The Only Pride Post at 9:09 PM

Ok, Pride month is almost officially over. In my circle it's not really that big of a deal. Half my friends are breeder, that's what we call you guys, and the other half couldn't care less about the whole ordeal. So with that said, the closest I got to any kind of Pride event thingy was driving down a street in Houston, in Montrose (the gay district), and seeing people linning up for a parade. And in that moment, playing the "B or G" game, I realized I really don't like our flag. A rainbow? Really? There's so many other options, why a rainbow? I know the history behind it, I've done my homework, and passed the membership test. Can't we come up with something that has a little more umph behind it? How about a lambda? Greek Spartans used it for "unity" and Romans saw it as saying "the light of knowledge shining into the darkness of ignorance." See, so much better than the sissy rainbow.

Soooooo hope everyone had a fun, happy, safe month. Stonewall was forty years ago today, fyi. Come a long way in that time. Tomorrow the White House is supposed to open its doors to a few leaders in the community. Maybe they'll get an explanation for the horrific defense of the DOMA released a few weeks ago that compared gay marriage to incest and pedophilia. Maybe? "Fierce advocate"...Anyone?

R.I.P at 3:53 PM

Michael Jackson died today. No matter if you liked him or not, his
music changed the world's culture.

What Can Sociology Do For You? at 2:16 PM

Part of Social Physiology says that we all have very real, biological emotional responses. Our heart rates speed up or slow down, we sweat, our eyes dilate, hormonal changes occur in the brain. These are all very physical and biological, not really what sociology deals with I know, stay with me. While we all have the same emotions, its been proven; seven are universal, what we call them or recognize these biological changes as varies. We label what we experience as love, hate, fear, sickness.

Imagine two bridges. One is over a very shallow creek, maybe a foot bellow the bridge. The other is over a deep canyon. Now place two identical twins at one side of each. Ask some guys, or girls, or whatever, to cross the bridge and go toward the girl, or guy, or whatever on the opposite side. Those who go over the "dangerous" fall will be more likely to find the person on the other side attractive. Now part of this is they had to take a harder journey to get there, but most of it is the label they are giving to their emotions. They're heart rate increases, blood starts flowing, and chemicals start causing very real biological changes. Is this fear or a kind of physical attraction? In our society, both of these labels for emotions have the same physical meanings.

So what? What good is this to you? Well boys and girls, think about the study, and it is a real study, next time you go on a first date. You got a crush on a girl, boy, whatever, and you take them to the movies for your first date. Do you take them to a chick flick, the standard romantic first date movie, or something with a little more boom? If you can get their heart beating with some good chase scenes and explosions you are more likely to get a good night kiss. They might label the physical emotions as something you created and give you the credit. Manipulative? Nah, science is your friend, take advantage of it.

Found Two! at 2:04 PM

I found two stomach muscles today. Was just out of the shower and thought "shit I'm you can see where my rib cage ends" Nope! You can see where I have two muscles right below my rib cage. I'd show you but it would be rather hard to see and my mom would freak out. But yeah needless to say the trips to the gym, actually doing some good. TMI?

What You Gunna Do at 7:35 AM

Last night I asked a few friends for date suggestions. I wanted to
take someone out but had no clue where to start. Within minutes I
started talking to a long lost friend about the guy. Go figure, we
were dating the same one. "I'm just not good at doing relationships."
Shit. He's got two more than most people have going. I must be a
cheater's worst nightmare. With the social networks I have it's almost
impossible to get away from my six degrees circle. "I didn't want to
hurt anyone but ended up hurting everyone." Thats so cheesy you just
have to smile. Single is getting to be rather comfy from my point of
view. By the way, have some great date ideas if anyone needs one.
Laura wins I think though.

Ummmm at 12:00 PM

Maybe it's a small town thing. Maybe a western thing. I just held a
door open for a kid my age and got a "thank you son." Kids are weird.

The SA Effect at 6:59 PM

Damn you San Antonio!!! Somehow, somewhere I've picked up the habit of saying Chico or Chica, depending on the situation. I'm sure I'm not using them right or in the right places but these two words are now officially in my vocab. I think it's the SA equivalent of saying dude or bro.

Lets Talk Race at 1:17 PM

I'm kind of at a Sociology boot camp for going onto Grad school. There's about seven of us Soc kids here and we spend a lot of time together during the week, I mean we live within a couple of inches of each other. The group is pretty racily diverse with a variety of social backgrounds. I always have been pretty open minded and equal rights oriented, no matter the group, but the last week or so has really been a great opportunity. Class is great but the conversations outside the academic setting are even better. Ebonics, the N word, covert racism, equal opportunities and movies. We can all have an opinion and argue it but nobody gets mad. We acknowledge that different ideas make the world work.

I did notice the other day, to an outside some of our conversations would sound rather bigoted and racist. We tell jokes that could be taken wrong if out of context. Walking around campus I'm sure we are a sight, a bunch of black kids, a Hispanic, and a white kid. The jokes got me thinking though. With such an obvious difference in race and heritage the humor is a way of addressing that possible barrier and tearing it down. Humor allows us to confront a possible divide and bridge it. We see the differences between us and respect them but aren't going to let them get in the way of conversation and exchange of ideas. Already I can see myself missing this atmosphere and wishing that more of the world could see race as sociologist do.

"People need to see that, far from being an obstacle, the world’s diversity of languages, religions, and traditions is a great treasure, affording us precious opportunities to recognize ourselves in others.”

—	Youssou N’Dour

Talking About Feelings at 7:25 AM

I hate when people do the whole "I don't really feel. I'm a very numb
person." It just cries drama and needy. I'm not a very emotional
person. You'll never catch me crying during a movie, like some of my
friends, or yelling at some idiot on the road. But the whole numb
thing is just a little over the top. How many people actually hear
this and don't think "omg get over your 21st century feely self."
Between Dr. Phil and the medication as candy for kids, our society
seems to have gone too far on this self exploratory kick. If you feel
your numb try a smile or a little five min. vacation. We're not all
suffering from post tramatic stress due to modern culture.

An Adventure at 7:46 PM

So here I am in a new town, at a new school, with a new circle. Can't say it's all good but not much to complain about really. Really looking forward to what the next couple of months will bring and the road I'm heading down. Every time I start a new school or move to a new place it's like a new adventure. Not knowing anyone or anything before I get there, I go in blind and expecting anything. Some people really hate starting over and not knowing what lies behind the next corner. I absolutly love it! The last few days have been great and exciting. All in all a good experience so far.