I love the smell of...

Oh, I love the smell of an American-bashing in the morning.

I know Americans have a lot of "privilege." But what I cannot tolerate is Europeans and Canadians acting like they don't also have "privilege." And, frankly, I would rather have the privilege of Canadians than Americans. What's better, universal health care or the so-called "strongest" military (and it just cracked me the eff up when a CANADIAN said how "terrified," yes, terrified was the word, they were of our guns. Yeah, we're coming after you next, punks.)?

Today there was a post on the feminist community at livejournal about cultural appropriation. A white woman was asking if it were offensive for her to put her hair in dreadlocks. Frankly, that post didn't really belong on the community because it's to do with race, not gender.

Someone, we'll call her Hypocrite, wrote this comment:

But you know something? I just read through the rest of this thread and had a bit of a think about it. And I realised that yep, you people are completely right. Why do I think so? Because of how much it grates on me when American people who have never even seen my country (Ireland, that is) claim to know more about my culture than I do, or take up little things from my country and culture and try to make them their own- when they've never set foot in the place. It's offensive, and it's ignorant.

I just had to write something back to her, because she really grated on my nerves. I'll explain why later.

Yeah, it's so ignorant and offensive for people to celebrate their heritage. But I guess I must be wrong in thinking that there are a lot of people of Irish descent in America.

Not my best stuff, or even much of an argument, but she just annoyed me. I just think she's overblowing things.

Hypocrite wrote this comment in reply:

Yes, people of Irish descent. Celebrating being a person of Irish descent is one thing. Assuming that, although neither you* nor your parents have ever stepped foot in the country, that you can tell me about my country, culture, heritage, political situation and politics, is very much another.

Irish-Americans are just that- American people of Irish descent. My great-grandmother was Spanish. I am not. My upbringing, my culture, are Irish. Just as Irish-Americans' upbringing and culture are American.

I've lived most of my life here. I've grown up in this culture. And I've gotten sick to death, in my time, of Americans whose grandparents were Irish attempting to pass themselves off as Irish people, while understanding nothing below a surface level about my country and culture.

After this comment, I decided I didn't want anything to do with someone who gets so hysterical (I'm sure SO MANY PEOPLE act like that with her). So I simply wrote back:

Wow. There's so much I could reply to this, but since this is a feminist community, it would be way off topic.

You know what bothered me about her? Heaven forbid that anyone be allowed to touch anything to do with Ireland unless they actually live on the soil. By the by, she also doesn't think African-Americans should consider themselves "African." I just think she's very ignorant about the lives of immigrants and their descendants. She's negating people's heritage, and acting like the immigrant experience didn't shape their descendents. But mostly, mostly she annoyed me because EUROPEANS TELL ME ABOUT MY LIFE AS AN AMERICAN ALL THE TIME. They know more about me than I do, apparently!

I thought she was a hypocrite. And she proved me right.

This next post went up in the feminist community:

American Privilege Checklist?

I've searched the community memories and all over Google, and I cannot for the life of me find an American privilege checklist. I'm sure I once read one that was either on feminist or linked to from here, but now all I can find is this one article, which is good, but I'm looking for a more extensive list of specific examples.

So, does anyone know where to find one? Alternately, it'd be great if members could just comment here with instances of American privilege. The one that most readily comes to mind for me is the privilege to be ignorant about America itself - the past, the government, the effects on the world, et cetera - as well as the privilege to be completely ignorant about the rest of the world. (Thanks to conuly for pointing this out.)

Thanks in advance for any help.

Yes. The feminist community needs a post strictly about American privilege. No post for Caucasian privilege. No post for European privilege. No post for "first world" privilege. Or "developed country" privilege. Or "English-speaking" privilege. Those never get talked about, because apparently they don't exist. Just American. Because we are the only ones with privilege.

Hypocrite wrote:

I can't be specific, but the most general thing I've noticed is the effects of American cultural hegemony on many American people.

If you're not American, you're bombarded with American culture from day one. If you're American, you don't get that.

What I've noticed is the fact that many Americans just don't think to acknowledge that their viewpoints are culturally biased.

There's also an attitude towards other cultures that's less "othering" and more.. I can't figure out the word. It's like a simplified, dumbed-down version of other cultures- often including the one that the person in question is descended from. An assumption that growing up hearing stories about "Culture/Country X" means that one is entitled to see themselves as a member of that culture.

Actually, to be honest, I can see elements of American privilege coming out even in that article. The assumption that Americans have more "freedom" than people in other countries is one which is very pervasive indeed. And, in some cases, blatantly false.

Most definitely.

I don't envy the US in the slightest. In particular, as a queer person, I have far more protections under Irish law than I would under US law. I am protected from discrimination in the workplace, I am protected from discrimination when attempting to access goods and services. While my country honours freedom of expression, Incitement to Hatred is illegal.

As a member of a minority, I feel a lot more free than in the US. My country at least attempts to protect every citizen's freedom to live free from discrimination- whereas in the US, the right to discriminate and to hate speech appears to be enshrined in "freedom of speech".

Here, we are free to have our opinions and to express them- but when that expression incites violence and hatred, we are no longer protected.

Also, throughout my country it is illegal for employers and service providers to discriminate with regards race, gender, marital status, family status, sexual orientation, disability, membership of the Traveller community (an Irish ethnic and cultural minority) age once one is over 18, or religion. Again, the law is on the side of the person who could be discriminated against- not the person wishing to use "freedom of expression" to justify discrimination. Again, as a member of a minority, it sure does feel good to know that, unlike in some areas of the US, it is illegal for a prospective employer to refuse me a job or to fire me because I'm queer. Or because I'm a woman. Or because I'm an agnostic. Or if I were to get pregnant. Or... or..

So yes.
Probably preaching to the choir here, but: Yep.

AMAZING.

I wanted to comment to her with this post:

Oh, the hypocrisy.

So, "you can tell me about my country, culture, heritage, political situation and politics"?

I thought there was something in the U.S. called Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act that all make it illegal to make employment decisions based on sex, race, age, religion, or ethnic group, or disabilities or etc., but I guess I'm wrong. What do I know; I just live here.

SHE IS A HYPOCRITE.

I didn't leave that comment because it's the popular thing to bash Americans in this community, and I didn't feel like getting harassed.

I KNOW I am privileged as an American. I'm just so sick of everyone acting like they don't have some form of privilege, too. I know I'm kind of wrong here. Don't tell me how, because I'm not in the mood. But I'm also kind of right. Why does everyone get to tell me what my life is like? Why do they get to tell me what my PERSONALITY is like? I'm sick of it. I'm sick of American-bashing being okay in this community. We are damned if we do, damned if we don't. I'm sick of the post-Bush era. I'm sick of being hated for things I don't do or have no control over. I'm sick of being hated sight-unseen by someone who is just as ignorant as they claim I am. I'm just sick of people ASSUMING, ASSUMING, ASSUMING. I'm sick of everyone painting everyone with the same brush.

UGH. I just hate how hypocritical people are.

And these posts days after someone made a series of oh-so-hysterical jokes about the U.S. trying to annex Canada and Mexico. They may have been funny, except for the massive, unintended irony of being told by someone from jolly, ol' "sun never sets on our empire" England.

The Experiment--Take Two.

Well. That experiment was quick.

I requested "Not Ready to Make Nice" again today.

I received this reply from the DJ:

"I can play the Dixie Chicks just not that song ~ it must fit in our format Sorry"

How doesn’t it fit your format? You don’t play award-winning songs? How is it different than any other Dixie Chicks songs? Because it’s less "country"? Shouldn’t that make it more compatible with your format, since it’s more pop and light rock-ish? Your station is basically Vh-1 on the radio—and they play the "Not Ready to Make Nice" music video. I guess the difference is that they’re aren’t owned by bigot Clear Channel.

They are playing "Landslide" by the Dixie Chicks, right this minute, though, as a replacement. It will be the last song I hear on this station.

…right after my second request of "Train in Vain" by the Clash.

The Experiment.

I am conducting an experiment with one of my local radio stations. This particular station plays mostly pop and "light rock" music. They are also owned by Clear Channel, who was behind many country music stations banning the Dixie Chicks (because Clear Channel is based in Texas, etc., and owns some 1,000 radio stations).

This radio station plays many "crossover" country artists, so I wanted to determine if they would play the Dixie Chicks, specifically their newer songs.

