January 2012
27 posts
“If wealth was the inevitable result of hard work and enterprise, every woman in Africa would be a millionaire.”
—George Monbiot. Published in the Guardian 8th November 2011
I read a whole 435 page book on set yesterday and it made me think some things and now I’m going to tell them to you.
There will be spoilers for this book, (and also this book) so I’m putting everything after a break in case you don’t want to read them. It’s also long…
The Hangman’s Daughter by Oliver Pötzsch is mostly pretty awesome: for the medieval torture porn and gruesome business of crime and punishment in post-Thirty-Years-War Bavaria, and the beginning of the end of witch-hunting as an actual pastime with deadly consequences. It’s all of my morbid fascination with things like Jack the Ripper and the Tower of London and the Tudors and the War of the Roses and the French Revolution all rolled into one German (Strike that, BAVARIAN! Therefore even better*) package, with forbidden romance, witches, powerful female magic, the divine feminine, midwives, and a classic-ish whodunnit murder mystery all rolled into one. I literally could not put it down. I read the whole thing yesterday and when my purse went missing from set, all I cared about was that this book was in it. Even when people were telling me that they saw my credit cards falling out of it and rushed to reassure me that they had put them back in (!) All I cared about was the book, and how it wasn’t, at that moment, in my hands, being read by me.
“Eight percent of college men have either attempted or successfully raped. Thirty percent say they would rape if they could get away with it. When the wording was changed to “force a woman to have sex,” the number jumped to 58%. Worse still, 83.5% argue that “some women look like they are just asking to be raped.”
—
Margo Maine, Ph.D. (Body Wars)
There was a time that, as a person of the male persuasion, seeing this quote made me really mad. It made me mad that women would assume that I was a rapist; it made me mad that rape was becoming ‘my problem’; it made me mad because, frankly, I didn’t think it was true. I think that this is a really common male attitude when confronted with rape statistics- or, at least, it has been in my purely anecdotal experience.
But now, I know there is no excuse for that. Men need to take responsibility and look at these numbers for what they really are, and what they really, truly represent. Men, don’t be mad at the woman who is justifiably wary that more than half of the men she knows could be her potential rapist. Don’t be mad at that there’s someone trying to rain on your fun, privileged parade where rape is something that only happens on Law & Order. Don’t be mad that you can’t accept that rape is way more common than you think. Most of all, don’t be mad at the woman who was raped and is seeking justice and help for her assault just because you thinks she looks like she was ‘asking for it.’
Be mad at the man who waits in the park to prey on the women who have a right to feel safe in their own communities. Be mad at the man who takes advantage of his drunk girlfriend. Be mad at the man who pushes the issue when his wife isn’t in the mood. Be mad at the man who catcalls, who makes unwelcome advances, who cops a feel.
Don’t be angry at the woman who doesn’t entirely trust you. Be angry at the men who have made her feel that way. Don’t be a part of a problem.
Be a part of the solution.
(via bmsmith623)
“I can’t tell if [Obama]’s a Jedi Master, playing chess on a three-leveled board way ahead of us, or [the Presidency] is kicking his ass.”
—
Jon Stewart
From this week’s Newsweek cover article, I’d say Andrew Sullivan is firmly in the Jedi camp. Add to it this piece from Forbes last month about some sneaky Ninja language buried in the Affordable Care Act, and I’m starting to feel a little more of 2008’s hope flooding back. I think we elected a good guy, folks.
- Leverage score music: *doin' it's thing*
- Me: Hey, doesn't that music sound a little like the Doctor Who theme?
- Husband: Yeah... a little.
- Parker: What is that?
- Hardison: A bow tie. Bow ties are cool.
“Andrew Jackson had a clear cut idea of what to do with America’s enemies: Kill them!”
—
Newt Gingrich
Yeah, they were Native Americans, it’s called the Trail of Tears and it’s maybe the worst thing this country has *ever* done you racist motherf*cker.
This wasn’t so much a “Moment of Zen” as a moment of blood-vessel-popping rage. Thanks, Jon Stewart.
An open letter to Washington from Artists and Creators
We, the undersigned, are musicians, actors, directors, authors, and producers. We make our livelihoods with the artistic works we create. We are also Internet users.
We are writing to express our serious concerns regarding the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).
As creative professionals, we experience copyright infringement on a very personal level. Commercial piracy is deeply unfair and pervasive leaks of unreleased films and music regularly interfere with the integrity of our creations. We are grateful for the measures policymakers have enacted to protect our works.
