Since we didn't name them last time...

It's come to our attention that between the bunch of us here we come across way too many things to post about during the week so we need a place to share those things that are interesting but maybe not interesting enough for a full post or perhaps there's not enough time in the week to post on them. To that end we present to you our roundup for the week (mental note, come up with clever or cool name).

Are you interested in blogging but don't have the resources to open a full time shop of your own? Do you already run your own shop but would like to join a group? Have something to say that and want a place to say it? Then give us a holler over at ethecofem[at]gmail[dot]com. Please forgive the age of these links. And feel free to share what you've come across this week.

State holds off on all-boys charter school; possible bias against girls cited: "State officials are withholding a decision on a key planning grant for a proposed all-male charter school in Madison over their concerns the concept discriminates against girls." What?

Michael Sanchez Gets Back His Abducted Daughter After Almost Four Years: So what's the value and purpose of the Hague Convention again?

Boys believe discussing problems is a waste of time and weird, says study: Speaking as a man who was once a boy I don't think they are digging deep enough with at least some of those boys. I can totally see how some boys would say that talking about problems was a waste of time in an effort to not have to admit that it would feel embarrassing. Remember, the script of being a boy/man says to NEVER ADMIT TO WEAKNESS.

More Misplaced Hatred For The Used Games Market: Logic. Mike Masnick has it. Quick real world example of how shutting down the used game market would really hurt customers (you know, the people that its supposedly all about?). Let's say I get my hands on a copy of Gears of War 3, play through it and really decide to go play the other two. Good luck finding a new copy of Gears of War 1 and 3. Or let's say I the Thief 4 sounds interesting but alas, I do not know the entire back story. I dare you to walk into any video game story and pick up a new copy of any of the previous three titles. Simply put if the used game market is killed off because it "hurts developers/publishers" then its going to hurt customers that want to get into a title that's part of an ongoing series. Used games are a very important gateway into getting into established franchises (yeah unless you really want to believe that all the people that are into the Bioshock series really started off buying the first one brand new).

Yes, It's True: Ben & Jerry's Introduces 'Schweddy Balls' Ice Cream Flavor: On the real? I guess the next flavor will be "Dezz Nuts In Yo Mouf".

The Myth Of Men Not Being Hot Party Mix:"It is true that men are too often assumed unattractive in our culture. Men are supposed to be the subjects, not the objects, the pursuers, not the pursued, the desirers, not the desired. This ties in with the gatekeeper model of sexuality, with Figleaf’s Two Rules of Desire, with Ozy’s Myth of Men Not Being Hot. And it’s total bullshit."

Kate Gosselin Scared As She Faces Unemployment: On the real this is not the first time a large family has lost its income stream. There are countless families out there that have faced and are facing this exact situation, and some are even larger than Kate's family. Don't get me wrong I feel for her but there's no need to act like this is the first time its ever happened. (But this bit of rant is not pointed at Kimberly Ripley, she's honestly the first article on it I cam across. This is more pointed all the folks making such a big deal about it.)

Hate amendment sponsor NC State Sen. Forrester on gays: ‘We need to reach out to them and get them to change their lifestyle back to the one we accept’: Yes Senator James Forrester wants to get gays to change their lifestyle back to one that is acceptable...

Chris Christie is Fat. Isn’t That Hilarious?: Jeff Fecke talking about why fat shaming a male politician is just not cool.

PETA Doesn’t Give a Shit About Humans: So it PETA run by human hating animals now or something?

Junk Food Is "Cheaper": Challenging the conventional wisdom that junk food is cheaper.

These links have no name.

It's come to our attention that between the bunch of us here we come across way too many things to post about during the week so we need a place to share those things that are interesting but maybe not interesting enough for a full post or perhaps there's not enough time in the week to post on them. To that end we present to you our roundup for the week (mental note, come up with clever or cool name).

Are you interested in blogging but don't have the resources to open a full time shop of your own? Do you already run your own shop but would like to join a group? Have something to say that and want a place to say it? Then give us a holler over at ethecofem[at]gmail[dot]com.

Sex, sexism, boundaries, and coercion: Toy Soldier with a few words on a oral sex post from Feministe.

Racialicious has a great post up about interracial dating, in the form of a panel discussion where black women share their experiences with interracial dating and their families' and friends' reactions to their relationships, and the acceptability of interracial dating in general.

