Martin Luther King

I was just thinking about Martin Luther King, and how much I love him. I was also thinking about some of the great and provocative things he wrote and said in his too short lifetime. Here's a couple of MLK quotations for you to ponder on these last few days of the year 2009.

Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.

Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

ha ha ha . . . hilarious PSA

Protect Insurance Companies PSA from Will Ferrell

All hail the winter solstice!

I'm very excited that tomorrow is the winter solstice for 2009. One brief moment on this day the 21st of December 2009 marks the beginning of longer days and shorter nights.

Above is a beautiful photo I found on flickr of a winter solstice celebration at Stonehenge.

Charles Burns scares me.

Found this very strange video tribute to Charles Burns (Black Hole) on YouTube. I'm getting more and more interested in his art, and this video montage is an intriguing glimpse into some of his work. I think he's amazing.

Also found this incredible Altoids (?!) commercial by Charles Burns, with music by David Lynch. Surreal.

Charles Burns meets David Lynch
by bantampilou

Bad Couches

Oh, how I love to peruse craigslist! It's so much fun to look through the furniture listings, for example, to see if there are any midcentury pieces for sale. I was lucky to find a beautiful 1960s buffet for 100 bucks last summer, and I also bought a fantastic light fixture for 20 bucks just a month ago.

But what I really enjoy the most is laughing at the truly awful couches that people think someone else is actually going to pay money for. Here are a few examples of the bad couches I found just today on the Des Moines, Iowa, furniture listings.

For Sale: $175.00 Really?

For Sale: Couch and Loveseat $1000.00 Are you kidding me?

For Sale: $400.00 Seriously?

very fresh, indeed!

Another of my favorite artists, Erica Gilbert, sells her wonderful work on her web site Kept Fresh. She also has an etsy shop! I truly love her whimsical and haunting images of creatures, people, and objects.

Some of her original paintings are for sale right now at her etsy shop for unbelievably low prices--I think if you like her work you might click on over there and snatch one up! She has prints, too, and at her site offers T-shirts, buttons and art.

p.s. I love the toaster!

This could be why I am fat, part 2

Oh, I love to visit the website This is Why You're Fat to witness all the wonderfully weird, indescribably delicious, and usually mostly incredibly disgusting concoctions us humans have come up with in the name of gustatory pleasure.

I have posted these two pictures because the top creation (cupcake kabobs) actually looks kind of good to me. And, I will admit, I display the picture of the Taco Bell crispy potato soft taco because I have eaten one (more than one) and I truly enjoyed it. The taco is very simple, and simply delicious!

But really now--what were they thinking with this disgusting item (below) called deviled corn dogs? This dish is described as "corndog hot dogs pureed with cheese, mayonnaise and tater tots, then re-baked inside a corndog shell." No, just no.

The slow duster . . .

A wonderful clip from one of my favorite movies; Carnival of Souls directed by Herk Harvey. Forward to 3:30 for the spooky organ playing scene, and just a few seconds later comes my very favorite house cleaner in all of filmdom, the Slow Duster!

If you haven't seen this movie, it is really worth your time for the creepy atmosphere and the overall mood of this 1962 black and white film.

This one is for my friend Ellen--looks like pants!

Just brilliant . . .

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Beck - Not So Mellow Gold
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

Jon Stewart and his writers are just brilliant. As usual, Glenn Beck is an asshole, and a hateful fear-mongering piece of barely-human detritus.

and now for something completely different

Since I have been doing a lot of critiquing and complaining lately I thought I'd try to illuminate something beautiful instead of something heinous.

Anna Ruby King is an artist I found on Etsy, and she currently resides in Greece. Her artwork is beautiful and very intriguing to me--she is currently trying to make her business and her artwork carbon neutral. King uses remaindered fabrics in her work, and I am totally in love with her bird images. Both of these pieces are entitled Birds in Lines.

Stop having babies!

I just read that Michelle Duggar of 18 Kids and Counting TV show fame just gave birth to her 19th child. 19th. That's just too many children. Three is too many children, as far as I'm concerned, but really now, 19? What are they thinking?

