Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
This Shit Has GOT to STOP.
Check out a picture of the 15-year-old victim of a recent San Francisco gang-rape... this poor child was sexually assaulted, beaten and taunted by as many as 20 different men and boys -- ranging from 15 to 20 years old! WTF, people? Is rape considered some kind of sport?
According to Jezebel.com...
Brace yourself for the most stomach-turning story in a long time: on Friday, a 15-year-old girl was brutally gang-raped after a homecoming dance in a suburb of San Francisco, while as many as 15 teenage boys stood around, doing nothing.
The victim was leaving the dance in Richmond, CA — a suburb of San Francisco, not too far from Antioch, where Phillip Garrido held Jaycee Dugard — when a classmate invited her to drink with him in a secluded area near the school. She agreed, becoming so inebriated that she fell over, at which point as many as seven young men raped her, beat her, took photographs, and stole her jewelry. They assaulted her for two-and-a-half hours, injuring her so badly that she had to be flown from the scene in critical condition.
A gang rape always has the added awfulness that the rapists are comfortable enough with their crime to commit it in front of others. This case is especially bad because the girl's attackers continued in front of multiple witnesses, assuming that they would do nothing. That assumption was correct. In fact, it was someone hearing about the assault at a local house party who called the cops. Richmond police lieutenant Mark Gagan said, "What makes it even more disturbing is the presence of others. People came by, saw what was happening, and failed to report it."
At first I thought this was a Kitty Genovese situation, in which indifferent bystanders failed to help a crime victim. In fact, it's worse. CNN's Nick Valencia writes that, "as many as 15 people, all males, stood around watching the assault, but did not call police or help the victim." Gagan adds, "As people announced over time that this was going on, more people came to see, and some actually participated." This isn't a case of people turning their heads away and saying "none of my business." It's a situation in which 15 boys and men (one suspect in custody is 19, the other 15) treating public, brutal assault as a form of entertainment.
Anyone who went to a big, rough high school has seen this happen with a fight — everybody in the school rushes to the scene, cheering, booing, and even joining in as kids beat each other up. This practice is bad enough, exposing teen bloodlust and lack of compassion, but adding sexual assault to the mix makes the onlookers' situation all the more heinous. That all said onlookers were male seems important here — were they so afraid of having their masculinity questioned that they couldn't say anything? Or, more disturbingly, were they enthusiastic about the event, participating, however vicariously, in some kind of conquest? Whatever the case, not one, not two, but fifteen young men watched a gang-rape take place and essentially chose to side with the rapists — as Yes Means Yes would say, "that's rape culture."
xoxo,
Rebel Deb
According to Jezebel.com...
Brace yourself for the most stomach-turning story in a long time: on Friday, a 15-year-old girl was brutally gang-raped after a homecoming dance in a suburb of San Francisco, while as many as 15 teenage boys stood around, doing nothing.
The victim was leaving the dance in Richmond, CA — a suburb of San Francisco, not too far from Antioch, where Phillip Garrido held Jaycee Dugard — when a classmate invited her to drink with him in a secluded area near the school. She agreed, becoming so inebriated that she fell over, at which point as many as seven young men raped her, beat her, took photographs, and stole her jewelry. They assaulted her for two-and-a-half hours, injuring her so badly that she had to be flown from the scene in critical condition.
A gang rape always has the added awfulness that the rapists are comfortable enough with their crime to commit it in front of others. This case is especially bad because the girl's attackers continued in front of multiple witnesses, assuming that they would do nothing. That assumption was correct. In fact, it was someone hearing about the assault at a local house party who called the cops. Richmond police lieutenant Mark Gagan said, "What makes it even more disturbing is the presence of others. People came by, saw what was happening, and failed to report it."
At first I thought this was a Kitty Genovese situation, in which indifferent bystanders failed to help a crime victim. In fact, it's worse. CNN's Nick Valencia writes that, "as many as 15 people, all males, stood around watching the assault, but did not call police or help the victim." Gagan adds, "As people announced over time that this was going on, more people came to see, and some actually participated." This isn't a case of people turning their heads away and saying "none of my business." It's a situation in which 15 boys and men (one suspect in custody is 19, the other 15) treating public, brutal assault as a form of entertainment.