During their request hours, I requested "Not Ready to Make Nice" by the Dixie Chicks from one e-mail address; five minutes later, I requested "Thunder Road" by Bruce Springsteen from another e-mail address (I had to make the song distinctive enough, so I would know it wasn't requested by someone else).

My logic is that if they played Springsteen’s song and not the Dixie Chicks’ song, obviously the Dixie Chicks must be banned from this station, too (I actually think they do play the Dixie Chicks on a local country music station, as I’m sure I’ve heard "Wide Open Spaces" lately; again, though, would they play "Not Ready to Make Nice"? That’s an experiment for another time).

Unfortunately, neither request was played today. Possibly I made the requests too late—maybe too many were already ahead of me.

I am going to make two song requests every day until I determine for one way or another if they will play the Dixie Chicks.

****

Bush-gems from today’s press conference:

"Money trumps peace."

"I don't know what's going in Iraq because I'm in this beautiful White House."

Jane Eyre.

I just finished watching parts one and two of the new Jane Eyre miniseries (yea for DVR), and it is fabulous.

I love the woman playing Jane (Ruth Wilson); she's not too pretty, not too plain. I love her expressions.

I can't wait until the rest next Sunday, because obviously that's the best part with all of the drama and etc.

I think this adaptation is the best Jane Eyre I've seen--but then, they have a lot more time to work with! I was smiling like a fool during the scene where Jane tells Rochester she has to leave for two weeks, and they argue over the money and Jane is smiling and eeeee!

Ugh. I made the mistake of reading some of the message boards on imdb.com about the movie. I should have known better, though, because every discussion, about any movie or TV show, dissolves into how horrible American movies/actors/people etc., etc., etc. are. I just want to read about a movie. Thanks.

Now someone needs to make a great version of Wuthering Heights (my favorite novel of all time). I love the one with Laurence Olivier, but it's not really Wuthering Heights. The other versions aren't worth mentioning.

iMusic.

So I have fallen in love with a new artist/duo/band/whatever: Rilo Kiley. I've had their album So Adventurous for a while now, but I've mostly just listened to it peripherally, in the background, like. Lately, though, I've been paying more attention, and it's fabulous. Yesterday I got their album The Execution of all Things, and it's just as good. I can't describe their sound. It's a bit different. It's mostly a woman singer. What's hilarious is that the two people in the band were childhood actors! One was in Salute Your Shorts. Remember that show?

Um. My Safari crashed and the entry saved, but I can't remember what else I wanted to say about Rilo Kiley. Just that you should listen to them.

"I do this thing where I think I'm real sick
But I won't go to the doctor to find out about it
Cause they make you stay real still in a real small space
As they chart up your insides and put them on display.
They'd see all of it, all of me, all of it.

All the good that won't come out of me
And all the stupid lies I hide behind.
It's such a big mistake
Lying here in your warm embrace."

--"The Good That Won't Come Out," Rilo Kiley

A lot of music reviewers chose The Decemberists' The Crane Wife as album of the year. I listened to it twice the other day. I don't dislike it, but I don't hear anything special in it, either. So okayyyyy...

#2

The Constant Gardener by John le Carré

I finished The Constant Gardener last week. I wanted to read it because the movie was my favorite movie of 2006. It's an incredibly moving and beautiful story. And romantic! I love how it's a mystery with intrigue and fighting corruption and it's political and suspenseful, but that at it's heart, it's a love story. I don't know if I want to spoil it for anyone! But I just love it. I love the way Justin changes in the story. I love that he loved Tessa so much to do so.

The novel is fabulous, too, but I still prefer the movie, probably because I saw it first. I think the novel isn't as good as the movie because the movie isn't as dense as the novel. Also the novel focuses entirely on Justin's point-of-view, unlike the novel, and so I think that point is in the movie's favor, too, because his mission is the one you care about.

The novel's ending felt a bit anti-climatic to me, at first. Now I'm getting over it, though. The movie's ending is essentially the same, but the order is switched around, and so you get a bit more satisfaction. But, like I said, I'm getting over that feeling. I think the ending of the novel is growing on me.

"I read the body count out of the paper..."

"...and now it's written all over my face."

Honestly, I am amazed and grudgingly impressed at how well Bush's machine spins the truth, even in the face of ever dwindling approval ratings.

Some portion of America must continue to hang in there.

The latest spin is Condoleeza Rice's spew of "liberals are anti-feminist" (paraphrased, I'm sure).

During Rice's recent testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Barbara Boxer drew attention to the issue that the president, his administration, Congress--even Boxer herself!--have no real sacrifice or investment in the war in Iraq, no family to lose.

Rice (with Karl Rove's help, obviously) thusly accuses Boxer of being an anti-feminist and attacking Rice for being a single, childless woman!

What claptrap. I am amazed that some people are buying into this interpretation, such as Elisabitch on the View, who speaks for all sad, brainwashed conservative women. I hope she is firmly in the minority.

I wouldn't know it, though, from reading some accounts by the media! What "liberal media"? All of the major networks are owned by conservative corporations! See how talented they are?

I'm going to believe that people have greater comprehension skills of a three-year-old, because it would cause me serious pains otherwise.

Why? Because below is Boxer's actual quote:

“Who pays the price? I’m not going to pay a personal price. My kids are too old and my grandchild is too young. You’re not going to pay a particular price, as I understand it, with an immediate family. So who pays the price? The American military and their families. And I just want to bring us back to that fact.”

Did she belittle Rice for being a single-woman? Not in the way Rice means. She's calling out all of the people who expect families to fight a war they created, all of the people who are using regular citizens as mere pawns on their chessboard.

And Rice knows exactly what Boxer meant, so she can shove her mock outrage and indignation.

And shut up about how Rice can "empathize." Fuck your empathy. Empathy is not the same damn thing as seeing your sister or son or cousin come home in a body-bag. Jackass.

P.S., If anyone wants to see actual examples of "anti-feminism" from a woman, look no further than Laura Bush, who said Rice would never run for president because she has no family to support her.

Exact quote:

"Dr. Rice, who I think would be a really good candidate (for President), is not interested. Probably because she is single, her parents are no longer living, she's an only child. You need a very supportive family and supportive friends to have this job."

iMusic.

Now that I'm back to using my iMac (I using my brother's Dell while he was home for the Internet), my music is being tracked by Last.fm again. So if you want to know what I'm listening to always...



My computer is being v. slow today. The little busy rainbow-circle keeps spinning and spinning and I can't do anything. Hateful.

Bitter Blood-Fued.

I'm rather proud of myself. Both yesterday and today I work-out with Pilates for 40 minutes. Woohoo. I love my Pilates ball. Seriously, one of the moves is just bouncing on it. How fun is that?

I wish I didn't have to work on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, as the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame has free admission tomorrow. I still want to view the Clash exhibit.

Two of my cats, The Brat and Mello Yello, are engaged in a bitter blood-fued. They are both males, so they've never been best friends, but they've always at least tolerated each other. Lately, though...

I first noticed it on New Year's. I went to let The Brat outside (he's an indoor/outdoor cat; the others are strictly outdoor), and when I opened the door, he saw Mello Yello sitting on the porch. The Brat started growling when he saw Mello! I was, like, okay, tough, Brat, you have to go outside, and had to give him a little shove to get outside! Usually he runs outside to his food pan once the door is open.

And so this little behavior has continued, with the Brat freaking out if I open the door and he sees Mello Yello waiting--even if The Brat is a couple of feet away from the door. I think it's entirely one-sided, though, because Mello Yello doesn't seem to care what The Brat does (although, he did give him a swat after one of The Brat's "I'm refusing to go outside" episodes, because it is annoying).

And now I notice that The Brat is more eager to come inside, too. If I open the door, he tries rushing in and I have to open the door just a crack to grab him quick to wipe his paws. Usually, I have to call and call and cajole him to get him to come inside.

So today the cats got some really nice leftovers for dinner. I opened the door to let The Brat out, and he was being his slow self, so I picked him up and put him outside, but he just tried to run back in, and I tried to push him back out, but he was acting so pathetic and weird and I was, like, okayyyyy, because Mello Yello wasn't even on the porch and it was food time, and The Brat is a freak for food. So I let him come back inside.

