Nerdista

I'm Really Feelin' Cassettes.

noreply@blogger.com (Paula Beebe) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 23:47:00 +0000

Blog For Choice 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Paula Beebe) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 20:21:00 +0000

Today I'm going to do a Blog for Choice because I am pro-choice and I believe that makes me pro-life. I know that abortion is a controversial topic and people feel incredibly passionate about it, I am one of these people, but I know that we all have common ground. Each side is going to have to compromise (ew, I know!) in some way. Abortions will always happen and some people will always consider abortion to be murder. And that's okay. Where I think we can come together is keeping them safe and rare and legal. Safe and legal go hand in hand. I know and have known women who have had abortions. I have never had one but I would not be ashamed to admit that I had. I know that their lives would be different if they would have carried a pregnancy to full term and had a baby. But I also know that all our lives would be heart-crushingly empty if they would have had to have an unsafe abortion and lost their lives because of it.

I am responsible about my birth control and at this point in my life I do not want to be a parent. I honestly don't know if I ever will want to be. I don't believe I am the downfall of society and I don't believe that if my birth control fails me I should have to carry a pregnancy to full term. And, as of now, I have the law on my side. That being said, I'd like to think that society can come to terms with this situation in a way that makes most people kind of happy. All of us have to accept certain realities in dealing with abortion and all of us, no matter what we believe, have to live on this planet together. So let's stop calling each other names, let's be compassionate to each other, and let's work together to keep women alive and safe and surrounded by honest and comforting resources.

I will step off my soap box now! Have a good day and try to be more silly.

#TeamBieber

noreply@blogger.com (Paula Beebe) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 19:54:00 +0000

Rant Warning!

It’s like Kelly Clarkson all over again. A super old Justin Bieber interview is making the rounds and atheists are having a friggin’ field day eviscerating him because he was confronted with the question of post-rape abortion. He got uncomfortable, mumbled he didn’t know and followed up with something like “everything happens for a reason.” Not an uncommon thing to hear from a christian or a 17 year old. I’m so glad that my 17 year old self didn’t have social media because I was a total tool. Not that Bieber is but I certainly was and if you expect a 17 year old christian to say something lovely about abortion, I’m not sure you’re head’s on right. Additionally, telling him he’s an asshole, an idiot, to fuck off, or that he’s just ignorant is not going to help change his mind. It makes YOU look like an idiot, an asshole, and it makes me tell you to fuck off. I just don’t get it. What a way to make yourself feel superior, to pick on Justin Bieber and his “idiot 12 year old fans.” I mean, who should be ashamed here? I’m not leaning towards Bieber. And you can’t criticize the tactics without being labeled a “church of Bieber” member? I mean, this whole thing speaks to such a larger problem within the skeptic/atheist community. I mean, when you’re words have taken someone like me, who is ambivalent about Bieber in the first place and made me defend the kid WITH AN ENTIRE BLOG you fail. You fail at communication, atheism, and being a nice person. So yes, you win, you get to wear the crown of being “better” than Justin Bieber. But at this point, I’d rather hang out with him than you.

For my own sake, here's Phil Plait's DBAD speech...again.

Everyone be Nice to Kelly Clarkson

noreply@blogger.com (Paula Beebe) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 03:58:00 +0000

Today, I totally freaked out when I found out Kelly Clarkson supported Ron Paul. The dude totally disgusts me and Kelly Clarkson totally inspires me so I thought it was just really depressing to find out she supported him. I think I tweeted one thing at her that was like "please say it ain't so!!!" or some such thing but I still feel ashamed about it. You know why? Because my tweet wasn't the worse, by far, but still her response was this. Yeah, nice. And classy. And inspiring. So, along the lines of "don't be a dick," if you want Kelly Clarkson to change her mind, don't be a dick. And, I don't care if she changes her mind, I just want people to be nice to her. She is not mean, she just has an opinion and I feel bad that I was part of a mob mentality. So hopefully, I'll learn from this and not be such a...well, dick. Night.

I'm Mad Crushin' on Brunettes

noreply@blogger.com (Paula Beebe) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 03:12:00 +0000

New Girl-It's Jess!

The most beautiful woman, well, ever.

Not a fan of the lower right, but all the rest? Love that Alexa!

Okay, she's blond, but still. She's just a model from Lauren Conrad's Paper Crown line.

New Blogger is Nuts.

noreply@blogger.com (Paula Beebe) — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 19:30:00 +0000

Yeah, apparently it's been a while since I've blogged but the new blogger is nuts! I think I like it but I'm not sure. In the meantime I will tell you this, Purpose face wash is the best thing I've discovered in a long time. That is all. Nope, one more thing. My legs have been falling asleep a lot lately. Is that bad? I hope not!