Well, to answer my own question, we know that they are not thinking at all, but following the principles of the Quiverfull movement that believes women should have as many children as god wants them to--which essentially means that they are breeding machines who produce baby after baby until their bodies wear out. Why do this, you ask? It's because the Bible says happy is the man that "hath his quiver full." So Mr. Duggar who can't stop impregnating his wife is equally if not more at fault for this hyper-breeding because of his sexist, misogynist and frankly fascist religious views.

You might say, well, she's her own person, isn't she? She can say no, can't she? That's another question. She belongs to this movement that reduces her to a walking, talking uterus. I wish I did understand why women participate in such ignorant and woman-hating belief systems, but I still don't get it. I even read the book Quiverfull by Kathryn Joyce, which gave me a lot of insight into the movement and the followers. It still baffles me.

Stanley Fish is a dick . . .

My favorite cartoonist and clip art genius David Rees has a great post up at his blog Get Your War On about Stanley Fish and his amazing, incredible and truly mind-boggling positive review of Sarah Palin's "novel," Going Rogue.

Rarely will I just copy another blogger's work, but David Rees deserves to be quoted, not paraphrased, he is so succinct and sublime in his rant against Fish and Palin. Never though I'd say those two names together, now, didja? I've never really liked Stanley Fish, now I hate him. Ha!

David Rees: I truly don’t understand this guy. I get being counterintuitive and provocative and trying to make people “think again” or whatever, but come on … really?

In the end, perseverance, the ability to absorb defeat without falling into defeatism, is the key to Palin’s character. It’s what makes her run in both senses of the word and it is no accident that the physical act of running is throughout the book the metaphor for joy and real life. Her handlers in the McCain campaign wouldn’t let her run (a mistake, I think, even at the level of photo-op), no doubt because they feared another opportunity to go “off script,” to “go rogue.” (from the Fish review)

David Rees: Dude, she was a governor and she quit her job. I don’t care if jogging is a metaphor for “joy and real life,” or if shooting wolves from a helicopter is a metaphor for despair and repealing the estate tax– this woman is stone-ass-crazy. Talk to her for thirty minutes about ANYTHING OTHER THAN ALASKA and get back to me.

Stanley Fish is nuts. It reminds me of that old saying: “Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Give a man a Stanley Fish essay, drive him mad for a lifetime.”

Fox News: Is our network learning?

Oh, the irony. This clip brought to you by the non-math challenged and super smart Jon Stewart, who can actually add and subtract, which is more than I can say for the wingnuts at Faux News. Morons.

Rachel Maddow takes on the anti-gay agenda

Rachel Maddow is truly an extraordinary interviewer. In this clip, she very thoughtfully, yet forcefully, interviews Richard Cohen, who is the very strange Stepford-like founder of a group called Change is Possible. He believes that "gayness" can be changed into heterosexuality though "therapy." Apparently his brand of therapy is a bit weird (to say the least) and of course he is unlicensed and has been kicked out of all reputable psychological associations.

Too bad for him that his book was used by the Ugandans who were trying to pass a "kill the gays" bill. Luckily the killing aspect of the bill was trashed yesterday, but it still advocates very harsh penalities for homosexuality in Uganda. Very, very scary.

I know it's a bit long, but this clip is worth watching. My favorite part is when she says "I'm reading from your book, dude." Priceless.

Listen carefully to what he says . . .

If you don't already feel as full of hate towards Dick Cheney as I have for years, please watch this video of him of the Hannity program. He basically argues against our constitution. I'm not sure what to even say, except why don't you go away, Mr. Cheney? Your side lost.

The Promise Keepers scare me

A few months ago I foolishly signed up for email updates from the ultra right wing, profoundly conservative, extremely misogynist men's Christian group The Promise Keepers. I figured it would be a good way to keep an eye on their woman hating anti-feminist activities. Thankfully, they don't send out that many email updates. But today I received one that seemed particularly awful. Here is part of it:

We stand at a critical juncture in our nation's history. It is time to encounter God and to take action . . . the powers of darkness are raging against the moral fabric of our nation. The light is getting brighter as the darkness gets darker.

