christmas lights at Tivoli.  And survive finals week.

Tis the season,
Rachel Leigh

So yesterday was my first Thanksgiving away from home.  It was also, incidentally, the first Thanksgiving I have ever hosted.  Hosting and doing some of the cooking was stressful enough, thank god I didn't have to make the turkey!

Coordinating everything, tracking down a turkey, cooking all day -- I feel like everything leading up to Thanksgiving dinner was just one stressful mini-crisis after another.  But in the end, things went pretty well, we got food on the table, and the American residents of Grønjords kollegium had a nice traditional American Thanksgiving, complete with turkey and football.  Even if I totally hoarded all of the cranberry sauce myself.

Hosting Thanksgiving dinner was kind of a bittersweet thing -- it felt really cool and grown-up to be doing something like that, and we all know how much I love to cook and bake (I made a pie!), but it also felt really wrong to be so far away from my family on a day that has always been so much about family for me.

This year, I am so very thankful for my friends -- those who came to Denmark with me, those who I've met here, and the ones who I still can't imagine life without even if they're a few thousand miles away right now -- and for my family, who have been nothing but supportive, albeit a little bit crazy, about this whole journey.  I'm thankful for the opportunity to travel that I've had, and I'm thankful that in less than a month I will be home with the people I love.

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, darling readers.

Thankfully,
Rachel Leigh

On The Right to Slut

Four days ago, a blog post surfaced called "What the Right Doesn't Get About Elections."  I am not going to link you to it, mostly because I don't want the asshat's blog to get any more traffic than it already has.  What I will tell you is that The Guardian, Gawker, and Jezebel have all done response pieces that use actual excerpts from the post, and you should go find those.

Basically, what the post explains is that Romney lost because Barack Obama won the "Slut Vote," young, unmarried women.  These young, unmarried women take birth control, get breast exams and cancer screenings from Planned Parenthood, support their own or other women's rights to have dominion over their own uteri, are poor black women, rich white suburban brats, and single mothers.  And they want the government to pay for their "right to Slut."

Now, we've talked a bit about Slut Shaming here before, but let me reiterate what it means, despite the fact that it is not the main purpose of this post.  Slut shaming is the idea that a person's worth can be inversely correlated with the number of people they have slept with -- that the more partners or pre- or extra-marital encounters a person has, the less they deserve to be treated like a person.  This contributes, in large part, to the disgusting societal idea that a woman who is not a virgin cannot really be raped, that she "was asking for it."  Slut shaming is a problem.  A person's sexuality does not determine their worth.  You totally have a Right to Slut, if that is what makes you happy and seems like the right choice for you.  You also have a Right to Abstain, if saving yourself until marriage is something that really matters to you.  A person's sexuality, regardless of how it coincides with your personal beliefs, does not determine their worth as a person.

What we're really here to discuss today is Mr. "bskillet"s ideas of what defines a slut.  He points to women who are young and unmarried, because "older and married women vote Republican."  Clearly, every unmarried woman is a slut who wants the government to subsidize her promiscuity.  Despite the fact that many unmarried women either abstain or only have a single partner before they marry.  But clearly, SLUTS AHOY.  He goes on to say that poor, black women voted for Obama because he supports their rights to get government handouts for the babies they kept and have the government pay for the babies they didn't want.  The fact that this disgustingly frames all poor, black women as baby-machines that want to do nothing more than have sex and pop out children so the government will pay for them apparently eludes this man.  I also wonder if he's ever met a black woman or if he's only heard from Fox News about what they're like.  Actually, I'm just going to expand that to all women.

And theeen we get into my favorites: all women who take birth control or go to Planned Parenthood are irresponsible, promiscuous, rich, white brats.  The majority of Planned Parenthood's work includes important medical services like breast cancer screenings.  Last I checked, tumors don't care whether you're male, female, sexually-active, or celibate.  And free breast exams are the best kind of breast exams.

So not all women who go to PP are whores, but of course, why would you take birth control if you weren't slutting it up all over the place?  Well, aside from those women who, again, only have one partner but aren't ready to be parents, married women who are still on the pill because, again, they are unready to be parents, and girls who are exercising their perfectly healthy right to control their own sexuality without the risk of pregnancy?  Medical necessity.  The most common treatment for ovarian cysts?  Hormonal therapy - also known as birth control.  Debilitating cramps that leave you out of work or school for days?  Birth control.  Severe migraines?  Some doctors will suggest birth control.  Abnormal periods?  Birth control.  Bad acne, hair loss, breast sensitivity?  All can be treated with birth control.  There's this funny thing about birth control in that it contains large doses of estrogen and other synthesized female hormones -- which means that it's often exactly the right thing to fix whatever lady-problem you might be having.  None of these are problems that "putting an aspirin between your knees" is going to fix.

