Have been stupidly busy at corporate wenchdom, but here's an interesting blog about a pro-democracy demonstration in Iraq that took place in December but didn't get a lot of press here in the West.
It's amazing how selective our eye is.
I'll post more later when Madame isn't making me re-hang the moon. ("A little more to the left, dear!")
Friday, January 23, 2004
Saturday, January 17, 2004
huzzah!
it has only taken me 4 months to figure out how to link my email address. my technical dimness knows no bounds.
Thursday, January 15, 2004
MoDo
yet another inane, dumb, and useless column from maureen dowd in this morning's nytimes.
So...after all this time, a woman is *still* required to be the reflection, and magnification, of her husband's ambitions. (No matter her own professional obligations, of course.) I'm an intelligent woman whose responses are a bit more articulate than this, but what utter crap.
And even worse is how otiose this column has become: first she subjects us to the semiotics of Clark's sweater and now this toothless column about Dean's wife avoiding the stump (which only shows her good sense.)
Brooks may infuriate me with his intellectual disingenuity, but at least he doesn't give smart women everywhere a bad name.
So...after all this time, a woman is *still* required to be the reflection, and magnification, of her husband's ambitions. (No matter her own professional obligations, of course.) I'm an intelligent woman whose responses are a bit more articulate than this, but what utter crap.
And even worse is how otiose this column has become: first she subjects us to the semiotics of Clark's sweater and now this toothless column about Dean's wife avoiding the stump (which only shows her good sense.)
Brooks may infuriate me with his intellectual disingenuity, but at least he doesn't give smart women everywhere a bad name.
Wednesday, January 14, 2004
mars
just heard on NPR from a little kid interviewed at the smithsonian:
"i've never been to mars but if i went by myself i'd always be with someone."
heh.
kid's like a little president shrub savant.
"i've never been to mars but if i went by myself i'd always be with someone."
heh.
kid's like a little president shrub savant.
Monday, January 12, 2004
...and another thing--
about the dec 29 post re: cold mountain--
i was wrong. apparently, there weren't a lot of black people in that region of wherever because of the particular type of farming/agricultural lifestyle structure they had up there in those cold mountains.
However--renee zellweger's character, Ruby, was apparently, in the original NOVEL, a black woman. huh. and somehow, that's transformed into white in the movie.
huh.
not that zellweger was awful--no--she was the best thing in the movie. and even watching ruby's relationship to ada was interesting: i thought it was a good way of exploring class relationships. but what a cop out since it wasn't even part of the original story!! ruby's race puts a whole other layer to her relationship with ada and the transformational power of that farm takes on another level of potency. ada doesn't merely become self-sufficient because of ruby's help; she transcends her station and gender classifications. the scenes of literacy between her and ruby take on another level of significance; the inversion of power and privilege and knowledge is more significant because of ruby's race.
but no. instead of that (which would have been a white woman's version of 'color purple'--not a bad thing in itself) we get a watered down, lame-ass love story between inman and ada. and it's not even an interesting epistolary love affair--there's only one letter of significance plus we're subjected to a totally gratuitous shot of nicole kidman's pubic hair. (who needs that?!)
and, yes, i was glad when he died--the romance should have ended with their knee-buckling kiss just before he leaves for the 'waw-uh.'
there. i spoiled it.
i was wrong. apparently, there weren't a lot of black people in that region of wherever because of the particular type of farming/agricultural lifestyle structure they had up there in those cold mountains.
However--renee zellweger's character, Ruby, was apparently, in the original NOVEL, a black woman. huh. and somehow, that's transformed into white in the movie.
huh.
not that zellweger was awful--no--she was the best thing in the movie. and even watching ruby's relationship to ada was interesting: i thought it was a good way of exploring class relationships. but what a cop out since it wasn't even part of the original story!! ruby's race puts a whole other layer to her relationship with ada and the transformational power of that farm takes on another level of potency. ada doesn't merely become self-sufficient because of ruby's help; she transcends her station and gender classifications. the scenes of literacy between her and ruby take on another level of significance; the inversion of power and privilege and knowledge is more significant because of ruby's race.
but no. instead of that (which would have been a white woman's version of 'color purple'--not a bad thing in itself) we get a watered down, lame-ass love story between inman and ada. and it's not even an interesting epistolary love affair--there's only one letter of significance plus we're subjected to a totally gratuitous shot of nicole kidman's pubic hair. (who needs that?!)
and, yes, i was glad when he died--the romance should have ended with their knee-buckling kiss just before he leaves for the 'waw-uh.'
there. i spoiled it.
hm. yes. i didn't do any of what i said i was going to do this weekend--didn't do any of the prep work for the interviews, didn't set up the chat structure, didn't even think about this new article.
oh, i'm still interested in the topic, but it's the work that's stopping me. yes, i'm lazy. i'm undisciplined. i have great ideas and potential but the thought of this independent study/article of mine makes me sweat and i hate sweating.
so, instead, i helped ali paint her apartment.
it's lovely.
procrastination, thy name is ding.
