Saturday, August 25, 2007

Books Read, 2007 (#16 - 17)

# We Don't Need Another Wave: Dispatches from the Next Generation of Feminists by Melody Berger (Editor)
I love feminist books that are modern and have a collection of articles on a variety of topics written by different people, and this book is no exception. Having said that, though, I do have a minor quibble. A lot of the articles seemed v. "me me me" orientated, and there's nothing wrong with that, per se, but I (mostly) would rather read about more than just one person's experience in something. Like, I don't care how someone started her Web site or sticker-selling business.

...and His Lovely Wife: A Memoir from the Woman Beside the Man by Connie Schultz
I complained about this book a post ago, but it got better and I finished it. I prob. exaggerated, but there definitely is still quite the feeling of "oh, we love each other so much," blahblahblah, which, really, shouldn't we be happy that there is a happy marriage out there? She adores her husband. Lucky her.

Books Read, 2007 (#16 - 17)

# We Don't Need Another Wave: Dispatches from the Next Generation of Feminists by Melody Berger (Editor)
I love feminist books that are modern and have a collection of articles on a variety of topics written by different people, and this book is no exception. Having said that, though, I do have a minor quibble. A lot of the articles seemed v. "me me me" orientated, and there's nothing wrong with that, per se, but I (mostly) would rather read about more than just one person's experience in something. Like, I don't care how someone started her Web site or sticker-selling business.

...and His Lovely Wife: A Memoir from the Woman Beside the Man by Connie Schultz
I complained about this book a post ago, but it got better and I finished it. I prob. exaggerated, but there definitely is still quite the feeling of "oh, we love each other so much," blahblahblah, which, really, shouldn't we be happy that there is a happy marriage out there? She adores her husband. Lucky her.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Disappointing.

I've been reading ...and His Lovely Wife by Connie Schultz.

I adore her. I really do. But I don't know if I can finish this book! It's too much, oh, I love my husband, oh, our lives are just perfect, oh, he never does a wrong thing. Okay. She doesn't express it quite that way, but those are definitely impressions a reader gets. And it's unbearable, really.

I'll give it a few more chapters, but if it doesn't improve, I'm done.

P.S. This computer is so slow.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Zzz.

I started to write an entry about the winery tour I went on today (and all of the wonderful food, smothered in wine sauces...) but I am too tired. I will write this tidbit: never eat grapes that aren't ripe! I knew unripe grapes caused stomach aches, as it has happened to me before, but I couldn't help myself. I paid for it, though. Possibly it wasn't the grapes, though, as I have had stomach cramps for 24/7 for about two days now.

Well, I'm going to read some of ...And His Lovely Wife by Connie Schultz now.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

"I walk on concrete / I walk on sand / But I can't find / A safe place to stand."

Linked from The Daily Telegraph:

    Man cleared of sleepwalk sex with 15-year-old

    August 08, 2007 01:00am

    A BRITISH RAF mechanic who claimed he was sleepwalking when he had sex with a 15-year-old girl has been cleared of rape.

    Senior Aircraftsman Kenneth Ecott, 26, wept after a jury took two hours to find he was not responsible for his actions.

    Mr Ecott did not deny having sex with the girl, but said he had no memory of it happening.

    Instead he insisted he had a condition known as sexsomnia in which sufferers carry out indecent acts in their sleep.

    It was this affliction that made him climb naked on top of the girl at a friend's birthday party sleepover in Poole, Dorset, the Bournemouth Crown Court heard.

    The girl screamed when she awoke.

    Mr Ecott was said to have confessed to the girl's family and apologised for having sex with her.

    But when he was arrested in his barracks at RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, he told police he was prone to sleepwalking.

    He claimed to have been in a state of automatism while with the girl, meaning he was not aware of his actions.

    His girlfriend told the court that he had fondled her in bed while asleep.
I'm only posting this article because look at how often this shit happens. Also, this account is so incomplete. Was there a, I don't know, doctor who said there's even such a thing as "sexsomnia"?