April started yet another blog, which is more personal in nature. Random posts about random things will be randomly published there. Check it out, if you wish. Contains lots of pictures that are probably of little interest to most people, and personal anecdotes and/or rants, as these are her specialty.

Warren gives some reasons why Perry should not be voted for, by anyone. An exhaustive list; do check it out.

Grace of Alas, A Blog challenges conservatives to refute her points. The blog post, as well as the ensuing discussion, are fantastic, as Alas posts and comment threads tend to be.

'Fight gender inequality by empowering men': While I appreciate that more and more people are getting around to the idea that men need help I can't help but notice how the call for lending men a helping hand is still made via, "If we want to help women we should help men too." How would you (yes you reading this) feel if someone pretty much said the only reason they were helping you was because it would benefit other people. Is there some directive against helping men for the sake of men themselves that I didn't hear about?

Jon Stewart asks an important question: Why is the mainstream media flat-out and deliberately ignoring Ron Paul? (video.)

Oh, look. Since Florida passed the law requiring welfare applicants to be screened for drugs in order to qualify for benefits, not only were there only 2 positive drug tests out of 40 (one of which is being appealed), but it costs taxpayers more money to drug-test welfare applicants. I'm completely and 100% not the slightest bit surprised by this finding.

Anderson Cooper is adorable when he giggles.

Conservative contradictions for the win!

Jeff Fecke on why we need to, pretty much, just shut up and support Obama to avoid a Republican win in 2012.  I vacillate between agreeing and disagreeing with him on this for a variety of reasons.  I've commented over there with my thoughts on the matter if you're interested.  Check it out.

Some friends of mine make music, and I like it.  Listen, and like them on Facebook!  Thaught is only one half of the creative genius, though, so don't forget to like the group AdverseEffect, too.  Not sure if Mr. A has a page.

Bisexual men can now relax with the official verification that they do, in fact, exist.

On the problem with the gold hysteria.

It's NEVER not fun to laugh at hipsters!  (Some people call them emo, instead.)

Things to Read!

Another example of men-as-default, women-as-other.  This time, with deodorant!

Matt Osborne on why we should call military spending "foreign aid."

Hermione Granger: social justice activist!

Republicans want to "reform" certain labor laws.  Like, you know, the ones that protect workers from making peanuts and working devastatingly long hours.  As a bonus, here's Dennis Kucinich calling out the lying douchebag Republicans, and showing their unwillingness to be decent, honest human beings

Feminists, especially of the atheist variety, are really pissed at Richard Dawkins right now.  I am not really part of that "new atheist" camp, mostly because I think Richard Dawkins' (as well as Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens') strategy of mocking individual people for having spiritual beliefs of any kind is really rather arrogant and pointless, so while I don't really have anything invested in this story, I'm not terribly sad that he's being called out.  Dawkins' particular brand of arrogance is highly infuriating.  I bought his book, The God Delusion, a couple years ago.  I got about a chapter in and haven't touched it since.  Summary: "you're all so pitifully stupid.  Let me explain how stupid you are.  Are you really this stupid?  LOL, you are so infuriatingly stupid all the time!  You're all stupid.  Please stop being so STUPID!"

An older piece on the Coffee Party by Thomas Dufour, who I met at at Netroots last month.  I used to think the Coffee Party was just a mostly superficial, tongue-in-cheek response to the Tea Party, but it's really not.  With its focus on civility and an attempt to dissuade folks from being overly partisan, it can prove to be a good alternative to those of us who are tired of the rhetoric of the two-party system:

For clarification, the Coffee Party is not the antithesis of the Tea Party as many presume it to be; it is in fact an alternative. The Coffee Party exists to change the tone of our national dialogue from hostility to civility.  If you could, imagine for a moment a political party which isn’t based on a common liberal or conservative agenda but a party based on an agenda that is constructed when liberals and conservatives can come together and discuss their hopes, worries, fears and find common solutions to common problems based on reason, facts and common principles.

Paul Krugman on the GOP's descent into political insanity:

First of all, the modern G.O.P. fundamentally does not accept the legitimacy of a Democratic presidency — any Democratic presidency. We saw that under Bill Clinton, and we saw it again as soon as Mr. Obama took office.

As a result, Republicans are automatically against anything the president wants, even if they have supported similar proposals in the past. Mitt Romney’s health care plan became a tyrannical assault on American freedom when put in place by that man in the White House. And the same logic applies to the proposed debt deals.