Japan

noreply@blogger.com (Paula Beebe) — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 01:24:00 +0000

My husband and I went to Japan in March. It was a late honeymoon, it was about 7 days after the earthquake and tsunami that devastated the Sendai region, and we visited Osaka and Kyoto. The state department didn't tell us we couldn't go so we went, however, we did reroute and avoid Tokyo. Not because we were afraid, but because they were conserving energy and it seemed sort of rude to show up ready for a party. Anyways, here are some pictures, sort of an annoying blog post I know. But I miss it there so much and you can't tell me to shut up because it's my blog.

This is in Osaka, our second week. Literally, I had just tried something on in a store and got depressed. This is me hiding my giant white arms from the small Japanese women.

We went on a HUGE ferris wheel (that's on top of a mall) and this is what we saw!

Apparently, giant ferris wheels terrify me.

They do not terrify Jason.

Tuna.

Ham.

Salmon.

Fancy ham with mango inside.

Creme brulee.

Normally I think it's vulgar to post food pictures. However, this whole post is how I spent a bunch of money, which I could have used to save lives, on a trip across the globe. I think food vulgarity is the least of my worries. Onward.

Cafe And on And on. Japan had the best lattes/coffee I've ever had.

This, I did not eat.

But this, I did drink.

Beer!

This is an artsy fartsy picture of ice in a Starbucks cup.

There are a lot, A LOT of swasticas in Japan.. They are markers for Buddhist temples.

Another huge wheel at the aquarium.

Japanese makeup!!!!

This place just LOOKS like a church. It is not a church but it looks like a church so people can have weddings there and it will look like they had a wedding in a church. No joke.

Some street scenes.

And this guy was there!

A mall.

Soups are my favorite.

Okay, bye!

On Being Pleasant

noreply@blogger.com (Paula Beebe) — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 02:34:00 +0000

Aside from my all-time favorite hobby of making fun of Yelpers, I am trying everyday to be a nice person. A while ago Phil Plait gave a talk that was basically supporting Wil Wheaton's mantra "Don't Be a Dick" and it was especially targeted towards skeptics. Scientists and atheists (well, hell, everyone!) could benefit from this method of communication and since I hope to be a scientist and I am an atheist I took note.

When I was a Christian I was mocked and people made fun of me. Most people experience this, not just religious people, and it didn't change my views one iota. But when my boyfriend at the time (now my husband, weird!) would nicely question me about why I believed things and challenged the consistency of my views, well that's when things started to change.

Even up until about a year ago I believed that mean people had their place in changing viewpoints. I even wrote a blog disagreeing with Phil Plait about it! Some of the people I looked up to in the scientific world were/are snarky, rude, patronizing and most likely funny too. That sort of treatment did work on me, I never wanted to be humiliated so I prepared myself with knowledge. But I don't think that's the right way to learn or teach. I finally realized that the people I truly admire, the people who inspired me to go back to school and to change my life and make it my own, were the nicest people. Carl Sagan, Richard Feynman (who I hear was sexist but I didn't know that so it doesn't count), and Phil Plait are/were so nice. And so patient and so passionate about learning have constantly improving. Not demoralizing, insulting, and demeaning people. And when I'm surrounded by those type of people, I get smarter, I grow more, I'm more open minded and I'm a better communicator.

The goal of talking and discussing for me is not to try and get converts (unless you want creationism taught in schools-then I'mma try and convert you!) it's to learn why people think what they do, how they form opinions. Maybe I can learn from them and maybe they can learn from me. But they won't if I'm rude, and I've learned that lesson many times! I'm not perfect and I fail at being nice but I will try and hopefully get better.

So be nice. Because the world can't do much with a hard heart.

Phil Plait's Talk Part 1
Phil Plait's Talk Part 2
Phil Plait's Talk Part 3

P.S. Along with being nice I'd like to smell like coconuts and wear gold jewelry. And give hugs that aren't creepy. Not that my hugs now are creepy...

Ape Cave

noreply@blogger.com (Paula Beebe) — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 02:04:00 +0000

At the entrance, already so cold you can see your breath. It was nearly 80 degrees outside the cave!

