Pam’s Comments (group member since Dec 29, 2016)

Pam’s comments from the Our Shared Shelf group.

Welcome Gem!

Thanks Sascha!

Sascha wrote: "One million people demonstrated for the right to abortion in Buenos Aires yesterday. The parliament is currently deciding on whether or not to make abortion legal and more accessible in Argentina.
..."

Wow! And as the home country of the current Pope?! His holiness Pope Francis of the Catholic Church

Coolio's Gangsta's Paradise (1995)(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPO76...). (Dangerous Minds) Very powerful song that pulled from Tupac's messages (Am I going to live to see 23?).

Enter Weird Al Yankovic. (White and Nerdy, Like a Surgeon). Under fair use acts, parody's do not require permission from song owners to be used. Weird Al created "Amish Paradise" a play on Coolio's version that was really well received and may or may not had express permission to use Gangsta's as the base. Coolio voiced displeasure at the song and felt that Amish took away from the seriousness of his.

To date, Weird Al has since apologized. And in 2014 Coolio mentioned that his feud was silly.

Using today's optics (Black Lives Matter) and theme of having a voice in The Hate U Give, does this seem ok? A white guy comes in, uses your masterpiece that moves the words of Tupac and street issues into the mainstream audience and changes it into a paradody.

- Was this OK? (It should be noted, Coolio did receive a royalty check for the parody)
- Did Amish Paradise help more people look into Gangsta's Paradise? Making the rap song even more accessible as a typical white audience became more familiar to it through Weird Al's song?
- As Ashley stated, Black music has been compromised or subsumed under a white genre in the past. Is this just another piece of that history?
- If the roles were reversed: A white guy creating a emotional song about serious issue and a black man came in and used it to poke fun at something... would the public reaction be the same or different?

There are still some complaints.

Looks at Eninem, Macklemore, and Iggy A. Dre practically had to be in almost every Eminem video to give him credibility from one audience and backup from the other.

Excellent! Looking forward to reading your thoughts Hamda!

Love the Derby. I'm incredibly fortunate to have a team in my area. It's definitely an event.

As an adult woman looking to join a sport. Derby is an awesome one. You have a team of women. You have a extremely physicsl sport that leaves you with bruises to admire and be proud of, and it's something you can do year round.

While I do not play,it's on my list if I ever want to change my current sport fix. Others clubs in my area: American football, rugby, and volleyball are all seasonal.

This right here is powerful. Thank you so much Luella for bringing this to our attention.

So one of the big problems with former inmates is what got you into jail has a lot to do with environment. Aka... if drugs were the reason you went in, chances are strong that drugs are still the way you cope when things go pear shape. And if you're back where you used to live, you still know where you can score more and you might get caught again. (1 example, very simplified)

And on the opposite side, the other big factor of your success after prison is dependent on work. Do you have access to employment? With more and more industries cracking down on previous offenders, about 1/3 are left with no way out of those environmental problems. And jail with 3 meals a day and a warm building to sleep in looks a lot better than homelessness. (http://www.slate.com/articles/news_an...)

But by giving them job training, by giving them a path out of their environmental conditions, we can put a large dent in the recidivism rates.

"At Coffee Creek, 89 women have successfully graduated from the Hair Design program and reintegrated into society — and only six have ever returned to prison. In fact, the Hair Design program automatically reduces the chances of returning to prison to a third of the national average, according to Kennedy, who keeps a binder of her success stories from the past 16 years on her desk to encourage current students."

Very cool! Thanks for posting Sascha.

Responding to boost the signal!

Luella wrote: "Did anyone see this article yet? Cynthia Nixon On "Being A Miranda" 20 Years After Sex And The City Premiered"

Nice article. Great reminder of how we are evolving. Getting a bit more Miranda with our Carries etc. And hey, looks like Cynthia Nixon is becoming a bit of Miranda herself - serious and invested in her community.

Awesome insights

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-can...

The judge who handled the Standford Rape trial, and sentenced rapist Brock Turner to only six months, was elected out of office via petition.

"Such elections are rare - the last time a US judge was recalled was in 1977."

"We voted today against impunity for high status perpetrators of sexual assault and domestic violence," chair of Recall Persky, Michelle Dauber said."

I love Nina Simone's cover of Strange Fruit. It's haunting.

I'll check out Franti. Thanks.

And Janelle Monae is amazing. Tightrope is such a beautiful song on code switching, being a woman, kicking butt. It's ah+mazing. Django Jane... perfect for right now

Sascha wrote: ""Dial down the Feminism"

http://www.annewizorek.de/post/170793..."

Hehe. Nice

Barbara wrote: "While Marx's point is valid, I don't feel there is any ethical grey area once facts are discovered. If there is any question as to how to interpret the facts, as human life is involved, progress sh..."

