July 30, 2006
oh. my. god.
I think I may *actually* be sick just from a smell. I opened the cabinet beneath our counter, and discovered an old bag with two of the nastiest, rotted, bleeding, pustulated onions bleeding EVERYWHERE.
I cut out the liner beneath them, washed the countertop with water and tea tree oil, poured baking soda all over it, and OH MY GOD THE SMELL IS SO BAD.
Boiling a pot of lemon slices now. Oh my god. I feel so ill.
July 19, 2006
International Sexual Harrassment, Oh My!
I posted the previous comment in a fit of rage, and thought that would be that. But indeed, the rage has simply grown, and so I thought I might attempt to post something longer and more thoughtful regarding the “groping asshat incident.”
It seems that our president has outdone himself again. Not in his usual ways: he hasn’t (as far as I know) invaded another country yet. He hasn’t banned stem cell research – oh, wait, he just did, though that isn’t what I’m talking about here. No, this is something new and oh-so-fun:
Bush has engaged in an act of violence against women.
I attempted to find a quote about the incident from CNN.com, or some other such major news source, but it seems that this isn’t real news. God forbid we don’t look the other way.
Before someone calls me out for making such a big deal out of this ‘faux pas’ of Good Ol’ Bushie’s, I’m going to explain as to why I consider this violence against women.
Firstly: this is something he would never have considered doing if Merkle was not a woman. I have to say that I cannot recall a single time in my life when I have seen one man walk up to another (unrelated) man and spontaneously give him a shoulder-massage. Perhaps some moments in sports have come close, but this is not a sport – it is a political summit, so it should at least adhere to the behaviors of a formal workplace.
So, given that this would not have happened to a man, what does that imply? Such a behavior is inappropriate between men – why not between a man and a woman?
Secondly: Humans have this thing called a ‘personal space bubble’. It’s rude, in many cultures, to get within whatever this bubble is. It is certainly rude in American culture, and is used as a tactic of intimidation. It is certainly inappropriate to grab someone from out of their line of sight – it is startling, sometimes frightening. Ergo, I don’t believe there is anyone who can in good conscience say “he meant to be friendly” or “that’s how Texans behave”. A shoulder-massage can be friendly – in the appropriate setting and when it is an invited touch. Grabbing someone unawares from behind is not a friendly gesture, it is an intimidating one.
Accepting that Bush grabbed her because she is a woman, and not a man, what does that imply? That he considers a woman’s personal space and body integrity to be less than a man? Or does it imply that he was simply exercising his sense of entitlement – ie, he has a ‘right’ to touch her body without her permission.
This is the answer that my gut says is correct. There are a great many American men (not all, by any means, or even the majority) who feel a sense of entitlement to female bodies. By that, I mean they feel it is their right to observe and comment on -- and in more extreme cases touch – the bodies of women who they are not acquainted with. Do not tell me that it is ‘friendly’ or ‘appreciation’ until these same men who catcall, whistle and grope also catcall, whistle and grope men. It is a statement of power, because those women can do nothing to stop it.
And that’s what Bush’s asshattery is: a statement of power. Perhaps he was feeling nervous that day. Perhaps he felt intimidated by her. But whatever his motivation, he reacted like an alpha dog in a wild pack, he reinforced his feelings of superiority by displaying his dominance through unwanted, unrequested, and even unseen touching.
Had Chancellor Merkle stood up to this, it is likely he would have shrugged it off as ‘overreaction’, because he was ‘just being friendly’.
Fuck you, Bush. Sexual Harrassment is not ‘friendly’.
If you wanted to be friendly, you would have shaken her hand. If you wanted to be friendly, you might have engaged her in conversation. Instead, you engaged in run-by-groping, and fully asserted yourself in the minds of myself and other feminists as a scum-sucking misogynist asshole. Congratulations.
our president is an asshat
Ugh ugh UGH. Will someone please put him in his room until he learns how to behave in public? Seriously.
http://www.taylormarsh.com/archives_view.php?id=24262
Does anyone have a recipe for blueberry muffins that's really good?
July 18, 2006
sometimes I miss you so much my stomach hurts.
July 13, 2006
bridget jones
Have been reading Bridget Jones diary as the 'back of the toilet' book, lately. That seems to be where it should be, really. Feeling urge to write in similar manner, with fun Britishisms and strange gramar. Must resist.
::fails::
I'm revising, and complaining about it, and then being annoyed at myself for complaining. Its' a vicious cycle, I suppose. But NM has grown with the revision (I'm on page 31 of 49 for the original, and that's equivalent to page 46 of the revision. Humongous.)
I have not (yet?) heard back from the copyediting people. This makes me sad, but at least it's out of my hands for now so I don't have to think about it.
In other news, I have lost eight pounds since June 23. Go me! Exercise yay!
July 02, 2006
Had training for K. today, which went pretty well. I'm back to thinking it will be easy, which is nice - I dislike freaking out about things. I freak out about enough things, anyway.
My roommate is currently making fortune cookies in the kitchen with her boyfriend, which is cool. However they're blasting music (and she like all that new-fangled indie music stuff ;) ) so I can't really watch tv, which is what I want to do. Also, I'd like to eat, but I don't at all feel like cooking anything.
Yesterday, Baton Rouge smelled like old broccoli. Really, really strongly. Somehow, when this noxious odor filtered through my car's air conditioning, it had become the smell of tempra paint. Seriously. So. Odd.
I've been sort of feeling like crap for, hm, a week now? Maybe week and a half. I blamed it on hormones, then I blamed it on other things, but at this point I've really got no idea what the hell is up with me other than feeling weirdly homesick.
I really like Baton Rouge. Really, really love it. Even when it smells like broccoli. But I don't know if I'm really okay living this far away from my family. It just feels wrong to me. But maybe that's just me clinging to childhood and wanting things to never change, because I know I'm guilty of that some of the time. A lot of the time. I just can't tell.
The more I learn about academia, the less I want to commit my life to it. I would like teaching, I think, if I didn't have to worry about grading on a curve or someone looking over my shoulder, but the atmosphere is...backstabbing.
Argh.
There are cats mating outside. I know this because the female cat is screaming horrible dying-baby cries. The first time I heard it, I thought it was a person - but no, it's a cat.
I feel like crying and I don't know why, and I haven't got a movie that will reliably make me cry. I worry if maybe I shut that part of myself too much off in response to the years when I couldn't control it. Am I scared to really cry now, because at one point in my life it meant I'd lost complete control?
I did find my ipod, though. That has to count for something.