another fun article I found...

figured I would share this one too!!


Chrysler working on a 'man van'
The automaker is targeting men for its newest minivan, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Posted by Elizabeth Strott on Thursday, June 24, 2010 12:20 PM
Guys, get ready, and soccer moms, move over. Chrysler is working on a new minivan -- for men.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Chrysler's new version of the Dodge Grand Caravan will be designed with guys in mind.

The "man van," as Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne is calling it, will have a sportier look on the outside, with a possible black-and-gray interior trimmed with hot-colored stitching on the seats and steering wheel, according to the report.

Minivans typically have been targeted at moms carting kids and their athletic equipment and schoolbooks back and forth every day, so focusing on men is a new concept for some automakers.

Honda Motor (HMC) plans to introduce a sleeker, more "athletic" design for its Odyssey, the best-selling minivan in the U.S., later this year, according to the report.

"A man van won't generate huge sales, but it's one of those vehicles that gets people talking and heads turning," one dealer told the Journal. "We need that now. I mean, if it gets one guy to give the minivan a second look, it's worth it."

U.S. minivan sales have been falling, hitting 424,007 last year, down more than 50%, compared with 2005 levels, according to Autodata Corp.

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/Dispatch/print.aspx?post=1774163

Double Standards

I’m a huge fan of reality TV. One show that I never got into that a ton of my friends watch is the bachelor. I heard that the most recent couple that was engaged just broke up. This does not surprise me. I think there has only been one successful couple out that entire show. (I could be wrong) I do not see how it is right for a guy to “date” X amount of women at the same time and it is ok. All of these women are perfectly fine with the situation because it is a competition. As more and more women get eliminated and the feelings grow stronger and stronger, things get more physical between the participants. Now, I can understand in the dating world if you are maybe dating 2 people or 3 and you are open about it and you are communicating that between all parties. You can be young and looking around. But to me, once you cross a point where emotions heighten and there becomes a more physical relationship, there needs to be one and only one. Since this is a reality TV show, this is acceptable. Think about the real world though. If guys were doing this, his buddies would be giving him high fives out the you know what! He would be held on a pedestal for doing that and not having to settle. He would be having his cake and eating it too. If a girl on the other hand did it (with the exception of reality TV of course), she would again be that slut or whore. Here we go again though with the notion that if we see it on TV it must be right though huh? This is what is out there and showing the younger generations…not too young though….that it is acceptable behavior. Now since I do not watch the show, I do not know the real reasons why the created the bachelorette. I wonder if they did to try and show they did not have a double standard, or again, to make a mockery. Anyone else feel this way? Would I feel different if I watched the show?

caves??

Why do guys feel the need to assume that the only room in a house that is "theirs" is the basement and it is their man cave? My fiance and I were talking about finally looking at places and he said he has two requirements and one is a basement so he can have his man cave. I can have the whole rest of the house since that is how it "is supposed to be" but he wants his man cave. Well why cant he have the rest of the house and I have my woman cave?? Why can't I decorate it the way I want and he decorate the kitchen? (I am being sterotypical here yes) We both know I don't cook and could care less about it and would rather watch sports. He seriously has it all mapped out in his head on things he wants down there and how he could lay it out depending on the place we would get. Is this normal? I mean yes we all envision buying places. I bought my first place 5 years ago so I guess I lack in that excitement part but I am excited for buying my first place with him. (not having to sell mine first!) Would it be wrong to throw it in his face that he should have to decorate the house and not me? Why did that automatically become my responsibility? Not that I mind all that much, but isnt this supposed to be done as a team? Do I get to hit him REALLY hard if he says my cave is the kitchen? (I dont think he is that dumb....but.....) LOL.

Skating on thin ice....

Pronger poster-ized in Chicago http://msn.foxsports.com/nhl/story/Chris-Pronger-poster-ized-in-Chicago-060810#)

Updated Jun 9, 2010 1:35 AM ET
PHILADELPHIA (AP)
Chris Pronger has become poster-ized in the town where Michael Jordan made it an art form with high-flying dunks over helpless defenders.
The Philadelphia Flyers' star defenseman is hardly celebrating his portrayal Tuesday in a Chicago Tribune poster, though. It shows Pronger wearing a skirt beside a bold headline that declares, ``Chrissy Pronger. Looks like Tarzan, skates like Jane.''
``I don't read what you guys write, good or bad,'' Pronger said Tuesday. ``I really couldn't care, to be honest with you. I'm worried about playing the game.''
Others weren't so dismissive of the poster.
``I'd like to see that editor out on skates. I'll take them one-on-one on the ice any day,'' three-time Olympic medalist Angela Ruggiero told The Associated Press. ``They obviously have never seen women's hockey and are living in the dark ages.''
Ruggiero found out about the poster via Twitter and expressed disappointment and anger that such demeaning portrayals of women and hockey are still being made.
``For her and others who took offense, I apologize. No qualifiers, I'm sorry,'' Chicago Tribune sports editor Mike Kellams said in an e-mail. ``We were just having a little fun with a guy who has come to personify all that has gotten under the collective skin of Blackhawks fans. Pronger is talented that way. And we were trying to connect to that emotion in a fun way.
``I grew up in Indiana and came to hockey as an adult. Ruggiero vs. me on the rink would be no contest. I know that from what she and her team did at the Vancouver Olympics.''
Ruggiero will be in Bensenville, Ill., later this month for the Angela Ruggiero Girls Hockey School, but said she won't be buying the Chicago Tribune and plans to send an e-mail voicing her displeasure.
``Some people are still ignorant,'' Ruggiero said. ``Our sport doesn't get a lot of exposure, so you have to see us play in the world championships or the Olympics to see what the highest caliber of women's hockey is.
``Obviously, it's offensive. It's disappointing more than anything. I grew up playing with boys, trained with NHL players. I would go head-to-head with Pronger any day I could.''
Pronger has been an antagonizing force in the Stanley Cup finals against the Blackhawks, but he had the worst game of his career Sunday night when the Flyers lost 7-4.
Pronger, who often logs over 30 minutes of ice time, had a minus-5 rating and was on ice for all but one of Chicago's goals. He sat in the penalty box when the other was scored.
Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said he heard about the poster, but declined to comment.
The Tribune's website featured countless remarks — both pro and con — that ranged from calling the poster ``stupid, juvenile and offensive, and an embarrassment to journalists everywhere'' to suggesting it is ``just the spark'' the Blackhawks need for a Game 6 victory.
``I don't suppose this will move anyone on either side to change their minds about the image,'' Kellams said. ``Some seem to hate it more than anything in life. Others think it's funny. I figure most folks don't care either way. But it's no more complicated than this: We were just trying to have a little fun. That's really it. Honest.''