Put it this way: If a Republican president had managed to extract the kind of concessions on Medicare and Social Security that Mr. Obama is offering, it would have been considered a conservative triumph. But when those concessions come attached to minor increases in revenue, and more important, when they come from a Democratic president, the proposals become unacceptable plans to tax the life out of the U.S. economy.

Ann Coulter calls Bill Maher a misogynist on his show and is given a rare cheer from progressives and feminists, although her reason for Maher being a misogynist didn't really make sense.  She says he's a misogynist because he calls Michele Bachmann "crazy."  I know a lot of people who will call Michele Bachmann crazy... it's mostly because she acts like she's probably not rooted in reality.  Like Glenn Beck and Mel Gibson, some other people who are often referred to as "crazy" in the media.  Having something happen to a woman doesn't make it sexist, it makes it a regular ol' insult.  This is an example of that very specific sort of faux-feminism that they play to on the right.  Amanda Marcotte explains the difference here really well:

...[M]ost social justice movements are actually pretty hazy when it comes to defining their core values.  This causes less tension than you'd think on a day-to-day basis, but often leaves a movement with an Achilles' heel.  For instance, "feminism" is defined by some feminists as "promoting the interests of women" and by some (like myself) as "breaking down the gender binary and all its implications".  The latter also tends to link feminism more strongly with other social justice movements.  The vast majority of the time, the tension between these definitions doesn't matter---we're all anti-rape, all pro-equal pay, etc.---but then someone like Sarah Palin comes along and suddenly people firmly in camp #1 reveal that they're willing to overlook a lot in order to get another female face into office.

A good article from the National Catholic Reporter in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage:

If you count the sayings of Jesus in the New Testament, a phrase he uses with some regularity is “Be not afraid.” He says it to the apostles in all four Gospels, and he even tells it to Paul twice in Acts, once in a personal vision, and once in the voice of an angel.

Yet, today, his church finds itself afraid: afraid of movements by state legislatures to define civil law marriage in such a way as to allow same-sex partners to marry civilly. Why are we afraid?

Civil legislatures cannot define for the church what sacramental marriage is, what matrimony is. The First Amendment protects us from that. No legislature can tell the church who to marry or who not to marry.

So if the state wants to say that a man can civilly marry a man, or that a woman can civilly marry a woman, why should the church care?

[...] 

We need to give it up. This is not defeatism. This is simply following Jesus in the Gospels, who besides telling us not to act on our fears, also told us to render to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s. Civil marriage is Caesar’s. If Caesar wants to say that you can only get married on Tuesdays, wearing a blue suit and a red tie, that is Caesar’s call. The sacrament of matrimony is God’s. It is valid only when invoked between a baptized man and a baptized woman, in the presence of two witnesses and the spouses’ proper ordinary or pastor or his delegate. Caesar has no say in this. 

Half of US social program recipients believe they "have not used a government social program."  Or, said otherwise, "the frequent displays of incredible ignorance by Americans is astoundingly shameful."

Ross Douthat argues against Dan Savage's discussion about non-monogamy.  As usual, he makes claims that show clearly that he has no interest in anything he disagrees with beyond the immediately superficial.  Earlier, he informs gays and lesbians that they are now responsible for the future of marriage, same- and opposite-sex alike.

Brigid on Who We Are In Time.

Clarissa on the feminism of new credit regulations.

Renee's weekly Drop It Like It's Hot, filled with even more suggestions for interesting things to read.

What are you reading?!

Interesting things to read

via.

Five poor arguments against gay marriage.

On the flotilla to Gaza, and the indifferent reaction to the safety of the civilians from the US.

On the consequences of the corporate takeover of the US.

On the Great Speedup -- working longer hours for less pay and less family and recreation time.  It's killing us, and it's not confined to one sector or industry.

Clarissa on the proposed circumcision ban in San Francisco.

Daisy on the restrictive new law that passed in South Caroline, requiring a photo ID to vote.  Many states have recently passed measures like these, but South Carolina is among the hardest hit.

Warren writes about the history of conservatism, and what it looks like today.

On the merits of "regionalization" rather than globalization.

Interesting discussion on the porn industry, and why the author opposes it.

The New York Times does a story on Andrew Breitbart and his tactics to get as much attention as possible.