This weekend I went spelunking in the Ape Cave here in WA state (it's near Mt. St. Helens) and it was amazing. I've never been spelunking and it feels weird to even say it literally. There are two caves, a really easy one and a really difficult one. My friends, husband and I explored both and then hiked the two miles out of it back to the main lot. We didn't say any critters but we did see a lot of cave slime and beer bottles which seems like an entirely stupid thing to bring into a cave. I crawled through a little tiny tunnel to explore a larger cave area and it was one of the coolest things I've ever done (as well as one of the most awkward-army crawling is hard!) My next goal is to return to St. Helens and go on some hikes there! It was a total blast. Oh, and it's Ape Cave, not Ape Caves (like Boeing, not Boeings).

Crawling out of the tiny tunnel.

Cave rocks!

St. Helens

Shirley Maclaine

noreply@blogger.com (Paula Beebe) — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 23:50:00 +0000

Dudes, I love Shirley Maclaine. I have always loved her and I cannot help myself. I'm reading her new book and it's basically about how she's old and grumpy and she lists the things she hates and likes. That's fine and mostly enjoyable. She's a super new-age kinda gal and I am really interested in her world view (she learns life lessons from her past lives!) and how she gets these views. I disagree with nearly every word she says but she's so nice and curious about others that it's not offensive. Until she talks about medicine and homeopathy and asthma. I am all for differing opinions and live and let live...until it's dangerous to others. It's fine that she believes that she has found a cure for asthma and that this simple breathing "cure" also helps prevent heart attacks. But it's dangerous that she's presenting it as helpful to others. I mean she just point-blank says, "this is the cure for asthma" and "it helps prevent heart attacks" and she has no evidence to support it. She doesn't like "western" medicine (i.e. medicine) but she goes to hospitals for her emergencies, not to homeopaths. She uses homeopathic remedies but discusses DNA and other scientifically discovered realities without acknowledging the disconnect or her hypocrisy. Sigh. I love the woman, but I think her words are dangerous in this case. She tells a story about being mis-diagnosed at one hospital but then properly treated at the next, and yet all hospitals are untrustworthy. Not logical. Anyways, I love the gal but she's gettin' on my nerves with that whole bit.

Curiosity

noreply@blogger.com (Paula Beebe) — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 21:00:00 +0000

I've decided I need to be more curious. I'm the least curious person I know, which I think is a horrible trait to be missing if I'd like to be a scientist. For example, my husband has been talking about TED Talks for months...months and months. I thought it was a guy named Ted just talking about shit. At the same time, a lot of my sciencey blogs have been mentioning TED related things and I never connected the dots. I am not sure if it means I'm dense or dumb, but I know that it makes me a lazy thinker. I just don't ever ask questions. Are there traits in your life that you think you are lacking? If so, how do you overcome them? And also, are any of you on Google+ yet? I am and I love it! It's like everything in my life is finally united; pictures, social networks, blogs, news. I love it.

Happy 4thof July!

noreply@blogger.com (Paula Beebe) — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 14:54:00 +0000

To celebrate this day, I'm going to share my favorite quote from my favorite Independence Day speech:

Capt. Jimmy Wilder: [impersonating Rev. Jesse Jackson] Why we are on this particular mission, we'll never know. But I do know, here today, that the Black Knights will emerge victorious once again.

Amen reverend. What? I said it was from Independence Day!

On Nutritional Supplements

noreply@blogger.com (Paula Beebe) — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 22:12:00 +0000

This is a great article on nutritional and dietary supplements from Science Based Medicine. I love this site and visit it often. I'd love to see more skepticism in everyday life. For example, I was reading an article today at The Beauty Department and in the article about brushes they mention taking prenatal vitamins to grow hair and giving yourself goosebumps in order to stimulate hair growth. I read a lot about supplements and I'd like to see a little more thought given by people who are "advising" the public, especially on supplements. The goosebump thing, well, I dunno. But the author's "who knows if it's true!" tone makes me irritated. I know lots of people think as long as something seems to work it shouldn't matter, but sometimes this type of attitude can be dangerous. Le sigh. Where is my scientific beauty blog? Smart girls like makeup and hair products, but we don't like woo. That hair picture is by her.

LC has Crazy Hair.

noreply@blogger.com (Paula Beebe) — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 21:51:00 +0000

I'd love both Lauren Conrad's hair length and new crazy color(s).

It's What I Love.

noreply@blogger.com (Paula Beebe) — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 21:35:00 +0000

I could write the entire dialogue of the movie here but I won't. Just know that it's what I love.

Movie Review: X-Men: First Class (Spoilers!)

noreply@blogger.com (Paula Beebe) — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 16:51:00 +0000

UPDATE: I TOLD YOU!

Things that I liked about this movie:

Fass. Bender. I don't know who this dude is but he is amazing as Magneto/Erik. He was so good that I got all emotionally attached to him and even though I knew better I kept hoping he would choose his side differently. He seems a little bit mad but not so much that it's over the top (are you listening, David Tennant?) and he seems a little bit sad but not so sad that he's emo. For a mutant, he seemed the most human.

