D'accord, l'homme est fantastique!

Voila il est: Alain Robert, the one they call the French Spiderman, climbing yet another ridiculously tall building. The video is wonderful--not just for his climbing, but for the lovely people watching, the frenzied response of the police, and the charming applause once he reaches the top.

My question is this: why do we do things like this? What makes it so fun, thrilling and inspirational? I think it's partially because he could fall at any moment and be crushed like a bug. I also think it is because he is very brave, and very foolish, a combination we love.

teenage spinach?

Okay, now I swear I'm not making this up, but the other day I was buying bagged spinach in the regular old grocery store and there I found not just plain spinach and the ubiquitous baby spinach but a new kind of spinach: teenage spinach. I've tried to find out what this means, really, and I've had very little success. What on earth is teenage spinach? I managed to find a site that describes what it is in contrast to baby spinach:

NSF categorized spinach into two sizes, “baby” and “teen,” although no products were marketed as “teen” spinach. There are no regulatory standards for the term “baby” and “teen” spinach. The difference between baby and teen spinach was based solely on the size of the leaf, otherwise the products were handled the same. . . . baby and teen spinach may have been used interchangeably in processing if demand made it necessary. A bag labeled, “baby spinach” manufactured at NSF, was not necessarily composed of baby spinach under the firm’s specifications.

I took this text from a State of California Public Health web site that had a report on the tainted spinach scandal of 2006. Anyway, of course it's out of context, but it is revealing. I got the photo from a British produce firm. I'm going to take a picture of the actual bag of "teenage" spinach and I will post it as soon as I can.

Thank You to my Followers!

I'm very excited to say that my blog now has seven followers--thank you very much! I wanted to take this post to ask you and anyone else who reads me from time to time what kinds of entries you would like to see more of. Please let me know!

summer road trip pictures

I've decided to finally post some of the pictures I took on my summer road trip. I drove from Iowa to California (and back!) with my faithful companion Marcy. She was a very good navigator, and kept me alerted to any predators that were lurking.



While driving through Las Vegas, I noticed the intriguing juxtaposition of these two billboards, one right after the other. Hmmmm . . .

I admit my Etsy addiction

Looky what I just bought! I love Carol Berryhill's work, and since I just got paid (we only get paid once a month!) I decided to splurge on another one of her luminous etchings. This one is called "Eliza" and has a companion piece entitled "Emma." Only bought this one.

Carol Berryhill does some amazing stuff; there's a link to her Etsy shop at right. It's called Plate Ink Paper. Yes, I admit I am addicted to Etsy. Etsy is the first place I go in the morning after I check my email. Sometimes I talk myself into being a good citizen and go to the Los Angeles Times, then perhaps BBC News, then after I've had at least a half cup of coffee I zip on over to Etsy and peruse my favorite sellers.

I wonder . . . am I the only one who checks Etsy obsessively?

You too can be the Queen of your home!

Okay--now this is just too much. The folks over at Sociological Images posted this ancient commercial for Suzy Homemaker products, and I just can't get enough of this one. Whoever thinks that patriarchy doesn't exist just needs to watch this little gem of sexist marketing. Wow.

The Song of the Pigeons

Here's another pair of images from my favorite artist, Katrine Kalleklev. She has a new blog (in Norwegian) and a new cat named Fia! I sometimes post comments on her blog in english--I try to read the Norwegian but it is futile. I don't care, I love her work so much I may try to learn Norwegian just so I can read her blog!

My fantasy is to someday travel to Norway so I can meet and visit with Katrine, and to Sweden to meet Camilla Engman. I would love to meet Camilla, of course, but I really am almost obsessed with her dog Morran. But really, primarily, I would truly love to meet Katrine along with her beautiful family and cat Fia. Someday . . .

The top painting is called "The Song of the Pigeons" and the bottom one is, in Norwegian, is "dueierikkemeg" which translates to "You Can Never Have Me." I love the palpable tension in this drawing. Sublime and disturbing.

Holy Shit: pro-life=anti-contraception

Thanks to the folks at RH Reality Check we have this very disturbing video showing protestors at family planning clinics, where a bunch of anti-choicers protest birth control. Yikes.

It's kind of a long video (seven minutes) but well worth your time.

the sound of me throwing up . . .

Here for your viewing pleasure is clinically insane and purely hateful anti-abortion activist Lila Rose.

Ms. Rose, who has so little regard for women, privacy, or anything else, suggests that abortions be performed "in the public square." She envisions a world in which we would get so sick of watching them that we would again make abortion illegal.

This woman makes me physically ill. More charming bullshit from the Values Voter Summit!

Carrie Prejean is the voice of God!

You know, I just can't get enough of this woman and her silliness. She really does believe what she's saying. I think we will all be enjoying much more from the outstanding folks at the Values Voter Summit.

Have a great weekend!

Yes, we can!

