Oh teenagers.

My Brother: Oh my god you are so lame.
Me: you knew this about me already.
My Brother: you used to just be incredibly lame. Now you're irredeemably lame.

Missoula in the NYtimes

For all yall who are interested in dams. Or mining. Or both.
Montana Dam Is Breached, Slowly, to Restore a Superfund Site

Trout…fornicator?

My favorite beer ever ever is this Montana Micro brew called Trout Slayer. It’s a Kristal-Weizen which is a wheat beer. (I only know this because I looked at the website)
Heres the thing though. Its not called Trout Slayer anymore.
The story is that apparently trout slayer is too violent. Really? I have some dead and stuffed animals in the airport that would argue with this Montanan-as-pansy logic.
So they decided to change the name of the beer.
To Dancing trout.
Okay, that’s all fine and dandy. But look at the label.

It’s a man. Dancing with a Man Sized Trout. Cheek to cheek. Closer than Fred and Ginger. Closer than any high school prom would allow. I don’t see how that is any less offensive than Trout Murder ale. I mean, it’s promoting bestiality if nothing else.
…..
Since writing the above I did a google search and discovered that both Big Sky Brewing and Bayern Brewing, both Missoula based Microbrewerys both had trout slayer ales but that Bayern changed their name. Apparently there was a lawsuit. All is now clear.
I had the following conversation with my father:
Me: Bayern and Bigsky Breweries.
Dad: Yes?
Me: Both have trout slayer ales.
Dad: Which one changed the name?
Me: Bayern.
Dad: So Big sky must have won the lawsuit.
Me: Lawsuit?
Dad: Yes.
Me: But… But… Which one do I like!?!
Dad: Dancing Trout.
Me: The fornication one?
Dad: Yep.
Me: Damn.

Casual Racism in the New York Times.

An article about an Italian tourist who was deported contained this precious line.
“They were pretty shocked that the government could do this sort of thing, because it doesn’t happen that often, except to people you never hear about, like Haitians and Guatemalans.”
This line is left in at face value. Its not explained or expanded upon. The article never goes into what it's like to be a Haitian tourist. Its all about what a scandal it is that white people are being deported.
Its absolutely disgusting.

Life is Compleate

THEY MADE ANOTHER ONE.
As has been previously documented I love the optimum triple play musicals. And now there is a new one. While it lacks the narrative arc (pirates, sea monster) and complete absurdity of the original (pirates, sea monster) it does have a granny mechanic and a Puerto Rico burger. And of course 877 393 4448.

DO NOT WANT!

So I love me some chocolate covered peanut butter. But I do not love it when it becomes sexualized.

This isn't even like eating-is-sexy or chocolate-stimulates-the-same-part-of-your-brain-as-sex.
This is RAPE-YOUR-CANDY-BAR. Which I think would be a bad idea. Messy if nothing else. And could possibly cause some sort of infection. Lord knows what preservatives they're putting in those things.

Boys who want to be Girls

Absolutely heartbreaking story on NPR about two boys who want to be girls and the very different tracks their parents take in deal with them. It had me crying into my eggs this morning. I’m just going to cut and paste what Jessica on Jezebel had to say.
“There is a fascinating story up on NPR's website about two little boys who wish they were girls, and the different approaches their parents are taking in dealing with their gender confusion. Basically from birth, both Bradley and Jonah favored girl things. Bradley wanted to be Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz for Halloween when he was 2 1/2, and insisted on wearing his Dorothy hair (made out of a tea towel) for months after; Jonah, according to NPR, "was 2 when his father, Joel, first realized that no amount of enthusiasm could persuade his child to play with balls." (Heh, balls.) But seriously, folks. Both these boys wanted to be little girls pretty much from the moment they could express the desire, and while Bradley's parents have tried to force him out of it — by taking away his Polly Pockets and Barbies and encouraging interaction with other boys — Jonah's parents have allowed him to embrace his desires. At this point, Jonah's parents refer to him as "she", and she herself tells people her name is Jona.
Both Bradley and Jonah are under the care of psychiatric professionals — Dr. Ken Zucker and Dr. Diane Ehrensaft, respectively. Zucker and Ehrensaft have conflicting theories on how best to deal with a gender-confused child. Zucker, based in Toronto, believes that boys like Bradley should be socialized as boys, even if they see themselves as girls. He reasons, "Suppose you were a clinician and a 4-year-old black kid came into your office and said he wanted to be white. Would you go with that? ... I don't think we would." Eherensaft, who works out of the Bay Area, sees Jonah's condition as clear cut case of transgendered identity. "If we allow people to unfold and give them the freedom to be who they really are, we engender health. And if we try and constrict it, or bend the twig, we engender poor mental health," she tells NPR.
I know both sets of parents are just trying to do right by their children, but it's incredibly difficult to defend Zucker's point of view when you hear how unhappy Bradley is. Since his parents took away all his "girly" stuff, his mom says, Bradley "really struggles with the color pink. He really struggles with the color pink. He can't even really look at pink...He's like an addict. He's like, 'Mommy, don't take me there! Close my eyes! Cover my eyes! I can't see that stuff; it's all pink!'" Meanwhile, Jonah — now Jona — is thriving. According to her teacher, "Jonah is one of the most popular kids. Kids love her, they want to play with her, she's fun, and it's because she's so comfortable with herself that she makes other people comfortable."
--NPR via Jezebel

UPDATE: My mother responds "Those poor people who got the pompous old know-it-all psychiatrist! I noticed that he is quite old. Hopefully a dying breed."

Beautiful Trash

I am about to end four years studying film, TV and theatre. At the beginning I watched a lot of Bertoluchi, some Wenders, some French stuff. But the longer and longer I spend studying film the more I want light fluffy trash. Which isn’t to say I like all trash, sometimes trash is too…trashy. But when an summer blockbuster gets the right mix of fun and emotion and explosions and romance and some witty one liners and pretty stars it can be the most entertaining thing out there. And the well-done trash is something that America does better than any other place in the world (save Hong Kong and India).
So go watch Iron Man.
Yes it has so many problems. It makes no sense, Gwyneth Paltrow is terrible, and it’s a little bit racist. But there are moments of exhilaration and joy in there that I haven’t gotten from a superhero movie in a long time.
Oh, and Robert Downey Jr. is really really hot.
I don’t think I’ve liked a superhero movie this much since Batman Returns, though the first two X-Men movies came close. Iron Man ended and I turned to stephie and said “so when’s the sequel coming out?”
And that is high praise indeed.