Beer Can Hill

I’m receiving some questionable comments and emails from people who are interested in the Michelle McGee media circus.

Beer Can Hill is not a celebrity gossip site. I do not interview people for profit and it’s important to me that the people I interact with trust me and my site. I believe that consenting adults are free to live their lives as they see fit, and hopefully learn from their errors when they make them.

I also do not involve myself in the feuds between well-known tattooed women, and I don’t participate in them myself. That kind of crap hurts the tattooed community, and it’s childish. I have no hatred or animosity towards any tattooed public figure, and this is simply because I do not believe everything that I hear or read.

Tattoos and body modification should have nothing to do with negative social politics. Michelle McGee’s tattoos have nothing to do with her alleged personal choices and decisions. Tattoos do not cause women to become sexually aggressive husband poachers. Also? This is 2010. Men are responsible for their own behavior.

I hope that the people who are involved in this mess learn from their mistakes and get help for their problems, because I believe that this type of chaos and misery is unnecessary.

Warner Brothers is releasing a movie called The Orphan this coming Friday. From what I understand, it’s about a family that adopts a foreign orphan who is, in some form or another, possessed or otherwise the spawn of Satan.

The film’s existence has caused an uproar within pro-adoption groups such as the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, The Christian Alliance For Orphans, The Dave Thomas Foundation For Adoption, The National Council For Adoption, and The American Academy of Adoption Attorneys. These groups are demanding that the film be boycotted and have sent complaints to Warner Brothers. One of their petitions states that “[the film] may impede recruitment efforts by feeding into the unconscious fears of potential foster and adoptive families that orphaned children are psychotic and unable to heal from the wounds of abuse, neglect, and abandonment.”

The Christian Alliance For Orphans has even made a website dedicated to doing away with the film.

I have no inherent prejudice against adoption, foster families, or orphans. I do think that adopting a child is a good thing under the right circumstances. But I also think that this boycott is ridiculous.

For one thing, these groups are assuming that people will watch the film and automatically become convinced that adoption is dangerous and other people’s children are evil. I’m inclined to argue that if a person is so lacking in common sense that he or she comes to this conclusion after watching a fictional horror movie, they probably are not a good candidate for parenthood to be begin with. Surely common sense, reasoning, and maturity should come in to play if you’re going to become a parent and/or adopt a child (hold the celebrity jokes please).

For another thing, I don’t think it’s right for adoption advocates to insist that adoption and fostering is all sunshine and roses for everyone involved. I don’t see how it could possibly be easy or even always enjoyable to adopt a child that’s been removed from an abusive situation. It would take a special person to help a child through something like that and let’s face it, not everyone is special. Horror movies aside, it’s still unrealistic and misleading to project this idea that adoption is always a happy ending and will “complete” any family.

I’m wondering if the film would actually help orphans by weeding out the incompetent idiots who would only make their lives worse. Shouldn’t people be thinking about whether or not they can deal with a child with psychological issues before they have one? Shouldn’t they also be thinking about how this could affect the children that they already have? I say yes.

I think it’s ridiculous to scapegoat Warner Brothers for projected “recruitment loss”. Indeed, adoption is typically a more favorable solution to unwanted children than orphanages or foster homes. But we’re still failing to address why there are so many unwanted children.

I’ve noticed a trend in North American families that I don’t like. People in our culture seem to have very unrealistic expectations about what parenthood entails, and, as a result, we have a whole lot of dysfunctional families and overall unhappiness. Just because you can have a child – and by “have” I mean either bear OR adopt – doesn’t always mean you should. I don’t personally believe that parenthood is for everyone, and I also don’t believe that every adult should adopt a child. There are certainly other issues about parenthood that need to be taken seriously more so than censoring what I choose to view at the movie theater.

I say life’s too short to drink shitty rum or get pissed off at its lame advertising campaigns.

More about the outrage.

Originating site.