Holy Shit on a sidecar--have you seen this picture yet? This photo actually appeared in Glamour magazine's September issue. I am so excited to see this picture of plus-size model Lizzie Miller that I can barely contain my joy. Although it does seem absurd that she is considered plus-size she is definitely not your average skeletal model.

And the really good news is that Glamour has gotten loads of positive feedback on the image. I'm not surprised, really, since most women look much more like Lizzie Miller than they do most super-skinny models. Also, According to Jezebel Glamour is planning to do a whole spread of fatty models very soon! Yippee!

out of one, many

I received a beautiful bouquet of flowers from a dear friend last week which included my favorite sunflowers and lots of purple and wildflowers. It was amazing. Today it needed something, so I took it apart and made five separate arrangements from the original one. Below (and left) are four of the re-arrangements. Enjoy!

luminosity from auto-tune the news!

Auto-tune The News Part 8 - watch more funny videos

Ben and Jerry's is delicious . . .

I'm very excited that Ben and Jerry's has renamed their Chubby Hubby ice cream Hubby Hubby to celebrate same sex marriage in Vermont. Yay!

I have to admit I love ice cream--even though it's not vegan. I'm a lapsed vegan. But anyway, despite my moral and ethical failures, I wish that they would bring back their Tuskegee Chunk flavor. It was my favorite ever.

Kudos to Ben and Jerry's for taking a stand.

There you go again . . .

Need I really say anything about this most recent lunatic ranting from Glenn Beck? I will say that everything he says could also have been said right after the Bush administrations reactions to 9/11.

Southern California Wildfires

Almost every year wildfires rage in my homeland of Southern California. It is always a reminder of the fragility of life everywhere, and the tenuousness of living in a desert made into an oasis.

One of the scariest aspects of the fires is when officials recommend that people with respiratory ilnesses and the elderly stay inside. I think this warning bothers me particularly because I have asthma--but also because it conjures up images of people huddling, frightened in their homes, afraid to go outside. Also, everyone likes to breathe, no?

Here in Iowa we have had way too much rain lately. There are droughts in California and Texas. Why can 't we send the rain to them? If we can ever figure anything out, it should be this: communication with the weather.

Goodbye, Dillon!

Here's a lovely picture of my good friend Carmen's doggy, Dillon.
Dillon recently died, very suddenly, after living a long and useful doggy life, taking good care of his family. I remember him as being a very sweet and loving creature; he was even nice to Marcy.

We'll see you later, Dillon.

here's my book!

Yes, it has finally arrived on store shelves near you! Probably not, actually, but you can get it from Amazon or Scarecrow Press.

I'm really happy my book is finally in print, and out there in the world, but it's also kind of scary. People can read it and critique it--perhaps even say bad things. But that's okay--I can take it. I'm already working on my next project! I'm hoping to write a biography of author Maureen Daly who wrote Seventeenth Summer. This novel is pivotal in many ways to the entire world of fiction about and for teens. I love her--she died a few years ago.

Seventeenth Summer also has a special place in my heart because it is set in the midwest--Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin, to be precise, and until I moved to Iowa I never really knew what cottonwood fluff was. But I had read about it in Seventeenth Summer, and one day I was driving to the store and there was all of this fluffy, white stuff floating around in the sky--I realized it was cottonwood fluff! Amazing. I still hope to take a field trip to Fond Du Lac one day. I can never seem to interest my students in this adventure . . . I wonder why?

this is truly scary . . .

Apparently people are showing up to Obama town hall meetings with guns. Not just any old guns, but assault rifles. This guy was at an Obama protest Monday, according to this article on CNN . What is up with this shit? Why is this okay? We are a nation obsessed with owning guns--and I find all of this just a little bit frightening.

Once on an episode of The West Wing a right-ish character made the observation that progressives do not simply disapprove of the guns themselves--she said that us lefties don't like the people who do like guns. And you know what? She's right. I don't like them, I wish they would go away and shut up and stop threatening the president with their half-assed, half-baked lies about health care reform and everything else they can't wrap their uneducated, puny, little brains around. If they would just think for a minute, they might realize how fucking stupid they truly are.

The Ideal Husband?

I have not read the novel The Time Traveler's Wife, nor will I probably ever see the film version, mostly because I can't stand the word wife. Anyway, since the movie version has been advertised so frequently lately it got me wondering--what is so appealing about this story? A woman meets a man, a time traveler, when she is young, falls in love with him, then proceeds to marry him, have kids, whatever. I don't really know the plot intricacies, if any. But what I realized was in some ways this is the story of a man who shows up and then disappears--seemingly without notice, right? So what makes him different from most men?

Perhaps it is really a story of ideal male behavior. Show up when you're really needed, dude, and go away the rest of the time. Re-appear to inspire love and lust, to impregnate, to get married, to be at the birth of said child, to sit at the side of your wife's bath and hand her the bath sponge.

My vulva, my self . . .

I'm disturbed by the recent Vagisil commercial I saw in which a woman is undulating in front of the camera with some satin-y fabric draped around her lower torso, and the copy reads: "feel like yourself again." What does this mean? And what does it mean that the woman in the above print ad has her wrists crossed as if in bondage? Are they telling us to keep our hands away from our vaginas?

