Holly Flax Xoxo

Best Friendship Moments

1. Season Two, Episode Twelve: The Injury

When Pam tells “Oscar” how Dwight’s doing in the hospital so that she can discreetly pass the information to Angela who was just eavesdropping on her phone call with Jim.

What adds to this moment is that Pam went out of her way to allow Angela to continue to believe no one knew about their relationship and keep her privacy.

2. Season Two, Episode Fifteen: Boys and Girls

When Jim gets upset with Pam for not going for the Graphic Design internship in NY and telling her “You gotta take a chance on something sometime Pam” and asking if she really is ‘fine’ with her choices. While we feel it’s more related to her engagement to Roy and not just the job, in both instances it is truer friends who push you to do more and be better for yourself.

3. Season Two, Episode Eleven: Booze Cruise

When Jim tells Michael he “used” to have a thing for Pam and describes her as funny, and warm and Michael responds” BFD--engaged ain’t married. Never, ever, ever give up”.

4. Season Nine, Episode: Couple’s Discount

When Darryl tells the homophobic Nail Salon worker how Oscar and him work as a couple, grabs Oscar’s hand, and how “Him and me, all right, we are crazy in love. More in love than your small mind can comprehend. And we have two disposable incomes and no kids, and we’re taking our business elsewhere”.

5. Season Four, Episode Four: Money

Jim and Pam throughout the episode trying to help Dwight feel better in relation to his breakup with Angela; especially at the end when they smile to each other after Dwight uses his ruler to knocks anything of Jim’s hanging over his desk because to them it means ‘Dwight’s Back’.

Pam signing up for just about everything when staying at Beet Farms.

When she won’t help set up Andy with Angela because she doesn’t “see them together”.

Their detailed and positive but not too much review on TripAdvisor, following up with the fact that they really enjoyed their stay.

Jim goes and tries to talk to Dwight after Angela agrees to go out with Andy and tells him how he couldn’t sleep, couldn’t taste food and how it’s something “he wouldn’t wish on his worst enemy” and that includes Dwight.

6. Season Three, Episode Four: Grief Counseling

When Pam and Dwight both go out of their way to prep the bird funeral; Pam creating a decorated casket out of a tissue box and Dwight playing a song on his recorder.

7. Season Three, Episode Twelve: Traveling Salesman

When Angela asks Pam to go out for a coffee so she can gush about “Noelle and Kurt” aka her and Dwight. Even if Angela was unsure if Pam knew who they were really talking about, it doesn’t matter; Angela had great personal news and she wanted to share it with Pam.  

8. Season Seven, Episode Ten: China

When Dwight “lets” Pam win in regards to the standards of the building after he overheard Pam telling Him how she felt like a failure as she failed art school, and being a salesman.

9. Season Nine, Episode Sixteen: Moving On

While driving Toby home from the doctor after getting strangled by the Scranton Strangler, she calls him brave, twice.

“You offered your neck in search of the truth. The proud neck of justice—isn’t that the expression? Well, anyway, it was—it was very brave. It really was quite brave.”

10. Season Seven, Episode Twelve: Classy Christmas, Part 2

When after Michael storms away from Holly because he’s upset that Holly would have a long-distance relationship with AJ and not with him, Holly does to follow Michael but Erin blocks her.

Good friends know when you need your space and will help and protect you to get what you need.

Power Family: Stanley, Phyllis and Andy

Stanley’s Best Moment: Season Five, Episode Two: Weight Loss Part 2

When he takes off 5 extra days for vacation anyway as a reward to himself for losing seven pounds over the summer

 Stanley’s Worst Moment: Season Two, Episode Twenty-One: Conflict Resolution

After his complaint comes out that Phyllis cries too much and she says they’re close he replies “we sit close” when you can see she’s clearly upset and feels she’s getting ganged up on

 Stanley’s Best Line: Season Four, Episode Twelve: Did I Stutter?

Line: “It’s like I used to tell my wife, I do not apologize unless I think I’m wrong. And if you don’t like it you can leave. And I say the same thing to my current wife and I’ll say it to my next one too”

 Stanley’s Most Memorable Moment: Season Six, Episode Twenty-One: Happy Hour

After doing 26 pushups and getting to go home early he just says “excuse me” and just leaves for the day

Phyllis’ Best Moment: Season Six, Episode Ten: Murder

When she does well fooling everyone (but Dwight) that she was the murder as Beatrix Bourbon; and how upset she gets when she’s outed by Michael.

Phyllis’ Worst Moment: Season Nine, Episode Eighteen: Promos

When she makes everyone uncomfortable as she humps everything around her while listening to 50 Shades of Grey on tape.

 Phyllis’ Best Line: Season Seven, Episode Twenty-Two: Goodbye Michael

“But, you can’t get them wet, and they can’t be dry cleaned either. You have to hand was without water, ring dry gently, and use a hair dryer on cool.”