Anyone who went to a big, rough high school has seen this happen with a fight — everybody in the school rushes to the scene, cheering, booing, and even joining in as kids beat each other up. This practice is bad enough, exposing teen bloodlust and lack of compassion, but adding sexual assault to the mix makes the onlookers' situation all the more heinous. That all said onlookers were male seems important here — were they so afraid of having their masculinity questioned that they couldn't say anything? Or, more disturbingly, were they enthusiastic about the event, participating, however vicariously, in some kind of conquest? Whatever the case, not one, not two, but fifteen young men watched a gang-rape take place and essentially chose to side with the rapists — as Yes Means Yes would say, "that's rape culture."
xoxo,
Rebel Deb
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Oh, Those Crazy Kardashians!
Nothing says lovin' like big, wax lips... Check out this Yahoo news report! (or don't. I mean, aren't there more important world issues you could reading about? Like health care? Or abolishing the death penalty? Yeah... didn't think so... so keep reading!)
"In photos posted on her blog, Khloe Kardashian Odom revealed that she and husband Lamar Odom received matching tattoos to commemorate the lifelong love they sealed by exchanging marriage vows last month.
The "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" star and the Lakers forward inked each other's initials onto their hands. The "KO" on Odom's hand reflects the bride's announcement that she was changing her name to Khloe Kardashian Odom, while the "LO" on Khloe's hand could possibly double as shorthand for "Lo, this is a terrible idea."
For any young people who would like to model their lives after celebrities, you can follow the Kardashian-Odom model of love in four quick steps: (1) Meet. (2) Announce wedding plans one month later. (3) Realize belatedly you need a prenup and sign it three weeks after the wedding. (4) Get tattoos!
(Please note that this model only works if the bride has her own reality show.)"
xoxo,
Rebel Deb
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Friday, October 23, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Alien Baby!
...or, at least, a kid with some kick-ass parents, who happen to remember mega-hit sci-fi horror movies from the '70's. I totally think this should be my choice of Halloween costume:
xoxo,
Rebel Deb
xoxo,
Rebel Deb
Monday, October 19, 2009
The Hunt for the Perfect Halloween Costume Begins... NOW
I haven't dressed up for Halloween in quite a while:
So, yeah. I'm thinking I may need a new costume.
So far, it's between...
1) Slutty nurse
2) Slutty maid
3) Slutty cheerleader (are we seeing a pattern emerge?)
4) Joel McHale from "The Soup"
5) Jodie Foster. (I get a lot of "you look just like her"'s! Being compared to an uber talented, yet 50-something, hardcore lesbian isn't exactly great for my love life. But I can't seem to beat them, so I might as well join them. And Halloween may just be the perfect time to become a total conformist.)
6) Slutty "Grey's Anatomy" character (but which one?? There's sooo many.), or...
7) Slutty reality TV star. (Aka "Heather" from Rock of Love, John Gosselin and/or anyone from "The Real World" Las Vegas)
The hunt continues!
xoxo,
Rebel Deb
So, yeah. I'm thinking I may need a new costume.
So far, it's between...
1) Slutty nurse
2) Slutty maid
3) Slutty cheerleader (are we seeing a pattern emerge?)
4) Joel McHale from "The Soup"
5) Jodie Foster. (I get a lot of "you look just like her"'s! Being compared to an uber talented, yet 50-something, hardcore lesbian isn't exactly great for my love life. But I can't seem to beat them, so I might as well join them. And Halloween may just be the perfect time to become a total conformist.)
6) Slutty "Grey's Anatomy" character (but which one?? There's sooo many.), or...
7) Slutty reality TV star. (Aka "Heather" from Rock of Love, John Gosselin and/or anyone from "The Real World" Las Vegas)
The hunt continues!
xoxo,
Rebel Deb
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Friday, October 9, 2009
Only in North Carolina...
ROBESON COUNTY, N.C. — Cumberland County detectives found a trailer full of stolen ladies lingerie Thursday and connected it to a 2005 theft.
Authorities said the trailer, found off Mabe Road in Robeson County, had been reported missing from the Maidenform plant in
Fayetteville four years ago. It contained about $400,000 worth of bras and other undergarments.