The crisis in our nation is real. The serpentine stranglehold of abortion continues to squeeze the life out of over 4,000 wombs daily. Sexual immorality, both heterosexual and homosexual, is reaching epic heights of perversity. The number of women and children being trafficked into the dark underbelly of the sex industry in our cities is growing at an alarming rate. Entire school systems are giving way to darkness. The sanctity of marriage is under siege, threatening to destroy the moral foundations of our nation.

Our nation has never stood on such a precarious footing as today. The onslaught of spiritual darkness is increasing in our classrooms, boardrooms, courtrooms, and bedrooms. We must confront the confusion that is pouring forth from many pulpits as well as from the halls of Washington. It is time to draw a line in the sand. We must hear what the Spirit is saying and we must act on it. The Spirit will confirm the truth with demonstrations of power.

Notice the repetitive use of "darkness" as a frightening negative. A little racism, anyone?

The Promise Keepers are a group that claims to be about strengthening families, which really means fighting against female independence and agency. They're a truly horrifying group of ignorant people--this recent missive seems to me to be particularly representative of their ridiculousness.

Wrong on so many levels . . .

What do you think of this fabulous piece of patriarchal memorabilia?

Rape Prevention 101

Stole this from the legendary Twisty Faster of I Blame the Patriarchy. She's a pisser! I love this, since it subverts the usual victim-blaming bullshit that gets bandied about after a rape.

Sexual Assault Prevention Tips Guaranteed to Work

1. Don’t put drugs in women’s drinks.

2. When you see a woman walking by herself, leave her alone.

3. If you pull over to help a woman whose car has broken down, remember not to assault her.

4. If you are in a lift and a woman gets in, don’t assault her. You know what? Don’t even ogle her.

5. When you encounter a woman who is asleep, the safest course of action is to not assault her.

6. Never creep into a woman’s home through an unlocked door or window, or spring out at her from between parked cars.

7. When you lurk in bushes and doorways with criminal intentions, always wear bright clothing, wave a flashlight, or play “Boys Who Rape (Should All Be Destroyed)” by the Raveonettes on a boombox really loud, so women in the vicinity will know where to aim their flamethrowers.

8. USE THE BUDDY SYSTEM! If it is inconvenient for you to stop yourself from assaulting women, ask a trusted feminist friend to accompany you when in public.

9. Carry a rape whistle. If you find that you are about to assault a woman, you can hand the whistle to your buddy, so s/he can blow it to call for help.

10. Give your buddy a revolver, so that when indifferent passers-by ignore the rape whistle, s/he can pistol-whip you.

Don’t forget: Honesty is the best policy. When asking a woman out on a date, don’t pretend that you are interested in her as a person; tell her that you expect to be assaulting her later. If you don’t communicate your intentions, the woman may take that as a sign that you do not plan to rape her.

______________________________

Things I like about winter . . .

I decided that since it is going to snow very soon, I might as well embrace winter and enjoy it. So here are a few things I like about winter:

I can go to the grocery store, put stuff in my trunk, and then go to dinner or forget the stuff in my trunk and it will be fine because it is so cold outside.

Falling snow is seemingly very quiet, but it actually makes an eerie kind of sound--kind of whooooosh.

I like complaining with people I don't know about the cold and how much snow fell. Very community building!

I really like the way the trees look after a snowfall.

I like being able to have the fantasy of possibly being snowed in. It's never really happened to me, but you never know.

I enjoy the overly dramatic weather reports on the local news: Winter Storm Watch! Possibly 10-12 inches of snow! Blizzard Watch!

I love my flannel sheets and my flannel comforter cover. Very cozy.

And last, of course, without winter there would be no spring!

Regular people can dance, too!

This is a truly wonderful video of a group of hospital employees doing a group dance in support of breast cancer awareness. I love these people, especially the lone guy in the hall. Apparently he lost his mother to breast cancer.

Thank you, workers at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center, in Portland, Oregon.

Condoms and The Endtimes!

Here's an astounding video from some nutjob (who calls himself third eagle of the apocalypse) and argues that using any kind of contraception, including condoms, will prevent you from being raptured. I'm not sure I want to be raptured, but that's another issue. My favorite quote:

God invented the game of sex, therefore, he gets to make the rules . . . please don't be fooled by Satan!

Charming.