Vagisil Satin is going to make me feel like my self--is it? I think this advertisement is trying to tell us that unless our vulvas are smooth, slippery, itch-free and as smooth as satin that we are not allowed to feel good. I don't know about you, but I don't check my vagina daily for slippery smoothness. I certainly don't equate the state of my vagina with the state of my self.

If my vagina is my self, what about the rest of me?

I feel good about egg salad

There is a wonderful passage in one of my favorite books. It is from Someday This Pain Will be Useful to You by Peter Cameron, and in this sequence James is having a kind of heavy-duty discussion with his lovely grandmother. She decides they should move onto another topic, such as lunch, and asks James, "How do you feel about egg salad?" James replies, "I feel good about egg salad."

For some reason this passage resonates with me. Why is it? I don't really know, except that it seems to me that James' answer is one in keeping with his character-- but a quirky and unusual answer also. Most people would answer, sure egg salad is fine, or whatever they think about having it for lunch that day.

It reminds of of a very frequently asked question when someone visits another person. Guests are usually asked, "Would you like something to drink?" or "Can I get you a diet coke/water/scotch/slurpee?" What people usually answer if they don't want a beverage is "No, I'm fine." I always want to say I didn't ask how you were--I asked if you wanted a fucking coke. Anyway, perhaps my current obsession with this passage from the novel can be related to the ways we answer ubiquitious questions.

Sometimes I try to answer questions with real answers, but it's kind of exhausting. But I'm happy to have a character to read about who seems to share my prediliction for pondering these silly questions, and answers.

(image by katrine kalleklev, unrelated to post)

Turn an LOL into a great big OMG

Auto-tune The News Part 7 - watch more funny videos

Is there anything to say, really? Auto-tune the news speaks for itself.

HEADLINE: "gunman at health club was bitter over women"

I was very surprised when I read the headline above about the recent shooting in Pennsylvania. I was surprised because it actually mentions gender. I applaud this headline, mostly, because I think it's time we (meaning the media, the general public, everyone) begin to recognize and name the fact of male violence against women. Just yesterday this man walked into a health club in PA and specifically targeted women. He pulled out a gun and killed three women and wounded many others. His blog indicates his "frustration" with women.

From the AP:

He went to the sprawling L.A. Fitness Club in this Pittsburgh suburb, turned out the lights on a dance-aerobics class filled with women, and opened fire with three guns, letting loose with a fusillade of at least 36 bullets.

He killed three women and wounded nine others before committing suicide.

Okay, so he was frustrated. But here's the issue: why is it that the MSM barely ever even mentions that so many crimes where someone shoots up a bunch of people the shooter is male? And much of the time the shooter targets women? What about the Amish school shooting? What about the guy at Virginia Tech?

Is it not a hate crime, to target one sex? Jennifer Pozner has written an incisive article about this phenomenon.

tomatoes and lavender

Here's a picture of a very small portion of the bountiful harvest of tomatoes I have grown this summer in pots in my driveway. They are doing very well despite the lack of big heat. In fact, I'm reaching the point where I'm considering opening up a tomato stand.

I really like growing tomatoes, but once they're grown I'm not as excited by them as when they're in process. Is that weird?


Also, here's some of my freshly harvested lavender. I love lavender.

Found Poem by Sarah Palin

Gotta love Conan O'Brien and William Shatner.

California's Gold: Huell Howser

Two of my favorites: The beautiful Golden Gate Bridge, and the wonderful Huell Howser. In case you aren't familiar with Huell, he's a Tennessee transplant who has been doing PBS shows in California for over twenty years. He visits and documents out of the way places, famous places, ordinary and extraordinary people, and brings out the best in everyone. Here's a profile of Huell from today's Los Angeles Times.

I love Huell Howser!

I've said it before . . . he is fucking nuts

Now, really, Glenn Beck, what is your problem? Why on earth are you reading the Americorps pledge, which is a very sincere statement about serving the people of the United States, dressed in lederhosen? Is there any logic to this display? Is it even funny?

Yes, it is funny, but only to establish that this man is truly off the rails.

Somewhere in my youth or childhood . . .

My fabulous sister and amazing mother told me to watch this incredible video--thanks Mom and Sis! I love The Sound of Music--it was a formative movie of my childhood for some reason.

Anyway, this video is worth a watch, unless you're a crableg!

Final Girls and no talk about boys!

I like movies, and especially horror movies. I actually have an excuse about the horror movies since I teach a class on women and horror film. But recently my brother and sister went to see Hangover, a movie that I would never pay money to see. But I couldn't really articulate why I reject Hangover outright. But really, can't we all agree that most movies suck for women? Are there any feminist movies? Are any mainstream movies fit for feminist consumption? Probably not. But how does one evaluate a movie in this patriarchal culture, you might be thinking. How?

