SixStringValve

-get off your knees and soar; open your eyes and let your dreams take flight-

1 note

[Flash 10 is required to watch video]

triptych125:

Triptych Video Blog #2: My Wife Is…

A heartfelt message from a hurting man.

1,364 notes

thedailywhat:

From The Archives: On March 16th, 2012, The Star Trek: TNG episode “The Outcast” marked the 20th anniversary of its initial airing.

The episode is particularly notable for being a bold, thinly veiled allegory for homosexual discrimination.

The J’naii, an androgynous humanoid race, once had two sexes, but has since “evolved” beyond genders. However, a small portion of the J’naii is still born with a “gender alignment.” These individuals subsequently develop an attraction to those who align with the opposite sex.

In “The Outcast,” Soren, a female-identifying J’naii born with an attraction to males, falls for Commander Riker, and he for her. When this is discovered, Soren is charged with perversion and brought before a J’naii tribunal where she (unsuccessfully) tries to defend herself and those like her.

Despite being penned a generation ago, the passionate, poignant excoriation uttered by Soren at her trial is, sadly, as necessary today as ever:

What we do is no different from what you do. We talk and laugh. We complain about work. And we wonder about growing old. We talk about our families and we worry about the future. And we cry with each other when things seem hopeless. All of the loving things that you do with each other - that is what we do. And for that we are called misfits, and deviants and criminals. What right do you have to punish us? What right do you have to change us? What makes you think you can dictate how people love each other?

[youtube.]

650 notes

popculturebrain:

notnadia:

Community: THE SOUP EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW, “The Greendale Seven”

My devotion to this show is nearly militant at this point.

Interesting point you bring up. I highly doubt the ratings are going to grow, but the hiatus seems to have furthered the bond between the show and its fans. It certainly solidified its cult status.

Also, this trailer is epic.

1,948 notes

greatgreen: thedailywhat: Abstinence-Only Bill of the Day: With the nation’s attention trained on the media’s breathless coverage of Super Tuesday, Utah’s legislature this evening quietly passed a bill requiring schools to teach abstinence-only sex education, or else skip the classes altogether. Additionally, both teachers and students would be prohibited from discussing contraception and homosexuality in the classroom. HB363 passed in the state Senate by a vote of 19 to 10. Utah’s House approved the bill last month. Senator Stuart Reid (R-Ogden) said the legislation takes sex ed out of the hands of teachers “who we have no idea what their morals are” and turns it over to parents. But Democrats countered that parents already had control over their children’s sex education, as they were given a choice whether to keep their child enrolled in sex ed classes or pull them out. Under the new legislation, sex ed classes — if they are offered at all — must teach abstinence only, and parents are required to opt in if they want their child to attend. “It’s concerning when now we’re trying to dictate morality,” said Sen. Ross Romero (D-SLC). “We’ve been discussing this as if every child has the benefit of two loving and caring parents who are ready to have a conversation about appropriate sexual activity, and I’m here to tell you that’s just not the case.” The Utah PTA expressed vehement opposition to the bill. “I just can’t believe they did this,” said the association’s president-elect, Liz Zentner. “I think they’re going to have to revisit it in a couple years when the teen pregnancy rates and teen [sexually transmitted disease] rates shoot through the roof.” It remained unclear if Gov. Gary Herbert would sign the bill into law or veto it. Speaking ahead of a House Education Committee hearing on HB363 last month, Herbert said he felt the existing curriculum “works pretty well,” but also said he personally supports abstinence as a form of pre-marital contraception.  [sltrip / fox13.] THIS IS A THING THAT HAPPENED. I WANT TO PUNCH HUMANITY IN THE FACE. What the hell. Utah, what the hell?

greatgreen:

thedailywhat:

Abstinence-Only Bill of the Day: With the nation’s attention trained on the media’s breathless coverage of Super Tuesday, Utah’s legislature this evening quietly passed a bill requiring schools to teach abstinence-only sex education, or else skip the classes altogether.

Additionally, both teachers and students would be prohibited from discussing contraception and homosexuality in the classroom.

HB363 passed in the state Senate by a vote of 19 to 10. Utah’s House approved the bill last month.

Senator Stuart Reid (R-Ogden) said the legislation takes sex ed out of the hands of teachers “who we have no idea what their morals are” and turns it over to parents.

But Democrats countered that parents already had control over their children’s sex education, as they were given a choice whether to keep their child enrolled in sex ed classes or pull them out.

Under the new legislation, sex ed classes — if they are offered at all — must teach abstinence only, and parents are required to opt in if they want their child to attend.

“It’s concerning when now we’re trying to dictate morality,” said Sen. Ross Romero (D-SLC). “We’ve been discussing this as if every child has the benefit of two loving and caring parents who are ready to have a conversation about appropriate sexual activity, and I’m here to tell you that’s just not the case.”

The Utah PTA expressed vehement opposition to the bill. “I just can’t believe they did this,” said the association’s president-elect, Liz Zentner. “I think they’re going to have to revisit it in a couple years when the teen pregnancy rates and teen [sexually transmitted disease] rates shoot through the roof.”

It remained unclear if Gov. Gary Herbert would sign the bill into law or veto it. Speaking ahead of a House Education Committee hearing on HB363 last month, Herbert said he felt the existing curriculum “works pretty well,” but also said he personally supports abstinence as a form of pre-marital contraception. 

[sltrip / fox13.]

THIS IS A THING THAT HAPPENED. I WANT TO PUNCH HUMANITY IN THE FACE.

What the hell. Utah, what the hell?