If something doesn’t make sense, then I know I’m not being presented with all of the facts. I can’t figure out what’s going on with Kimberley Vlaeminc and her claim that Rouslan Toumaniantz tattooed her face against her will.

I’ve noticed that Toumaniantz blames Vlaeminc’s father for her sudden change of heart. Some sources say that her father was waiting outside of the shop while she was tattooed, others state he was at home. In my experience, a parent or significant other’s negative reaction to a tattoo can affect a young person’s feelings about their decision. I have to wonder if Vlaeminc was trying to emulate Kat Von D and didn’t fully consider how having a tattooed face can affect her life.

I don’t see a total of 56 stars on Vlaeminc’s face. I’ve also noticed that different media photos and footage of her show the tattoos on different sides of her face. Is it all some kind of hoax?

Notice her lack of eye contact and passive posture when she talks about what transpired. I don’t know about you, but if somebody tattooed my face against my will I’d be looking pretty pissed off when speaking about it.

I don’t believe that she slept through having her face tattooed, unless if she was under the influence. I haven’t read anything about Vlaeminc signing a waiver to be tattooed either.

It also doesn’t make sense for somebody in Toumaniantz’s profession to go “above & beyond” on a piece that involves somebody’s face. I don’t know very much about European tattoo etiquette or customs, but a reputable tattoo artist in the USA wouldn’t have agreed to tattoo an 18 year old’s face (or her neck or hands either for that matter). I think Toumaniantz knows he messed up too, because now the media is reporting that he’s offered to help pay for laser removal.

I continue to be amazed at people who don’t comprehend that tattoos are permanent and then don’t want to take responsibility for their decisions. I was panhandled with this crap via MySpace the other day and I told the woman in question exactly what I thought about her campaign: I think it’s ridiculous and she should pay for her own tattoo removal. I generally don’t think other people should pay for someone else’s tattoo removal. If you paid for a tattoo, you can pay to fix it.

I believe that if I get a tattoo and I hate it, then it’s my responsibility to either communicate with that artist about fixing it, go to another artist for a cover-up, or pay for the removal myself. Otherwise, I perpetuate the stereotypes and make myself look like an irresponsible jack ass.

There is no intelligence or maturity test to be passed before going under the needle, and I am not implying that there should be. But I implore tattoo artists and other people in the industry to be ethical and responsible with their customers, particularly the ‘barely legal’ crowd.

Crystal meth is a disgusting substance that will kill you and hurt everyone that loves you. I have lost friends and relationships to it. The people at TShirtHell.com are awesome for making this shirt.

On that note, Beer Can Hill supports Project Prevention. I worked for a social services program that helped drug-addicted newborns detox in 2001 and it was like taking a trip to hell. Women who drink and use drugs while they are pregnant quite frankly need to be sterilized. I prefer that people support programs like Project Prevention instead of ones like these.

I am angered by Dr. Tiller’s murder and the people who have expressed joy over it. I have no use for fanatics on either side of the abortion debate. Zealotry destroys any mission or cause and hurts everyone.

In a perfect world, there would be no abortions. There would certainly be no second trimester abortions. Birth control would be readily available and never fail. It would be easier for people to have themselves voluntarily sterilized. There would be no more rape or incest. There would be no more health complications or terminal illnesses for pregnant women. All children would be wanted and loved.

I have been involved in abortion rights activism since I was a teenager. It’s not something I discuss with too many people on a day-to-day basis. I have friends and family members who are pro-life/anti-abortion and I don’t let the issue interfere in my personal relationships.

Some people feel that life begins at conception and unborn children have equal or more rights than their mothers. I try to respect this idea, even though I don’t agree with it. I don’t think that a woman should have an abortion if she doesn’t want to.

I believe that abortion is controversial in the USA because it is ultimately about sex. A lot of people still believe that sex is bad and people that like it are horrible and should be punished. I call people like that “crotchspies.” Crotchspies are always worried about who other people are having sex with, and how and why. They don’t want consenting adults to have sex outside of heterosexual marriage and procreation. Crotchspies have never learned how to be healthy about their own sexualities. They want to spread that toxicity to those of us who are healthy because misery loves company.