Renee writes about Canada Day, and makes fun of the rest of us who really just wish we lived in Canada.  (It's really sort of true.)

Dan Waters on marriage, the focus on marriage equality in the LGBTQ movement, and the problems with the institution in general.


Erik Hare with a realistic, yet very optimistic, view of the post-American-Empire America and world.

What have you been reading and/or writing?

Links

I'm Here Illegally - a Pulizer Prize winner shares his story of what it's been like to be an illegal immigrant living "The American Dream" by most standards.

Barney Frank and Ron Paul introduce bipartisan legislation to end federal marijuana prohibition.  We'll see if this actually goes anywhere.  I doubt it, but I'm happy to see it introduced.

Friday is March on Your Capitol Day!  If you can, get out to your State Capitol and remind our government that the Capitol belongs to the people.

A peaceful pro-workers rights protester was punched in the face by a Walker supporter at a rally at the Capitol in Madison, Wisconsin.  In similar news, one of the Netroots panelists was also punched in the face by an apparent white supremacist while standing outside of the Hilton, where RightOnline was held and many of the attendees of both conferences were staying for the weekend.

A good, long piece from Rolling Stone about Michele Bachmann's religious roots, and why we shouldn't really be laughing.

And, the Golden Girls on marriage equality:

Leave some links to interesting things in the comments!

Lazy Links

(via)

Behind the Abortion War

Is Taxation Theft?

J Crew's Toenail Painting Ad Causes Pink Scare

Capitalism losing popularity in the US

More anti-abortion legislation in Minnesota

About fast-food/"quick service" workers and union representiation

9 Things the Rich Don't Want You to Know About Taxes

US Republicans Blindly Attack Social Justice

8 Films That Seemed Good When We Were Young and Impressionable

The L & N Don't Stop Here Anymore -- Thoughts on moving out of a poor, forgotten neighborhood

How Socialism Built America

I'm curious: how and where do you get your news?  I get mine from a variety of sources: Facebook links, my Twitter feed (most of the people I follow are those who use Twitter as a way to share news and blog posts), my Google Reader subscriptions (which you can see by clicking my Google profile somewhere on this page), and stuff that I Google as a result of something I hear on the radio.

What are your favorite news sites, blogs, etc., that keep you up to date on current events?

Check it out

Listen up, Democrats: FUCK BIPARTISANSHIP.

Country and rap music: more similar than we thought?  I suppose this shouldn't be so terribly surprising, considering how often I hear things like "I like all music except country and rap!"  

Vanity Fair's Of the 1%, by the 1%, for the 1%.  Yet another call to the wealthy to stop being greedy pigs if they want to avoid an all-out class war.  

The influence of marketing on kids' food preferences.  Things like this make me extremely angry.  Exploiting an easily impressionable class of people in the name of profit should be illegal.  Period.

Thought Cloud, one of my latest favorite blogs, published a horrific piece of victim-blaming, rape-apology garbage the other day.  The comments are encouraging, though, in how quickly the entire place blew up at the author for her blatant misogyny and slut-shaming.  And a Thought Cloud editor published what appears to be a very sincere apology that not only expresses regret, but also shows a thorough understanding of exactly what was wrong with the article.  Looks like I won't need to stop reading TC, after all.

Some really neat pictures of Chicago in the 1940s. 

What will happen if gay marriage is legalized.

The daughters of Minneapolis mayor RT Rybak and St Paul mayor Chris Coleman accidentally live across the street from each other in New York City.  

Tips to help you not be an asshole at a restaurant.

Amanda Marcotte on growing up with the music of the 90s.  Made me nostalgic and craving some Alanis and  Meredith Brooks.

Jessica Valenti on fathers and equal parenting, and the surprise her husband receives from people when he's seen parenting his child alone in public.

The spread of superbugs, and the rising risk of antibiotic resistance.

Some Stuff, open thread

• Firstly, Sam Keenan, the artist responsible for the adorable little forked baby up there, is currently participating in Song A Day 2011.  Song A Day is a loose sort of event where musicians commit to writing and recording one song per day for one month.  Sort of like Nanowrimo, or Nablopomo, but with music.  It's pretty rad what people can manage to do in one day (my husband has done it in the past, too; check out his MySpace page for a bunch of his past Song A Days, most from 2008).  Check it out!  The player is at the bottom of the website.  Also, check out the song Super Penguin to hear a guest appearance by Sam's son.