But then ten minutes later, I figure the others are done eating so maybe The Brat would like a turn, so I carry him to the door, and before I even open it, he starts hissing and growling! So I fed him regular cat food inside instead. Now he's sleeping on my bed. I told him he has to go out eventually, because he doesn't have an indoor litterpan.

I don't know what his problem is with Mello Yello. Mello Yello is just a big 'ole softie. Well...not really. He's been in quite a few scraps, protecting the homestead. But he wouldn't hurt The Brat, much.

Books Read, 2007.

For my own edification, a listing of all of the books I've read in 2007. Hopefully updated regularly!

# = recommended

Fiction

The Pact: True Love Story by Jodi Picoult (discussed here)
The Time Traveler's Wife by by Audrey Niffenegger (discussed here)
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (discussed here)
# The Constant Gardener by John le Carré (discussed here)
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom (discussed here)

Nonfiction

Girls Rock!: Fifty Years of Women Making Music by Mina Carson, Tisa Lewis, and Susan M. Shaw (discussed here)
The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town by John Grisham (discussed here)
Feminism is for Everybody: Passionate Politics by bell hooks (discussed here)
# BITCHfest: Ten Years of Cultural Criticism from the Pages of Bitch Magazine edited by Lisa Jervis and Andi Zeisler (discussed here)
The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl by Timothy Egan (discussed here)

#1

I joined the 50bookchallenge over at livejournal, a community that challenges you to read 50 books a year.

I've read one book so far this year: The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom.

Someone selected this book in my book club, and I didn't enjoy it that much. I don't like Albom's style of writing.

My book club meets tonight, so I'm curious to find out our next book!

1 / 50 (2.0%)

In 2006, I read 41 books!

Crackpot.

From imdb.com:

Jolie Loves Adopted Children Differently

Angelina Jolie insists she has different feelings towards each of her kids and feels especially close to her adopted children because they've already led such a hard life. The Oscar winner has two adopted children with Brad Pitt, Maddox and Zahara, as well as their biological daughter Shiloh, who was born in May. Jolie tells Elle magazine that she's more partial towards her adopted children, saying, "I think I feel so much more for Mad and Z because they're survivors, they came through so much. Shiloh seemed so privileged from the moment she was born. I have less inclination to feel for her... I met my other kids when they were six months old, they came with personality. A newborn really is this... yes, a blob! But now she's starting to have a personality... I'm conscious that I have to make sure I don't ignore her needs just because I think the others are more vulnerable."

Wow. She is beyond messed up.

Angelina Jolie is holding *her* privilege against an innocent baby? Yes, because it's a baby's fault that her parents are rich and famous. And she's so right, a *baby* is not in any way vulnerable. Thank you for educating me, Jolie. Here I thought babies had to rely on their parents to have any of their needs met.

God, I can't stand her. Why did anyone give that crackpot children?

I hope her daughter reads these little quotes when she's twelve years old and cuts off all ties with her mother, because it would just make her like-mother-like-daughter.

Oh, Buckeyes.

I am...devastated. When Ohio State couldn't convert the firstdown toward the end of the second quarter, I had tears in my eyes. When they fumbled the football inches away from the endzone and Florida recovered it and went on to a touchdown on the next play, I was full-blown crying. I watched until the end of the third quarter, but then I was done. My poor little heart couldn't take it anymore. Plus, I had work the next day.

The Ohio State Buckeyes are Ohio's only Hope; our only great sports team. And I think they still are: they did win the Championship in 2003, they did beat Michigan this year, and I don't think a great season should be negated by one (truly horrible to watch) game. It's sad that some people buy into this "culture of winning" and that second place is no longer good enough. That's called "fair-weather fans." So if anyone disses my Buckeyes, I'll smack you upside the head (metaphorically).

They are still the number one college football team in my eyes. As one of my favorite former professors said, "Yep, if they had played this game a week or two after the Michigan game, it's a different story."

Waiting 51 days to play a championship game? That's bullshit.

Now I'm back to watching my true sports love: basketball. Go Cavs and the Golden Flashes!

Gah. No.

Um. Why are the Florida Gators, who have no business even playing in the BCS Championship, currently leading the Ohio State Buckeyes, who are beyond awesome and had a beautiful 93-yard kick-off return touchdown on the first play of the game? I am so not happy right now.

This crap is what happens when a team is off for FIFTY-ONE DAYS: two personal penalties, two quarterback sacks and an INTERCEPTION. And counting. Troy Smith, I love you, but play like you’ve won a Heisman, which, oh, right, YOU HAVE.

It’s okay, boys, you’ll get them. I have faith. And you know why, because the Gators have gotten lucky. The first personal penalty and being WRONGLY given a first-down led to their first touchdown. The second personal penalty led to WRONGLY being given a touchdown. I think the officials must be BLIND to think that who-cares-what-his-name-is scored to put the Gators in the lead, because EVERYONE saw that he had both knees down.

I don’t know if my nerves can handle watching the rest of this game.

I don’t want it to be a “good game.” I want the Gators to be CRUSHED.

OH MY GOD. It is now 21-7. WTF is going on.

Okay. Now it’s 21-14. Better, better.

E.T.A. at half-time: I'm def. crying over a football game. Lame.

Go Buckeyes!

O - H - I - O !

iTune: The McCoys - "Hang on Sloopy"

The Change.

I've noticed that since I've graduated from college, I've put on more weight than I'd like. There's no convenient gym for me to visit at home, and I'm just not as active or motivated anymore. And since I'm already a chubby person to begin with...well. It's not a good thing. Even when I did go to the gym, it was still hard to lose weight because I was at college eating college food (but, really, I think I mostly ate healthy foods).

So...I've been feeling glum about my weight and looks and general lifestyle lately, so I made a v. impulsive purchase yesterday. I still can't believe it; I usually agonize over decisions. I was telling my mom to buy the Today's Special Value on QVC yesterday, which was a a month of the NutriSystem program. She said "Why don't you buy it." So I did. And I'm not going to say the price, but it was cheaper than the one advertised on TV, etc., because it was a) through QVC and b) the Today's Special Value. If I were living by myself and had to buy my own food, I think this offer of NutriSystem would be *cheaper* than buying a month of groceries.

So I should get the package sometime around Jan. 14. I don't think I get to pick my own food or anything, because it's a special package just for QVC-members. The program is three meals a day plus snacks plus sometimes desserts. I have weekends-off, meaning I get to eat whatever I want. So I'm going to try it for a month and see what happens.

Since I'm "dieting" (although I don't really think it's a "diet," because I'm not eating *less,* I'm just eating different foods; it's a "weight loss strategy" with foods that speed up your metabolism), I figure I should work-out more, too. My mom has a stationary bike plus one of those Gliders, so I will try using them more. Plus, I want to buy this Pilates kit at K-Mart, which is on sale. If I dropped only one pantsize, I would feel rejuvenated.

And no comments like "You look fine" or etc. to make me feel better when those comments would be a) untrue and b) irrelevant, because it's how I *feel* about myself more than what I actually look like.

I have a funny story about the Brat and his new friend (which no one would ever guess), but I'll save it for another post.

Life List, Item #17

17. Visit an art gallery displaying local artists

The Curious Incident and The Bell Jar.

I haven't updated with what books I've read recently!

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
Decent.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Okay, this novel is now one of my top favorites. I'm a bit freaked out about this occurrence, but I can identify with at least 80% of the things the lead character thinks/feels/etc. in this novel-—up until the point she has a nervous breakdown, has electric shock therapy, tries to commit suicide, and winds up in a mental institution. Let's hope I'm not headed down that path, kids!

Britney Spears.

Spears says she went `a little too far'

I am not a fan of Britney Spears. But she should not have to apologize for not wearing any underwear. She should not have to apologize that photographers violated her and her privacy to get those photographs. I think it's disgusting that all people could talk about was how Britney wasn't wearing any underweare when they should have been horrified at what the photographers must have done to take those photographs. I haven't looked at them myself--because I won't violate someone's privacy that way--but people I trust over at feminist mention that the shots are at an angle where the photographer must have been beneath Spears, his camera looking up. That is repulsive and disgusting.

"Her recent nights out with party girls Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan — and those uncensored, R-rated crotch shots that were splashed across the Web — drew disapproval from her fans and other Spears watchers."

That is such bullshit. Spears did not pose for those shots, people. God.