Well, I have two ways for us to consider. One is the sort-of famous Bechdel Test, apparently proposed by Alison Bechdel who is a fabulous feminist author and all-around rabble-rouser. The Bechdel Test goes like this:

There must be more than one female character;
They must talk to each other;
About something other than men.

Another test I like was brought up in a recent thread on I Blame The Patriarchy on why old movies suck. This test goes like this:

Name a movie where the protagonist is an adult woman, and she ends up:

1. Alive and healthy
2. Happy
3. Not in love

I like both of these tests very much--and if you really think about it, most movies do not pass either test. This state of affairs really sucks. Even movies that overtly grapple with feminist issues, such as Thelma and Louise, fail the tests.

So what does this suggest about movies, feminism, patriarchy and popular culture?

You can't stay away from it . . .

How can you not love a documentary by director David Lynch? I came across this today and I admit I am transfixed. It's called Interview Project. Lynch and his crew have been travelling across the U.S., apparently mostly in the southwest so far, and interviewing random people. I've only watched three interviews, but they are incredible. Each person, each interview, reminds me of the beauty of people and the sheer nakedness of being asked to speak about yourself. What would I say if asked these questions? What would you say?

Watch a few--tell me what you think. Make sure you watch the "about" section where Lynch describes the project-- it's classic David Lynch.

Whenever I watch documentaries it always makes me wish I could have another life as a documentarian. What could be more amazing than documenting real life? Some of my favorite documentaries are Salesman by the Masyles brothers, Heaven's Gate by Errol Morris, and the recent Young At Heart.


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Holy Patriarchy, Batman!

Some jackass in Ohio is trying to make women obtain written permission from the biological father before they will be "allowed" to get an abortion. Rep. John Adams (R) obviously believes women are incapable of making decisions for themselves.

Columbus, OH (LifeNews.com) -- An Ohio lawmaker has re-introduced legislation that would include a father's rights in the abortion decision-making process. Under Roe v. Wade, fathers are left out of the equation when a woman considers whether or not to have an abortion that would end the life of their child.

Rep. John Adams, a Republican from Sidney, wants to change that and the legislation he introduced today, House Bill 252, would require the biological father's consent before an abortion can be done.

The bill would apply to any abortion and would require written consent before it can be done.

Adams told the Daily Reporter newspaper that abortion centers would "need to get consent from the biological father" before the abortion can proceed and he called the measure a "father's right bill" to protect the interest of fathers who are given no say in the abortion process.

He also said the bill provides for criminal penalties for women seeking abortions who do not obtain consent properly.

I'm not sure what to say about this, except that the wingers/pro-birthers seem to be stepping up their assault on women and reproductive rights. I think their plan is to chip slowly away until at last there is nothing left. Perhaps they should try to undo some of the damage the last 8 years has done to young women in terms of failed abstinence only education--teens are having sex at similar rates to 10 years ago, but un surprisingly, are getting pregnant more often.

Gee--I wonder why?

I also heard a right-wing radio asshole today railing about how the health care reform bill would create "a culture of death" since publicly run plans would cover reproductive services including abortion. Culture of death? What the fuck? What do you assholes promote, with your wars, your murder of abortion providers, your ubiquitous gun ownership? Go fuck yourselves.

P.S. about the Ohio bill, jerkface John Adams told the newspaper that, in cases when the mother does not know the identity of the father, the abortion would be prohibited. Nice touch. Not only can't you have an abortion, but we're punishing you for being a slut.

Lazy, no. Pathetic, yes.

One thing I have learned in the past few weeks is that when a computer (three-year-old E-Machine) begins to act funny (turning itself off after 15 minutes) the best thing to do is to something. Anything.

Instead, what I did was to decide to wait until my summer classes were done and then deal with the beast--but of course, mister E-machine did it for me by shutting off and refusing to turn back on. Ever. So I went to Best Buy and to the Geek Squad, told my sad and pathetic story to Matt, a very nice geek, and promptly had a mini-meltdown when he told me it could take 3-4 weeks to fix whatever the problem was. So instead, I bought a brand new Compaq (HP) for 400 bucks and now I'm back in shape. Although I have to say it is slightly disturbing that I have a computer with Vista on it.

Also, my friend Jarrett came over to help clean all the crap off of the newbie computer and asked me, among other questions in which he was trying very hard not to seem incredulous, "Don't you ever delete anything from Word?"

Hey! I had no idea you could delete anything from Word! Really! I've been trying to figure that one out since 2000. Anyway, all is now well and up and running and very soon, I will be able to post a few images from my recent road trip to California.

So here I am, back from a brief hiatus, with lots to say about recent happenings in the world. And please, can we all just agree that Sarah Palin is a fucking idiot? I just saw a portion of an Andrea Mitchell interview with the erstwhile Governor of Alaska, and man, what is it with journalists these days? Palin actually makes a comment about how our men and women in uniform "never give up" and praises them for this fortitude--then she talks about why she's QUITTING her fucking job. Sadly, Mitchell was softballing her left and right, with no substantive questions at all. Disturbing.