The takeaways here: not all women are sluts, there's nothing wrong even if they are, and the far Right REALLY needs a lesson in how birth control actually works.

Yours (But Still Entirely Mine),
Rachel Leigh, proud member of the apparent "Slut Vote"

Go VOTE.

On Election Day and the Political Climate

"When we start to imagine those who disagree with us as 'crazy' or 'evil' or 'traitorous,' it becomes difficult to compromise with them and difficult to listen to them; at times it can be even difficult to stay friends with them.  And hurling insults instead of having conversations about policy leads to a social order where no one can talk without screaming, and that, more than either candidate's tax plan, is dangerous."  --John Green

I'm just going to leave that there.  And also remind you that Tuesday is Election Day stateside.  Now, being across the freaking ocean means that I actually voted like a month ago, but that doesn't change the fact that all of my American darlings should take the half hour of inconvenience and go vote.  (Unless, of course, you are perfectly willing to not complain about ANYTHING your government does or does not do for the next four years: if that's really the way you feel, then your apathy makes me sad, but at least you won't not-vote and then be unhappy with the results.)

You have this one chance every four years (well, two years if you count Congressional elections, but still) - the chance to have a profound impact on the way the government is run for the next four years.  And I personally feel like you have a responsibility to act on that chance.  If you don't, and the country goes in a direction you dislike, it's kind of your own fault and you have no right to complain.

That being said, in any election, tensions run high, especially the closer to Election Day that you get.  It's just that the rhetoric and attitudes behind this election have gotten so divisive that it's honestly worrisome.  Right now both major-party candidates remain neck-and-neck in the polls, which means that with the zero-sum political system and the isolating attitudes that surround it, come Wednesday morning, there is a good chance that nearly half the population will feel completely disenfranchised by the results.  And that's not good.

Our political system derives its legitimacy from the idea that no matter who you vote for, your interests will still be taken into consideration and, if they're not, you have the chance to change things four years down the road.  And I think the attitudes that people have developed towards the opposing parties have undermined this basic faith.  Illegitimate governments lead to revolution, so if this happens, I sincerely hope that people's apathy and laziness outweighs their sense of outrage, because otherwise we're looking at four years of serious political turmoil.

Please keep in mind that regardless of who you vote for on Tuesday, you should vote, and remember that the people who don't vote the same way aren't any less human than you are.

Nervously yours,
Rachel Leigh

On "Teach Me How to Hygge"

As it's getting into those infamous dark, cold Danish winter months (Happy November, by the way), and I've been here for two and a half months now, I think it's time.  And maybe also because of a shirt idea that I saw.  It's time, of course, to talk about hygge.

Hygge - it's a noun, it's a verb, it's an adjective.  You can hygge yourself or be hyggelig with friends.  Say it with me: "hygge."  Okay, so, because of the absurd number of Danish vowel sounds, let me help you out "Hoo-ga"...except force that first syllable out like you're also trying to say a y or an e at the same time.

My understanding isn't perfect, as I'm relatively certain it couldn't be if you didn't grow up in these Nordic winters, but I understand enough at this point to talk about it a bit.  And it's such a huge aspect of Danish culture that I would be doing my darling readers a disservice to not talk about it at least a little bit.

Hygge roughly translates to "cozy" in English, and most Northern European cultures have some versions of the same sort of spirit.  It's originally a Norwegian word, though the Norwegian version is more about personal well-being.  And apparently in German, the concept of Gemütlichkeit is pretty similar.

From what I can tell, hygge developed mostly as a reaction to the cold, dark winters.  The basic idea is to take comfort in being home or with close friends.  A hyggelig cafe is one with blankets and big comfy chairs.  And candles.  You cannot have hygge without candles.  One of the Danes that I live with explained that "Staying in with your grandma, drinking tea and watching old movies...that's hygge."  A nice piece of wienerbrød (the Danish word for a danish) and a hot cup of coffee as you curl up with friends - that's hygge.  The night I spent watching Disaster Preppers with my roommate from UR and the Danes who live on her hall -- okay,  probably not hyggelig, but close.

It's all about being warm and happy with the people and things you love as a way to fight off the impending Seasonal Affective Disorder, and it is fundamentally Danish.  And I think that's pretty damn cool.

Gettin' hyggelig with it,
Rachel Leigh

On Lessons I Learned From TV

TV taught me how to feel, now real life has no appeal.

Marina and the Diamonds has it right.  (Side note: Way to be real world for totally not recognizing my Halloween costume.)  I have spent way too much of my life watching television and feeling all the feels.  But thinking back on it I've realized I've learned some interesting lessons.