"I knew something was wrong with me that summer, because all I could think about was the Rosenburgs and how stupid I'd been to buy all those uncomfortable, expensive clothes, hanging limp as fish in my closet, and how all the little successes I'd trotted up so happily at college fizzled to nothing outside the slick marble and plate-glass fronts along Madison Avenue."

--The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath

Coins.

I don't approve of the new $1 coins.

I think putting the faces of the presidents on the coins is redundant. I don't have a problem with honoring some of the presidents, but half of them are worthless and others have already been honored! Why can't women or minorities be on the coins? Why do we have to keep honoring dead white men? Why hasn't MLK Jr.'s face been put on money yet?

I wouldn't even have a problem with white, male authors or scientists or doctors being honored--as long as women and minorities were honored, too. Just no more dead presidents!

And these men are replacing a women's suffrage pioneer, Susan B. Anthony, and an American Indian woman, Sacagawea. No.

I don't like the hook of this article, either. "The U.S. Mint is hoping that Martin Van Buren and Millard Fillmore can do what Susan B. Anthony and Sacagawea couldn't--get Americans to use dollar coins." The coins did not fail because of who was on them!

I will take the Bill Clinton coin, though. But apparently he has to die before he can appear on the coin, so let's not hurry that, okay?

Ugh.

1) I read this blurb for a book this morning: "When America was attacked on 9/11, its citizens almost unanimously rallied behind its new, untested president as he went to war." (Blurb for The Greatest Story Ever Sold by Frank Rich, which actually I think I might be interested in reading, as the rest of the blurb reads "What they didn't know at the time was that the Bush administration's highest priority was not to vanquish Al Qaeda but to consolidate its own power at any cost. As only he can, acclaimed New York Times columnist, Frank Rich, delivers a step-by-step chronicle of how skillfully the White House built its house of cards and how the institutions that should have exposed these fictions, the mainstream news media, were too often left powerless by the administration's relentless attack machine, their own post-9/11 timidity, and an unending parade of self-inflicted scandals.")

2) I heard someone remark on The View (shh!) yesterday about how everyone is acting like they were always against the war, but how this commenter remembered how everyone was for it at the time.

What the hell. Not once did I ever support George Bush. 9/11 did not make me rally behind him. I was always against the war. I got harassed a lot for it, too. And my parents were never for either, too. And some of my friends were against it, too. So I don't know what the heck is with this belief that at one point in time everyone supported Bush and/or the war in Iraq. Because there were always people against both. We were just made to feel like second-class citizens at the time. But we were there. So no. Don't act like everyone is against the war now just because we're sick of American soldiers dying, because now it's the popular belief, because we're "losing," because we finally got smart, etc. That's just insulting.

Midterm Election.

Yea, my personal ad has been filled!

How thrilled am I with the election results? I feel like the rug will be pulled from underneath me any moment. I don't think I've ever experienced my candidate winning before! What a strange feeling, to be ahead. I'm so excited about Strickland and Brown. The US will prob. be in gridlock for two years, but at least that means Bush won't inflict more crap on us!

I can't wait until January for the smoke-free bars and restaurants!

A new woman Speaker of the House? I loved Pelosi long ago.

Some annoying correspont on CNN this morning said that the Democrats will have a lot of "rhetoric" and no action. Okay. It's not "rhetoric" if a group actually tries to accomplish something but CAN'T because they don't have a 2/3rds majority to override any Bush-veto.

And may I just say that I told lame duck Mike DeWine back in September 2005 that he should look for a new job?

That journal entry:

americablog.blogspot.com, my favorite political blog, issued an Action Alert on the Dirty Bomb 54, 54 US Senators who "KILLED legislation establishing an independent, bipartisan commission to investigate what went so horribly wrong with Hurricane Katrina."

I called and e-mailed my senators, DeWine and Voinovich, the shits, last night. I called again this afternoon because I wanted to talk to a real person.

A DeWine staffer sent me to another staffer, the one "who handled that." But that person wasn't in, so I could only leave a message. I said how disappointed I was, how 76% of Americans support it, as well as 64% Republicans, and how the panel the Republicans wanted wasn't bipartisan if Republicans outnumbered Democrats on it.

And then I wished DeWine good luck on finding a new job in November 2006, when we vote him out of office.

I then called Voinovich. The staffer gave me this reason as to why Voinovich voted against it: "it was illegally attached to an appropriations amendment." The staffer called it a "technicality."

I told him I didn't buy that reason. I then asked, if that were the real reason, if V. was going to look into an independent investigation in the future. Staffer said V. hadn't taken a position yet.

I told him about that 76% of Americans supported an independent investigation, including 64% of Republicans.

Staffer: "I'll be sure to pass that information on to him, miss."

I said (sarcastic), "Yeah, I'm sure you will."

He then hung up on me.

Go me!

"Letters to God end up in ocean, unread"

Letters to God end up in ocean, unread

This story made my heart hurt. I think it's beautiful and sad. I think someone should compile these together and publish them—with the writers listed as anonymous, of course.

He opened a few with his son, Rocky, on the beach. The first few were humorous.

"I'm still praying to hit the lottery twice: first the $50,000," one man wrote. "Than after some changes have taken place let me hit the millionaire."

Another asked God to make a certain someone "leave me alone and stay off my back," while still another asks God to calm a woman who "call the Internal Revenue on me."

One woman complained that her husband always talks about sex, and another writer anonymously dropped a dime to God on someone cheating on his wife, complete with dates, times and locations.

But those, Lacovara soon found, were the exception.

Many more were written by anguished spouses, children or widows, pouring out their hearts to God, asking for help with relatives who were using drugs, gambling or cheating on them. One man wrote from prison, saying he was innocent and wanted to be back home with his family. A woman wrote that her boyfriend was now closing the door to her daughter's bedroom each night when it used to stay open, and wondered why.

A teenager poured out her heart on yellow-lined paper in the curlicue pencil handwriting of a schoolgirl, begging God to forgive her and asking for a second chance.

"Lord, I know that I have had an abortion and I killed one of your angels," she wrote. "There is not a day that goes by that I don't think about the mistake I made."

One unwed mother wrote that her baby was due in four weeks, and asked God to make the father fall in love with her and marry her so the child would have a father.

However, I don't like how the man who found the letters is exploiting them by putting them on Ebay.

Blah Madonna.

Madonna adoption plans trigger broad backlash

Did you really think I could resist writing about one of my least favorite people ever?

My problems with this issue have nothing to do with the father wanting the child back (does he even?) or whatever...

Actually, it partly is.

"Madonna's supporters point out that she is donating considerable time and money to Malawi and that, on balance, the boy stands to gain.

'Angelina Jolie, Meg Ryan and Mia Farrow have done it too, drawing criticism of rich celebrities, western arrogance, racism and fashionably cute babies. But surely what counts most is the happiness of one child?' Britain's Guardian newspaper wrote in an editorial."

Excuse me. The boy wouldn't be happy with his natural father? Does the Guardian or anyone else have some kind of proof that the parent is an abuser or etc.?

Go to hell, Guardian. You hacks.

What the hell is with the implication that Madonna would be a better parent because she's wealthy, white, and rich? Eff that shit. If these reasons decided whom could best take care of the kid and not biology, wouldn't a lot of lower- and middle-class parents have their children taken away from them and given to rich couples? So people really want to set that precedent?

My main problem is that Madonna decides on a fricken whim that she wants to adopt a child, and poof! It happens. While other parents--who do not already have children!--have to wait years and have their entire life investigated and etc., etc.

Also: "Malawian law bans adoptions by non-residents, but officials are granting an exemption to Madonna."

UGH.

Studio 60.

Readers: We're still high on 'Studio 60'

Please let this article be true.

I had a nightmare last night that Studio 60 was going to be canceled. No more Bradley Whitford every week? Nooooo!

Please start watching this show!

Plan B.

Plan B is going to be available over-the-counter soon, but until then women have to deal with crap like this: Blogger Denied EC by Every Hospital within 100 Miles.

In Ohio.

It is a v. slippery slope when pharmacists and doctors are allowed to deny people medication because of "morals."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm against smoking. Your lung cancer is pretty much your own damn fault, so I refuse to fill/prescribe these prescriptions to help you fight it."

