Why I love the "Mr. Men Show"

Um, so I've found a new favorite cartoon. If you know me at all, you know that's saying something. I love cartoons but my new favorite is on at 8:00 a.m. on Cartoon Network. I had the whole set of "Mr. Men" books when I was a kid and I guess I still appreciate the goofy, simple, bright graphics along with the good-humordly stereotyped characters.

I recommend it to anyone getting up or going to be around that time. It's a nice break from death, dismemberment, reality, and politics.

Here's a link to a blog by a guy who really, really likes the show ; ) According to him, the show is also on at 12:30 p.m.
http://www.mrmenshowblog.com/mr_men_show_blog/

Some fun pics. . .

Constant crime

I'm not sure if I've just become aware of the glut of shootings/murders in this city I hold so dear, but within the last 2 weeks, four people have been shot within about ten minutes of my apartment. Three of the shootings were fatal. I feel overwhelmed and unsure of how to relate these events. I'm including links articles regarding each incident.

Monday, April 14 Man charged with shooting mail carrier in St. Louis
Monday, April 21 2 men shot to death near StL nightclub
Tuesday, April 22 Boy, 14, playing with gun kills teen

Disclaimer: I am not endorsing stltoday.com as a news source. I'm referencing their articles because they reported on each incident and seem to have the most current information.

My own bias towards law enforcement and media

I am gaining more perspective on the events of Monday, April 21 as mentioned in my post on Tuesday, April 22. I have had time to discuss the shooting that appears to have made a stronger impression on the community than I realized.

First, let me confess my own innate ability to utterly ignore or be ignorant of the feelings, opinions, beliefs, and/or misconceptions of the people around me. I tend toward righteous (I hope) indignation as my first response. After speaking with several people about the thoroughness of the investigation and the comprehensiveness of the media coverage, I think I have a greater appreciation for how the situation is being handled.

I never had any thought about avoiding the area where the shooting took place. I'm not sure how it didn't occur to me that some people would be a little more trepidatious to venture out for a good time so near the scene of an, as yet, unexplained attack. I never imagined that the discretion with which the other local business in the area were being treated, was actually in place to avoid labelling this up-and-coming neighborhood as a primarily gay area. And that avoidance is not completely unreasonable in light of the fact that there are some who might turn such a place into a barrel of fish and open fire. I'm still jusifying this behavior with my vision of in your face identity. I think back to stories I've hear of groups of gay men engaging in brutal fights with those who would dare to reproach them. A friend explained that he felt we've come a long distance in being able to be comfortable in public: hopefully far enough that we can avoid constant physical confrontations.

I'm also questioning my own tendancy to subscribe to some idea of the inherent incompetance of law enforcement organizations. I'm not sure if I'm just willing to leap to conclusions since this incident hit so close to home, or if my mistrust of governmental organizations is completely rampant after 7+ years of being lied to and manipulated. Ditto, my feelings on the media. Am I too quick to feel that there is inadequate coverage of a story I hold so dear, when there are constantly issues both under and misreported throughout America.

Finally, how do we treat these victims with the respect owed to fellow humans? I so easily jumped into the political implications behind this shooting. I did not take one moment to pray for their families and friends to be graced with God's peace and understanding. Where is the line between fighting against ideas and fighting for people?

Should the media report on possible gay connection in shooting?

There was a shooting early in the morning on Monday, April 21 in St. Louis, MO.

Here's the link to the most up-dated story I could find about the shooting.

Here's the problem with the coverage of the story. The two victims were male. They were found shot behind a primarily straight bar. But, the bar is closed on Sunday. The bars that were open on the block nearest the victims are primarily gay bars.

One of the first questions I asked a friend who works at a nearby bar was whether he thought it was a hate crime. On Monday, I had that same discussion with many other friends. I'm torn about the seeming lack of exploration of the possibility of hate as a motivation for the crime. Part of me feels like that should be on the forefront of the investigation, but part of me is thrilled that the story is not being sensationalized and turned into a sordid drama because the victims may or may not be gay.