And, okay, he's cleared of "rape," but what about the fact that the girl was underage? I believe the age of consent in the U.K. is still 16. But, wait, let's not forget about the judge who thinks it's okay to rape 10-year-old girls as long as they look 16. So just par the course for the legal system there, I reckon.

Heads up!

I think it's time to contact my representatives, yep.

From The New York Times:

    Ohio Pushes Added Leave for Maternity

    By BOB DRIEHAUS
    Published: August 12, 2007

    CINCINNATI, Aug. 11 — The Ohio Civil Rights Commission is pushing for a broad expansion of benefits for pregnant workers.

    If its proposals are adopted, Ohio would join 18 states that require employers to offer maternity leaves that exceed those mandated by the federal Family and Medical Leave Act. That law offers workers at businesses with 50 or more employees 12 weeks of unpaid leave for infant care.

    Expectant mothers must have worked for a business for a year, or 1,250 hours, to be eligible.

    The Ohio commission has proposed that businesses with four or more employees offer 12 weeks of unpaid maternity leave to pregnant employees, regardless of how long they have worked for the businesses.

    Workers not eligible under the federal law would need a doctor’s orders to qualify.

    The commission is revising its proposal after business groups said the rules would hurt small businesses and the state’s economy. The revisions are expected to go next month to a State Senate and House committee that could approve the rules without further action by the Legislature.

    Jeanine P. Donaldson, who this year became the first woman to lead the commission, said the law on maternity leave needed to ensure that more women were protected against discrimination.

    Ms. Donaldson said she was willing to bend on the number of weeks of guaranteed leave but hoped to preserve the stipulation that length of service would not affect eligibility.

    “I don’t think a woman can decide when to get pregnant,” Ms. Donaldson said. “To choose motherhood over livelihood, I don’t think that is what the legislators had in mind.”

    Business groups say the expanded leave would damage the economy. “There’s really no reason to change the current law,” said Tony Fiore, director of labor and human resources policy for the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.

    Requiring small businesses to hold open positions would be a hardship, he said, as would the immediate eligibility for new workers at large corporations.

    Ty Pine, legislative director for the Ohio branch of the National Federation of Independent Businesses, said the market was doing a good job of establishing reasonable maternity leaves for workers and businesses.

    “We would like to maintain the current practice of reasonable time off without mandating specifically,” Mr. Pine said.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Various musing.

The other day I encountered an information booth run by an anti-women’s rights group (they proclaimed themselves as "pro-life," or some other rot).

Shock of shocks, the only people sitting at the booth were four old, white men. I’m glad they’re on top of the whole making-my-decisions-for-me thing.

Ugh. I would love to start some sort of feminist group in this county, to counter this bullshit, but I have no idea what we would do. Also, while I firmly believe there would be women who would want to join, I think it would be hard to reach them and hard to inform them and get them to actually come to events/meetings. I wouldn’t want to run this group, but I want to be a member of it. I think we have a League of Women Voters, though. And Zonta, of course. But they aren’t really the same thing as a "feminist" group. It's really not such a bad idea; I could create a Web site and facebook group...

***

I had intended to register as an Independent in the next primary election, but, as usual when I try to make this decision, something stops me. I want to be part of a community! I want to attend events like Yearly Kos. I want to volunteer for someone’s campaign. But I can’t if I’m an Independent (well, I can, but..). There’s no sense of community if you’re an "Independent" - it’s inherent in the word. Yes, I am disappointed in the (majority) of the current crop of elected Democrats. But declaring myself as an "Independent" isn’t going to change anything (well, it is taking a stance, though, and declaring my frustration). The most prominent Democrat activists, such as the bloggers at AMERICAblog and DailyKos, are liberal. It’s just hard to elect someone who is as liberal or progressive as us, because most people - Democrats and Republicans - are moderate. They don’t like extremes. The conservatives are better at getting extremists elected. They know how to band together, how to motivate their base. So, for now, I think it’s more important to stick together. Maybe.
 