"I don't believe in 'depression.' It is in indeed all in your head, but not because of a chemical imbalance in your brain. If you want to start feeling happy, then stop acting like a damn crybaby about things. I'm not filling/prescribing this Paxil prescription."

Ugh.

On a lighter note, I dressed the Brat in baby clothes. He wasn't all that amused.

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls.

"Walls has joined the company of writers such as Mary Karr and Frank McCourt who have been able to transform their sad memories into fine art." -- People

I've just finished one of the best (if not the best) memoirs I've ever read: href="http://www.amazon.com/Glass-Castle-Memoir-Jeannette-
Walls/dp/074324754X/sr=8-1/qid=1158259576/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-8745101-
4337517?ie=UTF8&s=books">The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls.

I'm not the best at describing books or why I like them, so instead I give you some obersvations from people who are paid to review books:

Book Description:

The Glass Castle is a remarkable memoir of resilience and redemption, and a revelatory look into a family at once deeply dysfunctional and uniquely vibrant. When sober, Jeannette's brilliant and charismatic father captured his children's imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and how to embrace life fearlessly. But when he drank, he was dishonest and destructive. Her mother was a free spirit who abhorred the idea of domesticity and didn't want the responsibility of raising a family.

The Walls children learned to take care of themselves. They fed, clothed, and protected one another, and eventually found their way to New York. Their parents followed them, choosing to be homeless even as their children prospered.

The Glass Castle is truly astonishing -- a memoir permeated by the intense love of a peculiar, but loyal, family. Jeannette Walls has a story to tell, and tells it brilliantly, without an ounce of self-pity.

Amazon.com

Jeannette Walls's father always called her "Mountain Goat" and there's perhaps no more apt nickname for a girl who navigated a sheer and towering cliff of childhood both daily and stoically. In The Glass Castle, Walls chronicles her upbringing at the hands of eccentric, nomadic parents--Rose Mary, her frustrated-artist mother, and Rex, her brilliant, alcoholic father. To call the elder Walls's childrearing style laissez faire would be putting it mildly. As Rose Mary and Rex, motivated by whims and paranoia, uprooted their kids time and again, the youngsters (Walls, her brother and two sisters) were left largely to their own devices. But while Rex and Rose Mary firmly believed children learned best from their own mistakes, they themselves never seemed to do so, repeating the same disastrous patterns that eventually landed them on the streets. Walls describes in fascinating detail what it was to be a child in this family, from the embarrassing (wearing shoes held together with safety pins; using markers to color her skin in an effort to camouflage holes in her pants) to the horrific (being told, after a creepy uncle pleasured himself in close proximity, that sexual assault is a crime of perception; and being pimped by her father at a bar). Though Walls has well earned the right to complain, at no point does she play the victim. In fact, Walls' removed, nonjudgmental stance is initially startling, since many of the circumstances she describes could be categorized as abusive (and unquestioningly neglectful). But on the contrary, Walls respects her parents' knack for making hardships feel like adventures, and her love for them--despite their overwhelming self-absorption--resonates from cover to cover. --Brangien Davis

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Freelance writer Walls doesn't pull her punches. She opens her memoir by describing looking out the window of her taxi, wondering if she's "overdressed for the evening" and spotting her mother on the sidewalk, "rooting through a Dumpster." Walls's parents—just two of the unforgettable characters in this excellent, unusual book—were a matched pair of eccentrics, and raising four children didn't conventionalize either of them. Her father was a self-taught man, a would-be inventor who could stay longer at a poker table than at most jobs and had "a little bit of a drinking situation," as her mother put it. With a fantastic storytelling knack, Walls describes her artist mom's great gift for rationalizing. Apartment walls so thin they heard all their neighbors? What a bonus—they'd "pick up a little Spanish without even studying." Why feed their pets? They'd be helping them "by not allowing them to become dependent." While Walls's father's version of Christmas presents—walking each child into the Arizona desert at night and letting each one claim a star—was delightful, he wasn't so dear when he stole the kids' hard-earned savings to go on a bender. The Walls children learned to support themselves, eating out of trashcans at school or painting their skin so the holes in their pants didn't show. Buck-toothed Jeannette even tried making her own braces when she heard what orthodontia cost. One by one, each child escaped to New York City. Still, it wasn't long before their parents appeared on their doorsteps. "Why not?" Mom said. "Being homeless is an adventure." --Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Freebies / Life List.

Recent items received that I discovered through freestuff:

Ban Paradise Winds Deodorant
Sunsilk Hair Care 3-pc Set
Nair Hair Removal
Halo Pet Treats
Tiger Woods Foundation 'Start Something' Kit
Arbor Day Book and Poster

The Brat is not all interested in the catnip from Halo. He basically shows no reaction from smelling or eating it. At first I thought he did because he attacked the bag it was in at first, but then I realized that he just attacks everything. It's prob. best if catnip doesn't affect him, because he's already fairly crazy.

Item added to my Life List:

16. Eat at a sushi bar

Look at the Date.

I haven't watched any of the memorials or human interest stories or "how the U.S. has changed" or etc. (the polite term for it) segments on the television this week. I just...don't want to. Too many emotions would come from them, bad or good. I don't think I'll ever be able to watch any of those movies dealing with September 11th.

It just feels surreal still. I can't believe what happened. I can't believe what terrorists and OUR OWN government have done to us. I can't even read lj entries about it because I never know if they will make me want to cry or throw something--either at the media or the government or the poster. Wow. I think I just realized George W. Bush makes me angrier than terrorists. Maybe because they are abstract and so far away and Bush is supposed to be HELPING us, not making everything so much, much worse.

But I did watch Ellen today, and she had a segment about a woman, Ann Nelson, who died in one of the World Trade Center Towers. A while after she died, her parents found her Life List on her computer. (Ellen has been all about life lists this season: those lists where you write down everything you want to do/be in life.) Ann's story has been in The New York Times, Cosmopolitan, etc., and she has inspired people to keep their own life list (one such woman was also on Ellen, with Ann's parents). Her list was all about bettering herself and the people around her, not superficial things like "own a car" (which might actually be a big thing for some people).

I don't know what is was about her and her story. It was her picture, her parents, her love of life, the woman she inspired and what she told Ann's parents, the shots of her actual list...But my mom and I looked at each other, and my mom was crying, and I said, "I know! I feel like crying!" and then I started crying and...even if I had spent all day watching stories about 9/11, no other story would have touched me as much.

I tried to find something online about her with no luck.

I should make a Life List...but I'm almost afraid to. Like I'm afraid I'll never accomplish anything on it. I don't even know what I'd put on it.

ETA: I found The New York Times's article! Read it below.

***

May 17, 2006
About New York
Hope, Saved on a Laptop
By DAN BARRY

For a long time, Ann Nelson’s laptop computer remained dark.

It had been returned to her family in North Dakota, along with the other belongings she left behind in that great city 1,750 miles to the east. She was 30, lively, working near the very top of the World Trade Center, and — you already know.

In the small town of Stanley, halfway between Minot and Williston, a fog thick enough to blur time’s passing enveloped the Nelson home. Amid the many tributes to Ann, amid the grieving and the absence, it became hard to remember just when and how the laptop wound up in the basement of the one-story bank that the family owned.

There the laptop sat, for years, tucked away from sight in a black case. It was a Dell Inspiron 8000, bought shortly before Ann called home that day in early 2001 to say she had gotten a job as a bond trader at Cantor Fitzgerald — in New York! Soon she was living near the corner of Thompson and Spring, and working in an office 104 stories in the air.

Ann’s parents, Jenette and Gary Nelson, say the laptop remained unopened because they are not computer savvy. But it was more than that, Mrs. Nelson admits. “To tell you the truth, it was just too painful.”

Three summers ago, during an art class Mrs. Nelson was teaching in that basement, a couple of students showed her how to use the computer. After the class, she says, “I just left it there.”

Who knows why never becomes someday, and someday becomes today. One day last fall — “when I got to feeling stronger,” she says — Mrs. Nelson finally opened her daughter’s computer. She pushed its power button and started by looking at the photographs stored in its memory.

Soon Mrs. Nelson was learning how to play the computer’s games, including solitaire and hearts. These distractions both relaxed her and reminded her of the games she used to play with Ann. Somehow, this little black machine made Ann seem present, there beside her.

