Selective Blindnesses

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!")

huzzah!

it has only taken me 4 months to figure out how to link my email address. my technical dimness knows no bounds.

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.

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.

...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.

and you know what else is bugging me about the article thing? the fact that i have this great idea and am completely paralyzed about how to publish it. i'll do all of this work, and for what? it seems pointless, yet i have to do 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?)

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?

have started writing a thing about women's choices...the tone has been really harsh. a-- told me that if she had written it she'd have been called a total elitist racist. hm. of course, i think i'm totally right, but the tone is a bit much. whatever.