My So Called Life . . . "he leans great . . ."

Does anyone else remember this incredible show, My So-Called Life, that aired for only one momentous year? Claire Danes beautifully portrayed all the angst and suffering of being a teenage girl in love just by her nuanced facial expressions. She managed to convey simultaneously feeling tortured and enchanted--no mean feat.

I loved this show. It was great.

Pinkberry = crackberry

Okay, so I was forced against my will to try Pinkberry frozen yogurt, which I had only heard of from watching The Hills, i.e. the most disturbing show on television. Just that fact alone was enough to make me resist the idea that it was worth trying, but my friend Seth made me do it. He has never watched The Hills. Smart guy.

It was, I have to admit, the best frozen yogurt type product I have ever had. It was tart, creamy, delicious, smooth, and somehow really refreshing and light. I had pomegranate and regular swirl with raspberries, strawberries, and blackberries. Divine. Of course Pinkberry only exists in California and New York.

Damn you, Pinkberry.

Pontypool

My brother told me about this new zombie movie called Pontypool. This is the first I've heard of it--how about you? Trailer above.

I'm always in the mood for a new zombie movie.

It Is Gone by Carol Berryhill

I found the wonderful artwork of Carol Berryhill through the always incredible Roadside Scholar. Currently I'm obsessed with this image titled "It Is Gone." Carol explains that it is a process called collagraph, which is a type of intaglio printing. I find it beautiful and haunting. Love this image!

Check out more of her work on her web site and her etsy shop, PlateInkPaper.

It's no mindsticker, but watch this!

Vintage Carnation commercial from the 1970s. Brought to you by the kick-ass women at feministing.

When I watch this commercial, I am reminded of the soft lighting, cheesy music and hazy images from soft-core porn. It is also one of the best advertisements for staying fat I've ever seen: if this product makes your husband leave later for work, come home for lunch, and come home from work early, perhaps it should be jettisoned!

And by the way, what about that awesome extreme wing chair in the last image? I want that thing.

cross-country road trip with chihuahua!

Since I live in the midwest and my family is in California I travel frequently to the west coast. Sometimes I fly, sometimes I drive. I'm not a big fan of flying--at least once during every flight I am certain that my death is imminent. Anyway, this summer I'm driving out with my little chihuahua traveling companion.

Driving is exhausting, yes, especially when I have to do all of it. Marcy Keeton Younger would help me drive, except her little arms can't reach the steering wheel. Here's the thing I really love about driving--when I drive I actually have the sense of miles traveled. In other words, when I fly, I always feel disoriented after arriving in another state. It seems surreal, and weird, and it never seems quite real. Driving is tiring, and takes forever, yes, but I have a real sense of each mile traveled. Besides, it's fun.

Marcy and I stop every hour or two to pee and check out the landscape. I have to say that the rest stops in Nebraska are the best anywhere. They have lots of grass, nice covered areas, and lovely little snack machines. I also enjoy the rest stops in Colorado, although they are much less grassy than in Nebraska. I will take pictures and document the trip in case anyone is interested, but posting will be sporadic until I return in early June.

It's about time--no more federal funding for abstinence only sex ed!

Thanks to the ever on top of everything important feministing for this short but sweet video of Rachel Maddow on the latest actually based on logic and science move from the Obama administration. Whew!

Go, Obama.

Pro-birth groups attack Judy Blume

As a long time supporter of Planned Parenthood, Judy Blume recently lent her celebrity as a pioneer in Young Adult fiction to support their cause. Of course, the pro-birth/anti-choice/anti-abortion/anti-woman groups got their panties all in a twist and began an all-out flame war on Planned Parenthood and Judy Blume.

As a scholar of YA fiction, and an avid admirer of Ms. Blume's devotion to some very important progressive causes such as free speech and women's reproductive rights I think we all need to support her in this fight. If you think women have a right to determine what to do with their own bodies, make a donation to Planned Parenthood now. I'm going to.

By the way, Judy Blume has written dozens of books for teens, a few for adults, and has been published in over 17 languages. Many young women learned about sex from her book Forever. Many also learned about menstruation from Are You There, God? It's me, Margaret. She is a prolific author and is a very important figure in the world of YA literature. She's awesome. If you haven't read any of her books, you should. One of my personal favorites is Forever--which Blume wrote in part as a response to a request from her daughter. Blume's daughter wanted to read a teen novel where the main character has sex and doesn't get punished (death, pregnancy, shaming, disease, deformity, acne) in some major way for doing the deed. So Blume, ever the innovator, wrote Forever. In a genre replete with punishment for "transgressive" teen behavior, Forever is a refreshing narative where sex is actually pleasurable and no one dies. Amazing.

By the way, you should also read Deenie for its incredible depiction of female masturbation and body image issues. I also recommend Then Again, Maybe I Won't for a remarkable story about class, assimilation, and male sexual pleasure.

on very thin ice

Gotta love this video, brought to you by way of Get Your War On.
I love David Rees, we both love this video mash-up.

