Marvelous Happy Things

If you've ever seen the '80s movie Sixteen Candles , then you know that some parts of it are horrible, while other parts have a redemptive quality. I'm going to discuss how it relates to gender relations. Ted (the Geek) thinks that Samantha (main character) is amazing, even though she has only had one positive interaction with him. "Not many girls in contemporary American society today, would. . . help a geek like me." Ted sees her as valuable, and he even vows to beat up Jake if he lays a hand on her. [Spoiler] Unfortunately, Sam does not hear this conversation, nor does she see him as worthy of her affections, and both end up with other people. The other day, a friend of mine shared a Tumblr post about how teenage girls are made fun of no matter what they like. It was the kind of post that left a bad taste in my mouth. We need to see the value in others, specifically members of the opposite sex, who will find it refreshing and encouraging. We need to tell them

Allen Temple AME Church (Marion)'s Pastor Gladden spoke in chapel today. When I first saw her colorful outfit, I was like, "oh, boy. Here we go." I immediately thought that she would try to shake us up, which she did. At one point, she said, "thanks for having my back Sister Lauren, because I may need security on the way out of here." She clearly explained the origin of the AME church's break from the Methodist Episcopal church and mentioned Dylann Roof's attack on the AME church in Charleston. I expected her to address Roof's attack. I did not expect her to speak with such love towards a majority white student body. Her call was for us to be a Truth-Telling, Table-Turning Taylor. She called for us to be willing to talk to people back home about how to live this Christian life differently. She hoped that we would see our brothers and sisters in Christ who look differently than we do as Brothers and Sisters (no matter the break in denominations). P

The MTV VMAs (Video Music Awards) were this past Sunday. Guess what was trending earlier this week? Sure, artists won awards and gave speeches as you would expect. I saw some articles about them. Bigger than that though? Two words: Miley Cyrus. You see, she had the privilege of hosting these awards. The audience saw plenty of her outfits and a lack thereof. She tussled verbally with Nicki Minaj, performed a new single, and at the end of the show, announced that her new album was now available for free. Who does that? Most artists love to create art and perform it. But release an album for free? Even with her often inappropriate fare, it was a smart business move. But won't people pay for quality? Yes. So is Miley cutting herself short? Is she trying to make a statement? She already does that and has addressed the issue of copyright laws regarding music in the past. This album is a "side project" and is something she wanted to "share . . . with her fans directly"