(and is it just me or are shrub's approval ratings creeping up again?)
oh, i'm still interested in the topic, but it's the work that's stopping me. yes, i'm lazy. i'm undisciplined. i have great ideas and potential but the thought of this independent study/article of mine makes me sweat and i hate sweating.
so, instead, i helped ali paint her apartment.
it's lovely.
procrastination, thy name is ding.
(and is it just me or are shrub's approval ratings creeping up again?)
Thursday, January 08, 2004
whoops.
may have bitten off more than can safely be chewed...new 'article' has now expanded into a focus group in california, chat board and exploratory discussions of women, our stories and choices. ugh. why am i doing this?
when will i have the time to do this?
when will i have the time to do this?
Tuesday, January 06, 2004
Tuesday, December 30, 2003
The Miller's Tale
from Roomie's email this morning to me:
I have blown out three ribs, 2 spinal discs, the equivalent of eight drinks, 4 potatoes, 6 haystacks, 2 cows, a cornfield and a Buick into the toilet since I saw you last.
Holding oneself in the Iron Cross position, and LITERALLY blowing yourself into the air for a few seconds is neither liberating nor cleansing. It hurts.
And I think that the clams have finally left the building.
I have blown out three ribs, 2 spinal discs, the equivalent of eight drinks, 4 potatoes, 6 haystacks, 2 cows, a cornfield and a Buick into the toilet since I saw you last.
Holding oneself in the Iron Cross position, and LITERALLY blowing yourself into the air for a few seconds is neither liberating nor cleansing. It hurts.
And I think that the clams have finally left the building.
Random things...
It's like we're in a movie. We all know who the bad guy is but he seems to be getting away with everything--he tied up the heroine on the railroad tracks, he shot the sheriff, he intimidated the town council, he stole the land from the homesteader (who probably displaced a native brown person.) But there's only a quarter of the movie left and it looks like he'll win: he'll get the town, the land, the sassy saloon broad and your little dog, too.
In a couple of days, 2003 will be over and the election year will ramp up with the grinding force of a military column moving through a town. On the surface, it looks like our economy is picking up; it looks like our Iraq adventure could maybe, sorta, probably end soon? maybe? It looks like domestic life is settling down and we're successfully keeping our borders safe. It looks like this because the news is so quiet lately, huh? We keep being told everything's better, but is it really?
The economy: Paul Krugman's column today nicely sums up the fissure that lies between our 'booming' economy and our reality. Think about it: how many of our laid off friends have found jobs equal to or better than the one they had to leave? how long have our friends been laid off? How many of our families that we visited over the holidays are showing signs that they're working harder for less?
Iraq: what is there to say? it was done badly, wrongly; i used to think "I totally disagreed with going in but now that we're there, we might as well stay and finish what we started" but it's almost like finding yourself in the middle of a clusterfuck without your realizing and thinking, "Well, this is really gross, but now that I'm here I might as well stay and get off." And whatever happened to our embedded reporters? Now that things are really difficult, we can't see what our soldiers see?
All the ire from the other 8 candidates focused on Dean amazes me, too; come on, guys, quit whining, grow a set and run your own race.
It's like we're in a movie. We all know who the bad guy is but he seems to be getting away with everything--he tied up the heroine on the railroad tracks, he shot the sheriff, he intimidated the town council, he stole the land from the homesteader (who probably displaced a native brown person.) But there's only a quarter of the movie left and it looks like he'll win: he'll get the town, the land, the sassy saloon broad and your little dog, too.
In a couple of days, 2003 will be over and the election year will ramp up with the grinding force of a military column moving through a town. On the surface, it looks like our economy is picking up; it looks like our Iraq adventure could maybe, sorta, probably end soon? maybe? It looks like domestic life is settling down and we're successfully keeping our borders safe. It looks like this because the news is so quiet lately, huh? We keep being told everything's better, but is it really?
The economy: Paul Krugman's column today nicely sums up the fissure that lies between our 'booming' economy and our reality. Think about it: how many of our laid off friends have found jobs equal to or better than the one they had to leave? how long have our friends been laid off? How many of our families that we visited over the holidays are showing signs that they're working harder for less?