I don’t understand their obsession. And I’ll never let somebody else dictate what I do with my body and my life. I take responsibility for myself and my health. I encourage everyone else to do the same.

It’s no secret I’m a sucker for all creatures that are not human. I’m on most of the major animal rights organizations’ mailing lists. Lots of interesting stuff has been going on with these groups lately. I’m not a hardcore vegan or environmentalist but I do try not to trample on the planet and be fair to the animals in my care.

In theory, I like PETA’s Ink Not Mink campaign. I think it’s cool that people like Carey Hart, Tommy Lee, and the Suicide Girls are willing to stand up for animals. I personally think that it is wasteful and ridiculous for non-indigenous people to wear fur, whether or not the animals are raised on a farm or poached.

I have a lot of mixed feelings about groups like PETA and ALF though. They’ve done some good things….and then they’ve done some stuff that I don’t like and would not involve myself in. Zealots ruin everything, no matter what the cause or original idea is.

When I had my first full time job I regularly donated to the Animal Protection Institute. I no longer do this because of their campaigns against people who care for exotic animals. I don’t think that animals should be sold in stores or bred on massive levels.

I also don’t think that I should be ostracized or sent to jail for taking in Wally (rehabbed sparrow), Jennie (rehomed yellow-collared macaw), or Merlin (sulcata tortoise). I did buy my cockatiels and Rusty (Illiger’s macaw) from professional bird specialists, and oh god just call 911 on me because they live better than some of the children in my neighborhood!

I really want to read Monica Engebretson’s Lucky The Lorikeet. Lorikeets are adorable but they difficult birds to keep in captivity. But it seems like buying from an organization that I object to (and that objects to me) would be hypocritical.

I think it’s important to listen and think whenever any political group is riled up about something. Knee-jerk reactions hurt us all.

World Turtle Day was started by the American Tortoise Rescue. Turtles and tortoises die every day due to the destruction and abuse that humans inflict on them.

ATR says that these are things that we can do to stop this:

• Never buy a turtle or tortoise as it increases demand from the wild. Adopt from a rescue.

• Don’t take turtles or tortoises from the wild unless they are sick or injured. If they are crossing a busy street, pick them up and send them in the same direction they were going – if you try to make them go back, they will turn right around again.

• Write letters to legislators asking them to keep sensitive habitat preserved or closed to off road vehicles.

• Report cruelty or illegal sales of turtles and tortoises to your local animal control department, Fish & Game or the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

• Report any turtle or tortoise of any kind less than four inches being sold at pet stores or Mercados. This practice is illegal everywhere in the U.S.

HSUS lists some other ideas here.

I would like to add that as a general rule, turtles and tortoises can live a long time. Many species grow to be fairly large. Hatchlings are cute, but if you live in a studio apartment and have no plans to “upgrade”… please research the animal you are adopting. People also need to keep in mind that turtles and tortoises are not domesticated like dogs and cats are. They can become accustomed to living with people, but they still manifest most of their natural behaviors such as hibrenating and digging.

I found an injured bird on my patio the day before St. Patrick’s Day. I believe he had hit the plate glass window and, for lack of a better term, knocked himself stupid. He didn’t resist when I picked him up and he could only hold one eye open. I had no idea what kind of bird he was.

Common sense and my experience with other ill/injured birds told me that he needed to be treated for shock before I could do anything else for him. It was 5 pm when I found him and battling traffic to get him to any veterinarian would probably not work out in the bird’s favor.

I took him inside and placed him in one of my cockatiel’s travel carriers. I wrapped him up and put a heating pad under the little cage. While I waited to see if he was going to come out of shock I tried to find out what kind of bird I had. Most of the urban birdwatchers I spoke with online and showed pictures to were helpful. They generally agreed that the bird was either a Cedar or Bohemian Waxwing.

