I’ve recently caught wind of a new movie coming out soon entitled The Golden Compass. As it hasn’t been out yet, I have yet to see it, and therefore I cannot draw any assumptions about the film itself. It appears, however, that the film has garnered some attention from those who feel that the books it is based upon, and by consequence the movie, will “denigrate Christianity, thrash the Catholic Church and sell the virtues of atheism” (Bill Donohue, president and CEO of the Catholic League). Excusing the fact that this is all coming from a television station who seems to be a one-track-minded beast, I am still deeply offended by the overall tone of the article by Fox News and many other groups who I’ve come across while Googling the film.

First of all, just because a film has the “virtues of atheism” does not mean it is a bad film. In fact, the virtues of atheism are very similar to those of Christians and other religions. I am sick and tired of seeing, hearing and reading propaganda being peddled all around me that says that just because something is “atheist” that it is bad. It is not bad and I don’t feel that it is any different than if someone were to say that because someone is Jewish that therefore they are bad, or because someone is Buddhist they are bad, etcetera.

I feel this country is sorely lacking in acceptance of other faiths, or people who lack faith. I’m an agnostic atheist but I practice acceptance every day of my life. It’s too bad that’s an “atheist virtue” and not something Fox News practices.

I say … and you think … ?

1. Filthy :: Blanket.
2. Therapist :: Couches.
3. Duck :: Hunter.
4. Slant :: Hill.
5. Artist :: Candace.
6. Lease :: House.
7. Wish :: List.
8. Doormat :: Door.
9. Global :: Warming.
10. Apartment :: Independence.

Yeah, so obviously: I cannot hold to a self-motivated-blog-deadline whatsoever. I could go on and on about how I’ve been busy, how I’ve had tests and assignments and whatnot, but it’s all boring mumbo-jumbo that I doubt anyone has any real interest in.

I’ve been messing in Photoshop with some possible new layouts. Sooner or later (you can already bet it’ll be later) I’ll get a new layout up on At0mica.net, revamp everything with, what I feel, is what I am now instead of leaving everything as the way it is. That sentence didn’t make sense whatsoever, so here it is again: lots of stuff on there was made or written several years ago when I was a fledgling in the world wide web, and I feel that now I am more than a fledgling, and I would like my website to reflect that. Better? I think so.

I am fully aware of the issues surrounding talking about work or employment, but as I am in throes of pain over this particular “project”, I can’t help but write about it. I’ll just refrain from mentioning names.

I have been recently contracted, rather: coerced, into building a website for a particular group. I enjoy doing this type of thing, but this particular project is seeming more and more of a pile of bullshit than anything else. As is usual, I’m sure, the group in question is no idea whatsoever about web design, web development, and seemingly even about web sites. Some people have no idea about how to go about making web sites but they are still able to distinguish between a good one and a bad one. These people apparently can figure out what they like, but they’ve literally hired me to duplicate another web site’s layout and put in their own information, logo, etcetera. It’s not so similar that I would say it’s copying by any means, if it was I would have refused, but the thing is that the web site they want their web site schemed after is one that has lots of little content areas and pictures everywhere and a doodad here and a doodad there… and quite frankly, they don’t have enough to show off in those content areas for it to be worth it to have them there. But who am I to judge? There’s random links everywhere, random images, random pictures… but if it’s what they want, that’s what they’ll get. Another roadblock is that they don’t have any means of editing/updating these web pages (like Dreamweaver or Frontpage) and they also do not have the capabilities for a content management script - and it goes without saying that they’d be absolutely clueless about how to update a web page manually (editing the HTML.) So I’m stuck with the task of creating a nice looking web site with lots of doodads and making it so that these people can update it themselves, because I told them up front that I don’t have the time to be a webmaster for yet another group of people.

Don’t get me wrong, I love web site design and development, but this project is more of a pain in the ass than anything else. I’m not even getting paid anywhere near what I should be. (I guess some people more experienced in the field would be telling me right now that I’d better get used to situations like this.)

On another note, I’m really sad that I didn’t get around to my little thing from my last week. My intentions were to take photos every day of the week and make it a “photoblog”. That Monday ended up being terrible and I didn’t take any photos; I took some on Tuesday but things were just really chaotic and it just never fleshed out the way that I had wanted it to. Hmm.

Lately I’ve been absolutely fed up. I know what I want to do. I’ve known for a long while. I want to be a web site designer/developer. I want to learn PHP, MySQL, Ruby, AJAX, Javascript… and anything else relating to developing web sites. I want to learn more about graphic design. However, I also want a Bachelor’s degree, and apparently that’s very difficult to get in Kansas in relation to web development/design. I’ve known this for awhile, of course, and so the solution was apparently to just get a general degree in computer science and call it good. Computer science involved more math than I cared to learn, so I switched to Information Systems - which at Kansas State, is pretty much the same degree but with more business classes instead of math ones. Looking over what I was supposed to be enrolling in next semester, I began to wonder - what the hell am I doing? None of the classes I’ve had this far or what I’m supposed to be enrolling in relate to web design/development directly. I’m learning about programming which relates indirectly, I guess, but it’s just like if you were a microbiology major and they were making you learn about elephants. It’s still biology, but definitely a different kind of biology.