Iraq: what is there to say? it was done badly, wrongly; i used to think "I totally disagreed with going in but now that we're there, we might as well stay and finish what we started" but it's almost like finding yourself in the middle of a clusterfuck without your realizing and thinking, "Well, this is really gross, but now that I'm here I might as well stay and get off." And whatever happened to our embedded reporters? Now that things are really difficult, we can't see what our soldiers see?
All the ire from the other 8 candidates focused on Dean amazes me, too; come on, guys, quit whining, grow a set and run your own race.
Monday, December 29, 2003
lost and found
(ok, a weird technical blip happened, so this may actually double post)
take-aways from the final days of Holiday Hell:
1. crying at the airport while saying good bye to your daddy is not very pretty.
2. if you're in la you must go to the lost and found on national and overland. it's the kind of dive bar in a strip mall where the bartendress has a voice like 40 miles of bad road and the customers bring their own food. there's wood paneling, a christmas tree, tinsel and you can smoke there.
3. the smoking garden/oasis at LAX is genius. where else can you suck nicotine into your system and simultaneously inhale jet fuel?
African American Vernacular Phrase of the Day: "losing my religion" [as in "ATA fucking lost my luggage on the direct flight from LAX and I was so pissed I damn well lost my religion in front of that stupid baggage claim guy. I couldn't see straight for 15 minutes."]
take-aways from the final days of Holiday Hell:
1. crying at the airport while saying good bye to your daddy is not very pretty.
2. if you're in la you must go to the lost and found on national and overland. it's the kind of dive bar in a strip mall where the bartendress has a voice like 40 miles of bad road and the customers bring their own food. there's wood paneling, a christmas tree, tinsel and you can smoke there.
3. the smoking garden/oasis at LAX is genius. where else can you suck nicotine into your system and simultaneously inhale jet fuel?
African American Vernacular Phrase of the Day: "losing my religion" [as in "ATA fucking lost my luggage on the direct flight from LAX and I was so pissed I damn well lost my religion in front of that stupid baggage claim guy. I couldn't see straight for 15 minutes."]
Saturday, December 27, 2003
brilliant...
dynamite hacks' cover of nwa's 'boyz-N-the-hood'.
my sister and i blew snot we laughed so hard, listening to kroq, driving from the westside pavillion.
my sister and i blew snot we laughed so hard, listening to kroq, driving from the westside pavillion.
it's almost over. i will be sad when i leave, but i will also be glad to sleep in my own bed and eat my own doritos.
christmas was stormy--flash floods, winds, mudslides. an earthquake. heightened security at lax. i'll have to be at the airport 5 hours ahead of time to make a noon flight. my niece and nephew have had more tantrums i can shake my ass at, and my sister and brother-in-law need to get out more. i feel so bad when i see how tired they get and how their time really isn't their own.
but it's almost over. next week, i'll be back in chicago, back at my office, back in my life. missing them while i'm back in my life.
have also had inordinate conversations about anal sex while here and it's unnerving. who knew evangelical christians were so into it?
christmas was stormy--flash floods, winds, mudslides. an earthquake. heightened security at lax. i'll have to be at the airport 5 hours ahead of time to make a noon flight. my niece and nephew have had more tantrums i can shake my ass at, and my sister and brother-in-law need to get out more. i feel so bad when i see how tired they get and how their time really isn't their own.
but it's almost over. next week, i'll be back in chicago, back at my office, back in my life. missing them while i'm back in my life.
have also had inordinate conversations about anal sex while here and it's unnerving. who knew evangelical christians were so into it?
Wednesday, December 24, 2003
i don't have much time.
the children are up and leslie is looking efficient.
quickly, my holiday so far, bridget jones style:
3 cigarettes, 2 cocktails, 4 toddler sized tantrums, 1 time-out, 1 bad santa, 3
adult tantrums over not getting my way, 1 sales clerk yelled at when i couldn't find gift boxes, 1 whispering niece who says i
smell like smoke, 1 hobbit movie i haven't seen yet (dammit), 1 christmas dinner
yet to be cooked, 3 nights on my sister's couch, and 1 hugely round nephew who
makes me laugh.
oh, and one hysterical phone call to ali from sav-on about how much my holiday
is sucking right now. i am NEVER having children. NEVER.
the children are up and leslie is looking efficient.
quickly, my holiday so far, bridget jones style:
3 cigarettes, 2 cocktails, 4 toddler sized tantrums, 1 time-out, 1 bad santa, 3
adult tantrums over not getting my way, 1 sales clerk yelled at when i couldn't find gift boxes, 1 whispering niece who says i
smell like smoke, 1 hobbit movie i haven't seen yet (dammit), 1 christmas dinner
yet to be cooked, 3 nights on my sister's couch, and 1 hugely round nephew who
makes me laugh.
oh, and one hysterical phone call to ali from sav-on about how much my holiday
is sucking right now. i am NEVER having children. NEVER.