***

P.S. Who knew? Someone to aspire to: Eleanor Smeal.

Reprehensible.

From Daily Feminist News:

    Air Force Woman Could Be Convicted in Her Own Rape

    8/10/2007 - A woman airman in the US Air Force who was allegedly raped by three of her male counterparts is being charged with indecent acts, according to an AP report. If convicted, the woman could face a year in prison, a pay cut, a bad-conduct discharge, and would even be registered as a sex offender, the woman's defense lawyers told the AP.

    Cassandra Hernandez, who was stationed with the Air Force in North Carolina, was allegedly assaulted six months ago while in another airman's room; she fled partially clothed, she said. After reporting the attack she received a medical examination, but declined to testify after she was allegedly interrogated by an Air Force defense attorney without her lawyer present. "The pressure of the judicial process was too much for me, and I felt like no one was looking out for my interests," Hernandez wrote to the AP. She was subsequently charged with one count of consuming alcohol as a minor (she admittedly was drinking the night in question) and one count of committing indecent acts.

    The Air Force Public Affairs division said that its investigation did not find sufficient evidence to support the woman's claims of sexual assault, reported KVUE, a Houston television station. The accused men were granted immunity from the sexual assault charges for their testimony against Hernandez in the US Air Force's case against her, KVUE further reported.

    Hernandez worries that the handling of her case will impact others in the Air Force as well. "Will other women come forward after a rape when they hear that this is how they may be treated?" she wrote in a letters to the US Congress and Texas Gov. Rick Perry, according to KVUE. "The process has almost been as painful as the rape."

    Hernandez is scheduled to begin court marshal on September 24.

    Media Resources: Associated Press 8/7/07; KVUE 8/1/07
Yes, because it's more important to bust a woman for underage drinking (!!!) than it is to prosecute two men for sexual assault! Immunity. Fucking immunity.

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Disappointing, Apple.

"The new iMac. You can't be too thin. Or too powerful."

Possibly (probably/likely) they are trying to be satirical, playing on a cliche and whatnot, but I think they fail. The satire is weak. This ad feels out of place for Apple. Seriously, this is the best they could do?

Monday, August 06, 2007

The White Stripes, finally!

"White Americans, what?
Nothing better to do?
Why don't you kick yourself out?
You're an immigrant, too."
--The White Stripes, "Icky Thump"

I heart the White Stripes. I'm finally listening to their new album, Icky Thump. Yea! It's a bit strange, but that's par the course with the White Stripes.

I found my copy of Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism, and the Future by Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards. It was in my dresser, with some other books from school. So, s0ja, you can borrow it, if you want. It's a must read, if only for the massive collection of feminist links and resources in the back. I've found a lot of great organizations through the list. Right now I'm going down the list, signing up for any free newsletters or mailing lists. For example, even though "we don't need another wave," ;), I just signed up at Third Wave Foundation. They have to be at the forefront of any news. I need to be more aware of current feminist activism. Disappointingly (for a number of reasons), a number of the links in the book are no longer active.

Sunday, August 05, 2007

What, no auto save?

Damn it.

I wrote an entry, clicked to submit it, and lame Safari crashed.

Ugh. A rotten feeling to realize I spent upteen minutes typing something, only to have it disappear.

I'm not going to re-type it right now.

Friday, August 03, 2007

A total *non* rec.

I received a free copy of Bright Lights, Big Ass: A Self-Indulgent, Surly, Ex-Sorority Girl's Guide to Why it Often Sucks in the City, or Who are These Idiots and Why Do They All Live Next Door to Me? by Jen Lancaster in the mail today (courtesy of Bzz Agent), and it seemed decent enough, so I started to read it.

The beginning was...mildly entertaining. I write "mildly" because I found the author (it's a memoir) to be a tad immature, self-centered, spoiled, etc. etc. But also amusing at times.