Detectives connected the stolen underwear to sales on Craig's List. They are trying to determine who is responsible for the theft and the subsequent attempted sale.
In the meantime, folks have been making do with this handy-dandy replacement...
xoxo,
Rebel Deb
Authorities said the trailer, found off Mabe Road in Robeson County, had been reported missing from the Maidenform plant in
Fayetteville four years ago. It contained about $400,000 worth of bras and other undergarments.
Detectives connected the stolen underwear to sales on Craig's List. They are trying to determine who is responsible for the theft and the subsequent attempted sale.
In the meantime, folks have been making do with this handy-dandy replacement...
xoxo,
Rebel Deb
Congrats to Our President, Who Deserves His Nobel Prize!
Never before has any American President inspired so many who, for so long, never bothered to vote because they believed (rightly) that the government had overlooked them. That, because of their race and class, our system had given up on them.
Thank you, Obama, for helping to inspire and give hope back to so many Americans. You make me proud to count myself one of them.
xoxo,
Rebel Deb
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Finally, Some Rest for the Weary...
For Edgar Allan Poe, 2009 has been a better year than 1849. After dozens of events in several cities to mark the 200th anniversary of his birth, he's about to get the grand funeral that a writer of his stature should have received when he died.
One hundred sixty years ago, the beleaguered, impoverished Poe was found, delirious and in distress outside a Baltimore tavern. He was never coherent enough to explain what had befallen him since leaving Richmond, Va., a week earlier. He spent four days in a hospital before he died at age 40.
Poe's cousin, Neilson Poe, never announced his death publicly. Fewer than 10 people attended the hasty funeral for one of the 19th century's greatest writers. And the injustices piled on. Poe's tombstone was destroyed before it could be installed, when a train derailed and crashed into a stonecutter's yard. Rufus Griswold, a Poe enemy, published a libelous obituary that damaged Poe's reputation for decades.
But on Sunday, Poe's funeral will get an elaborate do-over, with two services expected to draw about 350 people each — the most a former church next to his grave can hold. Actors portraying Poe's contemporaries and other long-dead writers and artists will pay their respects, reading eulogies adapted from their writings about Poe.
"We are following the proper etiquette for funerals. We want to make it as realistic as possible," said Jeff Jerome, curator of the Poe House and Museum.
Advance tickets are sold out, although Jerome will make some seats available at the door to ensure packed houses. Fans are traveling from as far away as Vietnam.
The funeral is arguably the splashiest of a year's worth of events honoring the 200th anniversary of Poe's birth. Along with Baltimore — where he spent some of his leanest years in the mid-1830s — Poe lived in or has strong connections to Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Richmond.
With the funeral angle covered, the Edgar Allan Poe Museum in Richmond staged a re-enactment last weekend of his death. Those with a more academic interest in Poe can attend the Poe Studies Association's annual conference from Thursday through Sunday in Philadelphia.
Visitors in Baltimore for the funeral can enjoy a new exhibit at the Baltimore Museum of Art, "Edgar Allan Poe: A Baltimore Icon," which includes chilling illustrations to "The Raven" by Edouard Manet.
Baltimore has a decided advantage over the other cities that lay claim to Poe, notes BMA director Doreen Bolger. "We have the body," she said.
This week, that's true in more ways than one. Jerome said he's gotten calls from people who thought he was going to exhume Poe's remains and rebury them.
"When they dug up Poe's body in 1875 to move it, it was mostly skeletal remains," Jerome said. "I've seen remains of people who've been in the ground since that time period, and there's hardly anything left."
Instead, Jerome commissioned local special-effects artist Eric Supensky to create an eerily lifelike — or deathlike — mock-up of Poe's corpse.
"I got chills," Jerome said Monday upon seeing the body for the first time. "This is going to freak people out."
The body will lie in state for 12 hours Wednesday at the Poe House, a tiny rowhome in a gritty section of west Baltimore. Visitors are invited to pay their respects.
Following the viewing will be an all-night vigil at Poe's grave at Westminster Burying Ground. Anyone who attends will have the opportunity to deliver a tribute.
On Sunday morning, a horse-drawn carriage will transport the replica of Poe's body from his former home to the graveyard for the funeral.
