Another gem.

Zaven got a new scally cap (suede!) for his upcoming role in Titanic: The Musical and was checking himself out in the mirror. Out of nowhere, he came up with this gem:

"When I zip up my jacket all the way, I look like I would like poetry and stuff. But when I do this," as he unzips it halfway down his chest, "I look like one of the Boondock Saints."

I am going to break my ban--sort of.

So I've been thinking recently about a book that I would like to not only read, but to own. I know I've been under my book-buying ban for seven and a half months (wow!) and it's become more a way of life than a challenge (I've only REALLY broken it once, and of course I haven't read that book yet--but I promise I will soon!). But this one I have heard about from enough different people and publications to make me use the remainder of my Christmas B&N gift card on an actual book instead of magazines or CDs or cafe food.

The book I'm talking about is Eve Ensler's new one, I Am an Emotional Creature. I read about it in two of my favorite magazines (BUST and Glamour, which are two fairly different audiences) and heard about it from a crazy lady customer at B&N (via a coworker of mine). The crazy lady customer asked my coworker, an older woman, if she had read it, and when she said she hadn't, the crazy one said "Let me buy this for you--you NEED to read it!" She ended up disappearing after going to the bathroom, and my coworker thinks it was some kind of scam, but I think she was just SO IN LOVE with the book that she wanted every woman to read it. Which I understand, in a weird way. I think I would offer to buy a book for someone if I thought it would make a positive difference in their life. I'm willing to make that bet with this one, and buy it for myself.

I may or may not post a review afterward, but I'll at least put one up on Goodreads.com so you can read it there. (And also, you should join Goodreads because it's fanastic.)

Death of legitimacy? Perhaps. MACMILLAN, I'm looking at you.

So! Who's heard of Macmillan's newest and coolest thing? It's called DynamicBooks! And it may or may not be a completely horrible idea.

DynamicBooks is a software put out by publishing magnate Macmillan that allows professors and teachers to basically rewrite textbooks. It is quite brilliant to allow them to delete one chapter, add syllabi, etc, but where does it cross a line? I think I can tell you that one.

Professors can completely rewrite phrases, sentences, paragraphs, whole pages. Whatever the hell they want. Without consulting anyone about it.

Here, let me quote Brian Napack, president of Macmillan: "Basically they will go online, log on to the authoring tool, have the content right there and make whatever changes they want.... And we don’t even look at it."

Um, what?

So let me sum it up. Your children could be reading something that their teachers COMPLETELY MADE UP and pass it off as being in a textbook. Granted, most professors have integrity and would not do that, but there are definitely some that are a little off their rockers out there in the great wide world.

The publisher still has the right and ability to remove anything offensive or any plagiarism, but they completely rely on their consumers to alert them to the problems.

I will admit that there are many pros to this setup here, but I think the possibilities for failure are far too many and too dire for me to want to support something like this. I don't like it when random people can take licenses with other people's work. Write your own damn textbook if you want it to say something different.

Read the New York Times article on it here.

Frustration.

Last night was an all-around fantastic night--I kicked it off by going to a concert performance of The Marriage of Figaro, which I had never seen/heard. A friend of mine was the conductor and he (as well as the cast and orchestra) did an amazing job. I then went to a friend's birthday party, which was also very fun.

At one point though, a few of us got into a debate about pornography and prostitution, and I got very frustrated. I still am when I think about it now. I seemed to be the only one who thought either of those professions was demeaning and/or abusive--at one point I was asked if I had ever enjoyed sex (which of course has nothing to do with anything). I was pretty heartbroken, I'm not going to lie. I hate how I can't seem articulate my feelings and my knowledge. I know there are women who do not go into these professions willingly. I know there is sex trafficking in the United States, as well as many many other countries around the world. I know girls are sold into prostitution as young as 3 in some parts of the world. People have seen it, lived it, they can attest to it. And it hurts me to think that some people believe all women have and make a choice when this happens to them.

And that's not to say it's like that for all women who are prostitutes or in porn. Not at all. I'm sure some of them do it because they believe it is the best way for them. But then again, what does that say about our society that they feel this is going to be the best way for them to spend their lives? There are so many variables in every life that could lead to prostitution or porn. Abuse, neglect, an unloving environment, daily insults about one's lack of self-worth.