Tuesday, December 23, 2003
merry hell
i'm hiding in my father's study, quickly checking email messages and scribbling this blog. my holiday thus far in los angeles:
1. my sister's kids are driving me insane. ok, they're adorable, but fighting with a 4-year old over my walkman and arguing why the shins are better than 'jingle bell rock' is, frankly, undignified.
2. haven't had a serious cocktail since i landed. i'm shaking from the lack of scotch, gin or vodka in this god-forsaken land.
3. neither have i had a cigarette. still shaking.
4. it's 74 degrees here.
5. we had a 6.5 earthquake yesterday.
i'll stop there before i burst into tears. what next?? mudslides? brush fires? the pacific ocean turning to blood?
1. my sister's kids are driving me insane. ok, they're adorable, but fighting with a 4-year old over my walkman and arguing why the shins are better than 'jingle bell rock' is, frankly, undignified.
2. haven't had a serious cocktail since i landed. i'm shaking from the lack of scotch, gin or vodka in this god-forsaken land.
3. neither have i had a cigarette. still shaking.
4. it's 74 degrees here.
5. we had a 6.5 earthquake yesterday.
i'll stop there before i burst into tears. what next?? mudslides? brush fires? the pacific ocean turning to blood?
Thursday, December 18, 2003
Us Girls
Forget about sex and the single girl, what about politics? It turns out that we're more important than we think. Here's a short article taken from Diversity Inc:
Are Single Women the New 'Soccer Moms'?
Forget about soccer moms. The prized voter of next year's presidential election could be single women, according to a new study. But they need to get to the polls. Using census and other voting data analyzed by two Democratic polling firms, the study released Tuesday found there would have been 6 million more ballots to count in 2000 if single women had voted at the same rate as their married counterparts.
The study, the first phase of a project designed to help get single women to the polls, showed that they are the largest nonvoting group and also one of the most dissatisfied with the country's direction. Study authors Christina Desser and Page Gardner, who received funding from some nonpartisan sources for their broader project, "Women's Voices. Women Vote.," said one reason single women stay home on Election Day is because they think their concerns about education, jobs and health care are routinely ignored.
Exit poll data from the 2000 election indicates that more single women voting next November could help the Democratic presidential nominee. George W. Bush slightly edged out Al Gore among married women, while married women preferred Gore by more than 30 percentage points. (AP)
I find that stunning--single women not participating in our political process. Too busy? Indifferent? Apathetic? I think it's time for us to be a bit more visible.
Are Single Women the New 'Soccer Moms'?
Forget about soccer moms. The prized voter of next year's presidential election could be single women, according to a new study. But they need to get to the polls. Using census and other voting data analyzed by two Democratic polling firms, the study released Tuesday found there would have been 6 million more ballots to count in 2000 if single women had voted at the same rate as their married counterparts.
The study, the first phase of a project designed to help get single women to the polls, showed that they are the largest nonvoting group and also one of the most dissatisfied with the country's direction. Study authors Christina Desser and Page Gardner, who received funding from some nonpartisan sources for their broader project, "Women's Voices. Women Vote.," said one reason single women stay home on Election Day is because they think their concerns about education, jobs and health care are routinely ignored.
Exit poll data from the 2000 election indicates that more single women voting next November could help the Democratic presidential nominee. George W. Bush slightly edged out Al Gore among married women, while married women preferred Gore by more than 30 percentage points. (AP)
I find that stunning--single women not participating in our political process. Too busy? Indifferent? Apathetic? I think it's time for us to be a bit more visible.
Friday, December 12, 2003
i haven't really given a lot of time to write about politics (other than my angry screeds against the Opt Out women and marriage) but here is a link to a Washington Post article about Dean and the Dem's outsider status.
it just made me go 'hm.' haven't quite decided who i'm for, yet.
at work: huge team party last night, there are only 4 of us here. i have $10 to my name until monday (grr). i have to write holiday cards for Madame.
(btw, i'm proud of the fact i just figured out how to do the link thing...)
it just made me go 'hm.' haven't quite decided who i'm for, yet.
at work: huge team party last night, there are only 4 of us here. i have $10 to my name until monday (grr). i have to write holiday cards for Madame.
(btw, i'm proud of the fact i just figured out how to do the link thing...)
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