Actor John Astin, best known as Gomez Addams on TV's "The Addams Family," will serve as master of ceremonies...
"It's sort of a way of saying, 'Well, Eddie, your first funeral wasn't a very good one, but we're going to try to make it up to you, because we have so much respect for you,'" said Astin, who toured as Poe for years in a one-man show.
The service won't be a total lovefest, however. The first eulogy will come from none other than Griswold.
"People are asking me, 'Jeff, why are you inviting him? He hated Poe!'" Jerome said. "The reason is, most of these people defended Poe in response to what he said about Poe's life, so we can't have this service without having old Rufus sitting in the
front row, spewing forth his hatred."
Eulogies will follow from actors portraying, among others, Sarah Helen Whitman, a minor poet whom Poe courted after his wife's death, and Walt Whitman, who attended the dedication of Poe's new gravestone in 1875 but didn't feel well enough to speak. Writers and artists influenced by Poe, including Arthur Conan Doyle and Alfred Hitchcock, will also be represented.
Jerome expects to cry — one reason he won't be speaking. Even his rivals are impressed with the scale of the tribute.
"Annoyed as I am with Baltimore sometimes, I have to give them credit," said Philadelphia-based Poe scholar Edward Pettit, who argues his city was of greater importance to Poe's life and literary career. "Baltimore has done an awful lot to maintain the legacy of Poe over the last 100-some years."
Monday, October 5, 2009
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Friday, October 2, 2009
Random Thought for the Day...
Before you criticize someone you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them you're a mile away and you have their shoes.
-- Jack Handy
-- Jack Handy
Thursday, October 1, 2009
I'm Boycotting Tucker Max's Book -- and (trust me) You Should, Too!
This douche-bag... pictured below...
... apparently thinks raping women is "funny."
Click here to read the whole story. His sexist, frat boy, woman-hating "humor" includes stories of leaving a sex partner naked on the street, having a buddy hide in his closet to videotape him having sex with an unsuspecting woman (illegal in most states) and calling women who bother to go to college "wastes of space." He even says "fat" women "aren't even people."
Please, ya'll, if you care about your mothers/sisters/daughters -- or about women's rights in general -- join me in boycotting Tucker Max's book, "I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell." I couldn't be more serious about what a horrible person this guy is, and what a threat he (and the many men -- and sometimes, even women -- like him) pose to us all.
Do we really want to live in a world where rape is "funny?"
I. Don't. Think. So.
xoxo,
Rebel Deb
... apparently thinks raping women is "funny."
Click here to read the whole story. His sexist, frat boy, woman-hating "humor" includes stories of leaving a sex partner naked on the street, having a buddy hide in his closet to videotape him having sex with an unsuspecting woman (illegal in most states) and calling women who bother to go to college "wastes of space." He even says "fat" women "aren't even people."
Please, ya'll, if you care about your mothers/sisters/daughters -- or about women's rights in general -- join me in boycotting Tucker Max's book, "I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell." I couldn't be more serious about what a horrible person this guy is, and what a threat he (and the many men -- and sometimes, even women -- like him) pose to us all.
Do we really want to live in a world where rape is "funny?"
I. Don't. Think. So.
xoxo,
Rebel Deb
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
Kanye West Doesn't Care About White People!
Kanye probably felt like an asinine fool, so he quickly posted this apology to his official website, which is currently down. Check out how *not effing crazy* Kanye is...
