Topic: California

Gallery: Alyssa Campanella’s First Photo Shoot As Miss USA

Gallery: Alyssa Campanella's First Photo Shoot As Miss USA
Red Hair And Daisies
Fixing Her Collar
Holy Shit, That Crown
Behind The Scenes
More Flowers

In addition to not being a complete nincompoop when it comes to the concept of separation of church and state, newly crowned Miss USA Alyssa Campanella is very, very pretty. How pretty? Check out these behind-the-scenes pictures from her first official photo shoot and see for yourself. In addition to science, being pretty, and not being an insane religious fundamentalist, she enjoys history, fantasy, and science fiction books. Classy! More »

The Misanthropologist: Does Getting A Blowjob From A Guy Make You Gay?

The Misanthropologist: Does Getting A Blowjob From A Guy Make You Gay?

Growing up in a sheltered lefty enclave in northern California, I developed a few unusual ideas about life and the universe: 1) if you’re going to jack some of your parents’ weed, ask politely, 2) shopping at farmers’ markets is akin to a great act of humanity and when you walk into Whole Foods, you’re participating in the preservation of the planet and also ending wars and nursing baby animals or some shit and, in all seriousness, 3) being gay is a-okay. It wasn’t until I was shipped off to the cold cruel world of private liberal arts education that I realized not everybody was as comfortable with non-hetero love.

I guess I never thought about sexuality in terms of gay or straight. I kind of always just thought you like who you like and that’s how it goes. I recognize now that this could be perceived as extremely naïve: outside of far left bastions like my home town, there often exist rigid definitions of sexual identity: gay, straight, bi, queer, trans, godless heathen, craven whore, etc. More »

It Doesn’t Matter Whether Meg Whitman Is a Good Mother

It Doesn't Matter Whether Meg Whitman Is a Good Mother

I don’t like Meg Whitman. I don’t agree with her policies and I would never vote for her in a million years. Even though I don’t like her, I think most of the stories about her children’s bad behavior are completely irrelevant and unfair. (I say ‘most’ because one son committed a crime and injured a woman. I can understand covering this.) Blogs and media outlets have been covering the antics of “the Harsh brothers” and digging up stories about drunken dorm parties and temper tantrums at rugby games. The biggest problem is that some people are using this as ammunition that Whitman couldn’t possibly be a good governor if she wasn’t a good mother.

First of all, we have no way of knowing whether or not Whitman was a good mother. Her children have never come out and spoken against her (that I’m aware of). Even the best parents in the world can produce less-than-stellar offspring. While parenting obviously contributes to a child’s personality and actions, it is not the only indicator. As children grow up, and especially once they move out on their own, their behavior is less and less a reflection of their parents’ teaching and more of an individual’s expression of their own thoughts and beliefs. You can argue that a parent instills those thoughts, but only to a point. More »

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