• Amanda Marcotte has an interesting take on the recent study that reports that most American Catholics disagree with the Catholic Church on a number of contentious issues.  I largely agree with her, but am a little shruggy on the following:

Not that I’m letting Catholics off the hook.  If you disagree with the church, you really should leave as a moral matter.  Money and esteem given to the church allows them perpetuate their evil on the world.  That money and power goes towards depriving women of choices, oppressing gays, spreading HIV by limiting access to condoms, and whatever else they do that you disapprove of.  

It's definitely true that cutting off your support for the Church will lessen the money and power that the Church uses for regressive and bigoted things.  On the other hand, I think there's a lot to be said for Catholics who are actively engaging their churches and leadership for more progressive policies.  Abandoning the institution is one solution, sure; but so is changing it from within.  After all, feminism certainly has its share of bad history, but we aren't abandoning it left and right because the movement's goals and ideals have shifted considerably, and people within the movement are actively trying to be more inclusive, among other things.

• See how susceptible you are to mind control tactics:

• I also accidentally deleted my old Tumblr that I never updated.  How does one accidentally delete a Tumblr account, you ask?  Well, I had one called Choreographix, with a sub account called Minneapix, where I intended to post old photos I have taken around Minneapolis through the years, mostly concert pictures, because that was my "thing" for a while.  I thought I was deleting that one, but wound up deleting Choreographix.  So I just made a new one, with my name as the title instead, where I post pictures.. of concerts, buildings, protest rallies, me, whatever.  You can find it here.  I just remembered that photography is fun. Yay!  

• Also, new and interesting ways to upgrade your ramen noodles!  Like this "Ramepherd's Pie," which I need to make immediately:

• Oh!  And this is a riot.  So, this guy went to India for a while, and... well, he says this:

I went away for India for 6 months last autumn. Whilst I was away one of my best mates was living in my flat looking after it for me. When I got back from the airport last week there was a note on my coffee table to press play on the Playstation and this video came on the TV.. Pretty awesome, though I did feel slightly violated by what happens at about 1m30 and that might be a bit NSFW

Hilarious.

So... what's new?

What I'm reading

First, I made this stuffed zucchini recipe last night.  It was all right.  Advice: use fewer white onions, really trust her that you shouldn't use too much tomato or it gets all watery, and add other fun things, like chili peppers and green onions.  Here's what mine looked like: 


Excellent article on the nature of corporations, with examples from his job in a supermarket bakery:

When things change in corporations, as far as you and I are concerned, they always change for the worse, not for the better. Everything gets cheaper, thinner, smaller, lousier, shittier.

Quality is NOT Job One.

Job One is MAKE MONEY. Do anything, ANYTHING, to increase the bottom line, improve profits, reap from your customer base the absolute maximum number of dollars you can reap.

Which means: Always, always, always tweak the system, find ways to cut down on the cost of every little thing, find ways to squeeze a teeny bit more labor out of your workers, find ways to trim the product by a tiny percentage point or two, but always so that your customers won’t notice.

Which also means: Always, always, always tweak the system by honey-fuggling with the local government, the official regulatory bodies, the oversight institutions, so that you can get away with as little as humanly possible in the areas of health, safety, sanitation, product wholesomeness, and everything else you can think of.

On being a girl in the "boys' club."

Another response to Mark Bittman's article that I wrote about the other day.

A blog post about how gender-based privilege doesn't exist: 

Feminism got itself into a dead-end when it chose to analyze the workings of patriarchy in terms of gender privilege. Only when we recognize that patriarchy benefits both men and women while at the same time causing great harm to both men and women, will we be able to move ahead. This is a system that has existed for such a long time because it offers huge rewards to people whom it oppresses. It's time we stopped all senseless blabber about privilege and started recognizing that.

It's an interesting topic, which we've discussed over here quite a bit, if you can get past the fact that this feminist seems to really hate other women. 

Here is a long article that I haven't completely read yet, but am sure I will like it when I'm finished.  It's about greedy fuckers and making them pay their fucking taxes, goddamnit.  And how Americans let corporations get away with everything, and how stupid that is, and how the Brits do it better.  Well, that's what the first 1/3 of the first page is about, anyway: 

Instead of the fake populism of the Tea Party, there is a movement based on real populism. It shows that there is an alternative to making the poor and the middle class pay for a crisis caused by the rich. It shifts the national conversation. Instead of letting the government cut our services and increase our taxes, the people demand that it cut the endless and lavish aid for the rich and make them pay the massive sums they dodge in taxes.