Getting lost in the computer became part of Mrs. Nelson’s after-work ritual, though she never bothered to open a file that said “Top 100″; probably some music, she figured. Then, two months ago and who knows why, click.

What she found was a catalog of goals, humanly incomplete: a list that reflected a young woman’s commitment to the serious, to the frivolous, to all of life. That night, Mr. and Mrs. Nelson sat down with the list, and were with their daughter again.

1. Be healthy/ healthful. 2. Be a good friend. 3. Keep secrets. 4. Keep in touch with people I love and that love me. 5. Make a quilt.

Mrs. Nelson used to sew all the time, until it simply became too hard to guide a needle properly with a joyous little girl frolicking in her lap. Then, when Ann grew older, mother and daughter decided to sew a tablecloth.

“I don’t think we ever finished,” Mrs. Nelson says, laughing. “She had to be doing 100 things at a time, and consequently some of them didn’t get finished.”

As for this goal of making a quilt, she adds, “I’m sure that I would probably have been deeply involved in this process.”

6. Nepal. 7. Buy a home in North Dakota. 8. Get a graduate degree. 9. Learn a foreign language. 10. Kilimanjaro. 11. Never be ashamed of who I am.

“Ann was in many environments where being a girl from North Dakota may not have been the most sophisticated label to wear,” Mrs. Nelson says, recalling that her daughter had traveled to China and to Peru, and had worked in the high-powered environments of Chicago and New York.

Even so, Ann always conveyed pride in who she was, who her parents were and where they came from — though never in a boastful way. “It’s an important point about her personality,” her mother says.

12. Be a person to be proud of. 13. Always keep improving. 14. Read every day. 15. Be informed. 16. Knit a sweater. 17. Scuba-dive in the Barrier Reef. 18. Volunteer for a charity. 19. Learn to cook.

By her late 20’s, Ann had actually become a fairly decent cook. Still, her mother laughs in recalling late-night calls, like the one that began: “Mom, what’s drawn butter?”

20. Learn about art. 21. Get my C.F.A. 22. Grand Canyon. 23. Helicopter-ski with my dad.

Then Ann Nelson’s list repeats a number.

23. Spend more time with my family. 24. Remember birthdays!!!!

Birthdays loomed large in Ann’s life. She would celebrate her birthday not for a day, but for a week — in part because her father’s birthday came the very next day, in part because she was proud to have been born on Norwegian Independence Day — which is May 17, today.

“Ann would have been 35,” says Mr. Nelson, who turns 65 tomorrow.

25. Appreciate money, but don’t worship it. 26. Learn how to use a computer. 27. Visit the New York Public Library. 28. Maine. 29. Learn to write. 30. Walk — exercise but also see the world firsthand. 31. Learn about other cultures. 32. Be a good listener. 33. Take time for friends. 34. Kayak. 35. Drink water. 36. Learn about wine.

Ann was supposed to attend a wine class the evening of Sept. 11, in keeping with Nos. 13, 19, 31, 36 — the whole list, really.

After 36, there is a 37, but it is blank.

Mr. Nelson reads the list as an inventory of his daughter’s values. “You don’t see any Corvettes in the garage or any of those material things you might expect from someone that age,” he says. “She recognized that you appreciate a few things and kind of live your life wisely.”

Mrs. Nelson interprets the list as another way in which Ann seems to communicate with her when she is most in need. So, just about every day in a small North Dakota town, halfway between Minot and Williston, the screen of a laptop computer goes from darkness to light.

E-mail: dabarry@nytimes.com

My Life List--Updated Regularly.

1. Love myself
2. Don't worry so much
3. Keep in contact with my friends/resist being a hermit
4. Learn how to knit or crochet (even if it's something small!)
5. Read at least one book a month
6. Don't let people get away with being bad friends
7. Dance (badly if necessary)
8. Don't take my anger/frustration out on other people
9. Finish a novel (publication would be lovely, but not necessary)
10. See panda bears in person
11. Visit the ocean
12. Don't feel guilty for saying "no"
13. Volunteer for a political campaign
14. Write letters to editors/politicians/newscastors
15. Keep improving
16. Eat at a sushi bar
17. Visit an art gallery displaying local artists

Steve Irwin. : (

omg!

Steve Irwin was killed this morning.

I used to love watching his show when I was younger. : ( That is sad. His poor kids.

Tom Cruise.

Aw, 'lil Tom Cruise is trying to do damage control now that no one wants to watch his movies.

Tom Apologizes to Brooke.

"'[Cruise] came over to my house, and he gave me a heartfelt apology,' the actress told Tonight host Jay Leno. 'And through it all, I was so impressed with how heartfelt it was.'

Won over, Shields accepted the apology, she said."

Um. Isn't he, you know, an actor?

I still think he's bat-shit crazy. Of course, I never liked him even before the whole brainwashed Scientology-thing.

Ugh. I hate people who think they're doctors. You don't understand the effing history of psychiatry, either, asshat.

I actually rather like this article.

"Cruise, who has never given birth, accused Shields, who has, of spreading 'misinformation.'"

Ha!

Right On.

"Let's be honest. Sometimes there's nothing harder in life than being happy for somebody else." --Carrie Bradshaw

Oh, Sex and the City. I had forgotten how much I loved you.

Al Gore = Sexy.

"I actually was not intending to be here tonight, but then MTV explained that Justin Timberlake was bringing sexy back, [so here I am]." --Al Gore, at the MTV Video Music Awards [which I did not watch, snooze and (mostly) mediocore music, but did see a clip of this OBVIOUS highlight of the night]

Hahaha.

Oh, Al Gore. I wish you were our president.

The Daily Show

`Daily Show' to Take Road Trip to Ohio

Why couldn't they have chosen to come to Cleveland?!

To tell the truth, though, I don't want to watch a week of shows poking fun at Ohio. We already have enough asshats blaming Bush's victory on Ohio voters (to which I say, it takes more than one state to elect a president, effers, and at least our state was CLOSE, which is more than I can say for some of you other losers), so I don't care to have more whining about it thrown our way.

Senseo! Computer Crashes!

Soooo...remember how I was having problems with my iMac? Yeah. Last night the thing went K-A-B-O-O-M and now I have to reinstall all of my software, etc. I managed to save some of my music and files, but most everything else is gone. Oh, well. I had too much crap music on it anyway; I kind of like starting over. But my computer crashing is more proof that I fail at everything.

Although, I do think I won this Senseo Gourmet Coffee maker (something else I discovered on freestuff).

!!! It says I should receive one in 2-3 weeks, but I'll believe it when I see it, knowing my luck. But how awesome! I don't even drink coffee, but it's so cute, I must have it on my counter! I hope I get a red one, but I doubt it.

And to think I almost didn't finish the survey-thingy for it, because it took f-o-r-e-v-e-r!

"Where do you go,
With your broken heart in tow,
What do you do with the leftover you?
And how do you know,
When to let go,
Where does the good go,
Where does the good go?"
--Tegan and Sara, "Where Does the Good Go?"

How much do I love Tegan and Sara? Quite a lot.

K-Fed and Dumb iMac.

So I watched part of this teen award show the other night.

Kevin Federline performed.

...I've been listening to a lot of indie/non-mainstream music lately anyway, but if Kevin Federline ever has a hit song, I swear I will stop listening to the radio, full stop.

So bad. So v. bad.

A-n-d my iMac is really getting on my nerves. Every once in a while it seems to randomnly delete some of my application files. Mysteriously all of my games, calendar, fonts, etc. disappeared today. I had to re-install Panther, which is effing annoying because then all of the applications revert to the old ones, so I have to download the updates, but I can't on this s-l-o-w modem, and then I have the previous system files that won't delete and sdgjldflg;lfl. People always say Macs have no problems, but that's a lie. I've had many problems with mine (but I still love it, I just don't think they're perfect and/or superior). If I ever get a laptop, because of these random problems, and because NO applications work on Macs unless you're willing to pay $50 more, and because Mac users have chips on their shoulders, I'm getting a PC again.

Wrong, Movie Makers.

Re: Previews for Barnyard.

Well, that's the first evidence I've ever seen of a male "cow" having udders! And two of them, to boot (possibly more?). There must be something going on at that "barnyard."

I write male "cow" because there's no such thing.

cow (also heifer) = female
steer = neutered male
bull = male

There's your agricultural lesson for the day, kids.