James McAvoy as Prof. X. He's good in anything so I'mma call his role in this a "cheap chip" which my friend Elisabeth taught me is when you get a pie piece in Trivial Pursuit on a super easy question. He had some great funny moments and some really touching moments as well.

Kevin Bacon! He's bad! He's ooooooh so bad and eviiiiiil!

The kid from "About a Boy" as Hank McCoy. Love him!

The plot was ai'ght, LOVED seeing Aaron Pierce from 24 as a military man AND I loved seeing the other kid from "Roswell" in there. That kid is good, he should be in more things. And he could be on "Bones" some more and I wouldn't mind.

My most favoritist though, goes to this kid. He was in "The Last Exorcism" and he played a creepy kid. Now, every time I see that he's in a movie I get very excited. I have a soft spot for gingers. Oh, he plays Banshee.

Things I did not like:

Pretty much all the ladies.

I'm really worried now about Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss, but I'm willing to chalk up her suckage to bad character dialogue.

Lenny Kravitz's daughter was okay but you can tell she's not very experienced.

I hated, HATED January Jones as Emma Frost. That woman. An actress she ain't. The more movies she makes, the more apparent it is that she's just playing herself on "Mad Men" and pretty much everywhere else. Can I just say, and I don't want to sound like a fat girl hating on a skinny girl (though I realize I might) but when you're supposed to be a voluptuous seductress, YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE SPACE IN BETWEEN YOUR THIGHS. Huge DD boobs do not a curvy woman make. Chicken legs are not sexy, sorry men. I think they could have solved a few problems by swapping the actresses who played Mystique and Emma Frost.

I also felt like the movie was racist. There are two African-American characters, one dies right away and the other, basically joins the Black Panthers. All the good virtuous people are white and mostly men. Then the blue and black and red people join the "dark" side. Only the Beast is left to represent "diversity". I know "it's the 60s!" and whatnot, but come on.

Plus, all the good character stuff goes to the two white guys in the lead. I understand it's about them, but that's no excuse to make the supporting women and minority characters so sucky.

Grade: Not "Thor" but not "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" either. B+

I'm Alive! On Rapture Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Paula Beebe) — Sat, 21 May 2011 17:22:00 +0000

Sorry little blog. I've been distracted by this newfangled Tumblr and having so much free time because I'm not in school. I've watched a lot of Dexter and Bones and not read a lot about science. So there.

I've been reading a lot of comic books this spring and so far my favorite has been All-Star Superman; simply amazing! Although, I hated it the first time I tried to read it. I blame it on the foolishness of youth. I'm getting ready to read a Fantastic Four, which I've never read before but my husband swears is "fantastic!" ba doom!

I've also been reading this incredibly old Green Lantern and so far it's my second favorite right behind All Star Superman. It's a Hal Jordan silver age comic collection and the dialogue is ridiculous. In a good way. So far it's the only comic that has made me feel how I imagine I would feel if I read comics as a child. It's really over the top but exhilarating nonetheless.

Also this is awesome, because I hate the dentist.

Exciting Superman News!

noreply@blogger.com (Paula Beebe) — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 22:53:00 +0000

This guy is going to play General Zod! I know that the craptastic crappiness of "Sucker Punch" has left some people dubious about Snyder's ability to make a great Superman movie. I have no argument for this. It's just a statement. But this news does excite me! Yay!

I Went to Japan.

noreply@blogger.com (Paula Beebe) — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 03:42:00 +0000

It was fun. I'll post pictures and a big fat blog about it later. But also, some other things happened. My hubby's grandpa died, and I love him and it's very sad. Also, I got a "D" in precalculus, my first "D" in many years. Sigh. So here's what I've been doing to distract myself from real life.