Warren's Oscar picks;  

OH HEY, did you know that someone's trying to help Nathan Fillion actually buy Firefly?  If it's his, he plans to distribute it for free on the internet.  That's pretty neat.

Ten more disastrous things coming out of Wisconsin's newly-elected GOP.

 And here is a cute video explaining Instant Runoff, or Ranked Choice, Voting:

What I'm reading

Ken Robinson on "Changing education paradigms":

"This is deep in the gene pool of public education, the idea that there are really two types of people: academic and non-academic, smart people and non-smart people. And a consequence of that is that many brilliant people think they're not, because they've been judged against this particular view of the mind."



Rep. Barney Frank smacks down a reporter from a Christian news outlet about the issue obsessing all opponents to the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell-- "omg what about the showers!"

Some DADT Q&A by Ari Ezra Waldman.

Pat Robertson wants to decriminalize marijuana, and the loony tunes commenters at The Blaze agree, while failing to understand that it's mostly the fault of people just like them that it's still illegal.

Warren reviews the year's best and worst albums at Aural Eyes. The Top Ten are here.

Lisa of Naked Conversations discusses a different strain of "mean girls" that she hadn't considered before:

...[Y]our average guy in a gym might—and everyone’s qualifying here, because this is just so messy and awful that we’re all bound to hurt each other’s feelings, and there’s no help for it—just might, see a cute girl dressed in somewhat provocative gym-wear who is also ignoring his (obvious?) desire and decide that she’s deliberately provoking, teasing, him, just to be mean. Who knows, maybe we up the ante if she’s at a night club in something skimpy and she dances with him. Maybe we don’t. I don’t fucking know. None of us really do, I imagine. And nobody seems to be talking about it, which seems to me to be the real problem.

Have you read, seen, or heard anything interesting lately? Link to it in the comments!

What I'm reading

A very engaging and unexpectedly touching account of Aurora Levins Morales' experience "coming back to capitalism" as she enters the US after being in Cuba.

One of those book reviews that makes you feel like you actually read the book, at least a little bit, because of the excellent analysis.

The only way to shift the political culture is to start a national conversation about gender pressures on men, she said. Until we do that, we won’t see much progress for women.

Devra Renner and Aviva Pflock, authors of Mommy Guilt, will understand this book. Even though their book is about mothers, most of the work they do is about parenting. They spend a lot of time reminding others that parenting is something both mothers and fathers do.

A discussion on sex work, stripping in particular, and the difference in society's perception and treatment of men and women in the industry.

Gender Across Borders is looking for article submissions "that explore the relationship between gender roles in the workplace and at home." Both women and men are encouraged to submit. From the request:

The topic of this series is intentionally broad to capture the diverse experiences of women and men in the workplace and at home.

A broad range of materials in welcome, from personal narratives to academic essays to profiles that focus on particular people or events. Articles from around the world are strongly desired.

Some questions to consider:

-How does culture shape gender roles in the workplace and at home?
-How have gender roles changed over time because of feminist and other influences?
-How do class, race and sexuality influence gender roles in the workplace and at home?
-What does the future hold for women and men in the workplace – and at home?

Innocent Smith, in a fantastic analysis of capitalism and traditional values:

Ultimately, what capitalism has produced is two Americas: a Blue America whose prosperity depends upon the values it professes to have outgrown, and a Red America that preaches traditional values but wholeheartedly embraces the economic Darwinism that preys upon them.

A touching account (pun not intended) of a memory of the Radical Housewife's mother's touch.

Imnotme has revamped his blog, and the content is now primarily fiction work, including While Great We Are. An excerpt from the short story:

The fire was nearly half burned down and the library had taken on a somberness. The conversations had turned from philosophy to mortality. James, who had stopped challenging the other two to nine-ball championships, given his losing streak, was now sitting in the mammoth chair nearest the bar, a half empty bottle of brandy sat hesitantly on the edge of the bar above his right arm; the fire on his left cast a devilish shadow across his brooding face. His black snout glimmered.

And, last but not least, a friendly message to the Christians who, without fail, claim every year that there's a "war on Christmas," or that "Christians are oppressed in this country." Even though I'm referring to the US and this clip is referring to Great Britain, it still applies across the board:



Leave links to interesting things you've read, or written, in the comments!