My favorite breed of cattle, by the way, is the Shorthorn. ; )

Seriously, though, shouldn't an animation company have people who check these things out? Oh, silly biology, what's wrong with you? Getting in the way with aesthetics like that.

Music & Freebies.

I recently attended a Billy Currington concert. I had other reasons to be a bit (naturally) cheerful that night, but I had a good time! I thought he put on a good show, but some people weren't happy with the sound system. Oh, well. I do wish he had some better material, but it could just be because I wasn't familiar with most of the songs.

But, whew! He is s-e-x-y. Also, anyone who sings "Family Tradition" by Hank Williams, Jr. is okay in my book (that was the highlight of the show for me!). He also sang some AC/DC, which was fun.

I could have gone backstage and met him, but, eh. I declined because I'm not really into meeting celebrities.

One thing that really made me like him: apparently Billy Currington, during contract negotiations with the venue where he played, had a requirement that the venue not charge over a certain amount for the tickets (which eventually cost $5.00--what a deal!). What a stand-up guy! See, U2, not everyone charges their fans an arm and a leg for tickets simply because they can.

---

I love George Strait's new song, "Give it Away." But the voice does not sound at all like him at first! I think the song sounds like something Conway Twitty would have sung.

---

Free stuff I've received so far from listings on :

Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo Personal Pak
V. cute! I got the flower design, because it was the only one in-stock. I received it in less than a week. Unfortunately, though, I got my Ortho from the college's medical center, and they have special packaging for students, so it doesn't fit in the pak. : ( Once I start getting it from a regular pharmacy, though, I should be able to use it.

---

Has anyone else seen the video for "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley? Isn't it wicked? With the ink blots? I love the song, too.

---

Why do companies think they have to have such hi-tech websites? I've been waiting for a Post-It website to load for f-o-r-e-v-e-r. I get that they want a cool website, but they're Post-It. I'm about ready to leave, and that will teach them for not thinking about people on modems!

Such Great Heights.

I've always loved Iron & Wine's version of "Such Great Heights": the haunting, folk version.

Today I listened to the Postal Service's version for the first time.

...no, no, no!

I know it was the Postal Service's song first, but they completely ruined the song! I love electronica, but to hear those lyrics with electronica music? It's jarring. I feel like all of the emotion has been sapped out of the song. There's nothing there in the Postal Service's version. It's too fast-paced, too upbeat. Ew. Just ew.

The Brat and Freebies.

At about 7:30 a.m., I was washing my hands in the upstairs bathroom. I looked in the doorway, and a fat, brat cat is looking at me and purring! I thought maybe mom had let him inside this morning when she left for work, but she said she hadn't when I asked her when she got home! The little Brat snuck in to see me. Aw.

Speaking of the Brat, we think we saw one of his siblings at the county fair this week (you may know that the Brat came to our house last summer by hitching a ride in my dad's truck after a meeting at the fairgrounds one night). She was about the same height and length as the Brat, with coloring that might suggest the same parents, but v. skinny and sickly looking. I was a bit upset, and mom said I couldn't save all the cats in the world. It's just v. sad. The Brat could look like that, if he weren't such a little sneak. : ( Now he's so pretty and soft and healthy. I love the little baha.

Okay, I am obsessed with freestuff. People post links to free stuff, like free samples of Dove soap, organizers from Office Depot, etc. Hey, when you're a poor college graduate, that stuff can help! A lot of the posts won't show up unless you're a member. But I think there are some cool and useful things (but also some junk)! I joined it, but didn't friend it. This way I can read the posts on their journal without my friendslist being spammed by them.

Favorite Artist of the Moment: Butterfly Boucher.

At the moment I'm listening to a lot of indie/non-mainstream music.

A lot of the music I'm listening to has been featured on Grey's Anatomy, which has the best soundtrack ever heard on television.

The show gives a lot of play to women and indie artists. It's an awesome show, but I'd watch it for the music alone. (You can just look up who has had songs featured on it, though. This Amazon page is a good starting point.)

A few of my favorite artists at the moment (whom you should check out):

Snow Patrol
Tegan and Sara
Jem
Psapp
Lisa Loeb
Brandi Carlile
Emiliana Torrini
Ivy

But my absolute favorite artist at the moment is the fabulous Butterfly Boucher. This woman writes her own songs and plays all of the instruments. Amazing!

I've heard about five songs from her album Flutterby, and they are all hits, in my opinion. I don't write about music v. well, I just know what I like, so you'd be better off reading how other people describe it. But some of the songs are upbeat and fun, and some are v. haunting.

My favorite song by her at the moment is "Never Leave Your Heart Alone." There's a point in the song where her voice gives me chills. Obviously, this song is not one of the upbeat ones!

"And it's open
For distraction
You found all the words you need
Well I found nothing
I just grumble
'cause I don't know what I feel

The moral to the story goes
Never leave your heart
Never leave your heart...alone

Run for shelter
An umbrella
Fights the rain but not the wind
And I'd be silly
To start preaching
'cause I don't know which point to make!

The moral to the story goes
Never leave your heart
In a box
Locked up
With cold cold ice
Never leave your heart
...Never leave your heart...alone

Am I frozen?
But it's summer!
Is that rain or is that me?
Yes I'm melting
Please be happy
One day soon
We might just swim

The moral to the story goes
Never leave your heart
In a box
Locked up with cold cold ice
Never leave your heart
...Never leave your heart
...Never leave your heart alone"

--Butterfly Boucher, "Never Leave Your Heart Alone"

Sharks and Our Flat World.

I have always been fascinated by marine life. For some reason, I just feel very drawn to and connected with water [even though the only water I've ever seen in person (basically) is Lake Erie!]. I used to want to be a marine biologist, actually. Still do, really.

Anyway! So lately I've been watching a lot of marine life shows on the Discovery Channel. Last week was Shark Week.

I watched a lot of fascinating shows. Great White Sharks are so amazing! There were numerous shots of them flinging their entire body out of the water and into the air as they went after seals and turtles (sad!). They're a huge animal, so to be able to do that? Wow.

And sharks aren't predators to humans. It's not part of their evolution to think of us as food. When people are bitten, most of the time it's because sharks think we're seals. Sharks are close to humans in the water all the time (without us knowing) and don't attack us. In one of the shows, there was footage of a man in a helicopter spying a couple of huge Great Whites in the water--and if they looked huge from the air...--and then noting how fifty feet away was a beach full of people (and noting that he sees this all the time).

Then I watched a new special on giant squids. Did you know more people have walked on the moon than have dived more than five miles in the ocean? The ocean is so mysterious and beautiful.

Anyway, a giant squid has never been filmed alive. A Japanese scientist and his friends created this camera that could go deep in the ocean and automatically snap photos every thirty seconds. After several tries and misses with it, they got about 400 photos of a giant squid. They were still photographs, but the show put them together in sequence and showed it like a slide-show. Magical!

Can you imagine how these scientists must feel? What a breakthrough. But it's still not as good as a film of them would be!

And just like in the myths, sperm whales and giant squids do fight! Squids are what the sperm whales eat, and the whales have scars from fights with them. Crazy!

I borrowed The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou from the library so I can see pretty (and fake) sea animals.

Do you know what else you can borrow from the library? CDs. Awesome! I borrowed Nina Simone's Remembering and Ani DiFranco's Knuckle Down. And what do you think I'm going to do with them?

I've started to read The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century by Thomas L. Friedman, which is not exactly what I thought it was about. I'm freaked out, though. Did you know some accounting firms outsource our tax returns to people in India? And that this practice will probably be the norm in a decade? And that some hospitals outsource the reading of our CAT scans to people in India and Australia? Um. Not cool. All this after only reading about twenty pages? Ack.

P.S. I hate my slow-ass Internet connection. I've been trying to download something for several days now, and it ain't happening. Every time I get up to 70-90% done, the Internet conks out and I have to start all over! Gah.

ETA: Yea! I finally got it downloaded. *does a little dance*

Moving.

Hey, kids.

From now on, I will be posting to this livejournal blog: iWoman.

I have moved all of my entries here over to there.

I've had a livejournal in the past. They are much more user-friendly. On blogger you can, what, only type entries!