This is the article that was written when the Chicago Tribune had Pronger skating in a Skirt. I am a HUGE sports fan and I understand what it is like to want to psych out the other team, however, you do want to do it where you are not offending other people. As we recently discussed in class, womens sports are not recognized anywhere near the level as mens sports are. Womens hockey is really cool to watch. The people on that team, skate just as hard as the men do, they play with just as much heart and soul, and they show just as much skill. The Chicago Tribune was trying to portray Pronger wearing a skirt as an insult as that would be a lesser quality and make him not as strong as a player. Well if he was able to, I would love for him to be able to wear a skirt on the ice and and hit everyone of those Chicago players harder then he has and show that it does not matter if you are a man or a woman its how you play the sport. Does this bother other people or do people just find it funny?

transgendered and topless

this is an article I came across today...thought I would share and it fit perfectly with this class!!!

Transgendered ... and Topless?
By Adrienne Welsch
NBCWashington.com
updated 10:19 a.m. ET, Fri., June 4, 2010


If you want to go to Rehoboth Beach, you have to cover up. No exceptions.

According to WBOC-16, lifeguards were forced to call city police after some beach-goers complained that there were people walking around with their breasts exposed.
It turns out, those people didn’t think they were doing anything wrong. They were male-to-female transgenders, who had either transitioned or were in the process of transitioning and had some breast implants.

Rehoboth Beach Police Chief Keith Banks tells WBOC that the city already has laws regulating which parts of the body need to be covered up. But there really is no rule that covers transgendered people.

The people in question initially refused to cover up, saying it was discrimination. However, WBOC reports that they eventually complied. No one was cited for the incident.

Rehoboth Beach has long attracted a gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender crowd. Steve Elkins, Executive Director of the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center told WBOC, “if a person was born male but identifies and is transitioning as a female, then they need to abide by the laws that deal with females.” However, “they also need to be respected and treated that way,” Elkins added.
The captain of the Rehoboth Beach Patrol told WBOC that he will seek clarification on the law and consider creating a new policy to include transgendered people.


URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37509475/ns/local_news-washington_dc/
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Eureka Moment for week 3

When I was younger my parents used to call me Lindsey last word. I always had to get the last word in. It could have been screamed or muttered under my breath, but I always got it in. I think about that today. I still always have to have the last word. Not in a bad way either. If I am having a conversation and I say goodbye and they say goodbye I will throw in an ok, or talk to you later, or just something else. Even in text messages I will always be the last to text in a conversation. I won’t let it be the other party. I never thought too much about it until this weekend over my fiancé’s house. His family was having a barbeque and his dog was barking. His dad was telling her to be quiet and she let out one last little bark at the end. We were upstairs printing something off the computer and he said “Typical woman always has to have the last word.” Right when I was about to give him a nudge for the remark I heard his sister say the exact same thing. Well, at that point I couldn’t exactly yell at him for saying it and let him know it’s not appropriate when his sister just said it a minute after he did. Then I really started to think is that such a bad statement. I like having the last word. I do not think it’s a bad thing. Is it? My sister is the same way. We will say ok via text in a conversation a million times because we both want the last word. I wonder why it matters. Does it mean something more than what we really think it does? Being that my fiancé knows that I love having the last word, and most men know women like that, do they manipulate situations to their advantage? Is it sad that all of this came about from a dog barking????

Gender Moment 1

As I previously stated I am recently engaged. As recently as 05/14!! I cannot begin to explain how excited I am to embark on all the good things that are going start taking place. We all know a wedding is considered the “bride’s” day. I have already come to realize that I must be marrying the only man in the world (definitely an exaggeration) who wants to be involved in all the details of the wedding. This here is my gender moment. I have had friends and know plenty of people who have had husbands who just want to know where and when to show up and what to wear. I have had friends whose spouses just want to be involved in finding the location and maybe the food or entertainment. I am not saying in any way this is upsetting to me. I know the man I am going to marry and it did not come to a surprise at all. He is a scientist. He has a thought process for EVERYTHING. Because is not an answer, and rhyme and reason is always present. With that being said, the stresses that come along with wedding planning are going to be much greater I think. Women are tagged with the phrase of being bridezilla and that is something I do not want to be. Are there supposed to be guidelines for what a male and female are supposed to do and not do in regards to the planning process. I love the fact that together we are going to plan our day. Yes there are going things that he won’t have a say in say as my dress or bridesmaids dresses but together we are going to plan pretty much everything. I look at this being a partnership and a great way to start our marriage. Since this is not the “norm” is this defying some barrier of gender roles? How would some people interpret him wanting to take such an active role in this?

Test

This is a test to see if I screwed this up or not!