Brooklyn artist Michael Gregory has created two of these videos called Auto-Tune the News. This is the second one. Awesome.

lavender obsession and mound building

Lavender is my personal obsession. I have loved it for a long, long, time, and now that I have a yard I can plant it in my own garden! I did plant some last year, without reading about it, and all three of them died after the winter. Or at least they didn't return to life in the spring.

So, I did some reading, and discovered that I needed to make sure the soil is well-drainable, and this can involve building mounds of soil mixed with compost and tiny round rocks.

This mound-building is a lot of work--but perhaps it will be worth it. I also learned that in humid climates one has to be careful of too much water. I may have over-watered last summer.

Lavender varieties from top to bottom: Fred Boutin, French Fringe, and Red Kew

Sheila E and Yaphet Akira

We just planted a beautiful Japanese maple and some amazing Red Kew lavender in front of our house. We named the lavender Sheila E at the request of a friend, and the maple is Yaphet Akira. I think they're both charming additions to the landscape.

Prosecute them for War Crimes

Why is it that we have prosecuted and imprisoned some of the soldiers who were guards at Abu Ghraib yet we have not prosecuted the commanders who ordered and condoned the torture? And by commanders I mean Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, Alberto Gonzalez, Douglas Feith, and George W. Bush. Perhaps there are others who should be prosecuted. For awhile the media was all abuzz with the news that Spain was considering indictments for these people. What happened? Why can't we do something about this outrage?

As far as I'm concerned, anyone involved in fabricating the evidence that led us to war in Iraq, or anyone involved in lying to us about the WMDs in Iraq should also be prosecuted. I never believed that W or Cheney were honorable in any way--and I didn't believe one word that came of of either of their filthy little mouths. But many, many people did believe them. They were in charge, They were "people in authority," so people looked up to them.

Some are arguing that we need to move on as a nation. Okay, then, move on. But move on with Cheney and Bush in jail. In fact, former prosecutor and current author Vincent Bugliosi has written a book arguing that George W. Bush should be prosecuted for murder. That's right, murder.

Here's a list of some of W's other crimes:

Disregarding and dismantling the constitution.
Illegal wiretapping.
Declaring "mission accomplished" when he knew it wasn't over.
Hiding evidence of all of these actions.
Illegally imprisoning countless people at Guantanamo Bay.

right-wing homophobic asshole of the day

Thanks to feministing for the link to this charming piece of ridiculousness. How can she stand there and say this? What a disturbing and truly ludicrous statement. What is wrong with the people of North Carolina that they elected this person?

Although I shouldn't necessarily blame the people of the state she represents. California elected Reagan governor. We all elected Bush president.

Oops--I forgot! He wasn't really elected! My bad.

get your war on part 2

I'm not sure that this Max Blumenthal video needs any commentary at all, except to say that these people make me nervous. They also make me embarrassed to be American.

When you're watching the video, notice the radio talk show voices of some of our favorite right-wing nutbags and professional hate-mongers: Michael Savage and Glenn Beck.

The video also reminds me of the value and importance of education and critical thinking, since there is very little evidence of either present in these persons.

I've figured it out!

Although I may be playing with fire with this one, I think it is worth thinking about.

The other day I was talking to a friend who has an almost two-year-old son. We were discussing his upcoming birthday celebration, and she said "His grandmother has been to his first two birthdays" and all of a sudden I realized something.

When does our age begin? When do we begin counting our existence? It's not the day we are conceived. It is the day we come out. The day we are born into the world. So anyone against abortion has to realize that according to all common beliefs and ways of measuring human life we begin at birth.

So until we begin counting our age as beginning at conception, and making ourselves nine months older in the process, we have to concede that human life begins at birth.

I admit considering age beginning to be enumerated at conception brought up a whole host of rather disturbing images--we would have to know the date our biological parents had heterosexual intercourse. We might even celebrate the position. We might even celebrate that day, thus celebrating H.I. itself. I can't imagine the pro-birth/anti-choice/anti-abortion contingent would go for that.

You go, Hillary Clinton!

This is what a feminist Secretary of State sounds like! Watch this video, thanks to Shakesville, as Secretary Hillary Clinton gives Mike Pence a dressing down on reproductive rights.

Awesome! Thank you, Madame Secretary.

The time of the gentleman has expired.

Michael Savage is an asshole . . .

I've never really gotten into energy drinks . . . perhaps because they seem too expensive and I'd rather just have a Coke. But I know lots of people who love energy drinks, and I just learned that the company that makes Rockstar energy drinks is owned by hate-monger and all-around asshole Michael Savage and his equally obnoxious son.

Michael Savage is truly a disturbing excuse for a human. Here's some stuff that will let you know why you should not support him by purchasing his products:

A few facts about Michael Savage. Better yet, here are a few comments directly from the mouth of Michael Savage:

"You want me to tell you what makes me sick? When I see two puffy white males kissing each other, I want to puke. When I see two women kissing each other, on the lips, as lovers, I want to vomit."