Science some times has to catch up before it completely understand new discoveries.

So how long must things be tested before products come on the market?

The amount of time and money it takes to test pharmaceuticals, for example, limits what issues companies go after. No one touches research for medicine that only effects a tiny portion of the population, because of the expense. There isn't a large enough return on investment, even if the technology and expertise is there to merit a company spending the resources on such small problems.

So how long is long enough? If we figured out fusion - creating limitless energy (no need for fossil fuels, etc) how soon do we add consumers have to wait before we never pay another utility bill again? Never have to go to the gas station ever again?

Good point. Marc. Coca-Cola used to have coke-the drug- in it. And now look where we are.

Another example: In the States, people became very worried about fat in their food. So the food industry came up with new products that had less fat, but still tasted good. How? Because they added corn syrup/sugar. Fat went down. But diabetes increased exponentially.

That's fair.

I don't dislike the bdsm lifestyle. That is a style of choice and most importantly- consent. The video is also very reminiscent of the Story of O. But that world (O's or the video) is not for me.

Nor is it something I believe the whole world should be subjected to. Fine in private.

Like all BDSM practices, your lifestyle and play should be dependent on consent. Walking a person on a leash (with any gender at the helm) is fine in your own home. But not outside as the public hasn't given their consent to be a part of it. If you want a public scene, take it to the numerous gatherings or clubs that cater to those styles. Again, fully knowing that the people inside the darkened -not-for-public rooms- does so knowingly.

Get your kicks as a Dom. Play with pets, toys, and costumes to your heart's content. But keep it consensual with all participants. Society at large can accept that style of play as long as the players understand that one sacred rule.

As far as making Fem Doms for boy subs the future of our society.... Pass thank you.

Barf!

I found some discussion questions on The Hate U Give from Walker Books UK.

1)As Starr and Khalil listen to Tupac, Khalil explains what Tupac said “Thug Life” meant. Discuss the meaning of the term “Thug Life” as an acronym and why the author might have chosen part of this as the title of the book. In what ways do you see this in
society today? (Chapter 1, p. 21)

2. Chapter 2 begins with Starr flashing back to two talks her parents had with her when she was young. One was about sex (“the usual birds and bees”). The second was about what precautions to take when encountering a police officer (Chapter 2, p. 24). Have you had a similar conversation about what
to do when stopped by the police? Reflect upon or imagine this conversation.

3. Thomas frequently uses motifs of silence and voice throughout the book. Find instances in the book where silence or voice and speech are noted, and talk about the author’s possible intentions for emphasizing these motifs.

4. At the police station after Starr details the events leading up to the shooting, the detective shifts her focus to Khalil’s past. Why do you think the detective did this? Discuss Starr’s reaction to this “bait” (Chapter 6, pp. 103–104).

5. Once news of Khalil’s shooting spreads across the neighbourhood, unrest arises: “Sirens wail outside. The news shows three patrol cars that have been setablaze at the police precinct . . . A gas station near the freeway gets looted . . . My neighbourhood is a war zone” (Chapter 9, p. 138). Respond to this
development and describe some parallels to current
events.

6. How do you think Starr would define family? What about Seven? How do you define it?

7. Chris and Starr have a breakthrough in their relationship – Starr admits to him that she was in the car with Khalil and shares the memories of Natasha’s murder (Chapter 17, pp. 296–301).
Discuss why Starr’s admission and releasing of this burden to Chris is significant. Explore the practice of “code switching” and discuss how you might code switch in different circumstances in your own life.

8. How and why does the neighbourhood react to the
grand jury’s decision (Chapter 23)? How does Starr use her voice as a weapon, and why does she feel that it is vital that she does? Refer back to “Thug Life” and discuss how the acronym resonates in this chapter.

9. Starr pledges to “never be quiet” (Chapter 26, p. 438). After reading this book, how can you use your voice to promote and advance social justice? Reflect on how you and your community discuss and address inequality.

10. (My own) Thompson offers us characters that are filled with second chances. They are shown to be stereotypical at first glance, but then she peels back layers that show off their motivations and opinions that differ from the protagonist and her family, but are still respected as valid ideas. (Kenya, Mr. Lewis, Maverick, Maya). Reflect on your own life and the people you've met. Have you judged someone too quickly without knowing their true motivations? Once you got to know them better, did your relationship change?

That's fair. My quote above makes it sound like all fun in games. When it's not. It's a serious topic that those in the US fought to create Labor laws that prevent this.

But while our country doesn't allow it, companies here sure don't seem to care going to other places where it's ok like in the before mentioned sweat shops (Nike, Nestle cough cough). And that's not touching on the sex trade.

Thank you for the correction Keith