Rumors will always spread in the wake of a major tragedy like this. Of course, rumors spread even more rapidly within a small, somewhat insular, community. I think that the rumors are the reason I would like more transparent coverage of the story. Some in the community have already decided that there must be some connection between the men being gay, and their being murdered.

Here are a few of the hearsay comments circulating in the city regarding this crime:
-The gentlemen could have met someone on the internet and decided to meet in person.
-The gentlemen may have been in town on business.
-Police don't think money was missing from the victims.
-Maybe they knew the shooter, since he/she would have to have been in such close proximity to have killed them.

These are all ideas that could lead to assumptions regarding the motive for the shooting which could cause any number of negative conclusions about both the crime and the scope of the investigation. I want a comprehensive analysis of the crime. I want that to be reported in the media clearly and without bias. So far when I have googled "gay shooting St. Louis", there was no reference to this incident. I'm surprised no one has blogged about the incident. I can only hope that there is an open honest discussion of what has happened and how it will be followed up by law enforcement. The best outcome from a horrible situation is that we are all forced to think and perhaps create our own opinions that can be educated and dynamic.

The stupidest gender inequity visual. . .ever.

These are so ridiculous, I could scream. So, girls don't need school and it's utterly out of the question that a boy would be interested in attending a theater performance.

These are rugs available at Lowe's, ostensibly for children to play with.

Um, do you wanna hear something funny?

I figure I should note some funny events even though everyone I talk to has heard about them a million times. I could always hit my head and forget about my auspicious background : )=

My car broke down months ago. It was a '91 Geo Prizm, so I was not shocked when, right after dropping a couple hundred bucks to fix the ignition, both the exhaust and radiator become completely defunct. I was carless and seeking employment. I worked at a barely above minimum wage job within walking distance of my house. Finally, after numerous circular (read: agonizingly frustrating) conversations with my pop, he sent me money to buy some new wheels.

I searched CraigsList and decided to check out a 1986 Crown Victoria for $500. Got a ride to check it out and settled on the massive tank-of-a-vehicle. My reasoning was that V8 engines run forever and I don't do mass quantities of driving anyway, so what the hell if it's gets less than hybrid efficiency. First of all, we had the longest stretch of slick, icy, freezing weather which caused my new baby to drift terrifyingly about lanes of traffic. Secondly, I was stupid and decided to wait a week to get the car checked out. The first sign of trouble was an incident with overheating. Since I was at the store, I bought antifreeze (and oil, just in case I was low) and topped off the radiator.

Then, a couple of days later, in the midst of helping a friend put together a benefit, it happened. I was 'running' through the Jack-in-the-Box drive through to pick up food for a hungry queen. The cash registers were down. Can you feel the tension mounting? I sat in the drive through and the car started to smoke. Having driven my share of POS cars, I fidgetingly cursed and wiggled in my seat with no way to get out of the line. I was just blocks from my destination, so I hoped to limp there and deal with 'Princessconnie' later. As I rolled down the drive through lane and into traffic, she died. She died in the intersection. Thankfully I was facing uphill, so I dropped the gearshift into neutral and rolled to the curb.

I gave 6-8 feet of berth to fire hydrant on the corner and made sure I wasn't blocking a bus stop. I then hoofed 4 or 5 blocks in my party dress and heels. I didn't even check under my hood, because you never check under the hood of a recently overheated car. Well, the event went off without a hitch. As for the car, she no longer resided on the corner when I went to get her in the morning. I called the police and found that I was guilty of leaving a burning car on the side of the road. What kind of ass leaves a burning car on the side of the road? A few hyperventilating, sobbing, hours later we picked up the car and had it towed to a lot where I pocketed $75 from my $500 investment.

I then had to contend with the 4, that right, FOUR tickets left on my windshield. Two were for improper registration. No problem, I'd only owned the car for a week. As for the other two tickets. One was for parking less than 15 feet from a hydrant and the other was for abandoning my vehicle. So, if you ever plan on your car catching FIRE in the city of St. Louis, you need to remain in the vehicle and distance yourself as far as possible from any FIRE hydrants. Oh, well, I bought a bike (then became incapacitated in my right knee and a month later in my left foot). But those are stories for another time.