"I’M SOOOOO SORRY TO TAYLOR SWIFT AND HER FANS AND HER MOM. I SPOKE TO HER MOTHER RIGHT AFTER AND SHE SAID THE SAME THING MY MOTHER WOULD’VE SAID. SHE IS VERY TALENTED! I LIKE THE LYRICS ABOUT BEING A CHEERLEADER AND SHE’S IN THE BLEACHERS! …………………… I’M IN THE WRONG FOR GOING ON STAGE AND TAKING AWAY FROM HER MOMENT!…………….. BEYONCE’S VIDEO WAS THE BEST OF THIS DECADE!!!! I’M SORRY TO MY FANS IF I LET YOU GUYS DOWN!!!! I’M SORRY TO MY FRIENDS AT MTV. I WILL APOLOGIZE TO TAYLOR 2MRW. WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD!!!! EVERYBODY WANNA BOOOOO ME BUT I’M A FAN OF REAL POP CULTURE!!! NO DISRESPECT BUT WE WATCHIN’ THE SHOW AT THE CRIB RIGHT NOW CAUSE … WELL YOU KNOW!!!! I’M STILL HAPPY FOR TAYLOR!!!! BOOOYAAAWWWW!!!! YOU ARE VERY VERY TALENTED!!! I GAVE MY AWARDS TO OUTKAST WHEN THEY DESERVED IT OVER ME… THAT’S WHAT IT IS!!!!!!! I’M NOT CRAZY YALL, I’M JUST REAL. SORRY FOR THAT!!! I REALLY FEEL BAD FOR TAYLOR AND I’M SINCERELY SORRY!!! MUCH RESPECT!!!!!"
xoxo,
Rebel Deb
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Come Support Your Rebel Deb!
Hey, Ya'll!
I'll be speaking at the SOUTHERN INDEPENDENT BOOKSELLERS ALLIANCE (SIBA) TRADE SHOW on Friday, Saturday 25th at 11AM. So, if you (or anyone you know) is a local bookstore owner, come on by and give me a shout!
Here's the deets...
11:00 AM
September 25th, 2009
SOUTHERN INDEPENDENT BOOKSELLERS ALLIANCE (SIBA) TRADE SHOW
Panel Discussion & Signing
One Exposition Drive
Room 104 A
Greenville, SC 29607
xoxo,
Rebel Deb
Friday, September 11, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Welcome to the Not-So-Justice System!
A couple days ago, I trotted down to my local "Hall of Justice" to try and have my boyfriend's recent traffic ticket revoked.
See, he was driving my car in Winston-Salem, NC. And since I've been in NYC for, say, the past 3+ years, I hadn't yet taken the time to renew my tags...
Ruh-roh. Maybe you can see where this is going...
Anywho. While driving my car, we're pulled over by a local good 'ol boy cop. He's very polite, and since I "look like a nice young lady and all," tells me that he must give my boyfriend a ticket but that, "if you call the District Attorney's office, they'll dismiss the ticket."
Literally, folks. Those were his exact words.
Anywho. A couple days later, I start calling the DA's office. After an entire week of my calling and being told to "leave a message and we'll call you back" by the DA's answering service -- with no one ever actually calling me back, of course -- I finally head down to take care of the ticket in person.
And what am I told when I arrive?
These are exact quotes, ya'll... get this:
DA Office Worker: "Cops lie all the time. I wouldn't trust what he said."
Me: "Um... well, then, how are citizens supposed to know the law if officers of the court -- whose job it is to enforce it and, thus, serve and protect the public -- blatantly lie?"
DA Office Worker: "No comment."
Me: "... Okay. So, what happens if my boyfriend won't be in the state of NC to show up in court about this ticket?"
DA Office Worker: "I don't know. You may want to contact an attorney about that. I can't give legal advice."
Me: "... Okay. Can you at least tell me if he'll get points on his driving record?"
DA Office Worker: "I don't know."
Me: "Well, who would?"
DA Office Worker: "Maybe the DMV."
Me: "Okay. Can I call them, or go down to their office and ask?"
DA Office Worker: "I don't know. You may want to contact an attorney about that. I can't give legal advice."
Me: "I need to ask an attorney just to see if I should go down to the DMV?"
DA Office Worker: "Yeah. But they'll lie to you, too. You know, just so you'll pay the ticket and fees and all."
Me: "Um... how is all this lying to the public legal?"
DA Office Worker: "I don't know. You may want to contact an attorney about that. I can't give legal advice."
Me: "No comment."
Welcome to the Not-So-Justice Department, folks! Isn't bureaucracy GREAT?
xoxo,
Rebel Deb
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Friday, September 4, 2009
I Will Never, EVER Use Priceline EVER Again. And Neither Should You.
Priceline put the wrong name on my boyfriend's ticket, then wouldn't admit to their mistake, and also wouldn't refund our money. He missed his flight tonight, ruining our Labor Day weekend. I will never, ever use a third party ticket vendor again.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
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