Phyllis’ Most Memorable: Season Five, Episode Eleven: Moroccan Christmas

“Oh I don’t think its blackmail, Angela just does what I ask her to do so I won’t tell everyone that she’s cheating on Andy with Dwight. I think for it to be blackmail, it would have to be a formal letter”

Andy’s Best Moment: Season Eight, Episode One: The List

When he doesn’t accept Robert California’s bullshit explanation of why it’s okay he called people losers.

“But, you don’t know these people but I do and if I let you work with fault information than I’m not doing my job as regional manager”

Stanley, you may think he is a lazy grump but did you know he has the most consistently high sales numbers of anyone in this office

Meredith Palmer, supplier relations, the word no, not even in her vocabulary

Pam, easily the most creative and kind person I have ever worked with

Erin, the receptionist and my closest confidant, a winner if there ever was one 

Andy’s Worst Moment: Season Nine, Episode Sixteen: Moving On

When he hires Alice and Gabe, Pete’s and Erin’s exs, to “prove a point” about how working with an ex while they are in a new relationship at the office isn’t something you just “move on from”. Yes it’s rough but Erin and Pete weren’t obnoxious about their relationship, but also, Gabe could probably guess on some level why he was getting hired and at least knew Erin would be there. We have no idea what Alice left or why, it was really messed up and selfish.

Andy’s Best Line: Season Four, Episode Three: Launch Party

When he gets his acapella group to help him sing a song in asking Angela out

“If you change your mind, I’ll be first in line. 

Honey I‘m still free, take a chance on me.

If you need me, let me know, gonna be around.

If you got no place to go, if you’re feeling down.

If you’re all alone, when the pretty birds have flown. 

Honey I’m still free, take a chance on me.

Gonna do my very best, and that ain’t no lie.

If you put me to the test, if you let me try.

Take a chance on me”

 Most Memorable: Season Six, Episode Thirteen: Secret Santa

When he got Erin the 12 days of Christmas, even though he could have done the first days with just the birds differently, pushing to the 12 drummers drumming was perfect.

Why We March

Today around the world we march again. We march for the women who give themselves, to allow us to come into the world. We walk for cisgender women, transwomen, black women, poor women, brilliant women, all women. 

We march because women who in 1920 were allowed to raise their voice and speak their mind in public to vote, but not at home. Until the 1990s, and even in many states today a women’s vocal pronouncement of “NO” when her husband wanted to have sex, was not an option. Even today, there are many states where it is only marital rape if there is proof of extreme threat of violence or violence. 

We march because women, who on average go for higher degrees and do better in the classroom, on average only make $0.79 for every dollar a man makes. An average, Black woman and Hispanic woman make less. 

We march because men have to do so little to be considered great leaders and parents, but one misstep and women are seen as being harmful and neglectful to their children. Those first nine months where women not only couldn’t eat, drink, smoke, exercise as well as were the incubators for their chidren, means nothing. Perfection is the bare minimum asked by society. 

We march because harassment, sexual violence and intimidation are not a rarity that women experience, but something that their whole lives are focused on, there is no day off. They know how many paces back the cute neighbor with the dog is, how long that car has been at the end of the block, where the bulbs are to replace the bulb in the entry way. Women know these things not because they’re mothers, or it’s part of their DNA, because they have to, TO SURVIVE. 

These are the shameful reasons why we march. We march because society has allowed these and other aspects of women lived to continue as second rate, as not good enough, when they are the ones dragging us ahead. This why we all march.

A Circle of Chaos

So, who puts in the effort to try and ban or challenge a book? I would think, and could agree to a certain extent, that parents are those who attempted to restrict their children’s access to books (thou I don’t know why they just don’t do it as parents instead of loophole out of their authority and try to use someone else’s) at their child’s school depending on their age (where some of their authority has temporarily been given over to the teacher or administration). However, while parents make up the second largest percent of challenges against books (32%) only 37% of all challenges occur at schools or school libraries with the majority happening at public libraries (59%) by other local library users (33%).

Books are also not the only things get challenged and for some, removal of the book includes vandalism, theft and destruction (burning books). In 2018 62% of all challenges or censorship actions in libraries were against books, but 15% of challenges were against meetings, 10% were against databases, films and games and 6% were about artwork. This scope of the challenges is the reason for the focus of censorship during banned books week as these challenges extend past the idea usually presented that books are banned because the material is “too mature” for the age group it was recommended too but has to do more with the prejudice behind those promoting the bans and can create an horrific self-fulfilling prophecy as those who were limited in the experiences and connections to these book will remain close-minded and become the passionate censorship leaders of our future.

http://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/statistics

So, because only about 0.05 of generation Z is actually eligible to vote...I can’t get those numbers. But, grouping together the younger half of millennials and those eligible with generation Z 

Official numbers still aren’t available, but multiple records have been stating that the turnout is already more than seen before--especially with early voting. While the youngest eligible voter turn-out was still lower when compared to most others (as it is with EVERY generation) I can’t imagine someone denying the use of social media, door-to-door outreach and campaign done by the youth--even those not eligible to vote for years to come contributed to the increase: by making sure people easily knew how to register, by the summer campaigns, by the advertisements on tv or by celebrities and those just opening discussions with those who had the ability to vote. 