"When you hear "human rights," think only one thing: someone who wants to rape your son. And you'll get it just right. OK, you got it, right? When you hear "human rights," think only someone who wants to molest your son, and send you to jail if you defend him. Write that down, make a note of it."

"...children's minds are being raped by the homosexual mafia, that's my position. They're raping our children's minds."

"You know what autism is? I'll tell you what autism is. In 99 percent of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out. That's what autism is."


Disgusting, right? Michael Savage is reaping profits from the selling of Rockstar Energy Drink.

Thanks to Change.org and Feministing for the heads up.

There is also a web site with lots of information.

You know, the point is that there isn't a choice . . .

I'm so sad that Miss California's giant shiny white teeth did not win her the pageant. But her homophobic answer to Perez Hilton's question was kind of funny. I love that Faux News is peeing all over themselves praising her, having her on their shows, getting their panties all tangled up in excitement over her "honesty" and forthrightness.

Hmmm . . . I wonder how people would feel if she argued that blacks shouldn't be allowed to marry whites? Stupid woman, stupid pageant, stupid stupid stupid.

when you make a really, really stupid video

It's so much fun to see how smart people respond.

A Gaythering Storm from Jane Lynch

Another hilarious response to the "Gathering Storm" ridiculousness.

is our children learning?

I'm not sure that much needs to be said about those "grass-roots" tea parties that Faux News was running, but here's a picture, thanks to Gin and Tacos, of a particularly charming protestor and his mind-boggling signage.

Whew.

virginity pledges and dancing with dad

Another fascinating and ultra creepy fundamentalist trend: Father Daughter Purity Balls. These balls have been going on for many years, and they function as a way for fathers and their daughters to spend quality time together. Of course, that quality time involves the daughter (property) pledging her purity/virginity to her father (owner #1) until she gets married (ownership transferred).

One of the most disturbing aspects of these sickening soirees is the incestuous quality of the events. They seem more like weddings or senior proms. A few months ago TLC aired a wonderful documentary about these patriarchal power ceremonies, focusing on scumbag Randy Wilson. I highly recommend watching it. The documentary showcases this "minister" from Colorado Springs (where else) who has about a billion daughters and a few sons (who don't attend purity balls, by the way) and a very weepy and submissive wife. Randy Wilson's organization is named Generations of Light and they have a fascinating web site. You can even give a donation!

Yuck.

I can be one nasty bitch . . .

Is it ever right to make fun of someone? I suppose it is okay if that someone is bad in a harmful kind of way, or if that someone is really mean to other people. I think I have to say something.

Sometimes when I'm reading blogs I click on the "next blog" thingy at the top of the blog I'm reading. It randomly takes one to some blog, very often about football in Spain, or botany in Uruguay, or someone's adventures building a house in Montana. Nothing earth shattering. But a few weeks ago I came across this blog called Polka Dots and Protein Bars.

Now Polka Dots and Protein Bars (94 followers) seems harmless enough. The blogger describes her page as " a hodgepodge of joyful chatter from the life of a 22 year old girl learning to be a grown up lady." Aside from the "girl" and "lady" crap, I found that this blog which dwells on clothing, fashion, brunching, protein bars, decorating, and all other sorts of girly pursuits is not alone. Oh no--this is a trend amongst blogs. There are literally oodles of blogs (now I'm starting to sound like them) out there by young women that focus on married life, dieting, children, being a woman, and all kinds of other feminine pursuits. So what, you ask? Who cares?

I became fascinated with these regressive blogs with titles like Newlywed Stillettos, Monograms and Manicures, With This Ring, First Comes Love, An Undomesticated Newlywed, (118 followers) and so on, endlessly. Perhaps I am jaded, but who the fuck cares about this crap? When one reads these blogs, if you can even stand reading past the first sentence, they prattle on and on about the most mindless stuff, as if not a one of them has ever heard of politics or ideas or reality: or least of all feminism. My favorite is of course the original, Polka Dots and Protein Bars, because this blogger is really unbelievable. She just recently posted about a plus-sized woman at her gym and made fun of her weight.

I suppose my disgust is useless. But I'm really perplexed--do these women really not see what is around them in the world? Do they not see how trivial these issues are? Why should I care? How does it affect me? It doesn't, really, except once I found Polka Dot lady I couldn't resist commenting on her blog from time to time. No response. Damn it.

humorous response to right-wing nutbaggery

Great response to the assholes who made the anti-gay marriage video . . .

creepy quiverfull family on Today Show

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

It's not enough that the Duggars have a show on TLC that never mentions their fascistic/misogynistic Quiverfull affiliation, but now the Today Show has them on this morning to announce that their eldest son has already impregnated his wife (i.e. the newest reproductive host) and they're so happy! Of course, they announce the birth also saying they will let "god" plan how many children they (she) is going to spawn.