On livejournal, you can have user icons. You can respond directly to someone's comment, and the person will receive notification that you replied (if they also have an lj). You can have tags like "politics" and "books." People can click on the tags they want and only read blog entries that relate to those topics. You can put things in your memories, so you have easy access to your favorite posts (by you and other people).

You can easily friend people and communities! That way you can read all of the blogs you are interested in on one page, instead of having to click each person's individual blog.

LJ is much more about interaction. You can type in interests and find communities and people that like the same things as you.

I will still have my blogger, but I will not update it. I'm only keeping it so I can respond to my friends' blog entries here. But the cool people have lj.

Delete.

How pissed am I over Bush's stem cell bill veto?

Don't Save Screech's House.

...sometimes people MIND-BOGGLE me.

Remember Saved by the Bell and Screech? Well, now Screech a.k.a., the "comedian" and "actor" Dustin Diamond, wants us to pay $15 for a dumb-ass t-shirt so he can SAVE HIS HOUSE, a.k.a. MANSION.

I was watching The View (yes, really) and Dustin Diamond seriously came on the show and was all, "woe is me, help me save my house because I'm BROKE, blahblahblah." What, and the rest of us WORKING CLASS aren't broke? Why don't you just buy a house you can AFFORD like the rest of us?

For the basic story, read the article (and the scathing comments) here. Or you can read his boo-hoo side at his website (I feel dirty even linking there).

At first I was, like, what the hell? Then, for a moment, I pitied him (because he and his girlfriend lost their only child last year). Now I'm the point of, whoah! The nerve of celebrities, you know? They feel so entitled. They SCREW UP, and want us, the little people, to bail them out. The part that really burns me is how he tries to play it like HE'S the little guy getting screwed over. Um, no, you're not, guy. You got in over your head and now want to act like it's everyone else's fault.

I love this part: "'Let's face it, if he can't find the time to work on a mortgage for a famous celebrity, how will he handle the average person?'"

ENTITLEMENT.

I DON'T FEEL SORRY FOR YOU, DUSTIN DIAMOND.

The man has no pride. I mean, how embarrassing to come on national TV and BEG like a dog in a manger.

If his "situation" happened to us "normal" people, we'd be screwed. No one would bail us out. And he should be no different, because if you buy his t-shirt, don't delude yourself into thinking he cares one bit about you or would help you out of a pinch. That's the part to remember, if you start to feel sorry for or empathetic with him. One moment he's saying he's just like us; the next moment he wants to use his celebrity. I'm not buying. You have problems just like us? Then deal with them just like us. Not making any money being a stand-up comedian? Then realize YOU AREN'T FUNNY and move on. Also? Dustin Diamond doesn't get to label his OWN t-shirts "potential cult-classics." He doesn't get to be the determiner of that.

Ah, I love the smell of righteous indignation in the morning. Next thing you know, Urkel will want help paying for his yacht!

But, seriously now, kids. What a CLIFFHANGER!!! I hate those. I am biting my nails over here! Will we have to wait until next season to find out if ZACK saves the day for Screech again? Will Screech hear a lecture from Mr. Belding about the importance of saving money? Will Lisa Turtle finally go with him to the spring dance?!? Tune in next week (or year?!?), on Saved by the Bell Screech's House.

And Christ! Could people just GET OVER IT and let gay people marry ALREADY?

iTune: Get Set Go--"Wait"
iMood: aggravated

My Webcam Obsession.

During the school year, I was obsessed with watching a webcam of Pete's Pond in Africa, through National Geographic. I'd watch for elephants, zebras, crocodiles, etc. to come to the pond. It was so exciting! I know it's basically just like watching any wildlife show, but it was real time. The webcam was taken off for the rainy season, and I could no longer watch it. : (

But now National Geographic has a webcam that allows you to watch grizzly bears come to a pond in Alaska! Awesome. I haven't seen any bears yet, though. : (

There are tons of animal webcams out there. Panda bears are on the cover of National Geographic this month--so cute!--and you can watch panda beasr, cheetas, gorillas, kiwis, TIGERS, etc. webcams at the National Zoo's website. Baby tigers! I want to squeeze them.

iTunes: Sophie Milman--"Back Home to Me"
iMood: anxious

Summer Reading.

Latest novel read: The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank.

The type of women who read chick-lit can relate to chick-lit, and that's why the genre is so enjoyable and popular--because there's a lot of us singletons! Although people outside the genre might think it's "silly," it's really not. Or if if it is, then I guess most Western women's lives are silly. Sometimes women need to read about people who can be them or their friends and also realize that they aren't the only ones who experience the ordinary kinds of embarrassments, failures, and heartbreaks. We can't all be Scarlett O'Hara and Jane Eyre.

Portions of The Girls' Guide made me smile--amusedly or ruefully--because I understood how the narrator felt or I've been there. The Girls' Guide isn't the most successful chick-lit out there, for me, but it's mostly enjoyable. My main problem is that two chapters threw me completely out of the novel. Most of the book is a first-person POV of the character Jane. But then there is one chapter from the first-person POV of a character who has had no presence--or even a mention--in the novel at that point, and then she--and all of the strangers she brought with her--just disappear for the rest of the novel. I was left thinking, "what just happened here?" Another chapter is a second-person POV, which I dislike anyway, that is completely random and, again, "wtf?"

Also, Jane doesn't end up with the man I prefer! Urgh! And the synopsis on the book-flap is pretty much not-at-all what the book is about!

But I think it has a good "lesson" for women. Women are always told we have to follow certain "rules" of dating, even in modern times! Jane went her own way for most of her adult life, but then she got discouraged about dating, like we all do, and started to buy into "the rules." But eventually she realizes, hello!, men prefer her just the way she is, without those silly high school games.

So, yeah, it's enjoyable, but not recommendable. Go read Bridget Jones's Diary be Helen Fielding instead.

Three latest Oprah's Book Club books read: The Meanest Thing to Say, The Best Way to Play, and The Treasure Hunt by Bill Cosby.

Um. I still can't quite figure out why these books are on an adult's reading list. I guess they would be good for parents to read to their children, because they do offer up some alternate solutions to dealing with problems, such as bullies.

Latest memoir read (that is also part of Oprah’s Book Club): Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail by Malika Oufkir. If this book were fiction, everyone would say it’s so unbelievable! But it’s a true story, and once again truth is stranger than fiction.

Stolen Lives is a memoir of Malika Oufkir, who was adopted by the King of Morocco when she was a young girl—not because her parents were dead or because they wanted her to be adopted, but because the king wanted his daughter to grow up with Malika. The king dies and his son takes the throne and raises Malika. When she is nineteen, her real father (Malika has been living with her real parents for several years at this point) tries to stage a coup de taut and assassinate the king. The attempt fails. Malika’s father is executed for this offense, and Malika, her mother, five siblings, and two servants are then put in prison for twenty years. One of her brothers was only three-years-old at the time of their imprisonment.

This memoir has a lot of promise, but I don’t think it lives up to it. The writing is merely decent. Background isn’t given, details are inconsistent, etc.

Also? As a girl, Malika was a spoiled brat (having lots of things isn’t what makes her spoiled, it’s her attitude) and she continues to be incredibly self-absorbed as a prisoner and adult, and at times I found her irritating and unsympathetic as a narrator. She barely acknowledges the sacrifice of two faithful servants who volunteered to go into exile with the family. She also barely comments on how the rest of the family cope and feel about their imprisonment—or what happens to them when they are finally released. I think two are mentioned to have had children, but that’s it.

And she’s so vain. During their imprisonment, she comments about how one of her sisters is “letting herself go” in terms of looks (in this case, meaning she’s getting fat), and they give this girl a nickname that has to do with fatness. They barely receive any food during their imprisonment, scraps that they have to divide between nine people, and Malika makes this sister go on a diet! Isn’t that outrageous? I v. much doubt that this sister was in any way overweight.

I also found her blasé attitude toward suicide troubling. I’m not talking about the various suicide attempts of the family during their imprisonment. I’m talking about how as an eight-year-old (and later again at fourteen), pampered little princess, Malika tried to kill herself. An eight-year-old shouldn’t even know what suicide is, let alone attempt it!

Ugh. So, yes, while Malika went through a horrible ideal and is admirable for surviving it (and so are the rest of the prisoners, which she tends to forget), I don’t like her as a person all that much.

iTune: Yo-Yo Ma--"Unaccompanied Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007: I. Prélude"
iMood: tired