The OCCC bookstore seems to have recently been practicing a policy of gender discrimination when it comes to entering the bookstore with a bag. Students carrying bags were asked to check them in with the bag guardians sitting at the table outside of the bookstore, but the only exceptions were women with purses.

I’ve been the lone photographer of the Pioneer for almost a year now, and can regularly be seen around campus with my camera slung across my shoulder.

When I went to get a refund for a textbook while carrying my camera, an overweight troll of a woman with beady little eyes trapped behind a pair of glasses insisted I in check the bag I didn’t have with the bag guardians.

I had a pretty massive mental breakdown last night. The weight of my classes crushed me like a bug.

During this breakdown, I ended up deciding that my classes were too much, and I dropped video in order to stay employed. The only other option was to drop both classes and lose my job, as well as whatever money I would have gotten from Financial Aid.

I hope I don’t have any more breakdowns. I may not be able to handle it.

I nearly got killed last week while going back to campus.

I ate at Jack in the Box for my food project, and as I was coming out on May, I had enough room from oncoming, but when I turned into May on the right side of the street, some white van comes screeching next to me, swerving and blasting his horn the whole way.

They didn’t even slow down at all.

Gather round kiddies, it’s time for uncle Jeremy to yell about the problems in the world again. What shall we yell about today?

Politics. Yay! That subject that can make the veins in uncle Jeremy’s neck stand out and destroy his vocal cords as he shouts and raves for hours and hours. Fun for the whole family!

Joking aside, I’ve noticed a distinct trend lately in my social media. Namely, that a full 3/4 of my feed on Facebook is being filled with ideological grandstanding in the form of catchy memes and flat statements. Now, I love each and every one of you, but with a few exceptions (for people I know to be serious political junkies, or smart enough to stay out of it) I find myself driven to ask.

Millions of songs are download every day, but how many of them are paid for? This is one of the main problems music companies and artists face today. The thought process for most is the belief that if music is free, why should one have to pay for it? While today there are many forms of accessing music for free (spotify, illegal downloads, music sharing), many do not think about the effects it has on music labels, artists, and more importantly, the economy.

With just less than 10 percent of CDs released making profits, it is safe to say the majority of music accessed comes from the Internet. Virtually everyone with an iPod or mp3 player has at some point downloaded music from the Internet but according to an online source, 95 percent of that music is downloaded illegally. Piracy has long caused much controversy and many feel if something is not done to stop illegal downloads the music industry could be in for trouble.

It used to be simple: the consumer downloads a song for $1 and automatically the profit is split between the artist, music label, and songwriter. However, with much music being downloaded illegally, many feel artists are not getting the cut they deserve. So how do we minimize illegal downloading? How about subscribing?

I don’t know about you, but I use Twitter as a vehicle for telling jokes. I don’t take pictures of my food. I don’t update my followers on how bad my days are or when my cat is taking a nap. Then again, I don’t have a cat.

So I’ve gathered 15 of the funniest tweets that I’ve found around the Twitter-verse in a segment called Tweets of the Week.

Well, I’m not sure about my readers on this page, but my recent blog on polyamory was well received on my personal blog. Which, while I’m pleased to see, causes a tiny problem.

I wrote the closing of that blog in a bit of a hurry, as I was late for class. Reading back over it, it seems to make the case (despite my intentions otherwise) that I believe monogamy to be flawed, or wrong in some way. It does state that I do not feel that way, but I have no doubt those that don’t know me well might have mistaken a hurriedly typed disclaimer for sarcasm.

And not two days later, I came across a blog on another site that was very much a scream of rage about the way poly individuals look down on monogamous individuals.

I covered a popcorn sale today, and the price was whatever the hell you feel like giving. You would think that everybody could pay that, right? Nope! I actually saw people steal popcorn that would have cost them one penny.

Seriously? Just ask and I could give a penny! You would get pitied by me, but you would also be able to pay for the popcorn.

Now I just want to throw coins at people as hard as I can. Especially if you are too cheap to pay a penny.

As a general rule, I write social commentary about the things that annoy me. And I look upon it, and it is good. But it has recently been brought to my attention (by my mother) that I’m becoming too cynical.

I don’t think there is such a thing as too cynical, but eh, mothers. So in the grand tradition of kids attempting to prove parents wrong, today’s blog is brought to you by kittens and unicorns and rainbows and whatever other crap makes you smile.

What makes me happy then? A number of things. While I do bleed cynicism and wield keyboards as though I believe they fire photon torpedoes, I’m not an unhappy person.

Arranged marriages seem to be a thing of the past. Betrothal was for hierarchy in Europe. All people have the right to marry whomever they wish now days.

Incorrect.

Coming from a background of being raised by a Pakistani father, I am told by him that I should not be surprised, disgusted or turned away from the idea of someone choosing a mate for someone else.

I was raised in 20th- and 21st-century America, not 16th-century England or Pakistan. This practice is very difficult to grasp, even after observing the happy and lovingly arranged marriages of most of my Pakistani family.