>4000 teenage girls + rock and roll star = oh crap!

Ahhhhh, the Revolve Tour. An chance to spend time strengthening one's faith in the company of one's fellow teen girls. A time to be reminded that God loves you. Great music, great message, great fun.

This was my second time going. Last year was a blast despite the fact that I had had no idea who half the artists or speakers were. This year saw many familiar faces on the stage and some new ones as well. (I still didn't know who half the people on stage were!)

This year was fun too. It was also thought provoking and now we have a new diatribe.

Ready?

...

Remember, this is a rant so that means I maybe unreasonable, offensive, and overly honest about what I think and feel about this topic.

...

You sure you're ready?

...

STOP GROPING THAT GUY'S BUTT!

Why is this an issue? We're supposedly Christian girls, right? That means we're trying to stay pure and all that stuff. So why--why?!--did I hear girls saying "Yah, has such a cute butt"?

Okay, if you haven't guessed, before last Friday I'd never even heard of Stellar Kart. For all I knew, Stellar Kart was a flavor of ice cream! For those of you who--like I did--have no idea who they are, Stellar Kart is an all-guys Christian rock band. Christian rock band. Which means no provocative behavior, they stay dressed, and their lyrics are clean.

Why does hearing someone comment on the attractiveness of a singer's butt offend me Okay, let's look at this from another angle so you understand. How about a game of "What If"?

What if it had been a woman on that stage and a Christian guy had commented on her booty? Would you say that was inappropriate behavior for a young man of the Faith? If I heard a guy who was supposedly a Christian saying that about a woman, I would tempted to kick him in the...

For those of you who still don't get what I'm drive at let me put it this way: You are mentally groping that guy's butt when you say something like that. M'kay? Do I need to get out the flashcards? I don't care what you say to defend yourself; you are sexually objectifying someone when you comment about how cute their butt is.

Let's look at the definition of sexual objectification as stated in wikipedia:

Sexual objectification refers to the practice of regarding or treating another person merely as an instrument (object) towards the person's sexual pleasure. Objectification refers to an attitude that regards the human body as a commodity or as an object for use for sexual purposes, with insufficient regard for a person's personality

That is exactly what that girl was doing when she commented on the lead singer's butt. It no longer matter what sort of music he made, whether he liked pepperonis or sausage on his pizza, or even if he had a brain. His butt was now the most important part of his anatomy and now every girl around the original speaker was now talking about his butt and whether it was hot or not. Not his music. Not his personality. His gosh-darn-it, stinking butt!

Does anyone not see how wrong this is? Even if you're not a Christian, this should disturb you! For the last half century, women have struggled to throw off this exact sort of objectification. I'm sure our grandmothers and great grandmothers are very proud of us turning around and becoming the oppressors. Instead of the the objectified, we objectify.

And if that isn't enough to make you realize how messed up this is, remember those two stone tablets God gave Moses? I think I remember something along the lines of THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT FREAKING ADULTERY OR ELSE! (Yes, I know that that's not really how it goes, but I felt italics failed to give the emphasis needed at the moment.)

How is sexually objectifying a guy via saying he has a cute butt adultery? Well, here's the thing. Adultery is defined as an act that compromises your own or some else's chastity. In your head, you have just touched his butt. (Bad touch!) You have just sexually harrassed--sexually compromised--that guy. You have just committed adultery with him--and he doesn't even realize it.

I'm sorry. Did I offend you? By the way...

You have a cute butt.

It's not like I haven't been busy...

Oopsie. Haven't updated in a while, have I? Well, the semester is over, so maybe I can get some more blogging in. Would you guys like that? I know I would.

Let's see, what all has happened since my last update. Well, I completed my first concurrent semester of school, as mentioned above. And I graduated high school which means next semester I get to be a full-blown college student! *throws confetti and cheers*

Also since my last update, I have created three (maybe four, can't count at the moment) new videos on youtube! Check it out on: http://www.youtube.com/justalabyrinthjunkie. Please. I'm seriously starting to beg here.

My dad's colon removal went well, although he's not enjoying the cold weather nearly as much as he used to. Part of that may be the fact that he's lost some of his stuffings to keep him warm. Thank you so much to everyone who kept him in their prayers before, during, and after the surgery!

I went to the Revolve Tour conference and, boy, do I have a rant about that coming up!

Also, I went shopping recently. If you are ever in Tulsa, love to dress like a rockstar, and happen to be richer than I am, go shop at All Access! It is a million times better than Hot Topic and do you want to know why? There's no whiny, emo Twilight fans! Seriously, not a speck of Twilight merchandise; All Access is way too upscale for that.

Also, for the first time in my life, I own a top that is worth more than five dollars. The sales lady saw me lusting after a top that was on clearance and asked what size I wore and then gave it to me as a Christmas present! In comparison, I've nearly been thrown out of Hot Topic for wearing pink! All Access is definitely the better store. Go check it out.

And while we're on the topic of fashion, I am still seeing people in shorts and flip-flops! Hello, guys! It's been threatening snow for the past week and a half AND it's almost Christmas! I hope you ask Santa for new legs because you'll need them when the frostbite takes your real ones. I think it's time that we start intervening. If you see your friend out in just flip-flops, shorts, and a hoodie and she's not a legitimate athlete, slosh ice water over her legs and then lock her outside for about five minutes.

Seriously, she'll thank you later.

That's all for now, folks. I will try and be a little more consistent in my updates now that the semester is over.

If you don't take those flip-flops off and put on some real shoes, I'm going to rip your legs off.

