Quoted: Days of Future Past by Ryan Joseph Lopez

"You just can't debate with crazy, or practically anyone anymore. The world is changing for the better, but some people just can't accept that. All they have left to hold on to are their beliefs. When those once common ideas are now considered outdated, irrational and even hateful, and can be justly proven so, people get angry and desperate and will fight to the very end to protect an ideology that they hold sacred. It's an unfortunate sign of the most conservative parts of the Republican party. Never give up, never surrender, never admit you're wrong, just keep screaming nonsense until you drown out your opponent and every last one of his facts. Well I have a few facts to share myself: Gay people can get married without the sky falling or your family being affected in anyway, shape or form aside from the possibility of them not sharing your homophobic hate. Black people can be in charge of a country that once considered them property. Being a Liberal is not the same thing as being weak. Trust me. We fight against income inequality in the Occupy Movement. We fight for the right to unionize in Wisconsin, Indiana, Arizona and any other states controlled by a Republican majority that wishes for it to be a "right to work" state. We fight for the health of our women when conservative wolves in pink sheep's clothing attempt to break down Planned Parenthood. And we fight for our right to marry the person we love to not only receive the same benefits that everyone else gets, but to also simply show that we are no different from any straight couple and hence should not be treated differently as such. California is another footstep in the marathon that is the fight for marriage equality and gay rights everywhere. We will continue fighting. We are not weak. We are stronger than ever and we will fight for Obama this year and we will win. We must. This country needs to show the world that we stand for common sense, compassion and an ability to inspire hope in others by getting back up after being knocked down hard. Screaming at the top of your lungs until you can't hear the facts just won't do for this country of ours, and neither will defeat, hatred, or the desire to divide. We can come together to make sure our country continues to succeed and head in its' current, correct direction. We can vote for Obama 2012, because hope is nothing without people to believe in it and change is impossible without people to fight for it."  

- Ryan Joseph Lopez on Blade7184's post 

"Quoted: Miley Cyrus on Her Marriage Equality Tattoo"

Cyanide and Happiness: You Did What?

Keeping It Old Skool - Issue No. 12 - The Giving Tree

Geez, okay it's been over a year since a posted an issue of "Keeping It Old Skool" so I want to start my first issue of 2013 with a book I will remember forever.

I can honestly say,  I would be hard-pressed to find anyone who has never read "The Giving Tree," "Where The Sidewalk Ends," "The Missing Piece," or "A Light In The Attic".

The children's books written by the late Shel Silverstein became a staple in every child's classroom .  We either read them at the park, with our friends, or at bedtime when our parents put us to sleep.  And while today we can read them with our iPhones or iPads; They can never replace the actual books themselves.  I still have mine.  

One of my favorite books, "The Giving Tree" was recently named the Teacher's Top 100 Books for Children and is one of the Top 100 Picture Books of all time.

I remember reading this for the first time and balling my eyes out.  I was furious at the boy who took apart this giving tree limb for limb,  And yet the tree loved the boy from adolescence to adulthood.  The tree literally gave all it had.

"The book details the events occurring throughout the life of a small boy, and the friendship that he shares with a tree—with which he is apparently able to communicate. In his childhood, he enjoys climbing her branches and enjoying imaginative play with her; however, as he gradually passes into maturity his requests from the tree change. After entering adolescence, he requests to pick her apples with which to make profit, and after reaching adulthood he cuts down the tree's limbs to construct a house. Years later, he returns to the lonesome Giving Tree as an old man to cut her down and use her wood to craft a boat with which to sail away, after the maturity of his family, reducing her to nothing more than a stump. However, eventually he returns to his friend, asking for a resting place, and peacefully drifts off to sleep on the tree stump." [source]

This book and countless others have helped guide me through life and it will be part of those memories I will honor and cherish forever.  If you've never read them, and I can't believe you haven't, click on the book titles above.

What a Hot Mess: Boyfriend Pushes Girlfriend Off a Cliff

What a hot mess of a boyfriend.  LMAO.  

OMG, I would die.  But I guess for those who skydive, tightrope between high-rises, or mountain climb - it's no big deal.  But if Ryan pushed me off a cliff our relationship would be over; Plain and Simple.

The Joys of Being a Parent: Tooth Fairy, I'm Not Mad

A 7-yr old girl left a note for the Tooth Fairy and it was simply adorable.  I had to include it as part of "The Joys of Being a Parent," because boy, it surely is!