Cardyn Brooks's Blog, page 37
May 14, 2014
Two Steves and a Bill
image by Cardyn Brooks 2014 Observation: Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Bill Gates made technology mainstream. They and their peers conceived and built upon innovations that launched this current digital society, measured by likes, views, unique visitors, subscribers, customer reviews, etc. We are connected through many more ways of communication and information access at the same time the depth of our face-to-face connections is eroding because we're always looking down into our personal tech for amusement and knowledge.
BATAF: Human- to-human engagement is obsolete.
May 3, 2014
Overdue Books
image from weneeddiversebooks.tumblr.com Confession: The #WeNeedDiverseBooks and #DiversifyYourShelves threads are so encouraging to me after reading so much mainstream contemporary fiction in which there are no non-Anglo characters or the ones who are included seem flat and false.
BATAF: Diversity is a politically correct fad, not a universal necessity.
April 16, 2014
Own It
original image from hercampus.com
Confession: Being called bossy doesn't bother me. Not teaching our girls, boys and young women and young men how to move through life as propelled by ethical ambitions, the Golden Rule and internal validation does. This Ban Bossy campaign is well-intentioned, but ignores the source of the leadership gap between girls and boys: the suffocating narrowness of gendered expectations and the consequences of not conforming to them.
BATAF: Desirable female and male personality traits are rigidly defined.
April 4, 2014
Is Money Our God?
image from crooksandliars.com Confession: It didn't surprise me to learn that Hobby Lobby indirectly invests in companies that manufacture the types of contraceptives that Hobby Lobby finds objectionable based on their religious beliefs. It did surprise me that no one on their highly educated and generously compensated legal team advised Hobby Lobby to divest from these mutual funds before filing suit for an exemption from the ACA's contraception coverage mandate due to infringement on the religious freedom of their corporation's personhood. They could have easily avoided the appearance of sanctimonious hypocrisy.
BATAF: A woman's fertility is her only significant contribution to society.
March 26, 2014
Conduct Unbecoming
Question: What if everyone universally agreed that intoxicated people are automatically not candidates for any kind of sexual activity? Regardless of the circumstances. When in doubt, don't.
BATAF: The burden of proof always falls on rape survivors to prove they weren't asking for it.
February 24, 2014
Grown Ups, Too, Please
image from thebadgecentre.co.uk Confession: Having as large an assortment of romance fiction about actual adults (instead of 30+somethings who behave like emotionally stunted high schoolers) as there is in YA and New Adult titles would create a lovely selection for this voracious reader.
BATAF: Once a woman hits her 30s, her best years are behind her.
February 17, 2014
Human Targets
"I Am A HueMan Target." by Cardyn Brooks (c)2014 Confession: The verdict in the trial of the man who killed Jordan Davis did not surprise me. In death, Jordan Davis was judged with as much automatic suspicion by the jury as he was by his killer in life.
BATAF: A white man's fear always justifies the use of deadly force against black male bodies.
February 14, 2014
Cure V.D. Madness
photo by Banks Art Partners 2014 Confession: Valentine's Day mania adds extra pressure to being in love. The price markups make loving expressions, meals, and gifts more expensive and more challenging to arrange. Eye contact during conversation, handholding on a leisurely stroll, shared laughter, hugs, kisses, consideration, and kindness... Receiving these things freely given everyday of the year make me feel loved. BATAF: The higher the cost of a romantic gesture, the more love the recipient offers the giver.
February 8, 2014
No Benefit of the Doubt for You
image from interoccupy.netConfession: Reading the text for the opening statements in the trial of the man who killed Jordan Davis makes me wonder if black boys will ever be safe in the U.S. In an abstract from a Florida news outlet, two of his friends are characterized as having "no known criminal record." It seems unlikely that Caucasian teens would be described with the same qualifier.
BATAF: All black boys are suspects.
January 16, 2014
The Dumb-Down
AlphaBadassBad BoyDominant Confession: Alpha, badass, bad boy and dominant are used so frequently as character descriptors in women's fiction that reading about a character named Alpha McBadass Bad Boy Dom seems inevitable. Has "Show; don't tell." been retired as a basic writing instruction? BATAF: Readers aren't smart enough to figure out the hierarchy of characters.