Things TV Taught Me:

1.  It's Never Lupus.  Except when it is.  Any House fan out there probably knows this.  It's like the fundamental rule of House.  I think the real takeaways from this, though, were that a) it's never as bad as it could be and b) no trope is safe from subversion.  Because it's never lupus.  Except for that one episode where it was totally lupus.
2. Don't Mess With the Girl Who Can Kill You With Her Brain.  River Tam is smarter than you.  She's a better fighter than you.  Also, she can kill you with her brain.  This crazy lady from Firefly is probably the biggest reason to never break the heart of a smart and emotionally unstable girl.  She will find you.  She will kill you.
3. When You're Sad You Should Stop Being Sad and Be Awesome Instead.  Okay, so it's not usually that simple.  But I have to give Barney Stinson some credit for this one... Sometimes the best way to get past being sad is to just pretend that you're not sad, force yourself to go do something fun, and let the fun make you actually not-sad.  Be awesome instead.  Also, a more important lesson from HIMYM: more people should suit up.  You look really classy, and I love that.  Also NPH is a god.
4. Even If You're Completely Nuts, Good Friends Will Love You Anyway.  Okay, so this isn't based off of a quote, but seriously.  Sheldon Cooper.  Gregory House.  Donna Noble.  Real friends love you for who you are, even if that means you are an absolute psycho sometimes.
5. Fictional Characters Are Better At Their Jobs Than Real People.  Jed Bartlet.  That is all.
6. And finally, it doesn't matter if it's non-canon, inappropriate, incest, against their sexual orientation, squicky, or if it involves inanimate objects, bending of fictional universes, or time travel.  Somebody Out There Ships It.

So all those hours watching TV on Netflix totally weren't wasted.  At all.  I promise.

I enjoyed this post, and while I was writing it, I started thinking of examples from books and movies, so there is a decent chance there will be future lists based around books and movies.

Your Favorite Couch-Potato,
Rachel Leigh

On Career Plans and Congress

I'm a Poli Sci major (as referenced in the post "My Fake Major").  This means that I spend most of my time in classes that focus on how the government runs, domestic and foreign policies, and theories about how states should form/act/etc.  Which means I pay a lot of attention to politics.  And I've realized something...

When you get a Poli Sci major to talk about their future plans, if they have any, you tend to hear: campaign advisor, lobbyist, diplomat, civil servant, lawyer...  One of my friends even wants to go into work in the prison system, because, hey, we'll always have prisons. Very, very rarely does a student go into Political Science with the goal of becoming a politician.  Or maybe it's a few years of studying the system that scares us all out of it.  Who knows really?

But I think it's an interesting indictment on our political system that the students who have devoted their college careers, and potentially their lives, to studying it want nothing to do with it in the end.  In my case, as I think I've probably mentioned before, it's because I think domestic politics gets far too clouded by things that don't really matter.  It also has a lot to do with the fact that I find it sad that people's personal and family lives are dragged through the mud in an attempt to prove they're not suitable for office.

But just imagine how differently our system would operate if the people who spent their lives studying the field were the ones who went into government.  If you didn't have to explain to the average Congressman the difference between debt and a deficit.  If everyone in government knew that states are all constitutionally required to submit a balanced budget - one that requires BOTH cuts in spending and increases in taxes, if necessary.  If the people arguing for state sovereignty knew the thinkers who gave that phrase meaning.

We require our lawyers to pass the Bar Exam.  We have the highest academic expectations of our doctors.  Yet we don't have an educational requirement for the people we let run the country.  And so the people who spend their lives learning how the system works end up going elsewhere - either outside of it, or inside, learning to game the system instead.

Politically Yours,
Rachel Leigh

On Halloweekend/Update

Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays.  Which is odd, because I spent many years of my life with a pathological fear of Halloween decorations.  No haunted houses for me, thanks.  But when I was younger, I used to love the ridiculous Halloween costumes that my mother and I would plan out (which always won me awards and free stuff, and we all know how much I love free stuff), even though my request in sixth grade was that I wanted a costume that, for once, I could sit down in.  Try sitting down in an operating traffic light costume.  Do it, I dare you.

Not the point.  The point is, that as I got older, my costumes got slightly less inventive, but I never stopped enjoying planning them out, even as college began putting demands on me for four and five costumes over the course of Halloweekend.  Which is why it made me slightly sad to realize today that Halloween weekend is only four days away (three depending on who you ask), and I haven't even thought about a costume or plans or anything.  I think it's partially because Halloween isn't really that big a thing here (and because I've had a lot of other things on my mind recently), but it just makes me sad that it could have snuck up on me like this.

On the bright side, Tivoli has this gorgeous and magical Halloween village that made me really happy, so I'll attach some photos of that.  Regularly scheduled rant posts will resume in a few days.