Don’t Sweat the Petty. Pet the Sweaty.

Everyone seems so stressed and busy at the end of the year, I'm not. Smooth sailing as far as I'm concerned. If you've been getting C's in a class all semester, chances are that's what the end result will be so don't stress too much. Don't sweat the petty, pet the sweaty. On that note, I would like to give my input on this class. I was impressed by the ease of this class. I'm not saying this was an EASY class, but it was laid back. I find that when I feel comfortable in a class, I'm willing to put in more effort. It's nice to be graded on blogs because there are endless things to write about. There is no right or wrong answer, and often times I feel that we as students get more from a useful class such as this, as opposed to a geography or geology class.  As for Dr. Halavais:last semester at UB?? I hope you're moving on to bigger and better things, and taking your blogging ideas with you…I think it's genious. I also think it's just a matter of time before more classes are run this way. 

Once a Pedophile Always a Pedophile

Being a stubborn individual, I’m not a fan of giving people second chances.  If we’re talking about a friend forgetting to call you on your birthday, ok that’s one thing, but being convicted as a pedophile is a whole other topic!  The whole idea of child pornography makes me ill, especially when it’s referred to as ‘kitty’ porn. Eeeewww. 

A few weeks ago I was flipping through the channels and found my ever favortie program, “The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch”.  This is one of those low-budget shows but every once in a wihle Donny’s making valid points.  The show I caught on this particular night was about petophiles.  He was speaking with an elderly man who fight AGAINST those who were accused of being a petophile.  The sweet irony is that he himself was a pedophile back in the day.  He did jail time, apparently had an epiphany while serving time and now decides to put people like him in jail.  I could not look at him as 1.a responsible being 2. a reliable source or 3.a good person.  Twenty years ago this man was molesting children. 

With all of the technology there is today, I think it’s safe (and sad) to say that it is very difficult to protect children from pedophiles.  The advent of MySpace isn’t helping matters either.  I think kids are just asking for trouble. 

When push comes to shove, I personally think that if you were once a pedophile you are always a pedophile.  Pedophilia can be paralleled to alcoholism.  Sure, you haven’t had a drink in 50 days, or told kids walking home from school that you have candy at your house for them (in the case of the pedophile), doesn’t mean the urge isn’t still there.  Another scary thought is that pedophila has been shown to be hereditary, just as alcoholism. 

A Few Remaining Questions

A few questions I have for Michael Lucas include:

1. Do you think the President's take on homosexuality affects how gays are portrayed in scoiety?

2. People are always so concerned with questionable material, regarding porn, being so easily accessible.  Just as porn is so easily accessible, so is your perverse blog, which some may take offense to. Do you think material DISCUSSING pornography is different than the actual porn itself?

International Porn~It’s Tricky!

While on the Sunday morning quest to locate an interesting blog to repond to, I stumbled upon your balls are showing.  I read this character's blog almost every week because I get kicks out of it.  The titles are catchy and the humor is whitty, I love it! 

In regards to Mikey, his 15 year old porn addiction, and his parents fighting the phone company, I have so many thoughts and feelings.  I'm curious as to whether or not he still is into porn these days.  Maybe instead of fighting the phone company, his parents should have sent him to the House of Hope. 

I find humor in parents.  They always seem to think they're child is never at fault.  Rather than making Mikey pay his portion of the phone bill, his parents faught with the phone company and were arguing about what internet laws pertain to who, what their boundaries are, etc.  That's the problem with the world wide web and I think so many parents don't comprehend: it's difficult to monitor what your children are viewing, anyone can click the box confirming that they are 18 years old.  Undertandable, Mikey was a  curious teen, but kids who are porn-obsessed need to consider the consequences.  But really, who thinks that they are looking at pornography that comes from Bangladesh or Sri Lanka??  Everything else is made there these days, so I guess why not porn as well?

Contrary to My Porn Beliefs. . .

Since it's opposite week, I am arguing that it's a myth that porn enhances relationships.  Therefore, I am saying that I believe porn damages relationships.  I think porn is damaging to relationships because when men watch porn, their mind roams, far far away from their significant other.  When men engage in viewing pornography they are seeing things that interest them, that they would enjoy engaging in with their wife/girlfriend, however the chances of that happening are slim to none.  Many females are repulsed by pornography and think the actions being filmed in porn are ridiculous and degrading.  I think porn can only damage relationships because it leaves your significant other feeling second best and inadequte.  I mean come on, not everyone can swing from poles and do splits.  It is for this reason that I believe it is a myth that porn enhances relationships. 

It's opposite week.  Truthfully, I think porn DOES enhance relationships.  If a couple is comfortable enough to watch pornography together, then they are probably comfortable enough revealing their desires to one another.  No matter what anyone says, when push comes to shove, it's a form of communication.

Influential Blogs

Throughout the class, I have found myself reading the same handful of blogs on a regular basis, due to the content of their blogs.  Katie has written several blogs that I have found interesting.  One in particular was the blog on lecture 13, which was about women having control while filming pornography.  I thought she had a good point, which was that women in todays work force often are not in authoritative positions.  Most managers and owners are men, so women who make the rules in pornography truly are women of the new millenium! 

Another blog I enjoyed reading was the Bumblebee Tuna Guy's.  I loved that he's not afraid to talk about himself, as well as his friends.  My favorite blog he wrote was the one about his friend, Tone-Bone.  More then anything, I enjoy reading his blogs for the entertainment. 

It is hard to keep reading the same person's blog on a regular basis, due to the layout of the course blog, but I do try to follow the same handful of blogs.  I enjoy reading these two for different reasons.  Katie's blogs are educational and thoughtful while the BumbleBee Tuna Guy gives readers entertainment. 