What I'm reading: blogroll recommendations edition

Howdy everyone. I've been blog-surfing for a while this evening (oh, who am I kidding, blog-surfing is my standard mode), and stumbled across Kloncke, where I saw a post of hers introducing a new blogroll member. I thought, Well, this is a fantastic idea! I'll start with a few for now, which I hope you'll all check out.

FeministCritics is a blog that I have a sort of love/hate relationship with. As a self-described feminist, I believe it is important to engage with our critics. In fact, I believe that it is always important to engage with our critics, regardless of who we are and who the critics may be. The blog itself has great content, from the perspective of someone who is looking for more information from "the other side." The writers on FeministCritics, while obviously critical of feminism as an entity, are, from what I have gathered in the year or so that I've kept up with the blog, quite interested in equality between men, women, and everyone in-between or outside of that binary. Some of the regular commenters, on the other hand, are obnoxious to someone well-versed in feminist theory, which is why I tend to avoid commenting, unless I find it absolutely pertinent. From FeministCritics, I've learned a great deal about male-on-male violence, inequality and injustice in the court systems in regards to divorce and custody battles, and the negative impacts that "patriarchy" has on men.

I was turned on to The Innocent Smith Journal because the author is a longtime friend of my husband's, and I am now a regular reader because, man, InnocentSmith is a fantastic writer. His posts vary: Catholicism, healthcare, Islam, the economy, and other progressive issues and current events as they arise. InnocentSmith has a natural gift in finding the common sense between opposing views and articulating them in such a way that you can't help but at least consider an opposing side, and oftentimes gain quite a bit of understanding. While we have some ideological differences, I gain a great deal from reading this blog.

Naked If I Want To is a (mostly) weekly series of introspective, poetic posts about the experiences of being women from two authors who are in their thirties and fifties. They each write in uniquely different ways, and with immense bravery, about some of the most difficult memories and experiences they've had, as well as some of the most beautiful moments in their lives. Their unabashed honesty is refreshing, as well as sometimes emotionally jarring. I find myself in awe at how beautifully they articulate what are at once personal and universal moments in the lives of girls and women.

Walter the Miracle Pug is sort of a random find. The author, who I have not actually met but feel like I may as well have, is the former girlfriend of my former boss and former colleague of my soon-to-be former neighbor, who wrote a book that I like quite a bit. The blog itself is centered around the adventures of her pug, Walter, and his recovery after a traumatic car accident. Apparently, Heather and Walter share a fairly large European following. I find it endearing that an entire blog is dedicated to the recovery of this adorable little pooch, and I have a soft spot for all things furry and canine. She's a fun and engaging writer who makes even the most menial dog-caring-for tasks seem just a little bit hilarious.

I like Love Letters In Hell for purely narcissistic reasons: Amanda, the author of the blog, writes about as infrequently as I do, and about topics nuanced and analyzed in a way that pretty much speaks directly to me. I was turned onto her blog by way of this blog's comments, on some post that I don't remember, and have been a reader and infrequent commenter ever since. Her writing, while considerate and aware, is unapologetic and personal. I can relate to many of her relationship stories and personal reactions to various current events, newfangled technology, and dating/relationship anecdotes. She's pretty rad.

I hope you'll give these blogs a read, and there will be more to come in the near future!

What I'm Reading

I've been really busy with school, planning this "surprise, we got married and didn't tell you for a year" party, and trying to manage all the "wait, so you got married? When?" and the "Huh?" and the "...Wait, what's your last name?" and the "WHAT THE FUCK?!" and the "wait, what?" questions, that I haven't been paying much attention to the blogosphere lately. I have, however, thought of a million things to blog about later, when I have more time, and I've also read a couple of great articles that I would like to forward onward in the meantime.

Jos at Feministing writes about a new Kotex ad that makes fun of tampon commercials, but still can't manage to say "vagina" once.

Shout out to the now-public husband, who's started a blog where you ask for his advice about anything, and he gives it to you. Like Dear Abby, but modern and better. And it's fun and anonymous.

An author on Feministing Community highlights how she is at odds with the frequency in which feminism is presented as a "members only" club to interested, but new women and men. I especially love this article because, as anyone who's read other blog posts I've written previously would know, I'm especially interested in making sure that we don't place obstacles in front of people who want to learn about feminism.