Kansas State offers no courses relating to web site design and development. I’ve been all over their course web site and catalog searching for something, anything that I could take that would make me feel like I’m going where I want to go in terms of a career. Nothing. I’ve tried explaining this situation to several people, but they don’t seem to get it. I know what I want to do, I want desperately to learn anything and everything to do with it, but there is no curriculum here or at any of the other universities in Kansas for it. I know because when I was deciding on what college to go to I searched and looked and pored over what each university offered and none of them had it. I chose Kansas State because of the reputation it had for being an outstanding engineering and computing school. I figured I’d be able to take some classes, at least, if I couldn’t major in it.

I am also fed up because it seems whenever I say what I love to do in front of other computer science/information systems majors they give me this look of “you’ve got to be kidding” and/or “that’s not real programming”. Jesus. I sat and programmed a PHP calendar application for my part time job as a webmaster. It required the same type of programming that I learned in my classes here, but more of a practical application of it. My application may not have been the most outstanding thing in the world: but it worked, and that’s all that matters. I was more proud of that little application than anything else that I’ve done here at KSU because I did it completely by myself and I loved every minute of it. I would love to learn more, but it’s just been so hard to try to learn everything on my own with absolutely no one to sit down and talk about it with. I don’t know anyone here that knows PHP. I don’t even know anyone else here that loves to develop web sites and knows anything about it.

I don’t like not being taken seriously and I honestly don’t know why I’m not. It probably falls back to the stand-by of most of the male computer people here that women can’t do computer stuff as well as men. That quite frankly pisses me the fuck off.

I am female. I love web site design and development. I will become a professional in this field, no matter what it takes.

I was browsing the internet the other day and came across some real gems in the comments section of a news article:

“Gays are nothing but HEATHENS and portraying their lifestyle degrades our country, our religion, and the morals of anyone who watches it and think it acceptable. They are no better than pedophiles or anyone else committing unnatural sex acts. They deserve their human rights like anyone else and that’s it. It’s time the media stops portraying them as something special instead they way they should be really treated; like an embarrasment to humanity and God.”

“These Hollywood liberals have turned television and the movies into garbage with their pro homosexual agenda. Normal people aren’t interested in watching a bunch of perverts.”

HAVE THEY NOT READ THE BIBLE ABOUT THE ABONATION TO THEIR SOUL . DO YOU PEOPPLE NOT BELIEVE IN GOD WORD. THIS IS A SIN AN IS NOT FIT FOR OUR CHILDREN TO WATCH ON THE T.V. ANY MORE , THEY ARE CONFUSED ENOUGH ABOUT HIS WORLD WITH PUSHING MORE SIN INTO THEIR LIFES. I THINK THE GAY PEOPLE SHOULD REPENT AND ASK GOD FOR DILIVERANCE , AND FORGIVENESS.HOW MANY GAY OR LESBAINS HAVE YOU SEEN THAT TRULY HAPPY. NONE.

I like how they assume that everyone is of one religion (hence saying “our religion”), because everyone knows that the people of the United States are all from the same religious background (see http://www.gc.cuny.edu/faculty/research_briefs/aris/key_findings.htm). Please note that the previous sentence was sarcasm.

Okay, so who the hell are they to accuse someone of “unnatural sex acts”? I really don’t see how it’s anyone’s business but the people involved in any consensual sex act. I know I would just rather not be informed about what other people are doing in the bedroom (or wherever) because it’s just not ANY OF MY BUSINESS.

“An embarrassment to humanity and God”… As a human, meaning I am part of the group called humanity, I do not feel embarrassed by the gay population. Of course, I cannot comment on the last part, but again: I can chalk that up to the fact that not everyone in the US is of the Christian faith, and therefore any official stance by the US government based upon the religions that view homosexuality as bad is playing a biased game. But I digress.

I have several gay friends. I am not gay. It does not, and has never, offended me. I find it incredibly sad that I am one of the few trusted people that know of some of my friend’s sexualities because of the pure stupidity and close-mindedness of the general population here.

My view is this: live and let live. What does it matter to you what someone else does as long as it isn’t hurting you or others? I sincerely fail to see, even if you do not agree with or tolerate homosexuality, why you make it YOUR business what they do. Nobody is saying that because gay and lesbian people exist that you must immediately become a gay or lesbian.

I really don’t care that there are homosexual people because that’s just how they are. I am in a heterosexual relationship and I have never felt that because homosexual relationships exist that my relationship is weakened, threatened, or anything of the sort. Because, again, quite frankly, it’s not any of my damn business.

You do what you want to do, you live how you want to live, you pursue your happiness in the name of the constitution and of liberty. This is what America was built on, pursuing your right to happiness, to liberty. I might have misread, but I don’t believe that there was a footnote with an asterisk that said

*unless it violates the mass majority’s opinions.