Her constant bashing of Carrie Bradshaw (of Sex and the City) annoyed me, though, especially since the basis seemed to be she's a liar, life in the city's not like that, blah blah blah, but I took her opinions with a grain of salt because, hello, she didn't seem to have a problem with watching the so-not-realistic Desperate Housewives.

But a greater annoyance was still to come.

Brace yourself.

She's a Republican.

I felt a bit twitchy at the mention of the Drudge Report, but I felt I could handle a book about a Republican, as long as she didn't mention her politics too much.

But no. The utter inanities kept coming.

From page 99: "If I could endure the fraternity party otherwise known as the Clinton administration, you can deal with President Churchy McJesus."

The fraternity party...? Okay, I don't agree with everything Clinton did during his presidency, but, please, let's compare his accomplishments to Bush's. And also, let's compare their failures. Who drove our country into the ground and is responsible for thousands of deaths? I'm thinking, not Clinton.

It gets better. She's a fan of Ann Coulter, watches Fox News regularly, and believes Sean Hannity deserves a raise.

Also?

From page 122: "I quickly revise my I Dig Any Famous Pit Bull Advocate stance, which previously gave passes to Rosie Perez, Vin Diesel, Michael J. Fox, and Jon Stewart..."

Uh. What's Michael J. Fox done that he needs a pass for, other than being pro-stem cell research, which, you know, could save his life? I'm sorry if him having a disease offends you so much...

But wait.

There are some real fighting words.

From page 212: "I pushed through a pack of tourists from Cleveland while rushing to the register to purchase my prize. Out of the way, you slack-jawed yokels..."

Well, fuck you.

Frankly, though, even though she proclaims to be a Republican, I find that she has little understanding of politics. I think she's quite naive/ignorant about the world outside of her self-absorbed bubble.

Anyway, we don't have to worry too much about her inflicting her ignorance on the rest of us:

From page 222: "The worst part was I realized I was far more likely to vote for an American Idol contestant than a government official, as evidenced by my not walking next door to vote in the last local election because it was raining."

Super.

I'm so not finishing this book.

Thursday, August 02, 2007

Movie recommendation!

I watched the most darling, movie yesterday: Miss Potter.

First off, it must be said that Renée Zellweger is the most talented actress of her era.

Second off, I never knew how fabulous Beatrix Potter was!

She was such a progressive, modern woman plucked down in the Victorian Era.

Britain owes her a great debt, because she donated 4,000 acres of land in the Lake District to a conservation group, having bought up all this farmland during her lifetime to protect it from developers. Can you imagine what this land would look like now if it weren't for her? Probably filled with shopping malls and McDonald's. Instead, it's a slice of beautiful nature for everyone to enjoy.

If you watch this movie, be prepared to cry (if you're a sap like me, that is). It's really quite a charming movie.

 

Books Read, 2007 (#11 - 15)

I haven't been updating my Books Read, 2007 list! I better write them down before I forget what I've read. I'm quite proud of my mix of fiction and nonfiction reads this year.

The Official Fahrenheit 9/11 Reader by Michael Moore
How can people ignore facts, is what I want to know.

Season of the Witch by Natasha Mostert
I won ten copies of this book for my book club. It was a lot better than I expected it to be, actually, but it stills reads a bit like a male fantasy.

# The Assault on Reason by Al Gore
I agree with so much of what Gore wrote, but at times this book read like someone's dissertation, it's not always accessible to the every reader.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
Finally! Ask my thoughts in person, if you want to know. Too long for here.

Mr. Monk and the Blue Flu by Lee Goldberg
This book was better than I expected it to be, because I think it's hard to translate Monk's behavior and quirks to text. I was leery about the book being from Natalie's point-of-view, because I'm not a huge fan of hers, but know I realize that it couldn't be done from any other way. An enjoyable mystery, but I don't know if I'd read another one in the series.