To me, the creepiest part is that the wife (womb-warrior) took the damn pregnancy test and then let her husband (owner) see the results before she did, because she was so "anxious" about the result. So of course he told her she was pregnant. Why was she anxious about the result? Because her value as a woman/wife is almost solely linked to her ability to produce as many children as her body will allow until she dies. Disturbing. Watch for yourself.

Glenn Beck advocates violence . . . again

Isn't it interesting that nutjob wingers like Glenn Beck are actually advocating violence against their "enemies?" Ever since he was relocated to Faux News, Beck has been on a very clearly marked path to insanity. I try to watch him from time to time just to catch his mix of hatred and nutbaggery, but here's a very telling segment where he actually seems to be calling for people to act against the Obama administration.

Isn't that a bit frightening? Now that they are in the losing camp, the wingers are really showing their colors. I wonder if Beck has mental health coverage?

what the fuck?

Who are these ridiculous people? What is their problem? This group, the National Organization for Marriage, is really fucked up. Watch their really stupid, offensive and completely meaningless advertisement.

I'm so incensed by this I can't even try to be funny, but David Rees from Get Your War On is waaaay funnier and smarter than I am. here's what he says about the ad:

1. They should have used “booming thunder” sounds, to reinforce the fact that the gay storm will be dark AND noisy;

2. They should have included a CGI dragon (gay-looking, if possible) gnashing its teeth at the Massachusetts mother whose son is being forced to have gay sex(?) in the school(?);

3. When the cute woman with glasses says, “I am afraid,” they should have intercut a brief shot of the Devil mouthing the words “AS WELL YOU SHOULD BE, FOR I SHALL MAKE ALL OF YOU BE GAY.”

4. When the guy with the Mexican(?) accent says, “The storm is coming,” they should have dumped water on him, like he got wet from the storm — like he naively thought the storm was coming, but in fact it had already arrived, like, because of Vermont letting gays marry each other and all that gay stuff, you know how gays are, with wanting to get married and all that stuff because of the gays.

snap into a slim jim

The next time you omnivores bite into a piece of bacon, you might consider little Fiona, recently rescued by Farm Sanctuary.

Here is part of her story:

Rescued from certain death on a factory hog farm along with another small piglet, Fiona had endured much abuse by the time she came to us at just under two weeks of age, as she had already been cruelly tail-docked without anesthesia and ripped from her mother’s side to be primed for the commercial food chain. Like countless other piglets who are to be raised for pork, she and her friend were destined for a crowded concrete pen where they would be fattened up for about six months and then slaughtered before they even had a chance to mature. However, not all piglets actually end up fitting into the industry’s plan, and the cruelty they endure at the hands of agribusiness takes other forms.

dykes to watch out for . . .

Alison Bechdel really is the best. Vermont has joined the gay marriage bandwagon, seemingly, and here is what Bechdel has to say about it! I love her.

I would just as soon be tied in a burlap sack and tossed off a bridge as married, but I’m gonna be pissed off if this all comes to naught. And ecstatic if it doesn’t.

am I late to the party, or what?

I just discovered Maira Kalman's work, which is published monthly at the New York Times. Who knew there was such fantabulosity available to read for free? Love the artwork, love the ideology, love the whole thing. Check it out here.

Thanks go to Etsy seller Swallowfield for the link!

do dead black women matter?

I have to say this story pisses me off in a very major fashion. Apparently there is a serial killer in Los Angeles county who has murdered at least eight black women since 1985. They have named this killer "The Grim Sleeper" and have yet to obtain any useful evidence, except for a lone 911 call from 1987.

What I want to know is this: why is this not big news? Why is Nancy Grace not all over this? Why do we obsess about every skinny white girl who goes missing on spring break, but when eight black women are killed barely anyone seems to even be aware of the case? Of course, skinny white women deserve to be found and saved, too, but I'm truly disgusted with the way we privilege stories about white women and neglect women of color.

I blame the white supremacist capitalist patriarchy.

We love you, Iowa Supreme Court

As much as I rail against marriage as a deeply flawed patriarchal institution, I think anyone who wants to get married should be able to do so. I'm very happy--ecstatic, even, to live in the third state that allows same sex couples to marry.

Yay, Iowa Supreme Court! Amazing. Story below from the BBC:

Iowa's Supreme Court has ruled that a ban on same-sex marriages in the US state was unconstitutional.

The judges rejected an appeal against a lower court's 2007 ruling that the ban violated the rights of gay men and women in the state.

The case stems from a 2005 suit filed by a New York-based gay-rights group on behalf of six gay and lesbian couples.

Iowa now becomes the third US state to allow same-sex marriages after Connecticut and Massachusetts.

blood is juicy . . . juicy is rumor

monkey's butt is red from min oh on Vimeo.

Okay: I don't really know why I like this video so much, but here it is in all it's creepy, beautiful weirdness. Perhaps it is the eerie juxtaposition of children's flash cards with disturbing shit. Perhaps I am just demented.

Enjoy!

Link brought to you in full living color by I blame the patriarchy .