All The Pretty Girls

This post definitely got away from me a little bit. Nevertheless, I have loads to say on the issue, and would interested to hear what anybody else thinks.

Once again, I have an idea for a post inspired by a thread from an anon meme I occasionally browse. The original poster titled the thread "Things it's probably stupid to be insecure about." The poster describes herself as a pretty girl who likes to wear nice clothes and makeup. She also describes herself as a geek into gaming, fantasy novels, and classical music. Her problem is that she's worried that other "less pretty" girl geeks probably resent and judge her for being more attractive.

The follow-up posts she makes in response to other people's reactions tend to muddy the water even further. She insists that she doesn't judge other women because of their appearance, but as someone else pointed out, she must, as that's the entire basis for her post: she can't feel insecure that "less pretty" women will resent her looks unless she's first identified these women and deemed them less attractive. She also insists that she finds "conventional" good looks boring, and that one of the prettiest women she knows is overweight. She also throws in a curveball by announcing that she's attracted to women, and this is why she's so focused on the way other women look. (Of course, this is after denying she judges physical attraction in the first place, but we may as well take her at face value.)

Some respondents to the thread suggest that she's a troll looking to stir up outrage, but her plea got me thinking: why can't a woman call herself "pretty" without being dogpiled and verbally beaten into submission by other women?

( Thinky thought ahead. )

ETA:

I didn't want to create an entirely new entry, but I did want to include this snippet from a NY Times article about France facing sanctions from the EU:

The legal case accuses France of failing to incorporate minimum European Union standards protecting ethnic groups into national legislation, which it agreed to do under a 2004 law. While other countries are also thought to be in a similar situation, France was singled out on Wednesday with a formal letter, the first step in legal action.

I may just be in desperate need of a nap, but does anyone else find the idea of sending a letter to the entire country of France hilarious?

Dear France,

Stop expelling the Gypsies; it's not nice.

Yours Truly,

Europe xx

I Broke Down and Made a New Post

From this article in the New York Times: (commentary and bolding is mine)

Basic Religion Test Stumps Many Americans (Well of course it does!)

Americans are by all measures a deeply religious people, but they are also deeply ignorant about religion.

Researchers from the independent Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life phoned more than 3,400 Americans and asked them 32 questions about the Bible, Christianity and other world religions, famous religious figures and the constitutional principles governing religion in public life.

On average, people who took the survey answered half the questions incorrectly, and many flubbed even questions about their own faith.

Those who scored the highest were atheists and agnostics, as well as two religious minorities: Jews and Mormons. The results were the same even after the researchers controlled for factors like age and racial differences.

Knew it! Here are some of the questions from the survey:

Among the topics covered in the survey were: Where was Jesus born? What is Ramadan? Whose writings inspired the Protestant Reformation? Which Biblical figure led the exodus from Egypt? What religion is the Dalai Lama? Joseph Smith? Mother Teresa? In most cases, the format was multiple choice.

Without the benefit of multiple choice (or Google) my answers: Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Ramadan is an Islamic holy month, Martin Luther inspired the Protestant Revolution, Moses led the exodus from Egypt, the Dalai Lama is a Buddhist, Joseph Smith was a Mormon, Mother Teresa was a Catholic.

How did I do? (Meaning, do feel free to correct me on any wrong answers.)

I'm telling you: atheists ROCK Bible trivia!