When Are Parents No Longer Responsible?-A Look at Spring Break ‘06

With Spring Break just a week behind us, everyone is still sporting their hard earned tan and sharing stories.  This year college students went everywhere from Cancun to Florida to the Dominican Republic.  Spring Break is every college student's excuse to party hard, drink all night and into the wee hours of the morning, and sleep in random people's beds.  Let's face it, if you're not hooking up on Spring Break, you failed.  If our paernts only knew the half of it, I think they would have a stroke. 

So many parents pay for their child's education, which I completely agree with, but with the expense of college comes the expense of Spring Break, which is essential to the college experience.  Several months ago when students began planning their spring break, parents were forced to cough up a decent amount of money.  But for what?  Do parents really know what they're paying for?  I would like to think parents don't know or think about all of the random sex that goes on throughout Spring Break, but part of me can't believe that parents are that naive. 

With this said, my question is: When are parents no longer responsible for  their child?  Yes, according to 'the books' it's 18, but so many parents continue to support their children throughout college.  So if parents are paying for their college-student child to party on Spring Break, shouldn't they know what their child is up to??  Parents had the chance to get clued in last week while MTV aired shows from their Spring Break 2006.  The things they show are unbelievable. 

I remember being in 8th grade, glued to the TV all weekend long while MTV aired Spring Break.  I thought it was great.  I was so envious of all the college kids who were having such a great time.  I experience Spring Break for myself a few times, but now I've come to the realization that I  can do the same thing in Buffalo during Spring Break, and get the same results…with a little help from Tanning Bed! 

MySpace Becomming Too Risque

The MySpace and Facebook craze have been taking over college campuses the past year.  I don’t know if they were a big deal earlier on, but it’s been more recently that there’s more talk about these two websites.  MySpace is new to me, having only been a member for the past two weeks.  I’ve been on Facebook since the beginning of this school year, but I created a MySpace out of peer pressure.  Everyone else was doing it!  And they told me to do it!  So I did! 

Over the past two weeks I have seen all kinds via MySpace, asking to be my friend and leaving messages.  These are very interesting people;I guess that’s how you could put it.  I understand that by registering for MySpace, you should expect to encounter strange things.  ie-people from Kansas asking to be your friend because they came across your ‘pic’ and thought you seemed interesting.  Who even says the ‘pic’ is of me?!  I mean really, anybody could post a picture of anyone else, and say it’s them. 

In recent news, there have been arrests over MySpace scandals.  Parents are worried about their children, who are underage and have MySpace accounts.  A similar thing is going on with Facebook, which is now available to 25,000 high schools. 

Through my use of MySpace, which is to talk to friends from school, mostly out of state, I see where parents should be concerned.  Young, high school students that are naive are not going to take the necessary precautions when talking to strangers through MySpace.  The older you get, the more likely you are to have better judgement when it comes to ’strangers’ but in this day and age, with all of the technology that is at our fingerstips, anything could happen, and I’m convinced anyone can find you if they try hard enough.  With that said, parents STILL need to remind their children not to talk to strangers;but this time it’s not ‘don’t take candy from strangers’ it’s ‘don’t go out with a guy you meet on MySpace’!

HalfWay There

Assigning a grade to yourself is a difficult task because you don’t want to short-change yourself, but you don’t want to sound full of yourself and say that you’re doing a stellar job. 

According to the rubric, I think I would fall under the B range.  When I say ‘range’ I mean ranging no lower than a B!  I enjoy ‘distance learning’ classes, but have found it difficult to sit down and work this semester.  In the beginning of the semester I was closing the door to my office at work and reading people’s blogs during lunch. ::LOSER::  I enjoy reading what people had to say, moreso their personal thoughts and feelings as opposed to comments on lectures.  I feel that the lectures are instructional, so what is left to say at the end of a lecture? 

For the most part I blog three times a week, however I’m lucky if one of them is in regards to a lecture.  I prefer the readings, commenting on others’ ideas, and writing about my own experiences.  Often times I think education is more about the experience as opposed to what is written in a text book.  Some people walk away nourished with knowledge when they experience something as opposed to sitting in the library for three hours and reading a text book. (I’m that person) 

I get excited when someone comments on my blog.  YAY, someone is actually paying attention to what I have to say! (for a change)  How do we know that anyone(that counts) is reading our blog?  I haven’t seen many links on the course blog that illustrate a good blog, or something interesting that a student had to say.

A response to Wangette20

I’m having a hard time figuring out how this “Gregarious” operates!  However, while sifting through people’s blogs with the intent of finding something interesting to comment on, I came across Wangette20’s blog.  I found this to be an interesting blog because for starters, this is all news to me.  Porn being on cable TV?  I think it’s getting a little out of control and I completely agree with Wangette20 when she writes that people are just getting lazy.  They really are.  I mean as if there aren’t enough adult video stores and stripclubs within 25 miles from EVERYWHERE in Buffalo!  And you, Mr. I’m So Horny And Lazy, can’t even get in your car and go rent the video! 

You know what I think the problem is?  Mr. I’m so Horny and Lazy is too embarassed to go rent an adult video!  People are good at pretending that they aren’t embarassed about what they do, but when push comes to shove, you need your dirty videos handed to you!

I can’t help but think of all the elderly people out there.  Late at night, they just want to watch  the news, maybe Wheel of Fortune and now we are going to contaminate their TV sets with pornography?  They would have a coronary! 

To all the porn kings out there (and I think there are more porn kings than queens, if ya know what I mean) I ask you to please have a little consideration for the elderly!  They can’t handle fake breasts and penises flailing about the TV screen.