We, along with the rest of society, have benefited immensely from a free and open Internet. It allows us to connect with our fans and reach new audiences. Using social media services like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, we can communicate directly with millions of fans and interact with them in ways that would have been unimaginable just a few years ago.
We fear that the broad new enforcement powers provided under SOPA and PIPA could be easily abused against legitimate services like those upon which we depend. These bills would allow entire websites to be blocked without due process, causing collateral damage to the legitimate users of the same services - artists and creators like us who would be censored as a result.
We are deeply concerned that PIPA and SOPA’s impact on piracy will be negligible compared to the potential damage that would be caused to legitimate Internet services. Online piracy is harmful and it needs to be addressed, but not at the expense of censoring creativity, stifling innovation or preventing the creation of new, lawful digital distribution methods.
We urge Congress to exercise extreme caution and ensure that the free and open Internet, upon which so many artists rely to promote and distribute their work, does not become collateral damage in the process.
Respectfully,
- Aziz Ansari
- Kevin Devine, Musician
- Barry Eisler, Author
- Neil Gaiman, Author
- Lloyd Kaufman, Filmmaker
- Zoë Keating, Musician
- The Lonely Island
- Daniel Lorca, Musician (Nada Surf)
- Erin McKeown, Musician
- MGMT
- Samantha Murphy, Musician
- OK Go
- Amanda Palmer, Musician (The Dresden Dolls)
- Quiet Company
- Trent Reznor
- Adam Savage, Special Effects Artist (MythBusters)
- Hank Shocklee, Music Producer (Public Enemy, The Bomb Squad)
- Johnny Stimson, Musician
I’m just going to go ahead and add my name to this:
- Wil Wheaton, Actor, Author, Producer
I’m not famous, but I am a content creator in whose name my union is short-sightedly backing this legislation.
- Caroline Sharp, Actor/Producer
North Korea To Punish Mourners Who Were Insincere →
huffingtonpost.com
By “mourners” they mean all citizens because they were forced into participating in the nationwide events celebrating the life and dramatically bemoaning the loss of Kim Jong Il.
By “punish” they mean send to labor camps that result in the deaths of 40% of the incarcerated.
North Korea is the legit, living incarnation of Panem’s Capitol.
“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.”
—
Henry David Thoreau, Walden (1854)
The theme of my 2012.
Between the gorgeous gowns, Disney princess gifs, and this Sailor Senshi generator meme I’ve been playing with, my Tumblr dashboard is probably the least manliest place I have on the Internet. And y’know what? I’m fine with that. I’m enjoying the hell out of this, and nobody has the right to tell me I’m doing it wrong. So bring on your frilly period dresses. Explain to me the difference between a bustle and a petticoat. Give me glamour shots of lace and stitching, because enforced gender roles are a joke.
My name is Kevin, I am in a committed heterosexual relationship, and I enjoy looking at girly things. Come at me, bro.
Kevin, you are awesome. I have nothing to add except that I hope that this paltry little signal boost inspires other people who defy the gender roles they’ve been shoehorned into since birth.
Study: Women Ask for Raises & Promotions as Often as Men, Receive Fewer & Slower than Men Who Do and Women Who Don't →
washingtonpost.com
What’s that you say? Some ish women have been complaining about for *decades* is actually true and not just made up in their tiny, emotion-clouded minds?
Shock me shock me shock me with that deviant behavior.
Not Everyone Loves ‘The Artist:’ Kim Novak Feels Violated By Use Of ‘Vertigo’ Score →
deadline.com
Dear Kim Novak, You were NOT raped.
Okay Kim. I get what you’re trying to say here. You created a piece of art and your work, in conjunction with the work of others, created a well-known, well-documented, emotional reaction in people. One that continues to be discussed to this very day. Arguably, this work is what you are best known for. And you are upset because another group of artists have come along, and used your work and the pre-existing emotions that come built into it, for their own ends.
But by saying this makes you a victim of rape, you are doing the EXACT same thing to actual victims of rape!!! You are using a word that has very strong pre-existing emotions and connotations - violent and horrible ones to actual rape survivors - and co-opting it it gain sympathy for a professional dispute. That is cheap, nasty, insensitive and extremely hypocritical. By replacing it with the word ‘violated’ in her headline, Nikki Finke seems to understand the difference. So too do you, I can only assume. But you *wanted* the extra punch in the gut that comes from the word ‘rape’, so you used it at the expense of those who have actually been punched in the gut. Not classy.
Basic rule: don’t compare rape, slavery, or Nazis, to things that are not rape, slavery or Nazis.