So for the average 10,805 babies born yesterday, your generation is already making the world a better place for you

Basically every Millennial owes it to every underage Gen Z to get out there and vote. In the absence of voting power, we are seeing these incredible Gen Z activists advocating for their own safety. They shouldn’t have to. These are children being forced to fight for their lives, and we owe them so much better. 

Millennials have a huge amount of legislative power. Millennials make up more than 30% of those eligible for vote. 

Millennials own 30+% of national voting power.

We outnumber the boomers. 

Millennials outnumber boomers.

But traditionally we vote at lower rates. That statistic is changing, and it needs to change faster. 

At this point I think we can all agree, millennials are morally obligated to use their voting power to protect a younger generation that has, like us, been failed and abused by the boomers. Get out there, register, vote, speak. Do not fail Gen Z the way our elders failed us. 

Dwight Shrute

Dwight's Best Moment: Season Three, Episode Twenty-One: Women’s Appreciation How he instantly runs out to catch who flashed Phyllis.

Dwight's Worst Moment: Season Five, Episode Two: Weight Loss When he drives, and abandons, Phyllis in 'a bad part of town' so she'll lose more weight.

Dwight's Best Line: Season Five, Episode When Jim attacks Dwight's decorating capabilities and specifically to the colors of the balloons being brown and grey balloons and he responds:

"They match the carpet."

Dwight's Most Memorable Moment: Season Six, Episode Nine: Double Date

After he spends the whole day trying to get everyone in the office to 'owe him one' but Andy keeps best him he gets frustrated and explains in the interview how he could've grown poison mushrooms that would be barely an inch high by now, but he puts it as a big deal because in reality they don't grow that much, because they're mushrooms.

When you realize Emma probably can’t shoot a gun because Kieran taught her

Twins

Twins are incredibly interesting, as even those with very similar DNA and upbringing, can turn into very different people. We see this with all siblings: Lily v. Petunia, Percy v. the rest of the Weasleys and so not every set of twins ends up like Gred and Forge, a great example being Parvati and Padma Patil. Parvati and Padma were so different, they were sorted into different houses with Parvati being placed into Gryffindor and Padma being placed into Ravenclaw. Later on Padma would also be named Ravenclaw Prefect and was noted to be more serious than Parvati and was never noted to have such a close friendship with her sister or with anyone else to the extreme that Parvati had with Lavender.

But while their personalities were quite different, they did have both positive and negative traits in common. Both sisters bravely fought in the Battle of Hogwarts, joined Dumbledore’s Army early on and fought against Umbridge’s rein at Hogwarts. They also both showed to be somewhat superficial, agreeing with Harry when he was the chosen one or Triwizard Champion. More information about Padma would have provided more insight to how similar or different they really were, but it’s interesting with twins and siblings how some things just are how they are: people are born a certain way or a different certain way and very little can be done to change that

Best Parties

1.      Benihana Christmas: Season Three, Episode Ten

2.      Launch Party: Season Four, Episode Three

3.      Email Surveillance: Season Two, Episode Nine

4.      Kelly’s day-late birthday party: Lecture Circuit Part One

5.      Dwight Christmas: Season Nine, Episode Nine

6.      Christmas Party: Season Two, Episode Ten

7.      The Dundies: Season Two, Episode One

8.      Booze Cruise: Season Two, Episode Eleven:

9.      Cocktails: Season Three, Episode Seventeen

10.   Season Five, Episode Nine: Frame Toby (Whatever party got Michael to go back to the annex and see that Toby had returned )

Percy Weasley

I liked Percy, enough, in the beginning. Similar to Hermione he was ambitious, smart, and just wanted to do well. In a family of seven children it’s understandable when one is different from the rest, and as close to the middle of the pack, it’s understandable he’s even more out of the loop, and we don’t know what his relationship with Charlie or was, or with Ron or Ginny when they were younger.

But there are a lot of things not to like about Percy: he couldn’t relax, he thought too highly of himself, and tried to appear better than he was (the type of person who uses a more ‘sophisticated’ word, but it doesn’t come naturally from them or in the sentence). Being ambitious and following rules are good, but the expression “rules are meant to be broken” has a point. There are exceptions and you shouldn’t follow the rules blindly, another major issue with Percy, he was narrow-minded and couldn’t see the bigger picture. It’s interesting, as in some ways this might have been what impacted his future at the Ministry the most, a lack of spine and compassion, I don’t see how he could have moved up into the Ministry that had Kingsley and Hermione in tow.

The thing that sticks with me is that he seemed to only reconnect with his family in the last moments, thou that could make sense if he was trying to keep a separate watch on things from the inside or was in fear for his life. But, after the battle, he wasn’t that close with his family either (at least not Harry) and it seems their children weren’t close with each other, so I doubt they saw much of each other. This hold on pride is what I don’t like the most, 20 years later, he’s still holding on to shame about being wrong.