Every night, before bed, I read my Twitter feed on my iPhone and when I'm done I search for Kat VonD and read her feed. I'd follow her but I'm torn between thinking she's douchey and being endlessly fascinated by her hair, her obsession with Bikram Yoga, and her relationship with Jesse James. He, I don't read so much, he's easier for me to put in a box. He's a weirdo who likes guns and wars and dogs and cars and girls who have tattoos, and his burger joint. Not very interesting. But Kat. I dunno, she's like a grown up teenager, kinda emo, sometimes her hair is blue, and she has hairless cats whom she names Piaf. I sort of maybe think she's predictable but somehow I'm not ready to give up on her. She spouts lots of new agey shit that really drives me bonkers and she LOVES Eric Tolle and yet I read. I read her feed. Daily. Then I do the same thing with Leann Rimes' feed only I think I'm all done with her. I think I've got her all figured out and I'm kinda bummed I wasted my time. She's like the same high school girl who every person knows. She TOTALLY HATES drama...and yet is always smack dab in the middle of it. She has this weird, passionate group of followers who have wars on Twitter with other people who hate Leann and it's a very interesting psychological thing. But Rimes herself is boring. She's all "I hate drama/I love positivity/I eat all the fucking time/my ex's wife is lazy/I hate long flights/I take pictures of my bony frame" etc. She actually DOES all the things she SAYS she hates. And then she plays the martyr about it all. Like, she's only on Twitter for her fans. Oy. I know I spend WAY too much time thinking about this. But, my quarter's over, I have no responsibilities! I don't watch "The Jersey Shore" so aren't I allowed a guilty pleasure? Anyways, my only question left about Leann is if she was this cocoa for coo coo puffs when she was married to Dean Sheremet. Now that dude, I love.

Also, anti-vaxxers drive me apeshit and so does Donald Trump.

I am Sad. He Was Great.

noreply@blogger.com (Paula Beebe) — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 23:59:00 +0000

The One Wherein I Lose My Cool

noreply@blogger.com (Paula Beebe) — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 00:19:00 +0000

She just looks like a loving follower of christ.

Good evening. You are about to witness me losing my shit. Today has been one of the most frustrating days (politically) that I can remember. Here are some reasons why:

*Another republican slips up and actually says what he's thinking, instead of pretending he's a decent not racist person. The best part is this (bolded words done by moi):

"The election is between Bruce Cozart (R)," Chatham wrote, "a pro-life, Christian who has served a number of years on the Lake Hamilton school board and Jerry Rephan (D). Jerry is a pro-abortion Jewish lawyer who specializes in 'environmental law' which means his primary clients as such were the Sierra Club and PETA, among others."

Yes, there's nothing worse than a god damned Jewish person running for office. Especially when he works for the EFFING SIERRA CLUB and Peta. It's like he really is the anti-christ! Hide yo' kids and hide yo' wife cuz this shit-head loves animals and the planet!

*This woman in Nebraska was forced to carry an unviable pregnancy to term because in Nebraska you can't get an abortion, ANY abortion past 22 weeks of pregnancy. So she carried to full-term only to have the baby die after 15 minutes...as they knew it would. PRO LIFE my fucking ass.

*Real patriots shouting "terrorists go home!" at Muslims trying to raise money for the homeless. Man, fuck these guys.

*The Texas state senate approved a bill that requires a woman to get a sonogram before she can get an abortion. Even in cases of rape. I don't even know what to say about this other than it makes my blood boil. I just don't understand the need for people to tell other people what to do! Like, who are you, mister small government?! Isn't this big brothery of you?! Why do you insist that I live my atheist life by your "christian" morals. And I say "christian" with as much sarcasm, contempt, and anger as I can muster. You're pathetic pieces of shit, in my humble opinion. I'm going to start introducing legislation to make YOU live by the rule of Thor, because he's the only god I believe in. GRRRRR.

That might be it for now, but I fully reserve the right to add things to this list later. And I'm sure I will.

The One Wherein I Explain How This Became a Fashion Blog.

noreply@blogger.com (Paula Beebe) — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 05:47:00 +0000

I'm taking precalculus. So I spend a lot of my time confused. It's not that I'm not loving precalc, because I am (I LOVE MATH!) it's just that when I read things now it's about fashion and stupid celebrities. I imagine that once I have a break from school, from spring to fall, you'll see more science stuff from me. Apologies about the one sided nature of this thing lately. Also, often I want to write about politics but I just get really mad so then I write nothing. Sigh.

Hot Damn! I Love Crystal Renn!

noreply@blogger.com (Paula Beebe) — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 01:38:00 +0000

Precious!

Least favorite! Awesome legs though!

Want.

My most favorite!

Red Skull!

noreply@blogger.com (Paula Beebe) — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 21:15:00 +0000

Phew!

Guys, I think we really dodged a bullet here. I was really worried about how they were going to create Red Skull. It looks good! And between this and Diane Lane as Martha Kent I'm a happy girl today!

Dear Glamorous Bus Lady,

noreply@blogger.com (Paula Beebe) — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 19:59:00 +0000

You're awesome. You have a new coat on every time I see you. And while you take your awesome curly hair and put it back in a clip everyday, you're still very chic. When I grow up I'm going to have a purse with gold buckles on it. Bet on it, bet on it!