I am not an orinthologist or a veterinarian. I tried to articulately express to the “experts” that I had experience with both parrots and rescuing wildlife without sounding like a know-it-all. However, I still received a lot of criticism for trying to help the bird. Some people assumed that I had limitless options when it came to veterinary care. Others stated that I should be turned in to law enforcement for “keeping a wild animal.” One person even told me that I should’ve just left him on the patio outside and “allowed nature to sort it out.”

I didn’t plan to keep the bird. For one thing, I wasn’t sure that he was going to live. For another, if he did survive but was disabled I would’ve consulted with the local wildlife rehabilitation center on what to do next.

Fortunately, the bird survived the night. He opened his eye and was able to perch and hop around with difficulty within 4-5 hours of being on the heating pad. He drank water and ate the berries I offered him on his own. By the time he was better it was dark outside. Most birds don’t see well at night so I waited until the next morning to let him go.

Even after the bird had been released, I received an email from a woman chewing me out for offering the bird food and water.  I was amazed at the knee-jerk hostility and hysteria.  No wonder why people are not confident about helping animals!

I’ve seen my little friend since I let him go. As far as I can tell, my incident with the bird did not upset Fresno’s ecological balance. I am glad that he made it and is free again.

I’ll be fair and say that Richard Michael Rossi, author of Waiting to Die: Life on Death Row, is no longer irritating because he died in prison.

Prior to his death, Richard Rossi did not feel that he deserved to be on death row. He reportedly had a miserable childhood and became addicted to cocaine and crystal meth as an adult. Rossi was convicted for murdering another man in 1983. He was spun out on drugs at the time and trying to sell his victim a stolen typewriter. He implied that he was sorry about all of that in his book, but I think he was more sorry for himself that he got caught.

Rossi published his book while facing his last appeal. Rossi had a college degree when he entered in prison and claimed that he became a paralegal while he was incarcerated.

Rossi spent most of the book describing how prison is an unhappy and cruddy place where death row’s inmates are issued motel-style bar soap (oh dear, that’s a real violation of the 8th amendment!). Rossi also had the audacity to compare himself to the terminally ill because it was very annoying to him that he had to sit around and wait to be executed.

I’m not a big fan of North America’s “War On Drugs”. This does not mean that I think we should just put crackheads in rehab when they kill people. If they’re just being crackheads, fine, give them a round of rehab and see if they respond to it. But if they can’t be crackheads without trampling on the rest of us, I think that we should put them away!

Insincere memoirs by prison inmates are a popular genre with prison abolitionists. However, I have yet to see a prison abolitionist adopt and rehabilitate parolees on a mass level. If you know of a case, please bring it to my attention.

Speaking of locking living things up….

I read Derrick Jensen’s Thought to Exist in the Wild: Awakening from the Nightmare of Zoos. He had some interesting information and opinions about zoos. For example, I learned that the Aztecs had a massive aviary/zoo in Tenochitlaun where 300 zookeepers fed 500 turkeys to hawks and eagles daily.

It’s my impression that Jensen does not feel that any animal at any time should be in a zoo or a park. He used pictures taken at poorly-funded zoos to try and convince us why all zoos must be shut down and their animals must be returned to the wild. Jensen refers to animals as “wild nonhuman others.” He compares zookeepers to loggers, vivisectors, SS guards, pornographers, and pimps. He apparently failed to notice that his photographer, Karen Tweedy-Holmes, associates with imprisoned horses (see the book jacket).

Jensen offers no alternative solution to habitat destruction, endangered species, and other conservation issues. He just wants us to know that zoos are bad and we are bad for allowing them to exist. I’d like to write him a letter about how going to the zoo as a child sparked my interest in animals and that I never mistreated any animal while I worked at that same zoo, but he seems to be one of those people that believes he is always right.

Hysterical extremists like Jensen make it difficult for the rest of us to do what’s right for both people and “non-human” animals. I do not advocate irresponsible, harmful, or stressful captivity practices. It is not impossible for zoos OR people to be humane.