Deviant Art

So I started a Deviant Art account so I could post my drawings in a more appropriate outlet! I also put the link on this post as well as permanently affixed on the right side of my page, so check it out! :)

Penguini!

So this is the latest vector drawing I've done. I did it in inkscape. I just got Corel Painter, though, so I am very excited to learn a new program. I think this would have turned out better had inkscape not gotten so slow after I kept adding layers and things to the point where I couldn't do anything with it really anymore. Anyway, there are definitely some finishing touches that needed to be added, but I just couldn't bear the slowness anymore. If anyone has any suggestions on how to speed inkscape up once you've gotten a fairly complex drawing, please share! :)

Abstinence-Only Sex Education

The other day I was having a discussion with a couple of people about abstinence-only sex education and I started thinking about it a bit. Those people who support this method of sex education expect preteens and teens not to engage in sexual acts before marriage and yet everyone demands sex in everything. Sex is used to sell everything from consumer goods, to tv shows, to movies. It's everywhere. It's basically like telling a fat person they can't eat bad or fattening food, but constantly waving twinkies around in their faces or telling a drug addict not to do drugs and then constantly surrounding them with said drug. Obviously, there is a laundry list of other issues with abstinence-only sex education that has been iterated elsewhere, but I just wanted to point out this one inconsistency. To give an example...there was an ad on the ABC family channel a week or so ago for a movie that was made for that channel that was to be coming on soon and the preview show a high school girl leaning over and the top of her underwear showing from the top of her pants...she's wearing and thong...and then another girl calls her thong "granny panties", takes a picture with her camera phone, and sends it out to the whole school. Then later the preview goes on to show one of the high school boys impregnating one girl and potentially another. Um...first of all...this is a "family" channel so the whole plot seems a little mature for middle-school/early high school kids to be watching (which seemed to be the target audience) and second of all...when did a thong become "granny panties"?!? So what? As a teenager what message is this sending? I have to wear a g-string or something...in high school, no less? And then you expect me not to have sex? WTF?

Why I'm an Elitist

Ok, so I don't really think of myself as an elitist, but I'm sure someone somewhere along the lines would beg to differ. At any rate, I keep wondering lately why there are so many people who are probably more intelligent than average and they are either embarrassed of it or just generally don't want to be perceived as a nerd. Where did this trend come from? Why are people ashamed about their intelligence and why is it not cool to be intelligent, educated, and into intellectual things? I don't understand this. Were I not someone to generally go against the grain, I might be one of these people who is intelligent and ashamed of it. I have a friend from high school and college who is incredibly intelligent. She once stumbled into a physics exam, still drunk from the night before, had to hurry to take the exam so she could go throw up, and still made a 99 or something close to it. Meanwhile, the rest of us were struggling to get B's with this particular professor. But she's never wanted to admit how intelligent she is and when we would go out and meet guys, she would always dumb herself down to talk to them. She avoids reading and pretends that all she cares about is jewelry, shopping, make-up, and what Paris Hilton is up to. I sometimes felt like I and our other friends were her guilty pleasure. Her nerd friends that she had to indulge her intellectual side while never fully wanting to admit that. What a waste! And the one of the main reasons she is like this is because she thinks people will perceive her negatively should she show her true colors. It makes me sad and angry just thinking about it. I remember always being angry and jealous at the girls in ballet who were insanely talented, but could care less about being a professional dancer. I had the heart, but they had the talent. It's sort of the same thing here. Not that I am not above average intelligence, I think I am (or an above average dancer), but it's ridiculous that the reason that so much good intelligence is wasted due to popularity contests is sickening. If they're not going to use their intellect, can't I have it?

But anyway, since I am someone who goes against the grain, I say if you're nerdy, that's a good thing and you should flaunt it and maybe if enough people do that, the trend can be reversed and all of the ignorant masses will suddenly be aware that they are the ignorant masses and be ashamed of themselves and try to get some education. I know there's probably little chance of this happening, but it's fun to dream sometimes, right?

Pictures anyone?