From the “Why did I look at that?” department:

Let’s get the disclaimer out there, I do not watch much television.  And I certainly don’t watch “reality tv”, unless one counts MythBusters and the like.  I most definitely will not watch nonsense like America’s Next Top Model.  Why?  Because who needs the reminder that no matter what you do, as a woman, you aren’t really much of anything unless you are young, a size 0, and have a flawless complexion.  I mean really, fuck that noise.

Imagine my disgust this morning when I stumbled upon this clusterfuck of insanity while getting my morning blog surfing on.

The images portray extreme violence against women, and while not very realistic looking, they are a reminder that said violence is not only acceptable, but is also a crucial marketing gimmick in the pursuit of getting you to part with your hard earned dollars.  And let’s be honest, if it didn’t work, they wouldn’t use it.

What sickens me most is not the disturbingly gruesome images of young women arrayed with their arms and legs splayed out in true sexbot fashion, covered in blood and bruises, but rather the comments of the judges when viewing the photographs.

“What’s great about this is that you can also look beautiful in death.”

“I think I look at you in this picture, and you actually just look dead. One of the simplest things, like acting dead, can be the most challenging. The problem is that you didn’t do anything.”

Beautiful in death.  Death becomes you.  Broken-down dolls.  Very beautiful and dead.  I guess I didn’t get the memo that death is supposed to be sexy.

Fuck you American Patriarchy.  And fuck you ignorant consumers who buy into this bullshit so much that advertising executives continue to push it on us.  Do me a favor and go find your own sexy death, you misogynistic assholes.

Debt, it’s the American Way.  We finance ourselves to our eyeballs, pay a gazillion dollars a year in interest charges, and when money is tight, well, we just get another loan or refinance.

Yeah.

Having grown up in rather extreme poverty, and watching my step-dad constantly re-mortgage a house that was given to him free and clear (!!!), I hit my twenties with a pretty screwed up concept of financial management.  It didn’t help that in those early days I was also a SSAHM and didn’t have two pennies to rub together.  Once the kids hit school, and I got a job, things dramatically changed.

Oooh, you mean you’ll give me a credit card?  Nice!  Suckers!

Ha.  Little did I realize that I was the sucker.  Fast forward to my mid-thirties and I had developed much of the same mindset that my step-dad had and others had: if you can’t afford it, finance it, interest rates be damned!  Couple that with carrying debt based on bad relationship decisions, and you have a recipe for… well, I wouldn’t call it disaster, just piss poor financial management.  A little loan there, a little living expenses on the credit cards here, and before you know it, I’m paying out a few hundred dollars a month in interest charges for, well, hell, what was all that for?  Nothing I can put my fingers on now, I’ll tell you that.  Just stuff.

I made two very quiet resolutions this past new year’s eve.  One I’m still working on and is a private matter not to be spoken of in such a public forum.  The other?  Well, to erase a whole buttload of debt, clean up my finances, and start planning for the years ahead after the kids are in college and I’m running free.  Because you know I am -so- leaving the country when I’m clear of this here mommyhood gig!

In the last month, I’ve paid out a few dollars shy of $12,000 in debt reduction.  I’ve paid off three loans and three credit cards.  (Updated: It’s actually over $12k, and four loans, forgot about a personal loan I paid off mid-Feb.  Whee!) And while this may not seem like a big deal to you, to me it’s a very big deal.  In doing this, not only have I cleared myself of debt and ridiculous finance charges, but I have also finally purged a great deal of my past.  Several of the aforementioned items were in large part due to two very bad relationships.  One of them I’ve been carrying around since roughly 2001.  For nearly six years there has been a ghost in my life, in the form of a monthly statement that would piss me off every time I saw it.  For the last year or so, another ghost saw fit to join in the fun.

Living with the financial ghosts of my past has never been a good thing.  But now they are gone.  And that, so much more so than the cleared balances, is a beautiful thing.  Gone.  Finally, forever, goodbye.

Next up, getting those damn cars paid off!

Okay, so Catherine tagged and wants to know what we’re listening to.  I don’t have the paitence to make playlists, so I happily tune into XM and do a lot of channel hopping.  I pulled out some old Stevie Nicks CDs this week as well, so you’ll see her in the list a couple of times.

This is what I’m listening to over and over again this week:

• Nickelback - Far Away
• Stevie Nicks - Wild Heart
• The Dixie Chicks - Not Ready to Make Nice
• Anna Nalick - Breathe (2am)
• Stevie Nicks - Rock a Little
• 3 Doors Down - Let Me Go
• Korn, feat. Amy Lee - Freak on a Leash
• Nonpoint - Alive and Kicking
• Breaking Benjamin - Breathe
• Theory of a Deadman - Santa Monica

This is what was playing on XM Squizz while I wrote this:

• Godsmack - The Enemy
• The Exies - Different Than You
• Alterbridge - Metalingus
• 12 Stones - Far Away
• Dropping Daylight - Tell Me
• Bullet For My Valentine - All These Things I Hate

*ahem*  Now shall we carry on the tradition and tag others.  Today’s tag brought to you by the letters P, T, and H.

Darth Bitch
IceYeyeZ
christopher
Basileus
Malachai Pantherius

What are you guys listening to this week?

They say time flies when you are having fun. Well, time certainly flies, but I’m going to have to get back to you on that fun thing. It’s been crazy in Sabreland, which, if you’ve been paying attention, should come as no surprise.

They also say it’s not really a party until the cops are called. Consider my life a party
I’d love to give you more details, but you know, I just don’t have the time. Suffice it to say work is currently insane (but my annual review was pretty good considering the crazy year I’ve had, yay me!), teenagers are bound and determined to make me old before my time, Tetris is out of town and I haven’t slept in days (no, I’m not addicted to Tetris! *sigh* okay, yes I am) and life is, well, life is just life.

On a very lovely note, it’s a beautiful day in the district. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and I’m driving topless… er, I mean I’m driving with the top down. Stop trying to look at my cleavage (yes, Catherine, that means you too!)

I’ll be back soon to amuse and entertain, but for now, I’m dreadfully afraid work expects I should, you know, work. Rude, yes?

Later, my leedle love muffins!