I am lucky enough to not have to live through that nightmare, and every single person at that party last night is just as lucky. At least the ones engaged in the discussion. It really pains me to think that people make blanket assumptions about choice, especially today.

I have a friend who worked at an organization two summers ago that helped get girls out of prostitution, fought against sex traffickers. It really disturbed her to do it, but she did it because she knew she had to do what she could to help these girls. I saw her face when she was talking about it, and I dare anyone to say all women have a choice in the matter after watching her.

That last post was NOT MINE. Plus, donate to the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure!

Hi everyone. Sorry for my prolonged absence. I had lost interest in my blog for quite some time. Months, I believe. But no longer!

First of all, I want to say that last post was not me. It was my mother who accidentally put it on my blog and not the one for the music boosters. I apologize for that.

Here is what is happening with me, in case you are out of the loop. I am going to grad school in less than a week, starting on Tuesday, for library science at Simmons in Boston. I'm actually really excited; I'll be concentrating on Youth Services, which is pretty much perfect for me. I just need to get some scholarship money and then I'll be all set. *fingers crossed*

I have also recently decided and registered for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure walk, which is kind of a big deal. I have agreed to raise a minimum of $2,300 by the time of the walk, which is in mid-July. It's going to be challenging; not only do I have a large sum to meet, but the walk itself is 60 miles over three days. Please donate generously to the cause. Apparently I can't post the link here because blogger is stupid, so go to www.the3day.org and search for my name, that will take you to my page. I'll also try to get the widget posted on here somehow. I'm so bad with website things. But all donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law, and the net proceeds of the event will be invested in community-based breast health programs and breast cancer research (the research funded focuses on decreasing breast cancer incidence and mortality in the next decade).

If you would like to dedicate your donation to someone in your life who has been affected by the disease, you are more than welcome to add that name when you donate online. That's also the fastest and easiest way to donate.

Anyway. Part of the REASON I have stopped blogging was that my computer died. Again. Yes, one last time, because I decided it was not worth fixing. Nope. I finally got a replacement about 2 weeks ago, and what a replacement it is. A nice new 13" MacBook Pro, ready to help me get my master's degree. It's super exciting, I'm not gonna lie, and I got this super cool decal for the back, which is a picture of Snow White holding the apple on the back. She's wearing a kerchief around her face, bandit style, and the title is Snow White's Revenge. Everyone at the Apple Store thought it was wicked awesome. And that's because it IS.

So that's it for right now. I am sorry to have disappeared, but now I'm hoping things will be more regular. I tweet, but a tweet can only tell you so much. I have to figure out how to add that widget though. And my Susan G. Komen widget. (Please donate!)

UNO Chicago Grill: Only Way to Raise Dough!

The Burlington High School Music Boosters Association will be hosting a Dine Out event on Friday, January 22, 2010, at UNO Chicago Grill located in the Burlington Mall. Good on dine in and take out orders, Uno’s will donate 20% of all receipts (excluding tax and tip) to the Music Boosters during the all-day, all-night fundraiser.

The Uno Dine Out event coincides with the Music Boosters’ Youth Movie Night, an evening of fun for children ages 5-13 at Burlington High School where the youngsters can spend the evening with friends and watch the Disney-Pixar film “UP” on the big screen. Parents can drop their children off at Burlington High School under complete student and adult chaperone supervision at 6:00 pm and head to the mall for dinner at UNO’s and shopping, or pick up your order and take it home to your sanctuary of silence! (Pick-up time from BHS is at 9:00 pm.)

To participate in the BHS Music Boosters Association Uno’s Dine Out event, you must present the UNO’s coupon designed specifically for the January 22 event. Coupons for the UNO Chicago Grill Dine Out event and registration forms for the Youth Movie Night can be obtained by contacting the Music Boosters organization at bhsmusicboostersassn@gmail.com or the music office at 781-860-1860. They have also been sent to every elementary and middle school home and will be available at the check-in desk during Youth Movie Night.

Another actual conversation.

Zav: Never sing an Italian song while you're shaving. I told you it was too soon for me to shave, Mom.
Mom: Well did I hold a gun to your head?!
Zav: A metaphorical gun. A gun of pressure.