Okay, ranting time. Why--WHY?--are 75% of the people I see on campus wearing flip-flops October?! I know Oklahoma weather is weird and you spend the occasional Christmas in a tee-shirt and shorts, but flip-flops, shorts, and a heavy coat in one outfit? Please tell me that people aren't so molly-coddled that they can't even dress themselves correctly for the season.

I mean, I love flip-flops. The only thing about colder weather I dislike (other than the chance of getting iced in) is that you have to start wearing closed-toe shoes. If I could, I'd never wear tennis shoes. But when it's cold enough that I start wearing a jacket, the flip-flops take up residence in one of the dark crannies of my closet until summer starts to roll around again.

And it's not just girls who are doing it. When I see a guy wearing a sweater with shorts and sandals, it doesn't matter if he's got rippling biceps; it screams "I'm a goober who needs help getting dressed! Hyuck! Hyuck! Hyuck!"

I wonder what guys think of girls who make this faux-pas. I'll wage it isn't: "Oooh Sexy legs!" Have you seen the goose-flesh on their legs? It's not sexy; it's scary! We're supposed to be the more fashion orientated gender, people! Who the h#// decided that this was an acceptable fashion trend? I'd like to meet them so I can knock some sense into them.

If you have to show of your legs, girls, there's these things called "tights". If you have to wear short skirts and shorts, layer them over some tights, please. You'll be warmer and won't look like you got dressed by playing Russian Roulette, Version: Fashion.

And as for flip-flops... Just say no. Please. (That goes for guys too. But not the part about the tights. If I see a guy wearing tights, I think I might hurt myself laughing. Just to warn you in advance.) Plus, if you wear those dreaded closed-toe shoes during the winter, you won't risk frost-bite like that Chinese guy in Pirates of the Caribbean: World's End. I'd post a picture, but all the ones I found were of the real deal and they aren't pretty. There are lots of alternatives to flip-flops so it shouldn't be too hard to find something more suitable for colder weather.

So, please, if it's cold enough you need a jacket, trade your flip-flops for some cute boots or tennis shoes. I'm begging you. Please!

Sanity? Since when was that mandatory?

Yeah, I know. I need to post more. Blah, blah, blah. A million apologies, a guilt trip on my part, and let's call it even.

They never told me about college is it is insanity epitomized.

Please check out my first video ev-ah!

Yeah, I technically should be doing homework right now, but it was something to do while I ripped seams. Which was homework so I guess I was being productive anyway.

Anyhow, please check out my youtube channel.

http://www.youtube.com/justalabyrinthjunkie

The Karmatic Wedgie from Hell

Now, I'm not a big believer in destiny and fate and all that stuff. But sometimes when the going gets tough, I'm extremely glad that everything is not just a bunch of random occurrences and that whatever happens will work out for the greater good--even if its not the immediate good. If I was one of those really intellectual theologists, I would call this a "period of spiritual growth" or a "test of my faith". Whatever. I'm not and I'll be perfectly honest and say that cancer truly sucks.

I was too little to remember the first time Dad had cancer. Well, I'm pretty sure I'm going to remember it this round. After fifteen years of clean health, guess what shows up in his colon again? Hello, Mr. Cancerous Polyp!

Now, I'm not particularly worried. Actually, I'm more annoyed than anything else. I don't like seeing everyone freaking out and, when I tell everyone my dad's cancer is back, they inevitably freak out. Sometimes I feel like I'm not allowed to freak out because then everything will collapse, which makes me even more annoyed. Cancer sucks and not just for the patient.

Case in point, my mother broke out in shingles because of the stress. And on top of everything, the plumping is doing another one of its tri-monthly freak-outs so we spent a good part of the morning playing "Save the Books!". (It did have to sploosh down the wall with all the shelves. )

Strange as it may seem, a good part of my irritation is due to the fact of how normal disasters like this are. I can just imagine the conversations our friends and relatives have:

*This is a fictional conversation and none of the events referenced have happened before. Hopeful they never will.*

"Uh-oh! The Selby's barn caught on fire! They're going to have to stay over a couple of days."

"But it isn't the barn metal?"

"Selby's, remember?"

"Oh, right. I'll go dig out the spare sheets."

I'm exaggerating. A little. But as my friends will testify, we generally have about two incidents a year. I'm hoping this one counts for at least until I graduate college.

Start your engines!

Today was a milestone in my life; I finally passed my driver's license test. I am very, very happy to that I didn't fail this time. This partly due to the fact getting my license is very important to me and partly because I would have had to wait 30 days before I took the test again. I look forward to being able to assist my family and friends with this new skill I have learned.

Okay, that's enough sappy stuff. Diatribe time!

Almost everyone I've talked to has told me that the supervisors on the test are crazy. I was lucky enough that I had a fairly sane tester, but still there were a few things that just annoyed the crap out of me with one in particular. Potholes.

Every time I get in the car, I drive at least three miles across a road that looks like a dinosaur on a pogo stick has been bouncing on it. Plus, segments of the road aren't even properly paved--at least not in the sense of cement and little yellow and white lines. I know what a pot-hole is and how to avoid getting rattled around in the car like the last lonely jelly-bean in the tin.

So, the last thing I want is someone grabbing the wheel when because of a tiny dent in the road. I wanted to turn around and scream at the instructor, but even a hothead like myself isn't about to yell at the person who can deem you a road hazard.

Now, I understand that I'm slightly biased, but if there are any driver's test supervisors reading this then please listen to this heartfelt plea on behalf of anyone taken the test. Please, please, please don't grab the wheel from us unless we're about to a) hit something or b) hit something. There are few things more unnerving is someone grabbing the steering wheel and yanking it out from your control. Not only is our initial reaction "Oh my gosh! Car out of control! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!", but the second reaction we have is "Personal space! Too close!"

All right, I've ranted. That's it for now.